Cinderella Royal Table Character Meal Changes

Effective February 1, 2006, Cinderella’s Royal Table will implement changes to all their dining offerings.

Breakfast and Lunch will continue to offer a Princess dining experience with a few changes:

Upon arrival, guests will experience a photo opportunity in the castle lobby. They will then proceed to the dining room where Disney princesses mingle among the tables to greet guests. Guest will enjoy breakfast or lunch from a set menu. A beautiful Imaging package of their photo (retail value of $29.95 plus tax) will be delivered to guests at their table. The imaging package includes 4 - 4x6 prints, 1 - 6x8 print, 1 - 6x8 print of Cinderella's castle all in a beautiful Cinderella themed photo holder.

Dinner will also become a fixed price meal that includes special features. Upon arrival, guests will experience a photo opportunity in the castle lobby. They will then proceed to the dining room where Fairy Godmother will mingle among the dining room, leading “celebrations” of various special occasions, such as birthdays and anniversaries. Guest will enjoy dinner from a set menu. A beautiful Imaging package of their photo (retail value of $29.95 plus tax) will be delivered to guests at their table. The imaging package includes 4 - 4x6 prints, 1 - 6x8 print, 1 - 6x8 print of Cinderella's castle all in a beautiful Cinderella themed photo holder. Guests will also receive an exclusive lithograph (approx. retail value $50). This lithograph is only available to dinner guests at Cinderella’s Royal Table. Note: the lithograph is not framed or matted.

The new pricing for these experiences is as follows:

Breakfast: $31.99 Guests 10 and older $21.99 Guests 3-9
Lunch: $33.99 Guests 10 and older $22.99 Guests 3-9
Dinner: $39.99 Guests 10 and older $24.99 Guests 3-9

The payment policy will change to payment in full required at time of booking for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

All reservations for arrivals prior to February 1, 2006 will follow the deposit payment policy and current pricing and product information.

Below is some history which explains why Cinderella's Royal Table restaurant is unlike any on Walt Disney World property besides being in a castle.

How Did We Get To This?
What makes Cinderella's Royal Table Character Breakfast so popular? First and foremost, this is the only character meal where you can meet the Disney Princess' and Princes. (NOTE: Since this was written, WDW Dining has added the Princess Storybook Breakfast in Epcot and Cinderella's Gala Feast Dinner in the Grand Floridian's 1900 Park Fare restaurant.) Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White, Jasmine, Mary Poppins, Prince Charming, Aladdin, Peter Pan and Cinderella's Fairy Godmother have all made appearances at this breakfast. Notice these are all face characters and are very hard for Walt Disney World to cast. Plus, these cast members (CMs) will be the same ones you see all day at the Magic Kingdom including any parades you see that day.

Couple that with a small restaurant (CRT only has 122 tables seating 4 people each) and only 2 and a half hours for breakfast seatings (8:00am to 10:30am) and you fill up the priority seating (PS) time slots very quickly. Many WDW vacationers around the world have called WDW Dining exactly at 7:00am Eastern US time to be told that all the PS times were gone by 7:05am. Some people use multiple phones and people to try and get just one PS time. Sometimes that resulted in getting more than one PS. When this happened most people would call and cancel the extra ones. Some decided to give the PS away to other people who didn't get a CRT PS on WDW message boards. This was a fun way of sharing the Disney magic.

The view looking out over Fantasyland from CRT restaurant. During dinner, you can watch the fireworks show from here. However, most families want to eat breakfast with the Disney Princess' making it the most sought after reservation at Walt Disney World.

Disney's Reaction
Unfortunately, some people took this sharing too far and started calling WDW Dining every morning to get as many CRT PS times as possible and posting them on a message board specific to CRT PS philanthropy for lack of a better term. Many people complained to WDW Dining about this practice. In response to these complaints, WDW Dining on May 16, 2002 issued the following new policy on CRT Breakfast priority seating:

Cinderella's Royal Table Character Breakfast will start requiring a credit card at time of booking as of June 9th [2002]. They will require the lead name not be changed and a deposit of $10.00 per adult and $5.00 per child will be charged at time of booking. All reservations must have the credit card to make the reservation and no names may be transferred to the reservation once it is booked. The cancellation policy is you may cancel 24 hrs before your Priority Seating without losing your deposit paid and your credit card will be credited the deposit. To cancel you must call 407-WDW-DINE.

As WDW Dining is prone to do, they made some ambiguous statements. Through questions and phone calls to WDW Dining and other sources, I will try to clarify this statement. However, these are subject to change as WDW Dining continues to field customer complaints and suggestions as to how this policy will be implemented.

What is a Lead Name? The lead name is the name on the credit card used to make the deposit on the CRT PS. And, the name on the credit card's billing address. The lead name is the only person who can cancel or make changes to the PS. No name changes will be permitted after the booking is completed. The last names on the booking and the credit card MUST match allowing for a wife to use her husband's credit card and visa versa. A valid ID will be requested at the podium.

Will the Credit Card be charged at time of making the PS? YES! WDW Dining will charge the $10 per adult and $5 per child. Note the breakfast itself costs $19.99 for adults and $9.99 per child (aged 3 to 9 years old) and, yes, you only need to pay the difference (plus tips) once you finish your meal. Infants will not be charged but must be included in the party size.

What if I don't have or don't want to use a credit card? You can still make the PS but you then must send a check or money order within 14 DAYS to WDW Dining or the PS will automatically be cancelled.

What if I have a WDW vacation package that includes meals? Package guests will be able to use their "wishes" but are still required to use a credit card as a guarantee only like they do for the dinner shows. Obviously, they would have to verify your package. Make sure you have your package's confirmation number handy when you call WDW Dining to help the Dining CM.

What if I don't cancel within 24 hours of the PS time? Simple, you will forfeit your deposit.

Couldn't I just give my credit card and billing address to somebody else to make the PS for me? Yes you can. However, unless your are working with a credible business (ie., travel agency) which has a secure, online order form for you to use, I wouldn't do it. I do not care how friendly or sincere some people might seem. Please, do not send such information via unsecured email. Internet mail is NOT a secure medium and was never designed to be. Remember, you've been warned.

Of course, one still must call WDW Dining on the right day and the right time. To help you in your quest, the PS Planning Guide has the PS Calculator, PS Report and PS FAQ. Now, before you tell your little princess about CRT, get that PS first so you don't have to explain later why you didn't get it to a very disappointed Dear Daughter (DD).

Is there another place at the Magic Kingdom where you can meet Cinderella? I'm glad you asked because yes there is! At Mickey's Toontown, you can visit with Cinderella. You have to wait in line but you will be rewarded with a personal greeting by Cindy, herself. You'll have enough time to get autographs and photos with Walt Disney World's favorite Princess.

Back in December of 2002, WDW Dining added a new Cinderella character meal called Cinderella's Gala Feast. This is a dinner held at the Grand Floridian Resort's 1900 Park Fare restaurant. Let me repeat myself, this is a dinner. 1900 Park Fare does have a character breakfast which is hosted by Mary Poppins & Friends. Besides Cinderella, Prince Charming, Suzy and Perla, and the Fairy Godmother greet guests. Prices are $23.99 for adults and $10.99 for children aged 3 to 11 for an All-You-Can-Eat buffet, dessert and non-alcoholic drinks.

-- Scottwdw

space

Official Disclaimer
The Planning Strategy Calculator for Disney Reservations is not affiliated with with the Walt Disney Company.