Just Returned.. Whew

[disney4life2008]

Sorry, this is very brief - I just want to cover a few things.

First, Touring Plans gets my full support. Their mobile site with wait times was spot on every day/every attraction!!! I am going to donate to them, they are a phenomenal resource!!!!!!!!

Considering it was August - the weather was Great!!! The first few days, it was warm but breezy. Thank goodness for air conditioning everywhere!!! The key is to arrive before park opening and leave around early/mid afternoon. Then return to the parks in the evening when the sun goes down.

The crowds were not bad (again, another shocker). I was expecting it to be packed (which it was) but waits averaged 15 to 20 minutes for most attractions (which was not bad). TSMM of course held at 90 minutes or more daily.

Summer Nightastic was interesting to say the least. I enjoyed the Fireworks - though nothing compares to WISHES! The summer fireworks just uses more perimeter - I dislike the soundtrack. MSEP - gget rid of it!! It belongs in California. I enjoyed the color and the pixie dust but nothing compares to Spectromagic. As a matter of fact, normally I rush to the MK at the end of each night to catch the parade and fireworks but I only watched both once this time - it lacks the disney magic for me.

Captain EO (while historic) was descent. A lot of people (I went to see it about 7 times) were unclear about what it was (even after watching it). It was more like a concert than an attraction. Disney just needs to replace the entire attraction with something new. Honey is old!

I had got a last minute ADR for 'Ohana and was looking forward to eating their for weeks. However, after my experience I will NEVER dine at 'Ohana again. I was solo (that was not the bad part). I was seated at 915pm - my server did not bring me drinks until 935pm. She apologized - I let it go. The food is still delicious (no more Turkey - it has been replaced with chicken). The portions have been reduced severely, they only gave me about 5 sticky wings, 4 pieces of brocolli and a drop of noodles. When I requested more, it took 15 minutes to get it replaced. I got refills of the meat only twice, my server was no where to be found and the other servers disregarded me to focus on their tables. The fireworks started at 10pm - m server promised to refill my drink at 950pm. I did not see her again until 10:35pm!! You do the math! By this point, I was about to walk out - the fireworks had long been over and my server had dissapeared not just from my table but all her tables. I was ready to go and still had not received my desert. She finally showed up with my ice cream (no refill) and the check and apologized and said it was busy. There was NO ONE there at 10pm - where was it busy at? I was so disgusted - I paid the bill and walked out. This is now my 2nd bad experience at 'Ohana and will not be giving them $40 of my money anymore. I am offically done with 'Ohana!!

MUSIC was nice. I was worried about the bus situation but never waited for a bus more than 10 minutes! However, I do have a bone to pick with WDW. Can we please get more tv channels? Half of the channels are religious oriented, a quarter are disney related and the remaining quarter are local and ethnicity related. Can we get a disney movie channel or something? It makes relaxing in the room boring - there is nothing to watch!

Finally, I started thanking the clean up crews a lot this trip. The people that work in the bowels of WDW (cleaning bathrooms and the land). They often get treated like 2nd class workers but in actuality, they are the ones that keep the property so clean. I just wanted to recongnize them for their hard work because I witnessed so people just being rude to them.

Overall, I had a wonderful vacation!!!

 

[NewfieFan]

Thanks for your insight!

Sorry about your experience at Ohana... I actually had the opposite experience! Our server was amazing the whole time we were there. We honestly felt like friends by the time we left and you can be sure she got a good tip that night! We had a first timer with us during that meal and she hasn't stopped talking about her meal at Ohana!

 

[Dwarful]

Glad you had a good time. Sorry about Ohana's we had a very similar experience at Chef Mickeys ...so we are done with CM for dinner. We might give it one more go for an early breakfast, but quality and service has really gone down hill and throw in the seasonal pricing...it should be much better.

 

[foreverbelle]

Glad you had a good time. Though I am sorry to hear about your experience at O'Hanna's. While it does suck, I would say that everyone has an experience like this from time to time. We were at Le'Cellier which everyone including ourselves has often raved about. Though during the most recent time, we had reservation at 8:10 and didn't get seated until 8:55 and while most of the time the service and the food had been exceptional, this time around both was just ok. So it just happens, but I am glad to hear otherwise you enjoyed it.

 

[plaz10]

glad you had a good time even with a bad dining experience. we are contemplating ohanas for our next trip (as we adore the poly but will be there for kona cafe for sure) but now i'll have to dig into some more reviews before making a decision.

 

[lilclerk]

MUSIC was nice. I was worried about the bus situation but never waited for a bus more than 10 minutes! However, I do have a bone to pick with WDW. Can we please get more tv channels? Half of the channels are religious oriented, a quarter are disney related and the remaining quarter are local and ethnicity related. Can we get a disney movie channel or something? It makes relaxing in the room boring - there is nothing to watch!

Totally agree with this. I watched a lot of SoapNet on my afternoon breaks last week :lol:

 

[Lucky]

If they improve the TV choices, fewer resort guests will be out in the parks or resort shops spending money. Can't have that.

 

[disney4life2008]

Totally agree with this. I watched a lot of SoapNet on my afternoon breaks last week :lol:

LOL, so did I - and I dont watch soaps at all!

 

[lilclerk]

LOL, so did I - and I dont watch soaps at all!

Me either!

 

[Dwarful]

Hey ForeverBelle...when was your trip to Le Cellier? We had lunch on July 24th at noon and both the service and the food was just alright...they actually messed up our order and all four adult meals were the exact same thing...so not sure how they got that wrong...by the time I got my food everyone else was pretty much done...seems like this is a growing trend.

 

[me_stitch]

I don't get why one bad experience at a restaurant would keep you from ever going back.

 

[lilclerk]

I don't get why one bad experience at a restaurant would keep you from ever going back.

He said it was his second :shrug:

I went to Le Cellier on 8/14 and they messed up my order a bit but it was quickly fixed. The food wasn't as wonderful as the last time I ate there though. Hope they step it up before they go signature.

 

[Dwarful]

For us it wasn't just one bad experience. We were at WDW in March/April of this year and had dinner at CM and notice a decline in service...not our waitstaff but in the keeping of the buffet area clean and tidy. We gave it another shot this year for dinner and it was worse than before. I even mentioned to our waitress that many of the salads had other salads slopped in them. We will give CM another shot, but we decided to go for breakfast on the next try. IF we still notice issues...then we will be done. It just seemed like they were more focused on selling photos vs. making sure things were up to par.

 

[allgar]

Nice review

Thanks for sharing. Good for you for recognizing and thanking the cleaning staff. I agree with you that they are often over looked, however, are an integral part of the Disney experience.

'Ohanas has long been an interest of mine to try, I probably still will, however I'll go in with lowered expectations. This is a good thing sometimes because it helps not to get disappointed.

Wife and I went to WDW in early June and ate at a number of restaurants, including Crystal Palace Breakfast, Liberty Tree Tavern, Marrakesh, Rose and Crown, Tutto Italia, several counter service restaurants and the "piece de resistance" Victoria and Alberts (we always have to have one meal there, it really is just that good).

With the notable exception of Victoria and Albert's, I would say all aspects of the dining experience have declined... sometimes it was service, other times it was food quality and often it was value for money. Even the once very good half chicken at Cosmic Ray's which was always great to split as a good meal had greasy, cold and soggy skin on the chicken and beans that were so horribly over done that they fell apart when you tried to put the fork into them.

I remember a time when the service was always consistently great, with only the very few excusable issues, and the food was top notch. It's always been a premium cost but I felt it was worth it for the most part when you factor in convenience and quality. Without the quality and just convenience... I'm afraid it isn't proving to be good value for money.

I sound so down on Disney these days but I'm not. I just want them to regain their focus on the "show" as they call it. The thing that makes them so special. Safety, Courtesy, Show and Efficiency... me thinks they've flipped the efficiency and show over the last couple of years.

 

[blackthidot]

Finally, I started thanking the clean up crews a lot this trip. The people that work in the bowels of WDW (cleaning bathrooms and the land). They often get treated like 2nd class workers but in actuality, they are the ones that keep the property so clean. I just wanted to recongnize them for their hard work because I witnessed so people just being rude to them.

That is pretty cool.

 

[foreverbelle]

Hey ForeverBelle...when was your trip to Le Cellier? We had lunch on July 24th at noon and both the service and the food was just alright...they actually messed up our order and all four adult meals were the exact same thing...so not sure how they got that wrong...by the time I got my food everyone else was pretty much done...seems like this is a growing trend.

We were there July 29th, so not to far off from your date. Yep...I shouldn't speak as the group for I have a lot of food allergies but last year was amazing so I don't know. But the wait was enough to kill me.

 

[The Incredible Schmulk]

I don't get why one bad experience at a restaurant would keep you from ever going back.

He said that this was his second bad experience at 'Ohana, which is more than enough incentive for me not to go back to a place, however, at Disney, one bad meal is enough to turn me off a place for a long while, if not for good. It hasn't happened there very often at all, but there are too many dining options in WDW to repeat something that I may not like.

Disney table service meals are expensive. While I can understand slow service and an inattentive wait staff in such places, since they are often very busy, I find it a lot harder to excuse a poor meal for any reason. I'm paying a premium to dine there. If I don't get something that I consider worth my time and money, then I will not easily be drawn back into a place.

These are two pretty good reasons, in a case such as this, one bad experience is enough to keep someone from going back.

 

[EaglesfanNJ]

Sorry, this is very brief - I just want to cover a few things.

First, Touring Plans gets my full support. Their mobile site with wait times was spot on every day/every attraction!!! I am going to donate to them, they are a phenomenal resource!!!!!!!!

Considering it was August - the weather was Great!!! The first few days, it was warm but breezy. Thank goodness for air conditioning everywhere!!! The key is to arrive before park opening and leave around early/mid afternoon. Then return to the parks in the evening when the sun goes down.

The crowds were not bad (again, another shocker). I was expecting it to be packed (which it was) but waits averaged 15 to 20 minutes for most attractions (which was not bad). TSMM of course held at 90 minutes or more daily.

Summer Nightastic was interesting to say the least. I enjoyed the Fireworks - though nothing compares to WISHES! The summer fireworks just uses more perimeter - I dislike the soundtrack. MSEP - gget rid of it!! It belongs in California. I enjoyed the color and the pixie dust but nothing compares to Spectromagic. As a matter of fact, normally I rush to the MK at the end of each night to catch the parade and fireworks but I only watched both once this time - it lacks the disney magic for me.

Captain EO (while historic) was descent. A lot of people (I went to see it about 7 times) were unclear about what it was (even after watching it). It was more like a concert than an attraction. Disney just needs to replace the entire attraction with something new. Honey is old!

I had got a last minute ADR for 'Ohana and was looking forward to eating their for weeks. However, after my experience I will NEVER dine at 'Ohana again. I was solo (that was not the bad part). I was seated at 915pm - my server did not bring me drinks until 935pm. She apologized - I let it go. The food is still delicious (no more Turkey - it has been replaced with chicken). The portions have been reduced severely, they only gave me about 5 sticky wings, 4 pieces of brocolli and a drop of noodles. When I requested more, it took 15 minutes to get it replaced. I got refills of the meat only twice, my server was no where to be found and the other servers disregarded me to focus on their tables. The fireworks started at 10pm - m server promised to refill my drink at 950pm. I did not see her again until 10:35pm!! You do the math! By this point, I was about to walk out - the fireworks had long been over and my server had dissapeared not just from my table but all her tables. I was ready to go and still had not received my desert. She finally showed up with my ice cream (no refill) and the check and apologized and said it was busy. There was NO ONE there at 10pm - where was it busy at? I was so disgusted - I paid the bill and walked out. This is now my 2nd bad experience at 'Ohana and will not be giving them $40 of my money anymore. I am offically done with 'Ohana!!

MUSIC was nice. I was worried about the bus situation but never waited for a bus more than 10 minutes! However, I do have a bone to pick with WDW. Can we please get more tv channels? Half of the channels are religious oriented, a quarter are disney related and the remaining quarter are local and ethnicity related. Can we get a disney movie channel or something? It makes relaxing in the room boring - there is nothing to watch!

Finally, I started thanking the clean up crews a lot this trip. The people that work in the bowels of WDW (cleaning bathrooms and the land). They often get treated like 2nd class workers but in actuality, they are the ones that keep the property so clean. I just wanted to recongnize them for their hard work because I witnessed so people just being rude to them.

Overall, I had a wonderful vacation!!!

Hey thanks so much for the insight and quick report!

1) I'm sorry to hear about your experience at O'Hana. I appreciate the feedback too... We ate here for breakfast and had a wonderful meal and experience. However we were going to try there for dinner this time around and i may think twice.

2) As far as TV channels go. I understand what you mean, but at the same time i understand why Disney keeps the TV very 'vanilla' if you will. It's probably the same reason as the resorts in Vegas. If you are in your room too much, watching TV and really getting too comfortable, it means you are not in their gift shops or parks, spending money, or eating. It's good business practice, but bad news for folks like you who would like to veg out for a bit and take in a solid movie.

 

[disney4life2008]

The reason why I am done with 'Ohana is because I have received poor service twice in a row and I am paying out of pocket. I guess if your on free dining or have the dining package - it is acceptable but I was sick that Disney got $40 of my money for a terrible experience. That was 3 meals I could have had a Pecos Bills (btw - the burgers are amazing here!!).

 

[disney4life2008]

too[/B] much, watching TV and really getting too comfortable, it means you are not in their gift shops or parks, spending money, or eating. It's good business practice, but bad news for folks like you who would like to veg out for a bit and take in a solid movie.

So true, I have start putting movies on my phone so that will take care of that next time.