We’re sure you’re wondering what’s the latest with Disney World Princess Dining these days. Where will you find them? Which restaurant is the best?
We love Disney World for many things but to watch your child interact with the Disney Princesses is near the the top for us. Ok, if we’re being honest, we love it too! At DWDD, we feel one of the best ways to relax and really enjoy this interaction is to eat at a Character Dining Experience.
The reason we like a Character meal so much is because it gives your child a bit more time with the Princess, there are more than one Princesses (as opposed to the meet and greet for one Princess), and you are able to eat, which if you are on a tight schedule of getting around the park, is nice to have out of the way.
In addition to all of these reasons, we feel it gives the event a bit more honor and becomes more special. When the Princess makes her way around the room and your child’s eyes are fixed on her, the anticipation is almost as good as the interaction itself!
Our Recommendation for Princess Dining
We want to be completely honest with you before we go further. If you want a complete dining experience with some of the top Disney Royalty Ladies (Princesses), you really only have two options: Cinderella’s Royal Table and Akershus Royal Banquet Hall.
In this post, we will tell you everything you need to know if you are deciding to book one of these dining experiences.
There are other dining options that feature one or possibly two princesses along with other Disney Characters. These Disney Character meals have been in a state of flux since the Covid-19 shut downs when Disney removed all Character dining experiences.
Unfortunately, Disney has been slow to reinstate the characters even though the restaurant has reopened. We will be covering those restaurants in this post and give you the up-to-date information you will need in order to book one of these dining experiences.
The other Princess options we will be looking at include:
- Story Book Dining at Artist Point with Snow White, located at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Trattoria al Forno, located at Disney’s BoardWalk
- 1900 Park Fare, located at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort
Your Guide to Dining with the Princesses at Disney World
The first two restaurants on our list feature the most Princesses and should be the only two you focus on if meeting many Princesses is your goal.
1. Cinderella’s Royal Table
- Where: Magic Kingdom, in the Cinderella Castle
- Who: Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Snow White and Jasmine
- Type of meal: Prix Fixe Meal (meaning the entire meal has a “fixed price” with limited selection options)
- Meal and Cost: Breakfast – $65, Lunch – $65+, Dinner – $79
Finally, after a long wait since the Covid epidemic got over, the Princesses are finally back at Cinderella’s Royal Table and we couldn’t be happier! Cinderella’s Royal Table is the one of the most expensive meals you can purchase but when you realize you get to dine with the Princesses in Cinderella’s Castle, it is a bit understandable why there is such a hefty price tag.
How Cinderella’s Royal Table Works:
When you book your reservation, you arrive at the Castle door and line up until they move you in. One note: we have made early morning reservations a few times and they have allowed us to enter through the left turnstiles early in order to make our reservation. The beauty of doing this is two-fold.
First, you are in Magic Kingdom before the other guests are let in and you can get some amazing pictures of the castle (and other places) as you are walking in. Pretty awesome! Second, park time is always “on the clock” and though the park will have been opened long before you get out, it gives you a bit of a head start on the day.
After you’re in the park, you move to the first floor of the castle for a picture with none other than Cinderella herself! This is all done before the meal and the other Princesses arrive. There is usually a bit of a wait but the architecture of the castle with the stone walls, stained glass windows, interesting tapestries and much more give guests a lot to admire before the time of the picture. By the way, if you are a fan of your child having an autograph book, this would definitely be the best place to bring it with all the Character interactions.
After your picture you move up to the second floor and will be seated at a table for your meal. The dining area is not huge like many restaurants at Disney. The room looks like you might think, regal, stately and very beautiful but not very large. One hint is to ask and see if you can get a table next to a window so you can overlook Magic Kingdom. We have asked but our groups have always been too large to try and accommodate us.
Finally, it’s Princess and eating time! The Princesses are introduced one by one. After they are introduced, they make their way around the dining area to all the tables, taking pictures, answering questions and taking time with the guests. Little ones can get anxious waiting for their favorite Princess to finally come to their table we have found from personal experience.
In fact, we have had to “remind” our kids to continue eating instead of gawking at the Princesses until they come to the table. It is good to prompt your kids on what to say to the Princesses. If you have a good question that they can answer, it makes it all the more fun for your child. We have a list of great questions to ask princesses here.
As far as the food is concerned, it is served prix fixe. You will be able to enjoy multiple courses and have some food ordered and some at the table for all to enjoy. The food is good but not gourmet as you might expect being in the castle with the Princesses.
Bottom line: Personally, we at DWDD love Cinderella’s Royal Table but it’s not an automatic because of the cost and time away from the park. We do like to say it’s a great thing to do at least once if you are able and especially if you have little girls who have a Disney Princess they adore.
2. Akershus Royal Table
- Where: Epcot, Norway Pavilion
- Who: Belle, Ariel, Jasmine, Snow White, Aurora, Mulan, Cinderella and Mary Poppins.
- Type of meal: Family-style, all you care to eat
- Meal and Cost: Breakfast – $60, Lunch – $60+, Dinner – $60+
Though the Akershus Royal Table is not in the Cinderella Castle, it is an amazing, absolutely gorgeous dining location on its own merit. It is set in a medieval castle found in Norway and when you take in the decor both inside and outside the restaurant, you really feel like you are in a special place.
How Akershus Royal Table Works:
As with Cinderella’s Royal Table, you arrive when your reservation time dictates, but different from the other restaurant, you are not greeted by a Princess like you were with Cinderella. You are brought to a table in one of the rooms which is much larger than Cinderella’s Royal Table. Again, the room is beautiful and elegant and it doesn’t feel quite as cramped as CRT.
The Princesses come out without fanfare and move from table to table and spend a nice amount of time for you to talk, get autographs and take pictures with. Normally there are at least 5 Princesses who will be at the restaurant but as we have mentioned earlier, this is not a for sure thing. From time to time, the Princesses will do a dance or routine to entertain the guests but they are primarily having a Character meet time with the guests.
This meal was a buffet before Covid but now it is family style and it is all you can eat so you are welcome to ask for as much as you want. The meal items have a Norwegian style flare about them but you can ask for other menu items such as a plant-based Dining experience if you wish. We feel the food is very tasty and they have enough variety to allow even the pickiest eaters to find something they would like.
Bottom Line: We feel you can’t go wrong at Akershus Royal Table. No, you are not in the iconic Cinderella Castle but you are in a wonderful Medieval Castle which is just as beautiful. The food might be a bit better, there is more room and something else that may sway you, is it’s a bit quicker in and out experience which gives you more time in Epcot.
These final 3 come with some risk if you are excited about visiting Princesses. Please read carefully.
3. Artist Point (Story Book Dining)
- Where: Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Who: Snow White, Dopey, Grumpy and the Evil Queen.
- Meal and Cost: Dinner, $65
Story Book Dining at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge is up and running and is a fun experience, however, there is only one Princess, Snow White. There is an Evil Queen and Dopey and Grumpy are also there but if you are looking for a true Princess Character meal, this is not it. Also, this is only a dinner event as they do not serve breakfast or lunch.
The food is served with a family style appetizers, guests choose an entree from a menu and there are family style (shared) desserts at the end of the meal.
Every hour Snow White and Grumpy and Dopey are introduced. They do a little dance around the dining area so all can see them and then the three break up and move from table to table so everyone has a chance to visit with them.
Meanwhile, the Evil Queen positions herself in a dedicated space in the middle of the dining room. She has a nice background for you to go up and talk with her as well as get pictures with her.
Obviously, the Evil Queen doesn’t participate in the dance and she plays her character very well. Don’t look for her to make small talk and be your friend! We had the perfect table where we could watch her and she was hilarious – checking her reflection in the windows, glaring at guests and truly being an Evil Queen.
All in all, if seeing lots of Princesses is not on your list, or if you LOVE the story of Snow White, this is a fantastic option for you to dine at!
4. Trattoria al Forno
- Where: Disney’s BoardWalk
- Who: Ariel and Rapunzel along with Prince Eric and Flynn Rider
- Meal and Cost: Breakfast, $TBA
Trattoria al Forno located on Disney’s Boardwalk was the home of characters from Little Mermaid and Tangled, including the two Princesses, Ariel and Rapunzel. At this time, the characters are no longer visiting this restaurant but rumor has it, they will be returning soon and as soon as they do, we will let you know all about it.
When the princesses were visiting, it was only a breakfast event even though Trattoria al Forno serves dinners as well. In fact, this restaurant is one of the premier Italian Restaurants in all of Disney World. Stay tuned.
5. 1900 Park Fare – Reopening Date April 10, 2024
- Where: Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort
- Who: Aladdin, Cinderella, Mirabel, and Tiana
- Meal and Cost: Breakfast and Dinner $TBA
Finally, we have the trickiest one of them all, the 1900 Park Fare, located at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort. We are excited for this restaurant to reopen in April, 2024!
We are looking forward to seeing how this Wish Upon A Star dining experience will be. Characters will be at both breakfast and dinner.
What to Know About Princess Dining
There is some common information regarding all of the Princess dining visits.
1. Princesses Aren’t Guaranteed
Princesses are not guaranteed to be at a certain location, however, the ones listed in our description are most likely to be there. Some Princesses will always be at certain locations. Like, we can’t imagine Cinderella not showing up to her own ball at Cinderella’s Royal Table!
2. Dining Reservations Go Quick!
In order to assure you and your family a place at the table we advise you to book your advance dining reservations 60 days before your trip. Keep in mind, your overall itinerary needs to be taken into account. For example, if you are reserving a breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table, you want to be sure you are visiting Magic Kingdom that day and not Epcot, Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom.
3. You Have to Have a Park Ticket to Make a Reservation
Which leads us to our next point. You must have a valid Walt Disney World theme park ticket in order to eat at the restaurant in the park. If you tell the Cast Member at the gate that you are only eating and leaving, they will not let you in. Of course, the dining options that are at resorts or at the Boardwalk do not need any other tickets.
We hope this helps take the guesswork out of what Princess Dining experience you and your family should enjoy! If you are looking for information on other character dining we have them all ranked best to worst here!
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