WillJenDisney
Addicts
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2006
- Messages
- 166
I just got back home today...as in a few hours ago, so this is officially the most depressing part of normal life, the acceptance of heading back into it from the World!
Let me start this by saying, Disney World is in fact still the greatest place on earth. There will be some complaining below, but none of that should be read to mean I don't think Disney World is and will always be my favorite place in the world.
Here are some things I will review that we experienced: A grand villa at the Boardwalk resort. A 2 bedroom and a studio at the Animal Kingdom Villas. The current status of the parks, and a host of great restaurants.
For some quick-hit thoughts, scroll down, for more detail, read from here:
RESORTS:
Ok, let's start with the grand villa and some complaining to get that out of the way... First, let me say BWV is our home resort, we've stayed there numerous times and absolutely love it, so I had huge expectations for this grand villa coming in. We've always stayed in a 2 bedroom and an extra studio if extended family came, but this time we splurged and went grand villa. When we first walked in, we were blown away. The space is huge, and it was awesome to have. After a day or 2, the reality of it set in. This place costs approximately 800 points a week, or a couple grand a night if you paid retail for it. At those rates, it should be more than just square footage. Yet that is all it was. (please trust me that I understand I'm complaining about having stayed in a grand villa...I know...I spent a lot of time soul searching if I was just being a snob, but I really don't think I am). It was the simple details that made it so disappointing. There werent two pieces of furniture that matched. The kitchen table was a light oak, with light oak chairs and an upholstered seat, the entertainment center was a darker stained oak, the table in the foyer as you enter was a painted wood, the love seat was a white wicker with cushions, the two chairs across from it a different wicker, the couch had very old and worn cushions on it that looked kind of gross, and there was a desk table that was a dark almost cherry wood. Literally not 2 pieces of the furniture belonged in the same room together, yet there they all were. How is it even possible that they don't have an interior decorator when setting this up that says, "hey, maybe we shouldn't have 2 different oaks, a cherry, 2 painted pieces, wicker, and faded and stained cushions." Again, for the cost they put these rooms out at, it just wouldn't be difficult to put together a cohesive room, yet it looked like a room someone would piece together from various yard sales (and was worn out as though that were the case as well). Now the room is said to sleep 12, yet the largest of the balconies contained 4 chairs. Again, that just strikes me as silly. Spend 30 extra dollars and put an appropriate number of chairs on the large balcony for the number of people clearly staying there. Another oddity was that there was a table against a wall with a lamp by itself, no chairs around, but then on the other side of the room, between the couch and chair, there was no table and no lamp...so the place with the lighting to read had no seats, but the place with the seats had no lighting...who set this up, it's such common sense??? The baseboards were dirty, the couch cushions were gross, and finally, in the first bedroom as you go back the hall, there was just emptiness next to the TV/dresser on both sides. No table, no chairs, nothing...just empty space for 4-5 feet on both sides. Once again, I know I'm picking, but there isn't a place on earth you wouldn't expect ten times this for what you're spending. The vacation club really needs to step up on what they're offering for these places. For what you pay, you should be getting more than just square footage. In the future, we'll still be at Boardwalk most of the time, but will go back to our two bedrooms we've always loved and be plenty happy.
On final aside, do they have to blow the horns on the boats at 2 AM? Honestly?
Now, let's move on to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and Kidani Village. Freaking awesome. Loved this place. We were in a 2 bedroom and a studio, and the details were night and day from our grand villa stay. Those empty spaces I referenced above next to the TV in the bedroom? At AKV, there was an armoire on one side, and a table and 2 chairs on the other. The countertops were granite, the floor had tile, the stove was solid surface, the refrigerator was normal-sized, and there were three (3!!) full bathrooms for the 2 bedroom villa. It was just incredible and we absolutely loved it. We're still BWVers for life, but this place is a close 2nd (and if you could walk to 2 parks, would be first!). The water area were fantastic too, and now that we'll have a child the next time we come, this may draw us in for a partial visit.
FOOD:
It's going to take me a month to get my stomach back to a normal size. We ate like pigs, and loved every minute. I'll go one at a time, but just quickly:
La Hacienda de San Angel: Still really liked the food a lot, but not getting a good viewing location from our table for Illuminations hampered our enjoyment compared with last time. So note to future diners, get a reservations for 8 o'clock on and tell them you'll wait until you can be seated in the main room with the full view of the water. It'll be worth waiting a few extra minutes, watching Illuminations from there is perfect.
Grand Floridian Cafe: We had lunch and dinner there. I liked it more for lunch. Had the Grand Floridian Burger, pretty great. Other family members had various other things, they all enjoyed there's as well. Would definitely go back for lunch, not so much for dinner.
Le Cellier: Love it. Just love it so much. Love the beer cheese soup, love the bread, love the steak and the white truffle risotto. May be my favorite restaurant in the park.
Il Mulino: Love it, but so much food. In the future, we're going to eat here and plan nothing for lunch the next day, knowing we'll have brought home enough food from dinner the night before. They have a great menu and great food though, it stays on our annual list.
Marrakesh: Eh. Probably won't go again.
Brown Derby: Fantastic, especially with the Fantasmic package! At $55/person with the dinner package, it made getting a 3 course meal where the entree alone was $41 a deal. The seating for Fantasmic was great, and we only got there 25 minutes before the show. I've tried to get seating an hour before the show without the package and didn't get seating anywhere near this good. The lobster spring rolls and cobb salad were great apps and the filet was awesome.
Yak and Yeti: Maybe my 2nd favorite restaurant. We eat at a bunch of the higher end places on site, but I love Yak and Yeti. I had the fried green beans with the chili sauce, and the crispy mahi-mahi, finished with a new york cheesecake....just wow. Will never miss going here.
Jiko: Very good. I enjoyed getting to have some different foods from our nightly filet-esque meals, and I really liked this. While not an annual spot as we don't stay at AKL all the time, it's definitely a place I'd go again.
Narcoosee's: I loved it, other members of the family not so much. They had a black bean and lobster corn soup that was great. The olives shouldn't outnumber the calamari in that appetizer though. Steak and truffle risotto was great, but the tuna dish needs to specify that it is VERY spicy. There's not a word in the description of it having any spice, but you have to really enjoy hot foods to even consider eating it. This led to disappointment from several family members.
A final note on food. Is it too much to ask that more of these places just serve a normal new york style cheesecake? We used to get these all the time, now it's like they look down their nose at those. They all want to give you almond crusted, amaretto flavored, lemon-domed, gastrique, compote, blah blah blah. Just give us a huge chunk of NY cheesecake and get over yourselves. Yak and Yeti was the only one that really came through for us there.
MISC:
A thank you to all the gentlemen who gave up their seats on buses to my very pregnant wife. While at times it was disappointing to see men who didn't, there was always someone who stepped up and gave up their seat for her. It's good to see that there are still real men out there (and many of these were young men, so even better to see it's not dying).
I like the floats for MSEP more than spectromagic, but that music is unbearable. Why can't they just have a piece of music from the float that is presently going by be what you hear...if they did that, its an A+++. (oh, and what are the indians w/ the cigars behind them on the Pinocchio float? Do I need to watch Pinocchio again?)
Can't wait for the new Fantasyland. Disappointed its all boarded up, but still pumped for what I think is going to be great!
Big Thunder Mountain, Liberty Riverboat, Test Track, It's Tough to be a Bug all down while we were there..boooooooo.
The updated Star Wars ride: AWESOME!!!! Rode it a good 7 times. They did a great job with this.
EPCOT hasn't added anything big since Soarin. Gotta think it's next after Fantasyland.
Main Street: While I'm tired of the scrims the past couple years, the work thats done is wonderful, and I'm sure once they're complete, this is going to make it that much better for the next 30 years.
Well that's I can think of for now, I'll post more or reply if I think of anything.
I'll once again add that despite any complaining Ive done above, it was one of the best times of my life, I can't wait to share it with our first child in a couple years (he's due July 17!), and I can't wait already to do it again. Thank you Walt for giving us such a place to share with our families, it is truly a blessing.
Let me start this by saying, Disney World is in fact still the greatest place on earth. There will be some complaining below, but none of that should be read to mean I don't think Disney World is and will always be my favorite place in the world.
Here are some things I will review that we experienced: A grand villa at the Boardwalk resort. A 2 bedroom and a studio at the Animal Kingdom Villas. The current status of the parks, and a host of great restaurants.
For some quick-hit thoughts, scroll down, for more detail, read from here:
RESORTS:
Ok, let's start with the grand villa and some complaining to get that out of the way... First, let me say BWV is our home resort, we've stayed there numerous times and absolutely love it, so I had huge expectations for this grand villa coming in. We've always stayed in a 2 bedroom and an extra studio if extended family came, but this time we splurged and went grand villa. When we first walked in, we were blown away. The space is huge, and it was awesome to have. After a day or 2, the reality of it set in. This place costs approximately 800 points a week, or a couple grand a night if you paid retail for it. At those rates, it should be more than just square footage. Yet that is all it was. (please trust me that I understand I'm complaining about having stayed in a grand villa...I know...I spent a lot of time soul searching if I was just being a snob, but I really don't think I am). It was the simple details that made it so disappointing. There werent two pieces of furniture that matched. The kitchen table was a light oak, with light oak chairs and an upholstered seat, the entertainment center was a darker stained oak, the table in the foyer as you enter was a painted wood, the love seat was a white wicker with cushions, the two chairs across from it a different wicker, the couch had very old and worn cushions on it that looked kind of gross, and there was a desk table that was a dark almost cherry wood. Literally not 2 pieces of the furniture belonged in the same room together, yet there they all were. How is it even possible that they don't have an interior decorator when setting this up that says, "hey, maybe we shouldn't have 2 different oaks, a cherry, 2 painted pieces, wicker, and faded and stained cushions." Again, for the cost they put these rooms out at, it just wouldn't be difficult to put together a cohesive room, yet it looked like a room someone would piece together from various yard sales (and was worn out as though that were the case as well). Now the room is said to sleep 12, yet the largest of the balconies contained 4 chairs. Again, that just strikes me as silly. Spend 30 extra dollars and put an appropriate number of chairs on the large balcony for the number of people clearly staying there. Another oddity was that there was a table against a wall with a lamp by itself, no chairs around, but then on the other side of the room, between the couch and chair, there was no table and no lamp...so the place with the lighting to read had no seats, but the place with the seats had no lighting...who set this up, it's such common sense??? The baseboards were dirty, the couch cushions were gross, and finally, in the first bedroom as you go back the hall, there was just emptiness next to the TV/dresser on both sides. No table, no chairs, nothing...just empty space for 4-5 feet on both sides. Once again, I know I'm picking, but there isn't a place on earth you wouldn't expect ten times this for what you're spending. The vacation club really needs to step up on what they're offering for these places. For what you pay, you should be getting more than just square footage. In the future, we'll still be at Boardwalk most of the time, but will go back to our two bedrooms we've always loved and be plenty happy.
On final aside, do they have to blow the horns on the boats at 2 AM? Honestly?
Now, let's move on to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and Kidani Village. Freaking awesome. Loved this place. We were in a 2 bedroom and a studio, and the details were night and day from our grand villa stay. Those empty spaces I referenced above next to the TV in the bedroom? At AKV, there was an armoire on one side, and a table and 2 chairs on the other. The countertops were granite, the floor had tile, the stove was solid surface, the refrigerator was normal-sized, and there were three (3!!) full bathrooms for the 2 bedroom villa. It was just incredible and we absolutely loved it. We're still BWVers for life, but this place is a close 2nd (and if you could walk to 2 parks, would be first!). The water area were fantastic too, and now that we'll have a child the next time we come, this may draw us in for a partial visit.
FOOD:
It's going to take me a month to get my stomach back to a normal size. We ate like pigs, and loved every minute. I'll go one at a time, but just quickly:
La Hacienda de San Angel: Still really liked the food a lot, but not getting a good viewing location from our table for Illuminations hampered our enjoyment compared with last time. So note to future diners, get a reservations for 8 o'clock on and tell them you'll wait until you can be seated in the main room with the full view of the water. It'll be worth waiting a few extra minutes, watching Illuminations from there is perfect.
Grand Floridian Cafe: We had lunch and dinner there. I liked it more for lunch. Had the Grand Floridian Burger, pretty great. Other family members had various other things, they all enjoyed there's as well. Would definitely go back for lunch, not so much for dinner.
Le Cellier: Love it. Just love it so much. Love the beer cheese soup, love the bread, love the steak and the white truffle risotto. May be my favorite restaurant in the park.
Il Mulino: Love it, but so much food. In the future, we're going to eat here and plan nothing for lunch the next day, knowing we'll have brought home enough food from dinner the night before. They have a great menu and great food though, it stays on our annual list.
Marrakesh: Eh. Probably won't go again.
Brown Derby: Fantastic, especially with the Fantasmic package! At $55/person with the dinner package, it made getting a 3 course meal where the entree alone was $41 a deal. The seating for Fantasmic was great, and we only got there 25 minutes before the show. I've tried to get seating an hour before the show without the package and didn't get seating anywhere near this good. The lobster spring rolls and cobb salad were great apps and the filet was awesome.
Yak and Yeti: Maybe my 2nd favorite restaurant. We eat at a bunch of the higher end places on site, but I love Yak and Yeti. I had the fried green beans with the chili sauce, and the crispy mahi-mahi, finished with a new york cheesecake....just wow. Will never miss going here.
Jiko: Very good. I enjoyed getting to have some different foods from our nightly filet-esque meals, and I really liked this. While not an annual spot as we don't stay at AKL all the time, it's definitely a place I'd go again.
Narcoosee's: I loved it, other members of the family not so much. They had a black bean and lobster corn soup that was great. The olives shouldn't outnumber the calamari in that appetizer though. Steak and truffle risotto was great, but the tuna dish needs to specify that it is VERY spicy. There's not a word in the description of it having any spice, but you have to really enjoy hot foods to even consider eating it. This led to disappointment from several family members.
A final note on food. Is it too much to ask that more of these places just serve a normal new york style cheesecake? We used to get these all the time, now it's like they look down their nose at those. They all want to give you almond crusted, amaretto flavored, lemon-domed, gastrique, compote, blah blah blah. Just give us a huge chunk of NY cheesecake and get over yourselves. Yak and Yeti was the only one that really came through for us there.
MISC:
A thank you to all the gentlemen who gave up their seats on buses to my very pregnant wife. While at times it was disappointing to see men who didn't, there was always someone who stepped up and gave up their seat for her. It's good to see that there are still real men out there (and many of these were young men, so even better to see it's not dying).
I like the floats for MSEP more than spectromagic, but that music is unbearable. Why can't they just have a piece of music from the float that is presently going by be what you hear...if they did that, its an A+++. (oh, and what are the indians w/ the cigars behind them on the Pinocchio float? Do I need to watch Pinocchio again?)
Can't wait for the new Fantasyland. Disappointed its all boarded up, but still pumped for what I think is going to be great!
Big Thunder Mountain, Liberty Riverboat, Test Track, It's Tough to be a Bug all down while we were there..boooooooo.
The updated Star Wars ride: AWESOME!!!! Rode it a good 7 times. They did a great job with this.
EPCOT hasn't added anything big since Soarin. Gotta think it's next after Fantasyland.
Main Street: While I'm tired of the scrims the past couple years, the work thats done is wonderful, and I'm sure once they're complete, this is going to make it that much better for the next 30 years.
Well that's I can think of for now, I'll post more or reply if I think of anything.
I'll once again add that despite any complaining Ive done above, it was one of the best times of my life, I can't wait to share it with our first child in a couple years (he's due July 17!), and I can't wait already to do it again. Thank you Walt for giving us such a place to share with our families, it is truly a blessing.
