Most Recent Reviews
Reviewed by bellebookworm9 Review Date: 04/02/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
I stayed at All Star Movies for five days so mostly relied on bus transportation, which was good for the most part. I took the boat from Magic Kingdom to both Ft. Wilderness (arrived very quickly and went directly, no stop at Wilderness Lodge) and Grand Floridian (had to wait a while, boat filled up and people behind us had to wait for the next one). Monorail service was very efficient; went from GF to MK, and it was there right away. Went from Epcot to TTC and then to MK, and had very short waits for both of those trips.
Buses were not as simple, unfortunately. On our first day going to Epcot the bus pulled up almost as soon as we got to the stop, coming back to the resort in the afternoon we waited about 5 minutes. Going to MK that evening, again the bus came very quickly. After Hoop dee Doo, buses were provided by zones. Our bus stopped at Coronado Springs, All Star Sports, All Star Music, then All Star Movies, finally continuing onto Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Day 2 I took a bus back from Downtown Disney Marketplace. Waited about 20 minutes, then the bus stopped at Pleasure Island, Typhoon Lagoon, and Sports and Music before Movies.
Day 3 I went to DTD again around 1:30pm and did not have a long wait. I think I was the only person to get on at Movies. That evening we went to Hollywood Studios and I don't recall the wait being particularly long getting there. Coming back after the late Fantasmic (10:45pm), the three All Stars each had their own stop. Of course, the bus pulled away seconds before we got there, but another one came within five minutes.
Day 4 took a bus back from DTD again. Waited about 30 minutes at the Marketplace (after a disastrous trip on the local Lynx bus), then stopped at PI, Sports and Music before Movies. That evening I went to Epcot and waited about 10 minutes; coming back towards the end of Extra Magic Hours the bus was at the stop and went directly to Movies.
Last day I went to Epcot around 11am. There was a bit of a wait, and then three buses came on top of each other. The one I was on picked up at Movies first, then went to Music and Sports to get some of the overflow. Came back from Magic Kingdom in the late afternoon, wait was short, and went directly to Movies.
I didn't have to stand on many occasions and most of the few times when I did, it was voluntary. I didn't like always being dropped off last, and among other reasons, I would probably stay at Art of Animation or Pop Century before All Star Movies again in part due to their dedicated buses.
Pros:
Good monorail and boat service, some good busesCons:
Some not so good busesReview of Captain's Grille - Breakfast
Reviewed by bellebookworm9 Review Date: 04/02/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
I dined here with two friends on 3/28 at 10:30am. We were seated very quickly. All of us decided to go with the buffet. The Mickey waffles and french toast were very good, and the bacon was perfectly crispy and warm. I was not happy with the Potato Casserole with Parmesan Cheese, it was just really gross. Fresh fruit was very good and I enjoyed the oatmeal. Found it odd that they had a selection of bagel fixings but no bagels. There were also toppings that would be appropriate for an ice cream sundae (chocolate sauce and M&Ms, among other things) that I guess were meant for the waffles? Danishes and pastries were good.
Our waitress (can't remember her name) disappeared for awhile, of course right around the time we were ready for the check. She did bring me a birthday cupcake (all chocolate, too rich and just not very good) and a balloon (which apparently had a hole in it and soon deflated).
This was an inexpensive buffet and I did leave full but I probably wouldn't make a special trip back.
Pros:
Good bacon, birthday celebrationCons:
Waitress disappeared, kind of an odd buffetReview of Theme Park Photo Pass
Reviewed by bellebookworm9 Review Date: 04/02/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
I was very happy to find out that even if you didn't spend the money for Memory Maker, your Magic Band can still be used to link Photopass pictures to your account. This made it very easy for everyone in my party to get photos taken throughout the park and have them in one place. We got some very nice pictures at the Main Entrance of Epcot, and my friends also got some on the bridge near France and at the Character Spot. While we may only pay to download one, it's nice to be able to screenshot all of them, though this obviously doesn't result in a very high quality.
The website gets horrible marks in my opinion. I thought the old website was bad but the new version is even worse. It's slow and temperamental-I've been trying to share pictures with my friends who are IN the pictures for two days and I can't get it to cooperate!
Pros:
MagicBand compatible, good photographersCons:
Horrid websiteReview of Fairfax Fare
Reviewed by bellebookworm9 Review Date: 04/02/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
My friend and I dined here around 9pm on 3/27. I ordered the Kids Power Pack meal and he had the Macaroni and Truffle Oil hot dog. It was very easy to find a seat at that time of night.
My friend said the hot dog was different but he really liked it. I was very pleased with the Power Pack meal. It came in a cute little box that I kept as a souvenir and had quite a lot of food for only $5.99. I was thinking the baby carrots would be great with some ranch dressing, and lo and behold, they had little cartons of it at the condiment bar!
Definitely a great place for a quick bite, particularly if you like "gourmet" hot dogs.
Pros:
Good food, easy to find a seatCons:
—Review of My Disney Experience
Reviewed by bellebookworm9 Review Date: 04/02/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
I didn't really have any problems with the app itself or the website. It was easy to make and change dining reservations, check hotel info, and link admission tickets. Even the FP+ stuff was easy, but whether or not anything was actually available was another story.
Pros:
—Cons:
—Review of FastPass+ (Retired)
Reviewed by bellebookworm9 Review Date: 04/02/2014
Rating: (6) Recommended
Some aspects of FP+ worked great; some did not. My annual pass voucher was purchased by a CM friend and for whatever reason, the voucher couldn't be linked in to MDE. Because of that, I was unable to make FP+ choices until the first day in the parks when I exchanged the voucher. However, two of my friends purchased convention tickets and I was able to link them up and get their FP+ with no problem. My CM friend can't link his admission in and has to wait until each day in the park if he wants to use it.
Our first day was at Epcot and we didn't get there until 1:45pm. I went to a FP+ kiosk and they only had FPs available for Captain EO at that point. Who needs a FP for that? But I kept checking back on the app and eventually was able to get a Test Track FP for the same time as my friends.
We went to DHS one night and I had made FP choices for Rock 'n' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror. When my friend went to a kiosk to make his choices, we couldn't get him those two as they were standby only. He was able to get one for Star Tours, but I was not; it kept saying it wasn't available. We ended up doing single riders at RNR and I used my FP by myself at ToT.
For my last day at Magic Kingdom I really wanted a FP for Festival of Fantasy, but it was standby only, and actually ended up being canceled anyway due to rain. That day was pretty easy to make adjustments in the MDE app because many people were leaving the park because of the storm.
Clearly there are still some kinks to work out but on the whole this system worked mostly well for me. I still don't like being limited to three per day and in only one park, but I'm learning to live with it.
Pros:
Sometimes easy to make changes, diminished waitsCons:
Tier system, difficult to make changes depending on time of day or parkReview of Brown Derby Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by wdwgrandma Review Date: 04/01/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
Had read about the lounge, so went there my first afternoon in mid March. I love it!! busy time, so great to walk in and enjoy fave foods at the Derby. took my daughter and granddaughter there, also--they really enjoyed it, too. went there my last afternoon, too; getting the entree Cobb and a regular piece of Grapefruit Cake. this restaurant has great memories for me; great to have the Lounge to renew these memories. Cast members were awesome!!!!!!
Pros:
new Lounge is awesomeCons:
wish all chairs were low; I'm short.Review of Shades of Green
Reviewed by wdwgrandma Review Date: 04/01/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
Here in March for a week. Joined by my daughter and granddaughter for 4 days. Too busy in the parks, but Shades was super. Hadn't been here for a year and a half, and loved the refurbed rooms and being able to get lunch at Manginos; hope this is all the time. We also enjoyed lattes available all day, and wine, too! It seemed more professional all around since last I was there. Kinda liked showing ID to get on bus to come back to the resort--felt safe that way. Great cast members and everyone was so nice to us. So very thankful that I have the opportunity to come to Shades!!
Pros:
refurbished rooms. Manginos open for lunch. Starbucks all day.Cons:
noneReview of World Premiere Food Court
Reviewed by bellebookworm9 Review Date: 04/01/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
I ate here for breakfast on three days during my recent stay, and my friend that was with me also had lunch and dinner a few times. He raved about the Penne Pasta Alfredo with Chicken.
I had Mickey waffles with bacon and fruit topping, as well as chocolate chip pancakes with bacon. The bacon here was excellent, perfectly crispy. Mickey waffles never disappoint, but I thought the pancakes had way too many chocolate chips. They were actually sickeningly sweet; I couldn't finish them!
The CMs were efficient at getting people through both the ordering and check out lines, more so than at other resorts. Seating was difficult during the breakfast rush, one day we sat at a large table and shared with a couple of strangers. I think the food court could stand to be larger; the food courts at Pop and AoA are proportionately designed for the amount of guests they have and I've never had difficulty finding a table at either place.
I did have a lot of trouble with the Rapid Refill mugs. For whatever reason, I could not get my mug to register. It wouldn't even give me an "incorrect placement" message. I tried several different machines, eventually giving up and just drinking iced tea, since that doesn't require your mug to have it's chip identified.
Pros:
Good food, efficient linesCons:
Small (compared to Pop Century and Art of Animation), refillable mugsReview of Wolfgang Puck Express Marketplace
Reviewed by bellebookworm9 Review Date: 04/01/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
As usual, WPE did not disappoint. I wanted something light so I chose the BBQ Chicken Salad, sans onions. Chose a table outside and enjoyed the breeze. The salad was very good when it arrived. Just what I was looking for.
Unfortunately, I just wasn't impressed with my server. I was never offered a drink refill, she hardly ever came by to ask me how the meal was, and I waited almost 25 minutes after I was done with the salad before she came outside so I could ask for my dessert. Even then, she disappeared for quite some time before bringing over my frozen yogurt.
Food was good but service left something to be desired.
