BelleBeauty
12-11-2011, 02:58 PM
Cast members:
Me, 28, 6 trips to WDW last one in 2006
DH, 28, first time to WDW (DLR many times)
Dates:
November 17 - 23
Celebration: we were loosely celebrating our 2 year anniversary (really Nov 7) and DH's birthday (Dec 1)
Favorite things: The Magic, the Memories and You projection show at MK, window seat at CA Grill for Wishes, and Backstage Safari Tour at AK
Worst thing: we ate at Kouzzina and go mild food poisoning. Unfortunately, that left us pretty sick the night before (and for me the day of) our backstage Safari Tour. We still really loved our dining experience and the food. Not sure what happened! Front desk at CSR was able to give us back 2 TS credits for our unpleasant experience.
CSR: This was my first time at a moderate (previously at AS and Pop and the old Disney Institute). CSR was very pretty. The large amount of space really made us feel like the resort was almost empty. The pool was nice, but not as grand a pictures had made me think. We only used it late one night. It was a FAR walk from our room.
I had requested Casitas 4 (per Intercot recommendation) but they assigned us a Ranchos building. We did online check in (waste of time in my opinion) but they were able to switch our room location and actually upgraded us for free to a king size bed. We ended up in Casitas 3 which was great. Being near Bus stop #2 is the best location - first stop for park buses and first drop off from the parks.
Bus service was great. MK is the farthest park and most days it only took 15 mins. We had hardly any waits. One bad wait closer to Thanksgiving but the CM there gave us and other families a FP to any attraction at AK that day which I thought was a really nice touch.
Rooms weren't impressive to me but they were fine. Very little closet and drawer space. Was a little disappointed that the safe only had a key (I prefer digital since I don't trust myself to not lose the key!) Mousekeeping was really lacking in my opinion - and we are not that messy.
Didn't eat at the resort. Snack bar was good but the CMs were not very friendly or fast. Rix the bar could use some sprucing up, but the bartenders were friendly and it was open late so we were able to get a drink after our late arrival.
Dining:
Les Chefs de France - I was disappointed. Much louder than I anticipated. Not great ambiance. Food was ok. Getting to see Chef Remy was really fun and a great touch! They were able to seat us much earlier than our ADR.
CA Grill - again, slightly disappointed. We were seated earlier than our ADR and we were given a window table for 2 (could not have asked for more). The lighting was really high and it was really noisy. The food was good and the wine was spectacular. Of course the view for Wishes could NOT be beat and we saw the water pageant. Great experience being able to see the fireworks, but I definitely prefer to be in MK for the show.
Kouzzina - we did have issues (per above) but this was truly the best service, ambiance, and food of our trip. We are slightly spoiled foodies, but this was a GREAT dinner and definitely wonderful for only 1 TS credit. We were so upset that we ended up getting sick because we enjoyed everything so much. I would still recommend going.
Biergarten - lunch here was amazing. I was a bit nervous but all of the food on the buffet was spectacular. The atmosphere is wonderful and on a hot, crowded day, it was great to escape into the restaurant. Sitting with a family of 6 was a bit awkward since the restaurant had just opened and seats were empty. Also since we were drinking and no one else was. But it was fun. We were too early for the band, which I regret, but we will definitely be back!
Ragland Road - this was a last-minute ADR made same day after we got a refund of 2 TS credits from the Kouzzina issue. Great service and good food. Great drink selection. Again, we were too early for the band, but there was an irish dancing performance. The bread pudding dessert was to die for.
Kona Cafe: breakfast here was definitely worth a TS credit just for the Kona coffee. I finally had the elusive Tonga Toast - amazing - and DH has eggs with pork and hollandaise. It was all great and the service was wonderful. They even gave us cupcakes for our anniversary.
CS: we ate at Cosmic Ray's (very crowded), Sunset Market Ranch (it sounded like there were more food options than we actually saw...), Lotus Blossom in China (bland!), Flame Tree (wonderful!!), Pecos Bill (good as always, and testing a new self-service ordering area), Ghiradelli's, and Columbia Harbor House (greasy)
We found out that most CS places will let you get a bottle of water instead of dessert with your meal. One of the CMs said that everywhere in MK does this but they are discouraged from doing it at AK. We had success getting it everywhere we asked and it saved us a lot of money on water. All of the CS dessert options were a waste of money.
Me, 28, 6 trips to WDW last one in 2006
DH, 28, first time to WDW (DLR many times)
Dates:
November 17 - 23
Celebration: we were loosely celebrating our 2 year anniversary (really Nov 7) and DH's birthday (Dec 1)
Favorite things: The Magic, the Memories and You projection show at MK, window seat at CA Grill for Wishes, and Backstage Safari Tour at AK
Worst thing: we ate at Kouzzina and go mild food poisoning. Unfortunately, that left us pretty sick the night before (and for me the day of) our backstage Safari Tour. We still really loved our dining experience and the food. Not sure what happened! Front desk at CSR was able to give us back 2 TS credits for our unpleasant experience.
CSR: This was my first time at a moderate (previously at AS and Pop and the old Disney Institute). CSR was very pretty. The large amount of space really made us feel like the resort was almost empty. The pool was nice, but not as grand a pictures had made me think. We only used it late one night. It was a FAR walk from our room.
I had requested Casitas 4 (per Intercot recommendation) but they assigned us a Ranchos building. We did online check in (waste of time in my opinion) but they were able to switch our room location and actually upgraded us for free to a king size bed. We ended up in Casitas 3 which was great. Being near Bus stop #2 is the best location - first stop for park buses and first drop off from the parks.
Bus service was great. MK is the farthest park and most days it only took 15 mins. We had hardly any waits. One bad wait closer to Thanksgiving but the CM there gave us and other families a FP to any attraction at AK that day which I thought was a really nice touch.
Rooms weren't impressive to me but they were fine. Very little closet and drawer space. Was a little disappointed that the safe only had a key (I prefer digital since I don't trust myself to not lose the key!) Mousekeeping was really lacking in my opinion - and we are not that messy.
Didn't eat at the resort. Snack bar was good but the CMs were not very friendly or fast. Rix the bar could use some sprucing up, but the bartenders were friendly and it was open late so we were able to get a drink after our late arrival.
Dining:
Les Chefs de France - I was disappointed. Much louder than I anticipated. Not great ambiance. Food was ok. Getting to see Chef Remy was really fun and a great touch! They were able to seat us much earlier than our ADR.
CA Grill - again, slightly disappointed. We were seated earlier than our ADR and we were given a window table for 2 (could not have asked for more). The lighting was really high and it was really noisy. The food was good and the wine was spectacular. Of course the view for Wishes could NOT be beat and we saw the water pageant. Great experience being able to see the fireworks, but I definitely prefer to be in MK for the show.
Kouzzina - we did have issues (per above) but this was truly the best service, ambiance, and food of our trip. We are slightly spoiled foodies, but this was a GREAT dinner and definitely wonderful for only 1 TS credit. We were so upset that we ended up getting sick because we enjoyed everything so much. I would still recommend going.
Biergarten - lunch here was amazing. I was a bit nervous but all of the food on the buffet was spectacular. The atmosphere is wonderful and on a hot, crowded day, it was great to escape into the restaurant. Sitting with a family of 6 was a bit awkward since the restaurant had just opened and seats were empty. Also since we were drinking and no one else was. But it was fun. We were too early for the band, which I regret, but we will definitely be back!
Ragland Road - this was a last-minute ADR made same day after we got a refund of 2 TS credits from the Kouzzina issue. Great service and good food. Great drink selection. Again, we were too early for the band, but there was an irish dancing performance. The bread pudding dessert was to die for.
Kona Cafe: breakfast here was definitely worth a TS credit just for the Kona coffee. I finally had the elusive Tonga Toast - amazing - and DH has eggs with pork and hollandaise. It was all great and the service was wonderful. They even gave us cupcakes for our anniversary.
CS: we ate at Cosmic Ray's (very crowded), Sunset Market Ranch (it sounded like there were more food options than we actually saw...), Lotus Blossom in China (bland!), Flame Tree (wonderful!!), Pecos Bill (good as always, and testing a new self-service ordering area), Ghiradelli's, and Columbia Harbor House (greasy)
We found out that most CS places will let you get a bottle of water instead of dessert with your meal. One of the CMs said that everywhere in MK does this but they are discouraged from doing it at AK. We had success getting it everywhere we asked and it saved us a lot of money on water. All of the CS dessert options were a waste of money.