Who Invited My Mother In Law? A Moderately Deluxe TR All New X 3 & PTR Link 2/3 !!

[Fantasyland Mom]

I totally agree with you--dinner at CRT is much better than breakfast! The breakfast food we've had there is average, but we loved the dinner food! Such a lovely way to end a day full of magic. I'm so excited to go back! I have been trying to decide what to order already (because who doesn't want to think about food all the time!?), and I was leaning toward the beef tenderloin. After seeing your pictures, I'm convinced! I had that same chowder last trip and loved it, as well. And Brandon is still talking about the cheese platter to this day!

 

[ChefDisneyLu]

Wishes had just started so we headed down the stairs hoping that we’d be able to find a spot to watch. As we left, Maddie stopped a few of the CMs to say “thank you for a lovely evening” and treat them to a curtsy. It had been a lovely evening indeed.
​

The wishing pictures and this brought a tear to my eyes!

Lisa​

 

[megan511]

Aww I loved the update! It looks like you all had a wonderful evening.

I love the Wishing Ceremony pics & the pics with the Princesses!

The food looks really good too! Hopefully we will make it to CRT one day.

 

[RGirl]

Great update, Shannon. We love CRT so much! I'm so glad that you all had a magical time there. We have never been for dinner - only lunch. I'm thinking that dinner might be fun sometime.

As you can probably guess, I just love the Beast stories that Belle told!

I didn't see Major Domo's Pie on the menuThat was the best stuff ever!!

It was like a puff pastry with the shredded beef...delicious!!!

I loved that entree too, Heather! When we went in October, it was gone - replaced with Major Domo's Short Ribs or something like that. That was good too, but definitely not as tasty as the "pie."

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

Love reading about CRT! We've never done dinner there. After reading your report, I am going to try to convince DH & DS to try it!

The Wishing Ceremony pics are so terrific! That is definitely the Disney magic right there!

I love that she loves it so much! It really makes it that much more magical, doesn't it, when they love it and soak it all in?

Can't wait to read more!

 

[dara00]

I fell behind on all of the dis - oops. I know I'm behind, but great attitude on your mil! I highly doubt I'd be as willing to travel with my mil again if she acted like yours - she has her own issues that I can't stand as it is!

I'm happy to watch Maddie having a lovely time on princess Jasmine day. She is so cute, as always!

 

[ljcrochet]

Your review of CRT has me so excited to try it for our upcoming trip.

 

[amandaw]

This just may be the best update ever! First of all, Maddie is so adorable in all of the pictures! You can see in her face how genuinely happy she is to be there. And what a fantastic experience y'all had! That server sounds phenomenal! He truly added so much magic to y'alls night. I love CM's like that. I thought that was so fun that he brought you & Bryan a wand & sword. It sounds like it really was a magical night. My favorite part? That Maddie thanked the CM's for a lovely evening & gave them a curtsey! She is a princess indeed!

Oh, Amanda! It would be MUCH more than a "slight" change!

Well, okay then. But, I am rather interested to hear what you booked.

 

[shan23877]

Maddie looks so beautiful all dolled up. I want a daughter so much. Yours is pretty awesome.

Thank you! I so hope that you get the little girl you're wishing for.

Yay to CRT. I had a feeling that is where she was going. That was so nice of “Tony” to bring Bryan both appetizers. I lean more toward the soft cheeses to while Crap likes them all. There may not be a cheese he does not like.


CRT was awesome! Maybe if you show Crap pictures of the food and the menu, he'd be persuaded to try it again? The food was seriously good, way better than any other character meal we've tried. Bryan really does love most cheeses (except blue which I love), and he said he'd love to order that appetizer again.

I got teary eyed again when I saw the picture of Maddie making her wish. That is the difference between boys and girls. While Xander liked CRT both times he went, he never got that into it. We always seem to have great luck with Aurora on our meet and greets. After the boring one you had before, I am glad you got a good one this time. Now that Tony brought you the extra mousse too, I believe he is right up there with Keir as one of CRT’s excellent servers.

Thank you so much, I get teary eyed looking at those photos too. She really buys into the magic right now, and I'm dreading the day that she starts getting skeptical about the whole thing. I think that's why I keep pushing Bry for as many trips as possible while she still believes. "Tony" was amazing. I'm kicking myself for tossing that receipt. I'd really love to email Disney about him. He was outstanding.

Belle sounds awesome. Based on the fact she came back to see Maddie a second time after she saw everyone else, I am guessing she enjoyed Maddie as well. Even if it was only for a few seconds, it is cool that you saw Wishes from inside the castle.


And that's why you're my Dis BFF. Thank you for saying that.

Wait until you hear where we watched Wishes from!


Xander starts kindergarten next month. We have him enrolled in the same private school he went to preschool for. It hit me recently that we will not have much extra money at all with all of that extra tuition. I also figured we can send him there for longer than just kindergarten if I find a job. Plus, now that Connor is one, I think he will be okay without me all day long. I worked away from Xander all the time when he was a baby. I did not start working from home until he was almost 2.5 except for one day a week when he was about 8 months old. I only took six weeks off to have him. From six weeks to eight months (except rare days when I would bring him to the office with me for the entire day), I had my MIL watch him one day a week while Crap and I worked. Other than that day, we were on completely different shifts.

That makes sense. Would you be trying to work from home some? I've been home with Maddie during the day since she was born. I have to arrange for care for her 2 days a week now (1/2 day kindergarten) and I feel kind of guilty. I'm hoping that she'll be with family most of the time, but since I don't actually start my new job until tomorrow we aren't sure what we'll do. Bryan and I have worked opposite schedules since Maddie was born too. It's not ideal, but it makes us feel better knowing that one of us is almost always with her.

Your meal at CRT sounds absolutely wonderful!!!! I'm so glad that you all had a great time! Those are definitely the types of experiences where you know the Disney magic is alive and well!

It was fantastic, and so was the service! A perfect meal to end Maddie's day.

That night was one of the reasons we'll keep going back. It was magical!

So glad y'all enjoyed CRT...you hear good and bad. Probably the bad stems from the price. We absolutely love it, too!!! I had no idea the price went up??? Oh well...guess you can consider the pictures part of the price, also. We've done breakfast and lunch, and never really considered the price since we were using DxDp. Ok...and tell me....I didn't see Major Domo's Pie on the menuThat was the best stuff ever!!

We loved it!! One of the reasons that we like DxDP so much is that we don't think about the prices of the meals, but for 2 credits the breakfast was underwhelming. We'll do dinner there again for sure!

I checked All Ears, and it seems that the Pie is indeed off the menu. They do have the Major Domo short ribs though, but only on the lunch menu.

It was like a puff pastry with the shredded beef...delicious!!! And I didn't see the blueberry cheese buckle dessert either...guess it has been 2 years since we've been for lunch Enough about food, right

Sounds great! I would have ordered the buckle if they'd had that.


Maddie looked cute in her princess costume! It's amazing how the little girls really think all the princesses are real....precious, isn't it?! Ya have to wonder what her wish was all about and what was going through her mind??

Heather

Thanks! I am so happy that she still believes that! In fact I told my husband this trip that I'll be more upset when she finds out the truth about the princesses than when she finds out about Santa. It's priceless, and why I keep pushing DH to squeeze in as many trips as we can while she's young.

I'd LOVE to know what that wish was, but I think that by the end of the trip most of her wishes had come true.

Sounds like a really fun night at CRT. The food did look really good.

It was a great night, and the food was excellent! Much more "signature" than "character dining"

Maddie looks like she is loving every minute of everything. I hope my girls enjoy themselves as much! We have BBB at 8:40am and CRT at 8:05pm. We were hoping to get earlier reservations for both, but at 180 days that was the best we could get. We were trying to figure out if we would be in the castle during 9pm wishes. If we are, I hope we get a good seat. I love all of the pics, but I cannot help but notice the lady's bottom in the background of one of the Maddie as Jasmine pics. I can't wait to hear more about your trip!

You'll have such a great day! I think that you'll likely still be there during Wishes since it's a 3 course meal. Can't hurt to ask for a window table! Maddie was fine eating so late, especially since she knew where we were going!

I didn't notice the rogue bottom invading the photos!

 

[shan23877]

I just love reading about Maddie- she is too cute!

So glad you had a nice time at CRT. I really want to try it out sometime but DH is not really interested at this point.

Thank you so much! That's so sweet of you!

CRT was great! I felt that it was much more "signature" than "character meal". Maybe if you show DH the pictures of the food he'll come around? I think it's a really special experience.

What a great CRT experience! I love the pics of Maddie during the Wishing ceremony. Too precious!! Your waiter sounds outstanding - that really makes such a difference! I would love to try CRT one day, but I feel like I might always get outvoted.
Awesome update! Looking forward to more.

It was an outstanding meal, we loved it!

Thank you so much! Those are some of my favorite photos from the whole trip.

The server was fantastic, I'm so upset that I lost the receipt (and therefore his name). I'd love to email Disney about how great he was.

Thanks!

What a great update! Love the photos, you are really enjoying your new camera!

Thanks! I was putting that camera to work!

I loved how Maddie is so excited to be there, having great meets, and just taking it all in. You can tell it's a truly magical experience for her. I love when Kadence feels the magic too.

It's priceless isn't it?

Ahhh, the soup of the day, sound good, I have that! Put it on Seabasses tab!

So glad that someone picked up on that! I wonder how many people just think that I'm strange.

Your food looked good, I may try CTR for supper next year. We've only done breakfast.

You should try it! It was really good, much better than breakfast IMO. The food was way better than any other charater meals!

I'm glad CRT was so great for you! I know I loved it for dinner a year ago, but when I've been reading about breakfast there, it just doesn't seem worth it (and we did Akershus for breakfast and it really wasn't worth the price)

Breakfast was good experience, but dinner was outstanding. We'll definitely do it again!

I didn't think Akershus was too great for breakfast or dinner foodwise, but since we DDP I didn't really consider the price. We'll do Akershus for breakfast again for the princesses, but we'll stick to dinner at CRT.

The wishing ceremony is just too cute, I love it! I'm glad Maddie's wish came true!

Yay for good princessess (and may I add, the two who were the best, got down to her level.... good for them)

That's true! again, something I wouldn't have noticed! Belle and Aurora were great. We very rarely meet a "bad" Belle though.

I love CRT, and it's such a great place for people of any age, sure it's expensive, but it's IN THE CASTLE....the food is delicious, there are princesses, there's so much food, you get swords/wands, its possible to watch wishes while you eat, and it's IN THE CASTLE hahaha. It's a great time!

I can't wait to go back!

Your dinner at CRT just sounds like it was wonderful! That's so good to hear! I've basically been dying to try that place out but I couldn't justify the 2-credits, because I hadn't heard such great things about the food... but now I'm changing my mind!

It was awesome! I would say that the dinner totally justified the 2 credits, but not the breakfast. It was way more signature food than character food. I hope that you try it one of these days, you'll love the atmosphere!

Those wishing pictures of Maddie seriously just made my day. She is so precious! Ahh, kids in Disney.

Thank you so much!

I totally agree with you--dinner at CRT is much better than breakfast! The breakfast food we've had there is average, but we loved the dinner food! Such a lovely way to end a day full of magic. I'm so excited to go back! I have been trying to decide what to order already (because who doesn't want to think about food all the time!?), and I was leaning toward the beef tenderloin. After seeing your pictures, I'm convinced! I had that same chowder last trip and loved it, as well. And Brandon is still talking about the cheese platter to this day!

I already know what I'll order when we go back! I'd get the exact same meal again. Wasn't that soup to die for? Bryan loved that cheese platter too!

It was the perfect end to a perfectly princess day!

 

[tralin]

I simply cannot keep changing my ADR's. You have to give something a mediocre review. Fortunately, I think I'm pretty much set now and will just have to go back someday.

LOVE Maddie's pics and her expressions. You are so right, THAT is why you go to WDW. I need to show DH THOSE!

 

[shan23877]

The wishing pictures and this brought a tear to my eyes!

Lisa

Thank you so much! That's so sweet. They were my favorite parts of the evening too.

Aww I loved the update! It looks like you all had a wonderful evening.

I love the Wishing Ceremony pics & the pics with the Princesses!

The food looks really good too! Hopefully we will make it to CRT one day.

Thank you! It was fantastic meal in every way! I hope that you'll try it some day, it was awesome!

Great update, Shannon. We love CRT so much! I'm so glad that you all had a magical time there. We have never been for dinner - only lunch. I'm thinking that dinner might be fun sometime.

Thanks! Dinner was great there! You should try it, the food was outstanding!

As you can probably guess, I just love the Beast stories that Belle told!

I so hope that Willow can get Belle to tell her some good stories on your next trip, Maddie just ate them up and talks about it all the time.

I loved that entree too, Heather! When we went in October, it was gone - replaced with Major Domo's Short Ribs or something like that. That was good too, but definitely not as tasty as the "pie."

According to AllEars, the short ribs are still on the menu, but only for lunch. I agree, that pie looks delicious!

Love reading about CRT! We've never done dinner there. After reading your report, I am going to try to convince DH & DS to try it!

I hope that you can convince them! The meal was great in every way.

The Wishing Ceremony pics are so terrific! That is definitely the Disney magic right there!

I love that she loves it so much! It really makes it that much more magical, doesn't it, when they love it and soak it all in?

Can't wait to read more!

Moments like that wishing ceremony is what makes it all worth it. I hope that we squeeze in as many trips as possible to capture all of the magic we can. It's priceless.

I fell behind on all of the dis - oops. I know I'm behind, but great attitude on your mil! I highly doubt I'd be as willing to travel with my mil again if she acted like yours - she has her own issues that I can't stand as it is!

In the end it's not worth dwelling. As long as Maddie and Grandma came away with great memories, that has to be good enough for me.

I'm happy to watch Maddie having a lovely time on princess Jasmine day. She is so cute, as always!

Thank you! She had such a great day!

Your review of CRT has me so excited to try it for our upcoming trip.

I'm so glad! It was an awesome meal, and I hope that your experience is just as magical!

This just may be the best update ever! First of all, Maddie is so adorable in all of the pictures! You can see in her face how genuinely happy she is to be there. And what a fantastic experience y'all had! That server sounds phenomenal! He truly added so much magic to y'alls night. I love CM's like that. I thought that was so fun that he brought you & Bryan a wand & sword. It sounds like it really was a magical night. My favorite part? That Maddie thanked the CM's for a lovely evening & gave them a curtsey! She is a princess indeed!

Thank you so much! It was such a fun day to write about especially after I was such a bummer about the first few days. She had the best day ever! And that server? He was so amazing. I'm so upset with myself that I lost the receipt, I really wanted to email Disney about him. We still have our wand and sword too! Maddie thought that was amazing!

She is a princess, and mommy was really proud of her manners.

 

[shan23877]

I simply cannot keep changing my ADR's. You have to give something a mediocre review. Fortunately, I think I'm pretty much set now and will just have to go back someday.

LOVE Maddie's pics and her expressions. You are so right, THAT is why you go to WDW. I need to show DH THOSE!

I'm so sorry! Don't eat at Crystal Palace! I skewered that one!

That's right, all the places you can't squeeze into this trip are on the top of the list for the next one. (I have a permanent list of places to eat on the "next trip" )

Thank you so much! I think those pictures will come in handy when I try to convince DH that we need to go back next year as well.

 

[afwdwfan]

Wow, that looks like a wonderful meal/evening at CRT!

I have never been there. I really haven't had much desire to either, but if the food and the service are that good, I'd say it is well worthwhile.

I'm sure in a few years, we'll be making an ADR to take our DD there.

 

[mickeystoontown]

What a wonderful time and meal you had at Cinderella's Royal Table! I think my favorite pictures are the one of Maddie during the wishing ceremony and her talking with Belle.

 

[mirage0306]

Wow!! I'm sure this will shock and surprise you, but CRT has never been on our radar. Did you notice if there were boys there? It obviously doesn't seem like the sort of place my kids would care about, but your reviews make me think otherwise. I have to say how much I love how the princesses really talk to Maddie and how well they pick up on things that other princesses have said to her before. That just makes the magic even more incredible, you know? Sounds like the speaking CMs have a pretty difficult job sometimes.

Your food looked really, really, good. I love beef and would have gone for that, too. Sorry Bryan's chicken wasn't as good as he'd hoped.

"Tony" rotfl sounds like a true gem. I love how he brought you guys the extra food when you were on the fence about something. You cannot do better than that! I hate when I can't make up my mind at a restaurant.

And of course Maddie was just lovely as always. I LOVE the wishing pictures!!! And so sweet that she curtsied and thanked everyone for a lovely evening. So precious!

What an awesome update. This princess day for Maddie is the best thing ever.

 

[tinks_1989]

We love CRT it is very special to us DH proposed here in October 2008 my favourite place in the whole world and we are taking DD to celebrate her 2nd birthday there x

 

[KatMark]

Love your update of your meal at CRT. We'v never eaten there...but we have two boys who refused to eat in a castle with princesses (I am sure had they still been going with us, they would have changed their tune as they got older ).

What wonderful service you had and what great photos of Maddie and the Princesses.

 

[kmedina]

Thank you! I so hope that you get the little girl you're wishing for.

CRT was awesome! Maybe if you show Crap pictures of the food and the menu, he'd be persuaded to try it again? The food was seriously good, way better than any other character meal we've tried. Bryan really does love most cheeses (except blue which I love), and he said he'd love to order that appetizer again.

Thank you so much, I get teary eyed looking at those photos too. She really buys into the magic right now, and I'm dreading the day that she starts getting skeptical about the whole thing. I think that's why I keep pushing Bry for as many trips as possible while she still believes. "Tony" was amazing. I'm kicking myself for tossing that receipt. I'd really love to email Disney about him. He was outstanding.

And that's why you're my Dis BFF. Thank you for saying that.

Wait until you hear where we watched Wishes from!

That makes sense. Would you be trying to work from home some? I've been home with Maddie during the day since she was born. I have to arrange for care for her 2 days a week now (1/2 day kindergarten) and I feel kind of guilty. I'm hoping that she'll be with family most of the time, but since I don't actually start my new job until tomorrow we aren't sure what we'll do. Bryan and I have worked opposite schedules since Maddie was born too. It's not ideal, but it makes us feel better knowing that one of us is almost always with her.

Thank you.

We will eat at CRT again for sure. Xander enjoyed it both times, so I do not need to have a girl to go there. Crap gets this now, I think. When he was three, he enjoyed it almost as much as my nieces. I guess it wears off a little as he gets older.

I agree that you should take her as often as you can while she still finds it magical. If Bryan ever needs a reminder, show him that wishing photo. That would melt him for sure. Excellent cast members make a huge difference. Hopefully, you find the receipt to give him a glowing review. Crap is all about quality assurance and providing reviews (especially positive ones). That is what he does for a living.

Aww. I feel so close to you as well. I was just saying I cannot get over how close you feel to people you've never met on these boards. The DIS is awesome like that.

It sounds like an awesome preview. I cannot wait to read about it.

I would love to work from home. After looking for a while now, I do not think I am going to get lucky enough to have that happen again. At this point, I would settle for a solid shift (the second interview I went on said you can work anytime during opening hours each week) with a job that does not require me to travel away from my kids for weeks at a time (like the first interview). It is hard to arrange childcare when I will not know what my shift will look like until right before the week starts. Crap's job is too important to our family, so he cannot miss work for me to work an odd shift if we do not have a sitter.

It is hard to leave them with someone else. I know how you feel. The idea of starting a new job and leaving them with someone I do not know well scares me a lot. Hopefully, it works out for both of us that some family member will have them most of the time. I worked four tens Mon-Thurs. Crap worked Thur, Fri, Sat evenings as well as Wednesday and Sunday during the day. Wednesday was the only day we needed help, since I just did my last two hours from home on Thursday evenings. I started working full time from home when he got promoted to a job that had him working all hours of the day Mon-Sat (salary so no overtime). I've never worked with Connor, so he is used to having me around all the time. Crap's previous job often had him working seven days a week. He would be gone before I woke up and not home by the time I put the boys to sleep, so the idea of me getting a job was out of the question. His position getting eliminated there was one of the best things that ever happened to us. At his new job, we actually see him. I could really work too with a little help, especially if I could work on the weekends.

 

[LutheranChick82]

Maddie is way too adorable! I love the look on her face when she is meeting the princesses, so precious. I had to laugh when she stopped CMs and said thanks for the lovely evening - that is way too cute.
I agree with your MIL, it's hard to look at little kids at Disney and not realize it is truly the best place on earth!!!