Most Recent Reviews
Review of Plaza Inn Minnie and Friends Breakfast
Reviewed by FamilyOfSix Review Date: 07/12/2013
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
I have been to a lot of character breakfasts. This one is the worst. I really can't say a lot of good things about it, but I'll give it a "5" because the food wasn't terrible and the service from the person clearing the table was decent. Plus the hostess tried to get the characters to come visit us at least. Otherwise we wouldn't have seen any.
Basically for character breakfasts, where you are seated can make or break your experience. We were seated inexplicably waaaaay out in the outdoor seating, in a whole section all by ourselves. I have no idea why. There were only a few families scattered through the outdoor seating area. Clearly, being indoors is better for ambience and for seeing characters.
We had many characters pass right by us and not stop at all. I think they didn't see us. Chip and Captain Hook passed by completely. Twice. Finally, after being there for about 40 minutes and not meeting ANYONE, we were finishing the breakfast and I asked the waitress when the characters were coming. She was surprised we'd seen no one. I was getting a little ticked because we'd already paid a lot of money for mediocre food and no characters. She told us she'd send all of them our way, including the Fairy Godmother, Minnie, Chip, Dale, Captain Hook, and some other random characters. Like the teenage son of Goofy. I don't know his name.
We waited another 30 minutes for characters. It was ridiculous. Finally we went TO Minnie when we spotted her and we basically waited for her to pose for pictures. There was another family waiting after us too--- they said she'd passed them by 2 times already.
The Fairy Godmother never came. The hostess said, "Oh, she only comes sometimes." Too bad she'd told us that she would send her out to see us! That's code for "I forgot to tell her to see you and now she's gone."
As a final insult, as we were finally finishing I think they were getting ready for the transition to lunch. Anyway while we were still finishing breakfast, some kids jumped the fence into the restaurant seating area with their hot dogs and sodas from the hot dog stand outside the restaurant. The characters that we flagged down to see our kids stopped to see these bozos too--- and the waitstaff saw these kids, and said nothing to them like, "This is seating only for the Character Breakfast."
What a sloppy, slow, disorganized mess.
But my kids saw some characters and they really liked the pastries and the food. What can I say. We will not go back there again.
Pros:
Variety of Characters, quickly seatedCons:
Seated outside, Characters skipped us, Far away from buffetReview of Cafe Orleans Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by FamilyOfSix Review Date: 07/12/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
We had a party of 13 eating dinner here on a very very busy day at the parks. We waited about 30 minutes past our reservation time to be seated. When we were seated, 6 of us were in one table, and 7 in another table in the same room. About 15 minutes after being seated and having given our orders, the party right next to one table left, so we asked the staff if we could take their table so as to have our whole group seated together. They agreed and happily cleared the table so that we could all sit together.
The kids didn't want to try the stuff on the adult menu, and they were too old for the kids menu, so they asked for adult-sized portions of kid entrees. No problem! The kids spaghetti had a chicken breast too, so we asked for the chicken to be on the side. No problem there either. They were very accommodating to my picky eaters, so that was really nice.
The coffee was great. They give you a little mini-carafe for refills, and if you want, they will refill that mini-carafe too. I actually liked the coffee too, so I had about 4 cups. So did my husband, my mom, and my sister. The wait staff was great at keeping drinks refilled and what not.
The food for adults was good. I had the Monte Cristo. It was HUGE. I could only finish about 1/3 of it, so the rest I gave away and the kids ate it as sort of a side dish. I can't remember what others in my party had, except for some french onion soup which was good, but no one really complained about the food and I think it was all OK.
All in all, a nice restaurant with good service once you get seated.
Pros:
Large portions, Flexible menu, Quick service, Coffee Refills!Cons:
long wait for a large party even with reservationsReview of Disneyland Hotel
Reviewed by FamilyOfSix Review Date: 07/12/2013
Rating: (7) Recommended
We stayed in the Disneyland Hotel in early June 2013. We were so excited to stay in this hotel, as we never spring for such an expensive place. We booked two rooms as we were traveling with my sister and her family, and each room was reserved for 5 people. The reservation process is lengthy, and you need to give the names and ages of each person staying in the rooms at the time of making the reservation. Having gone through that process, and being assured that we were going to have two rooms that would sleep 5 comfortably and be either adjoining or located very near each other, I was beyond dismayed when my sister checked in before we did and was told that we were getting one room for 4 people adjoining another room for 5 people. Totally unacceptable since we needed all the beds. My husband called to try to fix the reservation before we arrived, but was told that there were no other rooms on property for 5 people (right...) and that we didn't even make a reservation for 5... I had the printed up confirmation letters showing clearly rooms for 5 people. This agent was so incredibly rude to my husband, and not helpful, and really should not be working for Disney at all. I have had better service from people working at a La Quinta Inn.
Anyway, when we finally got to the Disneyland hotel, my husband showed the desk agent our paperwork, and "magically" they found a room for 5 people for us. Only problem-- it was 7 floors away from the other room. What a major pain to have our party split by 7 floors. I really wasn't happy with this situation, but was much more dismayed by the very rude treatment from the agent on the phone.
Now the hotel...
In the lobby, the teacup chairs are cute. Too bad several of them were ripped. Ripped vinyl chairs... Not exactly Deluxe...
The theming is subtle. Too subtle. I think they need more Mickey magic. I don't know why they advertise being greeted by Goofy at the Disneyland hotel, but I never saw him and I didn't see a poster announcing when he'd be in the lobby or anything. Maybe the greeting is at Goofy's Kitchen? Who knows.
The rooms are fine. I would try to get to the highest floor possible. One of our rooms was on the 10th floor of the Fantasy Tower. We could actually see the fireworks from the room. That was very cool. The 5-person rooms are large enough, comfortable, and the beds are all comfortable. The executive desk is a little bit cumbersome and maybe it would be better to have a small table or something that would be more useful to families. The bathroom was strange to me because the toilet was closed off from the bathroom, but was only accessed through the bathroom. So if someone was in the shower, they would need to leave the door unlocked for someone else to access the toilet in the toilet room. This was a problem for self-conscious teens... It would have made more sense to have the sink on the outside of the room at least.
The rooms were in decent shape. They didn't seem very new, but not too worn down. The headboard was cool, though.
The pools were really great. We were there on days that weren't so hot-- low 70s. It was so fun because the pools were heated to different temperatures. The cooler pool was the one my kids seemed to like the most, but I liked the middle pool which was pretty warm. There was another little pool where the water slides ended. The water slides were a little rough (hard on the shoulders) but the kids seemed to like them. I wouldn't recommend them for adults! The hot tub was nice too. All in all, the pool area was really great.
The best part of the hotel was its location. It was an easy walk to Disneyland or California Adventure-- taking only 10 minutes at most. Even for the early extra magic hours at 7 AM, we didn't need to leave the hotel until 6:45 AM and had plenty of time to make it to the front gate for the lineup for entering early. The parking at the Disneyland Hotel is not bad. I had read complaints about the parking being far away, but it wasn't at all. And we didn't need to use our car anyway being right there by Downtown Disney and all that good stuff.
Next time I will try a different hotel, though, due to the mixup at the start of the stay and the fact that we were given rooms so far apart. I didn't like the way they handled the whole situation at all. So we will try the Paradise Pier or the Grand Californian, but not Disneyland Hotel.
I give this hotel 7 stars in spite of that because of the location and the pool. I take away 2 stars for the check in problem, and 1 more for the price and lack of theming and sloppy appearance of the lobby area.
Pros:
Location, Pools, early entry to parksCons:
Reservation mix up, Lack of theming, No sign of Goofy, EXPENSIVEReviewed by Barrie Review Date: 07/11/2013
Rating: (7) Not Recommended
For years I've been hearing about the concierge rooms at WDW and have always wanted to experience them. Unfortunately, my travel budget hasn't made that possible. On my last trip however, my friend and I decided to splurge and check out the WL concierge level for one night. I guess I have mixed feelings about it.
From the time we arrived, we felt "special", being met at the door, greeted by name, and escorted directly to the concierge dest on the top level of the resort. The Cast Members were great and treated us fabulously.
The room was nice, though I'm not sure that it was any nicer than any other WL room. I've only stayed in the villas at that resort so I can't be sure. Because it was on the top floor, the ceiling was sloped, which I kind of liked because it added to the character. I didn't like the balcony though. It is closed in and hard to see from. I suppose if you like privacy it's good but I prefer a nice view. Otherwise, there was nothing special about the room. Oh, except the chocolate totem pole on the bed!
I did really enjoy the food that was offered in the lounge - it was quite good and there was always something available. I also really liked sitting at the tables and lounge areas that were all around the upper level of the lobby. It was a fantastic view looking down. I spent the whole day on that level, catching up on work I had to do.
While I enjoyed the concierge level quite a bit, I don't think I'd recommend it to someone who wasn't planning to spend the whole day taking it in. For the money, a DVC room is nicer I think. It was fun to check it out but I wouldn't do it again.
Pros:
Food in club level, cast members, club level loungeCons:
View from balconyReview of Art of Animation Resort (Value Resort)
Reviewed by nikkipoooo Review Date: 07/10/2013
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
I stayed in a Little Mermaid room (building 9) from 7/4/13 through 7/8/13. I've seen all of the conflicting reviews about the distance to the LM section, some saying "It's sooo far" and others saying "It's not that far", and none of those were helpful to me (I was traveling as the only adult with a nearly 6 year old who was without a stroller at WDW for the first time) so I thought I'd post something a little less subjective. I used my jogging app to see how far it actually is to walk from Animation Hall (the back door that opens out to the Big Blue pool gate) to the far end of building 9 in the LM section. It is 0.31 miles, which might be fine for adults, older children, and those with strollers but after even a half day walking around the parks my niece had trouble making it all the way back to the room under her own steam. I also felt absolutely terrible for the luggage service guy, who had to push our bags all the way back to Animation Hall on a regular luggage cart because for some reason they don't have the golf carts for them to use.
Our Mousekeeping was pretty close to awful. I'm a fairly generous tipper, but stopped tipping completely after 2 days of returning to the room to find the bathtub not cleaned, the main wastebasket just dumped, but left with a sticky liner which had trash stuck to it, and really no sign they had even been there except for the sheets tucked and and bedspreads straightened, and a stack of clean washcloths on the vanity.
I'll finish on the high notes...
We enjoyed the food court, and the multiple beverage stations it offered. We never had to wait in line to fill our cups like we've done at other resorts. We never waited behind more than one other guest to order or pay, even at peak mealtimes. I loved the butter chicken with basmati rice I had for lunch the last day.
The attention to detail was simply amazing (even if they did seem to miss some of the larger problems, like only having 3 drawers and 4 hangers due to the fridge taking up half of the dresser) and my niece couldn't wait to take a shower in "Ariel's human stuff". The room was small, an adequate size for a group of 2 or 3 but it might feel quite tight with anything more than that.
I can't complain about the busses. Transportation at WDW is hit or miss no matter where or when I've stayed, but even during the busy holiday weekend we never waited more than 15 minutes for a bus, and only experienced a line with more than one (full) busload of people twice, once coming back to the hotel after the fireworks on the 4th and then going to Downtown Disney at 5pm on Saturday... both were no more or less than what I expected. The one issue I had with transportation is that the bus stops at the parks were all very close to the furthest walks.
The Big Blue pool area is big enough that even when it was very busy it wasn't super crowded, and we were able to find chairs to put our towels and shoes on. The activities were fun for kids from about 4-10, and nearly constant the afternoon we spent there. It must have been too crowded, however, to hear any music under the water, which disappointed my niece.
Overall, my characterization of the hotel is that it's very cute, but I wouldn't stay there again unless I was staying in a Nemo suite. Despite the age appropriate theming, I couldn't recommend it at all for families with children just out of a stroller, due to the extensive walking.
Pros:
excellent theming, large retail shop, very fast check-in processCons:
size, proximity to everything else, terrible MousekeepingReview of Limited Time Magic - 2013 Celebration
Reviewed by mawdryn Review Date: 07/10/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
My family of 6 attended the Limited Time Magic 4th of July celebration. We were visiting WDW from July 1st through the 6th.
We had the privledge of watching the fireworks on the 4th of July from the dock of the Grand Floridian. The view was amazing! The fireworks were shot off from 3 separate locations, giving its audience a 360 degree view of the show. The fireworks were in sync with patriotic music that could be heard from the speakers around the dock area.
This was honestly the best fireworks show I have ever seen in my whole life, and I'm 43 years old. Great job Disney!!!!!
Pros:
Fireworks!Cons:
NoneReview of Limited Time Magic - 2013 Celebration
Reviewed by dizney2 Review Date: 07/10/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
We just returned from Disneyworld in Florida as we had planned our trip in order to experience the 4th of July for the first time. The fireworks left myself and my family speechless. We found that the best view (since they are 360 degrees) happened to be on the bridge connecting the Contemporary to Bay Lake Towers. The music is piped in, but was very low in volume.
We also were lucky enough to attend the block party dedicated to the 4th behind Main Street which had DJs, food, and bars set up for extra viewing. This was great as well, not to mention a way to get from Tomorrow Land to the front of the park without walking through a heavy stream of people.
The Celebrate the Magic light show on the castle was phenomenal! I am still trying to figure out...How do they do that?!?! My family seriously hopes that Disney continues this show for when we return next summer.
Pros:
Disney constantly outdoes themself!Cons:
—Reviewed by eproper11 Review Date: 07/10/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
My wife and I stayed here December 2nd thru the 9th in 2012 for our honeymoon and we were pleasantly surprised. Our Original Choice of the Wilderness Lodge was a little too much for us so we settled on the French Quarter because of it's size. Wow were we impressed. The service was great and the door greeter was on top of his game every time we or someone else left or entered. The food staff was good for being a food court. However the Food court was my only real knock on this resort just due to the size and limited options. But being able to take advantage of Riverside was a big bonus, it's like 2 resorts in one. The boat service was great although at times it could take forever to get a boat to go to downtown disney, but it still beat taking the bus. Speaking of bus the bus service was pretty good for the most part, only had issues when trying to go back to a park during the midday, but in the morning they were very efficient.
A nice bonus was being able to take my wife on a carriage ride thru riverside which at night is quite romantic. A little expensive but worth it. Boatwright's was also a great surprise, I had read its a mediocre restaurant but it was actually quite good and we got in without a reservation or wait. Overall this was a great resort, a few negatives but not enough to deter me from staying here again, the added bonus of riverside right next door helps as well.
Pros:
Quiet, Easy to get around, Connected to RiversideCons:
Average Food optionsReview of Disney Dining Plan
Reviewed by mawdryn Review Date: 07/09/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
My family always does either this plan or the deluxe plan, because they are both such money savers. We have priced it out each time, tallied receipts and have found that we have saved hundreds of dollars by doing it this way.
It's also nice to have everything prepaid, and there's so many menu options to choose from.
This trip, we dined at: Olivia's, The Grand Floridian Cafe, Liberty Tree Tavern, Tutto Italia, the Lotus Blossom Cafe, the Captain's Grill and Landscape of Flavors. We had everything from NY strip to crab cakes and crab legs. Yummy!
The only negative to me is that the guest should be allowed to choose an appetizer or dessert. I always find that I'd rather have a starter with my meal instead of a sweet at the end.
Pros:
Saving Money!Cons:
—Review of Magic Kingdom Fireworks Cruises
Reviewed by mawdryn Review Date: 07/09/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
My family of 6 took the Wishes Cruise for the second time on July 2nd. I cannot say enough about this experience. It was absolutely amazing!
Chris, our captain was the best! He was friendly and told us a lot of interesting facts about different things on Disney property.
Our boat was decorated with balloons and a "Happy Anniversary" banner. There were Coke products, bottled water and an assortment of crunchy snacks available to us. We were able to take anything that was leftover back to our resort.
We were lucky enough to see the 4th of July fireworks, for they shot them off all week instead of the usual "Wishes." It was a 15 minute show that lit up the sky set to music about our country. Again, amazing!!!
I know this is expensive, but let me assure you, worth every penny. It's a private cruise, and we all had tears in our eyes when it was over...
