Most Recent Reviews
Review of Kringla Bakeri og Cafe
Reviewed by jenvest Review Date: 04/06/2017
Rating: (9) Recommended
One of the cheaper places you can eat at Epcot. We came here with our Norwegian exchange student so it was interesting to have her perspective. My kids and I tried the club sandwich and ham and apple sandwich. They were good. My daughter didn't like the chutney on hers. Our student thought they were weird sandwiches though. She had never seen those combinations in Norway.
My husband and exchange student had the Kjottkake. Oline was so excited that they had them. She has been telling us about them all year and couldn't wait for us to try them. I tasted them and ate about 1/2 of my husband's. They were REALLY good! Oline said it was very authentic, but said her Grandmother's gravy is better.
We also had a pastry. I had the school bread and didn't like it at all. They put a seasoning that made it taste like black licorice. Oline said that was something some people do, but she prefers it without. I also thought it was a bit dry, but the cream was good. My kids had the troll horn which they liked. My husband had the pastry with berries. It was really tasty! Oline had the Lefse. She misses that from Norway.
I will add, we did not try their rice pudding, because our exchange student makes it for us, but it is one of my favorite things she makes. It tastes SO good, so if you're tempted, but unsure, give it a try. If it's anything like Oline's, you will love it.
Pros:
Different, tastyCons:
—Review of Tangierine Cafe
Reviewed by jenvest Review Date: 04/06/2017
Rating: (9) Recommended
If you are adventurous, this is a great place to eat! If you enjoy Gyro's, you will find something here to like.
Two of our kids had the chicken platter. The chicken was moist and they were both raving about how tasty it was. They aren't terribly adventurous, but they liked the chicken and the pita. My son did not like the hummus, my daughter did not like the couscous salad. Despite that they were both really happy with their food. My husband had the lamb and chicken platter, I had the lamb. Both of us really enjoyed all of it. My favorite side was the couscous salad. Our exchange student had the Kefta platter. I tasted it and it was really good too.
Love the food. Great place to eat.
Pros:
Unique, tastyCons:
—Review of La Cantina de San Angel
Reviewed by jenvest Review Date: 04/06/2017
Rating: (8) Recommended
The food here is a step up from your typical fast food establishments. It's pricey, but everything is at Disney. The kids had the nachos and they were spicy. Two of my kids even asked to not have the jalapenos and still said it was spicy, but they enjoyed them. I don't think they would say they were the best nachos they have ever had, but it was enough to fill them and they were satisfied.
My husband had the fish tacos and I really liked them. I had Tacos de Barbacoa. I liked both of them, but I liked his tacos better and he liked mine better so we swapped. Tortillas were the best part. Very tasty. Plenty to eat with what we ordered.
Pros:
Step up from fast food MexicanCons:
PriceyReview of Boardwalk Inn (Deluxe Resort)
Reviewed by jeconk Review Date: 04/09/2017
Rating: (8) Recommended
We stayed at Boardwalk Inn for 5 nights for a spring break vacation. We chose Boardwalk due to its location and ease of access to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios. That is one of the best parts of this resort...the ability to walk to both parks (or take the ferry).
When it come to the ferry service, I am always a little apprehensive about boat transportation. It always seems that boat transport tends to be slow and the pilots have a terrible time docking and the loading/unloading is quite long. That is NOT the case with the Friendship Ferry boats used for Epcot, Hollywood Studios and the resorts along the lake. The pilots were all excellent at docking and moving to the next location quickly (but safely I might add). It seems every time we came into a dock, the pilot was perfect on the first try. The loading and unloading was as quick as safely possible. It was even more convenient than the busses to other locations.
As far as the walking to the parks, Epcot is an easy walk (to the International gate, NOT the main gate) but Hollywood Studios is a little further walk. SUGGESTION: If you are staying at Boardwalk and coming back from Hollywood Studios on the ferry, get off at the first stop (Swan & Dolphin Hotels). It is then an easy walk to Boardwalk and a lot quicker than riding the boat because it has another stop first. (also if you miss the boat at Boardwalk, then walk to Swan and Dolphin to catch up to it if going to Hollywood Studios.)
There is bus service to Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Disney Springs (later in the day). There is NO bus service to Hollywood Studios or the main entrance of Epcot from Boardwalk Inn. The bus stop is conveniently located just down the breezeway from the main entrance to the hotel. There is an electronic monitor board at the bus stop that give real time wait times until the next bus to each location. Disney buses seemed more efficient on this trip. Staying at Boardwalk (or any of the lake resorts like Beach Club, Yacht Club, Swan or Dolphin) give you more flexibility with busses back from AK, MK and Disney Springs.....just take a bus to any of those and you can walk to the others.
The resort is very nice. One complaint I have heard is that the quick service food choices are limited at Boardwalk, but I really didn't find that to be the case. The Boardwalk Bakery has breakfast sandwiches & breakfast platter and then sandwiches, soups, etc for lunch and dinner. It is also the place to get your drink mug refills. It may be more of a problem to get to if it is raining since it is in the middle of the Boardwalk shops but it served us fine. There are also other places to get a quick bite including the Pizza window and Joes. There are several table service restaurants on the Boardwalk, and with the exception of ESPN club, they always seemed to be taking walk ups without reservations.
I wasn't overly impressed by the quaint lobby but did like the covered breezeways/decks around the hotel where you could sit in rockers and enjoy the view and weather. Boardwalk has a very nice grassy area between the lobby and Boardwalk and I saw a lot of people on that lawn running, playing, relaxing.
We had a very nice room on the first floor that faced the inner courtyard. (another nice area to walk or sit and the quiet pool is located in that area). The property is well maintained and they were working on painting the exterior while we were there. (we had been alerted to this beforehand, but the contractors were polite and tried to avoid creating inconveniences for guests. It was really not an issue.
My main complaint was the first floor and how you had to "maneuver" to get to the Boardwalk or bus stop. There is no way to go from the first floor rooms directly to the Boardwalk WITHOUT having to go up first and back down. To get from our room to the Boardwalk, we had to take an elevator or stairs up to the second floor, walk toward the lobby and then go down another set of stairs or elevator to reach the doors to the Boardwalk. (while second floor and higher guests only had to get to the second floor and go down.) I am not sure why they could not extend the elevator lobby on the first floor to the first floor area that goes out to the Boardwalk. (appears to be just a wall in the way.).
Our room appeared to be a former handicap room because it was very spacious (and had the tell tale sign of the double (lower) peephole on the hallway door.). While the toilet/tub area was large, it did not have handicap accessible railings by the toilet or in the tub so I am guessing it was converted to non handicap use.
There are plenty of electrical outlets and charging ports located throughout the room....on the desk, tv stand and nightstand. The drawer space is somewhat limited because the credenza has cupboards on the sides instead of drawers there. The closet is large. It was nice to have a patio to sit on. (other floors have a balcony) but we only had one patio chair. (we noticed later that the room next to us on one side also had only one chair but on the other side of us the patio had four chairs...it appears that they "procured" chairs from other rooms and housekeeping never noticed.)
There are only two complaints that I have about the room. First, the stand that hides the refrigerator: the door to the stand opens one way while the refrigerator door opens the other way making it awkward to put things in the fridge. The other, more major complaint, was the hot water. The water in the shower/tub never got really hot. Even when turned all the way to hot, it never got about lukewarm. It was like this everyday regardless of the time of day. If someone wants a really hot shower or soaking tub, forget it.
Other reviewers have claimed stinky rooms or not clean rooms/public areas, I did not find that to be the case at all. In fact the room smelled very nice. (I think Disney uses a fragrance in their air circulation system as I have smelled that in other hotels.)
The staff members that we encountered were very friendly and helpful although we had a lot of trouble with our magicbands and they never really did get it 100% correct.
We used the Disney Magic Express this time and that was very nice. It was a little long check in process at the airport because so many people didn't have their paperwork or magic bands and that would slow up the check in lines. Perhaps a line dedicated to those who have their magic bands or paperwork to speed things up?
My only complaint with the Magic Express Service was our luggage at the hotel. It arrived while we were out to the park, but the bell person who delivered it put it just inside the door to the room (and not lined up neatly at the end of the bed). We basically had to trip over our luggage when we returned just to get into our room.
Finaly, I would like to give a shout out to the new Express Transportation option. This service, which I don't feel is publicized enough, was great. It cost us $29 for up to seven days but saved us time and made life much easier. This system takes you from inside one park to another without the need to go through the bus/boat system, security checkpoint or ticketing. You still have to get to and enter one of the four parks (Hollywood Studios, Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom) via bus, boat or foot and go through the security checkpoint. But once you have done that once, you are set. You go to the assigned location inside each park (example: next to Buzz Lightyear at MK) and check in. They then take you "backstage" to a parking or storage area where you meet a bus. The busses for this are used only for this and so they are not crowded. There is a bus to a park every 10 minutes so all your bus to any park is at least no more than 30 minutes wait. (Example: bus to Epcot at :00 & :30; bus to Hollywood Studios at :10 & :40; bus to Animal Kingdom at :20 & :50.) The bus then cuts through the back areas of the parks and through employee only roads to your next park and you unload "backstage" and enter the park through an employee entrance. (no need to go through security or bio scan again.) It provides for unlimited rides during each day. One day we used it to "park hop" to 3 of the 4 parks. PLEASE NOTE: You must have Park Hopper tickets in order to use this service.
Overall this is a very nice hotel but I liked Bay Lake Tower & Port Orleans better. You can't beat this location however unless you stay in Beach Club or Yacht Club.
Pros:
The location can't be beat; Good transportation system to parks; Spacious roomsCons:
First floor rooms have to go up and then back down in order to reach Boardwalk. Distance to eating facilities (no grab and go)Reviewed by Kate27 Review Date: 04/07/2017
Rating: (10) Recommended
I always book my snorkeling gear rental ahead of time, but I think they have plenty to go around. You get goggles/mouthpiece, flippers and a vest which is required. You can bring your own snorkeling gear from home, but you must get one of their vests to wear (free). Just stop at the snorkel rental hut to get one. The snorkeling area is great. They have placed all kinds of cool things to see and attract the fish... statues, sunken ships, etc. I've done it twice and will do it every time I get to visit in the future.
Pros:
Snorkeling- so much fun!Cons:
noneReviewed by Kate27 Review Date: 04/07/2017
Rating: (10) Recommended
I've only been here twice but we LOVE it! Favorite day of the cruise. The tram is great for getting from place to place. Serenity Bay is heavenly. The included lunch is great. It's just so much fun to stroll in the beautiful sunshine, soak in the water, snorkel, shop. So much fun!
Pros:
beautiful, well kept, staff, things to doCons:
noneReview of Castaway Cay Dining
Reviewed by Kate27 Review Date: 04/07/2017
Rating: (9) Recommended
The food is great, big selection of normal "summer picnic" food such as burgers, hot dogs, ribs, lots of sides, desserts, and ice cream machine. The lines can get a bit long at peak lunch times, but that's to be expected. Seating is large picnic tables under pavillions. Usually don't have trouble finding seats, but if you're a small group or just two people, you may be asked to share your table. Overall a great experience and recharge to get back out there and enjoy the island!
Pros:
selection, qualityCons:
long lines sometimesReview of Captain's Grille Lunch/Dinner
Reviewed by buntingd Review Date: 04/06/2017
Rating: (10) Recommended
We had dinner here on 3-19. Our 13 year old was excited about having her favorite -crab legs. Husband and I ordered crab cakes. For me they were the perfect size but hubby is a big eater so they were on the small side. He ended out sharing the crab legs. He had ordered the clam chowder and we order the shrimp for apps. The oreo brownie desert was the best. The cheesecake was good also. Dino was the best server. He was very informative and great interaction with us.
Pros:
Cast members, foodCons:
—Review of Boardwalk Villas (Disney Vacation Club)
Reviewed by buntingd Review Date: 04/06/2017
Rating: (10) Recommended
We stayed at Boardwalk from Mar 19 to Mar 24. When we came to check in my husband make a change. Raymond was helping us checkin and took the time to adjust our reservation. My husband wanted to switch to a accessible unit. Raymond spent the time redoing our original reservation to make the changes. We overlooked the pool and were able to see fireworks from Studios. The only downside was having to go all the way to the Bakery to get a soda. Weil be back. I loved being able to walk to Epcot and take a short boat ride to Studios.
Pros:
cast membersCons:
long walk to Bakery to get drinksReview of Columbia Harbour House
Reviewed by jenvest Review Date: 04/06/2017
Rating: (9) Recommended
We ate here twice and enjoyed everything we ate here. My kids had the chicken nuggets and fish. They really liked them. I tried a bite of the fish and it was really good. Their french fries were good too and I wished I had selected that instead of the vegetable. I did like the vegetable, it was green beans and it tasted like they were cooked fresh, so they were good. I got the shrimp the first time and the lobster roll the second time. Both of them were good but I think my favorite was the fish from my kids meals. Our other daughter got the salmon the first time. It had a great flavor, but was a little dry. I still liked it though.
There was very little line the first day. The second day it went out the door, but it moved quickly. They were very good at giving you a menu while you were in line and moving you though. There was plenty of seating as there is seating upstairs and downstairs. Good food. We would eat here again.
