Category — q. Reviews

(For the first page of this review of the Holiday Inn Orlando, see this.)

THE POOL AT THE HOLIDAY INN ORLANDO

The pool at the Holiday Inn Orlando is middling among the pool complexes at the seven hotels in the Disney Springs Resort Area.

The least pools among these are those at the Doubletree and Best Western; the best are at the Hilton, the Hilton Buena Vista Palace, and the Wyndham.  The pool at the Holiday Inn (and that at the B Resort & Spa) are in between.

The pool at the Holiday Inn Orlando is  located in a courtyard formed by one side of the main tower, two sides of a shorter six story building, and a landscaped wall.

The tower side of the pool area is the same part of the tower as the bar and grill, creating easy access for drinks and snacks.

Some more views of the pool (see the top of the page for the zero-entry area):

Each photo includes the water jets that kids find fun to play in.

In addition to these, you’ll also find a ping pong table…

…a cornhole game set-up,…

…and a small hot tub

At the pool at the Holiday Inn Orlando in the Disney Springs Resort Area, the bar and grill is convenient, the pool itself is fine, and the amenities aimed at kids and at play are middling among the Disney Springs Resort Area hotels. The pool and its features are fine, but are not strong enough to be a special reason to stay at the Holiday Inn Orlando.

MORE ON THE HOLIDAY INN ORLANDO

• Summary and overview
• Photo tour of a standard tower room
• Photo tour of a pool view room
• Dining and amenities 
• The pool 

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• Where to stay–the Basics
• Where first-timers should stay
• Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 160+ stays in them

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For the first page of this review of the Hilton Orlando, see this.

PHOTO TOUR OF A ROOM AT THE HILTON ORLANDO LAKE BUENA VISTA

The Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista in the Disney Springs Resort Area–an entirely different hotel than the nearby similarly named Hilton Buena Vista Palace–has several room types in a long mid-rise building.

Rooms with a king bed and rooms with two queens are available. There are also some bookable views–e.g. a Disney Springs view (about a third of rooms here face the freeway, half the Wyndham, and a sixth Disney Springs). The Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista is a major convention hotel, and as in all such hotels, multiple suite options are also available.

I’ve stayed here four times, most recently in the summer of 2018. This photo tour is from that last stay, and is of a two queen room.

The entry has the divided bath and closet on the same side, and gives a good view of the ugly carpet.

The  first part of the divided bath has this sink.

On the other side of the space is this good-sized closet, with mirrors in the folding doors, and safe at the lower left. Note also the ironing board, etc.

In a separate space you’ll find a full bath, with another sink on one side, a toilet in the middle…

…and a tub-shower combo on the other side.

A closer view of the bath toiletries.

Deeper in the room, you’ll find the queen beds and an easy chair on one side.

The bed side from the back of the room…

…and a closer view of one of the beds.

Between the beds you’ll find this bedside table with two drawers.

A closer view of the storage in this table.

At the end of this side, by the window, is this easy chair. I’d like to see a reading light near here.  And an ottoman, while I’m thinking about it.

The other side of the room has an empty mini-fridge casing with the coffee service above, a  dresser with a an actual mini-fridge inside and a TV above, and a desk.

This side of the room from the back.

The coffee service is atop an old mini-fridge casing…

…which is empty.

Next to it is the dresser, which is topped by a small 37 inch TV. The combination of the small TV and empty mini fridge casing leads me to think that a refurb will put a bigger TV on the wall, move the coffee service to the dresser, and eliminate the empty casing. We’ll see.

The three large drawers are plenty for the four people these rooms will sleep.

Next to these you’ll find the mini-fridge.

Further on this side you’ll find this desk.

The desk adds two shallow  drawers.

At around 375 square feet, the overall size of this Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista room is in the middle of the Disney deluxe resort range.  But because it devotes less of its square footage to the bath/entry/closet area, at around ~260 square feet, the size of its living area is larger than all the Disney deluxe resorts except those along the monorail.

The small TV and the absence of a balcony, while not unusual in the Disney Springs resorts (balconies are routinely available only in the Holiday Inn and Buena Vista Palace) are clear negatives.  But the divided bath and two sinks is a positive, and rarer among the Disney Springs resorts than they should be.  Overall this Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista room is bland but spacious, and is reasonably well-appointed for both families and couples.

AMENITIES AND DINING AT THE HILTON ORLANDO LAKE BUENA VISTA

This review continues here.

MORE ON THE HILTON ORLANDO LAKE BUENA VISTA

• Overview and summary
• Photo tour of a standard room
• Dining and amenities
• The pool 

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• Where to stay–the Basics
• Where first-timers should stay
• Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 160+ stays in them

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MICKEY’S NOT-SO-SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY 2018

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (“MNSSHP”) is a special, separately ticketed party that happens on certain nights every September, October and some years even early November at Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.

At the party you will find un-crowded rides, a special parade (shown twice, at 9.15 and 11.15p), special fireworks at 10.15p, a Hocus Pocus show, trick-or-treating, a dance party…and a ton of guests in costumes!

I had a chance to see it again a couple of times in mid-September 2018, and the scoop follows!

(See this for more on logistics–Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party dates, ticket prices, etc.)

WHAT’S NEW FOR 2018 AT MICKEY’S NOT-SO-SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY

The 2018 party pretty much follows the pattern set in 2015 and continued since. The most important change over the period is that the first parade is later.  This limits a bit the crowds in the hub during the first part of the party. You will still see crowds everywhere–ride waits are low to very low but the paths are mobbed.

For 2018, three rides have been “plussed.”

The Mad Tea Party has gained a different soundtrack, lights, and spooky smoke effects, greatly increasing its popularity–except with me.

Pirates of the Caribbean has gained some live characters…

…around the theme of finding “Gunpowder Pete.” The overall effect has led to some derision, but for some will give a new reason to pay more attention to scenes that perhaps they have come to take for granted, and for others will be a distraction from the dullness of the new redhead tableau.

Finally, the experience of Space Mountain really changes with a near blackout of the ride.

A big part of the fun of Space Mountain has been not being able to see what comes next–and a refurb a few years ago made the ride even darker (though not everyone is a fan). For the party, we have something different–a near black-out.  All lighting effects are turned off, objects formerly lit are now dark, there’s no stars in the sky.  All you can see is a few red dots here and there and some distant “EXIT” signs.

The effect is to make Space Mountain much more scary than before–as testified to by the quite louder screams, mostly of joy, you will hear while riding it.

The best approach to the Party remains the same–see rides until the fireworks, and watch the second parade rather than the first.

But because of the crowds remaining after the 9.15 parade, it may be hard to get to the hub to see the fireworks from there. While HalloWishes, like all Magic Kingdom fireworks shows, is best seen from between the Castle and the Main Street railroad station, it does work really well from elsewhere in the park, because of things that happen in the finale that I’m not gonna spoil here.

So do rides until just before ten, find a good nearby fireworks spot, then see the characters and go trick or treating, see the 11.15p parade, and see the midnight Hocus Pocus show. A late night, but one that avoids the congestion around the Castle hub and Main Street.

COSTUMES AT MICKEY’S NOT-SO-SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY

Costumes are not required, and not everyone wears them. But even after the increased security that began in December 2015, they are still allowed at the party.

Above is the official Disney lingo (click it to enlarge it). Note that these guidelines are solely for the Halloween Party.  “Regular” attendance is subject to different rules, basically ruling out costumes for those 14 and older.

The most common costumes continue to be princess costumes and pirate costumes, and after that Star Wars costumes.

And this group in Tomorrowland proved a Disney princess theme was not required!

THE PARADE, FIREWORKS, DANCE PARTY, HOCUS POCUS SHOW AND TRICK-OR-TREATS AT MICKEY’S NOT-SO-SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY

Besides most rides being open to short (or shorter) waits, MNSSHP has a special set of Halloween-themed activities (see above–click to enlarge it).

For example, the parade–Mickey’s Boo-to-You Parade–is seen only at MNSSHP.

It begins with a surprise–pay attention when the Cast members start to rope off the crosswalks (dampness on the streets may eliminate this first surprise).

Then a bunch of characters stroll by.

It then shifts to ducks and mice…

…then some pirates…

…more pirates…

…but then shortly shifts to my favorite part, Haunted-Mansion themed dancing gravediggers and ghouls.

More ghouls.

The gravedigger dance.

Soon comes candy…

…then the parade goes back to scary, ending with Disney villains!

There’s two showings of the parade, at 9.15p and 11.15p, with spectacular Halloween-themed fireworks between at 10.15p.

While the fireworks are best seen from in front of the Castle with the Main Street train station behind you, this will lead you into a wildly crowded section of the park.

Because of their spectacular finale the fireworks can be seen from elsewhere in the park–you’ll miss a little but gain a lot of comfort from avoiding the mobs in front of the Castle.

The Liberty Square and Cosmic Rays dance parties left three years ago, but there’s still an outdoor Monsters-themed dance party at the thingy between Astro-Orbiter and Space Mountain.

New in 2018 is a Disney Junior dance party in Storybook Circus…

…not much attended, at least during my visit to it.

Something I had not paid enough attention to until recently was fun audience interaction with characters from the Haunted Mansion.

It’s just outside the exit, so see it after your required Halloween visit to the ride.

You’ll also find lots of Halloween-themed merchandise.  Some is specific to the party (and may be sold out–see your brochure for locations) and the rest is generally available–including, somewhat jarringly, in the Christmas shop.

The Hocus Pocus show is quite popular.  The three sisters from the movie return…

…and call on hordes of Disney villains to help them stay.

The show includes strong songs and dances, fun characters, and some spectacular effects. Those familiar with the movie need not get close to the stage (thought it can’t hurt), but if you haven’t seen it, the characters of the three sisters are much more apparent if you are closer to the stage.  This is easier at the midnight show, not so easy at the earlier shows.

Character meet-n-greets are all over the place–with both common and unusual characters.

Some more characters:

There’s also a ton of trick or treat locations, marked by lighted columns.

Get your trick-or-treat bag on the pathway that begins at the left of Town Square…

…and your first handful of candy, too.

But both the characters and trick-or-treating raise an issue.

STRATEGY AND RIDES AT MICKEY’S NOT-SO-SCARY HALLOWEEN PARTY

All the major rides are open, and many minor rides as well. Most have very short waits–e.g. 10 minutes for Space Mountain. Typically, only Peter Pan and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train have annoying waits.

The trick-or-treat spots and especially the character greetings, on the other hand, have pretty long lines, and the hub is packed all evening.

So the best approach is to skip the character greetings and trick-or-treats–or delay them until after the fireworks–and spend the first part of the evening on rides.

Do rides until just before the 10.15p fireworks show and watch it.

Now try trick-or-treating or character meets. Then see the second (11.15p) parade and the midnight Hocus Pocus show.

I struggle with whether or not this party is worth the money for first-time family visitors who may never return.

It’s quite expensive–for a family of four, more than $300, and even over $400 on many dates. And it’s just a five hour show (7p to midnight)–though Disney unofficially lets you in starting at 4p.

Yet the fireworks are among the best Disney World offers, the parade is a hoot, the rides have short lines…and the costumes are fun!

My overall take is that for first-timers this time and money is better spent elsewhere, but that’s a really close call, and for sure I’d recommend it to returning visitors!

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For the first page of this review of the Hilton Buena Vista Palace, see this.

PHOTO TOUR OF A TOWER ROOM AT THE HILTON BUENA VISTA PALACE

The Hilton Buena Vista Palace in the Disney Springs Resort Area has several room types in two principal buildings–one the main tower, with multiple levels, and another a lower and somewhat distant accommodations building called the Island.

Rooms with a king bed and rooms with two queens are available, most with balconies.  When booking, you can select your beds, and also choose your view. The Buena Vista Palace is a significant convention hotel, and as in all such hotels, multiple suite options are also available.

This photo tour is of a tower two queen room. (A photo tour of an Island room at the Hilton Buena Vista Palace is here.)

The entry has the divided bath and closet on the same side.

The  first part of the divided bath has this sink.

Bath toiletries.

On the other side of the space is this good-sized closet, with a mirrored door (not shown, as I am shy).

In a separate space you’ll find the toilet and tub-shower combo.

Deeper in the room, you’ll find the queen beds and a small bench on one side.

The bed side from the back of the room…

…and a closer view of one of the beds.

Between the beds you’ll find this bedside table with an open cubby below.

The other side of the room has a dresser with a mini-fridge inside and a TV above, a desk, and then back in the angled area, a large easy chair.

The dresser is topped by a large TV.

The three medium+ drawers are enough for the four people these rooms will sleep.

Next to these you’ll find the mini-fridge. Note also the safe above it. Because I am a bad person, I forgot to measure it, but my book is 6 inches by 9 inches.

Further on this side you’ll find this multi-part desk thingy, with a coffee service on it. The lower part of the desk thingy is a rolling table that you can move elsewhere in the room and use for games, open heart surgery, and the like. This is a nice touch that you will also find in some of the Disney deluxe resorts.

Beyond, in the angled area of the room, is this large easy chair with a lamp on one side and a table on the other.

A closer view of the chair.

The table top comes off, revealing an ottoman below. The ottoman, along with the bench at the foot of one of the beds, adds to the seating options of the room.

At the end of most rooms is an angled balcony.

The angles of the room add interest to the space, but result in unusable corners in the balcony and a small overall usable balcony area.

My room overlooked Saratoga Springs. Some views are of sister Disney Springs Resort Area hotels, but you can also book pool, Disney Springs, and “Fireworks” views–the fireworks are quite distant, and the small balcony can lead to some crowding if you have four folks on it watching the fireworks.

The Magic Kingdom fireworks from my balcony.

The Epcot fireworks from my balcony.

At around 382 square feet, the overall size of this Hilton Buena Vista Palace room is in the middle of the Disney deluxe resort range.  But because it devotes less of its square footage to the bath/entry/closet area, at around ~274 square feet, the size of its living area is almost comparable to that in the largest Disney deluxes along the monorail.

Overall this Hilton Buena Vista Palace room is bland but spacious, and is well-appointed for both families and couples.

PHOTO TOUR OF AN ISLAND BUILDING ROOM AT THE HILTON BUENA VISTA PALACE

This review continues here.

MORE ON THE HILTON BUENA VISTA PALACE

• Overview and summary
• Photo tour of a standard tower room 
• Photo tour of an Island room
• Dining and amenities
• The pools 

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• Where to stay–the Basics
• Where first-timers should stay
• Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 160+ stays in them

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!

For the first page of this review of Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort, click here.

Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort completed a room refurb project in late 2019.

The key positive features of the refurb are the addition of queen beds and coffee makers, which, until a very similar refurb happened first at Pop Century, were unheard of in value resort standard rooms.

Less universally praised is the bright white color scheme–exacerbated by the loss of the colorful bed stripes, which has happened generally across Disney World resorts–and the fact that one of the queens is a fold down bed that disappears the table and chairs while it is down.

I had the chance to stay in one of these newly-refurbed All-Star Movies rooms in mid-September, so here’s a photo tour and my observations.

One side of the room has a thingy with the coffee maker above and the mini-fridge below, the dresser and TV, and a connecting door, if present.

This side of the room from the back.

The coffee thingy has multiple cubbies, a general feature of the value resort refurb program.

The drawer in the thingy contains the coffee and tea supplies, and also drinking and coffee cups.

The mini-fridge, as is common in new Disney World rooms, has a glass front so you can see what’s inside without opening it. I popped a shelf out of its supports with my book, but I fixed it later!

The dresser has drawers on one side and shelving and a safe on the other, is flanked with two sets of power points each of which can charge four devices, and is topped with a 54-inch TV.

The three drawers are 31 inches by 13 inches but only 4.5 inches tall.

There is still much more storage in these new rooms than in the pre-refurb rooms at the All-Stars–their dresser/ mini-fridge combo is shown above.

Back to the refurbed room, next to the drawers are shelves and a safe.

I measured the safe as 19 inches by 15 inches by 6.5 inches tall.

By the connecting door you’ll find this coat rack.

In the back of the room are the sinks, closet, and, in a separate space, the toilet and shower.

Following the details of the Pop Century here as in most other matters, the overall bath and dressing area are now closed off from the rest of the room with a sliding solid door, rather than the fabric curtain you’ll find in un-refurbed value resort rooms (and the Port Orleans moderates).

Here’s the sliding door closed.

Note all the crannies and cubbies around the sink.

The cubbies to the left of the sink have the hair dryer and iron.

On the right side of the sink you’ll find this new make-up mirror.

On the side of this space is a solid hanging closet. There’s 19 inches of hanging space inside.

The toilet and tub are enclosed by this two-part sliding door.

The tub is enclosed with sliding doors–a more straightforward arrangement for most than a billowing shower curtain, but an awkwardness for bathing children.

The shower has a rain fall head, but not the hand-held shower head that also comes with the Pop refurb. Other minor differences from the Pop refurb: no luggage rack (at least not in room 9751) and no extension to the clothes rod on the ironing board side of the closet.

The toiletries are in the bottles that we’ve been seeing in recent refurbs across the resort.

Some of the refurbed Pop rooms only have showers, no tubs. I don’t yet know if that’s the case with Movies as well.

Back into the main area, the other side of the room has a table and chairs and a fixed queen bed.

The bed side from the back. Note the seven visible pillows–there’s one more in the closet.

A closer view of the fixed queen…

…and of the art above it.  Just with this, these refurbed All-Stars Movies rooms have more Disney theming than any other value resort rooms except refurbed Pop rooms and the Little Mermaid rooms in Art of Animation…and there’s more to come.

Another feature of this refurbed All-Star Movies room is space under the bed for storing your suitcases.  There’s 14.5 inches of clearance, which will fit most rolly bags. I stuck mine in sideways to show how much clearance there is.

There’s a table with a cubby below and power points above between the bed and bath wall…

…and another between the bed and table.

The distinctive feature of this room is the fold down bed, found behind this table and chairs.

Stack the chairs in the corner…

…pull the two handles, and the table disappears and this bed replaces it.

Nephews also appear.

I measured the fold-down bed as 59 inches by 79 inches–just an inch short on both dimensions of being a queen, but it’s so much larger than a full (which would be 54″ by 74″) that none can quibble at calling it a queen.

The mattress is a full 12 inches deep–as deep as that of the fixed queen. This bed is entirely appropriate for adults, and in fact adults might prefer it, as they can put the kids in the fixed queen and use the table until they themselves are ready for sleep.

There is yet another table and cubby and power point between the fold-down bed and outer wall.

The addition of the queen-sized beds and coffeemaker is a clear win, as is the safe,  the shower head, the sliding solid door to the bath area, and the make-up mirror. The loss of the table when both beds are down is a bit of a pain, but as noted there are a couple of work-arounds–e.g. putting the table users in that bed.

And I know I repeat myself, but queen beds and a coffee maker wildly improve the livability of these rooms.

THEMED AREAS AT DISNEY’S ALL-STAR MOVIES RESORT

This review continues here.

TOPICS IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S ALL-STAR MOVIES RESORT

• Overview of All-Star Movies
• Photo Tour of a Refurbed Room at All-Star Movies
• The Themed Areas at All-Star Movies
• Amenities at All-Star Movies
• The Pools at All-Star Movies

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• Where to stay–the Basics
• Where first-timers should stay
• Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 150+ stays in them

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!

For the first page of this review of the B Resort & Spa, see this.

THE POOL AT THE B RESORT & SPA

The pool at the B Resort & Spa is about middling among those at the seven hotels in the Disney Springs Resort Area.

For example, it’s clearly worse than the offerings at the Hilton, the Hilton Buena Vista Palace, and the the Wyndham, and much better than those at the Doubletree Suites and Best Western.

It’s located in half of a long courtyard that has event spaces–open to everyone when not in use–in the other half.

The pool part of the courtyard is bounded by the three wings of the Lanai building, the first floor rooms of which have patios with access to the pool area.

It connects to the event space area, which is framed by the main building, meeting spaces, and the above spa.

The event space area is pretty interesting.  It includes a chessboard with pieces…

…and fun open-air…

…and shaded seating.

The pool itself is intimate while being large enough. Here’s the zero entry portion…

…and a view of it from another side. (The top of this page has yet another angle.)

Parts of the pool have a single row of comfy lounge chairs around it, and there’s also a bigger set of chairs closer to the bar.

The pool bar is nicely sized, and is conveniently located between the exit to the pool from the hotel and the pool itself.

Also on this route from inside to the pool is a service window and some tables from the nearby indoor snack shop, The Pickup.

A small hot tub–so small that I missed it on my first two stays here–is near the bar…

…and there’s a bit of a splash/play feature to the zero-entry area for kids to play in.

But that’s pretty much it. No poolside games, little in the way of water play features.

At the pool at the B Resort & Spa, the event courtyard furnishings add whimsy, the bar and convenient snack shop are great, and the pool itself is delightful. But there’s not much here beyond these, especially for kids…

MORE ON THE B RESORT & SPA

• Overview and summary
• Photo tour of a B Resort standard tower room 
• Photo tour of a B Resort Lanai pool-view room
• Dining and amenities at the B Resort & Spa
• The pool at the B Resort & Spa

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• Where to stay–the Basics
• Where first-timers should stay
• Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 160+ stays in them

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!