writerguyfl

I never said they were great. I said they were better than the Hilton's Italian restaurant.

dior29

We stayed here back in January, all on points. For free, it was just fine. We only ate one meal on property--the character breakfast, which was pretty typical for such things. The night we arrived we went to Downtown Disney and ate at House of Blues, which was pretty good, not earth-shattering. We didn't spend a ton of time at the hotel, but were out at the parks the majority of our waking hours. You're not completely in the "Disney bubble," but leaving the hotel without paying a cent--yeah, that's good.

Re Extra Magic Hours: I believe in the theory (espoused primarily at easywdw.com, a blog that is marginally obsessed with WDW wait times and crowd levels) that you're actually better AVOIDING whatever park has EMH for the day, as it will attract the largest crowds, particularly people with non-park hopper passes. If you go to a park the day after it has EMH, the crowds will be lower, and you'll make up for the extra hours you missed by spending less time in line. Maybe if your family is a bunch of early risers, morning EMH will work for you. But my kids do not do well with crowds, so we consciously avoided those parks and were by and large very happy with that decision. Granted, we were there at one of the slowest times of the year, so it may have worked out regardless. YMMV.

sassamanlaw

I'll second that. Had dinner there last Thursday and the food was good at reasonable (for Disney) prices. The prices for alcohol, on the other hand...

jsucool76

The boathouse is an amazing restaurant in downtown disney. Bongo's cuban cafe is decent. I'll be trying out "The Hangar" in a few weeks right next door to the boathouse. Downtown disney has some great restaurants. Also be sure to check out dining in the disney hotels. Disney has some of the best food around.

jcresq

Just stayed at this property last night, sort of a mattress run, wasn't really doing Disney. I don't agree that it's "bad"...it just isn't "good", if that makes any sense. Room was ok, if small (they "upgraded" me as a Diamond to a "fireworks view" room, not sure why they thought a middle aged guy with no kids in tow would think that was a benefit, but whatever...one of the smaller hotel rooms I've been in lately). Things worked, it was fairly quiet and clean. Hallways are a little rundown. Health club was fine, pool looked ok though I didn't use it. Main restaurant was closed for dinner, which was unannounced and annoying. Didn't try Benihana.

I did walk over to Disney Springs, easy walk, but it was mobbed! A lot of dining options, but all had lines out the door, so I passed. I think the moral is...don't stay at a Disney hotel during tourist season unless you are one!

Astrophsx

With no lounge, are they just giving out breakfast vouchers?

bamboola

Lounge is open only for breakfast until 11:00 a.m. You will receive breakfast vouchers for the lounge and attendant will collect the voucher and ask for your room number.

Astrophsx

I was reading on TripAdvisor that the lounge was closed, but there have not been any recent reviews. As a Diamond do you have any other option other than the lounge? What kind of breakfast do they have there?

bamboola

I didn't ask for any other option.

Lounge breakfast included bread, bagels, muffins (toast it yourself), some cold cuts, scrambled eggs, coffee machine with espresso, mocha, etc., juice, yogurt, oranges, bananas.

Not too inspiring.

Astrophsx

Looks like you can take the breakfast in the restaurant for the buffet for $7 extra. You are given two vouchers per room. Was upgraded to a Jr Suite on the 6th floor. Pool view allows you to see the fireworks each night (though they kind of far away). I found this a bit ironic as the front desk manager claimed "no room has a view of fireworks".... yeah okay..

Hawkeyefan

Bump for recent stay info....is the lounge now closed?

gkbiiii

Does this classic Hilton still have the lounge and Benihana?

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

From their website

Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista, FL Restaurants

It looks like Benihana is still there. not sure about the lounge.

Regards

TBS

writerguyfl

I've had significant issues with this hotel over the years. I generally caution people to avoid it unless you get a dirt-cheap rate (under $120 including the resort fee). That said, I'm going to side with hotel here. I don't consider any of the Disney Springs to have a fireworks view because they are so far away. To me, this is more about managing expectations than telling a lie.

This is an example of the fireworks taken from the adjacent Hilton Buena Vista Palace, which is a much taller structure and therefore has a "better" view of the fireworks way off in the distance.

ChevyCruze

Any recent FT's stay here recently? Have three rooms reserved for three nights in mid-October for a conference.