Most Recent Reviews
Review of Paradise Pier Hotel - Concierge Level
Reviewed by alexia9694 Review Date: 03/30/2016
Rating: (2) Recommended
We are frequent visitors to the world in Florida. Our family always stays on Disney properties, usually club level. Never a complaint until our California visit. The trip itself was fantastic. First visit to the land for my children. I hadn't been there in many years. The club level at Paradise Pier was a sickening disappointment. The room we had was fantastic!! With a phenomenal view. Very quick, easy walk to and from both parks. There were so many negatives after that, too many to list. I'll give you the "highlights".
1. Dirty plate and silverware left next to the coffe maker the whole 5 days we were there.
2. Club offerings were pitiful .. Stale, dry breads and Danish in the morning. Fresh fruit consisted of apples and oranges that sat out all day everyday. Brown bananas. Good coffe though.
3. Afternoon "snacks" consisted of goldfish and Chex mix with a few cookies. We never made it back for evening offerings. And after the first 2 days of a 5 day stay we never went back except for coffee in the morning.
4. No bottled water. There are 2 bottles in the room at check in and ,per the manager, we were expected to fill them up from the gallons of spa water they had set out... The same water is available to all other guests just off the lobby.
5. The club lounge closes early. Very early!!
6. I asked for a beer 30 minutes before club room closed and was scolded. Really?? They gave me 1! After I asked a second time. 7. We brought pretzels and cheese back from the park one afternoon for a snack after a swim knowing the lounge had nothing to offer. I stopped into the club lounge and requested to have the pretzels and cheese cups, from the park, warmed a little in the microwave. I was told I would need to go to the public microwave and do it myself!!! I know the concierge have one in the lounge kitchen .. Apparently that would have put them out. Which brings me to number...
8. Concierge service is non existent !!!!no pre planning , check in was chaotic . They made a mistake and my room was not given charging privileges .. I found that out our first night as I am trying to pay for our dinners with NO cash or credit card on me. I had to call the hotel as our food got cold and a line of other guests stareing. Apparently the idiot who checked us in checked the wrong box indicating we did not want charging to the room available . It was fixed by the front desk over the phone , thank goodness. NO apology from the club staff for the mix up and inconvenience. Only dirty looks for the rest of our stay because
I spoke to the hotel manager about the incident the following morning. Club level is more about service than "free" food for most people, including me.
Basically I paid an extra $800 for 5 Cans of Coke and a latte I made for myself every morning and 1 beer, I begged for.
If you are someone more interested in service DO NOT waste the money!!!
If you've never stayed at a luxury property, AAA rated you will probably love this place.
Pros:
Our roomCons:
Club level is a jokeReviewed by Rlcrawford4 Review Date: 04/04/2016
Rating: (9) Recommended
This is our third trip to WDW and our first stay at Riverside. Previously we have stayed at the French Quarter and Beach Club. I truly think this resort has been our favorite. One of the few resorts that could accommodate our family of five for a great price. The pull down "Murphy Bed" was perfect for my 9 year old son. The room was spacious and we never felt like we were on top of one another. We requested a room near the West Depot bus stop. We were right next to the "quiet" pool and just a 4-5 minute walk to the bus stop. It was so peaceful and quiet...sometimes I wondered if there were any other guests! The only downside was that our lodge was quite a long walk from the main lobby and boat dock. We didn't mind the walk. We ate at the Food Court one night for dinner and it was just ok but we weren't expecting anything gourmet. "Mousekeeping" was adequate. Room was always well cleaned, but there were no special touches as we have seen in the past. Not too important as we weren't in our room that much. We will definitely stay here again.
Pros:
Peaceful, spaciousCons:
Long walk to pool from Alligator BayouReview of Mickey's Halloween Party
Reviewed by alexia9694 Review Date: 03/30/2016
Rating: (10) Recommended
Loved !! Loved!! Loved!! This event. We were there on a sold out night and still felt like we had the park to ourselves. Our family rode every ride we wanted to with almost no wait, except haunted mansion. We brought pounds of candy and treats back to our room. Trick or treating lines were long , but moved very fast. WELL worth the cost of admission . We will be going again in 2016, traveling all the way from Chicago just for one night of the party. It was that memorable.
Pros:
EverythingCons:
NothingReview of Contemporary Resort (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by RichC Review Date: 04/04/2016
Rating: (10) Recommended
Having just checked out of the Contemporary Resort on April 2 after a seven-night stay on property, I am happy to give this location a hearty recommendation.
My wife and I, along with our 6-year-old son, shared a 1st floor room in the garden wing facing Bay Lake. This, to me, was an ideal location. Tower rooms, especially those facing the Magic Kingdom, command higher nightly rates, but I preferred the peace and lovely view of our location. The walk to the Contemporary tower -including the bus and monorail stops- was not a long one (we stayed at an outer room at Kidani Village: THAT is a long walk!). Pretty Bay Lake is dotted with ferries and watercraft throughout the day and our view provided two showings of the nightly Electrical Water Pageant. I find it charming, but the volume was a bit loud for our location and for the time.
The room, as mentioned above, was exceptionally large and comfortable. We toured other deluxe resort rooms during this trip and were surprised at how roomy and elegant ours was by comparison. This is attributable to the age and unique construction of the Contemporary. Please don't forget this terrific plus when considering deluxe WDW lodgings. The decor was indeed modern and fashionable. Though I believe the Contemporary's modern rooms recently incorporated stylized Disney imagery, there wasn't a mouse to be seen anywhere in the room except for on the shower curtain. My little boy wasn't put off in the least. Comfortable beds are a must, and these did not disappoint. The bathroom sinks have been bashed plenty of times before and those people weren't wrong. They didn't pose much of a problem, though: not really an issue.
As is often noted about the Contemporary, the style is relatively un-Disney. While that turns off many, I admire the sleek theming throughout the resort with the only exceptions being the somewhat airport-like 4th floor concourse and the joyless 1st floor lobby. The pool was a letdown: small, crowded and shallow, it closed earlier than expected each night. Nonetheless, the expansive marina, beach and grounds are delightful. The walk to MK can't be beat and we elected to take that path more than ride the monorail to visit the park. And with so many good views of the fireworks, one needn't fear missing out or being crowded during the show. I recommend the bridge to Bay Lake Tower as an ideal viewing spot if you cant make it up to the California Grill observation deck.
My father took us to WDW many times in my youth and staying at the Contemporary this trip made me nostalgic. I left feeling very satisfied: the vacation was a wonderful one and it brought on many deep and joyful feelings within me (and a few melancholic ones as well). I feel this trip will stick with me and that I now have a special affinity for the Contemporary Resort. It is an excellent choice for those seeking deluxe accommodations near the Magic Kingdom.
Pros:
Location, Room Size, HistoryCons:
PoolReview of Pop Century Resort (Value Resort)
Reviewed by schmamm Review Date: 04/05/2016
Rating: (5) Recommended
We stayed at Pop Century 4/2-4/5 for our anniversary. We previously stayed there Thanksgiving of 2012. Our previous trip there was wonderful, no complaints. This trip we had noisy neighbors 2 different nights. Not the hotel's fault, but the sound travels well through the resort. The room itself was great, I requested a king room in the 50's and that's exactly what we got. The room was clean and taken care of every day.
Our only other complaint was the food our last day. We ate lunch the first day it was great. Our second day we did the make your own omelette station and it was delicious. We did not eat breakfast our 3rd morning. Today, we had breakfast and it was mediocre at best. We both had the bounty platter with French Toast. The eggs were not thoroughly cooked, the french toast was soggy, the sausage was inedible. We were disappointed. All in all if the price is right we will stay here again, but if we can find a moderate for a good price we will probably pay more to stay there.
Pros:
Clean room, close to Classic HallCons:
Food and noisy neighborsReviewed by tdischer Review Date: 04/05/2016
Rating: (10) Recommended
First time staying here or at any moderate resort. Chose it because we had 5 people and absolutely loved it! I can see the differences in amenities between value and moderates. Loved having the Sassagoula River right there. Great theming. The pull down bed was perfect for my 10 year old and the room was great. We requested a first floor, corner room in Aligator Bayou and we got our requests. Long walk to island and food court, but we knew that going in. Took a couple of days to figure out the paths and which bus stop was the closest to us. Getting off at the wrong stop was not a welcomed thing at the end of the day! The parks were packed over Easter week and the buses ran pretty well. Only one day did we wait about 20 minutes for a bus to AK as every other park seemed to have multiple buses come. Loved the quiet area around us, we never heard anyone else. Food court was good, especially the pasta bar choices. The rest was average, but good. As it always seems to be, only about 1 out of 4 ice machines worked well at the beverage station, but that was just a very minor thing. My 10 year old loved the fishing and the old man island pool was a lot of fun for all of us. We were so sad to leave and we will definitely be back there again!
Pros:
theme, room, grounds, quietnessCons:
long walk to placesReview of 'Ohana Dinner
Reviewed by tdischer Review Date: 04/05/2016
Rating: (7) Recommended
We ate here the week after Easter. I know the entire resort was busy, but with an 8:00 reservation we were not seated until close to 8:50. Kids were getting pretty tired. We were seated in a corner table right by the bathrooms and the hallway where people meet the hostess so there wasn't much actual "atmosphere" from our table and we did miss what was happening for the kids because it was entirely in the other room we couldn't see. We couldn't see any of Wishes from our table (but could walk up to the window and had hoped to be finished with dinner by then). So little things that weren't as 'magical' as other meals and experiences, and were probably all worse in my eyes given how tired and hungry we were when we were seated, but very good food and pretty good service. We really enjoyed being in the Poly. The food was enjoyed by all and there was a ton of it! They were a bit skimpy with the meat skewers but were happy to bring more when we asked. All in all a very good experience, but would have enjoyed sitting in the other room to be part of the whole experience a bit more.
Pros:
food, atmosphereCons:
wait to be seated, table we were given, missed the interactive parts/games due to where we were seatedReview of Be Our Guest - Counter Service Breakfast
Reviewed by Rwbuhl Review Date: 04/08/2016
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
1st time I ate there. I made a reservation at 12:30 so I could sit and rest after standing in lines all morning. When I got there I had to stand in line to confirm my reservation and get a menu (5 min.). I then stood in line to get into the restaurant (10 min.). I got in the building and stood in line for 15+ minutes to get to a kiosk to place my order. I stood in a shorter line for Space Mountain. I then had to get my own drink. Then I had to walk around to find a table. Had to get my own drink refills. Fries were cold and the bread was chewy. Roastbeef without the bun was excellent. With people walking around looking for tables made you feel rushed. Park crowd was moderate. If you want a place to get off your feet and relax, I would look elsewhere!
Pros:
Had roast beef for lunch. Tender and tasty.Cons:
Cold fries and 3 lines to get to hunt for a table!Review of Yacht Club Resort (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by jjod25 Review Date: 04/07/2016
Rating: (9) Recommended
My family of 5 stayed for seven days at the Yacht club and really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it for families. The rooms were large enough to fit a pack and play for my youngest and we still didn't feel crowded. The walk from room to lobby was not too long either which can be an issue at some resorts.
The proximity to Epcot and Hollywood studios is a huge benefit and to me makes the deluxe resorts worth the extra cost. Being able to walk or take the boat to these meant less time on the buses and more time at the parks.
The dining options are great as well. With World Showcase, Beach Club and Boardwalk all within walking distance there are many options for any meal of the day including character ones.
Pros:
Location!Cons:
NoneReview of Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar
Reviewed by mawdryn Review Date: 04/09/2016
Rating: (10) Recommended
My husband had drinks here on March 4th and again on the 12th. On the 4th, he had the Aviator's Flight and thought it was quite good. On the 12th, he thoroughly enjoyed Reggie's Revenge. This bar was totally made for him, because he is a HUGE Indiana Jones fan, and can recite Raiders of the Lost Ark word for word. He informed me that we WILL be going back during our July 2016 trip...I can't wait!!!
