Most Recent Reviews
Reviewed by Motherhen Review Date: 12/10/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
This was the first time we tried Yak & Yeti and were pleasantly surprised. The food came in large portions and was served hot. The food is very "Americanized" oriental food and not traditional, but it is a nice change from BBQ & pizza. The outdoor seating with all of the birds was quite annoying, but not so much that we wouldn't eat here again. We will definitely be back.
Pros:
Large quantitiesCons:
Outdoor seating with too many birdsReview of Olivia's Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by Motherhen Review Date: 12/10/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
We stayed at OKW from 11/29 - 12/09 and were looking forward to having our first dinner of our vacation at Olivia's. We weren't disappointed. We tried this restaurant on our last vacation and it quickly became one of our "must dos" at WDW. The food was flavourful, hot and well prepared & presented. We were a party of 4 and none of us had any complaints. I had the prime rib and it was perfect. We were using the DDP, and I like that they gave us a choice of many things off of the menu rather than just soda. Our server, Karen, was awesome. She was attentive and informative and made our dining a very enjoyable experience.
Pros:
Food, ServiceCons:
NoneReview of MagicBand
Reviewed by Motherhen Review Date: 12/10/2013
Rating: (1) Recommended
I was so excited about this new development and couldn't wait to try it. I was so disappointed! I ordered my park tickets through DVC and was told to link them through "My Disney Experience". I had already set up our dining reservations and had them linked with MDE, so I thought it would be a simple process. We were taking our DD's BFF with us and all of our tickets wouldn't link on-line. I needed to call the help line for assistance. The CM on the help line set everything up for me and I was able to start the FP+ set up.
The FP+ set went fairly smoothly, although, the system was somewhat disagreeable when trying to make changes to the FP+ I had already set up. Nonetheless, I got everything ready and on screen everything looked perfect.
I showed up at our resort and was handed the display box with our customized wrist bands inside. They were exactly what I had ordered on-line. We used then right away to get into our room and they worked perfectly.
The next day when we went to use them at Animal Kingdom the problems started, and they continued through our entire vacation. We were staying for 10 days and out of our 30 FP+ selections that were set up, only 4 worked. It was a horribly frustrating experience.
I had to carry around a print out of our FP+ selections and show them to every CM at every ride or attraction we wanted to get into. Not exactly convenient. I spoke to CMs at every park and each and every time they did a system scan of our wrist bands, it showed everything exactly as I had planned it from home, but for some reason it wouldn't link up in the parks.
At check-in we were also given the original blue park ticket cards to use and these worked better for FP than our wrist bands.
The wrist bands worked exactly as they were supposed to for our meal plan and for entry to the parks themselves, it seemed that only the FP+ wasn't working.
FP+, in theory, sounds like a good idea, however, we found the FP lines were longer, in many cases, than the stand-by lines. In several instances we rode a ride in the stand-by line and then rode it again with our FP. Once the system becomes more widely know and used the FP lines will be useless.
I was expecting a lot more from Disney and was terribly disappointed!
My DH wanted me to add that the wristbands are very poorly designed. He has a very large wrist and found them uncomfortable. It was very hot while we were there, and the bands do not breathe, and caused skin irritation and sweating. They also leave unsightly tan lines. Definitely need work.
Pros:
—Cons:
Ours didn't work wellReview of Garden Grocer
Reviewed by Motherhen Review Date: 12/10/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We used the Garden Grocer service during our stay from 11/30 - 12/09. We were staying at OKW. Our groceries were delivered on time to bell services at our resort. Our order was complete and intact. Bell services refrigerated all of our perishable items, so everything was in perfect condition. We were on Disney dining, but wanted to use our dining credits for lunches and dinners. I ordered breakfast items, water and snack foods to eliminate the need to eat at a restaurant at our resort or at the parks, and we saved a substantial amount. It was quite hot during our stay and not having to pay for water was invaluable. It would be cheaper to do your own grocery shopping, but who needs that kind of hassle when on vacation. My only complaint is that the service doesn't come directly to your room (at least at OKW). That means your groceries are moved or handled by several people, but this is really a minor issue. I will definitely use this service every time we go to WDW.
Pros:
Convenient, Cost SavingCons:
Don't always deliver to your roomReviewed by Lovethesouth Review Date: 12/10/2013
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
Visit WDW often (FL resident)....This was our 4th MVMCP and probably our last until Disney can fix the crowd problem. We attended 12/5/13 (sold out). We have visited many times and know that there are always going to be crowds in the MK, but what we experienced this night was completely unacceptable. The crowd on Main St and around the castle between the parades and during the fireworks was unimaginable! Standstill is a big understatement. NO ONE was able to move. Walkways completely blocked, people pushing, yelling, and cursing. Disney can't control people's actions but they can and should create a better environment for these events, considering the cost. For a starter, reopen those two paths on each side of the castle so that there are more avenues to move people in and out of the area. Unbelievable that the management continues to disregard this matter. For this reason, we will spend our money on other things.
Pros:
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Cost/lack of crowd controlReview of Yacht Club Resort (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by TRAVELPOP99 Review Date: 12/09/2013
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
SPENT THE LAST WEEK HERE.....VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH HOTEL.....WE STAY AT THE DELUXE RESORTS TWICE A YEAR FOR THE LAST 8 YEARS....THIS WAS THE LAST ONE WE TRIED AND WERE VERY VERY DISAPPOINTED..NEVER STAY HERE AGAIN....VERY RUN DOWN FOR A DELUXE HOTEL......
Pros:
LOCATIONCons:
DIRTY,INDIFFERENT STAFF,LONG BUS WAITSReviewed by jlk806 Review Date: 12/09/2013
Rating: (6) Recommended
We were very excited to get to go to Disney in December, we attended the MVMCP this past Thursday, December 5th. If we were not AP holders, and had to buy tickets for the visit we may not have sprung for the extra money for the party, but we got the DVC discount so I believe it was about $180 for the 3 of us with tax (me, DH, and our 5 year old son). Ordered the tickets a month in advance so I cant remember exactly.
Anyhow, we entered the park a little after 4 and got our wristbands, we had fastpass + lined up for 3 rides so we went to do that and a couple other rides until it was time for the party. At just after 7, we went to Tomorrowland Terrace (one of the complimentary treat locations) and there was no line. My son has nut allergies, so he was given a special package of chocolate chip cookies, as the snickerdoodle cookies are made in a facility with nuts. He enjoyed it, and my husband tried the regular cookies and said they were good.
The castle show was a nice show, but we just had a bad spot to watch, off to the side by the walkway to adventureland, where everyone was walking in front of us. There was no where else to move to, but we still got to see the show and it was nice. We then moved and managed to get a semi-decent spot in the crowd about 1/2 way down Main Street for the parade. They brought out some street entertainment, got the kids involved in dancing and stuff in the street to music to keep them busy while we waited for the parade to make its way down (the parade starts at the end of frontierland). The parade was truly magical and we loved it. My son was singing along and so excited. It was great. After the parade I made the mistake of deciding to run to Cosmic Rays to get an order of chicken nuggets for all of us to share as we had dinner at about 3. My husband stopped with our son by the Plaza restaurant to watch the Castle dream light show (which he apparently loved) and I ran to Cosmic to get the nuggets, but by the time we got back we were trapped in that spot to watch the fireworks. It wasn't a bad spot to watch but we usually like to watch from the end of Main street where its less packed. We had planned to leave after the 9:30 fireworks, as those were the things we wanted to see, and our son wanted to head back to the hotel. After the fireworks was a disaster, it was so jammed on that walkway in front of the plaza restauarant no one could move or breathe. Some people were shoving to get over to Tomorrowland and others shoving to get the other way to Main street. It was a disaster this one woman kept ramming my husband with her scooter. One cast member tried to jump in and direct traffic but it was no use. It took a good 20 minutes to get out of that mess.
- All in all, everything we saw we enjoyed, but was it worth $180? Not sure. The same stuff we paid big bucks to see many others were enjoying for free, as we saw several people without wristbands walking around. There is no good way to enforce it, I saw a couple cast members checking but I also saw one group get asked if they had wristbands and when they didn't were pointed to the exit but the second the CM turned around they ran off the other way into the crowd. Its just not fair they need to develop a better way to clear the park out of non-ticketed guests, they really do.
Pros:
Parade, Castle Stage ShowCons:
Beyond PackedReviewed by alfy Review Date: 12/09/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
The room was clean and well equipped. We found the decor dated with a faux '50s look and unchanged from when we stayed many years ago, many layers of paint on the walls. The restaurants here and at the Swan are uniformly great and folks staying anywhere in the Epcot area should take advantage of them. We also note that S and D are offering a fastpass plus service, where you make your choices at stations inside the parks. We didn't use the service this trip. Dolphin and Swan are our choices when the Disney Epcot resorts are fully booked or not offering advantageous rates.
Pros:
Lots of elevators, friendly staff, great restaurantsCons:
DatedReview of Hollywood and Vine Dinner
Reviewed by alfy Review Date: 12/09/2013
Rating: (6) Recommended
We would give the food an 8 and the service a 2, with a 6 overall. We were seated about 5 minutes after our reservation time, not bad. But then it was 15 minutes before a waitress showed up. She took our drinks order and came back with them more than 10 minutes later. The only thing that arrived in a timely manner was the check. The food items were of good variety, vegetables were very fresh and the meat items were tasty, even though we arrived toward the end of the restaurant's serving hours.
Pros:
The food items were good and worth the priceCons:
Service was spottyReview of California Grill
Reviewed by John Review Date: 12/08/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
Even though eating at the California Grill was by far our most expenisve meal at WDW, it was also the best. The food, service and being able to view the Magic Kingdom in the evening was great.
The Duck in all it's Glory was wonderful and the steak I had was perfect. My daughter-in-law had sushi as both an appetizer and an entree and she said it was the best Sushi she had ever had. My son had the Pork two ways and my wife had the Chicken and they were both excellent.
