Location
EPCOT, Norway Pavilion
Characters
Belle + 3–4 Princesses
Price Range
$$$ (~$50 breakfast)
Meals Served
Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner
Booking
60 days — manageable
Best Age
Ages 3–10
Most Disney guests searching for princess dining go immediately to Cinderella's Royal Table. Seasoned Disney visitors know that Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in EPCOT's Norway pavilion delivers an almost identical princess experience — private greeting on entry, 4–5 princess table visits throughout the meal — at a lower price, with easier reservations, inside one of EPCOT's most beautiful buildings. If Cinderella's Royal Table is unavailable or over budget, Akershus isn't a consolation prize. It's a genuine alternative that many families ultimately prefer.
The Setting: A Real Medieval Norwegian Castle
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall is modeled after Akershus Fortress in Oslo, Norway — a genuine 14th-century medieval castle. The Disney interpretation captures the aesthetic faithfully: stone archways, vaulted ceilings, warm candlelit sconces, and a scale that feels properly castle-like. Unlike Cinderella's Royal Table, which is inside the park's most recognizable landmark, Akershus sits within EPCOT's World Showcase, meaning you're surrounded by the Norway pavilion's full village recreation outside. It's a more immersive cultural setting — eating "inside" a Norwegian castle while the Frozen-themed Maelstrom area sits steps away creates a cohesive sense of place.
Akershus vs. Cinderella's Royal Table: The Honest Comparison
Cinderella's Royal Table
- Inside Cinderella Castle (unique globally)
- Private Cinderella foyer greeting
- Prix-fixe, plated meals
- $65–85/adult (dinner)
- Books out in 10–30 minutes at 60 days
- 4 princesses at table
- Magic Kingdom location
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
- Medieval Norwegian castle
- Princess greeting on entry (similar concept)
- Buffet + cold appetizer table
- $45–65/adult (dinner)
- Typically bookable days/weeks out
- 4–5 princesses at table
- EPCOT World Showcase location
The Characters
Akershus typically features a larger princess rotation than Cinderella's Royal Table — often 4–5 different princesses per meal versus CRT's 4. Belle is typically the most consistent presence. The lineup varies; always check recent reports within two weeks of your visit.
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Belle (Consistent Presence)
Belle is the most reliably present princess at Akershus and often the fan favorite. She's warm, literary, and genuinely engaging — she loves asking children what their favorite books or stories are, which generates real conversations rather than scripted interactions.
💡 Insider tip: Tell Belle you've been "to the library recently" — she'll launch into an enthusiastic in-character conversation about books that children find enchanting.
❄️
Anna (Rotating)
Anna from Frozen is an enormously popular Akershus regular, which makes sense given Akershus's Norwegian theme and EPCOT's Frozen Ever After ride in the same pavilion. Anna in the Norwegian setting feels especially fitting. Her interactions tend toward exuberant and funny.
💡 Insider tip: With Frozen Ever After nearby in the same pavilion, riding the attraction before or after your Akershus meal creates a fully Frozen-themed experience that Frozen fans especially appreciate.
🌺
Ariel / Aurora / Snow White / Jasmine (Rotating)
The remaining princess slots rotate. Ariel in her princess gown, Aurora in her pink dress, Snow White, and Jasmine are all frequent Akershus appearances. The exact combination on your day varies — the 4–5 total princess count is consistent even when individual characters rotate.
The Princess Greeting: Same Concept as CRT
One detail most guests don't realize until they arrive: Akershus includes a princess greeting moment upon entry, comparable to Cinderella's Royal Table's foyer Cinderella moment. You're greeted by a princess (typically Belle or whichever lead princess is on) for a private photo moment before being seated. The scale is slightly less dramatic than the castle foyer at CRT, but it's the same concept — and it's included in the meal price.
The Food: Norwegian-Inspired with Surprising Depth
Akershus serves a combination format: a cold appetizer table (koldtbord — traditional Norwegian cold board) that you serve yourself, plus table-service hot courses. The food is more interesting than a standard character buffet. Dinner is the best meal for food quality.
⭐ Must Try
The Koldtbord (Cold Appetizer Table)
The Norwegian cold table is the most distinctive food element at Akershus — smoked salmon, herring, cured meats, an excellent selection of Scandinavian cheeses, open-faced sandwiches, and traditional accompaniments. Don't skip this to go straight to the hot food. It's genuinely the best part of the meal.
⭐ Must Try
Norwegian Meatballs (Kjøttkaker)
Traditional Norwegian beef-and-pork meatballs with gravy. Much more interesting than Swedish meatball equivalents and cooked well. This is a properly made version of the dish, not a generic character-dining interpretation.
✅ Worth Getting
Potato Lefse
Soft Norwegian potato flatbread. Traditional, slightly sweet, and unlike anything at other Disney restaurants. A small thing, but it's the kind of authentic detail that elevates Akershus above a generic character buffet.
⚠️ Skip It
The Standard Desserts
The dessert selection at Akershus is the weakest part of the meal — fairly generic for the price point. Focus appetite on the koldtbord and hot entrées rather than filling up on dessert.
Strategy: Using Akershus as Your EPCOT Day Anchor
Build Your EPCOT Day Around This Meal
Akershus's World Showcase location makes it uniquely suited to anchor an EPCOT day. Book a breakfast slot (opens with Early Theme Park Entry, 8:00–8:30 AM) — you arrive at EPCOT early, complete your princess dining experience before the park fills, then spend the rest of the day on World Showcase and Future World. Alternatively, book a late lunch (1:30–2:00 PM) — use morning hours for Future World attractions, break at 1:30 for Akershus, then continue World Showcase exploration in the afternoon when it opens fully. Either approach means your princess dining integrates naturally into the park day rather than interrupting it.
🏰 What Other Sites Don't Tell You
Dinner food quality is dramatically better than breakfast. The hot food at Akershus dinner — the Norwegian meatballs, roasted proteins, and seasonal sides — is meaningfully better than the breakfast offerings. If food quality matters to the adults in your group alongside the character experience, book dinner.
The princess count varies by day and season. Akershus typically features 4–5 princesses, but some visits report only 3. Princess counts are highest during peak holiday periods when Disney supplements character staffing. If you're visiting during a slower period (January, September), manage expectations — 3 or 4 is the realistic target.
Norway Pavilion + Frozen Ever After = a complete day for Frozen fans. The alignment of Akershus, the Norway pavilion's design, Anna's typical presence, and Frozen Ever After attraction steps away makes this the best "Frozen immersion day" available at Disney World. Time your visit to close with the ride.
The Honest Verdict
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall is the character meal most deserving of more credit. It delivers 4–5 princess visits, a private greeting on entry, genuinely interesting Norwegian food, a beautiful castle setting, and a more manageable reservation at meaningfully lower cost than Cinderella's Royal Table. For families where Cinderella herself isn't the specific draw — where the princess lineup matters more than the specific castle — Akershus is the smarter booking. For families where CRT is unavailable, Akershus is a full-quality substitute, not a fallback.