Most Recent Reviews
Review of La Cantina de San Angel
Reviewed by SammoDake Review Date: 12/23/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
The Cantina is a tradition for my wife and myself. She's been going there for years and years and when she dragged me to WDW for my first trip in 2005 she took me. We've gone back every trip since.
The atmosphere really can't be beat. The further into the restaurant you are, the more the noise and lights of the marketplace die away and you can have a surprisingly intimate, especially consider how much Disney likes to pack customers in together, dinner with a companion. The view is always beautiful and I appreciate that Disney has avoided the temptation of places like TRex and Rainforest Cafe to add some periodic show, like the volcano erupting or something.
The food is always very good. The chips came with a mild salsa verde, very fresh tasting, and a spicier salsa roja, chipotles giving it a smokey flavor. We shared the tostada appetizer, which was surprisingly delicious. My wife ordered the enchiladas, which she loved, and I ordered the tacos, which were very good but needed some sour cream to alleviate some minor dryness.
I was disappointed to see that San Angel has long since abandoned flan. Ultimately we did not get dessert since none of the dishes offered (cheesecake?) really went with the atmosphere.
All in all, we love San Angel and will always come back.
Pros:
Amazing atmosphereCons:
Disney's homogenization strikes again with the dessertsReviewed by SammoDake Review Date: 12/23/2013
Rating: (7) Recommended
Though we do not yet have children, my wife and I chose to go to the Garden Grill as part of our Candlelight Processional package, as we'd never eaten there before.
They seemed a little disorganized when we got there, but before too long we were seated. The experience of being in a rotating restaurant is always interesting, though the view here was a lot less interesting than when eating at rotating restaurants on the top floor of skyscrapers.
The food was perfectly fine. Not great, but not at all bad. I liked the turkey quite a bit, as well as the mashed potatoes. The beef was okay and the tilapia went mostly untouched. I found dessert to be very disappointing. Though signs advertised bread pudding, all we got was a berry cobbler. My wife seemed to like it, but I don't care for cobbler.
The interaction with the characters was entertaining enough, though it lead to some problems inherent in the layout of the restaurant. When kids would start to get excited about the characters, you would suddenly have loud children running up and down the fairly narrow strip along which customers and waiters have to walk. And when the character stopped for pictures, waiters would frequently be stuck standing there with food and no way to easily get to the customer.
They did show considerable concern for possible allergies. My wife is pregnant and cannot have certain foods. Since there was no place on the form to note pregnancy, the person who took our reservation wrote 'shellfish allergy'. The chef himself came out to speak with us about any possible allergies. When the situation was explained to him he assured us that tilapia was a very low mercury fish anyway and that their tilapia was even lower, given that they are raised on site.
Pros:
Fun experience, allergy attentivenessCons:
Average food, can be chaoticReview of Sci-Fi Dine-in Theatre Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by SammoDake Review Date: 12/23/2013
Rating: (7) Recommended
My wife and I had eaten at the SciFi Drive-in before. We knew that we liked the lunch menu, but did not care for the dinner menu, so we went at around 4 on a Tuesday for lunch. Though we did not have reservations we were seated fairly quickly.
You know what the atmosphere is like, so there's no need to go into details. Needless to say that if you can get a car, it really is as cool and fun as it seems. The only real downside is that the reel they show is only about 30 or so minutes long, so if you linger you will eventually see The Amazing Colossal Man more than once. Also, they've severely abridged the classic Cat Who Hated People cartoon. The reel hasn't changed in years, so there are no surprises. It would be nice if Disney could add a lot of new stuff to it, adding variety and increasing its length. Even better, ditch the reels and make each segment its own contained unit, then randomize the order in which they're shown.
The food was okay. We both really liked our Oreo shakes, but the buffalo popcorn chicken was a little chewy and was served in a paper cone, so the chicken at the bottom was drenched in sauce while the chicken at the top barely had any on it, making for an uneven eating experience.
The All American Picnic Burger was not terrible, but the hot dogs were distracting. They were cheap franks, and as such overpowered the taste of the beef with their nitrate-packed flavor. Otherwise the burger was fine, but as with so much food at Disney, it was all far more expensive than it deserved to be.
The Sci-Fi Drive-in is fun, especially if you get a seat in a car, but I wouldn't go there again for anything more than shakes. Especially since a shake will get you in and out before the reel loops.
Pros:
Fun atmosphere, good serviceCons:
Questionable food, short reelReview of 'Ohana Best Friends Character Breakfast
Reviewed by arparkes78 Review Date: 12/23/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
Loved this breakfast. The food was great, the staff was amazing and the characters were wonderful.
Pros:
Great food and serviceCons:
noneReview of Contemporary Resort (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by arparkes78 Review Date: 12/23/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We booked the Contemporary for our latest visit to WDW DEC 15-21st What a great place to stay for getting around to the parks. Our room was ready when we got there and the bell hop sevice was fantastic.
While the Christmas decorating is not what it is at some of the other resorts on Disney it was still done very well.
I was expecting it to be noisey with the monorail running through but we were on the 9th floor with a lake view and we never heard it once.
The only downside was mouse keeping. We had 4 people in our room and every day I had to ask for towels or washcloths because only 2 or 3 were left each day. We also had some ants in our bathroom but this was quickly resolved by calling the front desk.
Pros:
Location, Location, LocationCons:
MousekeepingReview of San Angel Inn Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by Keelie Review Date: 12/23/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
We eat here at least once every time we go to Disney! We enjoy the lunch menu more than the dinner menu because of the enchiladas verde, which I HIGHLY recommend! We started with the toastadas--DELICIOUS and then I had the enchiladas as my entree. They were incredible. For dessert I had the chocolate mousse which was also very very good. We actually like the atmosphere and how dark and intimate the setting is, although the tables are very close together. Would (and will!) dine here again and again!
Pros:
excellent food, great nachos, amazing viewCons:
Tables packed inReview of Le Cellier Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by Keelie Review Date: 12/23/2013
Rating: (2) Recommended
I used to love this restaurant--like we would book it twice during our stay things were so good. Now, we've decided we never have to go back again. They've changed the bread service from breadsticks to just rolls, and while the pretzel bread remains delicious the rest are just so-so. I ordered the cheese soup--a favorite of mine--and was super disappointed to see they give you a small bowl and only fill it half way. The servings used to be so much bigger! My husband had the tomato stack--an old favorite of his--and found it to be flavorless with frozen moz. cheese. Super disappointing. For the entree I had the filet and he had the pork. I ordered my filet medium and while the very center was sort of maybe pink the rest of it was not. Attempts to flag down our very slow waitress failed so I just ate half of it before giving it to my husband, who found the pork was also incredibly flavorless. Most disappointing of all--they got rid of the chocolate whiskey cake, my favorite dessert at WDW! We declined dessert and left after a very expensive and very disappointing meal. We will not be returning.
Pros:
—Cons:
small servings, expensive, noisy, slow serviceReview of La Hacienda de San Angel
Reviewed by Keelie Review Date: 12/23/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
We decided to eat at la Hacienda last minute and almost walked away because the closed heavy doors made it look closed. Luckily a cast member was out front and assured us they were open so we went in--and we were SO glad we did! My husband and I shared the queso appetizer (so cheesy!) and then the hacienda meal, which was hands down one of the best meals I have ever had at Epcot. The meat was cooked to perfection, the beans and rice were DELICIOUS--I could go on and on. While it was a bit pricey, we would absolutely dine here again.
Pros:
EXCELLENT food! Nice atmosphereCons:
noneReviewed by Keelie Review Date: 12/23/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We stayed here for one night before transferring to the Grand Floridian Villas and we were pleasantly surprise with how much we liked the place! It was beautiful and bell services was quick to load us into a golf cart and get us to our room. We were right near the walkway to Downtown Disney (which was closed) and could see the balloon and Fulton's boat from our porch. The room itself was really nice and spacious and we were close to a quiet pool, bus stop, and had a short walk to the main building.
The one time we did take the bus it took forever though. There are 4 or 5 stops at this vast resort and it does eat up some time. We figured out the fastest way was getting off at another stop and just walking back to ours, but had we stayed there longer I think this would have put a damper on the trip. This is definitely a resort designed around you having a car!
Pros:
Location near Downtown Disney, beautiful roomCons:
bus transportationReviewed by Keelie Review Date: 12/23/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
I am going to give this 10 even though I debated knocking it down to a 9 because of housekeeping--this new building is absolutely GORGEOUS. It still has that new paint smell but everything is pristine. We did online checkin and had no problems transferring here from another resort. We stayed in a studio with a lake view and it was amazing! We could see Space Mountain, the Polynesian, the Contemporary, and the roof of the Wilderness Lodge from our porch. The two showers in the room made it so my husband and I could get ready at the same time in the morning and while I thought the bed was a little high (at seven months pregnant it made for quite a climb!) the extra pillows in the closet made it so I could get quite comfortable. The room had a toaster, fridge, and microwave along with utensils, plates, and cups for 5 people. There was also a pack and play in the closet, which I thought was a nice touch.
The only negative I really had was housekeeping. When we first got into our hotel room we found a razor blade (!) on the sink counter, a long dark hair on the back of the toilet, and the trash in the bathroom had not been taken out since it held two empty snack bags. We did have our shampoo and towels replaced once while we were there, which was done efficiently and the trash was removed.
Still we would definitely stay here again--the walk to the main building is not bad at all and there is a covered archway and the main pool with the slide is right outside the side entrance. Getting to Gasparilla Grill is a bit of a hike, but necessary as the refill station next to the pool inexplicably closes around 9 every evening.
