You are cordially invited to join your favorite Disney Princesses for a breakfast straight out of your favorite storybook at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall!
Atmosphere
Located in Epcot‘s Norway Pavilion, Akershus Royal Banquet Hall offers a magical escape from the heat and the crowds of the World Showcase.
A Princess character meal, you could encounter any combination of the following at your meal: Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Snow White, Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Mulan, Cinderella, and/or Mary Poppins. Many Disney World guests consider Akershus’ Princess Storybook Breakfast a preferable alternative to Cinderella’s Royal Table in the Magic Kingdom for both food options and ease-of-reservations.
Akershus Restaurant is a royal dining room named for the Norwegian castle that still towers over Oslo Harbor today. And because it is the dining room of your favorite princesses, it has many touches befitting a royal castle: tapestries and thrones line the stone walls, archways lead to several different dining rooms, cinders lie in giant fireplaces, and banners flutter amongst chandeliers on the beamed ceilings.
Akershus Description -- Click for Full Size
Welcome Sign and Menus
Thrones Line the Entry Hallways
Akershus Main Dining Room
Side Dining Room
Side Dining Room
Side Dining Room Looking into Main Dining Room
Banners and Chandeliers
Tapestry
Fireplace
The Princesses
As this is a royal location, we must have princesses, mustn’t we?! While all your favorites won’t be there on the same days, you’ll get a good dose of princesses at any and every meal here at Akershus. On our visit, we had the chance to meet Snow White (probably the best Snow White I’ve ever seen, actually), Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty (Princess Aurora), and Ariel. Belle/Beauty was taking photos at the door, but by the time we left, we’d missed our shot for a pic 🙁
Snow White
Cinderella
Aurora
Ariel Visits with a Fan
Eats
Breakfast at Akershus is served family style at your table, along with trips to the cold buffet.
The hot items, which are brought out on a platter by your server, include scrambled eggs, (YUM YUM YUM) cheesy potatoes, bacon, and sausage. These are unlimited, so keep asking for more if you polish them off. But the restaurant is all about the koltbordt — literally translated “cold table,” for breakfast it holds a buffet of cold fish and cheeses, fruit, cream cheese, yogurt, and pastries.
Hot Items
Dried Fruit, Nuts, Yogurt, Dill Cream Cheese, Lingonberry Cream Cheese
Fruits and Berries
Herring and Salmon
Fish and Cheese
Baked Goods and Pastries
One of My Cold Plates
Now, you can see that the Lingonberry is native to Norway, and they’ve included it in one of the cream cheeses on the koltbordt and in one of the pastries. Basically, the muffin is incredible. Try it. And if you can’t go to Akershus, but know a friend who’s going, tell them to try it on your behalf.
I liked it so much that it made it into my breakfast specialty showdown!
Lingonberry Muffin Insides
Overall
Akershus was a relaxing, rejuvenating breakfast for us. The location is great — halfway through the World Showcase you’re bound to need a break — and breakfast offers the enticing opportunity to get into the World Showcase before anyone else, therefore capturing some incredible “empty park” photos! (Plus — you’ll be in line before anyone else for Maelstrom!!!)
The food was delicious. I’m still dreaming about those potatoes and that lingonberry muffin! And breakfast offers more “standard” food options than lunch or dinner here at Akershus, so choose this spot for breakfast if you have a picky eater but still want to see the princesses without too much hassle.
Speaking of the princesses, Akershus does offer a relatively stress-free way to ensure that your little one meets a good number of Disney World’s royalty without your missing sleep to book an ADR. Reservations don’t go as fast as they do at Cinderella’s Royal Table, and while Akershus doesn’t guarantee that you’ll meet Cinderella herself, it does guarantee a bunch-o-princesses, which should satisfy all but the very particular princess lover.
I can highly recommend this spot and would love to hear your comments. Have you dined at Akershus? How was your experience?
This blog post is part of the DisMarks Disney Blog Carnival! Hope to see you there!
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I would love to eat here for lunch to try the venison and aquavit. However, I fear it will exceed my tolerance for characters and noise…
We just experienced Akershus for the first time last month — but it was at lunch… and I am still talking about how great the food was! It really was one of the best meals I’ve had at WDW (I literally wanted to lick the pasta bowl…it was THAT good!). And, the character interaction for my DDs seemed a lot less ‘stressful’ than eating at the Castle. Next year we are definitely having breakfast at Akershus!
Yes! We went to the Princess Breakfast there in April 2010 with my twin 6-year-old daughters and enjoyed it. They are huge Ariel fans and at the time that was the only place at WDW that you could meet Human Ariel (now since they have closed down the Grotto I understand that she is doing greetings in MK Adventureland). Also, with small kids it’s nice because they do bring some tasty hot food to your table so you don’t have to rely entirely on taking the little kids through the buffet (what a pain!).
Traffic flow is my only complaint there – it’s a little crowded and hard to navigate between tables, and to get to the bathroom you have to cross through the line of people at the entrance waiting for photos with Belle (or whomever they have for the photo character that day).
Also remember if you go for breakfast that the Norway pavilion is a bit of a hike from the Epcot entrance, and the other World Showcase pavilions and rides don’t open until 11AM, so you may want to schedule accordingly to avoid back-tracking. Best bet would be to go for a very late breakfast and eat heartily, get out near 11 when the World Showcase is opening, and skip lunch!
LOVE Akershus! We’ve been for breakfast and it was one of the best character meals we’ve had. The food was good and the interaction was fantastic. We got to see Belle, Aurora, Snow White (I agree one of the best look a likes), Mulan, Jasmine, and Mary Poppins. We’ve already made our ADRs for our next trip.
Oh those potatoes…the best part of that breakfast. I didn’t get to try the muffin I was so full from a double-helping of the potatoes, but that is just another reason to go back! Even us without kids enjoyed this particular breakfast. It is very laid-back and the servers are always so nice here.
I think we’re going to try Akershus on our next trip. While we had a wonderful time at the Castle last trip, I’m not at the point where I’m ready to start repeating restaurants a whole lot. The only one I’m really wanting to repeat so far is ‘Ohana.
Rich — It may exceed your tolerance for characters, but it’s really not very noisy. I’d put this in the column with Cape May Cafe — not a quiet breakfast, but not the echo chamber you find at Crystal Palace! 🙂
TraciLeigh — Now I’m going to have to try it for lunch! Thanks for the suggestion!
Nancy Toby — Thanks for the comment on traffic flow — it can get a little backed up at the koltbordt! And good idea on the late breakfast — that’s one of my favorite money-saving schemes.
Stephanie — Are you headed back for breakfast, or trying a new meal this time?
Elisabeth — Thanks for mentioning the service. We had excellent service here, which isn’t always the case with character meals and buffets. It was outstanding. We also felt very relaxed here without kids. Great point.
Scott — Definitely sample Akershus. It’s pretty good food, great service, and a new experience is always good (I’m sad that I’m running out of new restaurants to try!)
This was a perfectly timed post for me, thanks! I just booked breakfast at Akershus for my grandmother and I and now I can show her this. I think she’ll be more excited about it after seeing the photos.
That smoked fish looks awesome. I used to love this restaurant and ate dinner here a few times years ago, and then they had to ruin in by adding characters. I haven’t been back since…
Abby — Hooray! So glad I could help out!
WME — I had no idea you were anti-princess! 😉
I was planning on putting this on my ADRs (because im trying to visit every character breakfast on the property LOL) and I wasn’t sure how I would do going solo but having it served family style, but going up to the cold bar always lessens that pressure. So glad you posted about this!
We had breakfast with the princesses (Belle, Snow White, Ariel, Princess Aurora, and Cinderella) and it was wonderful! They paid our 5 year old son lots of attention. The food was very delicious! Definitely a must-do!
Rachel — Glad I could help! It’s all very low-key! 😉
Christine — Yay! What a great review! I bet your little guy was in heaven. 🙂
Thanks so much for the pictures. I’ve definitely read more than a thousand words on the subject and your pictures tell me more than anything I’ve read.
You’re welcome Cleo!
I can’t seem to find out how much the breakfast is. I just keep seeing ranges of prices. How much is the breakfast in the summer? Also, do you have to do a picture package like they do at Cinderella’s Royal Table? Thanks. I think my girls will love this place!
Yes price please?
After two not super successful dinners at Akershus my family has decided to try it for breakfast this upcoming December. Our two year old and three year old daughters are big princess fans and I figured breakfast would be a good option for us. Since this is a popular restaurant I’m hoping someone out there will know whether or not the potato casserole is vegetarian or not.. It does look like they offer a decent selection on the cold board as far as fruit and pastries are concerned, but I’d love to know about the hot offerings.
We always go for breakfast with our granddaughter and grandson and, since the characters are princesses, he gets his picture taken with one of the waiters!! Takes the sting out of the girly stuff!!
I booked an 8:30am breakfast for my will-be-then 3 1/1 year old mommy & me treat (my boys need some man time with dad!). Is the only travel option to go thru Epcot’s front gate or do they let reservations into the back WS entrance? It’s our “off” day ( no rides, just taking it easy!) so I’d like to avoid the long-walk meltdown!!! TIA!
I can’t wait to go this time now that I have my own princess to bring! Trip #1 in 2009 we had pirates for kids! Such a wonderful place!!!
Come on free dining (including AoA!) for March 2014…I neeeeeed you!!!! Or even a great room % discount…it’s all good! And it’s all coming outta my pocket either way! LOL!
Hi Tracey — Yep; you can enter through World Showcase!
We would love to try this! We would like to attend breakfast, but not a park on this day. Do we have to pay for admission to the park too, if we don’t stay?
Hi! I’m curious how boys like this? Our sons will be 2 1\2 and 5 when we go.
This is so crazy to look at I came here when I was 5 in the summer 2010 right before I started kindergarten I was so excited I remember it so well all the princesses were so nice belle wasn’t meant to be there that day but she surprised all the kids by being at the front entrance I still have the photo I took with her all the princesses came table to table to take photos and sign the kids autograph book I still have them I was wearing a Cinderella dress and Cinderella necklace and Cinderella was so ecstatic about it and told me to keep a look out for her fairy godmother (which I did) I’m 16 today and I always think about the girls who made all us kids make us feel like the princesses they most likely don’t remember me but I certainly remember them I hope there well- Elizabeth Boyer (aka Lizzy) <33