We wandered up to the Castle excitedly for our reservation. Everything was going well, we met Cinderella who was absolutely beautiful and a brilliant Cinders, and then we waited….and waited….aaaaaanddd waited. Until we were the last group in the waiting area. 45 minutes later, we were taken up to the dining hall. (We were given 2 x fast passes as an apology. I can think of worse places to sit to be perfectly honest)! The theme of the whole place is absolutely top notch. (we have a thing about good theming <<<is that a real word?
) It was a lot quieter than we thought it would be, that might be because it was around 8pm or just because of the actual space of the restaurant absorbed the noise. We were sat on a top section table just to the left of the main windows. And this is where the fun stops.
But first have a little picture
Our server…I don’t think I’m going to name names on this one. She was awful. There are 10 of us and she basically whispered the whole time. I was pretty much next to her and could barely hear. There was no welcome or...whats the word ...PAZAZZ (is that a really British word?) anyway. She had zero personality. I feel like if I worked in Cinderellas castle I'd be sooooo excited! So, we ordered drinks and she wandered off. Someone else brought us girls our wands and then 10 minutes later our menus.
Our drinks were brought over and then our straws were thrown, yep thrown on the table. We then ordered our food. I ordered the Castle Salad to start which was just meh. Sis had the same and mum had the Charcuterie board which she didn’t actually like but that was because she didn’t like the meats. I on the other hand did. Everyone else seemed to eat theirs with little comment. I had the Beef and Shrimp
(Steak number 1 of the holiday), mum had Pork Tenderloin and sis the same as me. Mum didn’t touch her pork as it was raw and it put her off. I on the other hand really liked the steak but it was freezing cold. Additionally, there was no new cutlery brought to the table, so we waited until our server came back to ask for some more. Everyone was in agreement that it was cold. Hannahs salad did look delicious however and there looked like there was a lot of steak. There wasn’t any wait between started and main, they even took Hannah's plate from underneath her while she was eating
. Oh, and at this point our server decided it would be the right moment to ask to scan each rooms magic bands for the dining plan. What the?! Please can I eat my dinner?!
The rest of the starter plates were still on our table to the point where we started to pile them up ourselves and moved them. The princesses then came up to take pictures with us as we were half way through our main. Was nice to get some pictures with them though- I did skip some pictures because I was conscious my dinner might either get taken away or go colder.
By this point we were all a bit flat as it was just not what we were expecting it to be like. It was also Davids 30th Birthday which was obviously a special occasion. But all was not lost. Wishes started. That is an experience that I won’t forget. I went down to the windows (making sure I wasn’t imposing on someone’s’ dinner) and stood and watched them from a completely different vantage point.
Not great ones of the fireworks but sis got some. I feel like my end post will be a gathering of all the photos I dont have to hand while writing this!!! So if anything...just stay tuned until then!!
When this finished, dessert had already been left on the table about 10 minutes before. I had the Jaq & Gus which was the best dish of the night. Sis had the Clock Strikes Twelve and said it was lovely and chocolatey. Niambh had a “make your own cupcake” dessert which she seemed to love as the plate was empty!!
It was around 9:30pm before we left but not before myself and Kay had a quiet and polite word with the manager about our experience. Now I am 100% not “one of those people” and I always see the good in Disney which is why we felt so let down by the whole dinner. As a 2 credit Signature restaurant, you expect a lot better service than we had. In my opinion, they rely on the fact that you’re there to see the Princesses and to be able to say you have had dinner at Cinderellas Castle rather than expecting good service and food.
I completely understand that others may have had a GREAT experience with this restaurant but I would go as far as saying I wouldn’t go there again.
Disclaimer incase people are rolling their eyes whilst reading this: I promise I’m not a whiney whinger and as much as it seems that I’m complaining AAAALLL THE TIME.. I love Disney and I just want to be as honest as I can be on my report I know a lot of reports I read before we went, helped me with the honest opinions of experiences at restaurants.
SO…. I think after we left (with one dining credit refunded back to each of us), we headed to a relaxing boat ride. Yes that’s right.. we rode IASW twice within 3 days
!! The park was closing at 11pm tonight so we headed to our last boat ride of the day, POTC with no queue. WOO. It seems the water cannons were a little more powerful than usual and we all got absolutely drenched
!! Nothing like Captain Jack Sparrow to lighten the mood
We headed out of the MK about 10:30pm and back to the hotel to get ourselves ready for a full day at Animal Kingdom. Me mum and sis had an early morning safari booked which we were super excited for!!!!!
Next up… Safari Jane and Yeti Madness!!