Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 ... from a brief visit this week to WDW. Anyone who goes to WDW in July, August or September should see a good shrink ... quickly. It is hot, humid and miserable ... and only once did it rain and cool things off enough to where you could have a pleasant evening in the parks. The Epcot resorts were all packed, largely with conventioneers (which Disney prefers anyway with their deep pockets and special events/parties) and apparently the entire state of New Jersey. The Beach Club is now offering free lemonade and salt water taffy to guests checking in, or walking by the front desk. Don't know if this is permanent or just a perk with all those convention folks. The Beach Club Marketplace makes some great salads (you pick the stuff and they toss it in a bowl fresh) as well as great gelato that is so much better than the ice cream at Beaches and Cream and the Dole Whips that draw raves here. Stayed at Boardwalk Villas and they were generally in quite good repair with fairly recent new carpet, albeit the temporary 2-3 year 'industrial quality fix' and new sofa beds. It was also nice to see them steam cleaning hall carpets during the day and painting in some too. My theory on why DVC resorts get so banged up is simple: no housekeeping. That just allows messes to sit, stains to settle and crap to fall all over. I did get a kick out of the vacuum in the closet. Does anyone actually vacuum their villa during a stay? Didn't have one bad CM the entire time, but didn't have many great ones either. Lots of CPers and Internationals as usual. Parks were packed at night for EMH's ... when you can barely walk down Sunset Blvd at 11:45 p.m. it tells you how much there's a need for LONGER PARK HOURS FOR EVERYONE. Food prices have gone up across the board. The smallest Coke has gone from $1.99 to $2.09 (an important threshold in the food and beverage consulting world). Had an absolutely amazing culinary experience at Victoria and Alberts with a dear friend (and a new friend). The food, service and ambience all qualify richly for the five diamonds they receive. Wouldn't do it regularly but once in a while, it's a gastronic delight. Speaking of food, many locales have new/tinkered menus inlcuding Le Cellier, Rose and Crown, Yacht Club Galley and Spoodles to name a few. Got to the big CM tent sale in the parking lot of Epcot. If you ever wondered how much Disney makes of a certain product this is a great opportunity to see how much PoC, Incredibles, 2006 lines, Christmas and other product lines they are trying to get rid of all for 70% off. Best value? All caps were $1 a piece! MK remains in very sorry shape across the board. I have never seen the queues as filthy as they are now. The Hub area has been recently replanted and the flowers are beautiful, but they can hide only so much. There was some awful Eagles tribute band Hotel Calfornia playing at Epcot, which made me long for the days of the All American College Band. 'Accidentally' wandered in to the Mitsukoshi restaurants area in Japan and they have basically ripped everything out and are doing massive work, including adding a new building in the back of the pavilion, likely to expand the amount of people they'll be able to serve. I do wonder if they'll be open in a month with all the work being done. My guess would be 'no.' Got my leg puked on by a stranger who had too much food, drink or sun ... not sure, don't care and not very magical. Then while walking out I saw two huge piles of the stuff on the bride between France and the UK ... and people were oblivious. I told a few CMs at the International Gateway on the way out. Did I say I spent very little time in the parks yet? Highlight was watching pieces of the wand come down. One day all that was left was a giant 'E' on one side. The next day, it was gone. DAK at night was wonderful ... amazing how different and beautiful it is after dark. I'm glad the public will be able to see it more regularly starting next spring when Rivers of Light debuts. I'm not too sure I like the positioning of Yak and Yeti and I HATE the name. When I think of yak, I think of what happened at Epcot. Swan and Dolphin massive four-year redo project is now complete. Lobbies look very nice, upscale and not over-the-top. Il Mulino is open at the Swan and I'm anxious to give it a try soon, although it is priced for a convention/expense account crowd. But it's also upscale and much less likely to have brats running around too. Mission Space is playing games with its wait times in order to get more folks to use FastPass. Dinosaur has major effects that are inoperable and have been for a while. Hey, Joe, can you check into ... nevermind, I forgot Joe is one of the few Imagineers who doesn't read sites like this! ESPN Club has a tired feel. Demanded a refund for the first time in 32 1/2 years of visits after being served the worst cheeseburger I have ever had at WDW at Rosie's during EMH ... just awful. They are understaffed and cook in advance and the food is inedible. Buses new spiels are annoying. Epcot's new merchandise lines, sans wand, show promise ... I like the designs. Plaza Restaurant at MK was a nice surprise. Hadn't been there in 4-5 yers and had a kick-butt club sandwich with some great German potato salad. YUM! On that note ... off to bed ... more to follow, if I can recall anything worthy of mentioning.
Originally Posted By figment1986 <<Got to the big CM tent sale in the parking lot of Epcot. If you ever wondered how much Disney makes of a certain product this is a great opportunity to see how much PoC, Incredibles, 2006 lines, Christmas and other product lines they are trying to get rid of all for 70% off. Best value? All caps were $1 a piece!??>> Heck yes, got to it today, I'm guessing most of the better stuff was gone earlier... Glad you had a reasonable time... sad the burger was terrible, (probably tasted like the burgers from my school...) <<Mission Space is playing games with its wait times in order to get more folks to use FastPass.>> I noticed today they just got a brand new safety and wait time board installed outside near the main sign... Maybe they didn't do a card in a while. <<Had an absolutely amazing culinary experience at Victoria and Alberts with a dear friend (and a new friend). The food, service and ambience all qualify richly for the five diamonds they receive. Wouldn't do it regularly but once in a while, it's a gastronic delight.>> Nice, I should recommend this to mom and dad, maybe for their anniversary? (if you like it, its got to be good)
Originally Posted By bobbelee9 "Speaking of food, many locales have new/tinkered menus inlcuding Le Cellier, Rose and Crown, Yacht Club Galley and Spoodles to name a few." Good or bad changes? "Plaza Restaurant at MK was a nice surprise. Hadn't been there in 4-5 yers and had a kick-butt club sandwich with some great German potato salad. YUM!" The Plaza really is a gem.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 As for the All American College Band - that was one of tewo project DW worked on for McD's ( along with All-American Basketball game -- each took about 6 months to put together. The band was a tougher one as the talent difference less obvious, and the politicing heavier. as far as attending July or August - what it comes down to for many ( myself included this year)- is that when you have kids in school - that plays sports in high school/ club/ college - for example - your window of opportunity to find 10-14 days to go to WDW or anywhere else is really really small. It is less than optimal - I couldn't agree more -- but as I think I mentioned once before: August in Chicago -- 90's and very very humid with a lot of thunderstorms ( sound familiar ? ) - so not exactly a vacation but until they build a WDW in Illinois it's still and upgrade to be there.
Originally Posted By jmuboy I love the Plaza Restaurant sandwiches. I also love it's a little hidden and less busy. A window view looking at the castle is one of those magical spots in the MK that hasn't been runied by WDW mgmt yet.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN Spirit...any opinions on this issue? <a href="http://mb.laughingplace.com/MsgBoard-T-88571-P-2.asp" target="_blank">http://mb.laughingplace.com/Ms gBoard-T-88571-P-2.asp</a>
Originally Posted By demderedoseguys >Plaza Restaurant at MK was a nice surprise. Hadn't been there in 4-5 yers and had a kick-butt club sandwich with some great German potato salad. YUM!< Love that place. Let's not give it too much good PR or it will be tough to get a reservation. Contrary to what Disney will have you believe, the Plaza is the best kept secret at Disney.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<Then while walking out I saw two huge piles of the stuff on the bride between France and the UK ...>> When, oh when will Disney finally wise up and open a green version of Impressions de France?? ;-) P.S. I hope she wasn't still wearing her bridal gown!!
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<Heck yes, got to it today, I'm guessing most of the better stuff was gone earlier...>> I don't know when the sale started. I got there Monday morning. But the savvy CMs -- and the ones who make more than $7 an hour -- likely were there as soon as it began snapping up the true values, while letting the Jack Sparrow figurines sit. <<Glad you had a reasonable time... sad the burger was terrible, (probably tasted like the burgers from my school...)>> I had a great time, Figgy. Just didn't spend hardly any time in the parks. Too damn hot, humid and icky. The burger was the only bad meal I had. After seeing there was no way I was going to get to a CM at Rosie's without waiting 20 minutes, I just tossed it in the trash and went to Guest Relations where I politely and firmly explained that if the Wendy's on 535 could make a fresh burger that tastes great at midnight for 99 cents, that I expected the same from Disney for my $5.69. The CM, a lovely woman here on the IP from Japan, said she'd 'make an exception' and handed me $7 cash. <<Mission Space is playing games with its wait times in order to get more folks to use FastPass.>> <<I noticed today they just got a brand new safety and wait time board installed outside near the main sign... Maybe they didn't do a card in a while.>> No. I think this has to do with pumping up numbers for a hugely expensive attraction that's been a failure. When they say standby is 120 minutes at 5:30, but the FP return time is one hour later, it tells me something's up. Not to mention that other than in previews I have never waited longer than 20 minutes to get on. <<Nice, I should recommend this to mom and dad, maybe for their anniversary? (if you like it, its got to be good)>> V&A's is easily WDW's best dining experience, and this is coming from a California Grill lover, but it's also the most expensive. You do need to dress here (BTW, anyone notice how Disney has relaxed its business casual dress code to include tees? Sorry, but that's tacky and caving to the WalMart people.) Anyway, a meal at V&A's takes a good three hours to complete, which some folks may not like. But I'll be back again.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<"Speaking of food, many locales have new/tinkered menus inlcuding Le Cellier, Rose and Crown, Yacht Club Galley and Spoodles to name a few." Good or bad changes?>> Hard to tell. More choices at YCG ... Le Cellier seemed to be more to raise prices without being so obvious ... like now offering a 5 oz filet for $21.99. ... Spoodles is down to like five entree choices. I wonder how much of this is seasonal, and how much is DDP related.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<Then while walking out I saw two huge piles of the stuff on the bride between France and the UK ... and people were oblivious.>> OK ... guys and gal, you've had your fun with my 3 a.m. typo. We all know I meant BRIDGE ... although it is possible that the piles on the bridge were left by a bride or member of a WDW wedding party who realized 'We could have bought a townhouse in Orlando for what this is costing us!'
Originally Posted By figment1986 Rosie's is on Sunset Blv near Rock N Rollercoaster and Market area with fresh fruit, If I remember correctly. (I never cared for that area since you have to go into multiple lines sometimes for what you want..)
Originally Posted By ToonKirby >I'm not too sure I like the positioning of Yak and Yeti and I HATE the name. When I think of yak, I think of what happened at Epcot.< I'm glad I'm not the only one who has thought of that. They might as well have named it Puke and Panda. - Kirby, <a href="http://moviedearest.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://moviedearest.blogspot.c om/</a>
Originally Posted By irishfan There's a great Nepalense restaurant here in Sydney called Yak and Yeti, so I'm guessing it's quite a common name.
Originally Posted By BrooklynsMom I agree about Rosies. We typically never eat there but were in desperate need for Mac n' Cheese for the 3 year old. The Mac N Cheese had little black specks of soemething in it which they tried to tell us was just little burnt pieces from the edges. I would suggest eating elsewhere. However, the ice cream stand that is in front of Rosies has GREAT ice cream! I believe they advertise it as Edy's but I have bought Edy's at home and it is not the same.
