No princess makeover would be complete without dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table (in Cinderella's Castle). Our dinner reservation was for 4:15pm, because our little prince has to go to bed early. It actually worked out well, we had a big breakfast, a nibble for lunch, and were quite hungry by the time our dinner reservation came around.
First you enter the castle, and have your picture taken with Cinderella. The staff refers to each family as a 'Royal Family'. The day we were there, the royal families had all been drenched in the park and royal was not what we felt. We could have all had our picture taken with Cinderella, but the adults agreed that just Sydney and Drew should be in the picture.
After your picture is taken, you go upstairs to the dining room. Your choices are to go up a winding staircase or take a small elevator. Dad and I opted for the elevator. The dining room is a huge room with big stone pillars. The walls are paneled in dark wood. The chairs are upholstered in a tapestry of purples, roses, and blues. You really feel like you have been whisked away to some medieval castle. There are large windows that I presume overlook the park, but we weren't seated by them so I'm not sure.
My sister had made arrangements for a special birthday celebration for Sydney during dinner. It was to include a keepsake glass slipper, a crown, a balloon, and a cake decorated like the princess of her choice (Belle). After we finished at the BBB, Laura and my mom went to check on our reservations to make sure everything was in order. I guess maybe it was woman's intuition. Turns out, Disney had LOST the reservation for the birthday celebration. They had our reservation for dinner, but not the 'add-on'. I don't know whether it was the wrath of my mother and sister, or some miracle in customer service, but they were able to make amends for most of it. The only thing they weren't able to do was the cake, but Sydney was given a special dessert and she never knew what was missing.
Dining in Cinderella's castle is really a production. The serving staff knows exactly what to do. They seat the children on the ends of the tables and the aisle so that they can easily get up to see the princesses. Autograph books are piled on the edge of the table, so each princess can sign her name when she arrives. The serving staff explained that even though we sat near where the princesses came in, they would make their way all around the room and then come back, so each princess would come to our table.
Our waitress was phenomenal. Since Drew was so young, he was supposed to just eat off his parents' plates. She brought him out a little meal of chicken fingers and mashed potatoes. She brought him out a sword when she brought Sydney a wand. After we placed our order, she came out with a balloon for Sydney and told her "Princess Sydney, Cinderella has asked me to bring this to you." A few minutes later, a 'real' crown was brought out on a pillow. Our waitress said "Princess Sydney, Cinderella heard it was your birthday and asked me to make you an official princess." The waitress then asked the 'king' of our family (my Dad) to crown the new princess. As you can probably imagine, Sydney was beside herself. Dad sort of looked like 'isn't someone else better to handle the crown?' He put the crown on her, and Sydney was happy. Except she had a major problem. She was still wearing her Belle crown from the boutique, so now she had two crowns. Dad was not much help, so she went to her mom, who removed the Belle crown and left Sydney with the real crown.
As we dined, various princesses wandered through the dining room, stopping and talking to each table. Before each princess enters the dining room, their story is told over the loudspeaker. Then you have all of these excited children twittering about who is coming in. We sat near the princess entrance, so we were able to see them as they walked in. Eventually they made their way to our table. The princesses talked to Sydney, asking her what her name was or where she was from. They signed the autograph books, and then posed for pictures with Sydney and Drew. I don't know who had more fun- Sydney or Drew. Sydney enjoyed meeting all of the princesses. Drew flirted with all of them. He waved at them with his hand, and then when he was with them he batted his baby blue eyes at them. Sydney would finish talking with the princess and Drew would go in for another hug. I know there was at least one princess whom Drew wanted to kiss, and she offered him her cheek. My nephew went for the lips! I've always said he was going to be a heartbreaker!
When Ariel came to our table, she asked Sydney what she liked to do. Sydney said she liked to read. Ariel told her "You should talk to my best friend, Belle. She loves to read!" Sydney responded that she knew that. And then Belle came in! She was wearing her 'country' dress, the blue and white one. I have to hand it to her... when she came to our table, she took one look at Sydney and said "Now I know why I couldn't find my yellow dress... you have it!" Sydney thought it was wonderful that Belle can never wear her yellow dress because Sydney has it!
It was very exciting for the adults to have the Princesses come to the table. It was easy to get caught up in the magic and forget that these are actresses. I can only imagine how absolutely cool it was to the children, who think these are the real princesses. I don't think Sydney's feet touched the ground for a week!
Of course, the entertainment was only part of the meal. The food was exquisite! You have your choice of appetizers, entree, and dessert. Our choices for an appetizer were a Castle Salad (mixed greens, apples, cucumbers, candied walnuts in an herb vinaigrette with shaved Romano cheese on top), a Cheese Plate, Shrimp Cocktail, or the soup of the day. I opted for the Castle Salad, but without the dressing. It was delicious. So simple, yet the flavors worked well together. I actually tried to recreate it at home after the trip. I didn't have a lot of success with the candied walnuts, but I will be trying again. Perhaps in the summer. I love cucumbers, apples, and walnuts, and putting them all together in a salad was very refreshing.
For dinner, while we had the choice of six options, all of the adults chose the Beef Tenderloin. The five of us all like our beef cooked differently from rare to well done. Each of us had the most perfect serving of beef tenderloin. The chefs managed to cook each meal exactly as it should have been. I don't think I've ever had so many people in my family eat beef at once without any complaints about how it's cooked. The beef melted in your mouth. The 'gravy' (ok, according to the menu it was a demi-glace, but to us, it was gravy) was amazing! I do not like gravy, or many sauces for that matter. But this was just heavenly. I could have eaten it daily. Our meals came with potatoes and asparagus. We all cleaned our plates.
For dessert, we had our choice of a Flourless Chocolate Cake, An Espresso Cheesecake, some sort of an ice cream or mousse (I forget now which it was) or a chef's sampling of each. The non cheesecake eaters (my dad and Laura) went for the chocolate cake. Andy and I opted for the cheesecake. My mom went with the sampler. I ended up taking my cheesecake home and eating it later that night in the condo. It was wonderful though.
Sydney received a special dessert. She received Cinderella's slipper made out of white chocolate, filled with chocolate mousse. It was surrounded by fresh berries. On the edge of the plate the chef wrote 'Happy Birthday Princess Sydney' in chocolate. When the waitress brought it, she also brought a real glass slipper which Cinderella had sent as a special birthday surprise for Princess Sydney. The glass slipper was delivered on a plate of rose petals. Sydney enjoyed the chocolate mousse, although she made sure to tell us that the berries were just as delicious as the mousse! I guess that is what you would expect at Cinderella's Royal Table- only the best!
Every girl, whether she she is 6, 36, or almost 60 deserves to be treated like a princess at least once in her life. It was a meal none of us are likely to forget!
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