Storybook Love

One of the cheaper and easier to book alternatives to Cinderella’s Royal Table in Magic Kingdom is the Princess Storybook meal in Epcot at the World Showcase. For a Princess fan, this one is highly recommended. There are three options all with appearances by four Princesses, which are breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast is the cheapest, so if you want to get in to see Princesses with the least amount of money possible, this is the choice for you.

Many reviews online are rather critical of the Princess character meal, treating the Storybook meal like the ugly stepsister of Cinderella’s Royal Table. This meal lacks the thrill of actually eating inside Cinderella’s Castle, instead being inside Norway’s Akershus restaurant. Although, really, once you are inside the décor around you won’t make that much of a difference. Although, I will admit that I tend to take the easy way out. I preferred getting a spot, in fact, a choice of days and times, than to have to fight for any spot at any time by getting up at 5:30am or earlier depending on the time zone.

The big difference between the Epcot and Magic Kingdom experiences are the Princesses you are likely to meet. Cinderella’s Royal Table will always have Cinderella in attendance and part of the photo package. (Both include a photo package with the price you pay.) Norway’s photo princess is Belle. The Princesses tend to vary at the Storybook meal with a rotating cast that could include Belle, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine, Mulan, Snow White and sometimes Mary Poppins and Ariel. An appearance by Cinderella isn’t entirely unheard of at the Epcot meal. This meal is definitely the one with more diverse Princesses.

Another complaint about the meal is the amount of time Princesses spend at each table. They do have a large room to work through and every Princess has to try to see every table before their meal is done. This does put a limit on the amount of time a Princess will spend with each family. Don’t expect one to sit down and chat for 10-15 minutes. However, I did time them ranging between three minutes and five, depending on the level of interaction from the little ones at the table. Obviously, the more into a Princess your child (or you…admit it) is, the longer one will stay.

As for food, breakfast is pretty standard. Eggs, cheesy hash browns, bacon, sausage and a cold buffet with a selection of pastries, breads and fruit. Lunch and dinner here is more exotic than at the Castle, featuring Norwegian inspired dishes to choose from. Picky eaters may want to check out the menus at allears.net to see if there is something that appeals to them.

Far from being Cindy’s ugly stepsister, the truth is, this character meal is a wonderful experience and should be given the same chance to try on the glass slipper as any scullery maid.