Hey there, hi there, ho there, Taylor! You're as welcome as can be here at
planDisney. Thank you so much for bringing us your question!
To be completely honest, I do think that you would be cutting it too close with a reservation at 7:05 p.m. Let me walk you through what dinner at
Cinderella's Royal Table usually looks like so you can be better prepared! Once you've checked in at the podium, it can take up to 20 minutes for a Cast Member to show you to your table. This is because you'll have to wait for some parties to be seated before you, and Cinderella herself will be expecting you for a quick chat and some pictures before you head up to the dining hall.
After you meet Cinderella, a Cast Member will call out your family's name, escort you upstairs and show you to your table. If you check in at 7:05 p.m. sharp, expect this to happen around 7:25 p.m. or so. Then, your server will come around with menus. This is when they'll take your drink orders and explain how the character rotation works. While you're there, four Princesses will stop by for pictures and autographs. If it takes an hour for you to meet all four Princesses and finish your dinner, which is highly unlikely, it will be close to 8:30 p.m. at that point.
Now, here's the thing, Taylor. For safety reasons,
Magic Kingdom Cast Members have to close the tunnel under
Cinderella Castle 30 to 45 minutes before Happily Ever After is set to begin. So even if you rush and manage to leave the restaurant at 8:30 p.m. sharp, it's very unlikely that they'll let you exit through the tunnels. Instead, you will have to exit through Fantasyland and go around the castle. If you go right, you'll take the Liberty Square-Adventureland path, and if you go left, you'll take the Fantasyland-Tomorrowland path. Either way, it will take approximately 15 to 20 minutes for you to find a spot. If everything goes exactly as planned and you rush through your magical dinner with the Princesses, you might make it with just a few minutes to spare. But I can tell you from experience that this is almost never the case. Most of the time, sit-down dinners at the
Walt Disney World Resort take around two hours, especially if they are character dining experiences. And even if it did take less than two hours, the areas surrounding Cinderella Castle tend to get very crowded right before
Happily Ever After, so it would likely take you and your party longer than 20 minutes to find a good spot.
In my personal opinion, you should keep your Cinderella's Royal Table reservation and watch Happily Ever After on a different night so you don't have to rush the experience. If you don't have another Magic Kingdom day on your schedule, consider modifying your dining reservation for an earlier time so that you have enough time to experience both things!
I truly hope this helps, Taylor. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to reach back out to us. We're always available and more than happy to help here at planDisney!
Warm hugs,
Ana Paula