Most Recent Reviews
Review of Boulangerie Patisserie les Halles
Reviewed by peytonshea02 Review Date: 06/02/2014
Rating: (6) Recommended
I ran in and grabbed a quick treat while we were touring World Showcase.....the Crème Brulee is my must get thing here. Not sure if I was having an off day or if the Brulee was...but it was shockingly not great! What?!?! I ate the crispy sugar topping, because it would be a crime not to...but the custard had a weird texture and the flavor was bland. I did love the look of the sandwiches so I think that will be my next pick there.
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—Reviewed by peytonshea02 Review Date: 06/02/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
After a surprisingly yummy lunch last year, we couldn't wait to return. My husband and kids all got the pizza and salad combo. I'm going to be honest...the CS pizza is what it is in the World. My family is not a huge fan, but we don't order the pizza any other place in WDW (except Via Napoli and that is an entirely different thing!). So the family was actually in the mood for typical Disney CS pizza - which is what they got. 😉 It was cooked just right and they all ate every bite. The three of them chose the Darth Vader peanut butter and chocolate cupcakes for dessert. They loved them...but I know better.... The real reason for our re-visit here...MY lunch.
Thankfully they still have the antipasto salad. Yay! It was still excellent. The only difference this year, it was a little heavy on the yummy dressing. I stole a pizza crust from one of my kids when they weren't looking - so that made it much better. And the BEST thing at Pizza Planet???? That Cappuccino Cupcake . I don't love cupcakes - but this baby is heavenly! Totally worth the one years wait.
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—Review of Star Wars Dine-In Galactic Breakfast
Reviewed by hello12345 Review Date: 06/02/2014
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
ADR on 5/26 at 9:45am. Checked in at 9:30ish. One of the hostess calling names basically whispered and walked around to each party asking their name. Not efficient. The interaction with Fett and Darth when you walk through the door was lackluster. Darth was okay, but Bobba Fett was akward and stood about 2 feet away from the rest of family during picture. He made the picture look akward. The service was rushed to say the least. We had just sat down and server was bringing pastries and asking for our drink order. We were just biting into our first pastry when the server was asking for our main course selection. I asked for no sausage and extra bacon. My plate came out with sausage. Adults got regular breakfast with eggs, bacon, potatoes, and sausage. Food was quick service qaulity at best. Pastries lacked real taste and reminded me of a Hampton Inn breakfast. The french toast sticks for kids were pretty good, but not anything to kill over. My OJ was on the warm side and we were not asked if we wanted anything else. For the price I paid you would think some extra bacon or yogurt would be offered. The character interaction was not that great. The poor lighting and cramped space makes for a poor picture taking. The Jawas were fun to trade with and the kids really got a kick out of that. Greedo was surprisingly good to interact with. The Star Wars clips were uninteresting and seemed to be on a short loop. We did it and we got the pin now. The price was way, way, way over the top for the food quality and character interaction. I wanted to like this, but I just can't give it a good review. The Jedi Mickey Hollywood and Vine meal was a little better (maybe a 7.5). If offered next year don't waste your $$$$$. The kids were able to trade with Jawas, get a picture with Darth, Fett, and Stormtroopers during regular Star Wars weekend. The free picture is actually a code for a free digital download.
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Meet the charactersCons:
Many: Take your pickReview of Cape May Cafe Clam Bake Dinner
Reviewed by hello12345 Review Date: 06/02/2014
Rating: (6) Recommended
This was a 4th time eating at Cape May. Made a same day reservation on 05/31. Made the reservation at 4:45pm for 8:10pm. Arrived at about 7:10pm and got seated around 7:30pm. Food quality was good. Roast beef, salmon, pasta was all good. Buffet had limited selection. It's actually kind of small. I don't think the price of this buffet is worth it due to the limited selection. They have also scaled back the number of desserts being offered. It appears the scaling back of items is a standard Disney tactic lately. I dished out $120 before tip for 2 adults/2 kids.
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Good QualityCons:
limted selection and priceReview of Beach Club Resort (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by hello12345 Review Date: 06/02/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
We stayed in a standard view 05/27-06/01. Proximity to Hollywood Studios and Epcot were the reason we picked this resort. The walk to Epcot is 5 min. The walk to Hollywood studios is 20+ minutes and not easy in the heat and humidity. I requested a ground floor room close to lobby. I got a 4th floor room at the furthest possible point away from elevators. I expected to have at least one of my requests granted. I got the opposite of both. The room appeared to be in good shape and I had no major issues. The balcony is a joke. It's so small it shouldn't be called a balcony. The Marketplace is small for the size of the resort. However, it never felt overcrowded. I picked up some muffins and danishes several mornings with no wait to checkout. You can refill your resort mugs at pool or at marketplace. At the Boardwalk you either have to ask bartender at pool bar or walk to Bakery. The pool area is a positive aspect. The only day the pool felt really crowded was Saturday afternoon. Kids can stayed entertained at pool for hours. The boat ride to Hollywood Studios is not bad, but you have to stop at Swan before going to Studios. One the way back you have to stop at Swan first before going to Beach Club. The real only issue I had is the room requests not being granted. The other negative aspect is the parking lots are a good walk from the lobby if staying in the Resort side. The Villas appeared to be located a little closer to self parking. Why is the valet parking lot closer to the building than the self parking? It's the same way at Boardwalk.
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Location, PoolCons:
Not manyReviewed by hello12345 Review Date: 06/02/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
We visited on the Friday and Saturday of 3rd weekend. Arrived at entrance by 7:15am both days. Started letting guests in at 7:35-7:40. The Stormtrooper pre-show was 5 minutes and the rope dropped by 7:50ish. It helps to do your homework and find out where your favorite characters will be. Most come out at 8:00am. Some of the most popular were Chewbacca, Darth Vader, Disney characters inside the Mall, and Luke/C3PO/R2D2. Other characters stagger times and come out at 9, 9:30, 10:00. If you know your times and locations you can see all your favorites. Maybe not all in one day though.
I would recommend doing Jedi Training on a non-star wars weekend. If you get to entrance by 7:15-7:30 you shouldn't have a problem getting signed up. The chaos of it all is not worth it and the actual show is no different.
Darth's Mall has been moved to the vacant building next to Toy Story. Can't really tell if this location is any bigger than the big tent next to Rockin Roller Coaster. Still plenty of pins and other merhcandise still available on 3rd weekend. I had no problem getting in around 9am on Friday. Went back around 8:30pm and it was almost empty. Saturday there was a line outside all morning-afternoon.
I have found the best plan is to visit 2 days, get there at opening, and only stay until 12pm-1pm. We have went to this in 2010, 2012, 2013, and now 2014. It appears to be getting a little more organized. I do wish Disney would do a better job posting character locations throughout the park. The app was vague and sometimes incorrect.
The fireworks show at 9:30pm was probably the best show Disney has offered. I'm not a fan of laser/firework shows either. It was worth the trip back to the park to see the show.
People start claiming spots on the parade route when the park opens. Not sure if the parade is worth that nonsense.
I'm pretty sure a Star Wars land at Hollywood Studios would have been a better option than the Avatar land at Animal Kingdom.
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Getting more organizedCons:
A fewReview of FastPass+ (Retired)
Reviewed by hello12345 Review Date: 06/02/2014
Rating: (2) Not Recommended
This system is still a failure in my opinion. The only positive is that it allows you to reserve three rides ahead of time. Even in July I was able to score up to 5 fastpasses before 3pm using the old paper system. Did it require some walking and park criss-crossing? Yes. The new concept of getting additional fastpasses once you have used the 3 is also flawed. I have to schedule my 3 fastpasses in the morning when you don't need them as much. If you don't get to the kiosk by 11am forget about getting fastpasses for any rides other than Small World or Figment. The line for Test Track's Fastpass was still 30+ minutes and stretched 200 feet passed the entrance both times we visited. It appears Disney is giving too many fastpasses for this ride. I am not a fan of spending all the $$$$ to stay on the resort and I still only get the same number of passes as non-resort guests. Disney resort guests should get more choices end of story. Deluxe resort guests should get even more. I am all for non-resort folks getting 1-2 or even none. There should be a benefit to paying the $$$$ to stay on resort. The only exception should be Annual Pass holders.
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Getting a little better, but not muchCons:
Too manyReview of Via Napoli Ristorante e Pizzeria
Reviewed by hello12345 Review Date: 06/02/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
I read the mixed reviews and didn't know what to expect. The pizza was good and even my picky kids liked it. We ordered a large cheese/pepperoni. We saw the Mezzo Metro and it looked too big for 2 adults/2 kids. However, the crust is thin and it isn't as filling as I expected. We finished the pizza with no problem and wished we would have ordered the Mezzo. We also ordered the pitcher of red Sangria. This was too much for 2 adults and pricey at $25. After the large pizza, pitcher of sangria, and one dessert our bill was $67 before 15% DVC discount. If paying out of pocket this is a great place to eat at Epcot. The only negative aspects were the place can get noisy due to the openess. We were sat right next to a server station and that was akward because we constantly had servers/managers hovering around our table.
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Good pizza, good priceCons:
NoisyReview of Yak and Yeti Restaurant
Reviewed by peytonshea02 Review Date: 06/02/2014
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
We made ADR's at only 2 places this trip. I think our last visit was the year this place opened so we decided to give it another try.
Despite the massive crowds in the lobby, we were seated 5 minutes after we checked in for our ADR. Our server was excellent. Very helpful and quick to refill our glasses and take our order. Sadly, that's where the good ends because this is where the food begins.
We were starving so we order the Wok-Fried Green Beans. Did they taste bad? No - but they could have been deep fried shoe strings for all we knew. No flavor other than *deep fried* something. Sweet chili sauce to dip them in. meh.
Our meals: Seared Miso Salmon - decent tasting Salmon, bland rice and typical bagged frozen veggies. Tempura Shrimp - the same deep fried flavor as the green beans, with a hint of shrimp flavor, and on a stick. Same bland rice and same veggies. Stir-Fried Beef and Broccoli - best of the bunch but still sad. Beef was tender, super small portion, same rice, same veggies. Crispy Honey Chicken - was a lie! lol! Nothing crispy about it. Sad, smooshy chicken bits in a sickening sweet sauce...and guess what came with it? Yes. Same bland rice and same veggies.
I hate to say this, but the food court at our local mall has more flavor than Yak & Yeti.
No fault of the establishment, but we also had the pleasure of having some sweet child upstairs throwing fries down on us and the surrounding tables. We brought it to the servers attention but by the time they decided to address it, the lovely family had left.
Not going back.
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food.Review of Pop Century Resort (Value Resort)
Reviewed by peytonshea02 Review Date: 06/02/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
We are back from our 4th stay at POP. We stayed 5/20-5/28. We requested 60's lake view when we made our reservation. We did online check in and selected 60's lake view. We arrived around noon on the 20th - Our room was ready and guess what we got for a room?.....YES! 60's lake view! We were in building 4, on the fourth floor. Room 4456 to be specific. It was PERFECT. Super close to the main pool but facing the lake so it was super quiet. We never heard a sound from the pool activities or nightly movies. We had a breathtaking view of AOA. And I mention the specific room number because the nights we were in our room at 9:00 (which were far and few between) we could open our door and see Illuminations from Epcot.
The room was immaculate when we arrived. We loved the new bedding. Simple white bedding with just the runner of the previous bed spread. Much less tacky. 😉 They also added a nice 4 peg rack to the room which was a great help with our pool towels. The last 2 trips we stayed at AKL and the 1 thing I really missed? No ceiling fan. I really missed that! I hate no air in the room.
The food court has undergone some menu changes since our last visit. We ate quite a few meals there this stay and enjoyed it very much. I will post the specifics on the dining review board. 🙂 Is it crazy during peak dining hours? Yup. It's a food court at Disney. That being said, we never had a problem finding a clean table. The service was excellent. The only pain in the tail issue we had was the Diet Coke was flat more times than not. That makes me cranky. But I move on quickly.
The pool was a lovely, much needed break, during the crazy heat of the week. I will say this..if you want quiet..the main pool is not the place to be in the afternoon or evening. They had dance parties and pool activities all afternoon and the nightly movie is at 9:00. Our kids and the gajillions of other kids loved it. But if you are looking for some quiet time, go to one of the other 2 pools.
We always always rent a car when we go to the World - so no comments on the bus system.
This trip was all about being in the Parks, so POP was a great fit for us! If you have reasonable expectations, you will have a fabulous stay! We loved everything about our stay. 🙂
