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Royal Court Tea Party


DCLCrazy
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Hi All!

 

I just noticed that the Dream is now offering the Royal Court Tea. I have never booked one of these activities and the price is ASTRONOMICAL. $210 for the child and $69 for each adult... for tea! That can't be worth the experience of the meet and greet with Cinderella! For anyone who has ever done this activity, please advise on the pros and cons. I know they give the child a gift, but come on! :confused:

 

DCLCrazy

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It is one of those "because people will pay it" activities. There are parents and grands who will do anything for their little ones at any cost.

 

It is more than one gift--they get a treasure trove of DCL stuff, and meet several princesses. But it is essentially a glorified meet and greet, the difference being that each child has significant time with each princess. It is a well done event, but the cost is crazy.

 

Bottom line is that if your child never learns about it, they'll never miss it. On the other hand, DCL will definitely fill the event. I'm glad mine was too old to care by the time DCL introduced this.

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Hi All!

 

I just noticed that the Dream is now offering the Royal Court Tea. I have never booked one of these activities and the price is ASTRONOMICAL. $210 for the child and $69 for each adult... for tea! That can't be worth the experience of the meet and greet with Cinderella! For anyone who has ever done this activity, please advise on the pros and cons. I know they give the child a gift, but come on! :confused:

 

DCLCrazy

 

Its not just a gift, it is several

 

Every child receives a distinguished assortment of gifts as a keepsake of their teatime experience.

 

Gifts for Girls

Jewelry box, link bracelet, necklace with charms, a Cinderella doll, autograph book with pen and tiara

Gifts for Boys

Royal Court cinch bag, sword and shield, pins, autograph book and Duffy the Disney Bear plush

 

They serve tea and 2 courses of food.

 

You will have chefs preparing additional food, servers working to serve it, Character Manager, Character, Wardrobe Mistress to dress the Character, cleaning of the costume, maybe a technician if music has to be played at certain points, house keeping to clean up the floors, and servers to set and reset the tables.

 

It all add's up!

 

Supply and demand also helps the price up.

 

ex techie

 

Edit to add:, It is not just Cinderella, it is multiple Characters and Princess's!

And the Merch CM's need to bring the stock for the gifts aboard, store them, make up the goodie bags.

There are a whole lotta people involved!

Edited by Ex techie
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Sorry, Techie...but I really think this one is all about DCL profit.

 

Yes, there are staff costs, but the fee for two families probably pay all those costs. After that, it's all about making money. The child gets $30 (maybe) DCL wholesale cost and a bit of food that they are too excited to eat for $210. Ouch.

 

DCL brings in thousands at each of these events and spends nowhere near that to put it on. But as long as people will pay it, it will continue.

 

Put in perspective, a character dinner on land is about $40 for an adult and $20 for a child. That's for a full dinner of real food. If you are smart enough to go early or late, you get great character interaction. No, this doesn't compare to the "exclusive" nature of the Royal event, but it does give an idea of what it costs WDW to put on a food event with servers, characters, dressers, etc.

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I totally agree that it is a very good revenue generator! And they will charge the most the Guests will grin and bear to reluctantly pay!

 

However, that $30 of DCL Wholesale costs, probably cost around $100+ if you bought them separately at a Disney Store or onboard.

Yes they call it a "gift" but that does not imply that the cost of said "gifts" are not costing you the full retail prices, only that are built into the cost of the experience.

 

I don't know how many Guests are allowed for a sitting, or how many CM's are involved?

 

But say it's 20 kids and 20 adults.

so 20 x $280 = $3600 for labour, food costs - excluding full retail prices of gifts @ $100 per child.

There are easily 20+ CM's involved in making it happen. Say $10 for food per head.

 

Face Characters and Principle Performers will be on around $20 per hour,

so say 5 performers for 2 hours $200

 

Character Manager 1.5 hours $24

 

Head Server, Servers x maybe 8? for 2.5 hours at around $8 per hour $160

 

A technician $8 per hour for 1.5 hours $12

 

2 x Wardrobe Mistresses to dress at 1 hour $10 per hour per person $20

 

2 x Wardrobe Mistresses to undress at 1 hour $10 per hour per person $20

 

2 x Wardrobe Mistresses to clean and store costumes at 1 hour $10 per hour per person $20

 

Cooks for prep the food, plus Chef, pot washers maybe $80

 

House Keeping x 2 for 30 minutes at $5 per hour per person

 

Merchandise CM to collect, make up bags, and deliver them 3 hours at $8 per hour

 

 

All in all, from back on an envelope calculations, I think DCL probably make around $2500 in profit from each event.

So around $125 per child.

 

ex techie

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That actually adds up to more than I expected (if the 20 kids is accurate). Of course there is also the profit on the "gifts" if you allocate $100 per child. Whether that is designated to merchandising or another department, it is still income to DCL. If there are more than 20 families allowed, some of the costs will increase while others will remain the same (it only takes one dresser whether the characters sees 20 kids or 30).

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Yes they do make a very good profit from it!

 

But there are more than one Princess and Characters making an appearance, and as you know the costumes need to hold up to kids tugging on them, and wear and tear.

Lady Chamomile, Chef Brule and some popular Disney princesses welcome you to a dining celebration in your honor.

The wigs also need grooming and restyling etc.

 

I do think it is a privileged child that has a parent or guardian that can afford to partake.

 

As to the value vs. cost? Probably low value. But as they say "you make memories that will last a lifetime" so that is up to each person to decide.

 

ex techie

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I didn't really price it out, but I did look for reviews on it. And I actually couldn't find any bad reviews. People universally said it was pricey, and then in the next sentence said they thought it was worth it.

 

I booked one for my wife and daughter on our next cruise.

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I've had the experience of being with two children at a tea room at different times. (A normal afternoon at a tea room would cost $25 to $30 per person.)

 

My son, when he was a toddler, would pretty much lap up the tea with a spoon as if it were soup. I haven't tried him again in years, I don't know how he would feel about it now.

 

But my niece was a bit of an interesting experience.

 

Her grandmother dressed her up like a princess, complete with tiara, ready for her to enjoy a day treated like a princess. We were seated in our little area, about to spend the afternoon hanging out girl-style...

 

And she wouldn't eat a thing!

 

While I wouldn't consider a cucumber sandwich to be the scariest of dishes, no matter how much we pleaded, she would not touch her expensive lunch. Not even the desserts! She wouldn't touch the tea either.

 

So unfortunately when I think of the royal court tea, that's what I think of. Not little girls acting like princesses, but little girls not eating their $210 lunches! Ouch.

 

So if I had a daughter? I'd consider taking her if I knew she liked the tea room food/experience. Otherwise? Forget it! As for my son? Eh.... I think that's a lot to pay to get a plastic sword and shield and teddy bear with your lunch. I'll pass.

Edited by PolicromaSol
Random asterixes of doom. o_O
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So unfortunately when I think of the royal court tea, that's what I think of. Not little girls acting like princesses, but little girls not eating their $210 lunches! Ouch.

 

 

Hehe. Agreed.

 

We didn't book the tea on our last DCL trip. For our next one, I think we'll do our own version of tea. Maybe in the cabin, on the verandah. Tea and pastries from room service or wherever. Or maybe somewhere else on the ship. We'll dress up, invite some of our new friends from the kids' club, extend our pinkies at right angles from the tea cup. It'll work.

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  • 1 month later...

I'm in the minority here, but the Royal Tea was one of my favorite events of the whole cruise and it was more than worth it to watch my 3yo.

Also, the "tea" they serve the kids is just apple juice. They just serve it in teacups.

The gifts are probably worth well over $100 retail value- jewelry box, bracelet, necklace, doll, and autograph book and pen.

Although we have no need for a second set of the same gifts, we will most likely book it again on our January '18 cruise because it was so magical.

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I did it on the Fantasy last month with my girls who are currently 6 & 8. So at $489 for the 3 of us - PRICEY but a one time thing and they really LOVED the entire event. 3 Princesses come around individually at least twice. Great one and one. Several gifts. Not a lot of food but a cute selection (I would have liked to have been offered more than one cup of tea myself, however). My girls were the perfect age and really loved every minute of it and I loved sharing it with them. Glad we did it but yes, definitely ONE and done ;p

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When DD was little we did the Princess Tea at the Grand Floridian in WDW. I didn't realize they did them on the cruises. I saw then when doing my check-in but alas she is too old and we can't. Would I do it more than once? No, but I really wanted to book this for the memories.

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Also, the "tea" they serve the kids is just apple juice. They just serve it in teacups.

 

 

Most tea rooms will do something different for kids, like a sweet fruity tea, so that doesn't surprise me. My kid likes tea with honey, but I introduced him to tea really early. A lot of parents don't.

 

That said, it wasn't so much the tea as seeing a kid refuse simple finger foods that kinda stuck with me on the experience. Not every kid is shy about new foods, but I think it's still something parents should consider before booking something like this. (Or at least make them a cucumber sandwich and see if they'll eat it.) If my kid asked for a $210 lunch, he'd sure as heck better clean his plate! LOL

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Most tea rooms will do something different for kids, like a sweet fruity tea, so that doesn't surprise me. My kid likes tea with honey, but I introduced him to tea really early. A lot of parents don't.

 

That said, it wasn't so much the tea as seeing a kid refuse simple finger foods that kinda stuck with me on the experience. Not every kid is shy about new foods, but I think it's still something parents should consider before booking something like this. (Or at least make them a cucumber sandwich and see if they'll eat it.) If my kid asked for a $210 lunch, he'd sure as heck better clean his plate! LOL

 

 

 

I think if you're trying to compare this experience to a traditional tea service, you aren't going to be happy from the start. The food and tea involved are not the focus of the event- at all. It's not a $210 lunch, it's more like a $210 "very light snack." The quality of the food was horrible by Disney standards- one thing they served was a few shreds of grated cheese stuck between two pieces of bread. The only food most of the kids were interested in was the princess cupcake they each got, and I really couldn't blame them because the food was so underwhelming.

 

Despite the fact that the only thing my dd ate was a cupcake, we will still go again. I didn't pay $210 for the food and tea, I paid for the experience (specifically the princess experience, not a traditional tea experience). Meeting the princesses and getting a few minutes of one-on-one time with each of them was absolutely magical and worth every penny IMO.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I did the royal court tea with my 6 year old daughter on the Magic in February. Yes, its expensive, but it was worth it to us. I actually got myself a fancy dress at the request of my daughter ( a whole $12 courtesy of the local salvation army ;) and she was so thrilled that we were both princesses. So it was a big mother daughter event for us. The tea for her was apple juice in a tea cup, I got actual tea. We enjoyed the small deserts and she ate more of those than the big cupcake at the end. It was the interactions with the princesses (she got two with each princess, Cinderella, Belle and Tiana) and the singing and dancing presentations that made it worth it. I was able to take pictures of my own during the interactions and they took a picture of her with their photographers with the three princesses together. The picture was later sent to our room in a lovely padded folder frame and large format 8x10 I think. She enjoyed all the gifts she received as well, but it was the extended time with the princesses that made it magical for both of us. I wouldn't' do it for every cruise, although if next time grandma wants to pay for it and go with her....i wouldn't discourage it :). We also got tickets for the princess gathering where you stand in line and get pictures with each princess separately, and that was free (just make sure to reserve your tickets before you board during online check in or else you may not get tickets), and was nice as well, but my daughter didn't get the same kind of one on one interaction with the princesses.

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I seem to recall doing a Tea Party with Ariel and other princesses on Disney Wonder about four years ago. Different experience: I don't think there were any gifts, the princesses went to each table and demonstrated the proper way of holding a tea cup, we were served juice and cookies, and got a personal pic with each princess (that I assume we paid for later). I don't recall a charge (certainly not $200). Apparently Disney has upgraded the event?

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I seem to recall doing a Tea Party with Ariel and other princesses on Disney Wonder about four years ago. Different experience: I don't think there were any gifts, the princesses went to each table and demonstrated the proper way of holding a tea cup, we were served juice and cookies, and got a personal pic with each princess (that I assume we paid for later). I don't recall a charge (certainly not $200). Apparently Disney has upgraded the event?

The Royal Tea is more of an event. You have a chef & helper who do a "show" with the food items being served. The Princesses in attendance visit each table/guest. And there are gifts for each (child) participant.

 

The Tea with ......(Alice/the Princesses/Mickey/whoever) was a free event.

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I seem to recall doing a Tea Party with Ariel and other princesses on Disney Wonder about four years ago. Different experience: I don't think there were any gifts, the princesses went to each table and demonstrated the proper way of holding a tea cup, we were served juice and cookies, and got a personal pic with each princess (that I assume we paid for later). I don't recall a charge (certainly not $200). Apparently Disney has upgraded the event?

This event appeared in many variations over the years and was a free event. Alas, DCL learned how much some people would pay for an event with princesses, and the free variety exists no more.

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The Royal Tea is more of an event. You have a chef & helper who do a "show" with the food items being served. The Princesses in attendance visit each table/guest. And there are gifts for each (child) participant.

 

The Tea with ......(Alice/the Princesses/Mickey/whoever) was a free event.

 

Okay, that's scary, :eek: considering we'll be cruising in January with our 8 yr old granddaughter! The free event was nice, but $200?!?!

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  • 2 weeks later...

We're doing our first Disney cruise in May. At first, we were really turned off by the price but ultimately decided to book it anyway. Our daughter turns 5 in July. And this is her first cruise, plus a celebration of her turning 5 and transitioning into Kindergarten. This is not likely something we'd plan for future cruises (should we book DCL again -- the price of DCL alone is ridiculous when we can get what we feel is much better value on Princess). But again, this is a special trip. So we've decided to live it up.

 

The other thing that swung us was that my husband and I wouldn't bat an eye at spending around $350 (cost of one child and two adults for Royal Court Tea) for a concert for just the two of us. With no food. And no gifts to take home. And here we get the priceless joy of sharing this experience with our daughter. Plus some gifts for her and some snacks and some entertainment.

 

Also my husband rationalized that it amounts to about 3 hours of overtime for him -- which he easily gets (and more) every week. And since we budget based on our base salaries, we could afford the splurge. But if we were going into any sort of debt over it, or it was going to mean sacrificing something else we'd opt to skip it.

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