Most Recent Reviews
Review of Garden View Lounge Tea
Reviewed by jjcscanlon Review Date: 08/10/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
My husband and I, along with our teenage daughter enjoyed our Grand Floridian Tea experience. We had reserved a table for 3, but then my picky son decided to join us after he went and picked up some food for himself at Gasparilla Grill. I thought he'd stay at the food court, but he brought it to us - not sure they were happy with that, but didn't say anything to us about it (I wasn't happy he tainted the tea experience LOL).
We all had the Buckingham Palace which was $25 per person, but included a pot of your individual tea choice (kept warm in it's own "blanket" cozy, traditional tea sandwiches (which you could pick and choose from 5 different varieties), a scone and jam tart with fresh strawberry jam, clotted cream and lemon curd and choice of pastries or English Trifle.
The "courses" were spaced nicely and we did not feel rushed, but the amount of goodies you get certainly ensures that this outing can serve as a meal replacement - and looking at it that way, the price of the outing doesn't seem as bad.
the Tea Room was at about 60% capacity, but they do encourage reservations as the room is on the smaller, (yet bright and airy) side overlooking the pool area.
We really enjoyed all the menu offerings we chose and my daughter is still talking about wishing she had gotten the tea we had both had to bring home (a custom blend for the tea room called : Princess Breakfast Tea - A sweet custom blend of South African organic rooibos flavored with vanilla bean and a hint of strawberries. Rich in antioxidants and vitamins, and naturally decaffeinated.)
Since we've been married 19 years ago, we've probably been to Disney over 40 times and we always try to do new things. The Tea was a first time for us and we will most likely do it again.
Pros:
atmosphere, welcomed respiteCons:
noneReview of Limited Time Magic - 2013 Celebration
Reviewed by jjcscanlon Review Date: 08/10/2013
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
I think Limited Time Magic sounded good in theory, but is being poorly executed. We were in Disney for 9 days and the only "magic" they were promoting was a special Monsters Inc Sundae you could purchase at the Ice Cream Shop at Plaza Restaurant. I feel the "magic" should be more organic than paying for "extra" magic beyond the top dollar I'm already paying to be in the "everlasting" magic. In this case, you really had to go out of your to search down what the limited magic was. I still think Wishes is pretty magical - more so than some ice cream...and I didn't have to pay more for it.
Pros:
—Cons:
hype about nothingReview of Bay Lake Tower (Disney Vacation Club)
Reviewed by jjcscanlon Review Date: 08/10/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We had a 9 night stay at BLT (7.31-8.9.13) and chose to wait for a room to be ready in order to get our preferred "high floor" location vs. taking what was available when we checked in. It was certainly worth the wait since we were assigned one of the few studios available on the 16th floor/top floor.
Even with the top of the world lounge just down the hallway, I have to say this was one of the most quiet rooms I've ever had. Probably a result of the Grand Villas being on the floor - and their main access is apparently on the 15th floor. A cast member said so many of the grand villa guests do not realize they can access parts of their unit from the 16th floor as well. If that adds to the quiet hallways on 16 - well good for me!
We had a lake view that over looked the BLT pool area as well. It was fun being able to watch the parasailers and the Big Ferry boats going back to their base during "non-peak" MK commuting time. By pure luck we also had a bonus being able to see a nighttime satellite rocket launch at Cape Canaveral from our balcony...very cool.
We stayed in a studio and I knew to expect it to be very small from other reviews. We're a family of 4. We brought an air mattress with us to give our boy and girl their own space. Disney probably isn't fond of air mattress use, but the foyer of the studio is very large and my 16 year old daughter had her own "studio" with in a studio.
The full size pullout couch which my 6 foot, 13 year old son slept on, worked out well for him. He said it was comfortable, but would have been hard to share with anyone since he slept more on a diagonal. This piece of the furniture is the only one in the unit that looked like it had some rough wear and tear.
The queen size bed was very comfortable as were the pillows and linens.
I had also read reviews where people said it was odd that the bathroom sink was in the kitchenette area. This was not the case in our unit. The bathroom sink was, well, in the bathroom. Not sure why our layout was different.
I had also read people complaining about having no lock on the sliding bathroom door. We DID have a lock, but it wasn't where you would expect it. The door handle was on the right of the sliding door, but the lock was on the left side - a little lever to push out to prevent the door from being opened.
The check in was easy and the cast members were all helpful throughout our stay.
The top of the world lounge was nice. Two nights we watched Wishes from the front balcony with lots of others. But I don't think many people know there's a back balcony behind the bar as we were the only ones there to watch the Electrical Water Parade as it passed by BLT at 10:10pm (immediately following Wishes). A big bar menu, but small dining menu - but at the hour we were there, we weren't looking to eat (except my son had mini corn dogs which he gave a thumbs up).
Activities at the pool were enjoyed by many. We went to the pool almost everyday but only one day, and very late in the day, did they come around with bracelets to give you to wear to prove you belonged at that pool. BLT guests could go over to the Contemporary pool as well.
Two of the nine days the walkway access to the contemporary was closed, but they did leave messages the night before to notify guests. Not an inconvenience at all.
The location of BLT was great to walk to/from the Magic Kingdom and easy access to the monorail to get to other MK-area hotels or Epcot Monorail. We were able to take boats to get to the Hoop De Doo Review as well as an Archery class my daughter took.
Leaving Epcot one night just as illuminations let out, the monorails were not working and the bus line (to TTC) was over-crowded. We jumped in one of the many cabs there and it cost about $18 including tip. We thought it was well worth it, as we figured the wait for the bus would be long, and then having to loop around to all the other resorts once we transferred to the resort monorail at the TTC.
We were staying here to cross off our list of all the DVC resorts we've stayed at and had fairly flat expectations based on some reviews I had read. We weren't here to pound the parks every day - but to equally balance park days with relaxation days at the resort. I have to say, we really enjoyed ourselves and would probably stay here again.
Pros:
LocationCons:
smaller units than some other DVCsReview of Art of Animation Resort (Value Resort)
Reviewed by tinkw Review Date: 08/10/2013
Rating: (2) Not Recommended
The theming of this resort is fabulous with so much attention to detail, it's an animation fan's heaven. Check in was swift and the cast member who checked us in noticed my birthday fell whilst we were there and gave me a birthday button during check in. By the time we got to our room she had forwarded a call from Mickey and Minnie wishing me a happy birthday and sent a card to the room the day before my birthday. That made for a good start but unfortunately that's where the praise ends.
Little Mermaid Rooms -
As previous visitors to Disney Value resorts we are no strangers to the 'long walk' from some parts of the resort to the food hall, although I have to say the walk from Little Mermaid rooms with small children would be complete torture particularly after a day in the parks.
Mousekeeping -
The room was kept tidy although bins were not always emptied and the bath wasn't cleaned daily. Bathroom tissue wasn't always replaced and on one occasion I returned early whilst the room was being cleaned, so to be polite waited for the maid to finish- it took 40 minutes. Now why does it take 40 minutes to empty 3 bins, wipe a sink and bath and tuck in a few bed sheets? By the end of the 2 weeks I could write my name in dust on the furniture - so I did!
The food hall -
Where to begin on this one?
The types of food are a little bit strange and probably not to everyone's taste. I'm not a picky eater by any stretch of the imagination, but the food was the same every day and really who wants Indian based foods for breakfast? What's wrong with the good old traditional Bounty Platter? The quality of the food is also not what you come to expect from Disney.
The lines were long and the cast members clueless about the products they were selling.
On the first day, the ice machine on the beverage isle was clearly broken and as a result the floor was flooded and coned off whilst it was fixed. Later in the holiday, the same machine began churning out ice and wouldn't stop. I witnessed 3 cast member look at it, do nothing and walk away. What happened to Disney's Safety First policy?
As good resort guests, we bought a refillable cup each and used it with our meals, however other guests clearly don't believe they should do this and walked up to the machines, filled a variety of drinking vessels and walked away. Again this was witnessed by cast members who chose not to challenge them. Surely this is theft?????
Coffee pots were often empty as were the creamer machines, so if your a coffee lover, forget it!
As a traveller from the UK I always bring Travellers Cheques, BIG MISTAKE! I got tired of having to explain to cast members what they were and then having to wait whilst they found out what to do with them - resulting in lots of cold meals!
The Pools
The pools at AoA are gated and require your Key to the World to access them. On many occasions I witnessed whole groups of people waiting by the gates for guests with keys to open the gates and then followed them in. Were they really AoA guests? I suspect not!
If this is the future of Disney hotels, I think I will keep a foot in the past thank you very much!
All I can say is thank goodness Pop Century was only over the bridge - as a result I didn't starve, my sanity remained in tact and I still believe in Disney customer service!
Pros:
ThemingCons:
Everything elseReviewed by lkurak Review Date: 08/08/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
My husband and I just returned from our honeymoon. We had a wonderful stay at Coronado Springs. From the second we arrived the hotel staff was amazing! We were issued our celebration pins, a balloon, and a voucher for a free champagne toast. When we got to our room we were presently surprised that we had been upgraded to a suite with 2 full bathrooms! We visited both the Dig Site pool and our quiet pool and enjoyed our time at both. The only thing we didn't love was the buses. We were in Casitas, so we used bus stop 1 and it was annoying and time consuming riding the bus back to the hotel because it stopped at station 2, then 3, then 4, and then finally 1. This was a minor issue and will not prevent us from staying at this wonderful resort in the future.
Pros:
rooms, people, poolsCons:
busReview of Yak and Yeti Restaurant
Reviewed by lkurak Review Date: 08/08/2013
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
My husband and I tried the Yak and Yeti a few days ago and we were very disappointed. Our experience started out okay. We went to the bar and got Yak Attacks, which were delicious. Our server was not good. He really tried to push the Landry's card on us, even though we said we were not interested. My husband ordered a Sprite and never got it. We were on a deluxe dining plan which entitled us to a dessert, which we never got. The server gave us the bill and walked away, so we just decided to leave rather than tracking him down to get dessert. We will not be returning here.
Pros:
drinks, atmosphereCons:
serviceReview of Sunshine Seasons
Reviewed by Hannah1230 Review Date: 08/07/2013
Rating: (0) Recommended
This is a great place if on the DDP for a QS meal. There are some great choices. If not on the DDP. the prices still aren't bad. There are a lot of good choices away from the burgers and fries. It's crowded and noisy but it isn't a fine dining place so who cares...you're in Disney World!
Pros:
choicesCons:
crowd volumeReview of Sommerfest
Reviewed by Hannah1230 Review Date: 08/07/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
I am not a fan of bratwurst and hotdogs aren't a huge favorite, but the sauerkraut is really good. I am already looking forward to it for lunch in November. The beer is also good.
Pros:
sauerkrautCons:
atmosphereReview of Yak and Yeti Restaurant
Reviewed by Hannah1230 Review Date: 08/07/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
We had one of our best meals ever here. The only complaint I had about my lunch was that I wish I had ordered what my DH had. My chicken was great but his skirt steak and shrimp was amazing. Also my Mango pie was very good, but again...his cream cheese won tons with pineapple was amazing. On our November trip...I already know what I am having.
Pros:
Great foodCons:
noneReview of Kringla Bakeri og Cafe
Reviewed by Hannah1230 Review Date: 08/07/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
Although there is not a huge choice of sandwiches, they are good and there are a lot of pastries to choose from. This is one of the best places if on the DDP for a QS meal. You get a salad, or fruit bowl, a sandwich and a dessert.
