I was hoping you’d do a final summary! Thanks for your honest assessment, we are heading to WDW and Universal in November and I’m taking note of your highs and lows. It is also a trip of a lifetime for us (we won’t be back), so it’s important for me to get it right. Thanks for all of your time spent updating us!
1 Like
I’m so glad you had a great trip!
1 Like
Ahhh-mazing summary! 
1 Like
Love your reports!! Thanks
It’s always interesting to see how different experiences can be.
I didn’t like Tiffins (good food but our server was so annoying), but we loved California Grill.
2 Likes
You make me laugh! I agree with some of what you say, disagree with other stuff, but at the end of the day it’s your holiday and it sounds like it was a great one.
I love an honest trip report.
1 Like
Loving your work Sheriff Matt…even the concept of you handing out your toys had me giggling. …and the looks you must have received for such generosity. …classic !
This is a common observation from many first-timers - even on a CL1 day there can be a LOT of people in the parks. 
1 Like
I’ve loved reading your reports. Reading your final summary almost made me think I wrote it; our opinions are pretty much spot on. With one glaring exception: California Grill. I’ve eaten there about half a dozen times and I have never had anything but excellent food and top of the line service; I consider it to be my over-all favorite WDW dining experience (other than V&A, but you can’t really compare that to anything else in WDW). Based on food alone, a couple of the other signatures edge it out; ditto for atmosphere. But for the combined package, CG wins for me. But I can appreciate where you are coming from; my one experience at The Wave, a restaurant that gets almost universally good reviews, was the worst dining experience I’ve ever had at WDW (largely do to “service”). I am also a serious Rope-Dropper, but if I had 10 days (vice my usual 4 or 5), I may feel differently about that.
2 Likes
My view is coloured by the crappy table we got. But the service wasn’t great and the food was definitely not as good as Tiffins or Brown Derby or even Le Cellier.
Like the proverbial beautiful woman, I sensed she didn’t feel the need to try that hard. We should be grateful even to have been there.
2 Likes
Thanks for the reports Prof, sorry Sherrif!
Sounds like you had a wonderful time, bar CG and the party night. I’m sorry you weren’t blown away by HP though, I love it and think the theming is better than anything Disney has (haven’t seen Pandora yet though).
Like you I’m not a rope dropper, as @bswan26 says when you have 12 to 14 days you don’t neeed to be. I did get up and go to the old style, outside the park, MK welcome show from Bay Lake one day just after New Year; it was a nightmare to get back, had to use the monorail as I couldn’t fight my way back through the crowd. Not a fan, and I like to take my time in the morning and eat breakfast.
So what will you do now? No more planning to do. I hope you don’t drop off the forums anyway. You could offer some invaluable advice to those looking for suitable park shoes, backpacks … ! Did you get them all returned?
5 Likes
We have similar tastes I think
I also loved tiffins, le celier and Hollywood brown derby.
Monsieur Paul in epcot is also great
And I also want FOP installing in my home!!
Every family should get one!
1 Like
I have to disagree on HP world though
I think the theming is spectacular
Stick around and give advice on here now to others
2 Likes
I enjoyed reading your wrap up @profmatt. You seem to have a unique sense of humour. I’d love to read your daily reports, but can’t seem to find them. Does anyone know how to access older posts?
My family and I have eaten at CG at least 6 times and only had one bad server. Not that you’ll ever try it again - as it sounds like you’re not going back to WDW - but I do think it’s worth a second chance.
1 Like
They all start Day 1 etc. Look for his photo avatar too, and remember they will not be in consecutive order (depends on when people posted to them). Just keep scrolling down, I missed them as he posted but caught up last night.
1 Like
If you go to his profile page (click on his name or photo) you’ll see all of his posts.
2 Likes
Loved these final thoughts! Everytime I see California grill, I will always think of this post haha.
1 Like
Super, detailed summary - thanks so much for taking the time to write this up! It has been very entertaining (and educational!) to read your reports. Hope you come back again some time, but as a “seasoned” WDW traveler who (I’m predicting!) shockingly finds CG a fantastic dining experience the second time around. Hah! JK
1 Like