Most Recent Reviews
Review of Be Our Guest -Counter Service Lunch
Reviewed by amw264 Review Date: 07/08/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
DH, DD, DS and myself had lunch here on June 15th. We arrived around 1:00pm and the line was pretty long. A CM came by with Mickey golf umbrella's to provide some shade from the son and a menu for us to look over. Once inside the castle we were escorted to the computers where we placed our order for lunch. After we ordered our food we took our rose pager and went to find a table. The West Wing was just spectacular. A little on the dark side for kids, but the theming was spot on. The Rose room was beautiful. Ultimately we chose the Ballroom, loved the snowflakes coming down outside the windows. Our food arrived on a trolley. I had the Braised Pork which was delicious, DH had the steak sandwich which he enjoyed. DS & DD had the carved turkey sandwich and both enjoyed it. We were so full that we could not finish our desserts. Easily could share the portions.
Pros:
amazing atmosphere, great foodCons:
line getting in was a little slowReview of Chefs de France - Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by carol205 Review Date: 07/07/2013
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
We made reservations and told them it was an anniversary dinner. Arrived early, still waited for table. Sat right by the door asked if we could be moved as this was our anniversary dinner, was told no. Was rushed through our courses. People kept coming in the door and looking at what people were eating!!! Food was decent just not great. Service was not attentive at all. Never acknowledged anniversary once. Just don't bother, nicer places at Epcot.
Pros:
NothingCons:
EverythingReview of Columbia Harbour House
Reviewed by carol205 Review Date: 07/07/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
We have stopped here a few times . First we were part of the Magic Your Way tour and we had reserved tables upstairs. Very nice food was great. Second time we stopped in with the family in tow, we liked the food, daughter didn't as it was not her style. Hard to find a table and they don't clean them off either. I would return for the food
Pros:
FoodCons:
Noise finding a tableReview of Landscape of Flavors - Breakfast
Reviewed by disneylover1990 Review Date: 07/07/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
Came to AOA in January and ate here everyday for breakfast. The staff was always friendly and it was not usually crowded. My mom enjoyed the omelet station but her favorite was the tandoori section. I opted for the create your own cereal, fruit bowl and parfait. I didn't get the parfait again because the yogurt was very sour tasting. I wish that the oatmeal counted as a meal but it was considered a snack. The pastry section was very good and tasty. I ended up getting a pastry with most meals and charged it to my card since I was on the dining plan. Overall, it was a good place to eat at each norning.
Pros:
fresh fruit, create your own. friendly staffCons:
some items not counted as mealReview of Beach Club Resort (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by disneydad78 Review Date: 07/07/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
Stay from 6/15 - 6/22/13 with wife and 8yr old daughter. Standard room, 3rd floor w/large balcony.
Preface: The three of us have stayed on property at 4 different resorts (All Star Movies (2x), POP, Port Orleans Riverside, Caribbean Beach) 5 times over the last 4 years ('09, '10, '11(2x), '12). This is a DELUXE resort. You will pay for what you get. And this is what you get...
1) LOCATION. The Beach Club's proximity to Epcot is worth the price alone. The walk to Epcot takes 7-8 minutes at a decent pace. This is something you can't get at any other resort. Some nights went like this, "Hey, guys. Where do you want to eat tonight?" Wife says, "let's get a bite at Teppan Edo and then watch the fireworks." Try that anywhere else! Illuminations can be seen from the east side of the resort.
Just a quick walk or boat ride across Crescent Lake is the Boardwalk Resort. The Boardwalk is a beautiful place to walk, eat, rent bikes, etc. The Boardwalk Bakery for breakfast is a must-do.
The Beach/Yacht Club dock is serviced by Friendship boats about every 15min during the day with stops at Epcot, Boardwalk Resort, Swan/Dolphin Resorts, and Hollywood Studios. (Note: there are no busses from Beach Club to Epcot or Hollywood Studios--they're not needed)
2) Service
Service at the Beach Club is right in step with what we expected at a deluxe resort. Everyone had a great, can-do attitude. Friendly and capable check-in. Concierge was never stumped by the changes we needed to make to our dining plans. The front desk services were always well staffed = no lines. Bell services helped with every step of luggage handling--from the back of our vehicle to the inside of our room. Our handler treated our luggage as if it was his own.
Although I didn't use it, valet parking is available.
Mousekeeping was fine, again, like we expected. My family and I don't give a rip about towel animals as opposed to a clean and tidy room. We were pleased.
In-room dining service was outstanding. Menu is diverse. Even still, when I needed to make a change that didn't jive with the menu, the answer was always "yes, sir. That's not a problem at all." Meals would always arrive earlier than promised. Food was always fresh and HOT. Try the Yacht Club sandwich after a hot day at the parks!
3) Amenities
The biggest in-room advantage of a non-value-resort room is the ceiling fan--period.
Our room was located on the 3rd floor, in the corner next to the main exit from the lobby out to the walkway to Epcot. We were pleased to hear from our check-in cast member that we would have a large balcony. The balcony was so much more than we thought it would be--very spacious and furnished with a table and two chairs. Our view was of the walkway out of the lobby toward Crescent Lake.
In-room wi-fi maintained a strong signal and always worked.
Bathroom - Spacious double sinks with hard surface countertops. Smooth tile in the bath/toilet area. My only complaint about the room is the bathroom fan. The fan is not large or powerful enough to exhaust steam from even the mildest of showers. The shower itself was great--lots of water pressure. Sometimes the pressure was too much for the curtain to handle and we ended up cleaning up a few puddles.
There is a small, and I mean small, food pantry built into the main dresser beside the refrigerator. This helped keep snacks off the floor, desk, nightstands, dressers, etc.
We stayed for an entire week and had a lot of clothes to unpack. There is a tall dresser by the closet. The main dresser is in the middle of the room along the wall. This dresser houses the refrigerator, pantry, 2 open shelves, and several drawers. There is also a real closet (as opposed to the alcove you find at other resorts). Also there is a shelf with coat hooks between the closet and main dresser (handy for drying out ponchos). We had more than enough space for unpacking/storing clothes.
The overall resort decor is more upscale and is wonderfully themed in line with early 20th century Beach resort living. This continues into the rooms in the lighting, furniture, and wall art.
The Beach Club Marketplace is stocked with just about everything you would need outside of a full-fledged grocery store trip.
The solarium is a great quiet place to sit down and relax. But beware, it is a solarium...in Florida--it will be warm.
Resort restaurants -
Cape May Cafe has character (Donald, Goofy, Minnie) breakfasts and seafood dinners daily.
Beaches and Cream is a soda-shop themed diner that has sandwiches, hot dogs, and possibly the best cheeseburger in all of WDW. The ice cream creations here are many--from shakes to floats, to sundaes to splits. And then there's the Kitchen Sink.
There are many other restaurants available in the Beach/Yacht Club/Boardwalk areas, but you will not find anything like the food courts at the value/moderate resorts.
4) Activities (not a complete list, by far)
Movies on the beach most nights (weather permitting).
Campfire on the beach with marshmallow roast. Fire and mallos provided by the resort. My daughter and I were lured in on the way to the pirate ship water slide. Lots of fun.
Boating on Crescent Lake is available at the Yacht Club marina.
5) Stormalong Bay
Stormalong Bay is a collection of several different pools all joined by the same walkways inside a fenced-in complex. None of the pools in Stormalong bay are rectangular. Curves abound and coves appear--complete with a waterfall here and there. One cove has it's own current that generates a whirlpool.
One section has a volleyball "rope" set up for lots of game-time fun. "Pool party" activities are conducted by resort staff in this area.
There is a separate "lazy river" pool with it's own river current that will float you along in a resort-supplied inner tube for as long as you like.
There is a kiddie area on the Yacht Club side that has it's own sand play area in the pool.
Yes, the entire pool has a sand bottom.
There are also plenty of free-swim areas all over the complex.
Two outdoor spas are located by the main bathroom area. They are raised up and concealed by the landscaping to ensure privacy and the opportunity to unwind.
Stormalong Bay has 2 water slides: one is a kiddie slide with its own splash pool behind the pirate ship; the other starts at the top of what used to be a pirate ship. The first part of this slide is a straight and steady decent down a hollowed-out section of mast, followed by outdoor twists and turns before ending in a splashdown pool in the main pool area. Despite its size, the slide is not as fast as you would think. Kids of all ages (some small enough to wear life vests) and adults were riding this one over and over again.
Use of the pool is limited to Yacht/Beach Club resort guests only. You have to show your key-to-the-world card every day to be admitted to the pool. You are then given a colored wristband that is good for admission for the remainder of the day. The wristbands are a different color every day. Towels are supplied by the resort.
There are many lifeguards on duty at Stormalong Bay. Nothing bugs me more than safety staff that won't take and keep control of the area they're assigned to. Every lifeguard at Stormalong Bay was "no BS". Sorry for the strong expression, but it communicates the idea clearly. If kids were playing too rough, the lifeguard staff didn't wait for piercing looks from parents before they took action to address the situation. If you swam into the water slide splashdown area, you were asked to move elsewhere in the pool. The lifeguards walk around frequently instead of staying put all day. We had a few lifeguards that would throw buckets of water at us when we weren't looking (gave my daughter a good laugh), but make no mistake--the pranks were covering up the "all business" actions of the entire staff. Very pleased.
Overall, the Beach Club resort is special because it is unique. The location can't be beat. Services are what they should be. Amenities are plentiful, and the pool is the best you'll find on Disney property. Uniqueness comes at a price.
Pros:
LOCATION. Service, amenities, activities. And the POOL.Cons:
None.Review of Kona Cafe Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by EleanorofAquitaine Review Date: 07/07/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
We love the food at Kona and always eat at least one breakfast there when we stay at the Poly. This trip, we also ate lunch there twice. We love being able to walk up and get a table without a reservation. My DH is madly in love with the tuna sandwich at lunch and had talked about it from the time he had one during our trip in March until we went back in June. He ordered it both times we ate there this trip and raved about it again. I had the teriyaki steak lunch the first day and it was okay, but the sides were fabulous (sticky rice and pasta salad) and my only complaint about the divine pineapple salsa is that there wasn't enough of it. The second day, I ordered the pulled pork taco and it was fabulous. The pasta salad was underseasoned both days and I requested salt. Yes, I know chefs want us to believe their food should never be tampered with because they have seasoned it properly to begin with, but this was not Victoria and Albert's or Jiko's. I needed salt. The first time, the waiter never got it to me until he brought the check-- my pasta salad was long gone. The second day, having learned my lesson, I asked for salt when I ordered, but still got it midmeal. We also had difficulty getting drink refills, even for water. Still, the food is very good, especially at breakfast. I always get Tonga Toast and DH often gets the fruit in the pineapple. We share both and its a great way to start a Disney day.
Pros:
not overcrowded, great selection, Tonga Toast!Cons:
wait staff not always attentiveReviewed by EleanorofAquitaine Review Date: 07/07/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
We stayed at the Poly on June 6 through 9th. We got a tremendous surprise when we arrived-- we had been upgraded to club level! As many times as I have stayed at the Poly (about a dozen over the last 5 years), that has never happened before, although we did stay at club level once before and paid dearly for the privilege. This time was much nicer, especially because I wasn't paying concierge level prices. I was grinning from ear to ear as they drove us in one of those little carts from valet parking back to the Hawaii building. How comfy! I felt special right off the bat. That's how Disney does it.
The newly remodeled rooms are lovely They updated them without losing the Polynesian feel. The bathroom is gorgeous, although I could live without the mirrors going all the way across the one wall, which meant not only did I have plenty of mirror when i was getting ready in the morning, which is great, but that I was staring at myself when I sat on the toilet, which was not great. Also, the towel rack is directly under the sink, so it poked my hubby as he was brushing his teeth. There isn't a towel hook next to the gorgeous shower. Still, the room was great, and we were right next door to the lounge, which meant we could go by and pour ourselves some lovely cordials in the evening and take them back to our room to view the fireworks. And the view is amazing. We had the perfect castle view. Wish there was a balcony, but we were on the second floor. 🙁
Service was excellent. Mercy was particularly nice in the lounge, as well as one of the young men whose name has escaped me. The snacks were nice, but not as abundant or as special as last time we stayed at club level. I have to wonder if that may be because some people just pounced on every plate of food that came out. Kids would appear out of nowhere, elbow me out of the way, and fill entire plates with all the pigs in blankets or skewers of beef or whatever they could fit on there. It was like watching locust descend. And it wasn't just children, although they were the most frequent offenders. Grownups too rushed to snap up mass quantities of food and were not friendly or polite to their fellow guests.
The club level was lovely and I am extremely grateful for the upgrade. But I do not think I would spend the money to stay there again any time soon. As nice as it was, it is still very expensive, even by Polynesian standards, and I don't want to have to pay that much just to have fruit trays and beer close at hand, since we had to battle our fellow guests to get our share.
Pros:
convenience, spacious rooms, nice remodelingCons:
families running wild in loungeReviewed by kimmaxr Review Date: 07/06/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We stayed at OKW for the first time from 6/12-6/22/13. We are a family of four (2 boys, ages 17 & 19) and picked this resort because of the size of the rooms and the pull out sofa and chair in the living room of the one bedroom villa.
The day we arrived, DVC was working on a system upgrade and all of the reservation systems were down upon our arrival. However, the staff could not be more accommodating and helpful. We were not able to get our room keys for the entire stay but were given one time entrance cards to get in until the system came up again.
I had requested a room on Millers Road, high floor with dual bathroom entrance doors. We were assigned room 6532, building 65, 3rd floor, just outside the elevator. Building 65 is just outside of the rooms located in the Hospitality House area and is very close to the main area of the resort. The one bedroom is much larger here than at the other DVC resorts we have stayed and with the points being lower than the others, it was a win/win for us!
We arrived to a spotless room, nice and cool, and the balcony overlooked the 7th hole and pond on the golf course. I was concerned that there would be road noise since the building backs to the road (on the other side of the course) but that was not the case at all. The room was quiet, other than some noise from the connecting studio room, and the toilet flushes that are extraordinarily loud.
The Millers Road bus stop is the last when returning to the resort prior to the Hospitality House, and we determined that it was faster to get off at the first stop and walk, rather than spend 15 mins. Riding all around the resort.
We loved the main pool, although there is not much shade and the few tables are usually he first to get taken in the morning. I found I just couldn't handle being in the direct sun in the afternoon, but that was my issue. They had games in the afternoon which the kids seemed to enjoy.
My older boys spent time in the Community Hall playing pool and video games. I went in to check it out and found that area desperately needs an upgrade as it felt damp and had a mildew smell to it. The workout area is small but has everything most folks would need to get a good workout in.
We enjoyed lunch and dinner in Olivia's and found the staff to be warm and friendly and the food was excellent.
We had no issues with the transportation and took the pat a few times to Downtown Disney. I did not find the wait to be long and really never waited more than 15 mins. Which I believe to be normal.
I am disappointed in the new DVC member discount policy which requires you to show your DVC membership card with your name on it. It is great for me since I am the owner, but my husband and children were not able to use it. We have never experienced this before in all of our stays so I am not sure if it is new policy or if OKW was just enforcing the rule. I need to call Member Services.
Overall,I really loved this resort and felt like I was on vacation rather than being at Disney in the heart of the World.
Pros:
Friendly staff, clean rooms, good serviceCons:
DVC member discount issuesReviewed by momof3inMadisonAL Review Date: 07/05/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
Love Love Love SWW! and I am not a big Star Wars fan (kids are). Love to dress up but wish it just wasn't so HOT. Kids usually would start the morning in costume and would shed it by 10am.
MUST get there early. Yes, EARLY. We were there everyday of Memorial Day weekend at 7:15am. Park opens at 7:30 and it's a mad rush to Jedi Training and characters. (We weren't there for any celeb autographs). We were exhausted by the end of the weekend, but it paid off.
We were able to get A LOT done every morning by 10am. One morning did Jedi Training sign up while DH got FP for TSM and got in line for Vader. Then did Maul, and the Fetts. Then got our spot an hour ahead of time for the parade.
Another morning we got in line for PMC while DH got FP for TSM and in line for Chewbacca. Next morning we got in line for Jedi Mickey etc first thing.
Kids enjoyed meeting all the SW characters and especially trading with Jawas (which they did every day).
Sunday of Memorial day weekend was the worst crowds. So crowded that we could barely walk by TSM and waits were 120 mins and even Disney Junior had a queue, but we had most everything done by then. Met every character out in those 3 days except R2MK. Rode TSM and RnR every day. We go to WDW often so we weren't trying to do a lot of non SWW things. Restaurants were always crowded and we made a point to schedule TS every day for lunch. It's necessary that time of year to get out of the heat. And after our experience waiting an hour at a CS last year during SWW, we knew what to expect.
Watched HH 2 different nights in front of screen at AI. Trying to watch it on the stage is impossible if you have kids. My kids didn't seem to mind watching it on screen and they could sit down.
If you love Star Wars then it is a must. If you don't really care, then I'd recommend HS for a different day.
Pros:
characters, parade, HooplaCons:
crowds in general but especially restaurantsReviewed by momof3inMadisonAL Review Date: 07/05/2013
Rating: (6) Recommended
We tried this character lunch 2 years ago when my kids still appreciated most of the Disney Junior characters. Not so much anymore that they are 7, 8, 9 (and a baby that hates every character). BUT when I booked it 6 months ago, I was really hoping that Sophia would be there. Obviously, she is not yet.
Anyway, we were in HS for 3 full days of SWW and there are only 5 TS in HS so we decided to eat here anyway. Remembered not liking the food in 2011, and really still didn't like it. Unfortunately, it looks like we will have to try it again in the fall when Sophia is scheduled to appear.
