Walt Disney World is taking one more step back towards normal. This week, more Disney restaurants are reopening.
Cinderella’s Royal Table
One of the most popular Disney restaurants reopening is Cinderella’s Royal Table. This restaurant, “hidden” inside Cinderella Castle, is reopening September 24, 2020. Reservations will open up on September 11, 2020.
A couple of things to keep in mind: the Princesses will NOT be visiting every table as they have in the past. In addition, you will not take a picture with Cinderella before your meal like you used to. The official release says “the princesses will be taking a break from their royal duties greeting guests”, so at least initially, there will be no royal visitors during your meal. Perhaps in the future, the Princesses may come through the dining area so you can take pictures from a distance, (this is how Beast sightings are handled at Be Our Guest) but this is not confirmed.
At this time, it appears that Cinderella’s Royal Table is opening for lunch and dinner. It doesn’t appear that it will open for breakfast, at least not initially.
No pricing information has been released, but the cynic in me suspects it will be the same as it was before, despite the lack of character interaction and photo opportunities.
If you haven’t been to Cinderella’s Royal Table, it is a beautiful dining room. The food is fairly good, but it is a very pricey meal. In the past, Disney also required full payment at the time the reservation was made. I don’t know if that will still be the case; we will find out once reservations open on September 11.
Update: Reservations are Open
**Update: September 11, 2020: Reservations officially opened today for Cinderella’s Royal Table. In the interest of research, I tested booking a reservation for two adults for both lunch and dinner. The price has NOT been reduced; it is $62.00 per adult plus tax. In addition, Cinderella’s Royal Table is one of the few table service restaurants that requires full payment in advance in order to make a reservation.
Full Payment Required at the Time of Reservation
So book a table for two adults at Cinderella’s Royal Table for either lunch or dinner, the total cost that you must pay AT THE TIME YOU MAKE THE RESERVATION is $154.38 (including tax). This is not a new thing; CRT has required full payment in advance for at least the last 10 years, probably longer. I think this policy is due to the popularity of this dining location. Disney wants to be sure you aren’t making a “maybe” reservation that might be canceled; you are DEFINITELY planning on keeping this reservation. (Note: As with any other reservation, you ARE able to cancel a Cinderella’s Royal Table reservation and get your money back; however, your money is tied up from the moment you make the reservation until you either a) use the reservation or b) cancel the reservation.
My husband and I have eaten at Cinderella’s Royal Table a few times in the past. One of my favorites was the morning after we got engaged. All the princesses made a very big deal out of my ring (and my handsome prince!). It was a lot of fun.
Is it worth it?
The quality of the food does not really warrant the $62/person price tag–it’s the added value of the experience that gives Cinderella’s Royal Table a boost. Being inside the Castle, entering where you are not allowed to enter UNLESS you have a reservation–that’s pretty cool. The dining room itself is nice, if rather loud. They pack every table in the room (Most likely that is different right now due to Covid), and with the high ceilings, the sound really builds. This is not a quiet, elegant dining experience. It’s FUN, but not so much with the elegance.
Honestly, it’s the combination of being in the Castle and the Princess interactions that have always made Cinderella’s Royal Table so special for us. I don’t think the experience is worth $62/person without the character interactions. Your mileage may vary, of course.
Gaston’s Tavern
Gaston’s Tavern in New Fantasyland returned to operations on September 4, 2020. Guests have been enjoying the unique quick service menu at Gaston’s for a few days now.
If you’ve never visited Gaston’s, the menu includes roasted pork shank, cinnamon rolls, mixed vegetable cups, mixed fruit cups, apple slices with caramel, and chocolate croissants, as well as some unique beverages and souvenir mugs.
It’s a fun place to visit, and in the past, was made more so by visits from Gaston himself. I’m not sure if those are still common, but I promise to check it out when we visit in November!
ABC Commissary
Over at Hollywood Studios, the ABC Commissary is reopening on October 8, 2020. Disney calls the ABC Commissary “Fast Casual”, but it’s a pretty decent quick service restaurant with LOTS of indoor seating. (Great when you need a break in the air conditioning!)
The announcement specifically mentions the Commissary reopening for lunch and does not mention dinner, so dinner service may not open for a while yet. However, the ABC Commissary does support mobile ordering for your quick service meal, and is another option for burgers, sandwiches and salads.
Hollywood & Vine
Another Disney restaurant reopening at Hollywood Studios is the Hollywood & Vine family-style table service restaurant. I have eaten at Hollywood & Vine TWICE in the last 10 years, and vowed never to return (found the food quality very poor, and the experience WAY overpriced). However, our last visit was several years ago, so we may give this one another shot…eventually. However, any additional Disney restaurants reopening are a good thing, so we’ll view this positively.
Minnie’s Seasonal Dining is scheduled to return to Hollywood & Vine starting Friday, September 25, 2020. In seasons past, this was a character meal where the characters would come to your table. Of course in this era of Covid and no character greetings, things will be different this year. Hollywood & Vine will be decked out in Halloween glory. Your party will be served a “monster” feast at your table. Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse and their friends will make appearances so you can wave and snap photos. Unfortunately, there will be no table side character interactions, but you will be able to see the characters in their Halloween finery, at least.
The official release states there were be Halloween decor and music, as well as “scary” good food. The jury will remain out on how “good” until the first guests start to report back to us.
Update: Reservations are Open
**Update: September 11, 2020. Reservations officially opened today for Minnie’s Seasonal Dining at Hollywood & Vine. I tested booking reservations over a few different days. Surprisingly, several of the days I tried were already completely booked up. This really isn’t too strange; with Covid-19 precautions in place, this restaurant is probably only reserving about 20-25% of it’s normal capacity. It’s not a huge space, so it makes sense there weren’t that many reservations available to begin with.
Is it worth it?
The good news: this is NOT a dining experience that requires full payment in advance. The bad news: This is still a fairly pricey dining experience, reflecting pricing that you’d expect with most character meals. $35.99 – $59.99 (kids and adults), except you have no character interactions. My bad dining experiences pre-date these Minnie Seasonal Dining events, and the updated menu sounds good, so perhaps the food had gotten better? I will have to investigate and get back to you on that. These meals include a salad (choose from two options for the table), an entree (choose from six entree options), and a dessert (choose from five dessert options).
What does this mean?
The good news is that Disney is trying to return to more normalcy, and they obviously believe they have enough business to support these additional restaurant locations opening up.
I don’t think things are returning to normal as quickly as any of us, especially Disney, had hoped. However, even small baby steps in the right directions are positive.
If you are planning to visit the parks this fall, will you be visiting any of these Disney restaurants reopening soon? Please like this post and comment below.
Happy Dreaming,
Brooke
P.S. Want more information about the reopening of Disney theme parks? Check out this post.