I haven't been this excited about my birthday since I turned 21! COMPLETE

[mommommom]

Barb, thanks for your review of Artist Point! We're going on my husband's birthday and now I know we made the right choice.

 

[kastoney]

Another great review. Since we will be staying at WL next trip Artist Point is on my must try list. The menu looks amazing and I love that if is always fresh and seasonal. I like you am only a salmon fan when done right and if certainly looks like they know what they are doing.

Quick question, can you eat on the outdoor terrace? We love to eat outside and disney is certainly lacking in that area.

 

[sydneysmom]

I know I'm coming in at the end, but I'm really enjoying your reviews! Happy belated birthday!!!!

 

[crazyfordisney2000]

Loving your report!!

We went to Artist Point last year for dinner, and it was just as empty then as your photos portray, which I agree is sad! Our dinner there was also fantastic!

 

[DLFan123]

Enjoying your reviews. Artist Pointe always looks so good, and someday I'll have to make time to try it. That salmon looks right up my alley.

Is it just me, or has it been a long time since they've whipped out the plastic Mickey straws? Lucky you!

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Loved 2 out of 3 meals at AP. Definitely like the size of the soup bowl now better than the last time we were there! I know that I may regret that we are not eating there in the Fall. I am afraid that i will get hit with a " case of the sads" there because it has become Andrews favorite restaurant. He wants to take his girlfriend there if we pull off next years trip!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

Your AP meal looks lovely. I love the salmon there too. I love all of your pics of the CL lounge and offerings. WL is such a beautiful resort. I really think I might have to stay there next trip. We were going to do one night there on our upcoming trip but I changed to AKL. I think I'll wait until we can do a full stay at WL to book it.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Love the Artist Point review! It's easily my favorite Disney restaurant, and it's the only signature I really wanted to visit while in Orlando over the past week. It's sad to see such a great restaurant so empty, but as you said, at least it contributes to a calmer, tranquil dining experience. AP seems to have a decent following, so I would hope it isn't in any danger of closing.

 

[emmysmommy]

I'm so happy to see the larger bowl of soup has returned! I have skipped dinner here the last few times since I haven't been such a fan. However, the seafood entrée sounds really good.

Glad to see that your salmon was perfectly tasty!

 

[jabead]

Such a beautiful restaurant it is sad to see it not filled up with guests dining. I have a feeling some people think WL is far for the action or out in the boondocks. I know I thought it was until I drove a mini boat over from a nearby hotel years ago and saw it was very close. Onto your incredible looking meal ... Your soup looks so yummy and such a different portion size this time around for you ( yeah! ) I will certainly be trying this delicious looking soup : ) My husband will defiantly be getting the salmon you ordered since it's one of his favorite fish. Looking forward to your evening at old faithful and seeing what desserts they had for you that evening. As always a lovely enjoyable dining report

You are probably right that many people feel that WL is too far out of the way if you are not a guest of the resort. For those staying at the other MK resorts or using MK as a transfer point to get to their dining destination, I'm sure that jumping on the monorail and dining at the Contemporary, Polynesian, or the Grand Floridian would seem to be much more convenient. And if you are staying at an Epcot resort then there are plenty of great restaurants at the Boardwalk, Swan & Dolphin, and the Yacht & Beach Club which are a short walk or boat ride away. But this argument doesn't hold true for Jiko at the AKL. To me this restaurant seems much more remote than Artist Point and yet Jiko was quite full when we arrived for our late dinner ADR on a Monday night. This is what has me worried about the fate of Artist Point. So anyway, I hope you have a wonderful meal at AP and then come back to the boards and pass on the good word.

Oh, and OFC desserts coming up!

Great review of Artist Point Barb

We had a fabulous meal there last summer, but it was very quiet customer wise then too. We haven't booked it this summer, but I suspect if we can sneak an ADR when we arrive we might end up going back for the salmon. I was the only one of us who ordered it last time and my DH and DD have coveted it since!

Sadly due to my mushroom allergy I'm not able to have the soup, but my DH loved it. I'm hoping as I only developed this allergy a couple of years ago I might 'grow' out of it...Disney is after all where dreams come true!

BTW your puppy is soooooooooo cute!

Thanks Jeanette! I hope you are able to sneak in a visit to AP and that you have another great meal there. It's a pity about your mushroom allergy but I noticed a few other appetizers on their menu that sounded great.

Barb, thanks for your review of Artist Point! We're going on my husband's birthday and now I know we made the right choice.

Happy birthday to your husband! I hope his birthday dinner at Artist Point is/was wonderful.

Another great review. Since we will be staying at WL next trip Artist Point is on my must try list. The menu looks amazing and I love that if is always fresh and seasonal. I like you am only a salmon fan when done right and if certainly looks like they know what they are doing.

Quick question, can you eat on the outdoor terrace? We love to eat outside and disney is certainly lacking in that area.

I don't think you can go wrong with the salmon at Artist Point. Unfortunately, I can't really answer your question though about the outdoor terrace. During my four visits to AP (which were in Nov., March, April, and May) I have never seen anyone dining out there but that doesn't necessarily mean that it never happens.

I know I'm coming in at the end, but I'm really enjoying your reviews! Happy belated birthday!!!!

Thanks for joining in and for the birthday wishes! I'm only a little more than half way done with my reviews (I did a lot of eating during the last three days of my trip ), so there will be plenty more to read and see.

Loving your report!!

We went to Artist Point last year for dinner, and it was just as empty then as your photos portray, which I agree is sad! Our dinner there was also fantastic!

Thanks so much for reading! Happy to hear about another great experience at Artist Point but sad that there seems to be a pattern of lack of patrons.

Enjoying your reviews. Artist Pointe always looks so good, and someday I'll have to make time to try it. That salmon looks right up my alley.

Is it just me, or has it been a long time since they've whipped out the plastic Mickey straws? Lucky you!

Thank you! And regarding the Mickey straws, I don't remember the last time that I had received one. Probably not since my kids were little. It was quite fun though drinking my iced tea through a Mickey straw again...brought back some very good memories.

Loved 2 out of 3 meals at AP. Definitely like the size of the soup bowl now better than the last time we were there! I know that I may regret that we are not eating there in the Fall. I am afraid that i will get hit with a " case of the sads" there because it has become Andrews favorite restaurant. He wants to take his girlfriend there if we pull off next years trip!

Glad to hear that Artist Point has another fan. Does Andrew have a favorite entree there that he sticks to or does he like to try different things each time? I hope that your "extended family" trip does happen. I'm sure that Andrew has many WDW favorites that he would like to share with his girlfriend.

Your AP meal looks lovely. I love the salmon there too. I love all of your pics of the CL lounge and offerings. WL is such a beautiful resort. I really think I might have to stay there next trip. We were going to do one night there on our upcoming trip but I changed to AKL. I think I'll wait until we can do a full stay at WL to book it.

Thanks Jeri! For my next trip in October, I booked a bounce back split stay at the Wilderness Lodge and the Boardwalk again (villas this time though, as there was no room in the inn ). However, I've been contemplating staying at AKL for the first night of my trip. I'd like to have breakfast at Boma and dinner at Jiko, so it would be very convenient. Hmm...what to do?

Love the Artist Point review! It's easily my favorite Disney restaurant, and it's the only signature I really wanted to visit while in Orlando over the past week. It's sad to see such a great restaurant so empty, but as you said, at least it contributes to a calmer, tranquil dining experience. AP seems to have a decent following, so I would hope it isn't in any danger of closing.

Thanks DDW! And I can't wait to read your Artist Point review!

I'm so happy to see the larger bowl of soup has returned! I have skipped dinner here the last few times since I haven't been such a fan. However, the seafood entrée sounds really good.

Glad to see that your salmon was perfectly tasty!

Yes, I was very happy to see that those extremely large, yet tiny soup bowls are gone. Hopefully they won't be making a return appearance.

 

[jabead]

Old Faithful Club - Part 3

After my delicious dinner at Artist Point, I went back to my room and found that the turn down service had been done while I was away.







I brought the chocolates home with me and my DH ate them. He said they were good!


I watched some T.V., including one of my favorites...




...and before long I decided it was time to check out the Old Faithful Club lounge. Here's what I found there this time:

There were the usual chocolate chip and sugar cookies...







...and some frosted brownies.





I was excited to see these Magic Bars, something I had heard about but had never before tried.




...and also this big pan of Apple Cobbler.





I was looking forward to partaking of a few of these cordials...



Pictured from front to back were: Grand Marnier (an orange-flavored cognac liqueur), Courvoisier (a cognac that I'd heard of but have never tried), Kahlua (a coffee-flavored rum-based liqueur from Mexico), and Amarula (a cream liqueur from South Africa)



There were also the usual non-alcoholic beverages available (so I didn't again take pictures of these), but this time I noticed the canoe serving dish which held the sweetener packets for the coffee...





Here is the plate of goodies that I took back to my room and munched on while I watched the rest of American Idol...



The apple cobbler was pretty good but I much prefer berry or peach cobbler, so I only ate a few bites of this. The brownie was also good. However, the real star of my plate was the Magic Bar. In case you are like I was and have never had this before, the "magic" in this cookie bar is created by topping a buttery layer of graham cracker crumbs with coconut flakes, semi-sweet chocolate and butterscotch chips, chopped pecans and walnuts, and multi-colored confetti sprinkles.


Oh, and I also had to have one of my favorite drinks, Kahlua and cream...




During a commercial break, I decided to make a quick trip back to the lounge to get some of this...



...and was surprised to find that they had put out some different desserts. First there were Pistachio Cakes...



I had noticed on the Artist Point dessert menu that there was a Pistachio Cheesecake. I'm not sure if this was a smaller version of that or a variation of the AP dessert, but it sure looked pretty.


While I didn't try any of the pistachio dessert, I couldn't possibly pass up the chance to have some of the new cobbler that they had just brought out...



Remember how I said that I much prefer berry or peach cobbler over apple? Well, they must have read my mind because this was Strawberry-Peach Cobbler...




...and I assure that it was as delicious as it looks.



Soon it was 10:00 and American Idol was over, but that wasn't the end of the entertainment which I was able to watch from the comfort of my room. You see, though 99% of the time my room had a not particularly exciting woods view, for the other 1% the view was pretty awesome...











I had had thoughts of going to Magic Kingdom after dinner to see Wishes but decided that I didn't want to miss out on the desserts in the CL lounge. Though the fireworks view from my room did not come close to the view I would have had in the park, I was still quite happy that I'd gotten to have my cake and eat it too.


Oh, and if you are keeping track in my Wilderness Lodge CL vs. Yacht Club CL comparison, the Wilderness Lodge was again the winner in the Desserts category.
​

Next up: Old Faithful Club Part 4 - Breakfast

 

[smile4stamps]

Backtracking a bit!

Artist Point... It's a restaurant I want to LOVE.. but it hasn't loved us. We've had mediocre service and mediocre/salty food. I do love the soup though if I can get it on a non-over-salty day!

Thank you SO MUCH for breaking the rules and bringing us up to the Club Level! It was wonderful to enjoy that luxury! All the dessert offerings look great! Probably a good thing that Grand Marnier wasn't out when Hunter was there though... he might have enjoyed a bit much of it!

I love me a Magic Bar! What is funny is I bought some our last day to take on the plane and I completely forgot I had them.. I was cleaning out my purse and accidentally dumped them and all the crumbs with them on my bed! I'm sad we won't be at WL this upcoming trip to get some of those!

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Glad to hear that Artist Point has another fan. Does Andrew have a favorite entree there that he sticks to or does he like to try different things each time? I hope that your "extended family" trip does happen. I'm sure that Andrew has many WDW favorites that he would like to share with his girlfriend.

I think that soup is his favorite food anywhere. One trip he had two bowls! But for entrees, he has always tried different things.

Yes, there are many things that actually both of us want to share with his girlfriend. It will be a great trip if it happens!

 

[disney meema]

Nice desserts and cordial offerings ... Gotta love a Kahlua and cream after dinner : ) Also the cobbler looks delicious!

 

[jabead]

My daughter Emily returned from her Hawaii trip bearing gifts...





Bailey is now ready to have dinner at 'Ohana!! ​

 

[SmallWorld71]

My daughter Emily returned from her Hawaii trip bearing gifts...





Bailey is now ready to have dinner at 'Ohana!! ​

 

[kastoney]

Deserts, booze, and fireworks looks like I now know how we will be spending most of our evenings. The cheesecake and cobbler looked awesome. It's good to know they let you take the drinks back to your room. They will likely be seeing me more than twice a night though ; )

 

[cammie810]

Loving your reviews so far!!! I make magic bars all of the time.....
they are really easy (and super delicious). Would you like the recipe?

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Bailey is so adorable! And thanks for posting such a thorough update of the OFC offerings. I remember seriously enjoying those magic cookie bars and the strawberry peach cobbler, but the pistachio cakes definitely weren't around when we stayed there. They look great!

 

[vettegirl]

I love the CL review!! We are actually switching to the WL CL for our December trip. I want to stay somewhere different and I keep hearing wonderful things about the WL. Their offerings look way better than the BC CL we had back in Sept.