MammaMoe48
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2015
- Messages
- 581
Been back a few months but only now have been able to sit down and gather my thoughts about my very first trip to “The World”.
First let me say that I’ve come to learn that when reading posts on here that express an opinion on something, it must be taken with a grain of salt. When I first started reading posts on here I was this close (*thumb and forefinger 1 mm apart*) to cancelling my trip because of all the stuff I read about the “magic” being gone but then I took a break from the boards and spent some time on the WDW website and talking to friends of mine who are “lifers” and go every year, which made me feel better. So for those first timers coming here, please know that much of what you will read on the boards will just be opinions so don’t get too worried. And if you keep your expectations realistic, there is still a lot of magic in the Kingdom!
Now that that’s out of the way, I will be giving some of my opinions and I will try to be fair in my evaluations…and away we go:
First, download the APP, it is so convenient for setting up/changing ADRs and FPs on the fly and up to the minute info on ride shut downs and times for shows and fireworks.
Secondly, I know for many people this may be the only time you may ever get to go to WDW so you may want to cram as much as you can into your days but it is unrealistic to expect to do and see everything in one trip. You must prioritize what’s a must do and what you are ok with not doing (for example, the Jedi Training at DHS was the one thing that DS absolutely had to do so we made sure that he got to do it. He wasn’t at all interested in the Princesses so we pretty much skipped all of Fantasyland. I would have liked to spend some time there but the trip really was for him so we’ll see about doing that next time) and be flexible or you will not enjoy yourself. Spend at least one day just hanging by the pool or relaxing away from the parks and allow for a break midday on park days if you can.
Our trip was 8/16 – 8/24 and I don’t know if it was because of the Olympics or if it’s like this all the time in late summer but we had virtually no crowds at all for most of our visit. It was very, very, very hot and super, super, super humid but I would go in mid to late August again in a heartbeat if it means the crows will always be that low. We pretty much walked right onto all the rides and if we did have to wait, it was rarely more than 10-15 minutes.
Since we are DVC and did online check in, we didn’t have too many opportunities to interact with the hotel staff but the few times we did, they were all very nice, polite and helpful. We had a 1 BR villa at the Boardwalk which was very nice but again because we are DVC we didn’t get daily housekeeping so things were a little dusty (they had cleaning supplies and a broom and vacuum in the closet but I don’t dust at home so I’m not gonna do it on vacation), I was ok with that though. The water pressure sucks but what hotel doesn’t have sucky water pressure? We did get our room about an hour early so we used our magic bands and went right on in. We took DME so our bags arrived about three hours later, so if you are planning to change for dinner make sure that you bring a change of clothes in your carry on. Or better yet, don’t make a reservation at one of the nicer restaurants on arrival night if you are worried that you won’t get your bags in time.
On to the TS restaurants we ate in (my opinions on cost is based on the fact that it’s Disney and you just have to expect to pay more than in your home town – though being from NYC some of the prices were actually lower than what I’m used to paying):
Captain’s Grille (YC) – Dinner – “Moderate” priced. The food was good but I wouldn’t say it was memorable. I know I had the short ribs and liked them but I couldn’t tell you what DS and DH ate, but they both seemed to enjoy their meal. What did stand out were the mashed potatoes! All in all for Disney prices it was worth it. We also ate breakfast there, it was on the pricey side for breakfast but I love eggs Benedict and they were perfectly prepared.
ESPN Club – Dinner – “Low Moderate” – Typical chain restaurant pub grub. Good food for a relatively low cost. The wings were super crispy (some might say overcooked but I like my wings that way – if you don’t like a crispy wing you may not like these). Their Philly cheese sandwiches were pretty close to the real thing, which can be hard to find outside of Philly (even in NYC, where you can get authentic everything, I couldn’t find a good Philly). The beer was COLD and they had pretty much every brand you could want.
Liberty Tree Tavern – Lunch – “Moderate” – turkey was very good, mashed potatoes were excellent (they were excellent in pretty much every place that offered them). I didn’t like the stuffing; it had way too much thyme which was so overpowering that you couldn’t taste any other flavors. I didn’t care for the cranberry sauce but I like mine jellied from the can and theirs was the fresh made chunky kind. It tasted fine but for me it was about texture. Again, for Disney the price was reasonable for the quality.
Chefs de France – Dinner – “Expensive” – but EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT. I had the escargots and they were so good (if you like mussels and clams you would like this – similar texture and taste). The chicken was moist and flavorful and the chocolate cake was to die for. My son had the baked salmon and he ate the whole thing. I can’t remember what DH had for dinner, probably some kind of steak, and he said the crème brulee was very good. They had an extensive wine list and our waiter was very knowledgeable; when I admitted that I didn’t know much about wines he made a couple of suggestions then let me have a small taste so I could pick one. I am so ticked off that I didn’t think to take a photo of the wine label we wound up getting because it was the best white I’ve had in a long time. I know it was a vouvray but I can’t remember the name.
Tratorria al Forno – Dinner – “Moderate”. Mixed reviews. My son had the mussels and they were very good, I had the linguini in clam sauce which was also very good but I filled up so much on their very good bread that I couldn’t finish it (this is where having a fridge and microwave in your room comes in handy). DH had chicken cutlet with the fresh made pasta and while he liked the chicken he said the pasta was not very good. Maybe it was undercooked but the noodles stuck together and it was very chewy. I told him to send it back but he is not a complainer so he just didn’t eat it. It’s hard to say whether the price was worth it because of the two very different levels of quality but for just my and DS’s meal it would have been worth it but since we wound up paying for DH’s meal, it brought the value down. Had he sent it back, they would have either let him choose something else or given him a new plate with better cooked pasta. We also ate breakfast there and while it was good, I liked Captain’s Grill’s breakfast better.
Teppan Edo – Dinner – “Moderate”. It’s a hibachi place so you sit around a big grill and the chef cooks the food in front of you and puts on a little show. Our chef was a female, which is not a common thing to see at hibachi places, she was entertaining and funny. The food was good and you get a fair amount of it. You get a choice of beef, chicken, salmon, shrimp or tofu and then it comes with salad, rice, vegetables and Udon noodles. We also ordered edamame and miso soup as an appetizer so it was filling. They also give free refills on the soda. People with small appetites should order the smaller kids serving if you can. She was a bit heavy handed with the salt but I was good with that. If you can’t have or don’t like too much salt, just let the chef know (the chef will ask about allergies and preferences before beginning).
Big River Grill – Lunch – “Moderate”. Very good food. DH and I both ordered the chicken sandwich with the avocado and really enjoyed it. DS had a hamburger which was freshly made (not a frozen patty) and a nice portion. Their house made chips were really good too. Their frozen drinks were yummy and strong and DH said the lemonade he had was very good, not too sweet. It and the soda had free refills (alas, the margarita did not).
In every place we ate the staff was friendly, polite and accommodating but I would expect nothing less from Disney. We ate in a few QS places in the parks and for the most part the food was good and prices were reasonable for amusement park QS places. The one thing I did not like at all and thought was overpriced and overhyped were the turkey legs. They were huge but all three of us found them to be practically inedible. They were so salty and smoked that it tasted like burnt ham, not turkey. They were so dry that a piece of it got stuck in my throat and I almost choked.
All the QS places in the parks will give you free ice water if you ask. I know what people say about FLA water – and believe me, the water from the tap in our hotel was disgusting – but I think they use some kind of filtration system in the parks because the water tasted fine to me. The ice cubes had that frozen frost flavor though so drink the water but don’t chew on the ice cubes afterwards. If you stop to use the water fountains, make sure you don’t drink from the ones that have exposed pipes, you will burn your mouth, the water gets that hot in the sun. Look for fountains that are boxed in a cooling unit.
All in all we had a great trip and enjoyed ourselves immensely and I can’t wait to get back “home” for another visit.
First let me say that I’ve come to learn that when reading posts on here that express an opinion on something, it must be taken with a grain of salt. When I first started reading posts on here I was this close (*thumb and forefinger 1 mm apart*) to cancelling my trip because of all the stuff I read about the “magic” being gone but then I took a break from the boards and spent some time on the WDW website and talking to friends of mine who are “lifers” and go every year, which made me feel better. So for those first timers coming here, please know that much of what you will read on the boards will just be opinions so don’t get too worried. And if you keep your expectations realistic, there is still a lot of magic in the Kingdom!
Now that that’s out of the way, I will be giving some of my opinions and I will try to be fair in my evaluations…and away we go:
First, download the APP, it is so convenient for setting up/changing ADRs and FPs on the fly and up to the minute info on ride shut downs and times for shows and fireworks.
Secondly, I know for many people this may be the only time you may ever get to go to WDW so you may want to cram as much as you can into your days but it is unrealistic to expect to do and see everything in one trip. You must prioritize what’s a must do and what you are ok with not doing (for example, the Jedi Training at DHS was the one thing that DS absolutely had to do so we made sure that he got to do it. He wasn’t at all interested in the Princesses so we pretty much skipped all of Fantasyland. I would have liked to spend some time there but the trip really was for him so we’ll see about doing that next time) and be flexible or you will not enjoy yourself. Spend at least one day just hanging by the pool or relaxing away from the parks and allow for a break midday on park days if you can.
Our trip was 8/16 – 8/24 and I don’t know if it was because of the Olympics or if it’s like this all the time in late summer but we had virtually no crowds at all for most of our visit. It was very, very, very hot and super, super, super humid but I would go in mid to late August again in a heartbeat if it means the crows will always be that low. We pretty much walked right onto all the rides and if we did have to wait, it was rarely more than 10-15 minutes.
Since we are DVC and did online check in, we didn’t have too many opportunities to interact with the hotel staff but the few times we did, they were all very nice, polite and helpful. We had a 1 BR villa at the Boardwalk which was very nice but again because we are DVC we didn’t get daily housekeeping so things were a little dusty (they had cleaning supplies and a broom and vacuum in the closet but I don’t dust at home so I’m not gonna do it on vacation), I was ok with that though. The water pressure sucks but what hotel doesn’t have sucky water pressure? We did get our room about an hour early so we used our magic bands and went right on in. We took DME so our bags arrived about three hours later, so if you are planning to change for dinner make sure that you bring a change of clothes in your carry on. Or better yet, don’t make a reservation at one of the nicer restaurants on arrival night if you are worried that you won’t get your bags in time.
On to the TS restaurants we ate in (my opinions on cost is based on the fact that it’s Disney and you just have to expect to pay more than in your home town – though being from NYC some of the prices were actually lower than what I’m used to paying):
Captain’s Grille (YC) – Dinner – “Moderate” priced. The food was good but I wouldn’t say it was memorable. I know I had the short ribs and liked them but I couldn’t tell you what DS and DH ate, but they both seemed to enjoy their meal. What did stand out were the mashed potatoes! All in all for Disney prices it was worth it. We also ate breakfast there, it was on the pricey side for breakfast but I love eggs Benedict and they were perfectly prepared.
ESPN Club – Dinner – “Low Moderate” – Typical chain restaurant pub grub. Good food for a relatively low cost. The wings were super crispy (some might say overcooked but I like my wings that way – if you don’t like a crispy wing you may not like these). Their Philly cheese sandwiches were pretty close to the real thing, which can be hard to find outside of Philly (even in NYC, where you can get authentic everything, I couldn’t find a good Philly). The beer was COLD and they had pretty much every brand you could want.
Liberty Tree Tavern – Lunch – “Moderate” – turkey was very good, mashed potatoes were excellent (they were excellent in pretty much every place that offered them). I didn’t like the stuffing; it had way too much thyme which was so overpowering that you couldn’t taste any other flavors. I didn’t care for the cranberry sauce but I like mine jellied from the can and theirs was the fresh made chunky kind. It tasted fine but for me it was about texture. Again, for Disney the price was reasonable for the quality.
Chefs de France – Dinner – “Expensive” – but EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT. I had the escargots and they were so good (if you like mussels and clams you would like this – similar texture and taste). The chicken was moist and flavorful and the chocolate cake was to die for. My son had the baked salmon and he ate the whole thing. I can’t remember what DH had for dinner, probably some kind of steak, and he said the crème brulee was very good. They had an extensive wine list and our waiter was very knowledgeable; when I admitted that I didn’t know much about wines he made a couple of suggestions then let me have a small taste so I could pick one. I am so ticked off that I didn’t think to take a photo of the wine label we wound up getting because it was the best white I’ve had in a long time. I know it was a vouvray but I can’t remember the name.
Tratorria al Forno – Dinner – “Moderate”. Mixed reviews. My son had the mussels and they were very good, I had the linguini in clam sauce which was also very good but I filled up so much on their very good bread that I couldn’t finish it (this is where having a fridge and microwave in your room comes in handy). DH had chicken cutlet with the fresh made pasta and while he liked the chicken he said the pasta was not very good. Maybe it was undercooked but the noodles stuck together and it was very chewy. I told him to send it back but he is not a complainer so he just didn’t eat it. It’s hard to say whether the price was worth it because of the two very different levels of quality but for just my and DS’s meal it would have been worth it but since we wound up paying for DH’s meal, it brought the value down. Had he sent it back, they would have either let him choose something else or given him a new plate with better cooked pasta. We also ate breakfast there and while it was good, I liked Captain’s Grill’s breakfast better.
Teppan Edo – Dinner – “Moderate”. It’s a hibachi place so you sit around a big grill and the chef cooks the food in front of you and puts on a little show. Our chef was a female, which is not a common thing to see at hibachi places, she was entertaining and funny. The food was good and you get a fair amount of it. You get a choice of beef, chicken, salmon, shrimp or tofu and then it comes with salad, rice, vegetables and Udon noodles. We also ordered edamame and miso soup as an appetizer so it was filling. They also give free refills on the soda. People with small appetites should order the smaller kids serving if you can. She was a bit heavy handed with the salt but I was good with that. If you can’t have or don’t like too much salt, just let the chef know (the chef will ask about allergies and preferences before beginning).
Big River Grill – Lunch – “Moderate”. Very good food. DH and I both ordered the chicken sandwich with the avocado and really enjoyed it. DS had a hamburger which was freshly made (not a frozen patty) and a nice portion. Their house made chips were really good too. Their frozen drinks were yummy and strong and DH said the lemonade he had was very good, not too sweet. It and the soda had free refills (alas, the margarita did not).
In every place we ate the staff was friendly, polite and accommodating but I would expect nothing less from Disney. We ate in a few QS places in the parks and for the most part the food was good and prices were reasonable for amusement park QS places. The one thing I did not like at all and thought was overpriced and overhyped were the turkey legs. They were huge but all three of us found them to be practically inedible. They were so salty and smoked that it tasted like burnt ham, not turkey. They were so dry that a piece of it got stuck in my throat and I almost choked.
All the QS places in the parks will give you free ice water if you ask. I know what people say about FLA water – and believe me, the water from the tap in our hotel was disgusting – but I think they use some kind of filtration system in the parks because the water tasted fine to me. The ice cubes had that frozen frost flavor though so drink the water but don’t chew on the ice cubes afterwards. If you stop to use the water fountains, make sure you don’t drink from the ones that have exposed pipes, you will burn your mouth, the water gets that hot in the sun. Look for fountains that are boxed in a cooling unit.
All in all we had a great trip and enjoyed ourselves immensely and I can’t wait to get back “home” for another visit.
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