Walt Disney World adds princess dinner at Cinderella Castle
A Mom and The Mouse, Featured, Kristin Ford — By Kristin Ford on February 9, 2010 at 2:39 pm
Seated inside Cinderella's Royal Table, my daughter eagerly waits to meet the Disney princesses. (photo by Kristin Ford/Orlando Sentinel)
Beginning this week, Walt Disney World guests have another opportunity to dine with their favorite princesses. Dinner at Cinderella’s Royal Table, which is located in Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom, has become Fairytale Dining. Previously, evening diners were greeted by members of Cinderella’s royal family, including the Fairy Godmother and her mice.
Now, guests usually can expect to see Snow White, Jasmine, Aurora and Belle during breakfast, lunch and dinner. The royal beauties stop by each table to chat, pose for photos and sign autographs. In addition, guests greet Cinderella in the castle lobby, where a PhotoPass photographer documents the fun. A photo package, which is included in the price of the meal, is given to each family by the end of the meal.
Be aware that there is no guarantee which princesses will circulate in the restaurant. This is an important footnote for my family because my children certainly have their favorite characters. When we have visited Cinderella’s Royal Table, we explain to them that other than Cinderella, we don’t know for sure who will greet us. (Ariel typically does not appear at the castle; Norway’s Princess Storybook breakfasts, lunches or dinners at Epcot are her only venues.)
Visiting Cinderella’s Royal Table for lunch has been a birthday tradition at our house for years. Of course, my daughter is thrilled to see her aristocratic friends, but my son is fascinated by being inside the castle. He enjoys seeing all the nooks and crannies, and the view of Fantasyland is beautiful. It is a special treat, though, because it isn’t inexpensive. Breakfast is $49.65 for adults and $32.22 for children ages 3 to 9; lunch is $53.38 for adults and $33.46 for children ages 3 to 9; and dinner is $59.61 for adults and $35.95 for children ages 3 to 9.
In my experience, reservations for Cinderella’s Royal Table have filled up very quickly in the past. I have called when the reservation lines open in the morning exactly 180 days ahead of the desired date and still been on hold for an hour, only to find certain times filled. Hopefully, adding another daily seating will ease the scheduling crunch, making more little princesses — and their fairy godmothers — happy.
Tags: Characters, Cinderella's Royal Table, Dining, Disney Princesses, Disney World, Magic Kingdom
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2 Comments
I had the same problem making a reservation exactly 180 days in advance. I found out why: The resort guests can book their reservation up to 180 days from the FIRST day of their vacation. So say you’re trying to book a dinner for April 25, 2010. People who will be checking in on April 21, who are staying on Disney property, can book 4 days ahead of you for that same date. You wouldn’t think 4 days would make a huge difference, but in my case that left ONE opening at Le Cellier for the day that I wanted. Needless to say, the Disney Dining Plan already makes dining for locals difficult. This advance reservation system in addition to the standard 180 days makes it worse. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for locals to book 180 days exactly in advance, especially for dining in the castle!
I hate how Disney does their dining reservation system. They’re basically encouraging locals who want to get dining reservations to make hotel reservations just to get dining reservations. I think if we all made hotel reservations and then canceled them after we booked our dining, we’d get them to change their practice in short order.