Most Recent Reviews
Review of ABC Commissary
Reviewed by nick6300 Review Date: 09/10/2014
Rating: (5) Recommended
ABC tends to get the worst or close to the worst ratings at HS quick service (Fairfax being the other poorly rated restaurant). I come here every year, and I typically think it's ok in terms of food taste. The menu for food entrees is probably the biggest. It's air conditioned with a decent amount of inside seating. Sometimes slow on service. On 9/6... it was storming outside and we came here for shelter and try to order the chicken tenders and potatoes that was on the mydisneyexperience menu. It wasn't available. The line was also huge. Even though it was raining hard, I was dissappointed enough to make the trek to Pizza Planet, rather than order something here. I would put Pizza Planet's meatball subs and meat lovers pizza and Starring Rolls sandwiches with that awesome bakery (butterfinger cupcakes!) over ABC. But it's probably preferred over getting a turkey leg at Min and Bills or the chicken/ribs at Fairfax.
Pros:
larger entree menu, mousse added to usual cupcake dessert optionsCons:
see belowReview of Pizzafari
Reviewed by nick6300 Review Date: 09/10/2014
Rating: (7) Recommended
Came here for breakfast (usually come for pizza lunch) on an off-peak season day (9/3) and it was dead. There was 1 other person in line, and we saw maybe 2 other groups eating. We usually stop in even if not eating, just to look at the coloful wall art, find a few of the several hidden Mickeys. We ordered the bounty plate breakfast that had something like 2 sausage patties, scrambled egg, 2 slices of bacon, 2 waffle sticks. We had the free QS dining plan and found that we needed use up meals because it's a ton of food. Even though lunch and dinner on the dining plan includes a dessert... after 3-4 desserts a day, every day, you get sort of sugared out. I didn't want to waste meals so we tried to spread out meals from like 9 am to 10pm and split 4 between 2 of us. The bounty plate was the same that you get at the All Star Sports hotel... not super good or filling but it's better than most of the breakfast options, in my opinion.
Pros:
Colorful wall decorCons:
noneReviewed by 5busyrussells Review Date: 09/10/2014
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
We had previously attended MVMCP, which was much more crowded - but much more worthwhile. This felt very "thrown together". We did trick or treat, although most of the cast members were very crabby and scolded the kids if they returned for more candy (especially in the Werther's line). The best part was virtually no lines for any of the rids including Seven Dwarfs Mine ride. The fireworks, though, were phenomenal - no one quite knows how to do fireworks like Disney! We experienced it, but I can't say I would highly recommend and we definitely would not do it again.
Pros:
Nonexistent wait lines for ridsCons:
—Review of Be Our Guest -Counter Service Lunch
Reviewed by 5busyrussells Review Date: 09/10/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
We had Fastpass+ reservation for 1:45-2:15 on Tuesday, September 9. We arrived at 2:00 and went through the check-in process very quickly and efficiently. We then found a table to seat our party of 5. It was fun wandering through the different themed rooms. We went and filled our cups and obtained silverware, and upon returning to our table, lunch arrived! Everything was delicious - no complaints at all. My husband loved the braised pork, 2 kids had the Croques Monseur, one daughter had the turkey sandwhich and I had the quinoa and salad which was fabulous and very tasty (I was worried it would be bland). Two had triple chocolate cupcakes, two of us had the Master's cupcake and one had the chocolate cream puff - all delicious. Would definitely not hesitate to do this again and forego dinner at BOG. My only complaint was that we felt rushed at the end of the meal as they were setting up for dinner. But we did not let it bother us and we had a relaxing and enjoyable lunch!
Pros:
Delicious food, quick seating and serviceCons:
Felt a bit rushedReviewed by nick6300 Review Date: 09/10/2014
Rating: (7) Recommended
I usually come here each time I'm at AK because it's different from the burgers, fries, and pizza, and the fried rice for a snack credit is one of the best value choices. On Sept 3, I ordered the honey chicken. Despite many reviewers stating that it's overly sweet, I thought it was tasty. They used to make meals in chinese take-out style boxes, and now it's a segregated plate of meat and rice that's easier to get to (vs. rice on bottom and meat on top). Portion sizes may be a little less than in the past. There's only a little bit of carrots mixed in and I got exactly 1 snap pea (altough I don't really care about that). Your other options are sweet and sour chicken and mong. beef). We got the mousse for dessert and a huge root beer for drink. The mousse was ok, but I'm not huge on chocolate and it's just like the processed pudding you get at the store. I split this w/ the wife and it was a good quick service option. Options at AK are very limited, but Flame Tree prob still the best choice. Restaurantosaurus is like any other burger place, and Pizzasafari is neat place on the eyes (we always visit, even if not eating there) but it's just cafeteria quality pizza.
I was surprised to find that while the wait for food was longer than expected (1pm) there weren't as many birds hawking as usual. Always challenging to find an open table. The one we did find we shared with another family who constantly bumped into my back trying to get by.
Pros:
Tasty food, one of few asian food choicesCons:
CrowdedReview of All Star Sports Resort (Value Resort)
Reviewed by nick6300 Review Date: 09/10/2014
Rating: (7) Recommended
Prior to arrival, I requested ground level, Surf's Up Bldg (closest to main pool/dining/transportation), but only paid for a standard room. Upon check-in, I was given the total opposite (far from buses, 3rd floor, etc). After asking for a reassignment, I was given one of the best rooms, even for a peferred level (ground floor, maybe the 4th closest to pool/dining/busses). I'm sure that staying during 9/1-9/8 off-peak helped. But the lesson here is that it doesn't hurt to ask for better accomodations.
There are only the All Stars, Pop Century, and the new Art of Animation choices for Value Resorts at Disney. I've stayed at the All Stars a few times before staying at Pop for the past a dozen or so stays. As expected, the busses for Pop came more frequently. I chose Sports over the others because the busses can also stop at Music and Movies Resorts if the bus to the parks isn't quite full. Similarily, the All Star buses can stop at all 3 resorts coming back from the parks. Sports is the first stop. During this trip, we often waited 30 minutes for a bus in the am. They were better from the parks. We also only stopped at Music and Movies only 1-2 times that I can recall as the buses tended to be full (because they didn't come every 20 min!). The trip to Downtown Disney took us over an hr. Some of this is due to Music's dining going through renovations and the guests there being escorted to Sports or Movies for dinning (they would eat breakfast at Sports/Movies and use Sports/Movies buses). I still came back from the trip thinking the transportation was the biggest reason I'd chose Pop over the All Stars.
On the plus side, the dining area has been completely remodeled. It looks as nice as the newer Pop dining area. It also had several nice choices for meals such as create your own salads, pastas, burgers. We often got the chicken parm or alfredo w/ salad, smootie for drink, and either ice cream or a bag of gummies for dessert. We had the free quick service dining plan, and for the choices, we found our resort dining to be better than most restaruants, other than Wolfgang Puck Express.
The rooms were fine, we had enough towels, soaps. The beds were comfortable. TV actually had some channels vs. just the disney parks previews w/ Stacy - like in the past. They preset your room temp to about 72, so some people who like a lot of AC, it was annoying to find that you couldn't really bring it down more than a degree or 2 from the preset.
All in all, I really loved the room location and the food. But I'm probably paying the extra $10 night to go back to Pop for the more frequent buses.
Pros:
Free upgrade to peferred room, quick service optionsCons:
Slow transportation, pool and dining hoursReview of Tony's Town Square Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by emjaysull Review Date: 09/10/2014
Rating: (7) Recommended
I went in to Tony's with fairly low expectations based on reading other reviews, but ended up having both dinner and lunch there during my last trip.
The theme (Lady & the Tramp), location and set up/décor are wonderful. I love the waiting area, where kids can gather to watch L&D on TV, and there are giant jugs of water/cups for all - perfect in the August heat!
The food exceeded my expectations. Coming from Boston, I'm not going to pretend that it's comparable to anything we can find in the North End. However, I thought the Chicken Marsala Ravioli I had was excellent as was the caprese salad. The portions were small based on the price. I wish I had been able to try dessert as they looked delicious!
The dinner service was terribly slow (hard for us with three small kids). Lunch service later in the week was much better.
I know that only BOG dinner allows beer and wine, but I find it odd that they still won't allow the same at Tony's. It does not feel right eating expensive ravioli and washing it down with a diet Coke!
Pros:
Food generally good, nice theme and locationCons:
Expensive, slow serviceReview of All Star Music Resort (Value Resort)
Reviewed by emjaysull Review Date: 09/10/2014
Rating: (7) Recommended
I'll start by saying that I've only stayed in Deluxe level resorts before this most recent stay at ASMu. Overall, I was pleased with the experience. We had the BEST check in experience that I have EVER had at a Disney resort. I was met off the bus by a concierge who greeted me by name, had balloons for each of my children (with personalized "I'm celebrating" pins for each of them), and our room was ready upon check in. We were the Calypso Building on the right, second floor with a pool view. We have never had such a personalized greeting at a Deluxe level resort, and I thought it was a great touch. The room (family suite) was spacious, with ample storage space for the five of us. The two bathrooms with privacy curtains in the dressing areas and separate bedroom were great. The pullouts (couch and oversized loveseats) were relatively easy to pull out/put back, and we had no complaints from our kids on sore backs. There were some worrysome gaps between the mattress and the couch frame (my children are small, and I was worried about the safety of them getting lodged in there), but I requested extra pillows to fill in the gaps. The room, furniture and décor felt a bit old/dirty/dingy, but nothing gross. As an example the underside of the couch cushions had holes worn/ripped through the fabric, and a couple of the overhead lights flickered continuously as if we were in a horror movie.
Wait times for the buses felt very long, both coming and going. Again, haven't had to use the bus system so much before, but it created more work on planning travel time.
The pool was OK - felt very crowded at times and because it was so hot, the water didn't feel refreshing (kind of felt like taking a bath with 200 other people). I loved the pool activities/movies at night.
The food options were extremely limited. Being a value level resort, there are no onsite sit down restaurants, and the only option, the food court, was shut down. Grab and Go kept convenient hours and had very basic choices. There was a pool bar, but not much of a "nightlife" onsite
The staff was helpful, enthusiastic, etc. Everything I'd expect from a Disney hotel.
I would definitely consider staying at ASMu again given the price point and the size of the family suite, but think it's better for large families with kids who are older/don't require strollers/etc.
Pros:
Affordable, family suites, kitchenetteCons:
Old, dingy furniture and decorReview of Akershus Royal Banquet Hall - Breakfast
Reviewed by annalawson Review Date: 09/09/2014
Rating: (7) Recommended
Food was just OK, not huge portions.
Don't go for the food, go for meeting the princesses.
Pros:
Princesses were very friendlyCons:
Should keep the doors closed in the heat of the dayReviewed by annalawson Review Date: 09/09/2014
Rating: (7) Recommended
We like trying different places, so staying at Coronado was a first for us. While it was nice, and we had a nice vacation, I don't think we will try this resort again.
My travel agent requested Cabanas area for us as I also did during online check in. We however were put in Castitas building 4. We did get the ground floor level that we requested. My sister and her family were put in Castitas Building 3 fourth floor. Her room seemed newer, I guess more people request ground floor so they get worn our faster? Over all a nice trip, housekeeping kept us well supplied with towels and such. One annoying thing was that to go to Typoon lagoon you had to take the Downtown Disney bus and then transfer again! We opted to take a cab, which with a generous tip was $20 for all 6, I think it was well worth it, we did the same for the return trip.
