Most Recent Reviews
Reviewed by cinderlisa Review Date: 10/25/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
Ice cream was delicious. We love the Downtown Disney location in Orlando and were excited to try the DCA version. I was surprised the ice cream was served in plastic cups and you had to wait for it yourself as opposed to WDW where it is delivered to your table. It was not a problem, just different. Perhaps we reviewed the menu too quickly but I didn't see options other than their fancy, expensive sundaes. That's what we wanted, so it was no problem, but it would have been nice to know what options were for ice cream flavors and toppings if we had wanted to create our own treat.
Pros:
Delicious!Cons:
Confusing menuReview of Pacific Wharf Cafe
Reviewed by cinderlisa Review Date: 10/25/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
We love Pacific Wharf! We had a great lunch here for a great price. I always get the Shrimp Louie and it didn't disappoint. My son was very excited about his kid's meal ina Mickey Mouse and pluto bag. His macaroni was exactly as expected and came with healthy sides. My husband had the clam chowder and he really enjoyed the soup and munching on the bread bowl. This definitely stays on our "must eat here" list!
Pros:
Delicious salads, great bread, lovely area to dineCons:
Portions slightly smallReview of Paradise Pier Hotel
Reviewed by cinderlisa Review Date: 10/25/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We were very excited for our family's first DLR onsite stay. I was so happy that the room was clean and perfectly maintained upon check in. We loved the Disney touches and beach ball pillows.
There was a snafu at check in where we were told our Fantasmic viewing tickets were included in the paperwork given to me-they weren't, and I spent about 2 hours tracking them down but City Hall at Disneyland was finally able to help me. They turned out to be at PPH front desk the whole time...extremely frustrating.
Every afternoon there was a pool party and the staff was wonderful with our 3 year old son. He was too little to really do or understand most of the games but he was enthusiastic and the activity directors helped him feel included every time.
The Surf's Up breakfast was the best character meal we've ever done, and we've done many.
Loved being able to walk through the Grand Californian Hotel to save time, and so nice not to have to rely on shuttles to get to the parks. We are sold on onsite stays and will definitely be back!
Pros:
Clean, extra magic hours benefit, Surf's Up breakfast, roomyCons:
Check in issues, slow elevatorsReview of Ariel's Grotto Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by cinderlisa Review Date: 10/25/2013
Rating: (2) Not Recommended
We had gone to Ariel's Grotto in 2009 and loved it. This time however we were extremely disappointed. We had lunch here on October 20th. We were three minutes early to check in and turned away. When we came back we had to stand in the long line for a photo with Ariel. You stand on the crowded stairwell with people trying to leave the restaurant coming UP next to you and it's crowded and annoying. We also saw a wheelchair party getting ignored for some time once they came down the elevator.
When we were seated I noticed all the little girls were given paper crowns and crayons to color their menus. My 3 year old son got the menu and crayons but no crown. That was annoying too as he adores princes and princesses right now.
Then we came to find out the menu had changed recently. No more antipasti tower. Now it's bread, and salad or soup. My husband and I had a crab soup which was fine. He liked his tri tip and my son liked his macaroni, but my shrimp pasta tasted like a lean cuisine. Mushy pasta and no flavor. The dessert was different too. Some Oreos, a couple bites of Rice Krispies, and a bite of cheesecake.
Most disappointing were the princesses. We were comparing them to our wonderful experience at Akershus in WDW, and there's no comparison. They'd quickly say hello, sign my son's autograph book, and smile for a picture before moving on. Sleeping Beauty peeled my son off of her when he hugged her. All the other character meals we have gone to have had some kind of dance or parade for the kids to do with the characters. There was none of that here. I feel sick at the money spent on this disappointing lunch. We'd have been happier eating at the cozy cones!
Pros:
Location and decorCons:
Feeling rushed, menu change is disappointing. Will not return.Review of Cozy Cones - Cars Land
Reviewed by cinderlisa Review Date: 10/25/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
We loved the chili cone carne cones and had them on two occasions. Loved the way they were layered and the bread cone was fresh and tasty.
Another day we tried the churro bites. Loved that they were bite size and easy to share. The chocolate sauce was good but a bit thin and messy.
Pros:
Delicious and uniqueCons:
Needs more seatingReview of Backlot Express
Reviewed by disneyhardin Review Date: 10/25/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We seem to always end up at Backlot Express when we go to Hollywood Studios. We ate here the first week of Oct. The place is always very busy at lunch, but we found a table without too much searching. I had the chicken nuggets and DH had the burger - both were good and hot. The best part of the meal was the desert - we both got a seasonal cupcake that was carrot cake and was made to look like Witch Minnie.
Pros:
Good FoodCons:
Always BusyReview of Columbia Harbour House
Reviewed by disneyhardin Review Date: 10/25/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
We have eaten at Columbia Harbor House several times in the past and the food is always good, but they seem so disorganized there. Every time we have eaten there, they have gotten something wrong about our order. We ate here the first week of Oct and it was no different, our drinks were wrong, the people in front of me got completely the wrong food, it was crazy. We had one fish basket and one shrimp basket and the food was delicious once we were sure we had the correct order.
Pros:
Good FoodCons:
DisorganizedReviewed by disneyhardin Review Date: 10/25/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
We stayed at the Polynesian the first week of October and it was fantastic.
The resort is just beautiful. Especially at night when the tiki torches were lit all along the pathways.
We had a ground floor, King room in Rarotonga and the location couldn't be beat. The quiet pool was right outside our patio doors and the main building was just across the walkway. The room was clean and housekeeping did a great job while we were there.
The Volcano pool got a little crowded in the afternoons, but the quiet pool was practically empty. We did go down to the pool area two evenings to watch the fireworks and that was really fun. The pool bar is open and you can get a drink, pull up a chair and watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks.
This was our first stay at the Poly, but won't be our last. We are already planning a return trip next fall.
Pros:
LocationCons:
—Reviewed by mommasquared Review Date: 10/25/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
My family just got back from an 8 day stay (10/14-10/22) at Coronodo Springs. I was very pleased with the resort. Having previously stayed at French Quarter and Riverside, this is by far my favorite and you get the feel of a "classier" resort. It is a very big resort and we requested building 8a or 8b and were given 7B, we were a little further from the main pool than we would have preferred but were still close to a bus-stop and had a quite pool and laundry in our quad. The rooms were spacious and decorated nicely, we mentioned on day 3 to housekeeping that our kids loved what they were doing with the towel animals and every day after that we had a zoo set up in our room when we returned, lots of fun for the kids! Only downside was the bus stop by the lobby (bus stop 1) was always really crowed, so much so that one morning we missed extra magic hours. If we went to the lobby for breakfast we went back to our bus stop to get to the parks. The food was good, pepper market takes more time than your typical "quick serve", but if you allow yourself extra time it's not an issue. Overall a great resort and I would certainly stay there again!
Pros:
beautiful resort, nice rooms, very cleanCons:
noneReview of Intermission Food Court
Reviewed by HOBBES Review Date: 10/24/2013
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
First of all I accept that the problems during our stay even getting in to the food court will probably be a once in a lifetime thing (or until they refurb AS movies food court!) Unless you got to the food court before 8am you would not get a table for breakfast. The lines were ridiculously long at the registers stretching back into the middle where they mingled with the lines from the food stations. I tried to order a cheese and broccoli omelette one morning-cast member 1 was happy to take the order (it was on the menu!)but cast member 2 when I told her what I was waiting for denied they did cheese and broccoli and then left my omelette sitting waiting for 5 minutes before trying to give it to me-I refused it as it had been sitting longer than I had! The breakfast potatoes were the burnt side of well done a couple of times-Disney of old would have thrown them out and done a fresh batch, not served them up. Evenings were also pretty hectic. The soda machines were not working for most of one day-although Disney did give anyone with a mug free sodas. There should also be more choice on the sodas-several stations but all with the same choice. Other resorts had mello yello and Minute Maid lemonade (not just pomegranate lemonade), and why no Dr Pepper?
The biggest thing we noticed was that the prices have really shot up since last time we came ( 2 years ago) Whereas Breakfast before we would have had change from $20, now we had little change from $25-this was a general theme of all Disney counter service places.
