Akershus Royal Banquet Hall Breakfast Review

Alex Coleman

Mouseketeer
Joined
Nov 4, 2017


Introduction
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall is a large restaurant in the Norway pavilion at Epcot. I have to admit before I even get into this review that the restaurant (and the special privileges that come with eating breakfast here) are far more exciting than the breakfast food. For anyone who may be unaware, if you are able to swipe an advance dining reservation at Akershus for breakfast, you can enter Epcot before park opening.

Sarah and I both love these exclusive dining experiences. We have also elected to eat breakfast at Be Our Guest Restaurant for the same reason. Our typical breakfast at Walt Disney World is a delicious combination of Clif Bars and Arbonne protein shakes. The only time we break this routine is for these pre-park opening experiences. It isn’t because we are not breakfast people, however, it is just because we are thrifty!

This review will cover our breakfast at the Banquet Hall during our November 2017 trip. I will talk about the atmosphere (princesses and all), the meal, the cost (spoiler alert: it is astronomical for non-Disney Dining Plan users), and who should eat here.

Atmosphere


To fully understand the atmosphere at Akershus, you have to remember that breakfast here comes with early access to Epcot. I really love Epcot (Sarah, on the other hand, is a hater). I have fond, but fuzzy, memories of walking around Epcot and being in love with each pavilion. Being able to get into the park early and lazily strolled back to the restaurant was a real joy. I had the opportunity to take so many pictures of the park bathed in the early morning sun.



Once our name was called and we entered the foyer, we took a picture with Belle. As I said in my Cinderella’s Royal Table review, these photos are always incredibly awkward. I cannot imagine being the Cast Member who is assigned to take pictures in these restaurants. They do a great job of putting on the character, but I pity their jaw muscles from smiling all day.



Once we were done with the awkward interaction with Belle, we were seated at a small table in one of the smaller dining rooms. I really wanted to eat in the large main dining room, but I always feel uncomfortable about inconveniencing the Cast Members who are hosting.



Akershus is modelled after the Norwegian castle that still overlooks Oslo Harbor today. The restaurant feels very much so like a castle. There are stone walls, exposed wooden beams, archways, giant fireplaces, and elegant tapestries. Basically, you stepped out of the hot Central Florida sun and into a castle from the Middle Ages.



A discussion about Akershus’ atmosphere cannot be complete without reference to the princesses! The main draw of the restaurant for most guests (Sarah and I included) is that you can have a character meet-and-greet with the princesses. The princesses you may see include: Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Snow White, Aurora, Mulan, Cinderella, Rapunzel or Mary Poppins. During our visit, we met Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel.



As you can see, Sarah was ready for these encounters.



As far as princess encounters go, our meal was pretty entertaining. Not only did the princesses come around to our tables (Rapunzel was particularly fun to interact with), but they also led the children around the restaurant in a royal parade. This was really loud, but the families around us didn’t care because they were so happy filming their little princesses and princes wandering around the room on parade.

Food


The Walt Disney World website categorizes Akershus Royal Banquet Hall as American Cuisine and Norwegian Cuisine. I would consider Akershus breakfast to be much more of a safe bet for less adventurous eaters. Even though there are things that the pickier eater can enjoy at Akershus for dinner, breakfast leans much more heavily on the American cuisine, rather than Norwegian. There are a few options to try something slightly more exotic, but it is mostly standard faire.



We started our meal with our Norwegian Disney International Program CM explaining the menu and getting our drinks. As long as I can remember, I have ordered orange juice with breakfast. Sarah ordered coffee because she was still in the process of waking up. We wandered over to the buffet to browse what we would like to sample. There were several cold cut options (Salami, Roasted Turkey, Smoked Pork Loin). Interestingly, there were some fish options which I tried because our server recommended them. The buffet finished with a couple of fruit, cheese, and danish options.



Sarah started with a lot of fruit and yogurt with granola, rookie mistake! I grabbed a couple of the carbohydrate options and a few proteins. We waited for quite a while, but our All-You-Care-To-Enjoy platter of Scrambled Eggs, Sausage, Bacon, and Potato Casserole finally showed up. I am not exactly sure what took so long, but I remember waiting for an extended period of time.



Overall, we were pretty unimpressed by our meal. I would compare it to a normal breakfast at somewhere like the DoubleTree by Hilton, except without the waffle maker or omelette bar. The buffet consisted of normal buffet food and the platter was about the same. Needless to say, people are not drawn to Akershus breakfast to have their lives changed by the food. They are there to get into Epcot early and to see some of their favorite princesses.

Cost


According to the Disney World website, Akershus Royal Banquet Hall is Buffet/ Family Style, Casual Dining, and Character Dining (if you have been paying attention so far, this shouldn’t surprise you). Akershsus is classified with “$$$” which means adults should expect to pay roughly $35 to $59.00, per adult. For the cost of this meal, I find it really hard to reasonably justify paying out-of-pocket. I recognize that when princesses are involved, however, reason can go out of the window. For evidence of this, see Sarah’s face above. :)

This meal will run you $27 for breakfast for children and $44 for adults. That is a really expensive meal if you show up and find the quality of the food to be lacking. Just be prepared that you are paying for the experience, not for a fine dining menu.

For the Disney Dining Plan users, this restaurant requires one Table Service credit per person. Mathematically and sentimentally, Akershus is one of the best values on the DDP. Not only is the meal expensive, but the exclusivity of being able to enter Epcot early cannot be understated. If you want to spend a credit well and do not have a deep-seeded hatred of princesses or children (ok, a bit dramatic), go ahead and make a reservation! For the Tables in Wonderland users, this restaurant has a 20% discount.

Who Should Eat Here?


Akershus Royal Banquet Hall naturally comes into competition with Cinderella’s Royal Table and the rest of the Character Dining experiences. There are a couple of different Character Dining experiences at Walt Disney World. One of these days, Sarah and I will compile a ranking of the best. For now, I would rate breakfast at Akershus as not quite “must-do”, but I would say that if you are on the Disney Dining Plan, you should try it once.

The first group that will be drawn towards eating at Akershus probably didn’t even need to read this review. Your princess or prince (no matter their age) would eat here because of the characters. These princess lovers will soak up every moment of their blissful experience. They may honestly need to be reminded to eat! I needed to pick Sarah’s chin up off the floor in order for to eat when the princesses came out. She literally will stop eating when the princesses come out. I have to remind her every time.

The second group that may want to think about making a breakfast reservation are people who want to get into Epcot before park opening. This may be especially interesting if you were not able to get a Fastpass+ for Frozen: Ever After. The restaurant is located directly next to the queue for this very popular attraction. If you time it right (Sarah and I just missed this because our server took a long time), you can jump right into line for Frozen.

Have you eaten at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall? What what your experience? Share your thoughts in the comments section! For other reviews including resorts and other restaurants, check out our Reviews page!
 
Thank you so much for this review!! Finally a place to meet Belle as I never see her and CRT! Must book for next time!
 
We ate at Akershus 11 years ago with our group of 11 and at the time the kids were 8,7,6,5, and 4. I have an epic picture of my son with Jasmine when he was 6 years old that I will post if I can find it. Now we are going back in June and plan to do the same, but the kids will be 19, 18, 17, 16, and 15. So we are pretty pump. I remember the food wasn't great, but we met SOOOOO many princesses and then Mary Poppins was outside as we left! It was kind of funny as my daughter, who LOVES Belle, was 5 at the time and she had just met Belle the day before at Magic Kingdom. You can kind of see it in her face in the souvenir picture that this was NOT the same Belle. We still laugh about that. It is a good TS credit, so enjoy it if you can.
 


We ate at Akershus 11 years ago with our group of 11 and at the time the kids were 8,7,6,5, and 4. I have an epic picture of my son with Jasmine when he was 6 years old that I will post if I can find it. Now we are going back in June and plan to do the same, but the kids will be 19, 18, 17, 16, and 15. So we are pretty pump. I remember the food wasn't great, but we met SOOOOO many princesses and then Mary Poppins was outside as we left! It was kind of funny as my daughter, who LOVES Belle, was 5 at the time and she had just met Belle the day before at Magic Kingdom. You can kind of see it in her face in the souvenir picture that this was NOT the same Belle. We still laugh about that. It is a good TS credit, so enjoy it if you can.
That is amazing! That will be pretty cool to see!
 
Awesome and thorough review! We did Akershus just once and like you that was one time too many. Even princesses couldn't save the food at the DoubleTree :-)
 
Thank you for the review! Your pictures were great. We have never eaten there, but I would love to eat there just to see the unopened park.
 


Great review! We really love Akershus for breakfast (never been for lunch or dinner). We have gone the last 3 trips and my niece loved meeting the princesses. We actually like the food at breakfast - great cold option buffet and the hot foods were really good, especially the potato casserole! We also ask for mickey waffles and they always give a plate of them. We love doing this right at 8am, so we are done by 9am park opening and walk right on FEA. Great way to start a morning at Epcot.
 
As the veteran of far to many character meals I can say you sort of hit the one reason for going there. I have girls so we have eaten there 3 times and the food is really average but you go to get pictures with the princesses and to get into Epcot early.
 
Great review! We really love Akershus for breakfast (never been for lunch or dinner). We have gone the last 3 trips and my niece loved meeting the princesses. We actually like the food at breakfast - great cold option buffet and the hot foods were really good, especially the potato casserole! We also ask for mickey waffles and they always give a plate of them. We love doing this right at 8am, so we are done by 9am park opening and walk right on FEA. Great way to start a morning at Epcot.

The dinner reservation we have at 8 am is exactly why we are doing this again. Hoping to ride FEA at opening.
 
Thank you for the review! Your pictures were great. We have never eaten there, but I would love to eat there just to see the unopened park.
Thank you!! That really is half of the benefit of eating here. I really love walking through the empty park!
 
Great review! We really love Akershus for breakfast (never been for lunch or dinner). We have gone the last 3 trips and my niece loved meeting the princesses. We actually like the food at breakfast - great cold option buffet and the hot foods were really good, especially the potato casserole! We also ask for mickey waffles and they always give a plate of them. We love doing this right at 8am, so we are done by 9am park opening and walk right on FEA. Great way to start a morning at Epcot.
Thank you! It is a great way to start a day at Epcot. Getting a jump on the rest of the crowd is really great. We didn't care for the food, but breakfast can be a pretty straightforward experience. It just didn't have that "wow" factor.
 
As the veteran of far to many character meals I can say you sort of hit the one reason for going there. I have girls so we have eaten there 3 times and the food is really average but you go to get pictures with the princesses and to get into Epcot early.
Yeah the pros (for most) outweigh the cons for this spot. I am not sure we would prioritize it again, but it can be a good stop for princess lovers!
 

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