Most Recent Reviews
Review of MNSSHP The Villains' Sinister Soiree
Reviewed by Villeguy Review Date: 10/14/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
My spouse and I attended the Villains Sinister Soiree: A Wicked Takeover of Cinderella Castle on Sunday October 5th at the 10:15 seating. After checking in and receiving our lanyard we informed the cast member that we were not staying for the parade or fireworks. There were rides and candy to be had. We arrived at Cinderella's Castle at 10:00pm and were let into the lobby almost immediately. The Queen of Hearts was the first to arrive. She made her way around the crowd that was starting to form, taking pictures with anyone who asked. Next to arrive was Anastasia and Drizella. They are both riots. They had us laughing so hard. Even making me act silly in our picture. An announcement was made to report upstairs to be escorted to our table. Everything at the table was wonderful. The cheese plate was heavenly. My spouse, who is a very picky eater loved the plate mixture. The triple creamcheese spread was to die for. As I was enjoying the spread, I had a feeling something was very close and behind me. I look over at my spouse and he's just smiling. To my surprise it's Captain Hook, another picture opportunity. Close behind Jafar, Cruella DeVil (who made plans with my spouse to get the puppies in the morning - how evil). Maleficent, absolutely wicked. The Queen, this is one woman who is full of herself, she showed us the correct way to pose for a picture, what fun! Dr. Facilier is a charmer. The hostess of all hostess, Lady Termaine was so very funny and the song she did with her daughters and the audience participation was out of this world. Then we come to the desserts, each and everyone was sinister and a true treat to be had. The "Bleeding Heart" poached apple was of the best desserts I had during our whole vacation. This event was worth every penny. I have pictures with all the truly evil villains. When my spouse and I left we turned to each other and said we can't wait to come back next year.
Pros:
For the True Villain FanCons:
—Review of Best Friends Pet Care
Reviewed by JEZeimer Review Date: 10/14/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
We use Best Friends every year. It is a HUGE upgrade from the old kennels offered at the Magic Kingdom. Our rescue dog is not a social dog with others. Best Friends has been great with walking him separately and helping us to safety when we come to visit. We use the Vacation Villas. Our first visit we used the regular indoor kennels and found that our dog was very stressed as it resembled the rescue kennel. He didn't eat/drink much and lost some hair so the return trip we used the Vacation Villas. He LOVED it. He had his t.v. and turn down service. The isolation from other dogs helped with his stress. No problem with eating/drinking this trip. The outside area has two portions - one private walk area, and then the large dog park. We've found that it's busy at certain times of the day but we had no problem adjusting our schedule and finding private time to let our dog roam free in the park area alone. They provide baggies for pick up - it's very clean.
The Vacation Villa is a good size. Charlie is about 100 lbs and he has plenty of room to stretch - loves his dog movies on the t.v. and quiet time keeps him relaxed. It's easy to get to the villa and then it's a straight shot out to the walking area. The air conditioning is really nice and keeps him very cool - it's actually cooler in the villas than in the VIP suites.
If I had to provide one suggestion, it would be nice to have a separate entrance for check in vs. walking visitors. It gets quite busy in the reception area during peak times and for those that just want to walk back and walk their dog, it can be a long wait. It's also very hard to keep your dog separate when it's that busy.
Pros:
Great Service and Wonderful AccommodationsCons:
Separate entrance neededReview of Columbia Harbour House
Reviewed by lyrashanti Review Date: 10/14/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
We went to MK for an early Bday present for me on September 5th. My other half and I have been fans of Harbor House for years. Their standards such as sandwiches, clam chowder, salads, fish basket, etc have always been excellent. I also really liked the lobster roll and was sad to see it only offered at lunch time. In it's place, however, was something even better! The amazingly yummy Seafood Mac n Cheese with panko topping was beyond my expectations! The cheese was so ooey gooey and delicious while the chunks of lobster and shrimp were absolutely satisfying. I can't wait to go back to get more of it! It's almost too chilling, but I ate almost every drop. So good!! I can only hope they keep this on the menu for a long, long time!!
Pros:
Yummy food, cozy, quiet setting.Cons:
Can be busy.Review of Be Our Guest -Counter Service Lunch
Reviewed by jbird1979 Review Date: 10/14/2014
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
We had lunch Fastpass+ reservations for 10/5/2014. We pre-ordered all our meals using the online system, but our order was nowhere to be found when we arrived at the podium to pay. I commented, "What's the point of pre-ordering, then?" to which the CM replied, "We're still in testing mode." We easily found a table and helped ourselves to the self-serve drinks. The food came to us rather quickly. I enjoyed my braised pork, but my wife did not enjoy the Croque Monsieur served with room temperature Pommes Frites. My MIL found the Carved Turkey sandwich to be too heavy on the bread, and no one liked the tomato soup that was served with the my daughters' grilled cheese sandwiches they ordered. The "Grey Stuff" is just okay, not quite as delicious as the song would imply. We ate here for dinner in December 2012 right after they opened, and were not impressed, but attributed our experience then to the fact that they were still working out the kinks. While the atmosphere and theming are nice, the price we paid (over $70 for a party of 5) for a meal that was mediocre at best, means that we will not be back unless the menu gets better.
Pros:
Beautiful atmosphereCons:
overpriced for the quality of the lunch offeringsReview of Sleepy Hollow - Liberty Square
Reviewed by jbird1979 Review Date: 10/14/2014
Rating: (4) Recommended
I had been looking forward to trying the sweet and spicy chicken and waffle sandwich for over a year, and finally got to try it on 10/1/2014. I must admit, I was disappointed. The flavor and thickness of the waffle is too much for the chicken. And had I known the slaw was broccoli slaw, I probably would have opted out. So much potential, poor execution. I will try the fruit and nutella version next time.
Pros:
Large portion size, small priceCons:
Waffle overwhelms the sandwichReview of Landscape of Flavors - Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by alexandergirl68 Review Date: 10/13/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
The food here was very good; I especially love the pasta bowls and the gelato!
The food court is busy most of the time and it can get very noisy at breakfast or dinner time but there is plenty of seating and there are seats outside if you want to get away from the noise.
Pros:
Unique foodCons:
noiseReview of Gasparilla Island Grill
Reviewed by alexandergirl68 Review Date: 10/13/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
I made a trip over from the MK by boat to have a quiet lunch and it was great.
I tried the Cuban sandwich on 10/8 which was very good. The dining area was nice and air conditioned on a hot day and I was able to sit and relax for a while without the crowds of the park and with better food.
Pros:
Food and dining areaCons:
noneReview of Art of Animation Resort (Value Resort)
Reviewed by alexandergirl68 Review Date: 10/13/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
I did really like this resort and it is great if you have a family with small children but if it is just adults you might prefer another resort that is a little quieter.
The buses in the morning and late evening were great but if you were using them in the middle part of the day the waits were quite long.
Pros:
Rooms very comfortable, great customer service, great food courtCons:
Buses to parks, distance from Little Mermaid RoomsReview of Wilderness Lodge (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by horsefun Review Date: 10/13/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
This was our first stay at a deluxe resort. We have stayed at several moderate resorts. We stayed in a room with a queen bed and bunk beds. Woods view. Honestly, I didn't find much that made this resort so much better than some of the moderate resorts. Obviously, it is beautiful. I expected the room to be a little nicer, but really, other than being a bit bigger, the beds were about the same and the amenities were the same. I don't know if we happened to be in a handicapped accessible room or whether all of the rooms have the bathroom we had: no tub, walk in shower which was nice. Here is my assessment compared to moderate resorts:
POSITIVES FOR WL: Our room happened to be on the first floor right near the quick service restaurant, which was great for getting drinks and snacks. However, since the hotel is built upward instead of outward (like Caribbean Beach), you are really not far from anything at the hotel, no matter where your room is. This is fantastic compared to Caribbean Beach, where everything is too far away to want to walk to after a long day at the parks. The boat to MK is FANTASTIC. It is worth the stay here alone. It comes very frequently and is a nice departure from the crowded bus system. The housekeepers were MUCH friendlier than any other place I have stayed.
NEUTRAL FOR WL: the room was a room was a room. It was as cleaned about as well as any we have been in. I think the bed may have been LESS comfortable than some I have had at other resorts.
NEGATIVE FOR WL: and for me...this was a big negative. I don't know if this was normal procedure for "off season" (mid Sept), although I have been off season at other resorts without this issue. The buses. For the Magical Express and for the bus transportation around WDW, you are grouped with Grand Floridian, Polynesian, and Wilderness Campground. Seems that for Magical Express, WL is the lowest man on the totem pole for these resorts. You get dropped off last and picked up first. So, even though our resort had the most passengers, we dropped off at Grand Floridian and Polynesian first. THEN, when leaving for the airport, we got picked up first (earlier call time). By the time we got to the airport, we were all just about car sick, which was a first for my daughter and hubby. But even worse...the buses for traveling to parks. Here it was actually a bonus to be picked up first as we actually got seats. We would leave WL every time with full seats and sometimes people standing and then go to pack more on at Polynesian and GFL. I felt so bad for GFL people. They got packed in like sardines, standing room only. I am talking jam packed in. They never got seats. Even off season at moderate resorts, I have never seen anything like it. I expected to be treated a little better than this. And I certainly expected GFL guests to be treated better than that. Also, a negative, just in case you have large children (long children) or adults for the bunk beds: they are not as long as the queen bed. They are like normal bunk beds. So, even though it says the room sleeps 4 adults...they better be short adults (and kids). Really loud fridge (which could be true anywhere).
There was a cast member with a hand held computer at the resort bus stops...I am assuming organizing buses. Hopefully Disney will improve this system. Great idea. Bad execution.
For us, the bad buses ALMOST negated the great boat. But, due to the closeness of everything to your room at WL, we would stay here again over a moderate resort.
Pros:
the boat to Magic KingdomCons:
the busesReview of Yorkshire County Fish Shop
Reviewed by cmoranski Review Date: 10/12/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
We really enjoyed our fish and chips. Large portion. They have greatly improved this meal. For a while it was a skimpy portion and not very tasty batter when it was Harry Ramsden's. It has greatly improved. Crunchy batter. Lots of chips we could have shared it. Great Harp Beer that is my husband's favorite. We sat on curb and listened to British Revolution and thoroughly enjoyed our evening.
