Storybook Dining at Artist Point Watch Thread!

[sdk1231]

Evil Queen is totally amazing and worth the majority of the cost. She made us so happy we were able to ignore little things that were off.

I agree with you on the Evil Queen. She was amazing. Her interaction with my family was top notch, including a menacing "stare-down" she did with my teen daughters as we left the restaurant that lasted until we got all the way to the door, and ended with her doing a victorious cape-flourish. The other diners applauded and put up a cheer. She was that good.

 

[Disneylover99]

We went Christmas Eve—no Grumpy and were told upon check in we could cancel. 1. We wanted to go anyway. 2. Where else would we have eaten for dinner on late notice 12/24?

While we missed Grumpy, we loved the experience. It is a must return for us, and my only child is a 13 year old boy. However, I wholeheartedly agree that the schedule should have a plan B. Missing 1 character wasn’t awful, but 2 of 4 would be a lot harder to stomach. Even more so if I had a princess loving little girl.

Evil Queen is totally amazing and worth the majority of the cost. She made us so happy we were able to ignore little things that were off.

ETA. Scheduling should definitely have plan B for holidays when call outs/time off requests are more prevalent. I am sure backup is in place for other high demand experiences.

That's good. I think it's important that they be upfront about it and give people the option to cancel if they wish.

 

[mommy2mrb]

Storybook Dining with Snow White at Artist Point was my family's #1 Worst Dinner at Disney. We went New Year's Eve - Dec 31, 2018. Family included myself, husband, and daughters aged 14 and 18. We unanimously agreed that it was our worst meal at Disney - ever. We all agreed that we'd rather have eaten burgers at Whispering Canyon. We disliked all of the (odd) shared appetizers - which were essentially fancy squash soup, a tiny meat pie sort of like a shepherd's pie that wasn't good, and a shrimp/prawn w/basil leaf. We disliked all of the (odd and disgustingly sweet) shared desserts. I thought the little gooseberry (?) pie was okay (it tastes like rhubarb pie), but everyone else disliked every one of the desserts - a first! (my daughters are sweets freaks). Entrees included (fatty and gross) prime rib with (very strong) horseradish mashed and authentic (i.e. bland, slimy and gross) popover. My 14 year old bread-lover snatched up the nice looking popover, took a bit, and looked like she was going to spit it back out on her plate until I gave her the stink-eye. Another entree was veal shank (i.e. a bowl of pot roast with a bone hunk in it, just to gross you out) over celery mashed (blah). I had ordered the Veal Shank and my 18 year old had ordered the Prime Rib. We were both grossed out, so we traded meals. Still grossed out, we just picked around. She thought the Pot Roast (errr.. veal shank) was okay. I thought the horseradish mashed were good, so I ate those and tried to avoid looking at the the hunk of gristly prime rib. The experience was curious to me, because Disney Food Blog loved the food here, and I'm no rube when it comes to fine dining, and yet... the food literally grossed me out. The kids' parade features deafening music that you *literally* cannot talk over. It's short-lived, but ay-yi-yi. The tables feature this serving piece for the shared apps/desserts. Said serving piece is cute, fashioned to look like a tree. Downside is that it cuts off your view of the person sitting across from you, so if you want to converse with the person opposite you, you have to lean around the tree serving centerpiece, or move it. Quibbling here, I know, but. Characters - Snow White and Grumpy were not there ("they had been called to the Magic Kingdom"), um, okay, do I get a discount from my bill? Nope. Extra fastpass? Nope. Dopey was cute. The Evil Queen was awesome. $300 (no cocktails). I'm sure other people (like the Disney Food Blog) will love this place. The above was just my experience.

Sucks about snow and grumpy not being there.

May I ask, did you complain about your food? If I got a meal that awful I sure in the heck would not be paying for it at any restaurant let alone one that costs so much.

We are planning on going next January, sure by then all the issues people have posted about food have been worked out, but keeping an eye on this thread for updates.

 

[DWFamilyof6]

From MK to Wilderness for a 6:00 pm Artist Point reservation. What is the best transportation and what time should we head that way?
Afterwards would a Minnie Van be the best/least exhausting ride back to POP? (2adults 4 kids)
Thanks in advance.

 

[DisneyWorldbuff]

From MK to Wilderness for a 6:00 pm Artist Point reservation. What is the best transportation and what time should we head that way?
Afterwards would a Minnie Van be the best/least exhausting ride back to POP? (2adults 4 kids)
Thanks in advance.

Direct bus to WL or boat from the boat dock directly in front of the Magic Kingdom. Both a very quick!

 

[mommy2mrb]

We usually give ourselves at least an hour, if you get there early you can wander around a bit or get lucky and get seated early. We will check the wait for the boats or hop on the bus.

 

[Micharlotte]

I love the boats to Wilderness Lodge, it's a nice change of pace. I always give myself an hour and if we're early it's an amazing resort to spend some time in.

 

[DWFamilyof6]

Direct bus to WL or boat from the boat dock directly in front of the Magic Kingdom. Both a very quick!

I love the boats to Wilderness Lodge, it's a nice change of pace. I always give myself an hour and if we're early it's an amazing resort to spend some time in.

We usually give ourselves at least an hour, if you get there early you can wander around a bit or get lucky and get seated early. We will check the wait for the boats or hop on the bus.

Thank you. Good to know its a short little trip. We'll get there early to look around. I've never been to Wilderness Lodge.

 

[DisneyWorldbuff]

Thank you. Good to know its a short little trip. We'll get there early to look around. I've never been to Wilderness Lodge.

WL is our happy place! My very favorite WDW resort, have a look around. I hope you have a great trip!

 

[siren0119]

Just to give hope to those still trying for Storybook reservations - I was COMPLETELY unable to book anything at 180+4 or sooner, BUT when I first started searching for my ADR's, I accidentally forgot to change the date. There was a late dinner Storybook reservation open TONIGHT for someone who might have wanted a same-day ressie. That tells me that things will open up closer to my trip, so I'm just going to keep checking!

 

[Dug720]

Just to give hope to those still trying for Storybook reservations - I was COMPLETELY unable to book anything at 60+4 or sooner, BUT when I first started searching for my ADR's, I accidentally forgot to change the date. There was a late dinner Storybook reservation open TONIGHT for someone who might have wanted a same-day ressie. That tells me that things will open up closer to my trip, so I'm just going to keep checking!

For future reference, dining ADRs can be booked at 180 days + up to 10 days from check-in if staying on property. 60 days is FP+ for on-property stays.

 

[siren0119]

For future reference, dining ADRs can be booked at 180 days + up to 10 days from check-in if staying on property. 60 days is FP+ for on-property stays.

Thanks - I meant 180+4 (I booked today for our end of August stay LOL). Will correct the original post

 

[Dug720]

Thanks - I meant 180+4 (I booked today for our end of August stay LOL). Will correct the original post

Wasn't sure. With all the numbers it's easy to get confused!

 

[siren0119]

Wasn't sure. With all the numbers it's easy to get confused!

Right? I'll chalk it up to brain fog from being up at 5:30AM to get my ADR's booked right at 6!!

 

[sdk1231]

Sucks about snow and grumpy not being there.

May I ask, did you complain about your food? If I got a meal that awful I sure in the heck would not be paying for it at any restaurant let alone one that costs so much.

We are planning on going next January, sure by then all the issues people have posted about food have been worked out, but keeping an eye on this thread for updates.

I did not complain about my food, no. The prime rib was not a good piece of meat. Aside from that, the rest of the food was not lacking in terms of preparation or presentation. It was just not at all to my taste (or the taste of my family). I had read food blog reviews which included detailed descriptions of the food and generally returned good marks overall. I knew what to expect - slightly upscale and somewhat "artful" presentation, with food themed to the Snow White forest. I have two family members who are adventurous foodies. I was shocked that none of my family liked any of the food, but I didn't really feel justified in complaining simply because none of the food was to our taste. Even the desserts, which still blows my mind. Anyway - we ate at Yachtsman Steakhouse the next day and had delicious food. Would much rather go to Yachtsman or Shula's.

 

[Lisa F]

I did not complain about my food, no. The prime rib was not a good piece of meat. Aside from that, the rest of the food was not lacking in terms of preparation or presentation. It was just not at all to my taste (or the taste of my family). I had read food blog reviews which included detailed descriptions of the food and generally returned good marks overall. I knew what to expect - slightly upscale and somewhat "artful" presentation, with food themed to the Snow White forest. I have two family members who are adventurous foodies. I was shocked that none of my family liked any of the food, but I didn't really feel justified in complaining simply because none of the food was to our taste. Even the desserts, which still blows my mind. Anyway - we ate at Yachtsman Steakhouse the next day and had delicious food. Would much rather go to Yachtsman or Shula's.

I didn't have any of the food or character issues you had and I actually enjoyed my meal - I got the veal over mashed potatoes because I don't like celery and it was fine. But it was one and done for me, there is nothing there I am dying to eat again. It was overall a very good experience and I am glad that I did it BUT I have zero desire to do it again.

 

[mommy2mrb]

I did not complain about my food, no. The prime rib was not a good piece of meat. Aside from that, the rest of the food was not lacking in terms of preparation or presentation. It was just not at all to my taste (or the taste of my family). I had read food blog reviews which included detailed descriptions of the food and generally returned good marks overall. I knew what to expect - slightly upscale and somewhat "artful" presentation, with food themed to the Snow White forest. I have two family members who are adventurous foodies. I was shocked that none of my family liked any of the food, but I didn't really feel justified in complaining simply because none of the food was to our taste. Even the desserts, which still blows my mind. Anyway - we ate at Yachtsman Steakhouse the next day and had delicious food. Would much rather go to Yachtsman or Shula's.

That makes sense.
We are still planning on trying in January and fingers crossed for a pleasant evening.

 

[MarBee]

We were there last Sunday after searching for ADRs forever. While there about half of the dining room was empty (4:40 dinner). Our waiter told us to please spread the word that they take walk-ins except for between 6-8. All other hours you can walk in and be seated right away he said. He said that for some reason Disney only gives out a certain number of tables for ADRs, and they save way too many for walk ins. Since it’s in a hotel and not a park, they don’t get many walk ins.
Idk how true this all is, but I figured I’d relay the info for anyone that may want to try.

 

[Disneylover99]

We were there last Sunday after searching for ADRs forever. While there about half of the dining room was empty (4:40 dinner). Our waiter told us to please spread the word that they take walk-ins except for between 6-8. All other hours you can walk in and be seated right away he said. He said that for some reason Disney only gives out a certain number of tables for ADRs, and they save way too many for walk ins. Since it’s in a hotel and not a park, they don’t get many walk ins.
Idk how true this all is, but I figured I’d relay the info for anyone that may want to try.

That makes sense.

We also had a 4:40pm dinner in January. We showed up at 4 pm and they were happy to seat us immediately. We left the restaurant just before 5:30pm and there were still several empty tables. We sat near enough the check in podium to notice that very few people were actually checking in. There was definitely no wait or back up.

 

[Alice121078]

This is surprising since I thought it was a hard ADR to get! We are staying at Wildnerness Lodge in September, and I thought it would be a good place to eat our first night before goingk to MK the next day.