Here's my first report from a stay at Disney World, which ran from Tuesday, August 23rd to Sunday, August 28th.
Stayed at the Beach Club Resort in the EPCOT resort area. Was our first time there, and I was generally impressed and really enjoyed our time there.
We stayed in a deluxe room with access to the Stone Harbor Club - Room 3691. LOVED the room, and would recommend it for anyone with 2 or 3 kids. Plenty of space, lots of windows, with a HUGE balcony (twice normal size) on courtyard side PLUS a stepout balcony on the pool/lake side. Because of the state of the Marketplace (see below), I highly recommend access to the Stone Harbor Club - mainly because of breakfast. Great food for adults and kids, and the snacks/drinks during the rest of the day are perfect. Wish they were open from 4-5pm for pre-dinner drinks, as the main bard (Martha's Vineyard) isn't open until 5, either. But it was totally worth the added expense on the room rate. Not having to battle the rest of the crowd in the Marketplace for breakfast was a total relief.
Check-in was a breeze. Once we hopped off the Magical Express, we were greeted by a concierge from the Stone Harbor Club, who took us right upstairs. Kids and wife went into the lounge for snacks, while I handled checkin seated in a comfortable chair.
Restaurants there are above average. Had dinner at Cape May and the food was pretty good. I'm usually never a fan of seafood buffets but they do it right and everything had that "freshly prepared" taste and feel to it. Had lunch at Beaches and Cream and both food and service were awesome. Burger was by far the best I've had at WDW. The kids meal sundae was fashioned as a mouse, with Oreos as the ears on a scoop of chocolate ice cream body, chocolate chip eyes, a cherry nose and a cherry stem tail. Nice touch! The Marketplace - the quick service location in the main area of the hotel - was awful. It's a combo gift shop/supermarket/prepared food location, and it's just too much for one place to handle. the flow of placing an order and then paying was confusing and crowded. Too much going on in one location.
Hands down, Stormalong Bay is the BEST pool in WDW and an amazing feature BCR shares with the Yacht Club Resort. We spent at least a couple of hours there each day, and could have spent more time had we not booked a lot of time at parks and at dinner each night. Loved the waterslide, the sand beach area, and the proximity of Hurricane Hanna's for an occasional libation. Only criticism: our youngest had a slight medical issue while at the pool, and the lifeguards were less than helpful both in terms of assistance and in the provision of information or guidance to other services. I think my wife actually said one lifeguard told her he could get the phone number for the local hospital - not exactly what I would expect from a "first responder" in a situation like that.
One note about front desk staff: we were at BCR while Hurricane Irene was headed up the east coast. Worried about flight cancellations, I asked about extending our stay. Not only did they offer a discounted nightly rate, but they assured me I could stay in the same room. Probably not easily done for everyone, but combined with a lower rate.... very impressed. Thankfully, we didnt have to take advantage.
No need to go into too much detail on the parks, but I was disappointed with Animal Kingdom - especially the Dinoland area. Could be something far greater than it is, and my 4 year-old was hoping it would be a fun place to play. Oh well...
EPCOT - on any day other than a Saturday, the evenings are great. But we went on a Saturday evening for dinner at Via Napoli, and the crowd was... well, it was a little less Disney resort guest than normal. A lot of people out just for the party experience and many of them quite rude and dismissive of families with small children. Nothing to be done about it, but it did take away from the experience for us.
On dining:
Cape May - good, and could be great but definitely worth it if you're on a dining plan.
50's Primetime Cafe (DHS) - FAIL. Food just wasn't that great, and part of the supposed charm of the place is the experience of time warping back to the 1950's. The decor is there, but the people? Not so much.
Big River Grille (Boardwalk) - FAIL. Food was just average, and the decor sucks. It's supposed to be focused on craft beers, but the atmosphere is so bland and unforgettable that you lose any sense of the experience.
Tusker House for Donald's Safari Breakfast - FAIL. Having been to Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary - which I think is the best character meal - this one had to live up to some high standards with my kids. Just didn't cut it. Service staff was overwhelmed, food was so-so, and I felt the characters did or could not spend as much time with kids as I was used to.
Via Napoli - Not bad at all. Some food was average to just below, while other food was spectacular. Including desserts! Service was pretty good, atmosphere was nice though the size of the place and the height of the ceilings made it feel like a German beer hall (maybe Big River could learn something).
All in all, a wonderful trip for our family. I realized on this trip - finally - that visiting WDW isn't about the rides or the meals. It's about bonding with the people you love and letting go for a while and acting like a kid for a few days. Hard to do that anywhere else.
Stayed at the Beach Club Resort in the EPCOT resort area. Was our first time there, and I was generally impressed and really enjoyed our time there.
We stayed in a deluxe room with access to the Stone Harbor Club - Room 3691. LOVED the room, and would recommend it for anyone with 2 or 3 kids. Plenty of space, lots of windows, with a HUGE balcony (twice normal size) on courtyard side PLUS a stepout balcony on the pool/lake side. Because of the state of the Marketplace (see below), I highly recommend access to the Stone Harbor Club - mainly because of breakfast. Great food for adults and kids, and the snacks/drinks during the rest of the day are perfect. Wish they were open from 4-5pm for pre-dinner drinks, as the main bard (Martha's Vineyard) isn't open until 5, either. But it was totally worth the added expense on the room rate. Not having to battle the rest of the crowd in the Marketplace for breakfast was a total relief.
Check-in was a breeze. Once we hopped off the Magical Express, we were greeted by a concierge from the Stone Harbor Club, who took us right upstairs. Kids and wife went into the lounge for snacks, while I handled checkin seated in a comfortable chair.
Restaurants there are above average. Had dinner at Cape May and the food was pretty good. I'm usually never a fan of seafood buffets but they do it right and everything had that "freshly prepared" taste and feel to it. Had lunch at Beaches and Cream and both food and service were awesome. Burger was by far the best I've had at WDW. The kids meal sundae was fashioned as a mouse, with Oreos as the ears on a scoop of chocolate ice cream body, chocolate chip eyes, a cherry nose and a cherry stem tail. Nice touch! The Marketplace - the quick service location in the main area of the hotel - was awful. It's a combo gift shop/supermarket/prepared food location, and it's just too much for one place to handle. the flow of placing an order and then paying was confusing and crowded. Too much going on in one location.
Hands down, Stormalong Bay is the BEST pool in WDW and an amazing feature BCR shares with the Yacht Club Resort. We spent at least a couple of hours there each day, and could have spent more time had we not booked a lot of time at parks and at dinner each night. Loved the waterslide, the sand beach area, and the proximity of Hurricane Hanna's for an occasional libation. Only criticism: our youngest had a slight medical issue while at the pool, and the lifeguards were less than helpful both in terms of assistance and in the provision of information or guidance to other services. I think my wife actually said one lifeguard told her he could get the phone number for the local hospital - not exactly what I would expect from a "first responder" in a situation like that.
One note about front desk staff: we were at BCR while Hurricane Irene was headed up the east coast. Worried about flight cancellations, I asked about extending our stay. Not only did they offer a discounted nightly rate, but they assured me I could stay in the same room. Probably not easily done for everyone, but combined with a lower rate.... very impressed. Thankfully, we didnt have to take advantage.
No need to go into too much detail on the parks, but I was disappointed with Animal Kingdom - especially the Dinoland area. Could be something far greater than it is, and my 4 year-old was hoping it would be a fun place to play. Oh well...
EPCOT - on any day other than a Saturday, the evenings are great. But we went on a Saturday evening for dinner at Via Napoli, and the crowd was... well, it was a little less Disney resort guest than normal. A lot of people out just for the party experience and many of them quite rude and dismissive of families with small children. Nothing to be done about it, but it did take away from the experience for us.
On dining:
Cape May - good, and could be great but definitely worth it if you're on a dining plan.
50's Primetime Cafe (DHS) - FAIL. Food just wasn't that great, and part of the supposed charm of the place is the experience of time warping back to the 1950's. The decor is there, but the people? Not so much.
Big River Grille (Boardwalk) - FAIL. Food was just average, and the decor sucks. It's supposed to be focused on craft beers, but the atmosphere is so bland and unforgettable that you lose any sense of the experience.
Tusker House for Donald's Safari Breakfast - FAIL. Having been to Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary - which I think is the best character meal - this one had to live up to some high standards with my kids. Just didn't cut it. Service staff was overwhelmed, food was so-so, and I felt the characters did or could not spend as much time with kids as I was used to.
Via Napoli - Not bad at all. Some food was average to just below, while other food was spectacular. Including desserts! Service was pretty good, atmosphere was nice though the size of the place and the height of the ceilings made it feel like a German beer hall (maybe Big River could learn something).
All in all, a wonderful trip for our family. I realized on this trip - finally - that visiting WDW isn't about the rides or the meals. It's about bonding with the people you love and letting go for a while and acting like a kid for a few days. Hard to do that anywhere else.