Most Recent Reviews
Review of Earl of Sandwich
Reviewed by Swin1989 Review Date: 05/14/2016
Rating: (7) Recommended
Hubby and I ate here for the first time during our most recent trip in April, 2016. We both ordered the Italian. It was good but small. Also, we waited about 30 minutes in line and for our food, if not longer. Probably not a place we'd visit again. Glad we tried it as it has gotten a lot of great reviews.
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—Review of MagicBand
Reviewed by Swin1989 Review Date: 05/14/2016
Rating: (10) Recommended
This was our first trip using magic bands. We LOVED them! Our room was ready before we got there and our magic bands worked first try. We had vouchers for annual passes so we heading over to Disney Springs to exchange those. We never had any issues with our magic bands trying to get into parks, or using them for fast passes. Actually we had never used fast passes before because I didn't want another thing to have to keep track of. The magic bands along with the app made using fast passes a GOD SEND!! Loved it!! We didn't wait in any lines to speak of. And about a week before our deadline to order them, they came out with purple, my favorite color!!! How PERFECT.
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—Review of Everything POP! Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by Swin1989 Review Date: 05/14/2016
Rating: (9) Recommended
We walked over from AOA where we were staying a couple of times to get a variety. Staying for two weeks, the food courts get old. Having another option is the nice thing about staying at AOA and Pop. We got fish and hot dogs a couple of times. All was good.
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—Reviewed by Swin1989 Review Date: 05/14/2016
Rating: (10) Recommended
This was our first trip during the flower and garden festival. We loved it very much. It was fun finding all the topiaries. Look up for Peter Pan!!! All the flowers were gorgeous. Would love to visit again during this time.
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—Review of Theme Park Photo Pass
Reviewed by Swin1989 Review Date: 05/14/2016
Rating: (10) Recommended
Love the photopass and now that it's included with our annual passes and so easy to do with magic bands it's so AWESOME.
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—Reviewed by alfy Review Date: 05/15/2016
Rating: (6) Recommended
We stay at deluxe resorts 2-3 times a year and are used to being greeted in the portico when we drive up. This latest trip, we had to park the car and then go looking for a staff member to take care of the bags. We were not greeted at the door by a concierge host, as is normal, but had to wait in line at the check-in desk. The clerk there kept us waiting while she tried fruitlessly to get someone to take us upstairs (there's no access to the fifth floor until your room number is activated on your wristband) and she ended up having to do it herself. Our room was finally ready some three hours after our arrival, but just inside the 3 p.m. check in time. Our room turned out to be smaller than similar rooms at the Yacht Club -- there was a four foot square intrusion in one corner, probably from the roofline, and there was no seating in the room other than a straightback desk chair. Uncomfortable if you're not ready for bed and want to read or watch TV. Staff members at the concierge stations never acknowledged our presence no matter how many times we passed by their desks, and there seemed to be trainees staffing the lounge who were hesitant to do very much.
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Expanded concierge loungeCons:
serviceReviewed by dreams Review Date: 05/15/2016
Rating: (8) Recommended
Room: This was our 3rd time staying at Riverside. We stayed 8 nights the beginning of May in a Royal Guest Room with a Garden View in Oak Manor. The room was very magical. I loved the fireworks in the headboards and the pictures of the princesses on the walls. All the little touches of detail from the rug to the lights to the faucets were great. Wish the tub/shower room was a little bigger, even just another foot of space would have made a big difference. Liked the extra hangers in the closet area but really missed the alarm clock and wall-mounted hair dryer. Being in our 60s we requested a room on the first floor but were assigned one on the second. Every other night there were movies in our courtyard which we could hear from inside our room. They were usually over by 10:00 but some lasted a little longer. If something like this would bother you than make sure you don't get a room in the fountain courtyard at Oak Manor. Housekeeping did a great job the week we were there, they even left us 3 towel creations.
Pools: We used the quiet pool next to our building because there was never a crowd to deal with. The main pool looks like a lot of fun for families and young people. All the kids looked like they were having a great time.
Food: This is one of the reasons for the #8 rating. We felt the quality of the food had slipped from our previous visits. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great either, just ok and more expensive. The food court was very busy in the morning leaving no available tables to eat at several mornings so we took our food to the table-service restaurant to eat. A much quieter place to eat anyway. I love to get the Mickey waffle for breakfast every morning and I like some strawberries on it. In the past it used to come with strawberries, on our last visit they changed it to an awful banana topping but I would just ask for a small cup of strawberries and they would give them to me. This time they refused to give me any even though I was willing to pay for them except the morning that a manager was helping out. She gave me a cup of strawberries with no problem. Not a way anyone wants to start their day. I wish I could have bought a bigger container of strawberries and then I would have just brought a few with me every morning but that was not one of the fruits available for purchase.
Staff: This is the other reason for the #8 rating. Our first day we arrived very early so we knew our room would not be ready until later. We made plans for the day and had rented a car from the Car Care Center at Disney. Our phones did not work at the resort (pay as you go phones) so I went to the desk to see if they could call the car center for the shuttle. They said they could not call, I explained that our phones were not working and we had just arrived so we didn't have a room yet, they finally directed me to a phone in the lobby. We ended up having to take a taxi to the car center (taxis from the resort start at $2.40 just getting into the car). Continuing with the phone problems I needed to make a call from our room the next day to a relative in Florida. The front desk called our room twice that day and left us a message to come to the front desk or call. When we returned to our room later and got the messages I walked to the lobby to see what the problem was. I had made a $3.00 phone call and we did not have a credit card on file. I did not want to leave a credit card and I told them that I would probably need to make a few more calls and would it be all right if I paid for all of them when we checked out. I was told that would be fine but the next morning we woke up to the same message again. We gave up and gave the front desk our debit card.
Transportation: We used the buses for 5 days of our trip. We used the South Depot after we had breakfast to get the buses. It was crowded and we had to stand a few days but we liked the board at the bus stop that told us when the next bus would be there. We used the boat several times to go to Disney Springs. It's very relaxing and usually not too crowded. For taxis see above. We love the Magical Express. So nice just tagging our luggage when we leave home and not worrying about it again. When it was time to come home it was very easy checking our luggage at the resort and getting our boarding passes before we left for the airport.
Entertainment: Movies and an arcade, a pirate cruise for kids, bikes and horse and carriage rides. A must see is Yee Haa Bob. A very entertaining show. He gets everyone involved.
A lot of people complain about the walking involved at the resort but we enjoyed walking over to the lobby or to get a bus because of the picturesque views along the way.
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Clean resort with a lot to doCons:
Large resortReview of Chef Mickey's Dinner
Reviewed by KBates Review Date: 05/15/2016
Rating: (10) Recommended
My family of 4 ate here many years ago and we remembered it being fantastic, but we hadn't been there since, even though we visit Disney every year! We decided to go again last year, 2015, (My parents and my Fiance' and I). We had booked the day our dining options were available and it was already hard to get in! We went in August (it was very hot out) but we were ready for a great buffet dinner. We got there and they take your family picture which was nice because I don't remember them doing this many years ago. When we were called in and directed to our table everyone was so nice and explained what the different foods were. My fiance' was excited to see all the different dessert choices they had. I have a beef allergy and there was plenty of food to choose from. And then the characters came around and we got pictures with every one of them. Also, the waitress noticed it was my parents 25th year anniversary and they gave them a celebration mickey cupcake with a candle on it! The food was absolutely delicious I would definitely recommend it!!
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price, atmosphere, charactersCons:
need to make reservation well in advance!Review of Yak and Yeti Restaurant
Reviewed by dreams Review Date: 05/15/2016
Rating: (6) Not Recommended
We did not have a reservation but we stopped in and asked if they were taking walk-ins and how long the wait was? We were told 10-15 minutes so we gave them our name and waited and waited. Every time someone else came in and asked the girls at the desk told them a different wait time. One girl would say 15 minutes, another would say 30 minutes. We checked back after 25 minutes and were told we were next. 15 minutes later we were seated at a table by the door so we did not experience any atmosphere. Our waiter Paul was great. We ordered the green beans with chili sauce for an appetizer and for our entrees I ordered Chicken Teriyaki Kabobs and my husband ordered Sweet and Sour Chicken. We both agreed our meals were ok but not great. We had better take-out at home. For the price we would probably not go back.
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nothing specialReview of Biergarten - Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by dreams Review Date: 05/15/2016
Rating: (9) Recommended
This was our first time at the Biergarten. We had reservations for lunch. You are seated with other families to eat. We are a couple in our 60s and were seated with a young couple and their 4 children. While this pairing could have been a disaster we were very lucky. This young family was very friendly and the children were very well behaved. We would not have enjoyed it if the children were rowdy and unmannered. There was a large assortment of food, cold and hot. Everything we tried we liked including all the different sausages. The desserts were all delicious. It's nice that they are cut in small pieces so you can try everything. The show was very entertaining and we enjoyed the music. The only problem I have is I can't eat a large amount of food so the price, although it includes the show, was a one time only meal.
