Most Recent Reviews
Review 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.
Pros:
Excellent food, good valueCons:
Spotty serviceReview of Sunshine Seasons
Reviewed by bellebookworm9 Review Date: 04/01/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
Three friends and I dined here on 3/25. Since it was around 2:30pm, we didn't have much difficulty finding a seat. One of my friends had the Spicy Togarashi Seared Tuna Noodle Salad and the rest of us enjoyed the Turkey, Monterey Jack, and Chipotle Mayonnaise on Ciabatta. Everyone thought their meals were great. The sandwich seems to get larger every time I eat it! Most of us did end up picking off the jalapenos from the sandwich.
For dessert, I tried the Chocolate Mousse Cake, which was very tasty, and one of my other friends had the New York Cheesecake. He said it was delicious. Sunshine Seasons is great for fresh, non-traditional theme park food!
Pros:
Huge portions, always good food, not too crowdedCons:
—Review of Boulangerie Patisserie les Halles
Reviewed by lisakb22 Review Date: 04/01/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
Food was amazing and you can use snack credits from DDP to pay. We had a ham and cheese crossaint and a pastry each,yummy and huge in size- a hidden gem!
