Restaurant Review: Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus (Epcot)

Short version: If you have kids who love Disney princesses, this is the place for you.

I have been to Walt Disney World twice (June 07 and last March) with my wife and three kids (10, 8, 6) and both times we made an ADR at Akershus, located in the Norway pavilion in Epcot.

Let me say right away that we much preferred this experience to Cinderella's Royal Table in the Magic Kingdom (and it was only 1 table service credit on the Disney Dining plan). I'll have a review of CRT in a future post. The food is much better and the entire atmosphere is far less rushed and hectic than CRT. When we first arrived for our reservation, it's pretty obvious this is a popular place as there are a ton of people waiting outside for a table.

Especially in the summer months, this can be a hot wait, as there is little shade around. Disney doesn't have any paging system in use here, so you have to be within earshot to hear your name called. Once you are brought inside, it's photo time with a princess, usually Ariel. These photos are available for purchase, similar to other restaurants, but guests are allowed to take their own photos if they wish.

After the photo op, guests are ushered to their table. The dinner menu features several authentic Norwegian entrees including the traditional Kjottkake, or meat cake (which I had both times -- it is outstanding and the sauce that comes with it is downright wonderful). Also available is salmon, pasta, braised lamb and a few other entrees. Before we get to the entree, first is the "salad" bar. I put that in quotes because there is much more than salad here. It's more like a salad, cold cuts and fruit bar. The salad selection is fairly standard but the cold cuts are traditional meats including fresh deli sliced ham and turkey. This is one area where my kids loved the bar.

Speaking of the kids, Akershus has them in mind for the children's menu. They offer hot dogs, cheese pizza, grilled chicken (sorry Ricky, no chicken strips or nuggets here) and a few other options - pretty kid friendly. The entrees are BIG portions. I'm not kidding. You get a TON of food, so be ready. My wife fell in love with the salmon. I tried a bite and I quickly understood why - it was quite good.

To wrap up the meal is the dessert tray. I highly recommend the traditional rice cream with strawberry sauce. It is wonderful. It's like very soft serve ice cream with soft rice mixed in. This recipie, btw, is in the Cooking with the Disney Chefs cookbook. I've tried it and it's not too tough to make.

Oh yeah, in and among all this great food are about five princesses. The princesses visiting each night do vary somewhat. Our first time there, Belle and Cinderella were not around. Our second time, they both were there, but Alice and another were not. Aurora, Jasmine and Snow White appear to be regulars.

A tip for young boys -- WATCH OUT FOR KISSING PRINCESSES! Both times we were there, one of my boys got a huge smooch on the cheek from a lipstick-laden princess (Alice and Snow White). Parents, this makes a great photo op and something embarrassing to show at your son's wedding rehearsal dinner slide show years down the road .

But wait, there's more.

The staff at Akershus is quite friendly. Especially on our first trip, we spent about a half hour (in different bits) talking to our waitress from Norway about her homeland. My wife was so taken with what our waitress told us that she now wants to visit Norway.

If you want a fun character dining experience that also offers outstanding dining, Akershus is for you. Just be ready to book that ADR in advance, as it's a popular spot.

So as the Royal Proclamation outside reads, "It shall be a magical experience for all who attend."