Most Recent Reviews
Review of Artist's Palette Lunch / Dinner
Reviewed by Lanmon Review Date: 10/23/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
We visited Artist Palette for dinner and had the cranberry salad. OMG!! The cast members were cheerful and ready to answer any questions on the menu. Menu items were displayed on a revolving sign so it was a minor challenge to remember all the selections. Not a major problem but thought it would be necessary to comment. We ordered the green salad with cranberries, apples, and nuts. The crispy cold salad was served within 5 minutes in a paper tray. OMG!! The salad dressing was so delicious, the best I have ever had at WDW in any resort or theme park. I was bummed that our schedule did not allow us to return again to enjoy this meal. I can't wait to go back for more!!
Pros:
Much better than expected and customer serviceCons:
Menu was difficult to readReview of Pop Century Resort (Value Resort)
Reviewed by CinCin Review Date: 11/15/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
This was my second stay at Pop Century. The last one was only for a single night and in the 50's section. Based on a good experience, I stayed my entire trip (11 nights) at Pop Century this time and really enjoyed my stay. I was able to request a room on the upper level in the sixties section and it was ready for me when I checked in even though it wasn't even noon yet. The room was clean and roomy enough for a single traveler and I had plenty of space for all my things. However, had I been with a family of 4, I would have felt cramped and there would have been competition for drawer space and closet space. The beds were comfortable and a pillow top double was in my room. The sheets were comfortable too and I was surprised by that as I expected "hospital" grade stiff scratchy cheap sheets. They had redecorated since my last stay in 2012 and I liked the new updated modern look with the little toe throw thing rather than the full bedspread. The housekeeper kept my room spotless and tidied up behind me and even made a few towel animals and one day even made my blanket into a large bow in the bed. It was nice to come back to a clean tidy room and having her do something a little different every day with the decor was really nice. I set the thermostat at 65 and it stayed that way my entire trip. The bath/shower water was nice and hot too and steamy and a welcome change when I actually had to add some cold water to decrease the heat some. I did hear the toilets flush in other rooms but those are water saving power flushers and they are loud in residences too, so it's not like the walls are that thin. I rarely heard anyone else from other rooms while in my room. My room was quite peaceful on the backside of the pool building but those rooms close to the elevator/stairs and facing the pool were inundated with noise/sound/play/music from morning to night. The pools were heated and even on the cold days, kids were in the pool and the lifeguards were on duty. I enjoyed the movies by the pool at night. They even had a Halloween party with trick or treat stations out by the pool and Mickey and Minnie Mouse in Halloween costume for photo ops. I love this resort so much! There were hula hoops and they didn't mind that grown ups like me hooped a bit too. On the poor weather days, they moved the activities and games inside. The walk to the food court/concierge/bus stop was only a few minutes from my room. I had a lovely view facing the Art of Animation and a beautiful water view from my room 5334. Towels were plentiful and soap and shampoo too and they kept leaving them even though I had only opened one so the next to last day I packed them all up for souvenirs. I ended up bringing home 28 shampoos and 26 soaps!!! I told you, they kept leaving them like I was supposed to take them home, so I did. I actually liked the shampoo and the soap and it's a great improvement over that all in one gel they used to carry in the dispensers. There was a hairdryer, iron, and ironing board in the room and a mini refrigerator. The fridge was tiny so don't expect to keep more than a snack and a couple of drinks in there. The food court was decent too and I ate several meals there. They had a create your own omelet station which was the best choice from breakfast I found. I am not a fan of the bounty platters with the thin floppy bacon and carb loaded sides. I did enjoy my omelet very much though and they even had Texas Pete hot sauce with the condiments! Not quite Tabasco, but it was mild and it tasted great. My favorite sandwiches turned out to be the premade ones in the refrigerated case with either shaved turkey and cheese or ham and cheese. They were like you would fix at home, and I guess that was the appeal. I didn't want anything fancy just a plain sandwich on plain sandwich bread and that was the perfect option. These must have been a favorite of others too as the case was often sold out by early evening. The pastry I fell in love with was the chocolate croissant and it was flaky and tender with a wee bit of chocolate inside and wasn't overly sweet once I knocked all the chocolate chips off the outside. The sesame chicken was very good too and I would order it again. The rice had no flavor though and was just a filler. I did walk across the bridge to Art of Animation for a meal and had a wonderful acorn squash platter with basmati rice and naan that was worth the walk to get. The front desk was very helpful and all staff seemed to be trained well. They all had the answers to whatever I needed or asked. Theming was definitely fun and it was nostalgic walking around looking at all the icons from different generations. I enjoyed the walking trail and it was marked with remember when signs and facts about specific moments in history. The resort is landscaped beautifully with a variety of of trees and flowering plants. There are benches along the paths and some lovely views there. The place is well tended and clean overall. The room was nice, the food was decent for the most part, and I would definitely return for another stay. It isn't quite as nice as the moderates, but for the savings and for being on property with all it's perks, this is a great deal and I'd be quite content to stay there again.
Pros:
price, being on property, on site food court and shopping, planned activities, 1 bus stop, clean nice roomsCons:
uncovered bus stop, motel 6 (value) feel, loud if you are overlooking the main poolReviewed by PolynesianStitch Review Date: 12/20/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
We were a party of four in two connecting Royal rooms recently. The rooms are gorgeous and quiet, housekeeping was immaculate. It was a fairly long walk to the bus stops, particularly at the end of the day, as this is a huge resort. Also the food court was always frantically busy. We never did find the hot tub and it wasn't listed on the resort map which would have been nice to have after a long day of walking.
Pros:
extremely nice roomsCons:
long walks to bus stop, food courtReview of Ireland
Reviewed by kennethecoates Review Date: 12/23/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
ABD Ireland - 2013
Cast & Crew
Me (50 something Disney fanatic), DW (50 something vacation lover), DS (16 Disney fanatic), DD (16 Disney fanatic) – Twins!
We felt we really got our money’s worth on this trip. The guides took lots of photos of each family which will be posted in a website only the people on the tour can access. The days were well-planned. The guides gave us restaurant suggestions in each city. Hotels were luxurious and many but not all had air conditioning. Sometimes the guides provided snacks on the bus. Wine was included in most included dinners.
There was just enough time on our own to not feel like we were always rushing here and there. A quiet meal as a family a few times during the trip was a perfect way to take a break from the group and build family memories.
Pros:
You can just relax because they care of all the details.Cons:
—Review of Contemporary Resort (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by tommygunn Review Date: 12/20/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
Great hotel. Love the whole look, feel and smell of the place. And what's cooler than having the monorail cruise through the lobby! I'd highly recommend a tower room. Much more expensive but the "feel" of them and the views are 100X better.
California grill is simply spectacular.
Pros:
Location, Monorail, Nostalgia, California GrillCons:
$$$$Review of Sleepy Hollow - Liberty Square
Reviewed by njpaulc Review Date: 12/19/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
Second time we ate there. My wife and I love the chicken and waffles, my son loves the Nutella and fruit, my daughter loves the ham and cheese. It is a unique menu served at a counter staffed by friendly smiling faces. The chicken sandwich is perfect for the average diner, not too sweet or too spicey, loved the slaw, did not realise it was made from broccoli. Tasted the meat from my daughters sandwich and it was top quality. We ate there during Mickey's Christmas Party, and we got there at 4:45 just before they stopped serving waffles, can't figure out why they stop so early.
Pros:
The menu, the serviceCons:
Change in menu after 5PMReview of Chefs de France - Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by wjslambs Review Date: 10/22/2014
Rating: (7) Recommended
We went for dinner on a Tuesday during Food and Wine. The park was moderately crowded; the restaurant was very crowded.
The food and the service were great. We each had the three course prix fixe meals and greatly enjoyed the onion soup, lobster bisque, chicken, and beef ribs.
What detracted from the experience were the crowded tables, ambient noise level, and screaming children. It was impossible to squeeze to my seat without bumping the table next to me. When the little girl at the next table came around to scream at her mother about something her hair brushed over my plate (fortunately, I was finished by then). And even without children screaming, it was too loud to hear the server.
Another thing we disliked was learning that the TiW discount is only available during lunch. That would not have changed our minds about eating dinner at the restaurant but we would not have felt misled by the TiW information and a bit unhappy with the restaurant for changing their policies.
We will likely go back, the food was that good, but we will carefully choose the time to avoid the crowd.
Pros:
Food, serviceCons:
Noise, tight tables, no TiWReview of FastPass+ (Retired)
Reviewed by Villeguy Review Date: 10/22/2014
Rating: (1) Recommended
We had a horrible experience with Fast Pass+ on our trip last year and I am sorry to report it was the same this year (09/28/14 to 10/08/14). We can't understand how anyone like us who starts their days in the parks in the early afternoon and like all their so called thrill rides worth it. The tiers at EPCOT are unbearable. We were in Disney World for 10 days and were only able to ride Test Track once! We had to waste more fast passes on attractions we had to pick and not show up because we had absolutely no interest in riding. Once at EPCOT Maelstorm was not running, so we could not use or fast pass. When we received a message (about an 15 to 20 minutes after our original fast pass time had expired) that another fast pass was available, we were pretty excited. When we looked at our choices of attractions it was a joke (due to the tiers). We actually looked at each other and laughed. With our Hopper, one day, we were at EPCOT in the afternoon and heading to the Magic Kingdom in the evening. We actually had to wait until our last fast pass at EPCOT was expired (which was kind of late in the day due to the tier choices). We didn't ride the attraction, we used our bands at the attractions then got out of line and headed over to the Magic Kingdom. When we got to the Magic Kingdom and saw the line just for the fast pass kiosk, we looked at each other and laughed again. You have everyone trying to get a fast pass for every attraction in one line. There is no way to tell after all the waiting there will be a fast pass for the attraction you wanted. In the old days only the people who wanted a fast pass for that attraction would be in that fast pass area and you would be able to tell if there were any passes available by the machines that were not covered. Oh my god, the stand by lines this year were the worst we ever experienced. We have been coming to Disney World in the Fall for the past 10 years at the end of September because there were never any lines. We felt the trade off was that the parks closed early. This year the parks closed early and from what we experienced Fast Pass+ added 20 to 30 minutes longer waits on the Stand By lines. We rode less attractions this year than any other year. Starts to make you wonder if it's really worth the expense of a Disney World vacation.
Pros:
Nothing I Could SeeCons:
Longer Lines and Wasted Fast PassesReviewed by Villeguy Review Date: 10/22/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
We attended MNSSHP on Sunday September 28th and Sunday October 5th. This party is our all time favorite party. Dispite all the rain at the party on September 28th we were able to ride all our favorite attractions (Space Mountain, Peter Pan's Flight, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Small World) and when I say we rode them, we rode most of them 3 times or more. In between the showers we were able to ride Big Thunder Mountain. We had the candy corn ice cream, collected 4 bags of candy (2 bags each night we attended). I will be handing out MNSSHP candy this Halloween. We also attended the Villains Sinister Soiree at the October 5th party. We had a wonder full time. The MNSSHP is a must do every year.
Pros:
Shorter Wait Times and Candy!Cons:
—Review of Tokyo Dining
Reviewed by mickeyflex Review Date: 10/21/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
We shared the miso clam soup (just okay, but lots of clams), a salad (huge and ginger dressing was amazing!), Spicy Crunch Roll, and Combination - Matsu. The rolls were not unusual, but on point and tasty; the fish, shrimp, and eel were very fresh; the egg omelet were an interesting addition.
