Thursday, February 21, 2013

Minnie Moms: Favorite Character Dining: Akershus

Today I have the honor of completing our Minnie Moms series on our favorite character dining at Walt Disney World. Please also take a look at the previous posts while you are visiting us. ~Amy

Growing Up Disney Minnie Moms

In the trip report for my girls only vacation last month, I began to tell you about our visit to Akershus Royal Banquet Hall but stopped short so I could devote an entire post to it.  And here it is.

To review, we had been looking forward to breakfast with the princesses more than anything on this vacation.  I was at Walt Disney World with my two young daughters and my best friend from college.  Nothing went according to plan since my oldest daughter had a stomach bug bad enough to land us in the Celebration Health ER.  I had cancelled our 9:30 a.m. reservation but when Tink felt better that morning, I called Disney Dining and they found a spot for us at 11:00.  A little pixie dust if we ever needed it.  We arrived at Akershus few minutes early per the standard instructions and were almost immediately escorted inside.

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall sign

Akershus Royal Dining Hall exterior

Tink was thrilled to meet Belle and ran over for a hug.  Minnie was a little more apprehensive even though she loves Belle at any other time.  This meal is pricey ($40+ adult, $25+ child) but a photo package is included in the cost.  We chose to have our whole group in the photo as a special souvenir but I could have opted for it to be just the little girls.  The photo package was delivered to our table during the meal.  It consisted of one 8x10 and four 4x6, all of one pose, and was presented in a lovely folder.  For larger parties, you get more poses and photos. Basically one set per four guests but I am not sure if children under three would count in that total since you don't pay for them here.  Minnie ate for free!  There is a PhotoPass code on the pictures so you can add them to your account if you'd like.



Confession time.  I actually did a happy dance in the restaurant when I realized they were still serving breakfast.  I had thought we were there for lunch.  My girls eat breakfast foods far better than anything I had seen on the lunch menu.  And as a bonus, the place was nearly empty during the switchover period.  Score!

The food at Akershus during breakfast is pretty standard but the great thing is that most of it is brought to your table family-style.  The hot food (eggs, bacon, sausage, and potato casserole) was served on a big platter and we could have requested more of any of it.  Mickey waffles are available but you have to ask for them and of course, we did.  The buffet is for the cold items and offered a nice selection of fruit, yogurt, granola, cheese, etc.  There were also several smoked or pickled fishes, several flavors of cream cheese and bagels.  We all ate plenty.  My youngest was 19 months old and seemed to care more about her Mickey waffles than she did about the princesses.  

cold buffet at Akershus in Epcot

breakfast foods from Akershus in Epcot

Mickey waffles

Ah, yes, the princesses.  That's really why you dine here.  No disrespect to the lovely Norwegian Cast Members but we were here for royalty.  Belle stays in her meet and greet area at the front of the restaurant but the other princesses visit you at your table.  They were all understanding when I wanted to take a moment to pull Minnie's high chair away from the table for photos.  I hate seeing dirty dishes in my pictures.  No specific list of characters is guaranteed to appear but we met Belle, Ariel, Snow White, Cinderella (!) and Aurora.  All of them took time to chat with the girls.  When it was time for the Princess Processional, Aurora came back to our table.  Tink happily pranced around the dining room with her but Minnie wanted to stay put with us.  And since they don't want you following your child during the parade, that was really for the best.







We used a Tables in Wonderland card for a 20% discount.  For those on the Disney Dining Plan, this experience is one credit versus the two required to dine at Cinderella's Royal Table.  

Overall, we were thrilled with our experience here.  Quick seating, good food, and time with our favorite princesses; what's not to love!





The rest of our Minnie Moms shared their favorite Disney character dining earlier this week.  Did your top pick make the list? What is on your "must-do's"?

2 comments:

  1. The breakfast looks wonderful, and the princesses are a definate plus for Tink and Minnie. I was so glad you had a wonderful time here after most of the trip had not gone too well.
    --DisneyDad

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  2. I enjoyed both breakfast and the dinner here. Its a great way to meet the princesses and the food is good. Dinner has some slightly unusual fare but it was quite tasty. The buffet salad was solid

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