Erikarate
married her prince
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2001
- Messages
- 608
Part 1....REVIEWS!!!
I've been wanting to go to WDW for my birthday for some time now as well as for Star Wars weekend. So DH and I drove with DD 8, and DS 6, leaving Wed. afternoon, staying the night in NC and arriving at Wilderness Lodge at 2:45pm Thursday May 22.
DH surprised us by upgrading us to concierge, because he and I enjoyed it so much at AKL for our anninversary in Feb. Unfortunately WL concierge didn't come close to that experience...but I will review later on.
NOW ON TO THE FOOD...
I will use my standard rating scale:
10- everything perfect...food, service, atmosphere (very rare)
9- excellent, almost perfect
7-8- very good, overall great experience
5-6- mediocre, might not return
3-4- bad, not returning
1-2- should close this place down!!!
Thurs. May 22
Dinner, Whispering Canyon Cafe
This has always been a favorite of ours. Decent hearty food and fun atmosphere. We had a 5:15 PS and the antics didn't really get going until near the end of our meal. Our server was very nice, but more low key than we like (the kids like the silliness such as the waitress next to us who made funny hats out of her customers napkins!!!).
DH and I ordered the all-you-can-eat skillet. It had pulled pork, sausage, beef stew, roasted chicken, ribs, cole slaw, beans and corn, salad and biscuits!!! My favorite was the pork and chicken. The pork was tender and smokey, and the chicken had a nice crispy skin but juicy in the middle. Refills on items arrived timely and in ample portion (which I think is important for an all-you-can-eat). The salas was also quite yummy (DH and I LOVE salad).
The kids both had chicken tenders (big surprise)...no need to explain that!!
Our server offered me a free dessert for my birthday, after he had the whole restaurant sing to me (thank my DD for that who told the hostess!!!)...but I passed it to my friendly neighbor, because we were holding out for concierge goodies...
Overall rating, 8 (good food and fun)
5/22, WL Concierge, dessert and cordials
One of my disappointments of WL concierge (comparing it to AKL) was the lounge itself. It was explained to me by a CM that when they built AKL it was with concierge in mind, so the lounge was custom made for this purpose (it is a large area with sofas and a TV and looks more permanent than WL). At WL the lounge was more of an afterthought, and it looks that way...a narrow area for the food and refreshments, with tables around the corner (rather than set up near the buffet).
In addition the food was less varied than AKL. For example in the evnening at WL we had usually one hot item and a soup where as at AKL there were several hot items as well as several cold items in addition to the standard cheese and cracker and PBJ. I also noticed that the staff was less likely at WL to keep the serving dishes full...i.e. dessert was until 10pm and when I arrived one night at 9:30pm there was a berry cobbler from AP that had been mutilated by previous guests (scraped of berries, and only a small amount of cobbler left). I waited thinking they would come to refill, but they did not (in retrospect I should have said something, but I shouldn't HAVE to). The cookie trays were also near empty. There is a coffee station at WL but I missed the GORGEOUS espresso machine at AKL...
That night there was spring rolls and split pea soup. I tried one spring roll (too full from dinner) and it was good. There were also marinated veggies with blue cheese and cheese plate and PBJs. There was also a selection of wines, but I didn't have any.
Anyway...we did have cobbler that night (this time we got there early so it was full!) which was good. They also had fudge brownies, coconut chocolate chip bars, sugar and chocolate chip cookies. Also a variety of after dinner drinks...I tried the Godiva, yum.
Overall rating, 7 (for whole trip...will review more later) Would not do WL concierge again however...not worth the extra money...
Next to come...
More WL Concierge, Brown Derby, Beaches and Cream...
I've been wanting to go to WDW for my birthday for some time now as well as for Star Wars weekend. So DH and I drove with DD 8, and DS 6, leaving Wed. afternoon, staying the night in NC and arriving at Wilderness Lodge at 2:45pm Thursday May 22.
DH surprised us by upgrading us to concierge, because he and I enjoyed it so much at AKL for our anninversary in Feb. Unfortunately WL concierge didn't come close to that experience...but I will review later on.
NOW ON TO THE FOOD...
I will use my standard rating scale:
10- everything perfect...food, service, atmosphere (very rare)
9- excellent, almost perfect
7-8- very good, overall great experience
5-6- mediocre, might not return
3-4- bad, not returning
1-2- should close this place down!!!
Thurs. May 22
Dinner, Whispering Canyon Cafe
This has always been a favorite of ours. Decent hearty food and fun atmosphere. We had a 5:15 PS and the antics didn't really get going until near the end of our meal. Our server was very nice, but more low key than we like (the kids like the silliness such as the waitress next to us who made funny hats out of her customers napkins!!!).
DH and I ordered the all-you-can-eat skillet. It had pulled pork, sausage, beef stew, roasted chicken, ribs, cole slaw, beans and corn, salad and biscuits!!! My favorite was the pork and chicken. The pork was tender and smokey, and the chicken had a nice crispy skin but juicy in the middle. Refills on items arrived timely and in ample portion (which I think is important for an all-you-can-eat). The salas was also quite yummy (DH and I LOVE salad).
The kids both had chicken tenders (big surprise)...no need to explain that!!
Our server offered me a free dessert for my birthday, after he had the whole restaurant sing to me (thank my DD for that who told the hostess!!!)...but I passed it to my friendly neighbor, because we were holding out for concierge goodies...
Overall rating, 8 (good food and fun)
5/22, WL Concierge, dessert and cordials
One of my disappointments of WL concierge (comparing it to AKL) was the lounge itself. It was explained to me by a CM that when they built AKL it was with concierge in mind, so the lounge was custom made for this purpose (it is a large area with sofas and a TV and looks more permanent than WL). At WL the lounge was more of an afterthought, and it looks that way...a narrow area for the food and refreshments, with tables around the corner (rather than set up near the buffet).
In addition the food was less varied than AKL. For example in the evnening at WL we had usually one hot item and a soup where as at AKL there were several hot items as well as several cold items in addition to the standard cheese and cracker and PBJ. I also noticed that the staff was less likely at WL to keep the serving dishes full...i.e. dessert was until 10pm and when I arrived one night at 9:30pm there was a berry cobbler from AP that had been mutilated by previous guests (scraped of berries, and only a small amount of cobbler left). I waited thinking they would come to refill, but they did not (in retrospect I should have said something, but I shouldn't HAVE to). The cookie trays were also near empty. There is a coffee station at WL but I missed the GORGEOUS espresso machine at AKL...
That night there was spring rolls and split pea soup. I tried one spring roll (too full from dinner) and it was good. There were also marinated veggies with blue cheese and cheese plate and PBJs. There was also a selection of wines, but I didn't have any.
Anyway...we did have cobbler that night (this time we got there early so it was full!) which was good. They also had fudge brownies, coconut chocolate chip bars, sugar and chocolate chip cookies. Also a variety of after dinner drinks...I tried the Godiva, yum.
Overall rating, 7 (for whole trip...will review more later) Would not do WL concierge again however...not worth the extra money...
Next to come...
More WL Concierge, Brown Derby, Beaches and Cream...
