Thanks to Chip and Co. for this guest review of Cindy’s! As it turned out, his family didn’t love the place; but there are some great insights here as a result. Thanks again, Chip!
On paper, this sounded like a great idea. I mean who wouldn’t want to have dinner inside the castle at Walt Disney World?
“Let’s have dinner in Cinderella’s Castle.”
“That sounds great. It will be so magical!”
“It will cost us 2 dining credits each.”
“Well I am sure it will be really good, then.”
I can still hear the conversation with my wife ringing in my head.
Cinderella Castle
Atmosphere
Cinderella’s Royal Table in Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom theme park offers a Character Dining experience in a mythical, medieval setting. The entrance is behind the Castle in the Magic Kingdom, and it’s very easy to find. The greeters/hostess are very friendly and informative.
Cinderella's Royal Table Check-In
After checking in, you are taken to the first chamber where Cinderella is greeting little ones and posing with families for the free photo. Cinderella is great, and quite striking. Our little one was so nervous, but she loved seeing Cinderella all decked out in her beautiful princess gown. Our daughter was dressed in her Mulan outfit, and most kids were dressed up as Disney Princesses.
Next you are taken up the winding stairs, past the restrooms, to the main chamber. The dining room decor includes medieval royal flags, stained-glass windows, and the ever-present “stone.” While it is cool to be in Cinderella’s castle, I was not really impressed with the overall look of the room. It just seemed plain to me. We were tucked in a corner and did not have a view of the park. Also, sound seemed to bounce off the walls and was kind of loud.
Dining Room
Stained Glass Windows
Royal Invitation
The atmosphere and entertainment is kind of bland, to match the overall look. The Fairy Godmother and some of the mice from Cinderella come out to put on a small show. Normally, I would walk around and take photos, but there is not really anything worth taking a picture of.
Eats
Having taken our seats and ordered our drinks, we munched on the very hard dinner rolls. My wife and I are on the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan and have a 2 year old toddler with us, so I was prepared to have to share or spring for an additional meal for the little one; I was surprised that they give children under 3 a plate of noodles, drink & dessert for free!
Looking over the menu, I was not really impressed with the adult entrees. The options were very limited and did not sound all that appealing. In my life I have dined at some very nice restaurants, and while I am not expecting a 5 Star meal, I expected, for 2 Meal Credits each, that this meal would have a good selection.
After about 15-20 minutes of playing with play doh, our meal came. The appetizer/salad tasted OK — nothing special. Throw in some pears and strawberries, and something to spice it up some. While eating our salad, we attempted to entertain the little one, who is just bored and ready to leave.
Salad
I ordered the chicken with potatoes, and it came with some super hard bread. My daughter turned her nose up at the noodles at the top left of the picture below. It was just a Mickey plate of plain noodles. I don’t blame for her for not eating it. Throw some pasta sauce on there — “What’s a matter you?!” My wife ordered the salmon with asparagus and rice.
Chicken Entree and Kids' Noodles
Salmon Entree
Again, both meals were very bland and lacked any sort of flavor. We come to Disney for the food and love visiting all the unique restaurants. Each place has flavors and meals that are unique to Walt Disney World. We find ourselves craving the ribs from Boma, Dole Whips from Magic Kingdom, Bread Pudding from ‘Ohana. So far nothing from this meal stands out and makes us want to come back again. Maybe dessert will be better.
I ordered the chocolate cheesecake. I mean, who can mess up chocolate cheesecake? The highlight for me was the edible Celebrate Today wafer on the top of the whipped cream. I did not even finish my dessert. I know that is hard to believe, but it’s true. It was dry, and even with the chocolate sauce, lacked flavor.
Chocolate Cheesecake
My wife ordered the crème brulee, and she ate a few bites more than I did. The only person who seemed to like her dessert was our little one. She loved her chocolate candy crown on vanilla ice cream.
Creme Brulee
Kids' Dessert
Overall, let me save you money and/or dining credits and just say “skip this meal.” Out of our whole trip, this meal was the worst meal. It was nice to get a photo of your little one with Cinderella, and the thought of eating in the castle sounds cool when you tell people about it; but if you’re foodies like us and love Disney Dining, I would visit some place else.
–Chip from Chip and Co.
Thanks for the guest review, Chip!
If you’ve been to Cinderella’s Royal Table and want to share your story, leave a message in the comments section below!
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Thank your so much for your honest review! My kids and I were looking forward to dinner at the castle, but after reviewing the menu on Disney.com last week we had changed our minds. I was having some regrets but your review makes me feel like I’ve made the right choice. Our home town is a culinary wasteland, and I would hate to squander the one of my chances to eat some great food.
We actually enjoyed our dining experience in the castle. We went for dinner on my birthday and we were entertained the whole time. This was last year though. The food was excellent. I had the salted prime rib and my dining partner had some sort of steak entree. I loved the chocolate buckle and I am not a chocolate cake fan at all. I didn’t have any complaints about the experience…just goes to show how different one experience is to the next at the Disney restaurants.
Couldn’t disagree more. We go to disney world every summer, and the Royal Table is a must-stop restaurant for us. The food has always been above average, and the atmosphere is magical. My family and I consider this restaurant well worth the two dinner credits.
I didn’t want to come off as a complainer but I honestly wasn’t impressed. I dont know if I just went in there with high hopes or what.
The biggest thing was I didnt feel it warranted 2 dining credits.
We could have just been there on a off nite.
Nice review. I can understand your disappointment in the experience. There are some better times to visit the Castle to make your experience more worthwhile. I have been later at night beginning the experience about 45 minutes before the fireworks begin. I admit, this was without children though. This timing made it perfect as far as the inside entertainment via the show put on, and the outside fireworks happening just as desert was underway. Though, the timing might be difficult to pull off, it works very well for the atmosphere. The food choices were limited; however, I do remember having a great meal…
Kristen and Chip — I’ll agree that the 2 dining credits on this meal are mostly for the experience! For great food, we head to Yachtsman Steakhouse, Brown Derby, Citricos, etc.
Glenn — I also find the atmosphere pretty magical! There’s nothing like walking up that winding staircase and coming out into the castle dining room.
Jon — I had the same experience on my last trip to Cindy’s: no kids and a window table for the fireworks. It was beautiful.
Elisabeth — I think, of all the food at the castle, the prime rib is the star! Would love to know what steak dish your friend had!
I had lunch at the Castle as a solo in December 09. I do ahve a review placed on my trip report, if you would like to read more.
As a solo, I was treated well, though most of the families look at me completely odd when I took a picture with Cinderella.
I was seated quickly at a single table (literally, only one chair) overlooking Fantasyland and Cinderella Fountain. The waiter was very nice, did keep checking on me. I thought the food was very good. I also has the Salmon entree with rice pudding as a dessert.
The princesses were also very well done and the very nice table next to me took pics. As a solo, I was done quickly in about an hour.
All said and done, I’m very glad I did it. I probably will not do it again.
We recently ate at the CRT for breakfast, and me and my family enjoyed it. We were mummy, daddy and two boys so I suppose it was me who enjoyed it the most. However both of the boys loved their swords (perhaps a little too much!)
Unfortunately the holiday made my sons stomach a bit funny and he wasn’t feeling great so said he didn’t want any breakfast.
Luckily our very attentive server noticed he wasn’t eating and asked him what was wrong. When my son explained, the server asked if there was anything he fancied eating to which he said he’d like some cereal.
After a little searching, our server returned with some fruit loops, and hey presto one happy little boy again.
So all in all we had a good experience, even though it is probably too expensive for what it is.
Michele — Awesome review of the solo trip to Cindy’s! I think I’d enjoy that a lot, actually — especially with a great table and view like that. Did you try any other restaurants solo?
Tracy — I love hearing stories about the Disney Difference! I’m so glad things turned out well for your family there. Thank you for your story!
Yes, I’ve done solo:
Yak & Yeti
The Plaza
Rose & Crown
(and counter service too)
Planning for March 2010 (2 weeks!)
Biergarten
LeCellier
My husband and I had lunch at CRT about a year ago when we are at WDW for our honeymoon. I was pretty surprised at how expensive it was (we didn’t have the dining plan) and that we had to pay in advance when we made the reservation. Despite the high price, we didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to eat in the castle since this was our first trip to WDW and it was, after all, our honeymoon.
Overall, I feel like we definitely paid for the experience more than the food. The show that was put on had a few of the princesses (Snow White, Jasmine, and Belle…if I remember correctly) and then they walked around to take pictures. I do agree that the restaurant was VERY loud, though that could have been due to the fact that we were there for lunch – thus, more kids in the room. And the food was definitely not memorable.
I will say, though, that we were treated impeccably by our server and, because it was our honeymoon, we were given CRT toasting flutes to take home as a gift from Cinderella 🙂
I have eaten lunch in the restaurant about 2 years ago, and i had the same experience. It was ok, but not SPECTACULAR! as you would expect it should be in the Castle. THe food was bleh, and (when i was there, dont know if it is this way now) the kids menu or even the adult menu didnt have very appetizing foods (which i was surpised for the kids, sinc eyou would think they wouldhav SOME ‘childish’ options for lunch.
As i said this was about 2 yrs ago so it could have changed, but i agree as it wasnt horrid, but it wasnt spectacular, it was ok.
We’ve done the breakfast meal twice – once with our nieces a few years ago, and last April when we took our oldest on her actual birthday morning to celebrate hitting the big 3.
While the breakfast is a hearty meal – plenty of eggs, bacon, french toast, fruit and danish – for us it’s about the experience and beauty. Our daughter had a fantastic time and we remember the conversations she had with the Princesses, the gorgeous pictures of her looking out the stained glass windows towards Fantasyland, and the little special touches like her magic wishing wand, the picture folder, and the extra-attentive treatment she received from each Princess when they realized it was her birthday. We have a cute pic of Snow White talking to her about her almost empty plate, and asking why she didn’t eat the french toast!
A better breakfast buffet can be had at the Crystal Palace (where we eat every trip), but nothing can touch the beauty and special significance of eating, as our daughter put it “like a Princess in the beautiful ‘Rinderella Castle!” We’ll definitely take our 2-year old twins when they are older, and I know we’ll get what we are looking for out of the experience again.
Knowing the high quality of meals that can be had at WDW, especially for 2 meals on a meal package, I would never go here for dinner. If you HAVE to go at lunch or dinner, pay cash and save the credits for CA Grill, Artist Point or another Signature Dining location.
Michele — That’s fantastic. I would LOVE to do Rose and Crown solo. Especially if you get a table outside, where you can just sit, relax, and take in the beauty of World Showcase. I love that you’re headed for two solo weeks in the world — I can’t wait to see your tweets about it!
Whitney — Thank you for sharing your story and review. The champagne flutes are a nice touch, to be sure! And eating in the castle is quite romantic, I think; we actually saw a proposal there the last time we visited!
Cody — Yep, I think that’s pretty much my experience, too. I’ll have to go check out the kids’ menu, can’t remember what’s on it at the moment!
Laureen — Thank you for this story! Are your twins both girls? Wow! That will be quite a treat to see them eating in the castle with the princesses for the first time.
AJ —
Sorry, I should say that I’m leaving in 2 weeks. But I am planning to go back for Food & Wine Festival (*crosses fingers & hopes really hard*)
For the Rose & Crown, I was in the Blue Room with an outside window in a cute corner. It was the next best thing to being outside. I did request but no go. Best was that I was escorted to a great place outside to watch Illuminations. Perfect!
I’m heading down for quick 5 nights to attend D23’as 1st anniversary party and WDW Today Podcast par-tay. 🙂
AJ – My bad…it was the pork chop she had. I don’t know why I thought she had steak. But I should have known…she is a pork hound and will ALWAYS get pork if it is on the menu. The pork chop and potatoes were quite excellent as well though.
I had heard such bad reviews about dinner that we decided to do breakfast on our last trip (we were trying to do things we hadn’t done before, and I always wanted to eat in the castle! What better time than my bday trip!) It’s just my mom & I, no kids, but we both love meeting characters. 🙂 We got the earliest ADR, so we could get into the MK before it opens (love doing this!) Had a fun experience waiting to get a pic with Cinderella. The stepsisters & mother opened the door & started yelling at Cinderella to help them. She went over and said she had guests waiting and asked them to use their inside voices. The stepsisters & mother just left in a huff. It was really cute! The photo person was kind of rude to us (there were 2 that switched off between each party, and we had just asked a simple question), but that’s the only negative I had & it was quicly forgotten.
We both really liked it (I loved it), but we probably wouldn’t do it again, especially for 2 credits. I liked the decor inside & the little extras at the table (I thought just kids got wands, but both my mom & I got them, lol.) I had the French toast and LOVED it, it was probably my favorite breakfast of the trip. If it wasn’t 2 credits & such a pain to get ADRs for, I’d come back just to eat that! My mom had the omelette, and she didn’t really like it at all. The pastries were really good, and the CM was great in refilling our juice & water. I didn’t expect it, but I even got a yummy cake/cupcake for dessert (I couldn’t eat much of it since I was full & it was so early!) I do wish we were seated near a window, but it didn’t bother me or take anything away from the experience. I went over and took a few pics by the window after a few families left that were sitting there. I can imagine how cool it is to be sitting there during Wishes!
Michele — You’re tent-festing?! Awesome! Still can’t wait to hear your tweets!
Elisabeth — I’m actually a huge fan of pork dishes and Disney always does them so well! I’m glad to hear the record continues in the MK!
Heather — I have a Cindy’s french toast recipe around here somewhere! Then you can just make it at home instead of bother with the getting up at 6am to get an ADR! Thanks for chiming in with your story — I love hearing mother/daughter trip reports. My mom and I had a wonderful trip a few years ago; we should do that again!
First of all, Chip, that’s a fantastic picture of the castle!
I am a cynic and a non-romantic (for which my husband is eternally grateful, lol!) so I have zero desire to eat in the castle. I love an honest review of a restaurant! I do understand how everyone has different tastes and experiences – my family and I LOVE Chef Mickey’s, Hollywood & Vine, and Sci-Fi, which all seem to be blasted negatively by a lot of reviewers.
AJ – Your blog has become my absolute favorite stop of the day!!!
Janna — You rock. Thank you for this great comment 🙂 Personally, I dig Chef Mickey’s and Sci-Fi, but you’re crazy with the Hollywood and Vine 😉
Hello! I’m new to reading this blog. =)
I’ve eaten at Cinderella’s Royal Table with my family more than once, and I have to say that I agree with the review and most of the comments: you’re paying for an experience, not for great food. In order to feel like you’re getting your money/credit’s worth, I think you do need to reconcile yourself to the fact that you’re paying for a picture with Cinderella and a chance to meet the Princesses and dine in the castle much more than you are for actual dining. I’ve found the menu to be limited and the food only so-so compared to other fantastic restaurants in the World (Jiko’s, for example).
I had an interesting experience last time I was there, however, this past August. I became concerned after noticing that water was dripping onto my shoulder from above, and when I flagged down our waitress to ask her about it, I was told it was condensation from the ceiling caused by the air conditioning, and that because solving the problem would cost upwards of a million dollars, it hadn’t been dealt with yet. Did anyone else experience this? Hopefully they’ve fixed it by now. I did get a kick out of thinking that the roof on Cinderella’s castle was leaking, though.
Welcome to the Disney Food Blog, Alicia! Thanks for stopping by!
Yikes that the water was dripping on you! Did they offer to move you? That doesn’t seem right…
Your review doesn’t surprise me. I used to dine there for lunch before they added the picture package that completely inflated the prices. I usually travel with adults and don’t really have a use for the photos (although I know some adults that love it). I have always found the food, okay but not great. Although I admit I used to like to dine there for the novelty of it.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences, Jo. I’ve never been one for photos, either, so it’s unfortunate that this one is included in the price. Most other restaurants have photo packages that you can opt to buy, which I like a lot better.
AJ,
My wife and I experienced much the same as you did. We were VERY dissapointed. For the price that’s charged for the meal at Cinderella’s Royal Table” its quite outrageous what they try to pass off as ‘royal’!
I present a weekly WebTV show for small business owners and I talked about the Disney castle dining experience in a recent episode: http://budurl.com/disneydiningdisaster – let me know if you can relate to our experience. Oh, and if you’d like to see Disney’s response to our “disaster” it’s in episode #67.
Regards
Andrew
Andrew — Thanks for your review and for sharing the link! I’ll go check it out.
I agree with this review. My husband & I ate at Cinderella’s Castle a few years back and loved everything about it – the food was wonderful and plentiful. Then when we went back (after the Dining Plan started) we found the menu to be very limited, the food to be unimpressive and the whole experience a rush. We might try it again one day down the road, but only if we are with friends who feel the need to try it – otherwise there are much better places at Disney to enjoy a meal. I feel that the dining plan ruined this restaurant.
Vader’s Mom — Thanks for your review. Nobody’s commented yet on whether the advent of the dining plan might have caused a slide in quality, and it’s an interesting point to make. I’ve heard other restaurant reviews claiming the same problems.
I just found this blog…so my response is a little late. Let me just say, I completely agree with Chip’s review. My family of 5 (me, hubby, and 3 kids (5 yr boy,3yr girl & 1 yr boy) were there in Dec 2009. As I read chip’s review, I felt like I was reliving my exact experience, right down to wondering about the noodles with sauce for my 1yr old. We were on the dining plan, but opted to pay out of pocket, so we wouldn’t waste 2 meal credits. Other then the setting, I really don’t think that it was anything special. The food was just OK, there are much better restaurants in WDW then this one. The only thing that my family enjoyed was meeting Cinderella. We had one of the last seatings, so when we left Cinderella was still downstairs saying goodnight. At this time, there were only a few people around, so my kids got to chat with her for a long time. She even listened as oldest son, sang her a Christmas carol. I doubt that we would ever return. Next time we want to see the Princesses we will head over to Akershus which I believe is much better.
Deana, Thank you so much for your response. I just dined at Akershus for the first time, and I think that — aside from the “ohmigosh I’m IN the CASTLE” experience at Cindy’s — Akershus is a better value. I’m glad you at least had a good time with Cinderella (I love that your son sang her a Christmas carol — that must have been priceless!!). Also happy you found our little corner of the interwebs; hope to see you back here soon!
Thanks for your honest review-we have found dinner at the CRT disappointing in terms of food,service and price. But the Castle is pretty and fun to eat in.The breakfast is much better though we barely get to eat since we are so busy taking pix of our kids with the characters…we had a very funny/bizarre experience with some family members at the CRT breakfast-they keep kosher and the server was completely thrown by this. We had ordered kosher meals in advance and she didn’t get at all why they were shrink wrapped and had plastic utensils and why the basket of pastries she brought was not acceptable to be on the table and even started to only speak to me and my husband(since we were wearing shorts,it was sort of obvious we weren’t Orthodox)I would have thought the servers had better training and I was amused but also appalled.
Joy — Thanks for your review and story. That must have been your servers first experience with the kosher meals! I guess she got a learning experience that day!
My husband and I ate her on our honeymoon in April ’09, and we too had a horrible dining experience. We both ordered the focaccia sandwich and the bread was moldy. We went it back and were treated pretty rudely by our waiter. Also didn’t like the cheesecake dessert. it was fun to meet the princesses and Cinderella, and seeing the interior of the castle was neat, but we certainly won’t ever be going back.
Sorry, — ‘sent’ rather than ‘went’ it back. (:
SWG — Thank you for your review, though I’m sorry you had a bad experience! Ugh!
We just got back from our trip at Disney. We had a wonderful dining experience at the Castle. We had 8:00am reservations and yes we had to get up early! Our daughters, 3 and 7 dressed up in their princess dresses and headed to the castle. We got there early and it was quite a surprise when they chose our daughters as the first princesses of the day! They were given special wands and stickers. They got to meet Cinderella before everyone else. They were also “announced” before everyone was led upstairs to the dining room.. They truly felt like princesses.. Our waiter David, was wonderful. Our older daughter had spilled her OJ on her food and he quickly cleaned up the “royal mess” and brought her a new plate of food. I didn’t care for the Adult food and would have been happy to eat what the kids were eating, but it was a great experience. We had been to Askershus in Epcot a few years ago and we would recommend that also if you don’t mind not seeing Cinderella.
Cinder — Thank you so much for this review! I’m having breakfast in the castle on my next trip, and I’m really looking forward to it! There’s nothing better than a truly outstanding experience with the Cast Members in Disney World!
My husband and I had dinner at CRT about 9 years ago and loved it. We were seated right by the window and I remember the food being great. We went back two years ago hoping to relive the same great experience and were disappointed. The menu had changed and the food was just meh. For now we just stick to our known faves (Boma, Kona Cafe, and Le Cellier).
ive been to akershus hall twice and will be going again.. both time cinderella was there… we are going to try the castle next week on recommendation of a friend.. we are not telling my princess loving 5 year old daughter until we arrive at the castle i think she is going to freak out in a good way.. i will let yall know….
I love the fact that you actually posts reviews which aren’t all positive and pro-disney. There are so many sites out there which claim everything is brilliant and thus can’t be trusted. By stating honestly that somethings aren’t good, when you state that things are brilliant it is believable.
I agree that the ambiance was lacking, mostly for me because of what I remember as very 1970s carpeting and dirty window sills. This was approximately two years ago, so I don’t know if CRT has had a refurb. But I have to disagree slightly on the food. I had the shepherd’s pie which I thought was fitting for the occasion and had a nice taste overall. I sat under the large, central window in the room with a great view of Fantasyland which, I admit, enhanced the experience. I might not have liked CRT as well if I were tucked away somewhere else in the dining hall. However, while I probably wouldn’t tell second-timers to go again, I would recommend first-timers to at least try it once.
The Cinderella’s Royal Table (CRT) is a fantastic experience. For children, girls or boys, they are treated like “royalty” from the beginning. Service for them is well above board. For adults, the service is also exemplary, but the food is also quite good. The meal we had at CRT (the shepherd’s pie) was perhaps the best quality we had during our seven-day visit. For the kids (and the kid in “you”), one cannot beat the experience at CRT.
Just went to the royal table on 2-17-12, for my daughter’s 6th birthday. The food was overpriced and came to the table cold, the waiter was polite and attempted to please. The individual cake (vanilla) is a waste of money and publix cake tasted better. I would not recommend this to ANY of my family or friends, the princesses come around and spend about 30-45 seconds with your table… Oh and by the way the only professional picture is the on with Cinderella down stairs, if you want good photos of your child with the other princesses this IS NOT a good choice
We ate at the castle last January (2012) and I really enjoyed the experience. The kids (6, girl, and 8, boy) enjoyed it, but probably not as much as I did (and my husband thought it was just okay). Basically, I think it was a one-time thing. I LOVED the pork 3 ways (I found this website as I was looking for the recipe). Cinderella was very sweet to my shy little girl during the pictures. My son loved his sword and they both loved their wishing stars, which I really think should have been given to the grownups! We deserve favors too!
Hey Alison!! They gave us wishing stars when we went — I wonder why you didn’t get the honor! 🙂 So glad you found us!
Every time I read a review, I get a little apprehensive. It has always been on my “Disney To-Do” list and I finally got ADR’s for my next trip. I am hoping that I can come back with a good review”
Ate both Breakfast and Dinner recently and apparently they have a new Chef. The breakfast menu had beef tenderloin and another dish with crepes, crab and lobster. Not the meal we got on our last visit. The tenderloin was delicious and had a spicy fritatta under it. The lobster and crab came on crepes with a poached egg and hollandaise sauce. They even slipped us a stuffed french toast fro us to try as we had trouble deciding on an entree.
At dinner we feasted on slow roasted beef tenderloin and a stuffed chicken dish. Both were awesome. The almond cheesecake for dessert was delicious and the chocolate mousse was light and airy.
Best meal we’ve ever eaten at the Castle. Hope the new chef keeps the good stuff coming….
We have eaten there maybe 10-12 times over the years and always found it quite nice–great place to take friendslooking forward to being there next month–would go for breakfast–that is what they are known for–as for the decor–you can always ask for a different table–and if a castle doesn’t make it, what does?
Stan