I Dined Alone at a Disney World Character Meal, and It Wasn’t as Awkward as I Expected

Enjoying a meal with Disney World characters doesn’t have to be as awkward as you might think, as long as you’re prepared!

I’ve eaten at a TON of Disney World restaurants by myself. And while stopping long enough to enjoy a full meal at Disney World sounds like a dream in and of itself, you might feel like you’re losing valuable time in the park by sitting down to eat without something to do, like meeting characters. If you’ve ever been curious as to whether dining at Cinderella’s Royal Table inside Magic Kingdom is worth the cost (and a potentially awkward encounter with a few Disney friends) I’m here to bring you our latest FULL review of this restaurant and help you out!

Background

If you’ve ever wondered what lies within the walls of the centerpiece of Magic Kingdom inside Cinderella’s Castle, dining here could feel like a dream. 

For decades, thousands of folks have flocked to one of Disney World’s most sought after restaurants in the hopes of dining at Cinderella’s Royal Table. Once inside, you’ll step into the Grand Hall where as you look around, you’ll find woven tapestries hung by the windows…

…suits of armor standing guard…

…and have a chance to meet one on one with Cinderella as you wait for your table to be called upstairs. Be sure to take advantage of this meet and greet opportunity! Cinderella would love to thank you for joining a meal here as one of her invited guests of honor.

If you find some extra waiting in the Grand Hall, or want to take another look around after your meal, you’ll also be able to spot a grandiose fireplace…

…a few of Cinderella’s mice friends in Jaq and Gus (they’re just a little curious)…

…and several shields with coats of arms on display.

Once your table is ready, a server will make a declaration inviting you up to the dining room, where you’ll enjoy the bulk of your stay inside the castle!

Atmosphere

As you find yourself ascending the winding staircase up to the dining room, you might notice the restaurant’s restrooms on a landing as you near the top and a slim, stained glass window with Cinderella front and center in its design.

Once you make your way to the top of the stairs you’ll have quite the sight to take in. The dining room will meet your gaze with its various levels that make up tables short and long…

…as well as booth seats served by the natural lighting coming in from the windows on one side.

If you look up towards the center of the dining room you’ll find flags from surrounding kingdoms hung in uniform display among the ornate wood detailing that lines the walls to the ceiling.

I was fortunate enough to be seated near the windows where the light shines through and from my seat I was able to gaze down at the people below walking around Fantasyland!

Cinderella has also asked a few of her royal friends to stop by during your meal! An overhead announcement will be made when a Disney Princess joins you in the dining room. Unlike your meet and greet with Cinderella downstairs, there’s no need to hop up from where you’re seated to fall in line — they’ll come straight to you at your table.

This is one of the things that I really enjoy most about character dining meals, and it really helps give a more personalized experience with each of them. I was able to meet Merida…

…Aurora…

…Jasmine and Ariel!

As the princesses work their way around the table to greet you, you’ll also have the opportunity to pop up from your seat for a photo with each of them and carrying on a conversation with them about dining in the castle. The meal wasn’t half as akward as you might expect dining alone as an adult. If you find yourself not sure what to say or how to keep in conversation, just ask them about their latest adventure, and I’m sure they’d love to tell you all about it!

Of course, this is a royal invite to a meal inside Cinderella Castle, so your server may drop off a few gifts that Cinderella has requested for you at your table. When I dined here I was gifted a wand that had a star at the end…

…a double sided card that had each of the princess’s signatures on it (this comes in handy if you don’t already have an autograph book for them to sign as they come around to your table), and a wishing star which will come in handy during the wishing ceremony that happens periodically while you’re dining.

But enough about that, what are we eating?!

Food & Drinks

The meal here no matter what time you’re dining is prix fixe. This means, you’ll pay a set price for everything unless you decide to grab a few specialty items. I had lunch for this review, which costs $88 (dinner is priced the same), while children ages 3-9 are priced at $52 plus tax and an automatic 18% gratuity. You can use the Disney Dining Plan to pay for your meal. However, because this is a specialty dining experience it will require 2 table service credits. Otherwise, you’ll pay for the meal as you’re making your booking.

Your menu will start off with a few specialty offerings like cocktails, wines, and a flight…

…the center of the menu will list your options for appetizers, entrées, desserts, and beverages included in your prepaid meal…

…and the champagne, wines, and coffees will be listed on the last page.

To drink, I grabbed the So Many Wishes for $6.59. This is made with pomegranate-green tea, hibiscus, lemon, and a dash of stardust. We’ve seen this drink offered around Disney World at other restaurants, and it’s such a pretty drink to actually see. However, this version was a bit disappointing because its served in the same royal blue goblets water is served in at Cinderella’s Royal Table.

The drink does its best to look as jazzed as possible with a skewer of berries at the top, but the true beauty with this one is how it tastes. It almost reminds me of a pomegranate-flavored jolly rancher in drink form. It’s also a shame we weren’t able to see just how sparkly it is when you swirl it around, but as a specialty non-alcoholic drink it makes for a great upgrade to the typical water, soda or tea option. I thought it would be especially fun for kids looking for a drink with a little bit of a sugary, yet sour pucker.

As for the prix fixe meal, I ordered the Slow-braised Beef to kick off my meal! This dish is made of Carrot Purée, Red Wine-Onion Jam, and Horseradish Gremolata, and sometimes you can’t judge a book by its cover.

This dish didn’t impress me at first glance, but after I’d taken a few bites, it really started to change my mind. The beef was tender, and the flavors from the broth the meat was cooked in didn’t leave it soggy or soupy. It was mostly reminiscent of a pot roast dish. The carrot purée drizzled around the outside of the beef was more of a garnish to the dish, while the red wine onion jam and horseradish gremolata topped the beef. Honestly, if this had been bigger, you could have called it an entrée itself! I finished it up and was a little fuller than I had hoped before moving on to my main dish.

The entrée I chose was the Grilled Filet Mignon. It’s served with Olive Oil-whipped Potatoes, Roasted Seasonal Vegetables, and Garlic Butter, and witnessing the butter sizzle and melt on top of the steak as it was presented to the table made it feel more like a true steakhouse dish.

The meat was cooked at medium temperature (per my request), and when I cut into it, it was perfectly pink towards the center, with the outside edges a paler brown. If you’re asking my opinion, this dish was clearly the superior choice when making my selections for the whole meal, considering the price.

But, what I got to enjoy as the entrée admittedly exceeded my expectations. I got a well cooked steak to my preference, a larger cut of meat, and a few sides that complemented it well. That’s not something I ever could say of past meals I’ve enjoyed at Cinderella’s Royal Table before.

But, I had to remember to save some room for dessert because it’s included with the price. This was especially hard to do, because I didn’t anticipate liking the main entrée so much. But, time for the finale!

For dessert, I had a hard time choosing which I wanted as I was ordering, so I committed to a choice and my server suggested I try another (she was too kind) because it was just too pretty to pass up the opportunity.

So, up first was The Clock Strikes Twelve. This dessert’s made of a Chocolate Ganache Tart topped with Salted Caramel-Coffee Mousse, and is a coffee and chocolate lover’s dream!

The tart that makes up the majority of the dessert could be cut through like butter and once I cut into its decadent ganache, I was met with the remaining flavors of salted caramel-coffee mousse while the outside blue coating really makes it pop with color. As I took each bite, I could taste more of the salted caramel-coffee flavor, but was surprised to find that it wasn’t completely overpowered by chocolate ganache surrounding it.

The Jaq & Gus Cheese Cake gave me a good chuckle when it was brought to the table due to it being so “on the nose.” This one is made of wedges of Vanilla Cheesecake served as cheese slices accompanied by Fresh Fruit and Garnishes of graham cracker crumbles.

After I had my laughs over how cute this dessert looks, it felt a bit criminal to dig right into it. Overall, it was almost like tasting a deconstructed strawberry-vanilla cheesecake dish, and I wish I could say I didn’t inhale every last bite! The vanilla cheesecake bites were the most surprising because they had a very mild vanilla taste and mimicked more of a mousse than a cheesecake to me. To anyone who might have witnessed my fury of dessert tasting, I’m sorry, but this was one too good to let go to waste both in taste and in presentation.

Earlier, my server mentioned an exclusive secret item you won’t find on the menu posted before you arrive to dine. So, being that this was a special meal I don’t get to enjoy every day, I mustered up the courage to order one of these, too! The Cinderella White Chocolate Slipper dessert will run you $25 plus tax and an automatic 18% gratuity (just like the meal), and is made of a white chocolate slipper mold filled with raspberry mousse, edible flowers sprinkled with glitter, and surrounded by fresh berries and dried raspberries pieces.

Alright, this thing is STUNNING and if there was ever a dessert I truly hated to absolutely destroy in the name of food science, this was it! But after I cracked open the white chocolate slipper that looks just like the one Cinderella loses as she’s running away from the ball, it was game over.

I loved this dessert, however, it is a bit small (which should have been a given to me). What really made this one extra enjoyable is that raspberries are one of my favorite fruits, and since they were so prominently featured in this beautiful dessert, it was really hard not to scrape the edges of the bowl.

The mousse filling the shoe was whipped, and light but did have a bit of a tart taste to it. I probably ate a flower or two when I was digging in but admittedly that was a blur and I didn’t seem to mind it too much, if I did.

Magic or Tragic?

This Disney World restaurant is a must-visit if…

• You want the ULTIMATE Disney Princess experience! If you’ve ever dreamed of getting to venture inside Cinderella Castle, this is your chance.
• You’re looking for something EXTRA SPECIAL during your Disney World vacation. If a vacation at Disney World is just the start, and you’re looking to up the ante and make it super memorable, this is a great experience to tack on to your trip.
• Nostalgia is the vibe. If you’re a fan of classic Disney feels and the idea of stepping into Cinderella Castle complete with story nods, character meet and greets, hidden details, and themed desserts is your idea of a great time, this could be a don’t miss for you!

You should skip this Disney World spot if…

• Value is held in the meal quality and variety over the experience. If you’re looking for one of the best meals Disney World has to offer in terms of food quality, you’ll likely find better meal selections for around the same price or less elsewhere.
• You’re not looking to waste Disney Dining Plan credits. Typically, if you’re purchasing a Disney Dining Plan with your vacation, you’re looking to minimize the money you spend out of pocket.While you certainly can pay out of pocket for this meal, dining here takes 2 table service meal entitlements. That means you’ll either be skipping one of the day’s meals in favor of having enough credits, or budgeting for yet another meal in its place to cover the extra entitlement per person.
• Disney Princesses aren’t a huge appeal to you. If you’re not someone who places a lot of stock in meeting Disney Princesses, you’ll likely be underwhelmed with this meal as a whole since it’s so heavily princess-based.

While this is definitely an expensive experience to really up your dining at Disney World, it’s certainly not for everyone. If the experience outweighs the actual meal, then we think this is one you shouldn’t skip. If you’re someone who places more value on the quality of the meal rather than the atmosphere, then it probably shouldn’t make your shortlist of options.

In the meantime, we’ll be on the lookout for more restaurant updates from Disney World and beyond. Make sure you stay tuned to AllEars for the latest Disney news and more!

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Have you eaten at this Disney World restaurant before? Tell us in the comments.

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