Most Recent Reviews
Review of Disney's QUICK SERVICE Dining Plan
Reviewed by mmfan Review Date: 03/21/2013
Rating: (2) Recommended
We have visited the World many times, and have never chosen to have a dining plan, as we felt it was not cost effective for us. This time my DD made the reservations, and chose a package that included the quick service plan. As I found out, we were right - the dining plans do not fit our style.
The issue was not the amount of food, we are a family that likes to eat. We never order dessert with our meals though, choosing to do snacks when we want, so that caused us to eat food we really never would have purchased.
We found that it really took away our flexibility. Sometimes we only have one meal a day, depending on snacks we eat, or find a sit down meal that we can get into at the last minute and decide to do that, all based on how the day has gone. Sure, you can use the meals and snacks however you want, but we found ourselves scrambling to fit them in. We have saved our receipts over the years and found no matter how we ate, the plans never saved us any money. I am not sure what the convenience factor is, as we charge our meals to our room key, so never handle cash. I don't happen to find it difficult to figure how much we are spending, maybe because we visit so often.
If the plan is free, you are paying full price for your room, which negates the savings. we experimented once before our vacation, covering up the prices on the menus, choosing restaurants that we wanted and meals that we wanted regardless of cost, and found that according to our likes and dislikes, we did not save any money. The important thing is to know your families habits and style before you decide if a dining plan is right for you.
Pros:
hels to determine budget -Cons:
not cost effective for usReview of All Star Movies Resort (Value Resort)
Reviewed by BacksideOfWater1971 Review Date: 03/21/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
On a recent trip to WDW I decided to stay at All Star Movies for the 3rd time. I love this resort :).
The second I got off the Magical Express, I was greeted by warm and friendly Cast Members who held the door open for me and welcomed me to the resort. Check in was super easy as always. It would have only taken a minute or to to get my Key To the World Card but I always stop to chat with the Cast Member behind the desk. I love talking to Cast Members.
I was put up in a room on the ground floor of one of the 101 Dalmatians buildings. The room locks have been changed from sliding your card to now you need only tap it against the lock to open the door. Perfect for when you have your hands full
The room was kinda small if you traveling with a family, but I was alone so it fit my needs perfectly. The room had 2 double beds, 1 bathroom, a small table in the corner, a dresser with 3 drawers that a large flat screen TV set on top of, a wall safe, Ironing board and iron, and a hairdryer.
Along one wall was a framed picture of a Dalmatian puppy and Cruella De Vil. The border along the wall featured pictures of the resorts 5 themes (Toy Story, Fantasia, 101 Dalmatians, Mighty Ducks, and The Love Bug).
When I walked in the room, I saw that Mousekeeping left a towel and 2 wash cloths folded up into the classic 3 circle Mickey head as well as a small bird made out of a towel.
I also discovered that Disney magic as at its peak as my luggage actually beat me to my room!
I was in the 101 Dalmatians wing. The building I was in had a giant statue of Purdie and the other had giant statue of Pongo out front. The stairwells were giant fire hydrants. In between the 2 building the sidewalk was a bunch of giant red white and blue dog treats. A statue of a puppy sat watching a TV that guests could stand behind for a photo op. Tiny paw prints were in the concrete making it look as if a puppy walked in the cement for it was dry.
Cinema Hall is the main building as is where the main lobby is along with the arcade, food court, and gift shop. Reel Fun arcade is small but has a nice selection of games.
I only had one meal at the World Premier Food Court but it was very good. I had a meatball sub. It comes with coleslaw or homemade chips but I was allowed to get 2 bread sticks instead.
The sub was nice and toasted and the meatballs were large and flavorful. The bread sticks were nice and soft and had a great garlic flavor. The food court had plenty of seating.
Donald's Double Feature was the resort's gift shop and had a nice selection of hats, shirts, plush dolls, pins, and other Disney items as well as soda, water, beer, and small snacks.
The only complaint I had was the buses. All 3 of the All Star resorts (Sports Music and Movies) share a bus line with Movies being the last stop. There are few few seats on Disney buses and they were always crammed full.
Other than that, this is a great resort if your looking to save a few bucks. I only need a room for a bed and shower so it's perfect 🙂
Pros:
Easy on the budget, All the perks of staying on property, Wonderful themeingCons:
Shared busesReview of Victoria and Albert's
Reviewed by Billd Review Date: 03/24/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
My wife and I celebrated our 30th weeding anniversary on 19 March with a dinner at Victoria & Albert's. Let me say that the food was fantastic. We also had the wine parring - which was superb as well. As my wife is not a red wine drinker, the staff was able to substitute the red for white. Our "hosts" for the evening - Sherry & Jack were excellent - describing each dish & associated wine.
This was well worth the cost!
Pros:
everythingCons:
—Review of Be Our Guest -Counter Service Lunch
Reviewed by BacksideOfWater1971 Review Date: 03/22/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
I was spending a day in the Magic Kingdom and decided to give Be Our Guest a try for lunch.
The line was long but moved quickly. The Cast Member outside said 45 minute wait. I doubt it was even 20. You enter the restaurant through a large door with a stained glass window depicting the events leading to the prince becoming the Beast above it.
Upon entering the building, you walk through a room with 3 kiosks that display the menu so you can decide what you want before ordering. Along the walls are suits of armor that can here snoring. Then you go through the room where you place your order. Most people use kiosks but I was sent to a Cast Member. I ordered a Grilled Steak Sandwich a root beer and Strawberry Creme Cheese Cupcake. I was given a rose and told to seat myself
No more than 5 minutes after I sat down a Cast member wheeled a cart up with my food. The rose I was given was RFID and let the CMs know where I was sitting.
The steak sandwich was a tad dry but I put a little steak sauce on it and it was very good. The fries were thick and the ketchup was very tangy.
The best part of the meal was the Strawberry Creme Cheese Cupcake. It was topped with a fresh strawberry and had strawberry creme cheese filling. It was AMAZING! I believe my exact quote was "Oh My God! Why can I not marry this cupcake!?!"
After eating, I explored a bit. I was sitting in the Rose Room which was themed to be the dining room where the song Be Our Guest happened. The walls were covered in pictures of random scenes from the movie. In the middle of the room was a statue of Belle and the Beast dancing that slowly rotated.
The largest of the 3 rooms was the Ballroom. It was themed to be the ballroom were Belle and the Beast first danced. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling and the back wall had a window showing it snowing on the mountain around the Castle. I felt like Belle and Beast would waltz out any minute.
The smallest of the 3 rooms was the West Wing. It was very dark inside. There was the picture of the Prince that had been slashed by the Beast's claws. Also in the West Wing was the Enchanted Rose. Every so often a petal would drop off the Rose. Also once in a while there would simulated lightning.
The food was great and the atmosphere was amazing! My only complaint is that the lighting was very dim although that was done to set the mood. I'd love to eat here for dinner sometime.
Pros:
Excellent Food, Wonderful ThemeingCons:
Very dim lightingReview of 'Ohana Dinner
Reviewed by cheermom Review Date: 03/24/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
This was our second time to 'Ohana as we really wanted my brother and his family to experience it this time...after all - 'Ohana means family! I had to change our 4:15 res to 9:20 and was really hoping we did not have to eat that late, so we arrived at 7:30 and checked in. To our delight our pager went off ten minutes later! Not only did our party of 7 get seated on a super crowded night - we got the ultimate corner table overlooking the castle and the water pageant! I had just ordered a drink at the bar and our server insisted I go to the table. He brought my drink to our table and returned a second time with a separate bill (of course 🙂 Our waiters - Cousin Tammy and Cousin Cliff were fantastic! They were funny, warm and friendly and truly made us feel like family. All the meats were excellent, tender and juicy. Cousin Cliff would ask the girls how many shrimp they wanted..."I'd like two" - "Ok, four for you"...and so on. He was a hoot! The noodles were good but they really could at least try and balance all that meat with some vegetables. At least the broccoli was perfectly stir fried. The bread pudding is great...didn't get the coconut flavor but it was a good ending for such a meal. We had four adults and three teens so we pretty much ignored the games at dinner and it didn't disrupt our fun. Tammy gave us all leis (two for the ladies!) Even though you leave stuffed and a little guilty about all that meat, at least it's an experience that's worth the money! 'Ohana is a must for every WDW trip!
Pros:
location, view and all you can eatCons:
all you can eat!Review of Tokyo Dining
Reviewed by Billd Review Date: 03/24/2013
Rating: (7) Recommended
We had planned on eating at Tokyo Dinning for years - so on this recent trip (17-23Mar2013) we had seating at 7 pm. Check in was easy and efficient and our wait for a table was about 10 mins. The service was very good as well - but the atmosphere reminded us of a quick service restaurant. The food was good - but delivered very quickly - not giving time to enjoy appetizers/drinks before the main course. While some may like this - we thought this dinning experience to be rushed.
Pros:
good foodCons:
dining area - very loudReview of Cinderella's Royal Table Dinner
Reviewed by BacksideOfWater1971 Review Date: 03/22/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
I capped off my day at Magic Kingdom with a late dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table restaurant INSIDE the Castle.
I got there a half hour before my ADR but was let in early.
Upon entering the Castle I was ushered into a line for my picture with Cinderella. Cinderella and I talked for several minutes before taking the picture. After that I sat down until my table was ready.
I took that time to take in the decorations of the entrance hall. There was a large suit of armor next to the stairs leading up to the dining hall. along the back wall was a fireplace with some coat of arms on it and Cinderella's mouse friends Jaq and Gus looking over the guests from high above.
When your table was ready a Cast Member would ring a set of chimes and announce "LORDS AND LADIES OF THE CASTLE! CINDERELLA IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE THAT WE ARE READY FOR THE [insert name here] PARTY!
When your name is called you go up the stairs past restrooms labeled LORDS and LADIES and a stained glass window of Cinderella. When you get to the dining hall girls are given a magic wand and boys are given a sword. Both genders get a wishing star to be used a bit later.
The dining hall itself was a large circular room decorated with Medieval style flag and banners.
Not long after I sat down, I was presented with the photo packet that comes included in the meal of me with Cinderella and a picture of the Castle all lit up at night.
I'll talk about the food first then cover the Princess interactions.
I started with the soup of the day which was cheddar broccoli. The soup was very creamy and tasted delicious.
For an entree I got the beef tenderloin cooked medium rare. It's hard to find someone who knows what medium rare means but the chefs at CRT got it perfect. The tenderloin was just a little red inside without being bloody. It was very juicy and had a great flavor. he tenderloin came with green beans but they had no taste so I wasn't able to finish them.
For dessert I opted for the Chefs Royal Trio. It turned out to be a piece of very rich chocolate fudge, creme` brule`, and a small piece of raspberry cheesecake. They were all super delicious. Since I was celebrating my birthday I was also given another dessert but that comes into play later.
No one really goes to CRT just for the food so let's hit the Princess interaction.
The first Princess to stop by was the very first Disney Princess herself, Snow White. She was wearing her trademark blue dress with the puffy sleeves and yellow skirt. We chatted for a bit were she asked if I was working in the diamond mines. I joked that everyone deserves a vacation. Since I was alone the couple at the next table was nice enough to get a picture of me and Snow White.
The second Princess to stop by was Aurora (Sleeping Beauty). She was wearing the pink dress she wore at the end of the movie. Personally I prefer the blue one but that's just me. She noticed my sword and asked if I used it to keep my kingdom safe. I told her I defeated all the evil in my kingdom long ago and the kingdom of Chester Illinois lives in peace. Aurora went and got a Cast Member to take a couple pictures so I didn't have to bother the couple at the next table.
Shortly after Aurora left came the wishing ceremony. We were all told to close our eyes and wave our swords or wands in the air. then we were told to make a wish and touch the wand or sword to the wishing star. I won't spoil what happened next other than to say you need to see it for yourself.
The 3rd Princess to make the rounds was Jasmine. I had been to 2 previous Princess meals (Breakfast at CRT and lunch at Akershus) and the lineup was always Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White, Belle, and Ariel. It was nice to see Jasmine there for a change of pace. She was wearing the mid-rift bearing blue outfit she is known for. She told me to make sure Abu didn't try to steal my food. I took a picture of the couple at the next table so they returned the favor here.
The last Princess to stop by was my favorite Disney Princess, Ariel in human form wearing a turquoise dress with a starfish in her hair. As soon as she got to my table she pulled up a chair and sat down and said "I remember you! You came to see me at my grotto today!" I was amazed. She sees thousands of people every day and still remembered me 🙂 Granted I was wearing a custom made blue T-Shirt with Ariel in mermaid form on it and a lanyard with mostly Ariel pins plus my trademark sorcerer's hat with Mickey ears. That would be kinda hard to forget lol.
I told Ariel that I rode her attraction in New Fantasyland 13 times that day. She was thrilled and asked me my favorite part. I told her it was hard to decide but if I had to pick I'd say the Under The Sea room. I told her about the ride stopping in that room just as I was in front of the animatronic of her dancing (as best as one without legs can. She noticed my birthday button and said she would have the kitchen send me out a Seaweed cupcake but they ran out of Seaweed. Would vanilla be ok. I told her I had my heart on Seaweed but I'd settle for vanilla.
I then told her about how a friend was supposed to came with me that day but a family emergency forced her to back out and that my friend wanted to sing Part Of Your World to Ariel. Ariel had me text my friend and wish her sister (the reason she had to cancel) well. My server was in the area so he took a couple pictures of me with Ariel (my 3rd meet with her of the day).
While I was still finishing dessert the Princesses were making there entrances for the next seating. I milled around until all 4 of there stories were told before going down the stairs to finish my dining experience.
CRT is on the expensive side but your paying for the experience. Everyone should get to dine inside the Castle at least once. ADRs are hard to come by though so be sure to book early.
Pros:
Great good, Wonderful Serive, DINING INSIDE THE CASTLE!Cons:
ExpensiveReview of Gaston's Tavern
Reviewed by BacksideOfWater1971 Review Date: 03/22/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
I had just finished lunch at Be Our Guest so I wasn't hungry but I did want to try this LeFou's Brew I've heard about.
In front of the Tavern was a fountain of Gaston and LeFou and Gaston himself goes meet and greets at various points in the day.
The inside of the tavern has barrels supposedly filled with various types of drinks. In the very small seating area there was a dart board where a game of darts between Gaston and LeFou was interrupted. Gaston was dominating according to the chalk scoreboard. There was a long line but it moved quickly.
I ordered the drink in a special souvenir goblet with Belle and the Enchanted Rose on it. The drink was frozen apple juice with a hint of marshmallow topped with a mango passion fruit foam.
At first I was unimpressed but then the foam mixed in with the apple juice and turned it into an amazing taste sensation.
I didn't try any of the food so I can't review that but I LOVED the LeFou's Brew. Only complaint I had was the lack of seating.
Pros:
LeFou's BrewCons:
very little seatingReview of World Premiere Food Court
Reviewed by BacksideOfWater1971 Review Date: 03/22/2013
Rating: (7) Recommended
I only had one meal at the World Premier Food Court during my stay.
I had a meatball sub. It came with homemade chips or coleslaw but the Cast Member on duty let me substitute the coleslaw with 2 bread sticks.
The sub was very good. The meatballs were big and tasty and the bread was well toasted.
The bread sticks were warm and soft and had a nice garlic flavor.
There are 4 different bays to order from as well as a bakery area along with plenty of snacks and a cooler full of milk, soda, water, beer, or anything else you want.
It is a great place eat while at the resort but not worth making a special trip for.
Pros:
Good food lots of seatingCons:
not as well themed as other restaurantsReviewed by BacksideOfWater1971 Review Date: 03/22/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
I decided to kick off my last day at WDW with breakfast at Boma.
After exploring the lodge a bit I was still half an hour early for my reservation but the Cast Members on duty let me in an I was seated right away. I always wear a Fantasia style sorcerer's hat with Mickey ears. I got a nice chuckle on my receipt in the comments section they put Mickey Hat.
Boma was open to the rest of the lobby so it had excellent and African theme and scenery.
My server was very slow to take my drink order but was quick throughout the meal to keep my glass filled. I had what was called Jungle Juice which was pineapple juice mango juice orange juice and lemonade and was very tasty.
Boma is a buffet but instead of one long buffet line it has several little pods. One pod had oatmeal, quinoa porridge, and Pap which was a white cornmeal that was very good.
One bay was a meat carving station with roasted ham and roasted corned beef. I love corned beef and this was the best I ever had. Boma also features a made to order omelet station. You simply say what you want in it and the cook instantly gets to work.
There was also a french toast bread pudding that was simply amazing!
Pastries included Sticky Buns and Cinnamon rolls that were warm and mouth watering. For picky eaters Boma featured many different types of cereal.
About halfway through my meal the hostesses started a small parade. One of them beat on a traditional African drum and they marched around the restaurant. Guests were encouraged to clap along and even join the parade if they wanted. It added a great deal of fun to the meal.
Toward the end of the meal I started getting rushed by my server. Unfortunately that is why I can only give Boma a 9 out of 10. Otherwise the meal was perfect.
I have a new favorite restaurant on property and will make plans to come back for dinner sometime.
