Most Recent Reviews
Review of Be Our Guest Dinner
Reviewed by DanInNH Review Date: 12/18/2018
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
Once upon a time I would have given BOG an 8 or 9 rating. Well, we had not eaten at BOG in several months, I think since June, but we went last week and apparently they changed dinner to be one price - 3 course - meal. So we had to pay a lot to get appetizers and dessert - which if allowed, we would NOT have wanted or ordered. So we got more food than we wanted, but it was lousy enough to leave it where it laid without a thought.
Pros:
atmosphere...dining room aesthetics niceCons:
cost. did I say cost yet? and the quality of food was poor. For example, I am a filet mignon lover, and what I got paled mightily in comparison to both Le Cellier and Citricos. Looked for the chain saw. BOG had better choices and quality when it first opened. Loved the mussles...no longer offered. The braised pork? gone.. Anyway, it was nice once upon a disney time, but I doubt we will ever return unless it has a complete make over on the menu, both options and quality...Review of Grand Floridian Resort (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by Rebekah G Review Date: 12/18/2018
Rating: (7) Recommended
10 of us stayed at GF for the first time Dec. 9-15, 2018. We are Disney vets and have stayed at WDW resorts many, many times the last couple decades at value and moderate. This was only my second deluxe. We recently became pass holders and DVC members so we will start to stay at more and more Deluxe. Let me preface this trip was a big family holiday celebration with 8 adults, a 4 year old, and infant, which would present challenges no matter where we stayed.
I arrived on ME with some of our party about 10:30am; the rest arrived via car soon after. We got checked in and found we had two upgraded lagoon views from garden views, which was a hit because we could watch the monorail. Great balcony and a peaceful view!
The rooms were not quite ready so we headed to grab some lunch. The only real quick service option for lunch was Gasparilla. It was raining and only has a small inside seating area for the size of the resort so it was crowded even though we arrived about 11am. Food was fine for a QS. Cookies were underwhelming. The cupcakes we had later in the week were much better. That was the only QS meal we ate there, but got breakfast items, mug refills, and snacks all week. While Gasparilla was open 24 hours there are only two Coke freestyle machines (we found two others at the beach pool on other side of resort but those were limited hours). There was always a backup and mid day multiple flavors were frequently out.
We got the text rooms were ready shortly after lunch. We had no park plans the first day so we were glad to get situated with the large group. We were put in adjoining rooms in Sago Cay (lobby of buidling was beautiful). The rooms were clean and nicely appointed. We had the crib we ordered and were brought more Kcups. Both driving groups were able to get CM with golf carts drive to their cars and get their luggage, which was awesome since it was raining and the one car had two kids and a lot of stuff. Their only complaint driving is CM were not as helpful when they arrived to help direct to non-valet parking.
Those of us ME guests received our checked bags shortly thereafter. We had purchased military tickets so we needed to go to TTC to activate. This was our first experience with how inconvenient the transport is if you are staying there. We'd used resort monorail many times prior trips for dining and resort exploration, but it's not as fun when you are staying there. At this point (about 2:30pm) it finally stopped raining. We went to the monorail station and it was very backed up. We decided to take our chances walking to TTC. It took 7 adults a full 20 minutes at a brisk pace to make it to TTC, but we decided that was better than waiting for multiple monrails before we would get on. I upgraded my ticket to Gold annual pass, and the CM at TTC was very efficient with our group.
We had earlier dining reservations at Cape May (we decided before the trip, we would drive since we had two cars and that was the right choice after the monorail earlier). We had some time and the weather was good for December swimming for we northerners so we checked out the quieter pool in center of resort. The zero entry was fantastic for the four year old and for wading adults who did not want to get soaked. The pool was huge and not very crowded. We enjoyed that pool several times throughout the week. The hot tub is large and accommodated a lot of people. We went to the beach pool once, which was nice, but smaller and not as good for little ones wanting to swim. The four year old kept saying she wanted to go to the pool with "nothing." Aka, no slide. The beach pool was a little warmer.
We did eat at 1900 Park Fare, my first time for dinner (I'd done character breakfast before). We had a 4:20 reservation, which I would highly recommend. It was not very crowded compared to some of the lines we saw outside the restaurant many times walking through. Food was above average for a character buffet and the 4 year old loved Cinderella and the adults found the stepmother and sisters amusing.
The main lobby was exquisite as it always is for Christmas, but staying there for the first time, we found the lobby very crowded much of the time, which was inconvenient for those "living there." The gingerbread house had a constantly long line as did the photo pass for Christmas tree. We went a couple times later in the day before closing at gingerbread house. Less crowds, but they would be out of things and one night the cookies we got were inedible. Guest services gave us our snack credits back.
Overall, this is an amazing resort that feels so 5 star, less Mickey, and we did enjoy so much staying there. But, our biggest critique was transportation. While MK is so close, you cannot walk there. By the time the resort monorail gets around to your resort, there's usually minimal space. Security can get backed up. Going to MK, we took the boat one morning, but that was no better. It still took 20 minutes from the time we got on the boat because it stops at Poly first. Taking the boat back from MK is nice cause GF is first stop, but the boats fill up cause they hold 34 people and they only run one during day it seemed. One day we walked out to leave MK midday, and just missed boat. CM recommended monorail would be faster cause boat would not be back for 20-25 minutes. We walked right on a monorail, but it takes a full 20 minutes to go from MK to GF (sometimes longer) cause of all the stops. It just seems like being that close with the price of the resort it should be easier to get to and from MK. Somedays I would have been happier getting on a bus.
Going to Epcot is even worse. As I noted, at a brisk pace you can walk to TTC from GF in 20 minutes, but there was no way we would do that with 10 people and 2 little ones. So, we had to take the resort monorail (a solid 15 minutes on a good trip) to TTC, then unload, walk across, wait for Epcot monorail, ride over, and have to go through security AGAIN! A CM said they're working on fixing this, but we had to go through security at resort and again at Epcot. The return trip was a little better since we were second stop after TTC. If you're staying at Poly, you can walk to TTC; if you're staying at Contemporary, you can walk to MK. If you're staying at GF, one of the most expensive resorts, you can get no where fast. My husband and I stayed at AK lodge for the first time this past January, I came into worried about tranzport. While we were farther from all the parks except AK, we just walked out and got on a bus. It may have been a longer bus ride, but a much smoother experience. I much preferred going to HS and AK from GF because it was much easier logistically. I know Disney transport is not always the best, but I just expected a little better since monorail resorts are so pricey.
As a first time resort monorail stay (a longstanding Disney dream of our whole Disney family), I just expected getting everywhere to be easier for what you're paying. As DVC members, I want to stay at the other monorail resorts to compare. I'd stay again at GF, but now know what to expect in transport.
Pros:
Lovely grounds and rooms, surprisingly compactCons:
Transportation between MK and Epcot, busy lobbyReview of Grand Floridian Resort (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 12/18/2018
Rating: (8) Recommended
Gorgeous hotel but not as convenient as a location you'd expect
Pros:
Beautiful grounds, deceivingly compactCons:
Getting to and from MK and EpcotReview of Be Our Guest -Counter Service Lunch
Reviewed by Dreamer Review Date: 12/13/2018
Rating: (6) Recommended
We have eaten lunch at BOG on multiple occasions and typically enjoy it. Our last visit was disappointing. Even though we pre-ordered they couldn't find it. After sitting down we waited for 25 minutes without food and I finally had to ask about it. The food tasted good, but I was annoyed about the poor service.
Pros:
The chance to eat inside the Beast's castle. The food.Cons:
Poor service and cast members who didn't seem to care.Review of Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria
Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 12/13/2018
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
visited 12/7. Not only was food cold but undercooked. worst experience of the whole week. very disappointed.
Pros:
beautiful restaurantCons:
poor serviceReview of Trail's End Restaurant
Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 12/12/2018
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
Ovetpriced slop. 170.00 with tip four four people. Dry chicken, dry beef brisket. Stouffers makes better mac and cheese and the desserts were a hot mess. Poor presentation of food . For the cost disney should be ashamed. Bettet off going to golden corral.
Pros:
NoneCons:
Bad food high priceReview of Magic Kingdom Fireworks Dessert Party
Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 12/12/2018
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
It’s too crowded with inconsiderate people. Perhaps less people would benefit. If people put children on shoulders, use iPads and phones and hold them up it rather defeats the purpose of a Great view. Great view is out, good view of your lucky? That’s a time and more importantly a money waster in my pocket.
Pros:
DessertCons:
Too crowded, inconsiderate guests.Review of Caribbean Beach Resort (Moderate Resort)
Reviewed by PeteC Review Date: 12/12/2018
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
We just completed a five (5) day four (4) night stay at the CBR. The room was clean and the resort is well maintained. We were given a room on the 2nd floor and the only option was to take stairs to access the room. There is no elevator option. Our room at Aruba is too far away from the main building for access to food options. The resort does not offer room service for breakfast.
Pros:
Clean rooms, well maintained property, staff is very courteous, close to Disney transportationCons:
Resort is too spread out. No elevators for access to the 2nd floor. No water or soda vending machines in the buildings. Lots of construction underway.Review of Magic Kingdom Fireworks Dessert Party
Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 12/12/2018
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
We (2 of us) tried the fireworks after party dessert and were well prepared. Found a decent spot in the garden, stood the entire time so anyone wanting to pick their own spot could anticipate where we were viewing from and all was good with my handheld camcorder. Cast members keep a space clear as a thoroughfare at the railings outside the garden and a giant of a man arrived in that outside space 5 minutes before the show started and stood just inside the tape the CMs put on the floor, hoisted one of his children onto his shoulders and proceeded to dance and shuffle around the entire length of the show. I’m sure they’d recognise themselves from the wonderful silhouette I recorded for about half the show before giving up ?
I think your experience is far too dependent on random factors like this or where you get seated in Tomorrowland Terrace (that has a really skewed view of projections/fireworks) to really be worth the money or a recommendation.
Pros:
Desserts nice if you have a sweet tooth and potentially a good view of everythingCons:
You only “potentially” have that view and very hit and miss based on completely random eventsReview of Pop Century Resort (Value Resort)
Reviewed by Shendl Review Date: 12/12/2018
Rating: (8) Recommended
This was our first time staying at Pop Century Resort and also our first time at a Value Resort. We enjoyed the resort but found the bus service slow especially in the evenings coming from the Parks. We had a problem with our Hot water....it wasn't hot. I did complain to the front desk and they sent maintenance to 'fix'it but it still wasn't very warm. I then emailed the Resort manager and after that it was nice and warm. I should have let my Travel Agent know but I completely forgot to do that...if I had it probably would have been fixed quicker. The Food court was ok and the shop had what we needed. We stayed in Building 10 on the 3rd floor in Room 0314. You can hear the toilets flushing and the doors closing but couldn't hear talking. The Beds and pillows were fantastic and we really liked the refurbished rooms. I would recommend this resort for families with Kids but not really for Couples.
