Most Recent Reviews
Review of T-Rex
Reviewed by JackM Review Date: 10/15/2008
Rating: (7) Recommended
This review is by: Victor
Just had Dinner at the new T-Rex cafe in Downtown Disney and wanted provide a quick review.
Today was the grand opening for the public and the ever present queue was long. Since I was alone I was able to stroll up the the bar and eat. The libations are interesting and include Cotton Candy martinis as well as various cretaceous and jurassic themed drinks that are available with or withour the keepsake glass.
The menu is extensive and varied. I enjoyed the tuna appetizer which consisted of lightly seared ahi tuna chopped and served on a thin wafer (think square tortilla chip) with mango, avacado and a mild teriyaki based sauce. It was very good.
I also had a gigantosauras burger which lived up to its name and was also great. I will not rehash the menu here but I will say no one I spoke to had anything bad to say about what they had ordered and all the portions were generous.
The service was friendly and conscientious.
The theming is amazing with various room concepts that range from the Ice Age, The Ocean and a general cave/grasslands. There are numerous aquariums and you can see that the overall design borrows from the Rainforest Cafes(same parent company) The ceiling periodically bursts into meteor showers (projected with sound effects).
There is a themed store with a Build a Dino area(about 10 different types) a la Build a bear workshop. There is a sand pit play area adjacent to the store.
Pros:
Themeing, extensive menu, staff attention, food tastyCons:
Feels like Rainforest clone, Build a Dino area TOO small.Review of Puerto Vallarta
Reviewed by JackM Review Date: 06/10/2008
Rating: (10) Recommended
This review is from Karen and her husband Gary, who were on the West Bound Panama Cruise May 2008.
Rated a 10 from both of us, great all around experience, highly reccommended
Requires confidence by the rider. Rider needs to trust the mount, due to changes in terrain, rocky, crossing shallow rivers, up and down climbs and descents, narrow sawitchbacks. Trail was dusty at times. About 1 1/2 hour ride.
Waterfall was low due to dry season so no swimming or wading in the water. We had 30 aminute break and bottled water at the waterfall stop. Once off the horses it was a 5 minute walk to waterfall
Ranch had clean bathroom. Pre-ride breakfast, tortillas and great cinnamon coffee. Safety lecture given, helmets available.
Post ride lunch on a nice shaded patio. Great lunch, cowboy rope tricks for entertainment.
Coach transportation with a very informative and enthusiastic guide. Ranch staff very friendly and helpful, pictures for sale, best of the 3 rides I took on this cruise.
Karen did 3 Horseback Excursions and rated this one the best, a 10. She also did Horseback riding in Accapulco (Rated 4) and Cabo San Lucas (Rated 7).
Pros:
Great all around experienceCons:
—Review of Cabo San Lucas
Reviewed by JackM Review Date: 06/10/2008
Rating: (7) Recommended
This review is from Karen who was on the West Bound Panama Cruise May 2008.
Cabo San Lucas - Pacific Side Horseback Riding. Good for a first time rider. Ride for about 1 hour, van ride to ranch. No helmets available.
Short ride through desert like area with all cactus, then onto the beach. Safety lecture pre ride. It was windy so you may want to wear a sweatshirt. Guides would take your picture using your camera if you wanted.
Beautiful scenery, clean ranch, photographer present, pictures for sale. Not a lot of time after ride. Given a bottle of water, then offered pictures for sale, then back in to the van for the ride to the ship.
Would have earned more points if the guides were a little better and we didn't feel rushed.
Karen did 3 Horseback Excursions and rated this one 7. She also did Horseback riding in Accapulco (Rated 4) and Puerto Vallarta (Rated 10).
Pros:
Beautiful scenery, good for first time ridersCons:
no helmets, felt rushedReviewed by JackM Review Date: 06/10/2008
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
This review is from Karen who was on the West Bound Panama Cruise May 2008.
Acapulco by horseback is good for a beginner or first time rider. Terrain is level. We went through poor areas of town then to the beach. Beach part was scenic, walking of horses only.
Ride lasted about 1 hour. The guide was on horseback, informative and helpful. Coach transportation guide was informative. Lunch was a box type, on a covered patio, with very nice surrounding gardens. Bathrooms on grounds, a little primitive but clean. Helmets available and pictures for sale.
Not recommended simply because of the rundown neighborhood and having to ride through those streets to the beach.
Karen did 3 Horseback Excursions and rated this one 4, the lowest. She also did Horseback riding in Cabo (Rated 7) and Puerto Vallarta (Rated 10).
Pros:
Not MuchCons:
Had to ride horses thru rundown areas to get to beachReview of Frozen Holiday Premium Package
Reviewed by MCamphouse Review Date: 01/10/2015
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
This review is from bellebookworm9
I booked this package two days in advance as a surprise for my mom on 12/14. I knew ahead of time that we would not be taking advantage of the seating for the Frozen Sing-Along, as we were only going to be at the Studios for a couple of hours and that wasn't in the plan.
When we arrived to the park at 5:20, we were running late for a dinner reservation. I attempted to check us in at Sid Cahuenga's shop, where I had seen a sign earlier, only to be informed that because it was now nearly 7, check in was at the party location. Once we found our way to the gate, the CM said she'd been waiting for us and we were the last two.
Inside, we were kind of disappointed with the set up. I had requested wheelchair accessibility as my mom is in a scooter. All three tables designated for this were already full, and the only apparently open tables were for standing. Finally we found a table with seats that had been abandoned but not cleaned off. We pushed the trash from the previous family aside and made do with the available space.
The desserts were just okay. We were still pretty full from dinner, which may have affected my opinion, but I didn't find them to be anything special. My mom liked the chocolate brownie melt thing. I thought the best thing was the rice crispie treats, sadly enough. I didn't care for the glaze on the cream puffs. The Smores tart and Key Lime tart were alright. Olaf cake pop was mushy and disappointing. Cupcakes were boring. We didn't try any of the specialty beverages, alcoholic or not.
We did appreciate being able to view the Osborne Lights away from the crowds. That evening had Extra Magic Hours, so after 8pm, the crowds in the area dwindled off and we were able to go into the Streets of America without too much trouble.
The included lithograph and pin were nice souvenirs but I don't think they were really necessary. Did take some rice crispies (brought baggies with us) and mini bottled waters to go. This was definitely not worth the $89 price tag. The IllumiNations dessert party at Epcot, which also includes alcohol, is only $49/person, so I can't figure out why this one is so expensive.
Pros:
Able to see Osborne Lights away from the crowdsCons:
Expensive for what you getReview of Behind the Seeds - Epcot
Reviewed by beilfamily Review Date: 01/11/2015
Rating: (10) Recommended
We did this tour on 12/07/2014. Our guide was Kim and she was awesome. It was a great behind the scenes tour and very fun. If you are interested in gardening I highly recommend it. Little ones may be bored. Our kids are 14 & 11 and even though they would rather be riding rides I honestly think they got a kick out of this tour. Lots of interesting information.
Pros:
small group interactionCons:
not for little onesReviewed by mmfan Review Date: 01/09/2015
Rating: (5) Recommended
We have stayed at several different WDW resorts, and picked this resort for our family reunion vacation due to our Annual Passholder discount. We were disappointed in this resort, and felt for service rendered and the money paid, we would have definitely been better off at a moderate resort. Check in was very slow, we had requested king beds and not necessary to all be near each other, but they originally had us near each other and no king beds. After much discussion, the king bed request was met for two of the rooms. The resort was busier than expected for the beginning of December. The food court was very disappointing, as the resort caters to those wanting a sit down meal experience. Food court selections were very limited and food preparation took a long time. We did not use the pool as it was very chilly weather. Bus service was definitely as issue, service was very spotty with frequent waits of up to 1/2 hour. Buses were usually very crowded as Jambo house is the second pick up.
My DH became very ill our last day, and at least we were granted a check out time of 1 hour later. In all the confusion of checking out and catering to him, some clothing items were left in the room accidentally. After repeated phone calls over a period of 3 weeks, I finally got someone in lost and found to talk to me. The items were never located although I had left numerous messages. I have never stayed at a hotel that did not gladly forward items that were found to their rightful owners. Not the usual Disney experience.
The rooms at the moderate resorts are the same size, and the indoor corridors at a deluxe resort are not that important to us. This deluxe resort provide no additional amenities and was actually lacking in service.
Pros:
lovely surroundingsCons:
food courtReviewed by Annern1970 Review Date: 08/03/2016
Rating: (8) Recommended
My mom and I ate here for lunch on July 29th. We got there shortly after it opened, so we were seated right away. We chose to sit outside on the water without realizing that the porch was only screened in and not air conditioned. In the fall/winter, it may be okay, but not in the Florida heat during the summer.
The food was delicious! My mom had the pulled pork sandwich, which is really 3 small sliders, along with a side of mac and cheese. It was one of the best mac and cheeses I've ever tasted! I had the fried chicken sandwich. While good, next time I would probably just get a side of mac and cheese. We got the chicken and dumplings as a takeout for my dad to try. It was also very good.
Our server was knowledgable and very helpful when we were asking questions about the menu. I highly recommend eating here!
Pros:
service, foodCons:
prices, no air conditioning on the porchReview of Yachtsman Steakhouse
Reviewed by beilfamily Review Date: 01/11/2015
Rating: (10) Recommended
The last time we ate here was 10/1998. We wanted a nice steakhouse experience and really wanted to return to the Yachtsman. We had ADR but waited about 15 minutes. The hostess seemed a little rude and had me worried at first. Once we were seated, it was nothing but a positive experience. Steakhouses in general have a slower, relaxed ambiance and this is what you get at The Yachtsman. Our server was very friendly and professional. The food was way beyond great. We had previously done a tour at Epcot through the greenhouse and a salad was featured on the menu from there. Everything we had was delicious. Get the truffle mac & cheese...you won't regret it.
Pros:
Delicious steakhouse experienceCons:
Hostess was a little rudeReview of Frozen Holiday Premium Package
Reviewed by MCMod Review Date: 01/21/2015
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
This review is from bellebookworm9
I booked this package two days in advance as a surprise for my mom on 12/14. I knew ahead of time that we would not be taking advantage of the seating for the Frozen Sing-Along, as we were only going to be at the Studios for a couple of hours and that wasn't in the plan.
When we arrived to the park at 5:20, we were running late for a dinner reservation. I attempted to check us in at Sid Cahuenga's shop, where I had seen a sign earlier, only to be informed that because it was now nearly 7, check in was at the party location. Once we found our way to the gate, the CM said she'd been waiting for us and we were the last two.
Inside, we were kind of disappointed with the set up. I had requested wheelchair accessibility as my mom is in a scooter. All three tables designated for this were already full, and the only apparently open tables were for standing. Finally we found a table with seats that had been abandoned but not cleaned off. We pushed the trash from the previous family aside and made do with the available space.
The desserts were just okay. We were still pretty full from dinner, which may have affected my opinion, but I didn't find them to be anything special. My mom liked the chocolate brownie melt thing. I thought the best thing was the rice crispie treats, sadly enough. I didn't care for the glaze on the cream puffs. The Smores tart and Key Lime tart were alright. Olaf cake pop was mushy and disappointing. Cupcakes were boring. We didn't try any of the specialty beverages, alcoholic or not.
We did appreciate being able to view the Osborne Lights away from the crowds. That evening had Extra Magic Hours, so after 8pm, the crowds in the area dwindled off and we were able to go into the Streets of America without too much trouble.
The included lithograph and pin were nice souvenirs but I don't think they were really necessary. Did take some rice crispies (brought baggies with us) and mini bottled waters to go. This was definitely not worth the $89 price tag. The IllumiNations dessert party at Epcot, which also includes alcohol, is only $49/person, so I can't figure out why this one is so expensive.
