Dining at Akershus at EPCOT

Luckily my fellas enjoy time with the Disney Princesses, including dining with them. It's kind of funny to watch at princess come to our table and look at me, as if I am the reason we are dining there (OK, I sort of am), but then they look at the boy and the husband and know that they have fans. Actually, the princesses spent some extra time with the boy and gave some extra attention because he was. . . a boy. There are typically many girls at the princess meals, so having a boy eagerly join in the merriment, may be a bit out of the ordinary for the royal guests.

If dining with Disney Princesses is something you and a prince or princess want to do while at World, Akershus' Storybook Dining in the Norway Pavilion in EPCOT may be for you. Akershus serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner princess style. The meals are a combination of buffet and family style serving. For example, at breakfast the hot items--eggs, sausages, potatoes, and bacon--come to your table family style. Cold items, fruit, and pastries are on the buffet. Know that Norwegian food is served at lunch and dinner, while a more American offering is available at breakfast.

To find Akershus, journey through EPCOT's Future World and then turn left as you go into World Showcase. Mexico is the first pavilion and Norway is next. Now, while World Showcase typically does not open to guests until 11:00 am, you can make your way past Mexico and onto Norway to dine at anytime. The rest of World Showcase is roped off at Norway until opening time at 11:00 am.

The primary princess in residence is Belle. After you check in for your advanced dining reservation--and of course you will have made one--and after you have waited for your name to be called, you will make your way to meet Belle. A photographer is on hand to take your photo with Belle. Later at your meal, the photo will be given to you as part of the meal. It will include a commemorative folder with an 8 X 10 and 4 wallet size photos. You can add those photos to your Photopass account by visiting any Photopass kiosk or shop in any park or Downtown Disney. Click here to read more about Disney's Photopass Service.

As you dine, the princesses make their way from table to table signing autographs and taking photos. It is fun to interact and make conversation with them as their character. For example, you could as Princess Jasmine, as shown in the photo above, what it was like to ride the magic carpet.

Here's Princess Aurora, a.k.a. Sleeping Beauty. We told her she looked well rested. She thanked us for the compliment. Did you know the name of her prince is Prince Phillip?

Snow White spent some time looking at all the characters in our autograph book. We asked her which was her favorite Dwarf. Of course she replied diplomatically that all of them were her favorite.

Mulan stopped by to say hello. She also sneaked a kiss!

We have eaten at Akershus twice. The time before Ariel was on hand instead of Mulan, so if you are set to meet a certain character just know that the characters may vary. While the food is tasty and filling the service can leave a bad taste in your mouth. At least it did for us. We didn't know if it was that he was new or just having an off day. Also know that the cast members working in the pavilion are typically from the country of the pavilion. So, it will be quite likely that the people checking your reservation, seating you, and serving you will be from Norway. The atmosphere is incredible. It is as if you are dining in a Norwegian Castle.

Akershus can be an easier reservation to get than Cinderella's Castle. Also, if you are on the Dining Plan, Akershus is one table service credit per person rather than the two table service credits it takes to dine at Cinderella's Castle. So, unless you are set to dine with Cinderella (click here to read about one dining with Cinderella option), Akershus may be just for you. . . and your favorite prince or princess.