A Grumptastic Restaurant Review: Victoria and Albert's Chef's Table

  Have you ever wanted to eat at Victoria & Albert's but were a bit concerned about the quiet and library-like atmosphere of the restaurant?  Well, there is an alternative that can provide a very unique and different Victoria & Albert's dining experience but comes with a bit of a price.

Awhile back, I did a review of Victoria and Albert's.  I also mentioned that it was a piece on the Travel Channel about the Chef's Table at Victoria and Albert's that prompted us eating there in the first place.

During our stay at Walt Disney World in September 2006, my wife and I had the fortuitous opportunity to dine at Victoria and Albert's not once, but twice.  Our first meal was the one I wrote about previously.  Our second time was The Chef's Table.

There are a couple things of note in regards to dining at The Chef's Table at Victoria and Albert's:

• Nabbing a reservation at The Chef's Table is harder than getting tickets to a Hannah Montana concert.
• The same dress code applies, but you will have a totally different dining experience

Just like most restaurants at Walt Disney World, the Chef's Table starts accepting reservation requests 180 days in advance.  In order to have a chance of getting a seating, you need to be on the phone calling Victoria and Albert's (we called the restaurant directly) as soon as the open for the day that you are calling.  Make sure you do your math correctly.  If you are even 1 day off, you probably are not going to get a reservation. 

But, don't despair, there is a waiting list.  Granted, the odds of people canceling are slim, but it is still a hope.  The phone number to be put on the Victoria & Albert's wait-list is:  (407) 824-1893. 

When we called, we asked for any available openings for the entire time of our stay.  Then we planned our other meals around that. 

When our concierge at the Animal Kingdom Lodge saw that we were eating at both Victoria and Albert's and the Chef's Table, we were quickly told that we must've gotten very lucky.  Apparently, according to a few cast members in reservations that we spoke to, there are people who decide when to take their trip to Walt Disney World based on when they could get a reservation at The Chef's Table.

Our seating at the Chef's Table was the night of the first Monday of our stay (September 11, 2006).  My wife got all dressed up in the second dress she had bought for this trip.  I put on my suit again, but this time changed the shirt to coordinate with the dress.

We, once again, took a taxi over to the Grand Floridian because the idea of wearing a dress and heels on Disney Public Transportation wasn't a loveable idea for my wife.  I personally don't see what the big deal is, but I am not a woman so I cannot possibly know what it's like to walk around Disney in such attire.

When we arrived, we walked up to the host stand and informed the Cast Member on duty that we were here for our seating at the Chef's Table (there is only one seating).  They immediately knew our names and what we were celebrating (my birthday and our honeymoon).

They weren't ready for us at that time, so they walked us to a little seating area near Citricos and brought us each a glass of Champagne (or Sparkling Wine, I'm not sure if was really Champagne). 

We probably sat there for 15 or 20 minutes and someone from the restaurant constantly made sure we were alright.

Quickly, we were told it was time to go into the restaurant.  It turns out the gentleman who was ensuring our comfort while we were waiting in the lobby area, was one of the two gentlemen who were taking care of us for the entire evening.

You are brought into the restaurant just as if you were eating in the traditional sense at Victoria and Albert's.  The difference was that you pass right by the dining room and into a place that most patrons don't go.....the wait station!

At this point, you are taught the first rule of dining at the Chef's Table.......

You don't talk about The Chef's Table...... Just Kidding....haha

The wait station marks a buffer zone between the kitchen and the dining room.  There are doors to the dining room and a door into the kitchen.   Whenever entering the dining room, you make sure the kitchen door is completely shut before opening the door into the Dining Room.  This was a very important rule because it was critical to not spoil the dining experience for those in the dining room.

We didn't have to wait long to find out why this was important.  The kitchen is loud.  Not rowdy family holiday dinner loud, but organized chaos loud. 

We were now brought into the inner sanctum of Victoria and Albert's.  As some people say, "Where the magic happens". 

My wife and I have both done several tours of duty as employees of restaurants.  I worked as a waiter in a fine dining establishment and I would occasionally moonlight in the same restaurant's kitchen (the chef apparently liked me).  My wife worked in the kitchen of a family-style restaurant.

This kitchen wasn't anything out of the ordinary when it comes to a restaurant except there is a gigantic niche in the back of the restaurant containing a very large dining room table that you might see in a residential home containing a large family.

There was lots of wood everywhere in the area that we would be eating at.  Plus, the walls were decorated with various articles and awards for the Chef's Table.

At this point, we found out another bit of information they don't tell you in the literature.  You aren't guaranteed to have Chef Scott Hunnel be your Chef for the evening.  In our case, we were taken care of by Chef Amy (I think that's her name, the curse of time is making that detail a tad fuzzy).

She was fantastic and very confident and you could tell she loved being the head of that kitchen.

In addition to interacting with your Chef, you are completely free to interact with anyone in the kitchen.  You don't have to work that hard to get their attention.  Many of them would walk by and ask us if we had any questions about what they were doing.  I don't know if our obvious youth and unpolished social graces promoted this openness.

We also got to witness how the kitchen handles unexpected hiccups in the evening.  During our meal we found out  a party had shown up with several extra diners that weren't on the original reservation and one of the new bodies had very exacting dietary needs.

Apparently, the kitchen is very detail oriented and they pretty much have an idea what everyone is having for dinner that evening and when people show up that aren't accounted for, they must scramble.  The Chef doesn't really like to have too much duplication of the menus at the table and an unplanned extra participant can throw a wrench into the plan.  It would be like finding out that a member of your wedding party is bringing as their guest someone who wasn't well liked by someone else at the table you planned on seating them at.  You must scramble and rearrange.

Because of this, we had a brief period where we didn't get to interact with our Chef as she took care of the current emergency.

Here is another tip we picked up during our time at the Chef's Table.  If you have dined there before, make sure to let them know the date when make your reservation (either regular dining room or Chef's Table).  Chef Amy told us that it was very informative to know we had eaten there a couple days prior because she was able to pull up our menu and make sure we didn't get anything to eat that we had the previous trip.

The food is just like you would get in the restaurant except you get many, many more courses than in the regular dining room.

When each course comes out, Chef Amy would tell us what we were eating and any interesting details about the preparation.  We did get to experience Kobe-style beef (which is an extra cost in the regular dining room) and got to find out why it's called Kobe-style beef.

At the Chef's Table there is actually a Chocolate Course.  This precedes the dessert course and is as the name  states......just Chocolate!

Our two waiters were vigilant in their desire to make sure we weren't left wanting of anything.  It really was a small taste of what I guess it feels like to be royalty.  These two gentlemen obviously loved their job.

At the end of the meal, they brought us a little take-away bag that had two greeting cards made out of chocolate wishing me a happy birthday and both of us a happy honeymoon.  We also got our menus with our names on them.  Plus, my wife got another rose.

At one point in the evening we were asked if there was anything we wanted to see in regards to the kitchen.  My wife said she'd love to see where the desserts were made.

At the end of the meal, we were taken to the little nook where the dessert chef worked her magic.  It was at this point we learned a little bit of trivia.  There is a head dessert Chef for all of the restaurants at Walt Disney World.  He designs everything we eat for dessert at sit-down establishments. 

The chefs at each restaurant pretty much picks from a menu of what desserts they want on their menu.  There are minor variations that can be made to the desserts, but for all practical purposes they are the same.  For example, I had a gigantic pyramid of chocolate at Victoria & Albert's and later saw the same dessert at the Luau at the Polynesian Resort but it was much, much smaller.

There was one thing that the restaurants had a little say in.  That is the ice cream and sorbets.  So, this dessert chef was letting us sample some sorbets she was concocting for Victoria and Albert's.  She was combining flavors to try and come up with something tasty yet unique for the dining experience.

When it was time to leave, I think it was midnight and we were exhausted and very, very stuffed.  Who would've thought that a bunch of courses of tiny quantities of food would fill you up that much.

We have yet to get another seating at the Chef's Table and once again failed for our trip we are planning for the Summer of 2008 (we are 5th on the waiting list).  We will get there again if it kills us. 

It is an experience that I strongly suggest anyone who has the financial means to experience.  To help you decide if you have the financial means to experience it, it cost my wife and me $384.50 to dine at the Chef's Table.  This price is including Florida Sales Tax and Tip, but is does not include any alcohol.  So, if you want to do the wine paring, expect to pay more.

Technorati Tags: Grump's Opinion, Victoria and Albert's, Chef's Table, Review

A Grumpy Review: The Disney Vacation Club Point by Point

Over the past few months, there have been quite a bit of discussion  about the Disney  Vacation Club (DVC) in the Disney Community. 

Many of these discussions have been on various Podcasts.  I know it's been a recurring topic on the Mouse Guest Weekly podcast and more specifically discussed between Jennifer and Lisa in their Those Darn Cats segments on the podcast.

I also know that a segment has recently been tested on Ricky Brigante's Inside the Magic podcast about the DVC.

What is the Disney Vacation Club

I know that Disney and many other people refer to the Disney Vacation Club as a timeshare.  But, I like to tell people that it's more like purchasing tomorrow's Disney Accommodations at today's prices.

In other words, you are pre-purchasing your resort stays for the next 48+ years (length depends on what resort you buy into).

In my mind, it's kind of like a Roth IRA. 

In a Roth IRA, you are depositing money that has already been taxed at current rates so when you take it out, at retirement, you don't owe any taxes because you paid them before depositing.  So, in that case, you are paying your taxes at today's rate instead of the rates when you retire.

As we all know, Disney isn't known for  reducing the room rates for their Deluxe Accommodations.  They typically go up from one year to the next.  So in a few years you should see a benefit in pre-paying for your accommodations

What is a DVC Guide

Every member has a DVC Guide. 

When you walk into the DVC office at Saratoga Springs Resort (or wherever it is in Anaheim), you'll be asked who referred you to the Disney Vacation Club.  If you have a friend or family member who is already a member of the Disney Vacation Club, then you can give the person who greets you their Guide's name.  This way, you'll end up with the same guide as your friend or family member.  If you don't have a guide, one will be assigned to you.

Your DVC Guide is the person who will give you the tour of the rooms and give you the sales pitch from a numbers and functionality standpoint.  I didn't experience any arm twisting or coercive type salesmanship going on.  It was pretty much, "Here is what the DVC is, here is how it works, here is what it would cost you, what do you think?"

Once you are a member, your Guide is also your go-to person with any questions that you may have that cannot be resolved by calling the Customer Support Number.  They are also the person you will communicate with for the buying process. 

Your guide will also be the one who notifies you of new DVC opportunities in the future.  For example, my guide was the one who notified me, officially, of the sale of points for the units at Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas.

My DVC Guide is Brad Smith.  I must say that he was a very friendly and outgoing person [Ed. Note:  Yes, I know he's a sales person].  Trust me, I asked a ton of questions, pointed him to negative commentary that I found on the web and he answered them all with a smile and had a believable response for every thing I threw his way.  Plus, when we used our points to stay at Saratoga Springs Resort in September he made sure to call and make sure we didn't need anything.

It should be noted that if you decide to purchase into the Disney Vacation Club and you had named a friend or family member that person may be eligible for a "reward".  It just depends on what state they live in.  Many states don't let the awarding of the rewards.  If I remember correctly, the person gets a few Disney Dollars.

How much does it cost?

Well, I cannot speak from the Resale market because I purchased directly from Disney.  So, all my discussion will revolve around that.

The first thing you need to know is that the Disney Vacation Club works in points.  You purchase a set number of points that are deposited into your account on your anniversary date.  My anniversary date is December 1.  So, on December 1 of every year I get my next allotment of points.

I believe if you are making your first purchase into the Disney Vacation Club, the minimum purchase is 150 points.  The price per point, is something that your DVC Guide, will provide you and they have a great app to help you easily see the price of everything once you start playing around with point levels

Disney seems to always be offering some sort of incentive to get you to think seriously about purchasing.  In the case of my purchase, I had the option of get a few dollars per point removed (to lower my down payment) or getting double points for my first year.  We chose the double points.

Since the incentives are always changing, you need to check them out and decide accordingly.

For this blog post, I'm going to assume there are no incentives.  When I purchased into Saratoga Springs Resort, the price per point was $101 and I bought 210 points.  This came to a price of $21,210.  But, in addition to that, you also had various costs that are normal when dealing with real estate transactions (fees, fees, fees).

There is also this another little cost known as annual dues.  This is a per point dollar figure that every member pays.  The more points you own, the more annual dues you pay.  This dollar figure is typically broken out for you so you know where the money is allocated.  My annual dues for 2007 are $810 and according to my statement that I can view on the member's only web site, they went slightly down from last year (ever so slightly).   Annual dues are monies collected for the upkeep of the resort.

How many points should I get

So, I bet you are asking, "Why 210 points". 

Well, our decision was somewhat influenced by our guide who told us that he personally owned 200 points.  But we also started looking at the point chart to see how many points it would take to stay at the resorts at the times we'd like to go.

Each DVC resort has a point chart.  These point charts tell you how many points it "costs" to stay on a particular day or the week.  Weekends cost more points than weekdays.  Points also fluctuate based on the tourist season.  High season is more costly than low season.  Your point value is also dependent on the size of the room you want and in some locations (i.e. Animal Kingdom Villas), what view you want.

So, your number of points is really dictated by what style of room you like to stay in (studio, one bedroom, two bedroom, grand villa) and when you like to travel.

So, if you are interested in the Disney Vacation Club you might want to start looking at the point chart and figuring out how many points it would cost you to take a vacation during the period you typically like to go.  That way, when you are sitting in the office, you already know how many points you think you need.

I found a great point chart applet on Tagrel:  DVC Point Charts

What if I cannot use all my points?

One thing you need to realize is that your points aren't a use-it-or-lose it plan.

There is a process called banking and borrowing in place.  This process can be very confusing to people, so it is highly recommended to leverage the people behind the phone number they give you to help make sure you do it right.

Every member has a cutoff date to bank 100% of their points that haven't already been used to book trips for your current year. 

You pretty much need to figure out how many points you want to use during the year by that date and bank your remaining points to the next year.  If you don't do this, then any points left unused go away at the end of your year. 

Points that are banked must be used before any of your new points.  So, if you banked 100% of your points to the next year, then you need to use those points before you can tap into that year's points.

You can also borrow points from the next year.  So, in theory, you could have triple points.  You would combine this year's points, next year's points, and the previous year's points.  This is how some people get enough points to take a cruise or book one of the Grand Villa rooms (holds up to 14 people at Saratoga Springs)

So, you can see, getting the right number of points is kind of crucial.

What if I didn't Buy Enough Points?

But, if you don't buy enough points, there is the ability to buy more points and the DVC does seem to run periodic incentive periods for current members to try and get them to buy more.  This is often referred to, in the community, as addonitis. 

We almost succumbed to addonitis when the Animal Kingdom Villa DVC units were announced at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.  If we hadn't been building a house, we most assuredly have added on.

Why would I want to own points in more than one resort

When you buy your points, that resort becomes your "Home Resort".  You have the ability to book vacations at your home resort up to 11 months in advance.  You have to wait until 7 months out to book at non-Home Resorts.  You can only use points from your Home Resort when booking greater than 7 months out.

So, if I had purchased those points at the Animal Kingdom Villas, I could've only used up to the number of points I used when booking early.  But, if I needed more, I would've had to borrowed from the next year. 

Now if you book within the 7 month window, you can tap into your entire pool of points. 

Since Disney Cruise Lines aren't a DVC resort, you aren't governed by the 7 or 11 month rule so you can tap into all your points to book a cruise, or book at non-DVC Disney resort.  We actually used our points to book at Disneyland's Paradise Pier Resort.  We almost booked at the Grand Californian and wished we had afterwards [Ed. Note:  The Grand Californian will be getting DVC units during it's latest remodel].

How do I know when I have broken even

It's often heard that people say that you will break even around 5-7 trips.  The break even point is when you've stayed enough vacation nights in a DVC resort where the "rack rate" value of those nights would've met or exceeded your initial investment.

I don't know how others have determined this, but I tend to get a rough cost by using Disney's online reservation system to get a quote for staying at a resort I normally would've booked if I wasn't staying at the DVC (Polynesian, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Swan and Dolphin, etc.).  Then I plug that number into a spreadsheet which is tracking all those fictitious numbers for all my trips.

When the sum on the spreadsheet surpasses my $21,210 dollar figure, then I have broken even.

Some people want to know how the annual dues factor it.  I have been adding the annual dues to the original buy-in total.  So every year the total we are trying to exceed increases by a few hundred dollars. 

But, the way I see it, you can still exceed it over time.  When we stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge in 2006 (on the concierge floor), it cost us several thousand dollars for a 9 night stay.  If I remember correctly it was around $5-6K.

How Do I know that the DVC rooms are cheaper than paying rack rate

The most important question is how to determine if you are actually saving money by pre-purchasing your resort accommodations.

The first thing you need to keep in mind is that you cannot compare your "cost" to stay at a DVC resort to that of a Value Resort.  If you do that, the value resort will most likely always be cheaper.  This is more of a deluxe resort vs. DVC comparison

There is a simple calculation to determine the "value" of a point based on your what you spent.  This calculation was given to me by my guide who had received it from one of his clients who happened to be a CPA.  The math makes real good sense to me and several other people I have given it to.

First you take the initial cost per point you bought your points with.  In my case it's $101.  Then you divide it by the number of years in your contract.  In my case 48 years.

$101/point ÷ 48 Years = $2.10 per point per year

This is your base price per point.  This dollar amount will never change.

Then you need to figure out the per point cost for your annual dues. In my case, the annual dues for this year was $810. So I have to divide that $810 by 210 points.

$810 Annual Dues ÷ 210 Points = $3.86 per point

Now you take these two numbers and add them together:

$2.10 + $3.86 = $5.96 per point

This number will fluctuate based on your annual dues.  Each year you'd calculate your new cost per point for your annual dues and add it to the cost per point per year for your investment.

We will then take this figure that we've calculated and multiply it by the number of points that we used for our stay.

We used 202 points to stay at Saratoga Springs Resort in September.  Using my real-life point cost as an example, my 8 night stay in a one bedroom unit during the slow season has a cost basis of $1,203.92.

$5.96 per point * 202 points = $1,203.92

Which came out to $150.49 per night.

$1,203.92 ÷ 8 nights = $150.49/night

To me, that is a pretty low rate for staying at a deluxe resort.  The special rate for MouseFest guest at the Swan & the Dolphin was $159/night and the rate for Registered Nurses at the Swan & Dolphin is $169/night in December [Ed Note:  Yes you can get special rates at the Swan & Dolphin for select professions such as Police Officer, Nurse, Teacher...It's a Starwood Resorts thing].  There is a good chance the per night rate would've been cheaper in September since it is "hurricane season". 

But, you cannot do a true apples-to-apples comparison because I also got a full kitchen, a washer and dryer and a one bedroom unit.  Plus, the bathroom was significantly larger and we got a jetted garden tub. 

If we had stayed in a studio unit, which is the closest approximation to a regular resort room (in size, not amenities), the total number of points would've been 106.  This would've given me a total point value of $631.76 which translated to a $78.97/night point value.  That is definitely between Value and Moderate resort prices.

$5.96 per point * 106 points = $631.76

$631.76 point value ÷ 8 nights = $78.97/night

Now, as Disney keeps increasing the cost of staying at the resorts, it could very well be possible that the cost per night of a value resort will eventually become more expensive than the cost per night of your stay at a DVC resort.

Technorati Tags: Grump's Opinion, Disney Vacation Club

A Grumptastic Restaurant Review: Victoria and Albert's

Victoria and Albert's was a restaurant we got to enjoy in our September 2006 trip to Disney World.  We were first turned onto Victoria & Albert's when  it was showcased on Undiscovered Walt Disney on the Travel Channel.  Well, actually, it was the Chef's Table at Victoria and Albert's that was showcased, but the restaurant caught our attention none-the-less [ed. note:  We plan on doing a review of the Chef's Table in a future post].

My wife really salivated (no pun intended) at the idea of dining at this establishment.  Because Victoria and Albert's has a strict dress code that meant that I had to be wearing a suit (in actuality I was only required to be in a coat but the wife's wishes prevailed), and my wife needed to sport a dress.

What this translates to is a very long shopping expedition to look for the perfect dress, shoes and purse.  Plus, she needed to get me suited up.

We chose to dine at Victoria and Albert's on our first night at Walt Disney World.  This date also corresponded with my 35th birthday. 

Since my wife and I weren't allowed to take a Honeymoon after getting married and my job kept us from having a decent vacation afterwards, we decided that this trip would also count as our Honeymoon.

When my wife made the reservation she let the people know that we were celebrating my birthday and our Honeymoon. 

As rumored, we were contacted prior to our trip to Disney World by someone at Victoria and Albert's to determine our food allergies or any other foods that we just don't like to eat.  My wife told them that we would prefer to not have caviar, sweetbreads, nor corn. 

At this time the representative from the restaurant verified that we are indeed celebrating my birthday and honeymoon.

For all you men out there that are reading my blog, let me give you one bit of advice......

If you are lucky enough to be going to Victoria and Albert's and you aren't going it alone, please build in enough time for getting ready. 

I have found that it takes a lot more time to get ready to eat at a fancy restaurant than it does to get ready for any of the more "casual"  restaurants gracing "The World".

Another bit of advice I can pass on is that no matter how much you try to convince your wife, she isn't going to get on the Disney Bus System in a nice cocktail dress and heels.  That means that we needed to plan to take a taxi to the Grand Floridian.

If you think stepping in the Magic Kingdom is like stepping into another world of Fantasy, then be prepared to slip even further into the "rabbit hole" when you cross through the threshold of Victoria and Albert's.

It will become immediately apparent that you "aren't in Kansas anymore" as soon as you get in there.

My mother once told me that there is a difference between eating and dining.  A meal at Victoria and Albert's is definitely one that falls under the "dining" category.  Be prepared for a very long dining experience.  We had a 9PM seating and we weren't out of there until almost midnight.

A meal at Victoria and Albert's definitely substitutes for any parade and firework shows for the evening.

The first thing my wife and I observed was the quiet in the dining room.  I remember leaning over to my wife and whispering to her that it felt like we were having our dinner in the resource section of a  library.  You know that section of the library that all the uber research geeks like to hang out.  Where you most likely would find Disney Geek George if he wasn't tied to his duties as a Librarian.

The other thing you'll notice is that the restaurant isn't setup to hold a lot of people.  The room we were in was really only designed to hold about 12 people and there were only a couple other rooms of tables.

Dining at Victoria and Albert's is not an appetizer, entree, and dessert type of establishment.  You are going to have many, many courses.  I went into this dining experience knowing that, but the portion size is still very deceptive.

As you can see from the photos, the portions are deceptively small by American super-sized standards. 

When the wait staff sets down the first course you are sure you are going to breeze through this meal and leave needing to stop off somewhere and eat another meal.

The other thing you'll notice is that the china changes with each course.  Both the style and patterns changed. 

Now, I'm sure you are wondering what I thought of the food.

Well, I'm known to be pretty honest with you all, so I'm not going to start lying now.  There were things that I thought were awesome (anything categorized as red meat) and there were other things that weren't so awesome.  So I ended up taking a "no thank you" taste and left it relatively untouched.  My mother always told me to try everything and eat enough to show that you cared even if you didn't like it.

The thing that I thought I would absolutely love, but found that I really didn't was the cheese course.  I am a big lover of cheese (one of my few vices) but these weren't your usual cheeses.  They were exotic cheeses and they didn't taste anything like what I've ever had before.  I did try them all, but they were very pungent cheeses and now I know I don't like them.

The thing that I thought I would love and actually did was the  dessert.  Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate was the  final course and I have two words to describe it....Grump-Tastic!

There were a lot of lovely touches in this restaurant.  We all dined to tunes provided by a very talented harpist.  I must say that I've never heard Elvis on a harp until that night.

Albert (our waiter), provided my wife with a nifty device that hangs off the table that holds her purse.  The walls had what seemed like cloth-based wall paper.

Victoria and Albert went out of there way to keep us happy.  Our glasses never got empty.  When each course was provided we were given plenty of information about what we were eating.  Plus, when the entree was presented we got the whole metal dome treatment.  From my time as a fine dining waiter, I knew this was a French style service.  It is always fun to see.  Also, in the french style of service, the bread was served one roll at a time from a basket the wait staff carries.  This help prevent you from filling up on bread which is a big problem of mine. 

We did try to get plenty of pictures of our food, but I had a poor camera for the job and felt like I was committing some kind of federal crime by doing so.  A crime like taking flash pictures in a dark ride or heckling the Jungle Cruise Skipper. 

Our wait staff tried to reassure us that it was alright to take the pictures and that other people did it, but it still felt odd.  Granted, this meal was way before I even thought to start blogging about my experiences with Disney.  So, at the time, my memories were only worthy of our Disney scrapbook and photo albums. 

Next time, the Nikon D80 is coming out and I'm taking better notes about my thoughts and impressions.  Hopefully, I'll have a good flash with a diffuser on it to help prevent the blowing out of the whites that compose most of the dinnerware.

On our way out, Victoria took our picture in front of the large floral arrangement in the center of the restaurant.  Plus, we were given our copy of the menu that was customized to each of us.

Plus, to top off the evening, every lady leaves with a fresh cut long-stem red rose.

You definitely saw a different sub-set of tourist at this restaurant.  You just don't expect to see a bunch of finely dressed people when you are at Disney World.

I have heard many people state that they think Victoria and Albert's is the most romantic restaurant on property.  I can say that up to this point, I haven't found a restaurant to refute that claim.

My wife and I are definitely including this restaurant on our list of places we'll be going to again in the future.  Unfortunately, with a price tag of $253 (not including alcohol), I doubt it will be anytime soon that we'll be going back (unless they add it as a Premium dining establishment on the Deluxe Dining Plan in 2008).

Below, you'll see copies of the menus that we were given to take home.  You'll need to click on them to see a much larger copy which will be more legible.

Technorati Tags: Grump's Opinion, Victoria and Albert's, Review

Saratoga Springs Resort.....A Review

OK, in the name of full disclosure, I need to preface this review by stating that the only other resort that my wife and I have stayed in is the Animal Kingdom Lodge.  It just so happens that we seem to navigate toward the remotely located accommodations but I don't think it's a conscientious decision.

The decision to stay at Saratoga Springs was made solely based off the fact that it's our home DVC resort.  We felt that our inaugural stay at Walt Disney World with our DVC points should be in our home resort.

Based on our experience at Disney World the previous September, we knew that due to the immense heat and 100% humidity, we sweated through all of our clothes and didn't really want to take all those clothes again.  Plus, we knew we'd have to take more than last time because we didn't have nearly enough socks to handle the 2+ pairs a day I wore because I had to keep changing them.

Because of this, we booked the 1 bedroom because it comes with a stacked washer and dryer unit.  To us, this was an important feature to necessitate the consumption of the extra points to pay for the upgrade. 

We really had no idea what to expect when we got there because the memories of the "model unit" had already faded from our memories.

But, we did know, thanks to Kitty-Chan at Broke Hoedown, that location of your room was key if you were going it sans automobile like we were (see Car-free and Staying Sane at Saratoga Springs Resort).

Thanks to her article, we knew to ask for the Grandstand section of the resort when we were offered the option to move when they found out that we didn't have a car.

With all that introduction taken care of here are our impressions:

The Room

OMG!  The room was awesome.  Granted, the building was relatively new having been opened in April 2007, but still.  Our breath was taken away the moment we stepped through the door.  I swear the unit was only slightly smaller than the 1500 sq ft apartment we were renting at home.  I know, in reality, it was much smaller than our apartment, but it just felt more spacious.

The kitchen had everything that we could need plus it had granite countertops!  The refrigerator wasn't a full-sized unit that you might find in your own home, but it wasn't a dorm fridge either.  It was plenty sufficient for the storage of groceries one buys for a vacation.

As Tim Devine, of The Magic in Pixels, pointed out, you could easily cook dinner in your room and enjoy eating in comfort.

There was a nice sitting room/living room.  It had a TV, pull-out couch and a table to sit and eat at.  The TV also came with a DVD player.  So you could bring your favorite movies from home or rent them from the Artiste's Point (which are free if you are DVC member)

The bathroom was nothing to sneeze at either.  The shower was quite spacious.  It could easily accommodate two average sized adults in there without the need to do the little dance that comes with trying to pull that off in the standard tub shower.  I cannot guarantee there aren't any cold spots in the shower, but you'll at least not be giving your spouse black eyes as you try to shampoo your hair (who says that romance doesn't happen at WDW...haha).

The shower was in it's own space that was between the toilet and the bathtub.  The toilet was in it's own room which gave a bit of privacy for people who like that.  Plus, you had two doors that you could use to get to it.  Granted both doors took you to the shower area but you could get to the toilet from there.

You are graced with a giant jetted garden tub that overlooks the bedroom.  You can easily shut the shutters that separate the tub from the bedroom if you don't want to be staring at the bathroom all the time.

You also have one of two sinks next to the bathtub.  The other sink is next to the shower.  This sink, the one next to the bathtub, comes with tons of drawer space to stash all those necessary toiletries.

Off of this section of the bathroom is the closet. It's not a walk-in but it's also a tad larger than a reach-in.  Plus, this is where they stashed the safe, the playpen, and additional bedding.

Between the Master Bedroom and the living space was a closet storing the stacked washer and dryer.  They were by no means full-sized units, but sufficient for the vacationer.

The bedroom, was your typical Walt Disney World bedroom.  It had a desk which sported your connection to the high speed Internet ($9.95 per 24 hours), a plush chair, an armoire with TV and drawers for clothes, a sitting bench with storage under the cushion, 2 nightstands and a King Sized bed.

There was hidden Mickey's in the scrollwork on the headboard.

The Grounds

I must apologize that we didn't do much exploring of the grounds that wasn't encountered during our walks to and from Downtown Disney.  My wife, did make a trip to the main pool to get a quick dip and soak up some of those fabulous Florida sun rays (I'm cursed with fair skin and burn when looking at a picture of the sun).

She really liked the pool.  Her comment was that she likes going to the pool because no matter how she is feeling about her body, there is always something or someone there that makes you feel better about what you are working with.

On the flip side, she was a bit taken a back by some of the younger females who were there who were sunning topless and wearing thong bikinis.  She just didn't expect to see that at a Disney pool.  I told her that just because you are at Disney doesn't mean that one's pool culture is left at the borders

I'm not familiar with the Saratoga Springs, NY area but I did get the impression that I was in a very horse-race friendly environment when I walked the grounds of this resort.

Saratoga Springs Resort also sports a top notch exercise facility.  It has many of the pieces of equipment that I use when I'm working with my personal trainer at the gym.  Plus, everything is very new which means less chance of malfunctioning equipment.  In addition to weight training equipment, the facility has quite a few eliptical trainers, recumbent bikes and treadmills

Getting Around

This is probably the one section of the review that most people care about or are concerned with.

We didn't really see any problems with transportation, but planning was in order.  Here are a few things we learned (all observations are based on a stay at the Walt Disney Resort between Sept 9 - 17th which is supposed to be one of the slower seasons):

• If it's a thundering out, water taxis aren't running.  That means you are walking to Downtown Disney, or you are riding a bus to a park and then switching busses to Downtown Disney.  That could be quite an unnecessary ordeal compared to just getting an umbrella and walking.
• If you are planning on going from Saratoga Springs to any other resort, you should still give yourself 1 hour.  Most of our "fancy" dinners were at the Monorail resorts (Grand Floridian, Polynesian, Contemporary).  Our preferred route was going to EPCOT, switching to the Monorail to the TTC and then switch to the Resort Monorail.  It just happened that way because we'd plan on catching whichever came first (Magic Kingdom or EPCOT).  EPCOT always seemed to come first.
• There are 5 bus stops at Saratoga Springs Resort.  The first one is at the Grandstand Section.  Hence, the preference for staying there if you aren't sporting a vehicle.  With each successive stop, you run a greater risk of not getting a seat (The Springs is the last stop and is the one closest to the main office where you check in).  Even in this slower season, we saw situations where it was standing room only for the people at the last stop (The Springs).
• Between 9AM - 10AM seemed to be the peak time for people leaving the resort going to the parks.  Those days when we went to the parks at that time, the busses were quite busy compared to leaving an hour earlier.
• There are often just one way to get between parks.  For example, if it's served by a monorail, don't expect to find a bus to get there.  If there is a water taxi, don't expect a bus.  We often found this out to our own peril because we were in a rush.  For example, to get from MGM to the Yacht & Beach club, you cannot take a bus.  You must take a water taxi.
• Patience will get you far.  Yes, you may have blistered feet or be standing around it rain soaked clothing but yelling at people doesn't make the bus show up any quicker.
• Even with bad weather, 45 minutes was the longest it took us to get from the resort to some other place.  Yes, you could've gotten there quicker by car, but for me, it was nice to know that no matter how tired I was I didn't have to try and drive back.  Plus, I could enjoy the occasional Guinness and not worry about driving (I don't drive even if I've had one beer).
• If you can handle walking EPCOT Center, then you can handle walking to Downtown Disney.  There were many a time we walked the entire way from the Boat Dock at Saratoga Springs to Downtown Disney without ever seeing the Saratoga Springs boat.  Translation:  You could get to Downtown Disney faster by foot than if you waited for the boat.  Plus, the boat doesn't run if there is lightening.  I think my wife and I timed it and from Bus Station at Downtown Disney it took us 15 minutes to get back to our room.  Granted, we are swift walkers and in fairly good cardiovascular shape.

In comparison to our stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge the previous year, getting around by the use of Disney Public Transportation was a breeze.  We had to utilize taxis quite a bit to get to the various fancy restaurants we patronized.  This time we were able to pull it off without hailing a cab.  That saved us between $20-$40 (plus tip).

When comparing the use of busses to get to the parks, it seemed as if there were more frequent buses showing up at Saratoga Springs than at Animal Kingdom Lodge.  I swear, we felt like we were waiting for 30+ minutes at times at Animal Kingdom Lodge to get a bus places.

I also think Saratoga Springs is closer than Animal Kingdom Lodge so we were able to stay at the parks a little later before we had to head back for the pre-dinner shower and wardrobe change.

In Summary

We MOST DEFINITELY will be staying at Saratoga Springs Resort again.  Despite the various travails we had with the Disney Transportation System (crowded busses, late monorails, broken down vehicles, etc....see my trip reports), it wasn't enough to dissuade us from staying there again or force us to rent a car.  It may be the fact that I rode the METRO bus system in Houston for so long, but I'm not as impatient with quirks of public transportation as other, not so seasoned people might be. 

The rooms were great and really gave us the feeling of staying in a home away from home.  The fact that we didn't have regular maid service didn't bother us at all.  We knew if we were in a pinch, we could do our own laundry to get clean towels and/or sheets.

The bathroom and shower facilities were much nicer than what you'd see in any of the Deluxe hotel accommodations.  This may not be important to all, but it is definitely a nicety for my family.

I don't know if my ruminations were of any use to my readers or those who stumble across this via an Internet search, but I hope it was of some use.

This is Grumpwurst reminding all my lovely readers that only you can make your day a Grumptastic one!

Technorati Tags: Saratoga Springs Resort, Review, Walt Disney World, DVC, Disney Vacation Club

Walt Disney World Day 05 Special Report.....Grim Grinning Ghosts Come out to Socialize

We interrupt our regularly scheduled trip report to go live in Walt Disney World for a report of the re-opening of the Haunted Mansion in Liberty Square.........

This morning's entire mission was to get onto the new reopened Haunted Mansion.  For, you see, the Haunted Mansion has pretty much been closed for the entire summer so the Disney Imagineers could give it a much needed refurbishment.  While they had her "opened up" for surgery they decided to add a few enhancements.

My wife and I decided that there was no point to get to the Magic Kingdom at 8AM for the Early Magic Hours since that would mean that we would be standing at the rope to Liberty Square for an hour waiting for it to drop at 9AM.

So, we got up and got to the park at around 8:30AM and got into the  very huge crowd at the Liberty Square rope near the center hub.  We didn't think we could get to the one in Fantasyland in time and figured it would be much more crowded than the one we were in.

As we figured, as soon as the rope dropped people started sprinting like they were at the big bridal gown sale that occurs in most towns every year.  It was funny to see.  We just swiftly walked.  I think we could've powered through the pain of our blisters (we put moleskin on them to help protect them this morning) if we had to, but what was the point to run to just get into a log jam anyway.

The crowd that awaited us was a bit more than I was expecting.   There was no order to the madness it was just chaos as a giant crowd of people were being merged into a line that was only 2-3 people wide.  Plus, the line did it's usual Disney thing and snaked around and around giving you a false sense of progress.

I have to admit that the line moved very fast.  I don't think it ever stood still very long.  It was for this reason that I really didn't get to take many pictures on the outside of the queue such as the gravestones.  I can tell you that a nice touch was that real cut red roses were placed at the headstones for both Master Gracey and Madame Leota. 

Once we got into the stretching room I was quickly looking for things that had changed.  Everything seemed cleaner and you could tell the audio was different.  The voice of the "Ghost Host" moved around the room as advertised but it was more like a surround sound like demo you'd see at the beginning of a movie than anything really cool.  It didn't really feel like it was right behind you or anything.  But any improvement is a good one in my book.

Once you get out the stretching room, you are quickly herded onto your Doom Buggy.  The doom buggies went down a corridor with plain, non-enhanced spooky portraits on one side, then you move into another corridor that had the portraits that were advertised.  They are the ones like you see at the Disneyland Haunted Mansion that you experience in their queue from the stretching room to the doom buggy.

As soon as we got into the library we broke down.  At the time we thought the ride stopped to load some wheelchair bound passengers because we knew there were a few behind us.  It was later that we found out that it truly broke down (my wife overheard cast members talking about it).

The new staircase effect is very, very cool.  It really doesn't have a Harry Potter feel like everyone was trying to describe.  It got the 100% Disney dark ride treatment.  There were floating candelabras and ghostly footprints all illuminated in glorious black light.  Unfortunately for us, there was something wrong with the audio at this point.  What I think was supposed to be thunder sounded more like a jack hammer.

You travel through the same other scenes as before but the attic scene and the Leota room have gotten the Disneyland treatment with the murderous bride ghost and the floating Leota crystal ball.  

Except, and I may be mistaken, I didn't see the beating heart in the ghost bride that you could see in Disneyland's version.  Everything else is pretty much the same.  I think the hidden Mickey in the graveyard scene is gone now, but it was a quick attempt to look and I may have missed it or my view may have been obscured.

In the ballroom scene, I think the Imagineers have put out new plates on the dinner table.  I think they used to be metal and now they are china.

In regards to all the scenes that stayed the same, my wife and I both feel that the colors are now more vibrant and the ghosts are much crisper, clearer and colorful than before.  It very much has a brand new feel.  You'd never know that this was a ride that opened with the park in the 70's.

We found out that the Annual Passholder preview will not begin until September 14th.  At that point, there will be a separate line for Annual Passholders between opening and noon.  My wife and I will be definitely riding this at least one or two more times.  Now that I know that I lack any skill at taking pictures on this ride, I'll be just sitting back and admiring the skill, creativity and talent of Disney's fine Imagineering staff.

On my grumpy 5 harrumph scale, I give this attraction a solid 6!

Technorati Tags: Haunted Mansion, Trip Report, Walt Disney World