Most Recent Reviews
Review of MNSSHP The Villains' Sinister Soiree
Reviewed by BelleWDW Review Date: 10/09/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
We attended the Sinister Soiree on 10/2 and had an excellent experience. We picked up our lanyards not long after 4pm and entered the Magic Kingdom. We were told the reserved area would be opened at 7:30 and to arrive at 11:25 at the castle for our 11:45pm party. We proceeded to do some meet and greets and eat dinner before heading to the castle hub area. By 7:10 there was already a line formed to get into the reserved area. Promptly at 7:30 pm we were let into the very spacious reserved area. There were Photopass photographers in the area just for the Soiree guests taking the "Poisoned Apple" magic shot. Other cast members were handing out bottles of water, and later Mickey Mouse lollipops. It was the best parade and fireworks experience I have ever had at the Magic Kingdom. Despite two Soirees happening that night there was ample room at the reserved ropes for everyone. There was no one pushing from the side or from behind and there was no one in front of us for the parade. We chose the end opposite the entrance from frontierland and had a perfect view of the parade from the front and the side. We were able to watch two Villains castle shows as well as Hallowishes, and Celebrate the Magic from the reserved area. The cast members were very friendly and did a wonderful job of checking everyone for the lanyards. After the fireworks ended we had another two hours (approximately) to enjoy more MNSSHP time including meeting the Dwarfs and many other characters. We arrived at the castle at the requested time and had pictures taken with the Queen of Hearts and saw others mingling. Upstairs we were seated and enjoyed the cheese and charcuterie platter (each table received one) which included a small pot of fondue among other things. We had an unlimited supply of "sour apple" drink which came with a light up poisoned apple glow cube and light up drink stirrer. We also received a dragon mug filled with candy to take home. Lady Tremaine hosted the evening, introduced all the villains and sang. We met Frollo, Captain Hook, Anastasia, Druzilla, The Evil Queen, Cruella de Ville, Malificent and Dr. Facilier. Lady Tremaine even stayed after the party had ended to make sure she met everyone. We had ample time to interact with every character and get pictures. There was also a cast member available with each villain to take pictures of the whole table together (as there were no Photopass Photographers there). We were served a plate of four unique desserts representing four villains. A "Bleeding heart" apple for the Evil Queen. a toasted green pistachio dessert for Malificent, a chocolate Tarot card and mousse for Dr. Facilier and a white and milk chocolate mousse (complete with cocoa paw prints) for Cruella de Ville. By the time the Soiree had ended and the servers had offered boxes and bags to take the gifts and any leftovers home it was after 1am. We made our way out through an empty castle and park and had time to take lots of pictures. There were buses waiting for us to go to our resorts at the bus stops. I would highly recommend this experience for anyone who enjoys the villains and is interested in having a spacious reserved area with a great view for the parade and shows near the castle. While it is pricey at $99.00 on top of the MNSSHP ticket cost I felt I got my money's worth.
Pros:
Excellent reserved area, extra hour of party timeCons:
—Review of General Exhibits and Experiences
Reviewed by Imjustababyduck Review Date: 10/08/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
During our weeklong stay at WDW, my husband and I did several culinary demonstrations and mixology classes. We found the culinary demonstrations to be a very nice way to try some nice food that was cost effective, and didn't take up 4 hours of your day. (We also did a lot of food and wine pairings which take hours out of your day). I think if you enjoy the food booths, then the culinary demonstrations (which take about 45 minutes and give you a tapas sized plate) are a great way to maximize your time at food and wine. With the demonstrations, you are not stuffed full at the end, and you have the time (and room) to try the food at the booths. The mixology seminars were fun and informative, but I did prefer the culinary demonstrations over the mixology.
Pros:
Quick and inexpensiveCons:
None, reallyReview of Shula's Steakhouse Dinner
Reviewed by Imjustababyduck Review Date: 10/08/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
My husband and I ate here on 9/28/14. It was a fairly romantic place, but quite dark. So dark it was hard to see the menu or your food. We were very, very, very full when we went to dinner here so we kept things to a minimum, but it all was good.
My husband had the French Onion Soup and I had a half of the heirloom tomato salad. Both were good, but not over the top good. We wouldn't be opposed to getting these apps again, but would probably try something else.
My husband go the filet that he said was fabulous. It hands down beat the steak at the Yachtsman (but that really isn't saying much). I had what should be Steak Diane (but at Shula's is the Steak Mary Ann, after his wife). The saucing was good and not overpowering. The steak was cooked perfectly and was tender. We shared a huge baked potato that was really good.
We finishing with the chocolate soufflé that was also very good. It was light and fluffy with just the right amount of chocolate.
We will absolutely eat here again. We were warned going in about the portion size and ordered accordingly. Enough cannot be said about just how much food you get with the apps and the sides. It really is way too much food. They should charge less and provide smaller portions. It would make the meal much more enjoyable. Please be cognizant of this when you are ordering. My half salad was larger than most full sized salads. That is too much to eat and then expect to eat an entrée and dessert.
My one real complaint though came at the end of the meal when our servers ganged up on us and gave us the hard sell on providing online reviews for Shula's, going so far as to name some of the sites they would like us to post a review on. WOW!!! I found this off putting. It came across as desperate. Even if they are desperate for reviews, they need to chill out and find another way. I felt like they were trying to get me to buy a time-share. It was VERY high pressure. You felt compelled to promise to write great reviews on the sites they recommended in order to be able to leave. I'm sure this isn't exactly the review they expected me to write, but I guess you should be careful what you demand from your patrons; you just might get it.
Pros:
Great Food and ServiceCons:
Really dark; portion sizeReview of Kimonos Sushi Bar
Reviewed by Imjustababyduck Review Date: 10/08/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
My husband and I ate here on 9/23/14. It was late and we were starving having just arrived from our late and delayed flight into Orlando.
I order the "Hot Blonde" drink and HOLY SMOKES! I cannot handle a hot blonde. It is way out of my league!! I think the only part of this drink that was not alcohol was the single ice cube that was in it (and I could be mistaken, that might have been frozen alcohol too). My dear sweet hubby can, in fact, handle a hot blonde (he is married to me after all!) so he drank it right on down.
We ate the beef satay, the pork belly, the chicken karrage, the chicken katsu, gyoza, seared tuna, and tempura. My husband also had about 6-8 pieces of nigiri sushi. I can't remember all he ordered but I know there was tuna, scallop, and eel. Everything was good and flavorful. So yummy. If I had to pick my favorite dish, it would be the beef satay, but that's not really fair, because I would order all of it again. My husband's least favorite was the tempura, but he did eat it all so.....
The "entertainment" was in the form of karaoke -- which was a blast!!! It was so much fun listening and watching the patrons get up and participate in karaoke. We did not, but it was still a lot of fun!!
We will go back here to eat and enjoy the entertainment.
Pros:
Food and atmosphereCons:
NoneReview of bluezoo
Reviewed by Imjustababyduck Review Date: 10/08/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
My husband and I ate here on 9/27/14 and thoroughly enjoyed it. We were stuff from all of our food and wine eating throughout that day, and we still managed to happily eat 2 apps, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts. On top of the great food, the service was impeccable. Sometimes it is hard to get really great service in touristy spots because it is unlikely you will be a repeat customer. Not here. Todd was our server and he was the perfect balance of knowing when to show up and when to stay away. He was very knowledgeable and made the meal even better with his great service to match the great food.
To start with, I got the drink "Serenity". Wow, was this thing good. Sucked it down in about 2 minutes and got another one (which I did drink a little more slowly). My husband got the "signature" or "most popular" -- can't remember which now. It was a lemonade/blueberry concoction that was good (but not as good as mine).
We had the heirloom tomato salad and the yellowfin tuna tartar. Both were unique takes on routine dishes and we loved them both. It was nice to order something familiar and get something so special.
My husband got the Miso Glazed Mero. That dish has Hawaiian Sea Bass which was spectacular. We normally eat Chilean Sea Bass so sea bass was familiar to him. He loved the Hawaiian as much if not more than the Chilean.
I got a special of the night which was a filet medallions in a rich sauce with potatoes. It was juicy, tender, and cooked perfectly. I ate the entire plate (and remember, I was full).
For dessert we had the signature truffles (all yummy) and the Citrus Pavlova (that was beyond fabulous). I know that Todd English is known for his truffles, but I found the Pavlova much more to my liking.
We will absolutely be back on our next trip, and all thereafter. At least until we have tried everything on the menu. If our meal that night is any indication, we are missing out on some excellent, inventive food, accompanied by excellent service. For us, this is a "must do."
Pros:
EverythingCons:
NothingReview of Yachtsman Steakhouse
Reviewed by Imjustababyduck Review Date: 10/08/2014
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
We ate here on 9/24/14. My husband and I were celebrating our anniversary. We were seated within 10 minutes of arriving, but after that everything went downhill. We had spent the day drinking in Epcot and did not order alcohol so maybe that had something to do with our supremely crappy service that was only surpassed in its crappiness by the quality of the food we were served.
We shared the lobster bisque that was thin and fishy -- just not good at all. We powered through it telling ourselves this was a steakhouse and we shouldn't expect to the seafood to be fantastic (even if it was a waiter recommendation).
My husband got the dry aged Kansas City Strip Steak (that was, once again, recommended by the server as "the best and most flavorful steak on the menu -- as well as one of the most expensive at $55.00 for just the steak). It was by far the worst steak he has ever eaten, A steak at Western Sizzler would have been better. It was tough and lacked the succulence of a great steak. Without a great steak flavor you would think they would at least season it to give it some flavor, but nope. I'm not sure that they even used any salt or pepper to season the steak. I'm sure your wondering why we didn't send it back for another steak. The reason is simple: it was late, we were tired, and it took 2-25 minutes for our soup and OVER 45 minutes between our soup and entrée. We didn't feel like waiting another hour for another steak.
I ordered the filet and it was fine. Not great, but fine. I certainly had much better filets and I have had worse. I must admit I did have a sour taste in my mouth for this place by this point in the evening. My husband ate from my plate and left his steak uneaten. When the server (finally) came to take the plates he never even commented on my husband's uneaten steak.
We had ordered dessert already and dreaded having to wait for it. Again, an extremely long wait. The dessert was the crème brulee' which I love. This was not good. Not even ok. We shared this and again left the majority of it in the plate.
We received no apologies for the long waits, nor did the server check on us during those times. No water refresh, no anything. We watched him wait on other tables and found him to be somewhat more attentive to them than to us. We saw people (and larger groups than 2) seated after us and finish well before us.
We generally will give a place at least 2 tries before we say we are not going back. Not this time. The Yachtsman managed to fully hit each and every thing you can do wrong during what should be a signature dining experience. We will not ever be back. I'm not sure I would go back if I was eating a fully reimbursed meal. It really was that bad.
Pros:
It was in our hotelCons:
Everything elseReview of The Wave - Breakfast
Reviewed by mmfan Review Date: 10/07/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
We had planned a side trip to the Contemporary resort one day as we were spending time visiting various resorts. We made reservations for breakfast here, not really knowing what to expect. We were seated promptly, and decided to order the buffet. Everything was very fresh and good, standard breakfast offerings but prepared very well. We talked for a short time to one of the chef's who was out checking the buffet, he obviously cared a great deal about what we thought about the food preparation and presentation. It was nice to dine without large crowds or characters for once. The restaurant décor fits very well into the Contemporary resort theming, but we felt like a view of the lake or other surroundings would have been nice. We would return again, all in all a good experience.
Pros:
great breakfast buffetCons:
wish the area had windows!Reviewed by mmfan Review Date: 10/07/2014
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
This is by far our least favorite resort food court. The offerings seem very limited, it seems you have to wait a long time for everything to be prepared. The area was never overly crowded, but the music played seems annoying making the atmosphere kind of hectic. All the cast members were very helpful and pleasant though. We made sure we ate elsewhere before returning to the resort, just not very appealing.
Pros:
no large crowds, helpful cast memebersCons:
poor quality food, long waits for foodReview of Tony's Town Square Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by mmfan Review Date: 10/07/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
Not sure why this restaurant gets poor reviews at times. We had dinner there before the Halloween party, and had a nice experience with good food. It was not very busy when we arrived as our reservation was for 4:50pm. but it was very busy when we finished. Although we felt a little rushed to order, we just took our time and the wait staff adjusted to our pace. My DH had a lovely cioppino that he really enjoyed, my chicken parmesan was very good with a chunky marinara sauce. The warm bread was delicious. Our drinks were refilled promptly, service was very good. While not a signature dining experience for sure, it was a fun place to eat with predictable Italian food and good service and atmosphere.
Pros:
good food, relaxing atmosphereCons:
meal was rushed a littleReview of Trail's End Restaurant
Reviewed by mlbaloo Review Date: 10/07/2014
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
Typical Disney. Way overpriced food and it was awful. You wait in line for a thin slice of brisket and ham. Both were a chunk of fat and inedible. I would have gone back but the line was too long and it's not worth the wait. So I tried the shrimp and it smelled like it had been steamed in ammonia. There was no smoked sausage or fish. The only thing good was the ice cream. We had a party of 6 and all this for $160.00 ? Never again.
