I don't even know where to start with this. I guess the easiest way to start would be to pick up with me leaving the Grand Floridian, and taking the boat over to the Magic Kingdom. Which is when two things happened, 1) the boat driver announced that the Magic Kingdom would be open until 10:00, even though the times guide and everything else said 9:00, so an extra hour in the park, which really helped since it allowed me to fit in the rest of my must-dos, and let me spend my last day at Epcot, which I totally lucked out with getting into Sweet Sundays from. But now I am getting way ahead of myself.
I have four things that I am going to be reviewing in this review, the service, the food, the view, and the other guests. I know the way other guests act is not Disney's fault, but I encountered more rude people this evening then I did during the rest of the trip combined, that it really put a damper on the evening.
I checked in for the dessert party at 7:30, which was a half hour before it started. It seemed like they were taking a few walkups, but for the most part it was sold out. I was walked to my table by a CM, who was very plesant, and I ended up with a great table, right in the front, and right next to the beverages.
I have to say the service here was very good, everyone was very nice, and they were only outdone by the servers at Party for the Senses later in the week. So there were no problems with the service, that part was lovely.
The view was wonderful. I had a direct view of Cinderella Castle from my table, and could even see Spectro. No, it wasn't a perfect view of the parade, but it was decent, and I could see most of it. And Tinker Bell does fly directly over your head.
The other guests, well, they leave something to be determined. I really hate people who have entitled attitudes, or who just have no respect for other guests.
First of all, a party seated near me had a small child. I get that this is Disney, and there are children everywhere. And I like kids, I really do, but when they are climbing all over the chairs at my table, parents really need to control a little better.
Also, a lady up at the buffet was complaining that the plates were too small. It's a buffet, who cares how big the plates are, you can come up for seconds.
There was also people putting their dirty dishes on my table, since they didn't have room on their table for them. How, I wonder did they manage to fit their plates on the table when there was food on them I wonder, if they couldn't possibly fit after they had finished eating. Let alone the fact that I really don't like looking at other's plates of scraps of uneaten food while I'm trying to eat.
The rudest guests however, were two that took over my table completely. I had finished eating, and had gone to stand at the balcony for a minute. I just can't sit still for that long, and I wanted to get a couple pictures of the castle anyway. While I was up, and mind you I was probably only about ten feet away from my table, which had a little "reserved for disneyfav4ever's party" slip taped to it. A couple came up, ripped off the slip, and decided to sit there.
When I went back over to the table, and luckily I had grabbed my bag when I went up to the balcony, since I had my back to the table, they said this was their table, and they were here first. Um, no, it's my table. I don't want to sound greedy or selfish, but it was my table. Luckily a CM came over before anything else happened, and told the people that this was a reserved spot for party guests and they had to leave. So they had just snuck into the area, and had hoped not to get caught. Yup, definatly not their table.
The buffet was kind of unorganized. There were plates on both ends, and people would go down the buffet both ways, so there was no clear line.
Some buffets pictures for you;
Anyway, the food, for the most part, was fine. I can't complain about it, but I'm not raving about it either. It was all just really eh, except for a couple of items that I really did enjoy, though nothing earned the critic's rating.
On my first plate I had a raspberry tart, fruit tart, chocolate-peanut butter tart, a mango shooter, chocolate mousse, and a chocolate-covered strawberry.
The raspberry tart and mango shooter were both too tart, but not horrible, so both get an Emile.
The chocolate mousse and the chocolate-peanut butter tart were both good, but not great. They get an,
The chocolate covered strawberry was one of the best things of the evening, not because it was incredibly innovative, but because it was one of the best tasting, and the fruit was nice and cool and refreshing, so it gets an;
On this plate I had tiramisu, cheesecake, a banana cream pie tart, pistachio creme brulee, and a doughnut. Luckily the food on this plate was slightly better then the food on my first plate.
The banana cream pie was all right, the filling was kind of runny, and the pastry was yucky, but it was edible, so it gets an Emile.
The cheesecake and doughnut were fine, no complaints, but not at all memorable, but they rank it at a
The pistachio creme brulee and the tiramisu were both quite good, and if I had to pick a favorite of the evening, the winner would be the creme brulee, but both get an
I also had a couple glass fulls of the blackberry iced tea which was very tasty and refreshing.