Just got back any questions?

[Minuet888]

Hi all,
Just got back from a six day trip to DLR. If you have any questions about what is up and running (or what isn't) just ask away! I just about went everywhere and ate a ton of different places (Storytellers Cafe was horrible, Lilo and Stitch's Breakfast was a great surprise).
Ask away!

 

[daisy2jae]

was peter pans flight running? how were the crowds?

 

[kailuagirl]

what days of the week were the less crowded vs. crowded? How's about times of day, notice any patterns or anything.

Thanks! Hope you had a great trip.

 

[Minuet888]

Hi,
Peter Pan was not running, neither was Astro Orbitor.
Monday seemed to be the least crowded although the park was dead for MM entrance on Sunday.

 

[MaiynaMouse]

I just got back too, Minuet. I have to say, I thought MM on Sunday was crowded in comparison to MM on Saturday. Tuesday was by far the busiest MM we had. i was really surprised by the difference in crowds between Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday seemed horribly crowded to me.

Another contrast....we ate at Storyteller's twice and it was absolutely fantastic both times. The places that were terrible and we won't be returning to were Goofy's Kitchen and Napa Rose.
~mm

 

[Golfing Goofy]

I just got back too, Minuet. I have to say, I thought MM on Sunday was crowded in comparison to MM on Saturday. Tuesday was by far the busiest MM we had. i was really surprised by the difference in crowds between Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday seemed horribly crowded to me.

Another contrast....we ate at Storyteller's twice and it was absolutely fantastic both times. The places that were terrible and we won't be returning to were Goofy's Kitchen and Napa Rose.
~mm

What happened at Napa Rose?

 

[Julylady]

Can you both elaborate what made your dining experiences negative? Was it the food? The service? Cleanliness?

 

[Ed J]

Interested in the bad grub at napa rose

 

[MaiynaMouse]

For those of you who asked for elaboration.....

I just posted this on the which restaurants you won't be returning to....

We just got home from a 6 day stint at Disneyland. We ate tons of food at a variety of places. Of them all, there are two places we won't be returning to.

First is Goofy's Kitchen. We went for dinner and it was absolutely awful. The food was edible at best. My older son loved the ribs but my younger ones barely touched their food. The pizza looked like it had been sitting out for hours (congealed cheese and pepperoni on cardboard is what it looked like), the macaroni and cheese was super runny, the buns for the hot dogs were crunchy, the chicken nuggets were cold. The "adult" food was hardly any better. The character experience left a lot to be desired. The only two characters there were Captain Hook and Genie. They interacted with each other in funny ways but seriously....only two characters? I can take the bad food for the character experience but it was seriously lacking. The highlight of the night came after my 6 year old daughter was pushed out of the way by all the other kids when Goofy was making a cake. She was literally one of the first ones down (we were seated right next to the buffet area) and kids stormed down and literally pushed her out of the way while the parents watched on. She came back to the table crying. A little bit later, Goofy came over and could see she was upset. He interacted really cute with her and played for quite some time with her. The next time they did an activity, Goofy walked over to our table and led my daughter up by the hand and danced with her. Kudos to Goofy for that but the food left a bad taste in my mouth (literally and figuratively). We won't be back.

The second place is Napa Rose. All I can say is - save your money. I'd heard such great things about it so I was really excited to try it. Our appetizers were good but not amazing like I hoped they'd be. Dh's salad was okay but my soup was nasty. It tasted burnt. YUCK! For entrees, my DH had the pork dish and it was okay but again, nothing spectacular. My ravioli on the other hand was terrible. I had two bites and could eat no more. The flavor could have been good but the consistency of the filling was seriously like a paste. It wasn't creamy, it wasn't chunky....it was like a paste that stuck to the roof of my mouth. I couldn't eat it. I consider myself a foodie. I love food and am always willing to try something at least once. I'm not a picky eater at all. There is very little I don't like. I have never, ever sent a meal back. I have never even wanted to send something back unless it was a steak that wasn't cooked how I asked for it. To me, part of the dining experience is trying new things and if I don't like it, I'll know for next time. This time however, I truly considered sending it back, although I didn't. The service was fine but it wasn't what I would expect from a fine dining experience like Napa Rose. At the very least, the waiter should have asked why I barely touched my meal but he never did. The highlight of the meal was the fantastic bottle of Pinot!

Thank goodness we went several other places that we'll definitely be enjoying again. Can't wait for our next trip.
~mm

 

[wdhinn89]

Did you do the breakfast buffet at Storytellers or was it Lunch/Dinner? Why did you not like it?

 

[MaiynaMouse]

I think I'll also elaborate on Storyteller's because we had two absolutely FANTASTIC experiences there. It seems like there have been a lot of negative reviews of it lately so I thought I'd share a good one.

We ate dinner there one night (PS at 6:30). My DH and kids all had the buffet. My DH loved everything he had and he's a super picky eater. The food was fresh and the kids thought it was delicious. I had the Lemon Prawns. They were absolutely fabulous. My mom had the Four Cheese Ravioli. I was hesitant to taste it after my experience with ravioli at Napa Rose but it was fantastic. So much better and far cheaper than the ravioli at NR. Another person in our party had the Lobster Cobb. Another delicious meal. I happen to love a good Coob salad and I loved the Storyteller take on it. Delicious. Our service was amazing. We had a fabulous waiter who doted on the kids, brought them all out pins, made fabulous suggestions for wine, talked to us about us and where we are from, how we are enjoying our stay, how he can make it great for us, etc. Overall, a wonderful experience.

We did the character breakfast on our last day in the parks (PS at 10:30). We all did the breakfast buffet and again, it was delicious. My husband had two omelets (the only thing he wished was that they had shrimp for it but it certainly wasn't a deal breaker). They brought us out fresh Mickey waffles that were hot and yummy. All of the food in the buffet was hot and very fresh. The character interaction was great as well. We saw chip, dale, balou, meeko, brer bear, koda, and kenai. Lots of fun interaction with the kids. The service was also fantastic. We secretly hoped to get our same waiter that we had for dinner but we ended up with someone else. She was equally amazing. She brought us all coffee and juice and our glasses never ran dry. The kids got hot chocolate and I think they each had 3 mugs full. When she brought them out, she remembered which kids had whip cream and which didn't. She really was fabulous. When she could tell we were getting ready to go, she brought us all coffee and hot chocolate in to go cups for the park. Seriously - great service.

~mm

 

[Minuet888]

I didn't like storytellers for the breakfast we had there because the food for me and mu DH was awful. The french toast was only thing I thought I would like and it was soggy, I literally picked it up out of a puddle of water.....I think it was water. There was also only one sometimes two characters out.

I went to breakfast at Goofy's kitchen and enjoyed it both food, characters, and everything. I didn't eat at Napa Rose so I can't compare that.

I only did the Magic Morning on Sunday so I can't compare it to any other day we were there (I too was there for 6 days). All I know is I was at the gate at 6:30am as people told me to be and NO ONE was there. We did all of Fantasy land and tomorrow land (Nemo included) in that one hour (plus about fifteen minutes). I guess I was just expecting a bigger crowd. The whole time we were there though Saturday through Wednesday the longest line we had to stand in was Toy story mania and even that was only about 25 minutes (even though the sign said 40)

 

[MaiynaMouse]

Funny that we had such opposite experiences at Goofy's and Storytellers.

As for MM.....we got there at 6:30 on Saturday and it was dead....like you said about Sunday. On Saturday, we were able to do all of Fantasyland in about 45 minutes. That included riding the Matterhorn three times in a row. There was no one in line so the CM let us stay on and ride through. On Sunday, we didn't get there until about 6:45 and the lines were pretty long. Longer than they ever got on Saturday. On Sunday, we did all of Fantasyland but it took the full hour. Tuesday was even worse. Regardless, I love MM. It's so nice to feel like you have the park to yourself. We have pictures that have no one in them but us....not a soul in the background.
~mm

 

[Sherry E]

It just goes to show that bad reviews of restaurants/meals by guests have partly to do with it being 'off' days or nights at the restaurant, partly to do with the staff and quality of food that given night, what each person's individual preferences in a meal or character meal are, and largely to do with overall individual perception and interpretation of the experience.

I LOVE Goofy's Kitchen (though I always recommend breakfast over dinner) and I like Storytellers well enough to go back there again (though it does seem that Storytellers' service and food quality have taken a very sudden nosedive in just the last few months according to several people, so I am thinking....new chefs and staff, maybe?). Rainforest Cafe is loved by some; hated by others. Other people love Cafe Orleans, some folks dislike it. Blue Bayou is a big hit with many folks, not so much with other people. Some folks hate Naples. Others of us like it. Sometimes what one person thinks is bad food is GREAT to someone else. I would not eat at Napa Rose because it is just not my kind of dining experience, but I have never heard anyone really give it a bad review. Most folks (guests and critics) love it.

Frankly, if we all made a note of every restaurant that anyone ever had a problem with on the DIS and decided not to eat at those places - none of us would be eating anywhere in Disneyland Resort at all! They would lose all of their dining business. That's the truth! All we can do is read the 'reviews' and opinions, take them into consideration, realize that any number of factors could have gone into those opinions and those experiences, decide where we would like to eat and then ultimately decide for ourselves whether we liked it or if it was worth it. It is all a very personalized thing, I think.

 

[blackjackdelta]

It just goes to show that bad reviews of restaurants/meals by guests have partly to do with it being 'off' days or nights at the restaurant, partly to do with the staff and quality of food that given night, what each person's individual preferences in a meal or character meal are, and largely to do with overall individual perception and interpretation of the experience.

I LOVE Goofy's Kitchen (though I always recommend breakfast over dinner) and I like Storytellers well enough to go back there again (though it does seem that Storytellers' service and food quality have taken a very sudden nosedive in just the last few months according to several people, so I am thinking....new chefs and staff, maybe?). Rainforest Cafe is loved by some; hated by others. Other people love Cafe Orleans, some folks dislike it. Blue Bayou is a big hit with many folks, not so much with other people. Some folks hate Naples. Others of us like it. Sometimes what one person thinks is bad food is GREAT to someone else. I would not eat at Napa Rose because it is just not my kind of dining experience, but I have never heard anyone really give it a bad review. Most folks (guests and critics) love it.

Frankly, if we all made a note of every restaurant that anyone ever had a problem with on the DIS and decided not to eat at those places - none of us would be eating anywhere in Disneyland Resort at all! They would lose all of their dining business. That's the truth! All we can do is read the 'reviews' and opinions, take them into consideration, realize that any number of factors could have gone into those opinions and those experiences, decide where we would like to eat and then ultimately decide for ourselves whether we liked it or if it was worth it. It is all a very personalized thing, I think.

Great summation!

Jack

 

[teatime]

my questions ........ where are the pictures of the meals you ate ? We want food porn !!!!!!!!

 

[Sherry E]

Great summation!

Jack

 

[carolannec]

How was the weather??? Shorts and t-shirts/tank weather?(we live in the mojave desert which has been in the mid 90's for quite some time).

 

[Minuet888]

Weather was cloudy but not too cold in the morning, Tuesday the clouds parted and it got pretty warm, it was a bit cold and raining on Wednesday.

 

[MaiynaMouse]

It was overcast (June Gloom) the whole time we were there. There was consistently a cool breeze but it wasn't ever cold. We wore tanks and shorts most of the time but always had a jacket or sweatshirt with us. Coming from the mojave desert, I would think it would be on the chilly side for you.