Princess Dining and/or Lots of Chocolate!

[ZazaNicole]

Going to WDW with my two girls, 6 and 9 -- I know these questions MUST have been asked before, but I can't find them here anywhere.

#1 - We did DL a couple years ago and had brunch at Ariel's Grotto. The girls loved it, mainly due to the dessert, which consisted of a huge tray of chocolate brought to the table ... chocolate covered fruit, chocolate dip, chocolate shells, etc., etc. Do they have anything like this at WDW, either for character dining or elsewhere?

#2 - What are the differences in the princess dining venues at WDW?

#3 - Are there actually princesses at the Tea Party?

#4 - One daughter likes Belle and the other likes Jasmine best. I know a particular princess is never guaranteed, but are we more likely to see these two at any particular place?

Thanks!

[Drince88]

4 - I'd think you'd have decent luck at Akershush for those two.
If not - France and Morocco are right next to each other. Belle and Beast are either outside along the water or inside in the "Library" by the perfume store and Jasmine and her prince and the genie are often either along the water, or tucked away in the back if the weather isn't as nice.

2 - The ULTIMATE Princess venue, I think, is Cindy's castle. More characters at breakfast than the other meals, and it can be tough to get an ADR (but it's not as hard as it used to be.

3 - There are multiple different tea 'things' - and I know they're not at the 'adult' one (that kids are welcome at) and I haven't kept up on what else is going on in the Grand Floridian venues (I rarely visit with kids, and if I do, it's generally my nephews, as I have no nieces :crying:)

1 - Chocoholic dessert option. I don't recall, but Boma is a buffet (no characters) that has a lot of small dessert options, some of which are chocoloate.

[mom22gls]

The "big" princess character meal is either breakfast or lunch at Cindy's castle. Expensive, but a kid's gotta do it once (I would hate to admit how many times my girls went there, during their princess-loving stage). The "other" in-park princess meal, as referenced above is at the Norway pavilion at Epcot. You have a better chance of catching Jasmine or Mulan there. There is also a Cinderella character meal at 1900 Park Faire, at the Grand Floridian. I don't know of any character meal that involves a lot of chocolate.

[ZazaNicole]

The Tea Party I'm talking about is at the Garden View Tea Lounge at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. It's called a "Perfectly Princess Tea Party" but doesn't really give any details online. The photo shows a mom and daughter but doesn't show any princesses.

So there are more princesses present at the Castle rather than in Norway? How does the food compare? I think we'd prefer a lunch or dinner rather than breakfast ... I like the down time in the middle of the day ... but we could do breakfast if we had to.

We did the Princess Breakfast at DL, but that wasn't in a castle. Do you really feel like you're in a castle or is it just on the outside?

Thanks!

[Drince88]

I think it feels like you're in a castle. It's "THE CASTLE" in the Magic Kingdom, so even just knowing that I think helps.

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/grand-floridian-resort-and-spa/dining/afternoon-tea/ This one is not a character meal.

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/grand-floridian-resort-and-spa/dining/my-disney-girls-perfectly-princess-tea-party/ IS a character meal and if I recall correctly is very expensive (in part due to the doll).

(and yes, the picture is the same for both)

ETA: I found this pricing info on another website:
$250 includes gratuity (but not tax) for one adult and one child ages 3-11. Additional adult guest (12 and older) is $85 plus tax and an additional child is $165 plus tax. Refunds available if you cancel more than 72 hours from the date of your event.

[mom22gls]

The Tea Party I'm talking about is at the Garden View Tea Lounge at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. It's called a "Perfectly Princess Tea Party" but doesn't really give any details online. The photo shows a mom and daughter but doesn't show any princesses.

So there are more princesses present at the Castle rather than in Norway? How does the food compare? I think we'd prefer a lunch or dinner rather than breakfast ... I like the down time in the middle of the day ... but we could do breakfast if we had to.

We did the Princess Breakfast at DL, but that wasn't in a castle. Do you really feel like you're in a castle or is it just on the outside?

Thanks!

You can find a complete list of menus, with pricing, at www.allearsnet.com, and a lot of other information on dining. We usually liked lunch with the princesses, also. Dinner at the Castle does not include all the princesses.

[rashiz]

I did dinner at Norway not that long ago. We were greeted by Belle that night in the lobby where they do posed photos, and then I remember Aurora, Cinderella, and Jasmine all came by the table. There was probably one other princess as well that I am not remembering. The meal is half buffet/half plated. The salads on the buffet were quite good, but the plated portion of the meal was not great. This is also someplace you would need to call ahead if you have any diet issues as they were not able to be particularly accomodating about changing anything in their entrees. The dessert platter they bring out for the table has three desserts, and has a cake that is fantastic, however, very little on the chocolate.

My younger brothers always loved Chef Mickey's for the dessert buffet there which I seem to recall has quite a bit of chocolate.

[ZazaNicole]

Thanks, everyone. The Princess Tea Party picture looks like it has chocolate, but once I looked at the menu on allearsnet.com, it didn't list it that way. What a great resource all the menus are there!

Chef Mickey's does list a dessert buffet, which I would think would indeed be a good bet for lots of chocolate. Unfortunately my kids aren't into those characters. Looks like we may be doing a Princess breakfast or lunch and looking for chocolate elsewhere.

May be another one of those things like POTC where we've just got to accept we're not in Disneyland anymore. :)

[Mickey71]

I wouldn't underestimate the Princess Storybook experience at Akers.... in Norway/Epcot. It's a little more reasonable than Cindy's Royal Table, there are more Princesses (Cindy's is usually more the characters from that movie...) it definitely feels like a castle and the food can be interesting but still very good. I don't know about Chocolate tho...

[mom22gls]

If you want chocolate, there are a several options, not associated with a character meal. At the France Pavillion, there is a bakery that has a lot of goodies, including chocolate mousse. There is seating outside, and also some inside, in an area adjacent from the gift shop. At Downtown Disney, there is a Ghiardelli (sp) shop, that has every ice cream dessert you would want, and at least one candy shop. We have not done the tea party, because my girls were never much into dolls, and it wasn't worth it to pay the premium, for the doll. Several years ago, I booked them at the Bibbiti Bobbiti Boutique, for a makeover (actually one of my kids refused to have them mess with her hair-a toddler stage she was in at the time, so we canceled her appointment); after the whole makeover thing, including pictures, we had the regular tea at the Grand Floridian. The kids just ordered a la carte there. The magical thing about that day was that a CM saw us waiting for a bus to the Grand Floridian, from Downtown Disney (this was before they opened the boutique at the MK), and gave us a ride in her van to the hotel. There are many options for creating a magical experience for the kids.

[Drince88]

The magical thing about that day was that a CM saw us waiting for a bus to the Grand Floridian, from Downtown Disney (this was before they opened the boutique at the MK), and gave us a ride in her van to the hotel.
Only at Disney would Mom agree to get into a van with a stranger:eek:;)

[mom22gls]

Only at Disney would Mom agree to get into a van with a stranger:eek:;)

A middle-aged woman with Disney ID, in a Disney van, to me, is pretty much the same as a bus driver. This was not the only time we have had van rides from CM's. Once, from our hotel, when the bus service was extremely slow, and we complained to the concierge, and once when I went from a park to a DVC tour. It was clear, to myself and the kids, that this was a situation like taking a bus,taxi,or hotel shuttle, not the same as getting into a car with a stranger.

[jengold29]

My kids favorite dessert option in all of WDW is to get something custom dipped in chocolate at Goofy's Candy Factory-- even though they changed the rules a bit, it is still (IMHO) one of the best values at WDW.

You can get a giant oreo dipped in chocolate, rolled in chocolate chips and drizzled with more chocolate!!