Disney Dining Disney Dining Tips, News, and Reviews
When judging whether a restaurant is any good or not, we take several things into consideration: food quality, service, rice, and ambiance. These are all critical components of a great dining experience. When one is off, everything is off. When more than one is off, you’re probably not going to have a good time.
Related: The Best Disney Restaurant in Every Park
We set out to find the best restaurant at Walt Disney World and determined that it couldn’t be contained to just one Park. The worst, though, absolutely can, and you’ll hate me for saying it. I don’t care. It needs to be said. There is one extremely popular restaurant at Disney World that gives all of the rest of them a bad name.
Cinderella’s Royal Table just isn’t any good. There, I said it. I have eaten at every restaurant at Walt Disney World, and this is by far my least favorite. It wasn’t the result of one bad experience, either. I’ve given it many chances. Any restaurant can have an off day. In order to say I dislike a restaurant, and especially to say it’s no good, it has to be consistently bad. I’m sorry, but Cinderella’s Royal Table is consistently bad.
Credit: Disney
Let’s start by talking about what’s good about it. The ambiance is incredible! There’s absolutely nothing negative to say about the atmosphere. Eating inside of Cinderella Castle? It’s iconic! The spiral staircase leading to the restaurant is majestic, and the decor has a Regal air. The service is also good. It isn’t the best we’ve had, but we have no complaints. We love the character interactions.
Credit: Jill Bivins
That’s where the good news ends. The food isn’t just lackluster, it’s pretty terrible. It lacked seasoning, and the pork, beef, and chicken were all dry. The desserts are uninspired, and that’s putting it kindly. In truth, they’re lazy. There is a whole majestic world of desserts put there, and Cinderella’s Royal Table chooses chocolate mousse and Cheesecake. While there is something to be said for a timeless classic, if you’re going to do it, you need to do it well. They do not.
Credit: Jill Bivins
The price is another factor. As a matter of fact, the price is the MAIN factor. The prix-fixe meal is a staggering $79/adult and $47/child for lunch and dinner. That means we paid $205 for the adults to have food we didn’t like and my son to have grapes, chicken nuggets, and a miniature cupcake—that’s nearly $50 for what amounts to a fast food meal. There is just no way to justify that. No amount of princess interaction or beautiful surroundings is worth paying $205 for bad food. Not unless you have more money than sense, and if that is the case…I happily accept donations.
Related: The Best (and Worst) BBQ at Walt Disney World
All that said, do I recommend Cinderella’s Royal Table? Absolutely not. Still. It remains one of the most popular restaurants at Disney World. Everyone wants to eat in the castle. I get it, but please trust me that the experience will leave you disappointed. If you must go, go for breakfast. It’s cheaper, and breakfast dishes are harder to mess up.
I know many of you are screaming at your computer screen for this blasphemy. You might have even called me some names. It’s ok, dear reader. I can take it. I call ’em like I see ’em, and Cinderella’s Royal Table is a swing and a miss.
