Most Recent Reviews
Reviewed by rhjohnston Review Date: 09/13/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
The Dolphin and Swan offer many of the Disney Property advantages on a deluxe level for less money. My husband and I stayed 9/7-9/12 to celebrate his 50th birthday. I recommend this time frame because the parks were not crowded. Kids had just gone back to school so you mainly encountered families with young children or adults celebrating special occasions. The Dolphin is a conference hotel so it is huge but it is well planned and the elevators were great. The décor is not Disney and much of the clientele is business but you do get the complimentary transportation to the parks, the extra magic hours and an excellent location. You can walk to Epcot and Hollywood Studios or take a boat- the Boardwalk is adjacent to the hotel. The pool facility is awesome and you have more food options than the less expensive Disney resorts. The room size was fine for 2 people although the bathroom might be a little tight if several people were in the room. I suspect these rooms will be refurbished soon as they are looking a tad worn. We stayed in room 8023. This room had a great view, no balcony but you did have to walk a bit to get to it. I would return to this hotel even with the $23 resort fee. The benefits outweigh the cons.
Pros:
location, pool, food options, costCons:
large hotel, resort fee, no airport transportationReview of 'Ohana Dinner
Reviewed by 5busyrussells Review Date: 09/14/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
The last time we were here was 4 years ago, and we enjoyed the visit at that time. This visit - even better! I like the salad wraps, the beef was very tender, the pork delicious - but my personal faves are the noodles and the pork dumplings (potstickers). They were phenomenal! The pomegranate lemonade was superb and our glasses were constantly refilled. Dessert was much better than I had expected. Although we were seated at a table with a beautiful view of Magic Kingdom, our reservation was at 8:05, so we figured we would not be able to see fireworks since they were at 10:00. Much to our surprise - our waiter, Kalani, paced our meal very nicely and told us to relax and enjoy our stay and our view of the fireworks!!! So we sat and enjoyed our delicious dessert and coffee while watching the fireworks. He was one of the best waiters we have ever had, constantly kept our food replenished and our drinks refilled, and took the time to make sure our experience was top notch. Without a doubt, one of the dining highlights of our trip!
Pros:
Very good food, exceptional waiterCons:
None.Reviewed by shynook11 Review Date: 09/13/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
We go every other year to the Halloween party and stay on property to avoid the late drive home with kids. Usually, we attend in mid Sept. to avoid crowds. This year Columbia House remained open so we could have their phenomenal tuna sandwich, truly the best. We had no wait for anything except the new Snow White Mine Train ( good but too short). Everything else was walk on. Villians show in front of the castle was a 10 minute disappointment. Fireworks were amazing as always, but be aware you cannot hear the audio if you are not on Main St. or in front of the castle. We chose to sit off to the left and couldn't hear the music or speaking...but still amazing show. Parade, as usual was excellent. No candy at the end like in years past, and seemed to us to be a little shorter. Headless horseman walked the route ( no rain ) this year. Absolutely worth it for the cost for 4-midnight in the park without the heat and crowds. Plus candy, special fireworks & special parade. Will go again.
Pros:
No wait for most rides, beautiful decorations, fireworksCons:
Is the parade shorter this year?Review of Boardwalk Villas (Disney Vacation Club)
Reviewed by crazystamperjill Review Date: 09/13/2014
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
Before I start my review I'd like to make clear that we are HUGE Disney fans -- we visit at least once a year. Two years ago we actually stayed 4 times in 11 months. We truly love all things DISNEY, so to place this review breaks my heart, but I feel I have to share.
As always, the Magic Express was a pleasure to use and the cast members we encountered during our week stay were all lovely to deal with.
My significant other and I stayed in a one-bedroom villa at the Boardwalk on a timeshare trade in late August/early September. The villa was our best view yet -- front and center of the fabulous Luna Park Pool area. We had a large balcony, which you could access from the bedroom or living room. Awesome, right?
Upon check-in we noticed some small issues but nothing serious enough to warrant a call to the front desk. (broken bi-fold door to the laundry closet and a broken seal on the refrigerator door).
The location of the Boardwalk Inn/Villas is second to none with the beautiful oldtime look of the Boardwalk, restaurants, entertainment, etc., it really is just great. Sadly, our last 2 visits to the Villas were not up to our (or Disney's) standards. Perhaps it's a property management issue? My complaint is with the bathroom. This time their was MOLD everywhere in the tile shower. If you've stayed there you're familiar with the corner shower set up and how there's a partial wall/half glass window in the shower -- well this is where I first encountered the mold -- where the glass window meets the the ledge -- both inside and outside the shower. After bending down to retrieve the shower gel I dropped, I then saw more mold splotches all over the tile/grout near the shower door.
Understand that this truly would be unacceptable to me at any hotel chain, but I really feel like I shouldn't even have to think about cleanliness while staying at a DELUXE Disney property. And my biggest problem is, if the shower is outwardly moldly, what else hasn't been cleaned/sanitized appropriately before my checking in? Scary thought, huh?
I can't express how unhappy we were with this -- a moldy shower -- again. I kept seeing the young families at the pool thinking I could NEVER bathe my small children in that bathroom!
After seeing the quarter size mold spots in the shower early that first morning, I did stop by the front desk to see what they could do about it and they assured me housekeeping would be in asap to take care of it. Well, Housekeeping did come in -- they left fresh soaps/shampoo products, refilled our towels and took our trash (none of this was needed as we had been there less than 24 hours at this point) and did nothing to rectify the mold situation in the shower. The second disappointment came when no one from the Villas staff followed up with us to see if the problem had been rectified. As this was our second stay at the Villas in 2 years and the second time we had a mold issue in the shower I have to imagine they knew it wasn't taken care of and didn't want to deal with an unhappy guest. Our arrival was at the beginning of Labor Day weekend and they seemed to be at capacity, so perhaps they didn't have the option of moving us elsewhere.
Do we LOVE the location of the Boardalk and all the entertainmenet, etc., is has to offer? You bet we do! But sadly I think this was the last time we'll be staying at the Boardwalk Inn/Villas.
Pros:
Location!Cons:
Age/Condition of accommodationsReview of Be Our Guest -Counter Service Lunch
Reviewed by 10DogMom Review Date: 09/13/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
We were selected for the preorder FP for lunch and arrived right on time (12:45). They confirmed our order very quickly, but it took QUITE a while for our food to arrive. It was not obvious that you should go get your drinks and utensils - the whole place was rather chaotic.
The food more than made up for our initial discomfort. Husband had the pork, I had the Croque, then we shared the lemon and chocolate cream puffs. OMG, everything was SOOOO good! One of the best meals of our trip.
We decided we would come again, but definitely have a FP and try to get the first seating of the day.
Pros:
Really tasty foodCons:
ChaosReview of Chefs de France - Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by 5busyrussells Review Date: 09/13/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
Very nice dinner, excellent service. Three family members had the mac and cheese which was delicious, I had the vegetable lasagna which was incredible and my DH had the salmon and lentils which he is still raving about the next day! Fresh warm baguette with butter - need I say more??!! DH and I both had a glass of wine - very nice. Desserts were spectacular - we had profiteroles, sorbet, chocolate mousse and the strawberry cream cake. Finished off with a good cup of coffee. Would return again, definitely! I do, however, wish families with very young children would go to more appropriate restaurants. We certainly did when our children were younger - we had a young girl behind us in a high chair throwing her food at patrons and shaking her sippy cup so everyone sitting around her got sprayed with whatever beverage it contained. What a shame in such a lovely restaurant.
Pros:
Delicious food, superb serviceCons:
Surrounded by screaming young childrenReviewed by 5busyrussells Review Date: 09/13/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
Delicious breakfast - definitely something for everyone, adventurous or not! I tried some new things like Pap which I topped with grilled tomatoes and asparagus, and it was delicious! Also tried turkey bobotie which was very good. The scrambled eggs with feta and tomato were a hit with everyone including the kids. The applesauce was very unique and delicious as were the pastries - definitely left here very full! Yummy pot of coffee plus the orange/guava/passion fruit juice was so good! Highly recommend this enjoyable, relaxing but superb breakfast buffet!
Pros:
Incredible assortment of foodsCons:
None.Review of Flo's V8 Cafe - Cars Land
Reviewed by sharonabe Review Date: 09/13/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
We stopped in here for dinner with the purpose of watching Radiator Springs come to life/light at dusk and it was perfect! The lights came on just as we were finishing up our yummy sandwiches and rotissierie chicken. They let us switch up the sides, so everyone had what they wanted with their meal.
Pros:
The view!Cons:
—Review of Galactic Grill Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by sharonabe Review Date: 09/13/2014
Rating: (7) Recommended
I almost hate to give any negative here, because the flavors were very good and part of the problem was there was too much food in the bowl. DH and I decided to split a salad and a Portabello sandwich. The sandwich was on ciabatta bread, so it wouldn't "smash" and the insides squished out when you tried to bite it. Then, there was so much salad in the bowl, we couldn't add the dressing without taking some out. No extra plates, so we used the empty carton from DS's fries. The food was good, but since we had to eat things separately, we missed some of the mixed flavors.
Pros:
good selectionCons:
a little messyReview of Cocina Cucamonga Mexican Grill
Reviewed by sharonabe Review Date: 09/13/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
I got the burrito from here before World of Color and it was awesome. Soooo much food; it is easily shareable. I couldn't eat it all, but DH helped out. It was fresh and hot.
