Most Recent Reviews
Review of The Wave Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by Environmentalist Review Date: 07/23/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
The Wave is amazing. If you are a foodie who values locally grown, organically raised food, this is the restaurant for you. The food is outstanding, with tremendous variety and flavor. Moreover, due to the Wave's odd location - tucked away in the 'basement' of the Contemporary, it was uncrowded while we ate. The restaurant was perhaps half full and quieter than any Disney restaurant I've eaten in for a long time.
Be sure to try the Wave. You'll be glad you did!
Pros:
Food is amazing, a hidden gemCons:
none at all!Review of Kona Cafe Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by Environmentalist Review Date: 07/23/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
This is the second time I've eaten at Kona Cafe. The food is amazing here. There is a great variety of menu options and the flavors are top notch. Truly a Disney hidden gem, as many people don't seem to know about it. There were empty tables while we were there at the dinner rush, which surprised me.
The only con is the noise factor - not within the restaurant, but from people walking through the GCH from the monorail and from people waiting for dinner at Ohana. It did get a bit loud at times and made it harder to hear, even though we were near the back wall of the restaurant.
Even with the noise, be sure to try Kona Cafe while it is still there. Rumors are flying that Disney will close it during the construction at the Poly and replace it with something else.
Pros:
Great variety and flavors, amazing dessertCons:
Open air environment to GCH can be noisyReview of 'Ohana Best Friends Character Breakfast
Reviewed by Environmentalist Review Date: 07/23/2014
Rating: (7) Recommended
Our group of fourteen had a late brunch at Ohana one morning. Our check-in was for 10:45. We arrived at 10:40. We weren't seated until 11:30. I understand delays, especially with a large group, but 45 minutes is excessive, as we had five hungry kids.
Once seated, the meal went smoothly. Fresh fruit and passion-fruit juice were excellent. Family style meal was ample and tasty. The characters came by the table and spent a decent amount of time with each child. The meal was relaxing and enjoyable and we didn't feel rushed to leave, even though the restaurant technically closed while we were there.
I would recommend Ohana, but don't need to return. You can get just a good a meal at Kona Cafe, without the long wait.
Pros:
Good food, fun atmosphere, relaxed character interactionCons:
LOOONG wait to be seatedReviewed by Environmentalist Review Date: 07/23/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
Our family spent 11 nights at the Poly in June 2014. We had three rooms, with a total of 11 people. We had requested ground floor rooms at Niue, but ended up at Tuvalu, which was initially disappointing, but ultimately a fine choice for us.
Our view from our ground room was nothing special. It was standard view, which meant that we saw part of the marina, a lot of flora, and Fiji. Yet being on the luau side of the resort also meant we had little to no construction noise or issues. We also didn't hear the luau in the evening, probably due to being in the marina side of the building.
Our room was clean and spacious. We had special medical requests, which were followed throughout the course of our stay. The pool, GCH, and transportation options were all a quick walk away. The walkway to the TTC changed several times while we were there, but was not a big problem.
Obviously, the plus for being at the Poly is the proximity to the MK and monorail to Epcot, the theming of the grounds, and the excellent cast members. All of those were plusses for us. Location-wise, we were easily able to pop out of our door to watch the fireworks or the electrical water pageant on numerous occasions, which was a lot of fun.
The pool area was a lot of fun - it will be interesting to see what they do with it after it reopens. One piece of advice. Try to get to the pool when it opens at 9:00, if you're not going to a park that day. We had the pool and the slide to ourselves for over an hour, with the first people outside of our family arriving an hour later.
There were a few negatives: Construction in the GCH meant that we couldn't enjoy the full beauty of that building, as well as the ground surrounding it. The refrigerator in our room overheated on several occasions and was actually hotter inside than the room. The biggest annoyance was the automatic door at the end of Tuvalu. You could go out of the building, but not re-enter, even with a magic band or key. We reported this problem on the first day of our stay and continued to report it every other day after. It still wasn't fixed when we left eleven days later.
Still, all in all, the Polynesian is a great place to stay. I would definitely go there again. The price is steep, but with a 30% discount, it was more manageable.
Pros:
beautiful grounds, great pool, theme, transportationCons:
construction, refrigerator issues & automatic door maintenance/repairReview of Caribbean Beach Resort (Moderate Resort)
Reviewed by EpcotMom Review Date: 07/23/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
We stayed in the Martinique section on July 17 and 18. We have stayed here a few times before and love the theming. Did not use the main pool this time, but used the quiet pool in our section. We had a nice stay, room was clean, but since we were adjacent to the pool there was a lot of light and there is no way to really darken the room. I also understand that they are upgrading to queen size beds. This would definitely be an improvement, beds are too small. One other slight annoyance, housekeeping knocked on the door at 9:00 am on the day we were leaving. Kids were still in bed. She asked "when were we leaving"! My husband told her we would be an hour or so. She parked her cart outside our room and there it stayed until we left!
Pros:
Beautiful resortCons:
Drapes do not shutReview of Bay Lake Tower (Disney Vacation Club)
Reviewed by EpcotMom Review Date: 07/23/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
We are currently staying in a 3 bedroom on a six-night vacation. There are ten of us. The condo is very spacious, beds are super comfortable. Pool is great, and how can you beat a quick walk to the MK? The elevators closest to the walkway going to the Contemporary are always very crowded, however. Small thing, I guess. The biggest con is the food court at Contemporary. You have to order on a touch screen. If you want something modified (no gravy, different side dish, etc) you have to go to the register, have them note the change and pay, then get a beeper and wait for your food. Not very streamlined. Food is "ok", nothing to write home about.
Pros:
LocationCons:
Crowded elevators, food courtReview of Disney Dining Plan
Reviewed by EpcotMom Review Date: 07/23/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
We love the convenience of the dining plan. We eat at places we wouldn't normally eat at. But who needs a dessert at lunch? And the options are often the same thing - carrot cake or chocolate cake, anyways. And for the table service I find it hard to believe that a small cup of soup or small salad would cost that much more for Disney to substitute for some of the more involved desserts.
Pros:
Easy, convenientCons:
Too many desserts!Reviewed by EpcotMom Review Date: 07/23/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
Our 15-year-old niece purchased the skating at the Frozen event. The price included skate and helmet rental and a pair of socks, which you could choose to throw in a bin to be laundered and given to charity. It was a highlight of her visit. Something to remember- "the time I ice skated at Disney"!
Pros:
FunCons:
—Review of Kona Cafe Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by EpcotMom Review Date: 07/23/2014
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
It saddens me to write this review of a favorite restaurant. We went on July 20 for dinner. There were ten in our party. We chose this restaurant from past experience, having always enjoyed it. The server, a young man, was inattentive and actually acted like he thought he was something special. Had to ask for the bread and macadamia butter! My sister's tuna was over cooked and the scallops were tasteless. The chocolate fondue was good, but the macaroon cookies were so hard that I couldn't get a spoon into them. This restaurant will no longer be a "must do" or even anywhere near the top of the list.
Pros:
—Cons:
ServiceReview of Blizzard Beach
Reviewed by manatee2420 Review Date: 07/21/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
We went for an afternoon. The man at the gift shop looked at our bags and told us we could fit them all into a large locker. If they tell you that, don't believe them. A large locker ended up holding only a regular sized backpack. We had to go wait in line again to rent another locker. The lines were fairly short while we were there except at the Downhill Double Dipper. It said 30 minutes, so we got in line. I didn't have a watch on, but the wait had to be at least an hour. There was no apparent reason for this except maybe people taking too long to get ready at the top of the ride. Anyway, the ride was not worth it being so short. Teamboat Springs was awesome! We also enjoyed the lazy river. Beware that the water falling on you is ice cold. Even in the summer heat, this did NOT feel refreshing!
