Category — q. Reviews

OVERVIEW: DISNEY’S BEACH CLUB VILLAS FOR FIRST TIME VISITORS

Disney’s Beach Club Villas (a Disney Vacation Club (“DVC”) resort, and one of the Epcot resorts,) is a wonderful place for returning visitors to Walt Disney World to stay, and could easily become one of my personal favorites among the DVC resorts.

For typical first-time visitors, I don’t recommend the Disney Vacation Club resorts.

That said, these “DVC” resorts can be a great choice for first time visitors with large families, needing extra sleeping spaces, or looking for a more comfortable place to stay.

Among the Disney Vacation Club resorts, Disney’s Beach Club Villas ranks sixth overall for first-time visitors, and is particularly strong for charm, compactness, convenience to Epcot, and access to the great pool Stormalong Bay.

THE BEACH CLUB VILLAS AND THE DISNEY VACATION CLUB RESORTS

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HOOP DEE DOO REVUE…REVIEW

Welcome to those coming from The World of Deej as Magical Blogorail Teal writes about our favorite things to do outside the parks!

This site promises first-time family visitors who may never return all the best of Walt Disney World.

From the start, that’s meant the best in or outside of the parks.  Some of the key things outside the parks in the itineraries are Cirque du Soleil at Downtown Disney, and the Gospel Brunch at House of Blues.

Another “best outside the parks” is the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue. [Read more →]

WHAT IS THE DISNEY INSTITUTE?

The Disney Institute is the professional development –I would say leadership development– arm of Disney.

Through a variety of paid programs, it aims to help people build their toolkit to enable cultural change in organizations –particularly, but not only, in improving the quality of service delivery.

Disney Institute programs  are delivered in single and multi-day sessions at Walt Disney World and Disneyland.  Single day sessions are also done in various cities.

In addition, Disney will deliver a customized program at an organization’s site, and engage with organizations in long-term change journey.

See this for the current set of topics and current calendar of programs available to the general public.

I had the chance to see one of Disney Institute’s one-day programs a few weeks ago in my home town.

I thought it was terrific.  But I know I am odd.  So here’s a couple of thoughts for those less odd:

• Don’t attend a Disney Institute session unless you’ve to Disney World or Disneyland at least once–so those here planning their first time visit, don’t attend a session yet!
• Start by reading the key books first–they are much cheaper than attending a session
• If the books resonate with you, then try a one-day session, nearby or at Disney World
• Getting the full value out of the Disney Institute concepts requires sustained top leadership commitment and likely extensive changes in their behaviors.
  • If you aren’t the top leader, or the head of a unit with major control (e.g. over hiring, orientation, training, operations, etc.) then you need to get your top leaders on board.  Major change takes a multi-year effort that starts at the top.
  • It’s not about making front-line staff less annoying–your front-line people are annoying because by neglect or by mistake you’ve made it rewarding for them to be so. So it’s about the leadership team putting together a system of values, behaviors and processes that encourage, enable, and reward great service.

REVIEW: THE DISNEY INSTITUTE

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THE PIRATE-THEMED ROOMS AT CARIBBEAN BEACH

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort is this site’s top-rated moderate resort for first-time family visitors to Walt Disney World.

It gets that position because it has a little more kid appeal than the other moderate resorts.

For example, it’s the only moderate where all the rooms have Disney theming. Most rooms at the sprawling and often inconvenient resort are decorated with a light Finding Nemo theme, but a subset in its Trinidad South section have pirate theming.

This pirate theming is pretty cool, but, given the inconvenience of Trinidad South, is not worth the extra $30 a night it costs (pre-tax, Fall Season 2012).

Moreover, by building these rooms, Disney may have put itself at the end of a gang-plank on the question of adding queen beds to Caribbean Beach. [Read more →]

(This review is also an entry in the series on Disney World Controversies.)

THE MOVE IT! SHAKE IT! CELEBRATE IT! STREET PARTY

Move It Shake It Celebrate It–I’m dropping the exclamation points–is a combined minor parade and brief dance party that happens several times each day at the Magic Kingdom.

I find it somewhat awkwardly named–must I also celebrate that which I am otherwise delighted to move and shake?–but otherwise a hoot, and the equal to better known and more widely anticipated and attended formal afternoon parades, like the Pixar Pals Countdown to Fun Parade at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

But you won’t find it in this site’s itineraries, nor in its Comprehensive Guide to Rides and Attractions.  Why? And why might that be changing? [Read more →]

DINING AT DISNEY WORLD’S DELUXE RESORTS

One of the best features of the deluxe resorts is the often wonderful dining venues at them.

Some of these dining venues are better for adults than for kids; moreover, for every resort other than the Animal Kingdom Lodge it’s also worth thinking about options at other nearby deluxe resorts. (The Animal Kingdom Lodge has no nearby resorts.)  Sheer variety also has its virtues.

See the image for some distinctions based on these points. You can find detailed reviews of all the resort table service restaurants in the individual resort reviews.

A few comments:

• The monorail resorts–the Grand Floridian, Contemporary, and Polynesian–are just a short monorail ride from each other, so the great options at the Grand Floridian and Contemporary in particular are easily accessible from each of these hotels.
• The two resort meals included in most of this site’s itineraries are Chef Mickey’s at the Contemporary and the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue at Fort Wilderness.  The next best resort meal for kids is the Whispering Canyon Cafe at the Wilderness Lodge (this meal used to be in the itineraries, but I took it out a few years ago as part of a simplification exercise).  The Wilderness Lodge and the Contemporary are linked to each other and to Fort Wilderness by boat, so these resorts get an extra kick on the kids meals ranking.
• The Epcot Resorts–the Yacht Club, Beach Club, and BoardWalk Inn–are a short walk from each other and from the BoardWalk.  Those who have park hopper tickets and enough days on their tickets also have easy access from these hotels to all the dining options at Epcot.
• The Animal Kingdom Lodge has three great options, but is isolated from other resorts.

For more on dining at Walt Disney World, see this.

DISTINCTIONS AMONG THE DISNEY WORLD DELUXE RESORTS

• Disney’s Polynesian Resort. Only resort with both own resort monorail stop and in easy walking distance of TTC and its Epcot monorail. Only deluxe with no fitness center–guests are allowed to share the one at the Grand Floridian. One of only a few deluxes with no spa services. Strong kid appeal. At high end of room sizes.
• Disney’s Contemporary Resort. Only resort from which you can walk to and from the Magic Kingdom. One of only two deluxes with no on-site child care programs. One of only a few deluxes with no spa services. At high end of room sizes.
• Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort. Shortest monorail ride to Magic Kingdom; longest back. Largest standard room sizes of WDW resorts. Best adult dining among WDW resorts.
• Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. One of only two deluxes whose standard rooms sleep only 4. One of only a few deluxes with no spa service. Stunning kid appeal.
• Disney’s BoardWalk Inn. Greatest variety of dining options. However, breakfast–especially for kids–is awkward, and counter service is weak. One of only two deluxes with no beach or marina. One of only two deluxes with no on-site child care. In middle range of room size.
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. Only resort with close up views of many types of wild animals. (All resorts offer views of lizards.) Only deluxe with no transportation options other than buses. Only deluxe not on a lake. One of only two deluxes without a beach or marina. One of only two deluxes whose standard rooms sleep only 4. One of only a few deluxes without spa services. Stunning kid appeal.
• Disney’s Yacht Club Resort and Disney’s Beach Club Resort. Best pool (shared) at Walt Disney World. Wide variety of dining options, but counter service is week. In the middle of room sizes among deluxes.