Most Recent Reviews
Review of Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria
Reviewed by mzznlink Review Date: 07/27/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
Our first time here, party of 4 adults and 1 baby. The ladies split a pitcher of sangria (said it was very good) and my son and I each got a blood orange fresca (excellent).
We each got a different style pizza; sausage, pepperoni, 4-cheese, and a margherita(sp?)
We sort of shared, I gave up a slice of sausage for a slice of pepperoni. While it was very good overall, it's still kinda pricy for a pizza.
Pros:
Excellent pizzaCons:
Pricey pizzaReview of Typhoon Lagoon Counter Service
Reviewed by mzznlink Review Date: 07/27/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
A staple for the family is the sugar covered mini donuts. Used to be they didn't take the room card, but that's changed with the MB.
In the past we had to bring cash since the minor venues didn't take the room card.
Pros:
The MB works everywehere!Cons:
—Review of Blizzard Beach Counter Service
Reviewed by mzznlink Review Date: 07/27/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
A staple for the family is the sugar covered mini donuts. Used to be they didn't take the room card, but that's changed with the MB.
A new treat is a bacon sprinkled brownie sundae. How can you go wrong with bacon?
Pros:
All venues take the Majic Band!Cons:
—Review of Trail's End Restaurant
Reviewed by mzznlink Review Date: 07/27/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
If it were not for the location (we usually stay at OKW) this would be a must do in the future. Since we were doing 1-night at BLT before the rest of the family joined us at OKW, we decided to take the boat over and try it out.
With Marty singing all the way over on the boat from The Contemporary to Fort Wilderness, the night was off to a good start.
BBQ, ribs, beans, chicken, chili, brisket, potatoes, etc. Everything we tried was delicious. Probably one of the cheapest buffets on property.
Pros:
Selection & PriceCons:
Out of the way.Reviewed by Historygal610 Review Date: 07/27/2014
Rating: (7) Recommended
I attended the 3D Desert Party last October with my S.O. We arrived early and checked in, the process was easy and staff friendly. We were at the front of the roped off area and chatting about the pleasant music and atmosphere with another couple. The attendant said are you guys up front ready to run. I thought he must be joking but no sadly he was not.
As the curtain was pulled many people mad a mad dash for the tables. I however do not move that fast, ever! A few people had to be separated from their parties but really a lot of time was stood chatting anyway so not a huge issue. There were nice maps to point out the location of all the offerings.
I do not drink but my S.O. does and they kept the drinks flowing as well as sodas, coffee, and tea. We had not really eaten much that afternoon and were very happy to see some food beyond the sweets.
If I did this again I would splurge on the sweet seats to avoid the stampede at the start, but I would do it again. Honestly the event was nice and worth the cost, just a little overwhelming.
Pros:
Food was yummyCons:
Seating if you did not purchase prefferedReview of Be Our Guest -Counter Service Lunch
Reviewed by mzznlink Review Date: 07/27/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
My son and I, along with my 1 year old granddaughter were looking for a place to have lunch when we decided to give Be Our Guest a try. It was noon-ish but the wait was only about 15-20 minutes. We both got the Croque Monsieur (grilled ham and cheese) very tastey, came with French Fries. For dessert I got the Strawberry Cream Cheese cupcake while my son got the 'grey stuff.' Both were good. The free refill machines are a plus.
Pros:
Gets you out of the heat!Cons:
—Reviewed by mzznlink Review Date: 07/27/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
The only reason we tried Hollywood & Vine for breakfast is because we were there with our 1 year old granddaughter who loves Disney Junior.
She had fun dancing with the characters and bouncing and waving her hands during the songs.
Crystal Palace used to be our favorite breakfast, but Hollywood & Vine may just beat it out with its selection. I think the chocolate sauce was the clincher.
Pros:
SelectionCons:
—Review of Caribbean Beach Resort (Moderate Resort)
Reviewed by CaptainQuick Review Date: 07/27/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
*2nd time staying at CBR, first time was a Pirate-themed room which is totally not worth it*
This time much better.
We stayed in Jamaica section of CBR for nine days in the middle of July, 2014.
Check-in was incredibly smooth with no wait time and free pirate swords for the kids. Room was ready well before the required time, as we checked in early in the morning.
Upon entering our room we noticed a brand new smell as the entire room had been renovated. Gone were the small beds with new Queen sized beds. Gone was the putrid green looking furniture, replaced with beautiful looking new furniture in its place. New paint, decor, furnishings, etc. Our favorite part was the nightstand and Dressers each had outlets/USB ports in them for charging phones etc. making it extra easy to charge our electronics each night. The bathroom doors were replaced with Caribbean styled sliding doors which were great (needs a lock... kids loved these...). All in all the renovations were terrific and a much needed change to the rooms. It looked like they were moving quickly in renovating the other sections of CBR, compared to our arrival and upon departure they had completed the rest of Jamaica and had started on Aruba, in just the small time we were there.
As far as the rest of CBR goes, the kids loved the pirate themed pool and activities CBR offered throughout the afternoon, and the Camp Fire and Movie Night were great as well. Caribbean Cay is beautiful and we loved walking along the various paths and trails.
A few negatives, busing system is dreadful. Incredibly long wait times, and it seemed like they would change their routes or skip Jamaica entirely. Not sure if it was because not a whole lot of people were staying in Jamaica or not due to renovations but it was terrible. We ended up just walking to Old Port Royale most of the time. In addition to the long waits it takes 12 minutes for the buses to get fully around, so definitely plan on extra time.
We did notice the service from employees left a little bit more to be desired. It just seemed like a lot of them were going through the motions and not making that extra effort to make something magical. This was one step backwards we noticed from our previous trip. One terrific story from our previous trip 3 years ago was my son fell and bloodied his lip just outside of OPR near the pool area. the staff went above and beyond to make sure he was okay and even gave him a free stuffed Mickey and a special conch shell. It really turned a bad situation into something magical. I just hope they are still trying to make magical moments and not purely looking at the clock.
Also, food court is nothing to write home about, with incredibly high prices. Someone please explain to me why the Grab N' Go has no prices listed, was incredibly annoying.
All in all, some much needed improvements to CBR. We really enjoyed our stay and look forward to coming back to CBR in the future.
Pros:
New Room Renovations, Pool, AtmosphereCons:
BusingReviewed by Under the Grits Tree Review Date: 07/26/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
Hello Allears Readers! My family just returned from Frozen Summer Fun, and I wanted to share our experiences in hopes of helping others to plan their magical day with the royal visitors from Arendelle.
First a little back ground. We are a family of four; my husband, me, our daughter (age 2), and our son (still in utero). We are frequent visitors to the House of Mouse making 3 trips a year; one week long Disney extravaganza in February, a shorty in the Summer, and finally returning in October for the MNSSHP and Food and Wine.
We are always excited to experience anything new and we were extra excited for the opportunity to experience something FROZEN! Before we left home I did as much reading and research on the Frozen Summer Fun event as possible. THANK YOU Allears for the wonderful TV episode. I found it extremely helpful and would recommend it to anyone planning a vacation that includes the Frozen Summer Fun activities. While planning I had two main concerns. First, how could I best use my time? Our summer vacations are short and time in Disney comes at a premium so I was anxious to use it well. Second, could I deliver on all the events? A two year old does not understand about long lines. The plan that I came up with and executed worked wonderfully for my family and may work well for you too.
Our day began by arriving at the Studios for Rope Drop. I think a major key to success at Frozen Summer Fun (and indeed at all Disney Parks) is to get there EARLY! We cleared bag check (did I mention that we are potty training and carting a potty seat around with us all over property? And the best part of that, security never even blinked…apparently this happens a lot!) and picked up our Take-A-Long Olaf. A word about Take-A-Long Olaf; he is very cute and signed by all our Frozen friends, he is not particularly sturdy. Get spares! The cast members will be very accommodating. One of our Olafs got one too many warm hugs and another was lost along the way…after that we started get them two at the time.
Once we had Olaf we hiked it back to the Sing-A-Long location to get our return tickets. We selected the 1:30 show. There was not a line to get tickets when we arrived. From there we went straight to Wondering Oaken’s. We were able to walk right in with no wait. Upon entering the first thing we did was build a Snowman. We are from the Deep South, and our daughter had never seen snow. She was very impressed. I also found the Snowman build to be more fun than I’d anticipated. The area is not at all crowed and it was really a lot of fun.
After the snow it was time for our morning snack break. We had the Olaf carrot cake cupcake, huge and delicious and a hot chocolate. While we ate we watched the people crazy enough or brave enough to try to ice skate. The Ice Show was scheduled to start just as we were finishing up our snack so we decided to stick around and see it. I am so glad that we stayed for the Ice Show! I’ve read little or nothing about it in other reviews but my whole family LOVED it. After the Ice Show it was gift shop time. Be prepared all the small sizes in the Anna and Elsa dresses were sold out when we were there. This was the biggest disappointment of our day.
Now laded with packages from the Wondering Oaken’s gift shop we headed to lunch. I opted to skip the Welcome Parade. Here is why…both the parade and the parade route are very short, making for huge crowds. Watch it on YouTube and judge for yourself. Also, we’d seen Festival of Fantasy the day before at the Magic Kingdom which includes a float featuring Anna and Elsa. Skipping the parade really worked for us. It gave us plenty of time for lunch at Play & Dine and gave us a break from the crowds and heat of the park.
After lunch it was time for the Sing-A-Long. We arrived before our scheduled return time and were still well back in the line. However, seating in the theater is very well arranged and we had no issue with our seats. If you are just going to do one Frozen event I recommend the Sing-A-Long…yes, sometimes the narration lags, and yes, my daughter did ask three different times when Elsa would be there…but it was still wonderful! The finally with all those voices raised in song, and the snow blowing down…pure magic. It was the highlight of the day.
