Walt Disney World has introduced a reopening date for breakfast and lunch at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall within the Norway/Arendelle pavilion in World Showcase at EPCOT. This put up will share dates, particulars, and ideas doing Storybook Dining on this medieval fortress with the Disney Princesses.
This is the newest of a number of character eating experiences which have been not too long ago restored, with Cinderella’s Royal Table and Chef Mickey’s each returning throughout the final month. Prior to that, a number of different eating places restored their lacking meal companies late final 12 months, bringing the character eating scene nearer to regular at Walt Disney World.
The subsequent step on this development is breakfast and lunch at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, which is actually EPCOT’s counterpart to Cinderella’s Royal Table at Magic Kingdom. (Despite being related concepts, the execution is very completely different; this isn’t an equal different to consuming inside Cinderella Castle!)
According to Walt Disney World, Akershus Royal Banquet Hall will resume serving breakfast and lunch on May 14, 2023. Advance Dining Reservations should not but obtainable, nor has Disney indicated when ADRs will drop, so keep tuned for that.
Since its reopening late final 12 months, Akershus has been open from 2:45 pm till 8:05 pm each day. This has as a consequence of staffing shortages–as a result of there are solely sufficient performers and/or culinary Cast Members for a single shift.
With this difficulty enhancing as Walt Disney World holds common culinary jobs festivals and continues so as to add extra College Program members, extra normalcy is returning to eating places round Walt Disney World. This is particularly true in EPCOT, the place the International Program additionally helps unencumber Cast Members to fill different roles round World Showcase. Among different issues, that ought to quickly enable Akershus to function from 8 am till 9 pm (or round these hours) each day.
Pre-closure, Akershus provided an all-day menu for lunch and dinner and we’re assuming that would be the case once more upon the restoration of lunch. In different phrases, it’s not a lot a definite meal service returning with lunch at Akershus, however quite, working hours from 11 am till 2:45 pm.
Suffice to say, you possibly can safely anticipate lunch at Akershus to be an identical to dinner at Akershus, that means it’ll value $63 per grownup and $41 per little one, with the identical family-style platters which can be highlighted by conventional kjØttkake (Norwegian meatballs), Kylling og Melboller (Norwegian Chicken and Dumplings), and grilled salmon.
For breakfast, visitors will have the ability to savor Norwegian-inspired fare with family-style platters match for royalty! According to Walt Disney World, breakfast will as soon as once more encompass pastries, scrambled eggs, potato casserole, and Norwegian waffles.
Along with this announcement, Walt Disney World has launched new photographs of the breakfast at Akershus (above and beneath).
It’s tough to say what is going to change after the three-plus years that breakfast at Akershus has been on hiatus. Previously, scorching gadgets had been dropped at the desk household fashion, and chilly gadgets had been served on a self-service buffet at Akershus.
In addition to what’s listed above, the Akershus breakfast buffet provided yogurt, granola toppings, fruit, cheeses, smoked salmon, peppered mackerel, and sliced salami & turkey. That’s about it. The value was $53 per grownup and $34 per little one, however once more, that was over 3 years in the past. Expect breakfast to be just a few {dollars} extra when Akershus reopens on May 14, 2023.
As coated in our full Review of Breakfast at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, we aren’t followers of that meal service at Akershus. For us, it was on par with dinner at Chef Mickey’s…and that’s not excessive reward. The worth proposition was manner off, with the delicacies high quality and selection for breakfast at Akershus not even remotely dwelling as much as the value level.
Whenever we share sentiment like that, it’s met with backlash by Walt Disney World character eating lovers. Honestly, I sorta get it. For many visitors, delicacies high quality is in no way the purpose. It’s in regards to the magical reminiscences of their children assembly the princesses in a particular setting and with out having to attend in line. There’s so much to be mentioned for all of that, and it’s sentiment shared by many Walt Disney World followers. Character eating is standard for good cause–it checks a number of packing containers for a lot of visitors!
But if that’s your perspective, why even trouble with studying a evaluate? I’m unapologetic Country Bear Jamboree fan and assume its (many) haters are flat out fallacious and simply don’t get what makes the present particular. And but, I don’t hunt down critiques of Country Bear Jamboree to make sure they’re all constructive. I like what I like, and if others don’t, that’s their prerogative. Everyone is entitled to be fallacious!
From my perspective, critiques are useful when there’s one thing about which I’m on the fence and I need assistance deciding whether or not it’s price my time or cash. If critiques had been universally constructive, it might render the entire idea pointless. But I digress.
Just like this digression, our ideas about breakfast at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall are form of pointless. There is zero doubt in my thoughts that this can be a extremely sought-after Advance Dining Reservation, reserving up at or earlier than the 60-day mark, similar to dinner at Akershus.
Our evaluate, whether or not constructive or unfavourable, can have zero bearing on demand. Breakfast at Akershus goes to insanely standard and tough to order, regardless. Even if claims went viral on social media that Akershus had been serving salamander (of enchanted selection–gotta keep on-theme) for breakfast, it might nonetheless be among the many hottest ADRs at Walt Disney World.
Part of that is that demand for character eating has been extremely excessive since these meal companies returned. Arguably, that is in step with Advance Dining Reservations as a complete, however I’d contend it’s much more pronounced with the character meals.
My suspicion is that it’s a wrinkle to pent-up demand; these meal companies began returning in full drive final 12 months, so there’s the traditional demand amongst ceremony of passage vacationers plus that from Walt Disney World regulars who didn’t get an opportunity to expertise when in 2020 or 2021.
Another half is undoubtedly that a number of character eating experiences are nonetheless briefly unavailable’ or are working at a decreased capability (sorta like Akershus by means of May 13!).
In the EPCOT space alone, Bon Voyage Adventure Breakfast and Chip ‘n’ Dale’s Harvest Breakfast at Garden Grill nonetheless should not again. That pushes a few of the demand to close by options, like Breakfast à la Art at Topolino’s Terrace — Flavors of the Riviera…or this!
Speaking of demand for Akershus, one factor I’ve observed repeatedly since its reopening is that the variety of visitors ready to be seated is nearly at all times excessive. This is definitely fairly frequent with standard eating places at Walt Disney World, which maximize bookings to reduce the variety of tables that go unfilled and infrequently have lengthy waits to be seated in consequence.
With that mentioned, I can solely consider a handful of eating places that frequently have this huge of crowds outdoors (Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant is one other that instantly involves thoughts). Just one thing to think about when reserving Advance Dining Reservations, particularly for those who’re doing so with the expectation that it’ll allow you to eat effectively. Right now, that’s typically not the case on the extra standard eating places.
We’d be remiss if we didn’t additionally cowl the constructive of Akershus Royal Banquet Hall: the inside is actually cool and an exemplar of old style EPCOT Center design. It might not have the cachet of eating inside Cinderella Castle, but it surely’s nonetheless superior.
It’s based mostly on Akershus Castle and Fortress, a fortified medieval fortress on Oslo harbor. That fortress and fortress was constructed within the late 1200s to guard and supply a royal residence, which was additionally strategically essential for the capital metropolis.
Whoever managed Akershus dominated Norway. From what I perceive, that is the premise of Frozen III, with Elsa seizing Akershus Royal Banquet Hall from Belle.
This culminates within the climactic Battle of Test Track, earlier than the tear-jerking conclusion with the Guardians of the Galaxy rewinding the cosmos to revive order to the Other-World Showcase. Synergy at its most interesting.
The Norway pavilion’s Akershus replicates many architectural options of Oslo’s actual Akershus Slott og Festning. Elements of the facade, towers, and corridor within the World Showcase model are all strikingly much like the true factor in Norway.
In All About Norway in Epcot’s World Showcase, we cowl the pavilion’s different architectural inspirations from Bergen, Ålesund, Oslo, and the Setesdal Valley.
Ultimately, we’re excited for the restoration of breakfast and lunch meal companies to Storybook Dining that includes the Disney Princesses at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall. This is usually as a result of we all know so a lot of you have got been anxiously awaiting this, and it’s a family-favorite providing at EPCOT.
It’s additionally as a result of we’re, ourselves, desperate to do one other late-night dinner at Akershus, and have had no luck scoring Advance Dining Reservations for the reason that restaurant reopened final Christmas. While we aren’t followers of breakfast at Akershus, we do love dinner–particularly late night time seatings because the restaurant begins to filter. Our hope is that including breakfast plus extra seatings from 11 am to 2:45 pm will assist take in extra demand, making the ADRs we wish simpler to e-book.
The backside line is that the return of breakfast and lunch at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall are wins for households searching for princess eating at EPCOT and anybody else who needs simpler ADRs elsewhere. So that covers just about everybody visiting Walt Disney World, or at the very least EPCOT! In addition, eating at Akershus is an opportunity to see inside an exemplar of Imagineering’s old style World Showcase design work whereas having fun with considerably distinctive delicacies. A pleasant win for each children and fogeys!
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Learn about inns on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To get monetary savings on tickets or decide which sort to purchase, learn our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets put up. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips put up takes a singular take a look at intelligent gadgets to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, the very best place to start out is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for every little thing it’s essential know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Will you be reserving an ADR for breakfast or lunch at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall when these meal companies return on May 14, 2023? Have you dined at Akershus in Epcot’s Norway pavilion? Excited in regards to the alternative to expertise the design and particulars of Akershus Castle and Fortress? Do you agree or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions we may help you reply? Hearing your suggestions–even whenever you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!