Toonses
A little nonsense now and then...
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2019
I have done 3 trips in the last year. One in Nov. 2019, one in July, literally on re-opening, and one just last week (10/10-17). The July trip was a solo, and both the Nov. and this last week were family trips. I DO NOT recommend going to Disney until/unless they bring back Fast Pass at the very least, and honestly, I don't want to go back until the mask thing isn't a thing anymore.
Every line was super long, the heat was brutal (just about the same as in July but now with +60 min wait times on almost everything), and the mask wearing outside does NOT help that situation. Additionally, the Relaxation Stations frequently also have a significant line, and ordering food is of limited help, since getting a table in any of the quick serve (e.g. Pecos Bill), is a nightmare even in non-peak times. If you buy a snack food from one of the windows, and find a corner to sit down and eat it, frequently cast members will keep giving you the stink eye until you have your mask back on, even though you're clearly obeying the rules, sitting down and actively eating/drinking. It's stressful, over the top, and just plain unpleasant on every front.
This is highly stressful in an already stressful situation. On that point, I would also say that some cast members have let the power go to their heads, as I saw and heard them yelling at other people on numerous occasions far in excess of anything that was deserved. In several instances, there was truly no need to say anything at all, as the person was just trying to get a quick drink of water and simply pulled down the mask briefly to sip. I also want to note that neither myself or my family were yelled at, so this isn't me having an axe to grind or anything. There was only once instance in the many yellings/admonishments that I saw, where it truly was warranted.
Honestly I feel that Disney needs to remove their 'mask police' as the power truly has gone to most of their heads, and their behavior is frequently borderline bullying. When you put in place a position where their whole job is policing mask wearing, they frequently look for the smallest infractions, because pretty much everyone is following the rules and they have nothing else to do. In both my July trip, and the entire week I was there last week, I only ever saw the one family that was a true problem. It truly is the exception rather than the norm.
Note that this isn't meant to be a pro/con on mask wearing and COVID so please don't turn the comments into that - we don't need a political discussion here. This is simply a report on what the parks are currently like with the increased capacity, the policies in place, and the attitudes around all of it. Also yeah, I call Bull Hockey on the whole 25% capacity - they're either lying or they increased whatever their full capacity number is in order to claim 25% with more people.
HOTELS:
Something to know since it catches almost everyone off guard is that housekeeping needs to be requested if you want it. This might not matter to many folks, but it's something my mother particularly enjoys (and I do too, tbh) when on vacation, as there's nothing like coming back to freshly made beds and vacuumed floors after a long day in the parks. I was staying at the Swan for this trip as I got an incredible rate.
In regards to the Swan, we had a rather significant cleaning issue on the original floor we were on. The short version is that cleaning wasn't really being done prior to our entry into the room and sheets were dirty and hadn't been changed, and continued to not be changed. High praises to the manager, though, who did move us, and the rest of my family, from that floor to the 4th floor. I will also sing super high praises to the housekeeping staff on the 4th floor - they did a fantastic job every day, and were definitely some of the best housekeeping I've experienced in many years of travel around the country.
I'll put a quick note here on my hotels from July as well. I originally booked at Pop Century (this was pre-COVID) and hadn't stayed there before. I figured on a solo trip, and with the Skyliner access it would work well. I love the theming here, the cast members are all nice and the rooms are actually very comfortable. However, the walls are paper thin, and I couldn't sleep as a result. Note that I had very polite, quiet neighbors, but I could still clearly hear Austin Powers being played on one side, a whole conversation about where to go to dinner to accommodate a family member with dietary restrictions on the other, every dang suitcase rolling by on my floor, and the one above and below, and I could hear the elevator dinging with three other rooms AND the icemaker/vending machine room between me and the elevators. To be fair, I was a solo female traveler, and I may have been a bit more alert to sounds as a result. Either way, I couldn't take the lack of sleep anymore, after the third night I switched my final night to Copper Creek. Best night sleep ever.
RESTAURANTS:
Il Mulino
Il Mulino was delicious, and honestly, one of the best meals I've had on Disney property. We ended up getting both take out from them once or twice, as well as eating in the restaurant twice. The cheese they're using is fantastic, and I highly recommend the caprese salad. Also their Trattoria salad was amazing - we ordered it every time because we all loved it. The Arancini was also good, though I should warn folks the sauce has a kick. I like heat, and have a decent tolerance for it, as does most of family, but if you can't do heat, be aware of that in this dish. The 'spicy marinara' sauce isn't Disney spicy (i.e. nonexistent), it's actually spicy and very good.
We also got extremely lucky on our first night, and they had an Eggplant Parm as a special which was soooo good. Apparently this is beyond rare, though. Our server, a few nights later, said she'd worked there 15 years and they'd never served eggplant. She didn't believe us when we told her we'd had it, and went back and asked the chef. lol Apparently they'd run out of several things that night, and accidentally ended up with an order of eggplant in kitchen, so that became the special. I honestly hope they consider adding it permanently because it was awesome!
Anyway, I also had the chicken parm, which was good, but was HUGE. I was very glad that I split this dish with my sister, cuz dang. The gnocchi was also good, but I think the sauce did need a touch more salt. My mother and sister shared the carbonara, and my mother liked it, but my sister felt it had too much of a butter flavor, so she didn't care for it.
I also had the Margherita pizza one night, and I really liked it. Once again the cheese is delicious, and I like the fact they actually put sauce on it. I know that's not traditional, but I like it that way.
To sum, this is definitely a restaurant we'll go back to.
Kimonos
We got take out from here, and honestly, it was fine, but nothing amazing. We ordered the Miso soup, Wagyu Beef Satay, Gyoza, Chicken Katsu, Tamago Egg Nigiri, Asparagus Roll, Vegetarian Summer Roll, Ichiban Roll, and someone ordered the Tempura Shrimp Roll. To be fair, most of us are allergic to fish and shellfish, hence the veggie rolls and non-seafood dishes. The Miso was the best of the lot. I'd do the Chicken again - it was well seasoned, but is basically fried chicken tenders. The satay and gyoza were fine, but I wouldn't order the satay again, it was kind of bland. Of the rolls, the Tamago was okay - and that's my favorite sushi so a bit disappointing. Of the veggie rolls, the only one I'd order again is the asparagus. The summer roll had odd flavors in it, and we ended up not finishing that one, which is truly a first for us when getting sushi. The Ichiban was meh and also had an odd flavor in there. The person that ordered the shrimp had a similar reaction - not bad, but nothing to write home about. If you're really craving something other than the usual heavy fare at Disney, this might be a decent option, but if you're accustomed to eating sushi, probably don't have the highest expectations here.
Les Halles (France Pavillion EPCOT)
So we got an assortment of items to take back to the room after hearing a lot of good things about this place. Unfortunately I was disappointed with most of what we got. The main issue is that they're not using butter to make the pastry. So as a result, the Croissant is tasteless with an oily mouth feel, and that carries to anything that uses that dough or a similar dough where butter is the key. Now the regular bread is good - but bread is usually more about process than anything else. Most bread is nothing but flour, yeast, water and salt, so the ingredients part of the equation is more difficult to mess up. That being said, the croque monsieur was meh, and I'd stick to the ham and cheese on the baguette instead. I will say the chicken (poulet au pistou) was really good. they had some nice flavors in the chicken salad mix, and it was on a good bread. I would order that again.
If you really want dessert, then I'd go with the Napolean. It's not the best I've ever had, but it's much better than anything utilizing a pastry dough because of the butter issue. Those pastry doughs need butter to taste right, and once you know what it tastes like with butter, you'll never be satisfied without it. The Creme Broulee might be okay as well, since it's basically a baked custard, but I didn't try that one so can't speak to it.
Raglan Road
We did brunch here, and they're very good. I did the benedict, and some of family did the avocado toast, and all of it was very good. Good flavors, and a wonderful Hollandaise sauce - which is high praise from me because I'm not actually a fan of Hollandaise in general. Typically if I order eggs benedict I do the sauce on the side because I don't like it, even when properly made and not from a mix or whatever. Anyway, my niece had pancakes, and I assume they were very good as well, since it was a large serving, and my sister actually helped my brother in law finish half the plate (it was a 3 plate sized pancakes and my niece is 6 lol). My sister would typically only eat a bite or two in that scenario, but she probably had half the leftovers herself, which is very atypical, and tells me they were good. They don't have a huge selection of breakfasty items, but they're very good!
I think that hits all the salient points and I hope the info is useful to others planning trips.
Every line was super long, the heat was brutal (just about the same as in July but now with +60 min wait times on almost everything), and the mask wearing outside does NOT help that situation. Additionally, the Relaxation Stations frequently also have a significant line, and ordering food is of limited help, since getting a table in any of the quick serve (e.g. Pecos Bill), is a nightmare even in non-peak times. If you buy a snack food from one of the windows, and find a corner to sit down and eat it, frequently cast members will keep giving you the stink eye until you have your mask back on, even though you're clearly obeying the rules, sitting down and actively eating/drinking. It's stressful, over the top, and just plain unpleasant on every front.
This is highly stressful in an already stressful situation. On that point, I would also say that some cast members have let the power go to their heads, as I saw and heard them yelling at other people on numerous occasions far in excess of anything that was deserved. In several instances, there was truly no need to say anything at all, as the person was just trying to get a quick drink of water and simply pulled down the mask briefly to sip. I also want to note that neither myself or my family were yelled at, so this isn't me having an axe to grind or anything. There was only once instance in the many yellings/admonishments that I saw, where it truly was warranted.
Honestly I feel that Disney needs to remove their 'mask police' as the power truly has gone to most of their heads, and their behavior is frequently borderline bullying. When you put in place a position where their whole job is policing mask wearing, they frequently look for the smallest infractions, because pretty much everyone is following the rules and they have nothing else to do. In both my July trip, and the entire week I was there last week, I only ever saw the one family that was a true problem. It truly is the exception rather than the norm.
Note that this isn't meant to be a pro/con on mask wearing and COVID so please don't turn the comments into that - we don't need a political discussion here. This is simply a report on what the parks are currently like with the increased capacity, the policies in place, and the attitudes around all of it. Also yeah, I call Bull Hockey on the whole 25% capacity - they're either lying or they increased whatever their full capacity number is in order to claim 25% with more people.
HOTELS:
Something to know since it catches almost everyone off guard is that housekeeping needs to be requested if you want it. This might not matter to many folks, but it's something my mother particularly enjoys (and I do too, tbh) when on vacation, as there's nothing like coming back to freshly made beds and vacuumed floors after a long day in the parks. I was staying at the Swan for this trip as I got an incredible rate.
In regards to the Swan, we had a rather significant cleaning issue on the original floor we were on. The short version is that cleaning wasn't really being done prior to our entry into the room and sheets were dirty and hadn't been changed, and continued to not be changed. High praises to the manager, though, who did move us, and the rest of my family, from that floor to the 4th floor. I will also sing super high praises to the housekeeping staff on the 4th floor - they did a fantastic job every day, and were definitely some of the best housekeeping I've experienced in many years of travel around the country.
I'll put a quick note here on my hotels from July as well. I originally booked at Pop Century (this was pre-COVID) and hadn't stayed there before. I figured on a solo trip, and with the Skyliner access it would work well. I love the theming here, the cast members are all nice and the rooms are actually very comfortable. However, the walls are paper thin, and I couldn't sleep as a result. Note that I had very polite, quiet neighbors, but I could still clearly hear Austin Powers being played on one side, a whole conversation about where to go to dinner to accommodate a family member with dietary restrictions on the other, every dang suitcase rolling by on my floor, and the one above and below, and I could hear the elevator dinging with three other rooms AND the icemaker/vending machine room between me and the elevators. To be fair, I was a solo female traveler, and I may have been a bit more alert to sounds as a result. Either way, I couldn't take the lack of sleep anymore, after the third night I switched my final night to Copper Creek. Best night sleep ever.
RESTAURANTS:
Il Mulino
Il Mulino was delicious, and honestly, one of the best meals I've had on Disney property. We ended up getting both take out from them once or twice, as well as eating in the restaurant twice. The cheese they're using is fantastic, and I highly recommend the caprese salad. Also their Trattoria salad was amazing - we ordered it every time because we all loved it. The Arancini was also good, though I should warn folks the sauce has a kick. I like heat, and have a decent tolerance for it, as does most of family, but if you can't do heat, be aware of that in this dish. The 'spicy marinara' sauce isn't Disney spicy (i.e. nonexistent), it's actually spicy and very good.
We also got extremely lucky on our first night, and they had an Eggplant Parm as a special which was soooo good. Apparently this is beyond rare, though. Our server, a few nights later, said she'd worked there 15 years and they'd never served eggplant. She didn't believe us when we told her we'd had it, and went back and asked the chef. lol Apparently they'd run out of several things that night, and accidentally ended up with an order of eggplant in kitchen, so that became the special. I honestly hope they consider adding it permanently because it was awesome!
Anyway, I also had the chicken parm, which was good, but was HUGE. I was very glad that I split this dish with my sister, cuz dang. The gnocchi was also good, but I think the sauce did need a touch more salt. My mother and sister shared the carbonara, and my mother liked it, but my sister felt it had too much of a butter flavor, so she didn't care for it.
I also had the Margherita pizza one night, and I really liked it. Once again the cheese is delicious, and I like the fact they actually put sauce on it. I know that's not traditional, but I like it that way.
To sum, this is definitely a restaurant we'll go back to.
Kimonos
We got take out from here, and honestly, it was fine, but nothing amazing. We ordered the Miso soup, Wagyu Beef Satay, Gyoza, Chicken Katsu, Tamago Egg Nigiri, Asparagus Roll, Vegetarian Summer Roll, Ichiban Roll, and someone ordered the Tempura Shrimp Roll. To be fair, most of us are allergic to fish and shellfish, hence the veggie rolls and non-seafood dishes. The Miso was the best of the lot. I'd do the Chicken again - it was well seasoned, but is basically fried chicken tenders. The satay and gyoza were fine, but I wouldn't order the satay again, it was kind of bland. Of the rolls, the Tamago was okay - and that's my favorite sushi so a bit disappointing. Of the veggie rolls, the only one I'd order again is the asparagus. The summer roll had odd flavors in it, and we ended up not finishing that one, which is truly a first for us when getting sushi. The Ichiban was meh and also had an odd flavor in there. The person that ordered the shrimp had a similar reaction - not bad, but nothing to write home about. If you're really craving something other than the usual heavy fare at Disney, this might be a decent option, but if you're accustomed to eating sushi, probably don't have the highest expectations here.
Les Halles (France Pavillion EPCOT)
So we got an assortment of items to take back to the room after hearing a lot of good things about this place. Unfortunately I was disappointed with most of what we got. The main issue is that they're not using butter to make the pastry. So as a result, the Croissant is tasteless with an oily mouth feel, and that carries to anything that uses that dough or a similar dough where butter is the key. Now the regular bread is good - but bread is usually more about process than anything else. Most bread is nothing but flour, yeast, water and salt, so the ingredients part of the equation is more difficult to mess up. That being said, the croque monsieur was meh, and I'd stick to the ham and cheese on the baguette instead. I will say the chicken (poulet au pistou) was really good. they had some nice flavors in the chicken salad mix, and it was on a good bread. I would order that again.
If you really want dessert, then I'd go with the Napolean. It's not the best I've ever had, but it's much better than anything utilizing a pastry dough because of the butter issue. Those pastry doughs need butter to taste right, and once you know what it tastes like with butter, you'll never be satisfied without it. The Creme Broulee might be okay as well, since it's basically a baked custard, but I didn't try that one so can't speak to it.
Raglan Road
We did brunch here, and they're very good. I did the benedict, and some of family did the avocado toast, and all of it was very good. Good flavors, and a wonderful Hollandaise sauce - which is high praise from me because I'm not actually a fan of Hollandaise in general. Typically if I order eggs benedict I do the sauce on the side because I don't like it, even when properly made and not from a mix or whatever. Anyway, my niece had pancakes, and I assume they were very good as well, since it was a large serving, and my sister actually helped my brother in law finish half the plate (it was a 3 plate sized pancakes and my niece is 6 lol). My sister would typically only eat a bite or two in that scenario, but she probably had half the leftovers herself, which is very atypical, and tells me they were good. They don't have a huge selection of breakfasty items, but they're very good!
I think that hits all the salient points and I hope the info is useful to others planning trips.
