Last week I was back at the one and only Walt Disney World for my first time in over a year. While I never plan to go that long between visits again (fingers crossed), it left a lot to experience: TRON Lightcycle/Run, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, the Finding Nemo show reopened at Animal Kingdom, the Festival of Fantasy parade returned to Magic Kingdom, and Akershus, the beloved Norwegian restaurant at EPCOT, finally re-opened for the first time since 2020 and in the past year added their Norwegian breakfast as an offering. I really wanted to go – just for their Norwegian waffles – also called “Hjertevafler”. And that breakfast was also a character dining opportunity. Character dining is when you eat at a table service restaurant at Disney World and the characters come around and greet you at your table. Each dining opportunity is themed to a different group of Disney characters. Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom is for Pooh and Friends, Garden Grill at The Land at EPCOT is Chip and Dale, Tusker House at Animal Kingdom is Mickey and Friends in safari outfits, Storybook Dining at Artist Pointe is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but these are just a few of the offerings. The experience at Akershus is billed as “Princess Storybook Dining” for all meals, meaning an assortment of Disney Princesses visit your table throughout your meal and talk and pose and take pictures. Akershus is only one of only two restaurants at the resort to offer this opportunity. I had done the other Princess Dining opportunity, Cinderella’s Royal Table, last time I was at Disney World. But the experiences at that time was still socially distanced and there was only one princess – Cinderella.
Originally, I had booked this meal with my niece and nephew but they decided they did not want to go and wanted to spend more time in the park. What a bunch of wet blankets. WHO DOESN’T WANT TO MEET THE PRINCESSES?!? Not me. And full disclosure, they told me this the night before our scheduled breakfast and I could have cancelled – but I was genuinely and honestly interested in the experience. And I also had a reservation that was tied to reserved seating for EPCOT’s Disney on Broadway that night. This is a seasonal event held during EPCOT’s Festival of the Arts where a nightly show is offered featuring stars of Disney Broadway shows at no extra charge to park guests. You can pay a bit more for a meal at a table service restaurant at EPCOT on the day of a show and get really great seating in the first three rows. And that night there was a pair of Broadway actors that I really wanted to see: Gavin Lee from MARY POPPINS and Heidi Blickenstaff from FREAK FRIDAY: THE MUSICAL (a sleeper DCOM musical gem that I absolutely freaking love). So I was not about to back down. But still, an adult dining alone at Princess Storybook Dining? Would I survive?
Too much was at stake to back down. Plus everyone on reddit said that adults doing character dining by themselves were totally ok. And I trust reddit! I showed up and the hosts at the restaurant were incredible. They seated me almost immediately and I got to bypass the massive line of standby diners waiting for a table. I was whisked away and felt like a real VIP (not really – I kind of felt bad passing up all those toddlers and pre-schoolers dressed in Elsa and Cinderella outfits but also my own niece and nephew could have been there but flaked out – so #NeverForget). Upon entry, I found the restaurant to be strikingly beautiful, with an authentic Norwegian dining hall setting complete with chandeliers and flags that evoked a classic fairy tale look and feel. I was sat in the middle of the main room. THE VERY MIDDLE. And the host smiled somewhat mischievously upon seating me and was like, “hey you’re right in the middle of the action.”
This is a good and bad thing because at this point I was an adult surrounded, basically by families with those same kids cosplaying as princesses. An awkward situation but to my happy surprise, nobody seemed “judgey”. This is Walt Disney World after all, and people just kind of accept Disney fans exist at any age/gender etc… I actually feel like this is a big difference from Disneyland where I got the side eye (well scoffed at by a fellow parent) when meeting Elsa and Anna at California Adventure. Though E&A were both incredibly gracious – and it may have just been a one time thing where I just kind of happened to be in front of a less gracious parent – it really made me feel bad. I had not done a character meet and greet in over a year. And now I was back. And nervous…
Anyway, soon after I was seated, the princesses started arriving into the dining room, each one heralded by their Disney theme playing prior to their entrance. The princesses meeting at Akershus today included Belle, Tiana, Aurora aka Briar Rose aka Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, and Snow White. Sometimes Cinderella and Mulan also greet guests, though they were not there today, or at least greeting guests during my dining window.
Anyway, my wonderful aforementioned server must have realized how on edge I was. Before she even took my order, she told me not to worry, they would likely come to my table, talk for a minute and ask to take a photo – which was entirely up to me. I know it sounds insane, but I was getting slightly jittery when the princesses started arriving, so I really appreciated this kind gesture. To distract myself, I rifled through my bag to find something, anything to read. I found my EPCOT Festival of the Arts pamphlet dove in, pretending like I had something better to do than meet each of the princesses.
Yeah, right!!!!
Each new Princess theme heralded another princess and a potential new meet and greet at my table. There’s an hilarious vlog on youtube done by a couple, Theme Park Foodies (who have a terrific channel btw – give them some views), who talk about going to this same breakfast. Although they aren’t dining alone and are a couple, they are both adults without children – and each of the princesses arrives at their table ready to converse. One vlogger becomes so unnerved each time she hears the princess music that the other vlogger remarks, “wow this is like being in a horror nights house for you.” Relatable. VERY relatable. But I was here – and like a horror nights house, I was going to get through this. And you know what, it was a lot more pleasant in the end than an HHN house – and smelled a lot better.
My server brought out a beautiful appetizer of pastries and my drink of choice – an orange juice. She then said the Norwegian waffles would be coming out soon along with eggs, bacon, sausage, and a potato casserole. This was a REALLY big breakfast. What a time to meet princesses. I was already sweating and now I would have to digest as well. Not great. I honestly think I ate the entire bowl of fruit – meant for a table of 2-4 people, by myself, during this appetizer phase. I just couldn’t stop. I went back and forth between the pamphlet and the fruit, the pamphlet and the fruit.
But then, there was a princess standing at my table. Belle welcomed me and asked if I was missing a kid at the table. DISASTER. For a split second, I thought about faking it. Yeah, I was embarrassed but when I said no, she pivoted and said she was happy to see a fellow solo traveler at the restaurant. She asked what my favorite dish was so far and we ended up taking a photo together at her suggestion. This was how it went for the rest of the princesses, except for Ariel, who got torn away by a kid mid-conversation, which was fine because Aurora aka Sleeping Beauty aka Briar Rose was right behind her and asked me how my vacation was going and we joked about my lack of sleep and why naps are important. Slowly but surely, I was having a great time.
At this point, the main course arrived. My wonderful server explained how to eat the legendary Hjertevafler aka Norwegian Waffles with jam and a bit of the lox paste that were on my plate of appetizers. FWIW, I tried a bit with that, though I preferred it with just jam and no lox paste. But more princesses were on the way.
Tiana then arrived and we discussed her beignets coming to the Magic Kingdom the following week. As I was finishing up by breakfast, “Someday My Prince Will Come” played over the speakers and I knew that Snow White’s arrival was just around the corner. Would I see her? I’m a massive, massive, MASSIVE Snow White fan (I’ve written extensively about her and you can read those blogs by CLICKING HERE and CLICKING HERE and yes, I am STILL looking forward to the new film) and I was trying to eat slow enough so that I might get a meet and greet. I did. She was so poised and charming and we took a picture – her suggestion. I honestly don’t even remember what she and I talked about - but she was so gracious and charming and I was obviously starstruck, I was just grateful for the moment.
Side note: I know a lot of Disney vloggers really like to work on their character meet and greet “game” and have things to say and funny quips but I just like to keep it general and quick, then take a photo and a big thank you – unless they initiate some particular conversation like Sleeping Beauty did.
At this point, my check arrived and my server told me I did a great job. I know, hilarious right? Like I said, she knew I was nervous. I really felt like taking a picture with my server because it had been such a magical morning and she had been such a big part of it. All of the servers at Akershus are so inclusive, dynamic, and fun. Anyway, I told my server in a candid moment that I did not expect to be so nervous or starstruck and she said that a lot of adults don’t when they walk in – but they clearly are – and that it’s fun to see everyone become kids again. My server gave me my pass for EPCOT’s Disney on Broadway show and I made sure to leave a generous tip – as everyone should. And later I also sent a big cast complement to her. She deserved it.
Before I left, my server asked if I would like a drink to go – which is one of my FAVORITE parts of ANY table service dining in the parks. I needed a coke badly, something to help digest all of the Norwegian waffles, etc… It was a delightful and thoughtful final gesture by my server. I took the coke served in my paper Disney cup with a paper straw and brought it with me out into the Norwegian Pavilion to explore EPCOT.
It was a great breakfast, even for a solo adult visitor, like myself. Princess fans of any age should happily do it – though be prepared to be nervous and starstruck!
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