Most Recent Reviews
Review of Disney's DELUXE Dining Plan
Reviewed by BermudaJen Review Date: 09/01/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
The deluxe dining plan is great if your family members are big eaters. The great thing is that you pre-pay and don't feel like you are shelling out money every 5 minutes for drinks and snacks. Unfortunately, we are not huge eaters so we wasted credits because we just couldn't eat 3 meals and 2 snacks every day. I used snack credits at the end of trip to purchase cookies,etc. to bring home as souvenirs.
If you can eat 3 large meals and 2 snacks every day, the deluxe meal plan is a great value and very convenient. For us, I think we will go with the regular meal plan and if we go over by a meal or snack or two, we will pay out of pocket.
Pros:
ConvenientCons:
Too much foodReview of Spirit of Aloha Dinner
Reviewed by BermudaJen Review Date: 09/01/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
We attended the late show on 24 August 2013. This was the first time we attended this dinner show. The food was not bad but just not spectacular. My son enjoyed the chicken but there are other menu options for children who do not like the main menu. The show was good, family entertainment. There was just enough audience participation. The fire dancer was great and well worth seeing. I would definitely go to this dinner show again.
Pros:
Show esp. Fire DancerCons:
FoodReviewed by DeanMoriarity Review Date: 09/01/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
Stayed at the POR from 8/25 to 8/30 in room 9108 of the Oak Manor section. It is one of the Royal Rooms. My wife loved it and thought it was great. Though the rooms over in the alligator bayou are more my personality, i thought the room was fine. They are a bit dark with the yellow tint to the lights and walls, but that does fit the theme of the rooms. This resort is spread out so no matter what room you get you'll need to do some walking to the food court, concierge, buses, or Ol Man Island. But it is my opinion that anyone who has an aversion to a 5 minute walk should reconsider a visit to WDW.
Check in was quick and efficient. I arrived at 12:30pm and the room was ready. The line was short and was in and out in less than 10 minutes. I did have an early check out and had to go to the lobby to get a copy of the bill. No big deal as I was headed to the food court anyway.
The grounds are well maintained and the atmosphere this hotel has is in my opinion the best in WDW. I like the old-time southern theme and it's very tranquil while at the same time being very "Disney". The pools are great and Ol Man Island is the most popular spot in the POR for kids of all ages.
Having stayed at other WDW Hotels I rank the food court at POR the best. I had many meals there and the selection is good with a lot of variety. It is priced well and i always thought i got a good value every time.
The only area this resort needs to improve upon is the bus transportation. Someone needs to re-evaluate the plan. For some reason Disney pairs the Riverside bus service with the Port Orleans French Quarter. WHY? In every park, every day, at all times of day, the lines for Riverside and the French Quarter were far and way the longest. It's a simple solution. Separate the two hotels and give each it's own bus service. That would greatly cut down on the overcrowding and reduce the transit times considerably. At 3:45pm on 8/29/13 it took me an hour and 15 minutes to get back from Downtown Disney by bus. 75 minutes for a ride that's a little over a mile. It was also common to see multiple buses for an other park pass by while waiting for the one going to the park I wanted to go to. On the morning of 8/27, I actually saw three buses for Epcot come back to back to back. In less than one minute three buses to the same location. At what point does the bus third in line call dispatch for reassignment? Maybe WDW has outgrown their plan for bus transportation. It worked great 20 years ago. Or maybe the bus transportation is just poorly managed.
But this isn't a unique problem to the POR. I do recommend this hotel and will definitely stay here again in the future.
Pros:
Great Value/Best "Personality" of any WDW HotelCons:
Bus Transportation to ParksReview of Flame Tree Barbecue
Reviewed by DeanMoriarity Review Date: 09/01/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
I'm a big fan of BBQ. And that being said the Flame Tree never disappoints. If this place were open for breakfast, I'd eat here. This is the only restaurant I've ever eaten in that for dessert, I ordered a second entree. It is that good.
This time i had lunch on August 28th and ordered the chicken & ribs combo. The portions were generous. The chicken was moist and meaty as were the ribs. The Flame Tree has a choice of sauces and you can take as much as you want. The baked beans had a great "Q" flavor and the coleslaw rounded out the dish perfectly. At about $15.00 this is the most expensive dish on the menu and it's worth every cent. My wife had the smoked turkey breast and though she isn't the fan of BBQ that I am she though it was excellent.
The outdoor seating area is large and I noticed that most people go to the first two seating areas not realizing that there are 3 or 4 more large seating areas around back. Those who complain about limited seating must not have gone around nearer the water. The birds are there, and will come close. But I never had any issue with them and they never saw one bother a guest. Two entrees, two drinks and a side order of fries came in at about $35.00. A great deal if there ever was one.
Pros:
Great Food- Outdoor Seating AreasCons:
Not Open For BreakfastReview of Be Our Guest -Counter Service Lunch
Reviewed by DeanMoriarity Review Date: 09/01/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
Dined here on August 28th. Skipped breakfast to line up at 10:00am for the 10:30am opening. That was the smartest move I made that week. I was 3rd in line to get in and was able to order and choose any area to sit. I explored the east & west wings before settling in the main ballroom. Describing the decor has been covered by others many times so I'll skip the details. The West Wing is impressive and really leaves an impression on you. Compared to the West Wing the East Wing is a bit disappointing. The East Wing lacks personality and it seems as if the architects used up all the good ideas in the other two rooms. But the attention to detail is incredible. The ambiance alone makes this a must do dining experience.
The real star of any restaurant should be the food and Be Our Guest certainly comes through in this department. I considered this to be the best value of any quick service meal I've ever had at Disney, or any other non-Disney restaurant I've eaten in. I had the Braised Pork while the wife had the Carved Turkey Sandwich. Both were generous portions and the quality of the food was top notch. The Braised Pork was cooked perfectly and and the choice of vegetables was perfect. For $12 this was easily the best value I had in WDW. The Turkey in the wife sandwich was moist and seasoned well. It was served on a warm baguette with a horseradish sour cream with "Pommes Frites". That must be French for french fries because that's what they were. The wife's a small eater so I was able to have part of this sandwich myself. It was excellent and at $11, I would highly recommend this to anyone. Adding in two drinks and a dessert for each of us the bill came out to about $36. Large portions, quality food, and a decor that can't be beat. All things considered, this was the best value in WDW.
I heard from an inside source that Disney is going to add the "Fast-Pass" to this lunch in the near future. So the stories we hear of the long lines in the hot sun will go away soon enough.
Pros:
Food Quality/Decor/ValueCons:
noneReview of Contemporary Resort (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by pt4kids28 Review Date: 09/01/2013
Rating: (6) Not Recommended
We stayed in garden view room 5336 during the last week of August. I am a huge Disney fan and have stayed at almost every resort property more than once and this experience was below average. The Contemporary is not a deluxe hotel, it is only priced as a deluxe hotel. I had several issues during my stay:
1- On 3 different occasions I found dried stains on my sheets. I have never in 35 years seen anything like this on hotel sheets, not even in a Motel 6. This was gross.
2- We did not get a single towel animal during our 7 nights, despite the fact that it was obvious we were traveling with small children.
3- The room and hallways seemed tired and old. Many paint chips and dings.
4-The pool area is boring. Compared to the Polynesian and Grand Floridian the pool is awful. They seem to be upgrading all the other resort pools but not the this one. How about a theme of some sort?
5- Mousekeeping did not clean my room well. We found papers and garbage on the floor that was not cleaned up for several days.
6- For almost 500 dollars per night this was a ripoff.
7- The bus service to other parks was terrible. Why do the buses need to make 2-3 stops before going to the park when the budget hotels have only one stop. In order to go to the Animal Kingdom, we made stops at the Polynesian and Grand Floridian first. However, the All Star and other resorts have direct service.
8-The viewing area for the fireworks lacked music. Would it kill them to pipe the music in like the Poly or GF.
9-The hotel lacked little perks seen at the Deluxe hotels. For example, when we stayed at the Poly and GF for our anniversary, the hotel sent us chocolates and flowers. At the contemporary we only received a card.
On the positive side:
1-The monorail was efficient.
2-The staff was nice.
I would not stay here again. My 8 year old even stated he preferred the All Start Movies better.
Pros:
locationCons:
price, overall quality, cleanliness, mousekeepingReview of Mama Melrose's Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by BermudaJen Review Date: 09/01/2013
Rating: (7) Recommended
We ate at Mamma Melrose for the first time in August 2013 as part of the Fantasmic Dinner Package. The food was ok - not the best but certainly not the worst. The restaurant was super busy and this was evident in the service. Our main courses were delivered before they had cleared away the appetizer plates creating some juggling for us and the server. However, looking around the restaurant, we saw several tables with dirty dishes. To my surprise, the servers were also bussing their own tables. So, not only were they required to attend to occupied tables, they were clearing and setting vacant tables. I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to figure that you could hire some bus people to clear dirty dishes and set tables to keep them turning over quicker and perhaps alleviating some of the wait time.
Pros:
Fantasmic dinner packageCons:
ServiceReview of Grand Floridian Resort (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by BermudaJen Review Date: 09/01/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We stayed at GF during last week of August 2013. The main building is beautiful. We stayed in an outer building (Conch Key) which we requested in advance. We had views of MK and fireworks every night from our balcony and were just steps away from the boat launch and Narcoossee's. The only (somewhat negative) aspect is having to walk to main building for monorail/busses and Gaparilla's to refill mugs. However, our experience was wonderful. Once you stay at GF, you don't want to stay at other Disney resorts.
Pros:
Location, beautiful grounds, amenitiesCons:
NoneReviewed by nrymut Review Date: 08/31/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
Not our first trip here and not our last. Food was outstanding. The soups are great. Love the bobotie and fufu.
Pros:
Food, serviceCons:
NoneReview of Boatwright's Dining Hall Dinner
Reviewed by nrymut Review Date: 08/31/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
We loved our dinner here. Food and service were great. We could not finish everything as the portions are generous. The dining room is nicely themed and tables are not too close together. I highly recommend the pork chop and the sweet potato bread pudding.
