Rhode Island Folks

[Goofy442]

Can't wait to hear all about the rest of your trip. We love AKV, it is so beautiful some might say it is to dark but we think that it represents Africa's culture so well you might think you are really there.

 

[JasonDVC]

I wrote a short dining report on the Restaurant boards. Here it is...

Here is my quick recap of the Dining Establishments we visited with rating system of 1-5 with 5 being the highest score

Cinderella's Royal Table - Lunch - Cast Members were excellent. Very friendly, right on time with re-fills. Everyone enjoyed their meals. I had the Pulled beef over mashed potaoes. It was very good. I especially enjoyed the appetizer dish with the grapes and bologna (I believe) wrapped around antipasto. It was delicious! I had the rice pudding for dessert and it tasted waaaayy better than it looked. The Princesses were on a schedule and rotation. As long as you took your time dining you were able to see each Princess be introduced and stop by the table. I would give this meal 4 out of 5. It was expensive!

Wolfgang Puck Express - Lunch - Great Value! We had the Margherita Pizza and the Veggie Pizza. The MP was good but the VP was outstanding. I loved that they serve you at a table. We sat outside which was great. Dessert was allright. We had the twist yogurt 4 out of 5

Mara - Dinner - The food was acceptable but not near great. At first I found the menu board confusing as the first board on the left shows you pictures of the food but doesn't tell you what it is. There was also some confusion as to what comes wth your order if you are on the dining plan. I had the Mara salad and thought it was boring and plain. Then I had the Bacon Double Cheeseburger. It was good but huge. I couldn't fininsh it. The Zebra Domes took some getting used to but in the end I would say they are worth it. They are going to have to add another CS in the AKL/V area as this option may not be up to snuff for some 3 out of 5

Tusker House - Breakfast - Excellent! Food was fresh, hot and delicious. Servers were terrific, the atmosphere and attention to detail in the building was amazing. It can get loud when Mickey leads the kids in a parade but it is fun! I liked the Jungle Juice. It does not have an after taste and I found it very refreshing 5 out of 5

Boma - Breakfast - How is this not the best breakfast on property??? The made to order omelets were outstanding. The variety of different African items was good and while I did not like the taste of all of them I did try them and am glad that I did. Servers were perfect as was the ambiance. Everyone should try this breakfast at least once 6 out of 5 because it was that good!

Flame Tree BBQ - Lunch - Awful!! The only decent thing I can say is that the chocolate pudding was tasty. I tried this place based on some reviews on the boards. What a mistake! The ribs were all fatty, not tasty, the beans looked like they had been sitting there waiting for me since arrival day. The CM taking my order spoke in a short manner which came across as rude. I tried sitting by the water and posters were right, birds were everywhere and some knuckle head came right along side my table and was throwing food at a bird that was behind me. I jumped up threw the rest of my so-called food out and left post haste! 1 out of 5 For the pudding

1900 Park Fare - Dinner - The food wasn't bad but it wasn't knock your socks off good. Cinderella's step-sisters and Lady Tremaine were better than advertised. Visiting and dining in the Grand Floridian is a treat in itself. : 4 out of 5 Food was just a notch down

Earl of Sandwich - Lunch - This place was Super Busy!! But the line went by really fast. I thought they really did a great job of moving the people and getting the orders out quickly. I thought we would be there forever based on how many people were in line but it by very quickly. I had the Hawai'ian BBQ sandwich and thought it was delicious. It had chicken, BBQ sauce and pineapple. The Chocolate pudding was OK. One quick reminder, if you order soup, make sure you tell that to the person giving you your food. It happened to me and the person in front of me that they gave us our food and we had to tell her that we had ordered soup. 4 out of 5

Maybe it wasn't so quick but just wanted to jot down some thoughts of our experiences. I'd be happy to answer any questions!

 

[Cheryl726]

Jason, love your thoughts on AKL, it's nice to hear the relaxing side of Disney. We had a somewhat relaxing trip last year too.

Cheryl

 

[Goofy442]

Thanks for the information on the restaurants. Some of them we were going to try in August, but will be rethinking this.

 

[RLRDA]

Thanks for the information on the restaurants. Some of them we were going to try in August, but will be rethinking this.

You mentioned you're going in August - us, too! Any other RI DVCers going in August?? This will be our 3rd August trip to WDW (plus another year we did a SW/Universal trip - so 4th overall). Late August seems to be the easiest time of year right now for our family. It is nice to look forward to a vacation right before the kids head back to school .

 

[peanmunch]

You mentioned you're going in August - us, too! Any other RI DVCers going in August?? This will be our 3rd August trip to WDW (plus another year we did a SW/Universal trip - so 4th overall). Late August seems to be the easiest time of year right now for our family. It is nice to look forward to a vacation right before the kids head back to school .

Compared to the westher at home how is it there in august? We have been taking the kids out of school in may since 2005 but after enxt year my oldest will be in middle school and it may be time to rethink our trips

Lori (Home sick and thinking about what i was doing last week at this time...or better yet two weeks ago today when we were in MK for the first day of our trip!)

 

[RLRDA]

Compared to the westher at home how is it there in august? We have been taking the kids out of school in may since 2005 but after enxt year my oldest will be in middle school and it may be time to rethink our trips

Lori (Home sick and thinking about what i was doing last week at this time...or better yet two weeks ago today when we were in MK for the first day of our trip!)

I think the weather in RI can be pretty unbearable in August at times - hot, humid, etc. The weather in Orlando is that hot, humid, sticky weather but it is more or less guaranteed every day. I'd rather be hot at WDW than hot in RI! Plus we take pool breaks in the middle of the day and spend a day at one of the water parks.

It's not for everyone and I've seen the threads were people say they've never travel to WDW in the summer. However....June, July and the beginning of August are much more crowded than the last 2 weeks of August. By then, many of the schools in FL and the South are back in session so the crowds drop down somewhat.

It is so much easier (now that our boys are older) not to worry about pulling them out of school. When they were younger it was great to go in October or May.

 

[twinklebug]

I think the weather in RI can be pretty unbearable in August at times - hot, humid, etc. The weather in Orlando is that hot, humid, sticky weather but it is more or less guaranteed every day. I'd rather be hot at WDW than hot in RI! Plus we take pool breaks in the middle of the day and spend a day at one of the water parks.

It's not for everyone and I've seen the threads were people say they've never travel to WDW in the summer. However....June, July and the beginning of August are much more crowded than the last 2 weeks of August. By then, many of the schools in FL and the South are back in session so the crowded drop down somewhat.

I've been to Disney many times in the summer and you're absolutely right - other than the afternoon downpours Florida experiences, there's not much of a difference between August in FL and RI/MA weather (I watch and compare the weather online daily). In fact I like the rain... it sends people running back to their resorts and the air cools down.

I love Disney in August!

 

[gojoe]

We love the last week of August. Due to my wife school schedule we now take the 2nd week in July. No difference, hot, humid and an afternoon rainstorm. Only once we had to leave Blizzard Beach. Other times we where in for lunch when it hit and the parks were empty when we came out. I agree RI on a hot day is Florida on a hot day.

 

[chepic]

We have also gone a few times in the last week in August. The crowds are less, it rains like the dickens every afternoon, and it is hot. If you are into that type of weather it is worth it for the low times to wait in line.

Personally I believe that any time is a good Disney time.

che

 

[Goofy442]

You mentioned you're going in August - us, too! Any other RI DVCers going in August?? This will be our 3rd August trip to WDW (plus another year we did a SW/Universal trip - so 4th overall). Late August seems to be the easiest time of year right now for our family. It is nice to look forward to a vacation right before the kids head back to school .

We have taken three trips in August. It started with us bringing down our son in August for the Disney College program. Not to many people there however at our resort ASM there was so many people . I couldn't take it and that's when we bought DVC. I didn't know that they run the FD during August and alot of people go for the free dining.

 

[Goofy442]

Bump

 

[RLRDA]

Hey.....I just noticed on my ticker that we are within the 3 month mark until our trip ! Time seems to be flying by (can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing )

 

[Cheryl726]

It's 10 days from today for us! It couldn't have come at a better time--we had to put down our dog yesterday of 15 years, a Cairn Terrier named Ziggy and a huge part of our family.

Cheryl

 

[Goofy442]

Cheryl, sorry to hear about ziggy. How are the boys doing?

 

[RLRDA]

Leaving in a few hours to head to Philly for the weekend! Going to catch the Sox game tomorrow night .

 

[Goofy442]

Have a great time and hopefully they will WIN.

 

[peanmunch]

It's 10 days from today for us! It couldn't have come at a better time--we had to put down our dog yesterday of 15 years, a Cairn Terrier named Ziggy and a huge part of our family.

Cheryl

I am so sorry about your fur baby! i just saw this...I'm sorry I didn't reply sooner! You must be excited for your trip!!!! I'm TRYING to talk dh into a really short november trip for food and wine (DVC and annual passes are dangerous...lol!) HAVE A MAGICAL TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lori

 

[peanmunch]

Leaving in a few hours to head to Philly for the weekend! Going to catch the Sox game tomorrow night .

Have a GREAT TIME!!!

Lori

 

[Cheryl726]

Thanks Lori! The boys and I are really excited, I'm trying to figure out our days. I think we're definitely doing Hollywood Studios on Saturday, Nathan's excited about Star Wars weekend, then Magic Kingdom and Epcot Sun and Mon, not sure which day is which yet, we'll figure that out when we're there! I'm a little worried about the heat, but I'm planning on mid-day breaks.

This trip was a quick, last-minute one, good luck on a November trip!

Cheryl