Most Recent Reviews
Review of Pop Century Resort (Value Resort)
Reviewed by Kg25 Review Date: 03/16/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
Nice clean place to stay. Service is great. Food at the food court does not offer much variety and the quality is slightly below average. The buses were great, never waited more than15 minutes except during extra magic morning hours....I think there should be multiple buses for the park that is open early...by the time a bus comes for the early morning hours, you really don't get to the park early enough to enjoy that extra time.
Pros:
Great clean room...lots to doCons:
Bus during extra magic hoursReview of 'Ohana Dinner
Reviewed by Kg25 Review Date: 03/16/2014
Rating: (2) Not Recommended
We were seated rather quickly...very slow service.They say it's all you can eat, but we waited up to 20 minutes for more vegetables. It was not busy at all. The meat we were told is marinated for three days, but it's really tough...they didnt ask of we wanted more they just put it in your plate rather you want it or not. Seemed like they catered to people who were not in the dinning plan. Something that didn't happen at other places. Overall poor quality food and substandard service..
Pros:
Nice setupCons:
Poor service, food below averageReview of Disney Dining Plan
Reviewed by lw Review Date: 03/16/2014
Rating: (6) Recommended
Prepaying for meals are an excellent option when dining at Disney.
However, after 5 days so much dessert and so many less than stellar snack and quick serve choices you become so full!
Perhaps, a Baggie of carrots or a garden salad instead of dessert or a bottle of water.
We were very surprised with the additional gratuity added to each meal.
Pros:
Prepaid mealsCons:
A lot of food; pay for tip over 6 peopleReview of FastPass+ (Retired)
Reviewed by lw Review Date: 03/16/2014
Rating: (4) Recommended
Technically this is a great tool for a Disney vacation. A positive aspect was when we were at AK we were able to move a ride earlier in the day as it was more suitable as our day unfolded.
However, the wifi can be spotty. We found if 3 adults were on the my experience(all linked) then they would not show up on the other my experience screens. For example, my husband was looking at dining reservations when I was. It showed 10 in our party of eleven and his name was not on my screen. It seemed to be a common problem amongst our group.
It does have promise. Once the kinks are worked out.
Pros:
Some goodCons:
Some badReview of MagicBand
Reviewed by lw Review Date: 03/16/2014
Rating: (4) Recommended
Having just returned from a Disney vacation over Spring Break I feel this was the first real 'test run' for Fastpass+. The concept in theory is great if everything is working and that is where the problem rests. An example for our party of eleven was a visit to Typhoon Lagoon on Tuesday March 11th. As we are patrons from Canada our bands are not shipped to us prior to vacation departure but we receive them upon check-in which seems reasonable. Unfortunately, 4 members of our party 2adults and 2 children were denied access to a Typhoon Lagoon as it was not synchronized on their passes. The ipad carrying Fastpass resolvers explained they had not paid for this product and denied them access to the park. Which was highly upsetting. Our family members were then shuffled to wait in line at guest services to pay for a product which they had. At this point a very expensive telephone call was made to Canada where our travel agent scanned and emailed documentation showing payment for waterpark and more. This was a very upsetting situation. The Disney Fastpass resolvers were rude and it seemed their job is to push people through lines or ask for payment. It just was not the Disney hospitality that one expects.
I hope that once these glitches are resolved the Fastpass+ is a success.
Pros:
Simplicity. No need to carry money credit cards in park.Cons:
A few snags to be worked on by Disney.Reviewed by lw Review Date: 03/16/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
A family gathering of eleven aged from seventy to six years old had a wonderful time at Port Orleans - French Quarter. The relative smallness of the resort in comparison to Riverside was perfect. Everything was within a very short walking distance. Two of our rooms were connecting which was perfect. The refillable mugs were a huge hit with our kids.
I would highly recommend Port Orleans - French Quarter.
Pros:
Perfect size for multi generational gatheringCons:
Small washroom but completely useable. Hard to find a con!Review of Epcot Seas Aqua Tour - Epcot
Reviewed by dubtrub Review Date: 03/16/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
We met up at the Guest Relations at the main entrance of Epcot. We only needed to bring bathing suits. The group was small (maybe 15 people) and the instructors were helpful and funny. We toured the facility and learned interesting facts and saw a fair amount of the aquarium backstage. I was very nervous about swimming with the sharks, but became much calmer once we were swimming. The staff is incredibly helpful. Our kids loved it (under 10) and there was so much to see. I loved waving at people who were watching us! Can't recommend this experience more highly.
Pros:
Instructors and swimming experienceCons:
NoneReview of FastPass+ (Retired)
Reviewed by miketp Review Date: 03/15/2014
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
It's nice to get fast passes without running through park at opening but being limited to one park ruins the benefit of buying Park Hopper tickets. You won't be able to get on popular rides at the 2nd park you visit. We were there in October and most Fastpasses were gone early in the day. So even though Disney allows you to change choices there were not many options. We are going again this summer and staying at Yacht which makes EPCOT and Hollywood convenient but not as accessible as when we could get passes in both parks. There should be a benefit for staying onsite.
Pros:
Ability to prescheduleCons:
Limited to one park, no benefit for staying at Deluxe or buying park hopper ticketsReview of Shades of Green
Reviewed by cavwife82 Review Date: 03/14/2014
Rating: (7) Recommended
We stayed here 2/7-2/14. We are a family of 6 (2 adults, 2 kids, 2 babies) so we loved the size of the room. It was wonderful having the extra space for pack n plays and suitcases! While the room size was nice, it was just like any holiday inn where the carpet is worn, the bathroom fan was very loud and rattled, and our key wouldn't open the door on multiple days so we would have to go down and get a new one. The bus waits were longer so we walked over to Polynesian and used their bus system and monorail. Its only a 15 minute walk so I recommend it. My kids loved the pool. It was nothing fancy, but never crowded. They liked the playground area. My favorite part was the starbucks as you enter. While my husband put kids to bed, I snuck off to get a couple ice cream cones or coffees for us to snack on. The restaurants were pretty good. I was worried after reading such horrible things. We never waited for a table. Some of the food was kind of bland, but I like spice so most places at Disney taste bland. The waiters were so friendly and I loved that the kids under 6 ate free! If you're looking to save a lot of money, than its great. However, if you're expecting that Disney Magic than look into other resorts.
Pros:
price, size of room, restaurant costs, poolsCons:
no disney feel, bus wait time, room problemsReview of FastPass+ (Retired)
Reviewed by Jrnevins Review Date: 03/12/2014
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
We have visited WDW 5x in in the last 5 years with 1-3 children ranging from 8 months to 7 1/2 years old. We mastered the fast pass & loved it. It made visiting the parks manageable with littles. We never had to wait in line for any ride more than 15-20 mins. We got fast passes for all the high wait times averaging 1 every hour or two we were in the park whichever park. The new system gives you only 3 fast passes per day. With the old system, we got a lot more. You also only can use them at one park. For Park Hoppers this is not a plus. The previous system allowed you to go with the flow of your day not schedule everything before you leave home. Unfortunately we missed a lot of ours due to delayed nap or travel time. Supposedly there is the option to change them but when we tried there was no fast passes left. Not flexible. Scheduling around dining reservations is enough planning. I don't want to have to plan around rides too. The old fast pass system worked very well. Why change it? When we asked why it was changed, we were told because some people like us mastered it but others never used the system and WDW wanted to make it fair/equal. I don't understand that. I think a nice compromise would be to allow guests to choose 3 per day but continue the one/hour for those who can master it.
