January 25-29, 2008...PopCentury, 2008 DDP

[worfarino]

Disney Trip Review
January 25-January 29, 2008

Dining Plan Meals:

Coral Reef: We had an ADR for 7:50pm and were seated around 8:25pm. Our view of the aquarium was great (we were seated at the first table on the second level towards the right side of the restaurant). The waiter seemed to have a chip on his shoulder about the dining plan and he was not very attentive throughout our meal. My husband ordered the crab legs, mahi mahi for my daughter, and macaroni and cheese for my son. I decided not to use one of my meal plan TS and ordered a caesar salad and lobster bisque. The bread was delicious, soft on the inside with a nice crunch crust. My husband was happy with his crab legs, my daughter's mahi mahi was good and the mashed potatoes were excellent. My son's mac-n-cheese was standard Stouffers. I was very pleased with the nutritious side choices, he had a fruit cup and carrots & celery with dip. I thought the caesar salad was good and the lobster bisque was a waste of money. The chocolate wave dessert was delicious!

O'Hanas: This is a family favorite and this trip was no exception! My SIL and her boyfriend met us for dinner and the waitress did a great job with the check, 4 on the meal plan and 2 paid with cash. The meal was excellent. We all loved the salad, I wish I had the recipe for the dressing! Again, I am a big bread person and I loved the bread. Then came the chicken wings and peel-n-eat shrimp, both were yummy. The main course consisted of beef, pork, turkey and shrimp; all of which was delicious. The dessert was a wonderful banana caramel bread pudding...I never liked bread pudding until I ate at O'Hanas a few years ago, now I love it!

Le Cellier-Another family favorite! The staff is wonderful at this restaurant, they make you feel welcomed and they are very professional. The dining plan was a non-issue, they seemed to understand the ins and outs. I ordered the LeCellier filet which was one of the best filets I have ever had and I have eaten at Morton's, Ruth's Chris etc. The filet was cooked to perfection and the risotto was a nice accompaniant. The cheddar cheese soup and the pretzel breadsticks were delicious. My husband had a maple glazed filet with mashed potatoes, he thoroughly enjoyed his meal as well. Dessert was chocolate "moose" and a triple chocolate whisky cake, both were wonderful!

Chef Mickey's: The kids had a great time! The characters spent lots of time and had them up dancing an swinging their napkins! My husband and I both thought the food had improved since the last time we ate there. I think the pictures are ridiculously priced, I don't understand why they can't offer a single picture. You have to purchase a package for $31.95 and I couldn't justify the price when all I really wanted was one picture!

Sci-Fi Diner: We had a great waiter which I have decided can make or break a dining experience. The kids love this place! The milkshake was yummy and our waiter split it into two glasses for us, one for the front seat (the kids) and one for the back seat (my husband and I). I was disappointed that they took the chicken sandwich with the onion rings on top off the menu, we tried the shrimp penne and it was decent. We also had the spinach dip which was a crowd pleaser. The kids had the standard hot dog and cheeseburger. Again, I was pleased with the healthy side dish options for the kids...fruit cup, grapes, carrot sticks etc.

Cosmic Rays: This was the first time we ever dined at Cosmic Rays and it wasn't bad. We had the rotisserie chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans. The kids had chicken nuggets and a salad with grilled chicken. Carrot cake for dessert which was pretty good for a pre-packaged cake.

Everything POP food court: Wow, was that place jam packed! Uggh...a little too busy and chaotic for my liking, but the food was decent. We only ate breakfast there twice. The western omelet was good and the waffles were a hit with the kids.

Mexican Cantina: The nachos were not very good at all. My son's meal was pretty good, he had a chicken quesadilla with chips and queso. The queso seemed more like cheese whiz to me, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. My favorite part of the meal was the churro that we had for dessert!

Earl of Sandwich: The sandwiches were yummy, Beef n Blue for me, The Original for my husband, the Caprese for my daughter.

Snacks: Goofy Candy Company at Downtown Disney was definitely the diamond in the rough this trip! The best use of snack coupons. We went to the back of the store and created our own rice crispy treats...our favorite was dark chocolate, reeses cup, peanuts and caramel drizzle!!! We saved our snacks and got 6 of them to go for our friends. One of my neighbors came over tonight and was raving about hers which we added crushed oreos to the above combination. She just got back from Disney less than a month ago and was so disappointed that she hadn't discovered this treat on her trip!

Pop Century
This was our first time staying at a value, we have always stayed at moderates.

The room was fine, a little smaller than the moderates. We missed the double sink and the curtain that separates the bathroom area from the sleeping area.

We had an absolutely wonderful mousekeeper who left us a dog towel animal, a basket towel sculpture and did fun things with the stuffed animals that we bought. We wrote her little notes every day with a tip and she seemed to appreciate them!

Our location was awesome! We were in the 70's section, building #10...very convenient to the bus stop and food court.The theming was fun and literally larger than life.

The bus waits were sometimes very long both leaving Pop Century and at the parks. One night, my husband and daughter waited for 7 buses...he estimated that there were probably 300 people in line trying to get back to Pop from Magic Kingdom. Lots of standing room only on the buses and this was off peak!!!

I don't think we would stay at Pop again, because we like the feel of the moderates better. I like to relax when we get back to the resort and Pop was stimulation overload for us.
All of this being said, I think that Pop is a decent value if you want to stick with a budget.

Princess and Pirate Party

We all dressed up which was fun. We didn't see many characters except in the parade. We did see Captain Hook and Mr. Smee, but that was about it.

We were thrilled that there was little to no wait for all of the rides!We were disappointed that the Haunted Mansion wasn't open.The fireworks were amazing.

The "treasure hunt" was not that great, they gave out beads and such, but the lines were fairly long.

I'm not sure I would pay $120 for our family to go again, but it was fun to experience it once.

Other thoughts:

Magical Express was wonderful from start to finish.

Check in process was smooth.

We have been before during January and we could walk onto almost every ride; not so this trip, it was much more crowded than what we expected-lots of foreign travelers.

Mount Everest was absolutely incredible! One of the best roller coaster experiences I have ever had!

Turtle Talk with Crush is a neat show.

Mission Space was not as bad as I expected.

This was the first time I have ever rode Spaceship Earth and I thought that was neat, same for the Carousel of Progress.

We spent a fair amount of time in "The Seas" at Epcot and we all enjoyed it.

My husband and son really enjoyed the stunt show at DHS.

We were able to attend one of the soft openings for Playhouse Disney and my son was thrilled to see Handy Manny!

The Living with the Land was a great experience for our daughter. She was missing a couple of days of school and this ride gave her lots of material for her school journal as did the safari ride at AK and the walking trails at AK.

My son loved all of the playground areas both at Pop and at the parks. He definitely need a place to expend some energy!

[adoptionislove]

That is a great report!

Michelle

[RedheadWriter]

I was there at POP from Jan 23 through Jan 27. I too thought the crowds were heavy. Great report and a great trip!

[faline]

Fine dining and fun! Sounds like a terrific trip!

[tinkerbell04]

Sounds like a great trip, thanks for the report.

[vizsla]

Thanks for the report.

[pdrlkr]

Thanks for the report!

[dolphinmickey9170]

Thanks for sharing!! Sure sounds like you had a great time.

[cperry92380]

We were @ Pop from Jan 27-Feb 3.
That won't happen again...
the walls seemed PAPER thin and we could hear everything through them. we had already settled into our room by 2 days when we got neighbors next door... we were too settled to ask to be moved... so we had to 'deal'.
The sounds from the plumbing were also horrible too... you could here when ANYONE in any of the surrounding rooms (lateral sides and also one the end-to-end units). It was horrible... when anyone decided to take a shower... EVERYONE knew...
NEVER again...
we'll be going back to a rental home for our next trip, no doubt...

[Hair_Razor]

Thanks for the report. My son will be doing the journal as well "The Land" is one that we definitely hit. Very educational!

[Bethis26fan]

Thanks for sharing, sounds like a grea trip.

[HndrdPrcnt]

Sounds like a great trip overall. We love POP and will probably stay there again and again. We always rent a car and then we don't have to wait for the busses.

I totally agree with you about O'Hana. It is an absolute must for us on our next trip as well (as is Earl of Sandwich).

Thanks for sharing!

[PAYROLL PRINCESS]

Thanks for a fun trip report. Glad you enjoyed your trip.

[January-2007]

Thanks for the trip report!

[ChipnDaleGal]

You ate at some of my favorite places during your stay. It all sounded so yummy! I am glad your family had a really good time. Thanks for sharing.

[AbeeNormal]

You sure had some great meals. Sorry to hear about Mr. Chip in Coral Reef
I'm really glad you liked Sci-Fi, it's not too often anymore that they get a good review.

I think I got a toothache reading about those crispy treats YUMMY!!!! They sure sound like a must do.

At least you tried a Value and now you know. They do work for some but not for everyone, my DH and I are both 5'10 and the beds are just too small and with our two boys I think we would feel a little smooshed.

Thanks so much for sharing everything with us -I look forward to your next trip.