Most Recent Reviews
Review of Disney's DELUXE Dining Plan
Reviewed by ibwalrash Review Date: 02/10/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
This was our second time using the deluxe dining plan, and we had the same feelings as our first time, lots of fun to eat out all the time, but too much food! We appreciate getting the added bonus of appetizers when compared to the regular dining plan. But it can feel like a full time job to get your money's worth.
Is it worth it? If you and your family like to enjoy taking a break and sitting down at a table service restaurant at different times throughout the day, then yes. If you want to sample different restaurants throughout the world that offer foods that you would never get at a counter service restaurant, than yes.
Some drawbacks. In order to maximize the delux dining plan, you must eat 3 table service meals a day. This means making reservations well in advance for the popular restaurant and being flexible with all other plans to be able to accommodate your dining plans.
If you want to eat your way through Disney, then the Deluxe is a great way to experience some really good restaurants in the World. Otherwise, consider a regular dining plan and pay out of pocket for appetizers and extra meals.
Pros:
Adds an "all-inclusive" aspectCons:
so much foodReviewed by ibwalrash Review Date: 02/10/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
This was our second time staying at a moderate resort, the first being Coronado Springs. PO Riverside is the best landscaped of all the moderate resorts. The grounds are gorgeous and the boats running down the river which runs through the middle of the resorts is really neat.
We stayed in a royal room which can be summed up in one word, wow! The little attention to details and lushness of the decorations are overwhelming, in a good way. When checking in, we spent most of the night just checking out the room. We had heard so much about the pirate rooms at Caribbean Beach, but not much about the royal rooms. The room was relatively close to the main lobby (which the pirate rooms are not at Caribbean Beach)
We had heard good things about the food court at PO Riverside, but honestly preferred the food court at Coronado Springs. We didn't use it that often because we were on the deluxe dining plan and didn't want to waste our credits on counter service. The table service restaurant, Boatrights, was really good. Probably one of the better restaurants we ate at during our 8 day stay.
The only negatives we felt was the size of the resort and the lack of a table service breakfast. The ability to take a boat to Downtown Disney is nice, but really no faster than taking a bus.
We really didn't spend as much time as we would have liked utilizing all the amenities of the resort, but there were tons to take in. The main pool looked fun, but unfortunately on our recent trip, it was too cold to use. The game room was huge compared to other resorts. There were carriage rides, boat and bicycle rentals, and even cane pole fishing available. Many things to do, if you are looking to take some time away from the parks.
For the price, PO Riverside is a great value among the Disney resorts. Plenty to do and look at.
Pros:
Beautiful grounds and roomsCons:
Can be pretty spread out depending where you are stayingReview of Animal Kingdom Lodge - Simba's Cubhouse
Reviewed by ibwalrash Review Date: 02/10/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
My wife and I had a date night on our most recent trip and we used the childcare services at Wilderness Lodge even though we were staying at PO Riverside. The kids had a great time and the staff was very friendly and hands on.
On a side note, if depending on Disney transportation to get from home resort to Wilderness lodge, give yourself ample time. We spent over 3 hours going from PO Riverside - theme park - Wilderness Lodge - boat to MK - boat to Grand Floridian for our reservations at Senses and Cirticos. We used a taxi to pickup our kids and return home!
Pros:
plenty of activitesCons:
not all resorts offer this serviceReview of Restaurantosaurus
Reviewed by mmfan Review Date: 02/10/2014
Rating: (5) Recommended
In our many trips to AK, we had never eaten here, were nearby when we felt hungry and decided to give it try. It was a very cool evening, not many people in this part of the park, and very few people were eating here. I was very disappointed in my chicken sandwich. It was mushy, had a strange spicy flavor and only room temperature. The case members serving the food were disinterested and cranky, something we rarely encounter at WDW. My DH had the black bean burger which he said was not bad, loaded it with toppings from the topping bar which improved it. We sat outside although it was very cool weather, the seating area needed a general cleaning. Not a place we will add to our list of favorite counter service experiences.
Pros:
quiet locationCons:
lackluster foodReview of Yacht Club Resort (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by Brine6415 Review Date: 02/09/2014
Rating: (2) Not Recommended
For starters we are a family of 4 with 2 boys, ages 4, and 6 months. This is our second trip to Disney with our 4 year old. We stayed for 5 nights and 6 days at the Yacht Club. 3 of those nights were paid for by me, and the remaining 2 were on a Disney Resort credit that we received after our last stay at the Wilderness Lodge 2 years ago. Most of our issues during our last stay were as a result of construction going on at the Wilderness Lodge. (Im sure that review is still buried in my profile if your really interested)
For whatever reason Disney was unable to join the resort credit reservation with our other reservation and this caused some minor problems during our stay. This also caused us to receive 2 sets of magic bands and 2 sets of magical express tickets with one end open on each reservation.
We arrived fairly early on Monday and went inside to check in. I was immedaitely impressed with the decor and cleanleness of the lobby. The scent that they are pumping through the lobby was fresh and not overwhelming. The staff was very attentive and helpful. While waiting to check in I was brought over to the Concierge desk by an employee to expedite the check in as there was a line at the regular check in desk. The guy who checked us in (Mike) was extremely nice and very creative. He was, however new to that resort and didn’t know where anything was which made the total check in time approximately 30 mins. We had pre requested a ground floor room during the online check in and were told one was available.
When the check in was over we were told that the room we had been assigned was ready for us however it had not updated in their system so our magic bands would not work to let us in the room yet. We were then told to call the front desk after 15 minutes to check on the status of our magic bands / room keys. We were then let in by a bell hop. Approximately 15 mins later I called the front desk to see if “Their system had updated†and the person on the other end of the phone had no idea what I was talking about. They tried to figure it out but I was inevitably transferred to another person who I had to explain the story to again.
The room itself appeared to be clean and well maintained and besides a gigantic dead mosquito on one of the beds. We didn’t see any issues until we pulled back the curtains and walked outside. When we went outside on the patio we immediately noticed that we were directly in front of the adult pool which was under construction. I’m not sure why Disney chose to overlook this detail with our reservations. We were staying on a resort credit that was given to us largely in part to a massive amount of construction that was going on during our last stay. And here we were again with a nice fresh view of some lovely construction. I then called the front desk and asked for another room. I was told that one was ready and we were moved to room 1085.
Upon switching rooms we found our new view to be exceptional as it had lovely views of the courtyard and water. The room was clearly an older one as the carpet was worn, the AC unit controls appeared to be from the 70’s. We also noticed a strange musty smell in the room which I chalked up to the ac being off and the room sitting unoccupied for a while. We then laid our kids down for naps and waited for our luggage to arrive. 3 hours later our luggage had still not arrived and I called the bell hops. They then advised me that our luggage had been sent to our first room and was waiting in there. They then advised that they would go an retrieve it for us. This again was a lack of attention to detail on Disney’s part and I wasn’t all that happy that our luggage had been sitting in a room that someone else could have had access to for at least 2 hours.
After a few minutes in the new room I noticed that one of the light fixtures above one of the beds was missing its knob, exposing the plastic. Due to the design of the room this was very noticeable and quite frankly unacceptable for a $420 dollar a night hotel. I then mentioned this to a the bell hop that brought us our luggage and was advised that it was going to be taken care of. When we returned that evening the knob was still missing. The next morning I walked to the front desk and spoke to a manager who advised me that he was going to take care of it right away. This didn’t happen, and that evening when we returned to the room the knob was still missing. I then returned to the front desk and spoke with another manager for the now third time. A few minutes later a maintenance guy showed up and fixed the knob.
In addition to the knob I also noticed that the room had significant rust on some of the metal fixtures in the bathroom and a bunch of tangled wiring from lamps and other items in the room, visible on the floors between the furniture. The fridge was also unplugged and I had to move the entertainment stand to plug it in. There was also visible trash in the mulch directly in front of our patio to include a wine cork, a cigarette butt, and several small pieces of white paper. Again a significant lack of attention to detail on Disney’s part.
When we went out to hit the parks the following day I noticed some water damage in the ceiling outside of our room. There also appeared to be mold growing on the ceiling as a result. I then noticed it was in multiple sections of the ceiling as we walked down the hallway. This is, point blank, UNACCEPTABLE. I can deal with having to plug in a fridge or some rust on a fixture in central Florida but water damage and mold? Really Disney. For $420 a night???
During the remainder of our stay things didn’t get much better in regards to the hotel. The room continued to smell musty and got so bad that we had to open the patio door to get fresh air in the room on a daily basis. When the maid came in to clean the room, not much cleaning was done as the carpet was never vacuumed and some of the glasses we got one day had a nasty looking white spuge on them which I hope was undissolved dishwashing detergent. Also the maid forgot to replenish our ice bucket liner and I had to call and request one.
During the end of our paid stay we received phone messages and a letter advising us to please come to the front desk and arrange our Magical Express Transportation. I had to go the front desk once again, to make sure they understood that we had 2 reservations and that we were not leaving and wanted to stay in the same room. This was finally addressed but almost everyone I spoke with appeared unfamiliar with a Disney resort credit and was unclear how to proceed. Furthermore once we had checked out of our first reservation and into our second I received a phone message asking me to come to the front desk and provide them with a credit card for the second reservation. I had already done this online and they also had my card from our first reservation. Yet another lack of attention to detail.
However I’m glad that I didn’t respond to this request as when we went to check out on our last day there they handed me a bill for $202 Dollars. When asked what this was for the clerk couldn’t explain it and had to go in the back to check with a manager. She then returned to tell me that it was the taxes and fees for our last 2 nights. I then explained to her that those nights were on a Disney resort credit and that there should not have been a bill for anything. I then had to provide the letter I received from Disney in regards to the resort credit. Thank the lord I didn’t provide them with another credit card and they weren’t smart enough to use the one from my first reservation or this amount would have been charged to my card. Another huge lack of attention to detail and yet another issue I and to deal with while on vacation. I was finally told that the charges would be taken care of.
My final complaint about this resort comes from the convention center located in the middle of the Yacht and Beach Clubs. I understand that convention business has to be a huge source of revenue for Disney but the last thing I want to see on vacation is a bunch of suits clogging up the front lobby discussing business deals throughout the entire day. This place was so busy with conventions that I don’t think there were many other families staying there at all.
I’m not quite sure why Disney can’t have a separate lobby / meeting area for these convention guests and coordinate their room assignments to be in the same area and away from the families who are trying to enjoy some of the so called “magicâ€.
To sum it all up we had a good time enjoying the parks and other attractions at Disney. This resorts pool is amazing and is easily its greatest feature. The grounds of the resort are also maintained very well and a pleasure to look at however, I can not get over the lack of attention to detail on Disney’s part regarding the rooms and reservations I paid a significant amount of money to stay for the 3 nights that I paid for, a dining plan, 5 days of park tickets, and countless other items that were purchased at the resort and parks. The experience we had with the rooms was unreal and I can’t believe that this level of negligence exists at a so called Disney "Deluxe" Resort. I expected a magical experience and what I really got was anything but. No folded Mickey towels in the room after day 1, no anything consistent with a $420 dollar a night room at Disney World. I'm not an unreasonable person this is just poor, poor, management, and service at a place that is supposed to be known for its level of service. What a shame.
Pros:
Grounds are BeautifulCons:
Rooms are terribleReview of Tony's Town Square Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by dksyooper Review Date: 02/09/2014
Rating: (6) Not Recommended
My family and I thought this restaurant was okay. We had requested to sit near a window, but the host tried to seat us in the middle of a room, so we asked for a booth instead. The host seated us at a table that was half booth and half chairs, which we settled for. We didn't understand why we couldn't have just been seated the way we requested since we noticed a an empty table next to a window as well as empty booths. That said, I ordered the cannelloni which was good. DS and DM had the spaghetti that was okay. I didn't like the bread stick that came with the meal because it was hard as a rock. Overall, the meal was so expensive, that we really didn't feel like we got our money's worth. We probably won't visit this restaurant again.
Pros:
Average food, but good serviceCons:
PriceyReview of Yak and Yeti Restaurant
Reviewed by dksyooper Review Date: 02/09/2014
Rating: (6) Not Recommended
My family and I had eaten at Yak and Yeti before and had a great experience, so we couldn't wait to try it out again. Unfortunately, the hostess seated us at a table in a very loud hallway near the front of the restaurant. I could barely hear the waitress, and resigned myself to just reading her lips. We tried to move to another table, but there wasn't anything else available. I ordered the sweet and sour chicken which was good and DS ordered the maple chicken which she liked. I had ordered egg rolls for an appetizer, but it was served with the meal! The meal was so expensive, coupled with the loud atmosphere and mediocre service, we will not visit again.
Pros:
Good foodCons:
Very loud and priceyReview of Chefs de France - Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by dksyooper Review Date: 02/09/2014
Rating: (9) Recommended
My family and I have dined at Les Chefs de France before, and this visit was every bit as good. The only drawback was that we asked for a window seat (which was granted), but we were seated near the Plaza area instead of a water view. If you want a table next to a window with a water view, be sure to tell the hostess exactly what you want, as they will try to place you in a less popular area. That said, at least we had a very nice and attentive waitress. I had the onion soup and quiche which was very good. DS had the potato and ham crepe which she thought was okay and DM had the cheese sandwich which she really liked. We also enjoyed the bread they serve before the meal and we appreciated that the waitress refilled our drinks throughout the meal. We will definitely visit this restaurant again.
Pros:
Very good food and serviceCons:
PriceyReview of Plaza Restaurant
Reviewed by dksyooper Review Date: 02/09/2014
Rating: (10) Recommended
We've eaten at The Plaza Restaurant before, and this visit was even better. Our waitress was attentive and professional. I had the tuna sandwich and DS had a hamburger (I can't remember what DM ordered). We thought our dinner was great, then ordered hot fudge sundaes for dessert that was equally wonderful. We were seated next to a window, so we had a view of the castle that turned different colors during the electrical parade along with some fireworks that were spectacular. The only drawback to this restaurant was that we had to wait a half hour to be seated, but I can understand why since it's so popular. We will definitely dine at The Plaza again.
Pros:
Great food and serviceCons:
Long wait to be seatedReview of Sci-Fi Dine-in Theatre Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by dksyooper Review Date: 02/09/2014
Rating: (8) Recommended
My family and I always enjoy the Sci Fi. I would give the restaurant a "10" for atmosphere, but only a "6" for food which is why I gave it an "8" rating. We love sitting in a classic car and watching 1950's trailers. I had a chesseburger which was fine and DS had a turkey sandwich that was okay. Our waitress was very nice and attentive. I would think families with children would love the restaurant because the atmosphere would keep the children occupied until their food arrived. Overall, we would eat here again.
