Most Recent Reviews
Review of Crystal Palace Breakfast
Reviewed by pwood78 Review Date: 10/10/2016
Rating: (10) Recommended
On September 27, 2016 our party of 6 had breakfast at Crystal Palace. We had early morning reservations before the park opened. There was a special ticketed early morning event, but we didn't notice a change in the amount of people on Main St.
We had an 8:10 am reservation, we got in the park around 7:50am. We took a few pictures on Main St with hardly anyone around. We got to take our time walking and look at everything without crowds. We were seated pretty quickly.
There was not one time in the entire time we were there that we didn't see a character in our area.
The characters took their time with the kids, they played with them and took the most adorable pictures. Even as they walked by to go to other tables, they still gave high fives and interacted with our kids.
The food was delicious. I wish Disney would have a restaurant where there is an all day breakfast buffet!!!!
It felt like we were in there for a long time, we got to enjoy everything, but really we were out of there before 9am.
Once we left we headed to Adventureland and rode 4 rides before 10 am!
I definitely recommend this character meal to everyone.
Pros:
EVERYTHINGCons:
nothingReview of Landscape of Flavors - Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by pwood78 Review Date: 10/10/2016
Rating: (8) Recommended
We stayed at Art of Animation the week of Sept 24-Oct 1.
We had the dining plan, so we were able to get the refillable mugs for free. Even if they weren't free, they are worth the price. Some people have complained about the new mugs not having a handle, but I like it. It makes it easier to put in the cup holder of strollers. We filled them up every morning on our way out of the park and put them in our little backpack cooler, and they fit perfectly with the lid closed and never spilled. Once we had the stroller open in the park, we put the cups in the cup holders and refilled them free ice water all day and flavored the water with crystal lite packs. Upon returning to the park we filled up our cups again.
We ate at Landscape of Flavors several times. We tried the meatball sub, pizza, bacon cheese burger and the surf and surf burger. All were so yummy. We had several dessert items, cupcakes, muffins, rice krispy treats, again all yummy.
Waiting at the pasta station was slow, and during one wait they got several orders wrong. But the food was good.
Pros:
Good FoodCons:
Some areas slowReview of 1900 Park Fare Character Dinner
Reviewed by pwood78 Review Date: 10/10/2016
Rating: (6) Not Recommended
We at here the night we arrived on September 24, 2016.
I hardly ate anything, nothing really looked appetizing to me. I ate a few shrimp and kids pizza. My son liked the pizza. My friend's daughter loved the strawberry soup.
We loved Lady Tremaine, she was hilarious. The step sisters spent a bit of time at our table, joking and taking picture. Cinderella and Prince Charming left pretty quickly, took pictures and left.
It was nice the way each characters is introduced as they walk out.
Our waitress was good. The food was just ehh. 3 adults all agreed it wasn't anything we would do again.
Pros:
Lady TremaineCons:
Food wasn't so greatReview of Rainforest Cafe
Reviewed by Mhines507 Review Date: 10/11/2016
Rating: (2) Recommended
We had 11 am reservations and they had no one able to check us in until a quarter after. If that was all it would have been fine but we ended up spending another two hours inside the restaurant to eat lunch. It was so painful. We also know that it isn't a Disney Restaurant and we did not need to be told this every time the waiter stopped at the table. The food was the only good thing but by the time we got done it did not do anything to make the experience better. I don't think we should have planned on spending over two hours for lunch, when we had reservations, at this location. If you want to plan anything else in your day, avoid this location.
Pros:
FoodCons:
Wait time and time spent in restaurantReview of Garden Grocer
Reviewed by sandyl Review Date: 10/14/2016
Rating: (10) Recommended
We decided to place an order with garden grocer the first day of our trip - we placed the order via the app which we were a bit skeptical that everything would be available - we received an immediate confirmation as well as a phone call confirming our order. We also received a call notifying us that our order had been delivered. Garden Grocer has a very extensive selection its very reasonable prices. Worked out great for breakfast and having fruits an snacks in the room. Woful highly recommend using them
Pros:
Great service with first quality foodCons:
noneReview of Narcoossee's
Reviewed by secondstar2rt Review Date: 10/12/2016
Rating: (2) Not Recommended
Let me start by saying our meal was completely comped. We went to Narcoossee for my birthday dinner on our last night. We were seated in a timely manner. Our somewhat disheveled looking waiter arrived to take our drink orders. My daughter told him that not only were we celebrating my birthday, but today actually was my birthday. The waiter replied to her "okay, what do you want to drink". Not a word to me. We ordered drinks and appetizers. The waiter refilled my husband's wine but never asked any of the rest of us if we wanted another drink. My daughter and son-in-law's food arrived but it was another 10 minutes until my husband and my halibut arrived. No apology for the wait. My first bite of halibut and I thought 'this is crunchy'. I turned the fish over and the bottom to totally burned. My husband turned his over and it was dark brown but not as black as mine. We called the waiter over and he said 'ya, I cook a lot of halibut and I could tell it wasn't right.' Well why did he serve it? He said he would bring new plates to us immediately. Another 15 to 20 minutes later he brought the new plates. In all this time my daughter and son in law had of course finished their meal and the waiter had not bothered to check on us once. Our water glasses were not even refilled. When the new plates finally came, my husband was so angry he said 'i'm not eating this' and went to find the manager. She apologized profusely and said that our experience was unacceptable. She said our whole meal would be comped. We offered to pay for the part of the dinner that was good but she refused.
We have visited Narcoossee many times before and always had impeccable food and service. Unfortunately, this was a much planned and anticipated birthday dinner and we didn't even get to eat.
Pros:
reputationCons:
manyReview of Behind the Seeds - Epcot
Reviewed by sandyl Review Date: 10/14/2016
Rating: (10) Recommended
On December 18th we took a tour of "behind the seeds' at the land in epcot - we had been talking about this your for years and finally got around to it. Our tour guide was "Eddie" - Eddie was very knowledgable, witty and everyone in the group enjoyed the tour very much (including the teenagers that were part of the group). Interesting and important to see how food can be grown in various eco-structures. Since we returned home, we have mentioned to a friends that will be going to WDW to take the time for this fun and informative tour and ask about having Eddie as their guide. The tour is a must.
Pros:
Very InformativeCons:
noneReview of Yacht Club Resort (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by JackieB Review Date: 10/15/2016
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
I just stayed at the Yacht Club and I was very disappointed. I stayed there a few months ago and everything was wonderful...this time though...it was not. First of all the CM at registration was a bit strange. I went to the desk and told him I had reservation for one night and he looked at me and said "For?" Um...the resort. Do people go to the resort registration desk to check in for other reservations that I don't know about? I just thought that was strange. He told me my room wasn't ready but it would be a king room with a water view. This was great since I paid for a standard room and thought this was an upgrade...not really the room was not great. I walked in and thought it looked like a really nice room, king bed, sofa, chair, desk. The good: The view was awesome. It was a water view on the first floor. The bad: The bed was awful. It actually had a board under the mattress on part of the bed. It was very uncomfortable. I woke up in the morning with a backache. The worst part of the room was the bathroom. I've had larger bathrooms at the moderate resorts. I have to use a walker so in order to shut the bathroom door I had to walk as close as I could to the toilet (walker over the toilet) turn slightly, lift the walker a little and then shut the door. The sinks, toilet and shower were all in one cramped area. For the price I paid for a deluxe resort I was so disappointed in the room. If I had been staying for more than one night I would have asked to switch rooms. So next month when I return for a couple of nights the Yacht Club won't be the resort I choose to stay at.
BTW...Mousekeeping, valet, bell services, room service CM were outstanding.
Pros:
location, viewCons:
bed, bathroomReview of Walt Disney World Swan (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by Samwaite Review Date: 10/16/2016
Rating: (5) Recommended
The hotel is very nice, as one would expect at this price point. You'd also expect the rooms to be mechanically correct at this price point, but not necessarily. Ours had 2 issues - a toilet that gurgled loudly and belched up water from the bowl onto the floor several times a night; and about half the electrical outlets didn't work.
Another issue is additional costs. The quoted rates don't include the mandatory resort fees, parking and the taxes imposed on those charges. You'll end up paying $80 - 100 more per night, depending on the room rate you're paying (maybe more for the highest rates).
When you drive into the driveway, if you choose to self-park, you might think you can briefly park outside the marked valet area and unload your luggage and check in. You'll be confronted rudely by the valet staff and their supervisors if you do. I tried parking well outside the marked area (nearly to the end of the driveway), and had a very unpleasant encounter with the valets. I tried explaining that I just wanted to take my bags in and then park in the parking lot, but they would have nothing of it. Be warned and bring your muscles, because you'll have to carry your bags from the very far away self parking lot. They claimed it was for traffic control, but I saw large trucks and buses parked in the same area for long periods, and there was no issue. Just be aware that the hotel lets these guys run their own hustle out front. If the entire driveway is valet only, then they should mark it that way and avoid these confrontations. I've traveled all over the country and never had an issue briefly parking out front to check in. Just be forewarned.
Pros:
Location, transportation optionsCons:
additional costs, rude valets, mechanical problems in roomReview of Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge Concierge
Reviewed by Disney Dad Review Date: 10/19/2016
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
I have been to WDW more than 20 times, and decided to take my family to the AK lodge. We splurged on a Club Level, one bedroom suite. The room and lodge were fantastic, and as always Boma and Jiko were perfect!
However, we won't be back to the Club Level room. The club service continues to deteriorate.
I timed my check-in time at just over one hour (3pm on a Sunday). We were given a small, not helpful map to navigate the large resort without offer of Bell service or useful directions.
Several times, the cast members in the Club Level were complaining about their staffing ratios (apparently decreased from 4 to 3 cast members per shift) and needing to arrive for work at 5 am.
When they didn't know the answer to a question, they made up an answer instead of looking up the correct answer. As a savvy Disney traveler, this is sad. The AK lodge has a wonderful physical building, but the Club Level is not worth the considerable expense.
For a truly great Club Level experience, I recommend Yacht Club. It has always been warm and welcoming.
