Most Recent Reviews
Review of Crystal Palace Breakfast
Reviewed by geneandcheryl Review Date: 04/10/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
First time here for breakfast.I think it is less crazy in the morning as opposed to lunch. Food was plentiful and tasty. Puffed french toast yummy!
Pros:
food and charactersCons:
—Reviewed by wattage Review Date: 04/11/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
We stayed four nights at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort (3/31 – 4/4/13). Me, My wife and daughter stayed in a deluxe studio in the Paddock area of the resort – one building over from the new pool area. We were close to the back exit of the resort which was convenient for us as we had a car. I highly recommend having a car if staying at Saratoga as the busses take a long time to get to the parks and you are forced to waste a great deal of time waiting for the busses to pick you up.
Our studio was on the second floor directly across from the front stairwell. The room was quiet and clean. The beds were very comfortable and the towels were nice and thick. We stayed using our DVC points so we received towel and trash service only on day three. We had no mechanical issues like our last stay in October 2012. The resort has new locks that only require you to touch your card-key to the lock for it to open your room. We packed thinking we had a washer and dryer in our room, but a studio does not come with that luxury. So we had to utilize the guess laundry on two occasions. The laundry areas were free to use, and had enough washer and dryers that we never had to wait to use either.
The grounds and building of the resort are beautiful and well maintained. I’ll still only stay at Saratoga Springs ONLY if I cannot get in at any other resort, but this trip it was not a bad place for our four nights.
Pros:
Grounds, staff, poolsCons:
LocationReview of Mama Melrose's Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by wattage Review Date: 04/11/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
The three of us (me, wife, 13yo daughter) ate dinner here on 4/3/13. We had what we thought were 7:30 ADRs, but were actually 6:30pm reservations. So we arrived and hour late, soaked from the thunderstorm that just happened to erupt as were getting out of our car. Lucky for us, we were able to be seated after a short 10 minute wait. Momma Melrose is our favorite restaurant in all of WDW – and it didn’t disappoint us this time!! My wife and I had the NY Strip with 5 cheese mac & cheese and my daughter had the manicotti with a side of the mac & cheese. This was easily the best meal of our WDW trip!! Our steaks were buttery tender and the mac & cheese was fabulous! I highly recommend Momma Melrose to everyone at WDW. Service is always great and this year it was better than ever. Our server offered to comp my mussel appetizer if I didn’t like it, well her recommendation was spot on, they were great – very, very good. On the menu they are described and “in a spicy tomato†sauce. I don’t like spicy foods and our server assured me they were not very spicy at all, and she was right!! We’ll keep coming back!!
Pros:
Great food and serviceCons:
noneReview of Cap'n Jack's Restaurant
Reviewed by wattage Review Date: 04/11/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
My wife, 13yo daughter and I ate dinner here on 3/31/13 at 7:30pm. Our advanced dining reservations was for 7:30pm, we arrived right at 7:30 and had to wait about five minutes – not bad for spring break crowds! All three of us had the clam chowder as an appetizer – which was very, very good! My wife had the jumbo lump crab cake dinner -and she really enjoyed them. I had the salmon which was very good. My daughter decided she was not very hungry and just ate my mixed vegies off of my plate. Portions were large and we could not eat dessert. Our table overlooked the water with a view of Downtown Disney. Service was very good as our server never let our drinks get empty. We would return.
Pros:
Good location, Views, ServiceCons:
NoneReview of Be Our Guest -Counter Service Lunch
Reviewed by wattage Review Date: 04/11/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We were able to get in for a quick service snack on 4/1/13 at 10:15am. The restaurant had just opened at 10AM and there was a very short line so we decided to try and get in. We ended up waiting in line for about 20 minutes before we ordered at a self-serve kiosk. We already had reservations at the Plaza for noon, so we just ordered desserts (cupcakes). Even though the restaurant had only been open for 30 minutes, the Rose dining room was already full! We were seated in the Ballroom. All of the rooms are impressively themed and are spectacular to see. The cupcakes we had were very good, better than normal Disney desserts. The real attraction to this restaurant is the décor – well worth the wait to see. We’ll be back when we can get dinner reservations.
Pros:
Great decor and themeCons:
Gets crowdedReview of Artist's Palette Lunch / Dinner
Reviewed by wattage Review Date: 04/11/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
The three of us (me, wife, 13yo daughter) ate dinner here on 4/1/13. This is the quick service restaurant in the main building of Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort. The restaurant itself is half restaurant and half gift shop/grocery store. They offer primarily sandwiches and flatbread pizzas. I had the roast beef sandwich and my wife had the mushroom flatbread. My sandwich was OK, and my wife liked her flatbread quite a lot. My daughter got a hamburger that she likes well enough. This restaurant is very convenient to resort guest so it sees a lot of people come through its doors. While not a dining destination, it’s fine for convenience sake.
Pros:
Friendly Staff, serviceCons:
Limited SelectionReview of Plaza Restaurant
Reviewed by wattage Review Date: 04/11/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
We ate at the Plaza Restaurant for lunch on 4/1/13 at noon. Our advanced dining reservations were for noon and we checked in at 11:50 and had to wait for about 15 minutes (remember this is spring break and WDW is crowed!). I have a severe allergy to certain tree nuts and the chef came out to speak to me about my allergy. She provided me with a very detailed ingredient list of ALL of their food. It filled a two inch binder. After looking over the menu and the ingredient list, I decided to get the cheese steak sandwich without the red peppers and onions. My wife had the Rueben sandwich and my daughter the cheeseburger. We all enjoyed our meals. The fries were excellent and my sandwich was very good. We would return in the future.
Pros:
Service and portion sizeCons:
Gets crowdedReview of Le Cellier Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by wattage Review Date: 04/11/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
I ate here with my wife and 13yo daughter on 4/2/13. We were fortunate enough to get a 4:10pm reservation just two months before our WDW visit. We checked in with the hostess at 4:00pm and still had to wait about ten minutes. We were seated in a quiet corner booth near the back of the restaurants. Unfortunately, the family next to us were utterly lacking in table manners. Luckily, they finished before our entrees arrived.
We all ordered different steaks. My NY Strip was incredible!! One of the best I’ve ever had. Both my wife and daughter loved their meals as well. The hot pretzel rolls were a big hit. One day I hope to try their desserts, but I’ve usually to full to even attempt it. Will gladly return if I can get another reservation in the future.
Pros:
Steaks are greatCons:
Can get noisyReview of Landscape of Flavors - Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by BuckeyeBarb Review Date: 04/13/2013
Rating: (1) Recommended
This was by far the worst restaurant we have encountered at Disney. There are too many different long lines for food...we have four people and we each ordered from a different section. The checkout staff takse way, way too long to check you out..it seems that the vast menu variety really hinders this process. By the time we paid and sat down our food was very cold. The design of the seating area does not help with dampening the sound of metal chairs, lots of people, clanging of trays, etc. Horrible experience and couldn't wait to get out of there.
Pros:
VarietyCons:
Too many lines, cold food, too noisyReview of Disney Dream Overall Experience
Reviewed by wattage Review Date: 04/11/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
My wife, daughter and I sailed on the Disney Dream on April 4, 2013 for a three day cruise to Nassau and Castaway Cay. We had cabin 7517 – an inside stateroom. My wife’s parents also sailed with us. We are DCV members and paid for our cruise with points.
Parking – There is ample parking at the terminal in the parking deck next to the ship. Regardless of where you park in the deck, you are only a short distance to the elevators or stairs. The deck is clean and seemed secure. I was very comfortable leaving the car. Parking is $15 per day for the deck and there is the option to park in an uncovered “preferred lot†for $20 more.
Boarding Process – Once you enter the terminal, you encounter security on the ground floor. Here you put your luggage through the x-ray machine and walk through a metal detector. This process took us a total of about 10 minutes – including waiting in line and screening.
Ticketing/Keys – Once through security you climb an escalator to the second floor of the terminal building and encounter Disney’s embarkation process. You enter a line based on your past Disney cruising experience. This was our first Disney cruise so we joined the longest line ïŒ. Even though the line was long, the wait was less than 10 minutes to get to a counter agent. Once all of our paperwork was reviewed, we received our “Keys.†With keys in hand, we got in the line to board the ship. This line did take a few minutes because you’re forced to take pictures before boarding the ship.
Once on Board – When you reach the ship, you are asked for your family’s name and they announce your arrival to everyone in the boarding area. Little kids seemed to be impressed, but most adults seemed to think it was a little hokie. The main boarding area is pure Disney – well themed and beautiful. A large statue of Admiral Donald Duck is in the lobby and everyone is trying to get their pictures with Donald. The six elevators in the main area are all crowed! We went further forward on the ship and found another set of elevators that no one seemed to be using and got on one within 30 seconds of pushing the elevator button. Staterooms are not available until 1:30 so I took my daughter to the teen club, and my wife took her parents to the Enchanted Garden for the lunch buffet.
From the time we parked, got out of the car, and walked on board the ship, it was about 35 minutes. We got there right at noon, and my in-laws were there at 11:00a.m. My in-laws said it took them about an hour to board.
Stateroom – Our stateroom was on deck seven closer the bow (forward) of the ship. The signage in the halls is easy to follow and well positioned throughout the ship. Our cabin had a queen bed with a fold out sofa bed and a fold down ceiling bunk bed. We did not use the bunk bed as my daughter used the sofa bed. There is plenty of storage space under the bed and in the closets. The bathroom was large enough so as not to make you feel claustrophobic. The bathroom had a bathtub that was not quite full sized, but was large enough to take a bath in if needed. Towels were very thick and changed every day by our cabin steward.
Food – The lunch buffet in the Enchanted Garden restaurant on Deck two was very good. The lamb chops were the best I’ve ever had!! There is rotational dinning on the Disney Dream – meaning that you eat at a different restaurant every night, but keep the same serving staff. Our first night was in the Enchanted Garden, second night was in the Royal Palace, and our third night was in the Animators Palate. The food was good, not great. The only real complaint I had was the escargot in the Royal Palace was way over cooked and was very tough – life chewing on a rubber ball. I could not eat any of the snails. So I asked for and received another appetizer. Service was excellent when we were at table #63, but when we changed to table #100, it was not as good. The last night, our server pressured us to provide only “excellent†ratings on the comment cards for her service.
Activities and Ports of Call – We stopped in Nassau and at Disney’s private island Castaway Cay. We went to the Pirates’ Museum in Nassau, after it stopped raining! The museum is a short walk from the ship and is well worth the time. We all enjoyed the museum’s exhibits –including the life sized pirate ship you get to walk through! Castaway Cay is a lovely beach island. Disney does a good job of providing enough beach chairs and floats for everyone. The only downer about Castaway Cay is the food – it’s bad. Way over cooked and bland - what I thought was a piece of chicken was actually a piece of over cooked fish. Even the hamburgers were over cooked and cold – could not even begin to melt the cheese on the cheese burgers. If we ever go back, we’ll come ashore after having our lunch on the ship. There are current movies shown in the movie theater. We saw “Oz the Great and Powerful†one afternoon. The Aquaduck water ride is not to be missed – it’s a complete blast for all ages. My wife and I rode it twice!! Lines can get long so go in the morning, or after 5:30pm.
Debarkation – The ship docks around 5:30am. Everyone is expected to be out of their cabins by 8:00am, and be off the ship by 9:00am. You have the option of carrying your own luggage off the ship, or having the porters take it to the terminal for you to find later. We chose to carry our own luggage and were we off the ship by 8:00am and in line for customs by 8:10am. Customs took a while as the lines were rather long. We were at our car in the parking garage by 8:45. Parking was $15 per day.
