Your opinions please - CRT

[banderboo]

DH and I are going to Disney in Nov for our 10th wedding anniversary (no kids). On the night we celebrate our anniversary we want to do a nice resturant but also don't want to bring "dress up" clothes (i.e. no Albert and Victoria). We will be using the DDP.

I currently have CRT booked for the special night but after reading some of the reviews I am now wondering if it was a good choice. We don't care about the characters, and while I think it would be really cool to eat in the castle it's not a huge deal. So what do you all think? Is CRT a good resturant to celebrate that special night? Should I keep CRT or try to get in somewhere else?

Have ADR for

Brown Derby (Lunch)
Raglan Road (Dinner)
Harbour House (Lunch)
Biergarten (Dinner)
Coral Reef (Dinner)
Chef Mickey (Breakfast)

 

[eventamy]

We had dinner there in February and I really enjoyed it. We really were there more for the experience and for my daughter to eat in the castle though. I think I would personally choose something else for my anniversary dinner. Never mind the fact that it's 2 credits on the DDP from what I hear (haven't used DDP yet!).
If you're going to be in MK that day anyway what about something that is on the monorail line, like O'Hana or California Grill (my top choice for being close to MK), especially if you can get a time where you can watch Wishes from there as well. BUT, if I could pick anywhere to have a nice dinner I'd go to Jiko, that's my top choice for a special dinner if I was planning one (I haven't been yet but if I could go anywhere...).

 

[Hootch]

is not a huge deal and you don't care about characters, then I would go somewhere else. The castle is one of the biggest attractions for dinner and characters and the castle for breakfast and lunch.

Instead I would recommend California Grill or Jiko as top alternatives. Narcooses would also be a good choice. Narcooses and California Grill offer good Wishes viewing with dinner.

I have been a big fan of Artist Point also. There have been a couple of less than stellar reviews recently so I hesitate to recommend before I see for myself again. I'm drawn to the atmosphere and the service and food have been great. Things may have changed. I'll defer to anyone who has been there more recently.

Any of the above alternatives will use the same two table credits as CRT.

Congratulations on your upcoming anniversary.

 

[The Marsons]

Like the previous poster said, if you are not fussed about the characters why don't you try the Cali Grill followed by Wishes on the terrace?

A lovely anniversary meal.

 

[chipper10]

We ate at CRT for our 1st anniversary and we loved it. We had breakfast there though, not dinner. I'm a picky eater, so I knew I wouldn't like much for dinner. They made us feel very special adn took good care of us. We were pushed to the front of the line to meet Cinderella, which was nice. For our anniversary dinner, we ate at Boma's. Again, they went above and beyond to make our anniversary special. We got a special card signed by everyone in their language and for dessert they brought out a special one, just for us. We loved it. we stayed at the AKL that year and we wanted to be near our hotel for dinner.

 

[banderboo]

Thanks for all your opinions. It's pretty much as I thought. I think I will try to get ADR for one of the suggestions given.

 

[SnwflkCts]

Although you may have booked elsewhere by now, dinner is NOT considered character at all. You get a picture in the lobby with Cinderella. Then during dinner is a quick celebration-type song with the Fairy Godmother and the two castle mice (Susie and Perla) who quickly flit thru the room with barely a pause.

DH and I found it fun and the noise level was very low for any restaurant in WDW. The tables for two were by the windows and we were overlooking the little Cinderella fountain.

I found the food good and the atmosphere so lovely. Park casual wear was fine (though we had showered & changed to long pants since we went back to the resort - it was evening and cool) but no real dress code.

I think there might be more "grown-up" places to go and any of the other choices would be great -- but eating at the castle was something I would not have traded! Have fun and happy anniversary!

 

[RachaelA]

After reading a ton of reviews on CRT, I scratched it off our plan for our honeymoon and added Narcossee's (the only 2 credit dinner we are doing). I just can't see using two credits on a meal the majority say is not good.

 

[tkldisney]

I've eaten dinner in the castle 4 times and the food has just been so so...
Since this is a special occasion I'd pick some other location. This year we are celebrating our 20th which is Nov. 6 at Cal. Grill. Got time for fireworks viewing plus this is one of our favorites. Last year we celebrated at Jiko and it was wonderful.

 

[NJFabFour]

We celebrated our 10th anniversary at California Grill in the Contemporary and it was awesome! Very intimate without being too formal. We were in a romantic spot toward the back and our waiter was very accomodating! It was a great night . . . great food, service, atmosphere! Have a great time wherever you go!