Which would you choose: dinner with princesses at Akershus or

[wdw-ocd]

1900 Park Fare with Cinderella and storybook friends? (Who are the storybook friends anyway?)

We did breakfast at the castle on our last trip. It was fun, but dd6 was a little disappointed that the characters basically said hi, stood for pics, and signed autographs. I guess I should've explained that breakfast with the princesses isn't really breakfast with the princess sitting down and eating with us!

So, which restaurant do you think provides a better/more interactive dining experience: Akershus or 1900 Park Fare?

Thanks!

 

[FSUMARCHIEF]

Our experience is that all the character meals are pretty much the same. If you are lucky enough to be there when the restaurant isn't full then the characters get to play a little more than they normally would. Food wise - I like 1900 PF. Not because I dislike the Norway menu. But the buffet allows you to have more than one entree. Which is good for me!

I guess it would ultimately come down to which she would rather see. I think now, and I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, that the friends are anastasia and her sister and Lady Tremaine. I think I remember having read that the two mice are no longer there.

Blessings!
mark

 

[RACHELSMOM1]

1900 Park Fare with Cinderella and storybook friends? (Who are the storybook friends anyway?)

We did breakfast at the castle on our last trip. It was fun, but dd6 was a little disappointed that the characters basically said hi, stood for pics, and signed autographs. I guess I should've explained that breakfast with the princesses isn't really breakfast with the princess sitting down and eating with us!

So, which restaurant do you think provides a better/more interactive dining experience: Akershus or 1900 Park Fare?

Thanks!

1900 Park Fare is better by far!! Adults and kids will love it - and it is fun. It is also easier to go to, just take the monorail or drive there. Akershus is a place you are going to walk a long way to get to, unless you are already at Epcot for the day. We prefer to go to the resort to nap before dinner at 1900 Park Fare, and the girls get dressed up, and are fresh for dinner - no meltdowns or temper tantrums during the meal, the food is good, and the character interaction is wonderful. We will do the 1900PF breakfast for the first time in April, and look for ward to it.

 

[henrylovespooh]

Here are factors to consider:

At 1900 Park Fare you will only see Cinderella - no other princesses - BUT - there is better food selection at Park Fare

Princess interaction at Akershus isn't any better or worse than the castle - also goes for 1900 Park Fare.

 

[PrincessEmilysMommy]

1900 Park Fare is better by far!! Adults and kids will love it - and it is fun. It is also easier to go to, just take the monorail or drive there. Akershus is a place you are going to walk a long way to get to, unless you are already at Epcot for the day. We prefer to go to the resort to nap before dinner at 1900 Park Fare, and the girls get dressed up, and are fresh for dinner - no meltdowns or temper tantrums during the meal, the food is good, and the character interaction is wonderful. We will do the 1900PF breakfast for the first time in April, and look for ward to it.

Isn't 1900 PF breakfast Marry Poppins & Friends?

 

[pooh2001]

1900 Park Faire Breakfast - more for boys and girls
Characters: Mary Poppins, Alice and the Mad Hatter

1900 Park Fair Dinner - more for boys and girls
Characters: Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine, Anastasia and Drizella

at either meal at 1900 Park Faire - say it is your DD birthday. We did it for our DS 15th b-day (he was embarassed - but did enjoy the fun). Princess birthday girls get a tiara, a signed card, a placemat and a cupcake (even at breakfast). Prince brithday boys get the same thing - but a crown. Our teen DS refused to wear the corwn at 1900 Park Fair - however, he did attach it to his fanny pack and wore it around WDW all day (go figure )


Akershus - all princesses - more for girls
Characters who may appear: Belle, Jasmine(teen DS loved her outfit), Snow White, Princess Aurora, Mulan, and Mary Poppins (never saw her there)
We only like the food at Breakfast for Akershus

 

[mermaid&cinderella]

If you are going for the food go to 1900 Park Fare.
If you only want to see Cinderella (Prince Charming, Step sisters and step mother) go to 1900 Park Fare.
If you want to see several princesses (none guaranteed) go to Norway!
So it depends what you and dd want. But they are both good!

 

[java]

We really enjoyed Park Fare. We thought the characters went above and beyond there. And the food was good too!

Akershus- was just ok. Food was good, atmosphere very nice(and I have a great picture of my dd in front of that waterfall. But the characters were very very rushed(and we were the first seating and it wasn't that crowded) they seemed like they couldn't be bothered. We were rather disappointed. (I went only with dd as I thought the boys would die at this one- but really the castle feel of the place would have been cool to them)

My vote is Park Fare.

 

[wdw-ocd]

1900 Park Fare it is! Thanks for all of your input!

Now, if only I could get the date and time I want for my ADRs!

 

[weschmom]

Princess interaction at Akershus isn't any better or worse than the castle - also goes for 1900 Park Fare.

I'd have to disagree with this. You get almost no character interaction at the castle meal, other than the short meeting with Cindy in the beginning. At Akershus, you meet Belle in the beginning, then 3 other princesses come around to the tables (for us last January it was Aurora, Jasmine and Ariel). They spent a lot of time at each table and we really enjoyed it.

 

[Tinker-pin]

We just returned from our trip yesterday and did the Norway Breakfast and the dinner at 1900 PF. At breakfast we had Belle, Aurora, Mulan, Ariel, and Snow White. They did not rush. For dinner, it was nice and relaxed. All the characters were very interactive and sang and danced. My DD's liked that one best.

 

[Brian Noble]

I'm very intrigued by the Laides Tremaine. I'm hoping to hit 1900 PF in the not-to-distant future. It's not a "traidtional" princess meal, though, so if that's what you are looking for, go the Akershus route.

 

[Winterhouse]

1900 Park Fare for dinner but the Akershus lunch is great. I didn't like the Akersus breakfast, but I'm not a big breakfast eater. Akershus for princess variety. Here is a tip, take one of the very last reservation times (but not too late that you feel rushed). We did this at Chef Mickeys (unintenionally) and people were clearing out but not coming in. The characters came by our table at least three times because they were running out of families to visit. This may have been Chef Mickey's though because the princesses at Akershus were on a "mission" the two times we were there.

 

[Krissy562]

DH, DD(6) and I have done all of the Princess Meals at one time or another and the one thing that you can be assured of is that you will indeed get to see the princesses long enough for at least a brief hello, photo, and autograph. If that is your only expectation, you won't be disappointed.
We've been to Akershus 5 or 6 times over the last 4 years and each time it was a different experience. On one occasion, my daughter (then just barely 4) had just gotten an inexpensive digital camera and insisted on using it to take pictures of myself and hubby with the princesses instead of the reverse. That seemed to tickle the fancy of a couple of the Princesses, and in the course of the multiple stops at our table, spent lots of time with us - to the point where my daughter was having a hard time finishing her breakfast. The restaurant was very busy at the time, so it surprised us. We've also had the opposite happen, when the visits were just the brief basics described.
At Cinderella's castle, we've never experienced more than the average amount of interaction, photo, autograph, and maybe 1 minute of chatting.
We seem to have less interaction lately now that DD is a bit less "in awe" of their visits. I think they sense this, and while they are very nice and friendly, won't spend lots of time trying to engage her unless we prompt the conversation.
We do have some tricks for helping to ensure a more memorable encounter: Have your daughter create a special card to give to her favorite princess; they'll tend to fuss a bit more. Create a "photo collage" of the princess for her to sign with your daughter's name (then you have something to take home and frame). Best of all, if this is a return trip, find a photo of your daughter with the Princess, print it in 5X7 and then have the princess sign that. We've done this a couple of times, and the Princesses and DD both think this is pretty neat.

I think if you manage to keep your expectations minimal, and more importantly, keep the kids expectations minimal, neither of you will be disappointed. Then your decision simply comes back to the value of the food and the location, which are pretty much a constant and you can rely on your own assessment of which menu suits your family better. Nothing better paves the way for a positive experience than a positive attitude - even when little things go wrong.
Enjoy!

 

[jen_mangini]

DD's loved the princess interaction @ Akershus. I think it was better then the interaction @ Cinderella's Castle. With that being said, I couldn't even eat my meal and my husband didn't like his as well. I would never, ever want to eat there again but my daughter's still talk about the dinner - probably their favorite meal/princess experience ever. So, we'll be going back in '09. We were sitting by the door where the princess came out of and everytime the door opened, I could see my kids with big eyes waiting to see who was coming next.

The food @ 1900 was great but I was only there for the Mary Poppins breakfast which was fun.