Most Recent Reviews
Review of Food & Wine Food Booths
Reviewed by bethocindigo Review Date: 10/20/2016
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
DO NOT enter this park on a day that the festival is occurring, especially on the weekends with your children. We witnessed thousands of inappropriate shirts, extreme cussing, vulgar displays of public drunkenness to the point that many people could NOT stand on their own. SHAME on Disney for letting this festival become Bourbon St. during Mardi Gras night!!!!
Pros:
delicious foodCons:
unruly drunkeness and foul languageReview of MagicBand
Reviewed by bethocindigo Review Date: 10/20/2016
Rating: (10) Recommended
Our family absolutely LOVED this new technological feature of our Disney Vacation. Rather than having to run your debit card at every store & restaurant, simply wave your band at a key station and enter your pin then voila'- everything your need will be added to your resort room's bill if you are staying on property. SO MUCH EASIER and fun to use.
Pros:
secure, quick, and easy!Cons:
noneReviewed by Smitty Review Date: 11/02/2016
Rating: (10) Recommended
My husband and I booked the Sept 15th tour. We took a cab from the French Quarter in order to be at MK by 7:30am for check-in. We were dropped off at the Contemporary and walked over.
There were 10 of us in the tour and Joe was our Engineer. We got our name tags and then took the train to the roundhouse where the other trains and monorails are kept. We got to see the yellow monorail come out and start its day. Joe went over every detail of how the trains operate and we all took turns in in the tinder and saw how the boilers work. Seeing what the engineers do to keep these trains running is amazing. They love what they do and it shows.
At the end of the tour (approx. 10:30am) we were brought back to the station and Joe told us about some of the history behind it. Then he gave each of us a train tour pin and card. Joe is a great Engineer and converted me from a "Tag Along" to a train buff !
Pros:
Dedication of Cast MembersCons:
NoneReview of Olivia's Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by bethocindigo Review Date: 10/20/2016
Rating: (8) Recommended
The conch chowder was more like their 'Baked Potato' soup. Huge chunks of potato and the conch had been ground up into teeny pieces smaller than ground hamburger. How the heck is a person supposed to taste it I'd like to know.
Well, my husband LOVED his prime rib which was perfect and the Lamb was even more delicious than Pot Roast. I had the Crab Cakes which were absolutely excellent with large chunks of white crabmeat.
Our desserts tasted absolutely delicious. My husband had the flour-less chocolate torte and our son had the bread pudding.
Everything was great but we would've liked better options for our son to eat because he's in that in-between age of older than 9 but not wanting to order from the kids menu.
Fabulous service and a great entree' selection. If we ever decide to stay here again, we would definitely choose to eat at O'livia's.
Pros:
delicious entrees'Cons:
nothing for a child over 9 to order on the menuReview of Rainforest Cafe
Reviewed by bethocindigo Review Date: 10/20/2016
Rating: (10) Recommended
So we decided we were SICK of mediocre Disney Quick-Service food options after 4 days and wanted to go to Disney Springs and enjoy some REAL food for lunch before we had to make the 8 hour trek back home by car through 3 states.
I REALLY wanted to eat here as we have done it before a few times a few years ago and it was a SUPERB dining choice with super-fresh seafood and 4 star quality entrée selections. The receptionist told us that early in the morning (11 ish) there would be a 45-60 minute wait or we could be seated directly at the bar. We were starving and chose the bar option. The seats are high stools on colorfully-painted animal backsides. Too-funny, but a bit wooden and stiff. As we walked closer to the bar we noticed that there were TABLE, after TABLE, after TABLE which were empty in the dining section. OK, so they don't have waiters and waitresses working until noon? Annoying.
We ordered mixed drinks in souvenier glasses and they were absolutely delicious and very well made. Then I got the large appetizer platter which comes with guac, fried cheese, chicken tenders, crab dip, and southwest eggrolls. I highly recommend the crab dip; it is out of this world!
Our son ordered the bacon cheeseburger and it is VERY thick and big. He could not eat very much of it so I took it home. Tastes FABULOUS! My husband had the Prime Rib steak which comes with butter on top. If you're allergic, ask them to leave it off or take a pill.
Overall, this is a GREAT place with an animatronic Rainforest-themed animal show that comes to live every 20 minutes and the food is to DIE for. Just make sure you get reservations or you'll be waiting a long time.
Pros:
delicious drinks, food, and atmosphereCons:
reservations are a MUST or you'll be stuck at the bar in a stiff stoolReviewed by bethocindigo Review Date: 10/20/2016
Rating: (9) Recommended
Our family REALLY enjoys this feature of our Disney Resort Hotel stay. It saves us the $17 car parking lot fee and is so enjoyable when you're exhausted from extreme walking/ people navigating through the parks all DAY long.
We found almost every other rider was most friendly, concientious, and on their most polite behavior.
One brand new feature which has been added into this complimentary service is that now at the bus stops, there are digital monitors which tell you the time that each bus is to arrive for the different park destinations. WOW! Now you know almost to the minute EXACTLY how long you will be waiting at the stop for the bus to arrive.
This service is ALSO a god-send for those days when we found that there were MORE people in the park (especially Fantasy-land) than we could possibly have expected. Both my son and I were DONE with the heat and the crowds. A great feature of staying at a WDW resort is that you can simply walk to the exit of the park, walk down a short walkway, get on the bus when it arrives, and let THEM drive you back to your resort where you can get into the pool, or hot tub and just relax/ unwind for a few hours or even nap. Then after awhile, you can just wait to hop back on the bus and come back to your park rested, refreshed, and ready to enjoy the cool evening hours and much-diminished crowds very late into the night.
The resort buses to and from the parks are one of our family's FAVORITE complimentary features of our WDW vacation stay.
Pros:
letting someone else do the driving/ saves the $17 parking lot feeCons:
longer waits and crowds at nightReviewed by bethocindigo Review Date: 10/20/2016
Rating: (10) Recommended
We took our 11 year-old son to the party on a Sunday evening for his early birthday present. We found it to be great! I will say that security is extremely tight and they strictly enforce party rules and guidelines. Our son had his orange 'Star Tours' gun taken from him and we had to leave it with guest services for the night. They also told him he could not wear his face mask and we had to leave it in a locker early in the day, however, around 5pm when costumed people were flooding into the park we saw another child wearing the same mask so I marched right back to the locker room and got it for my son to enjoy.
We brought our costumes early in the day, was able to swipe our magic band and charge the locker fee to the room, and leave our costumes in there until around dark. Later we came back and changed into them effortlessly.
The 'Boo-to-You' Parade is excellent, the fireworks display was LARGER than any I'd ever seen before and the Hocus Pocus show sounded lots of fun. We weren't close to it but I'll bet it was great.
A unique thing about this party if you don't go on a Friday night, is that we were able to ride the 7 Dwarves Mine train (which usually has an hour or more wait) 3 times in a row when lines were no more than 10 minutes long!
People-watching the fantastic array of costume varieties is SO MUCH FUN and our son had a blast spooking kids in line with his 'Five Nights At Freddy's' Freddy Fazbear Costume. Boy did he HAM it up!
Don't MISS the chance to take a special picture in front of the Haunted Mansion where they digitally add in a haunted driver later when you go onto the Disney website to download your pic!
I've heard that Friday evenings are the worst so if you can, try to go on a Sunday or a Tuesday night. We were SO GLAD we did. I would highly recommend this party. There is a lot to do and lots to see. Sure to be a unique experience for children and adults alike.
Pros:
special parade, fireworks, picture opportunities, and short lines for ridesCons:
noneReviewed by bethocindigo Review Date: 10/20/2016
Rating: (6) Recommended
For our family who could be happy sleeping in a packing-crate for the opportunity to enjoy a Disney vacation resort stay, Old Key West was NOT worth the extra $200 dollars a night over Port Orleans Riverside.
Our trip was a spur-of-the-moment last minute thing 3 months before our arrival date and I was told that our favorite spirited Resort which we like to stay at- Port Orleans, was booked solid. I asked for somewhere else that would be MUCH quieter than the Value Resorts and was told that Old Key West would be great. The only hitch was that it was OVER $200 MORE a night. I didn't see much choice so I agreed and hoped it might be a new magical resort experience to enjoy.
Nope. The good features were the private deck at each room (but incredibly small), the tiny kitchenette with a larger-than-normal refrigerator, coffee-maker, mini-microwave, and tiny sink to do dishes in, and the really NEAT Sandcastle pool 2 story waterslide that our son thoroughly enjoyed.
Other than those, this place was B-O-R-I-N-G. No music, no fun, no liveliness, NO quick-service dining hall to sit in each morning for breakfast with a large menu section to choose from......just quiet, quiet, quiet. WAY too quiet and dull. It needs much more theming. The 'deluxe' studio is only slightly bigger than our Riverside room and I could BARELY get past the toilet and into the tub each night as it is a really tight squeeze.
We will NOT be staying here again cause it might as well have been a Nursing Home!
Pros:
Pool at each separate section with a hot tub at every oneCons:
Toilet is TOO CLOSE to the tub in a Deluxe Studio RoomReview of Boulangerie Patisserie les Halles
Reviewed by bethocindigo Review Date: 10/20/2016
Rating: (9) Recommended
Ordering here is a bit confusing. Just know that you wait in line and then get your own personal server who will then walk with you as you pick out what you want and she'll add it to your tray.
We got LOTS of treats here to sample. The lobster bisque, creme' brulee, the macroon sampler, the raspberry macroon (my ultimate favorite), the napoleon, the chocolate mousse, a croissant, and a double espresso. All of that cost around a whopping $50! If you have the quick service dining plan, you can turn one meal into 3 snacks. Good to know.
So, after we finished paying the only spots left to enjoy our selections were tiny tables which were STANDING room only. Not cool for the price you pay, but the taste is TO DIE FOR!!!
Overall, we found the bisque out of this world, the pastries baked to perfection, and the coffee the smoothest, most delicious taste ever! BOY! Don't get a double though, or you'll be up until 2am! This place is NOT to be MISSED on your trek through the International Countries in Epcot.
Pros:
authentic food, espresso, and pastriesCons:
not many places to sitReview of Backlot Express
Reviewed by bethocindigo Review Date: 10/20/2016
Rating: (10) Recommended
We purchased a 'Boba Fet' souvenier stein, the BB8 Lemon Cupcake, and the Chocolate Chewbacca Specialty cupcakes. I was pleasantly surprised that the BB8 one was SUPER-delicious and smoothe flavored.
Tables are all over inside and out but be aware that it gets INSANELY crowded during lunch times. To break up the monotony, we noticed that there was an incredibly-bouncy cast member periodically awarding free food surprises randomly through the crowd. That was lots of fun to watch and worked well keeping people's spirits up through the NUTTY lunch rush.
We LOVED IT, LOVED IT, LOVED IT and will definitely be back. Just know that this place is tucked right across Star Tours and at the end of the Indiana Jones Show exit.
