POR...AB or Mansions?

[GrammyJudy]

Was thinking AB but we would then pay for preferred to be near food court etc...$25 extra per night...Are any of the mansions as close as preferred AB bldgs???Please give me your advice if you are a POR veteran, our first time there.

 

[BoomNLeon]

Building 14 in AB is closest to the Riverside Mill. The Mansions are a bit longer of a walk. We like AB much more than the Mansions - it has better theming and the coziness of the setting is so relaxing after a zany day in the parks.

 

[magicaldisney]

I personally would not pay the extra $25 for the preferred buildings. Mansions are farther so if you want to be guaranteed to be close to the main building you will need to pay the extra $. As the pp stated, we also prefer the AB section for it's theming. It's a very relaxing section and even the furthest building is not that far away (but we don't mind the walk).

 

[nkereina]

I agree with the PP. Unless you're with a lot of kids, or a disabled person, I wouldn't pay the extra money. I don't think the walk is that bad and there are 2 mansion buildings on either end that are close to the walkways to the main area. I much prefer the decor in the mansions so I always request those.

 

[MsPeggySue911]

We booked POR for our upcoming trip to Disney and we paid the extra for the preferred room and I requested building 14. I want to be as close to the food court as possible because we will be going there every morning for breakfast and probably in the evening for a late night snack.

 

[3sweetpeas]

We stayed in Building 16 in March and felt like it was a very reasonable walk. I would walk back and forth regularly for pop refills and it was maybe 2 or 3 minutes. As far as Mansions Vs AB, the mansions have a more victorian dressy feel and the AB has a more rustic feel in the rooms. I can't say that I necessarily prefer AB over the mansions inside but OUTSIDE there is no comparison in my opinion. I thoroughly enjoy walking the paths in the Bayou. It is lush, relaxed, beautiful at night and a very peaceful setting after a day in the parks. I prefer it to almost any resort now.

 

[Sue M]

We prefer the theming and rooms of The Mansions. I don't think any are a really far walk from either the bridge to main pool & food court or the bridge to the main buildings. But that's me.
I think it's subjective. Some seem to think it's a long walk?

The AB section is pretty too, but don't care for the twiggy furniture in the rooms.
I wouldn't pay for a preferred room (unless I were disabled) or a water view at the mods, because you havent a balcony to enjoy it.

 

[Spanky]

Mansions have elevators and AB does not in case that makes a difference. Mansions are 3 stories high while AB is only 2 story.

 

[CLR4321]

Our first time there we stayed in the mansions in the Parterre Place building. It is the furthest of the mansions from everything, and was about a 5 minute walk to the main bus stop, dining, and the main pool. The walk is nice though, across a bridge to the other side of the river and then down along the river to the building. Last time we stayed in AB (we had a group of 5) in a preferred room. It was about a minute and a half walk to the pool and about the same to dining. The AB section is pretty sprawling, so we booked the preferred room to be sure we had a room closer to the pool and dining. When booking a room for a group of 4 or less, you will typically get a room in the mansions.

Here is a great site for POR info: http://portorleans.org/ You also need to plan to watch YeeHaw Bob at least once. He is a hoot! I laughed so hard I cried when watching his performance! You can bring the kids with you, even though he plays in the lounge. I just opened the portorleans.org link to copy and paste it, and apparently it is official that in 2012 1/4 of the rooms at POR will have the Royal theme. Check out the link, the rooms look awesome!!! I am sure they will likely be priced like the pirate rooms at CBR are. Booking starts this summer, so the prices will be out then.

 

[Audrey9505]

Are all of the preferred rooms at POR in the AB section?

 

[LisaTC]

This is from http://www.portorleans.org

Preferred Room (Riverside only): These rooms offer close proximity to the restaurants, transportation and main building. Update: Preferred Rooms will be located in Alligator Bayou lodges 14, 15, 18 and 27. A few guests have been informed by cast members at the Disney Reservations Center that Magnolia Terrace and Oak Manor may also be included.

Also, when I booked my TA told me that the front side of Magnolia and Oak Manor are considered preferred as well according to what she saw on the computer.

 

[GrammyJudy]

I rent an ECV so the distance is ok with me but my daughter wants to be close to the building to refill mug etc and she has a little one so I guess we will pay the extra. I know I can get a guarantee first floor with medical reasons we like the look of AB better.

 

[tinawv]

We are staying at POR in the latter part of September. My daughter wanted to stay at POFQ because of the remodeled rooms (I admit, queen size beds would be nice), but I like the idea of having a bigger food court. For the POR experts, does anyone think we will regret picking POR over POFQ?

 

[Amy&Dan]

We are staying at POR in the latter part of September. My daughter wanted to stay at POFQ because of the remodeled rooms (I admit, queen size beds would be nice), but I like the idea of having a bigger food court. For the POR experts, does anyone think we will regret picking POR over POFQ?

I have stayed at POR twice (with my third stay coming up) and POFQ once. I admit, that even though I enjoyed POR much more, I did book POFQ to get the new room. But then I remembered that we have had two beautiful, spotlessly clean rooms at POR so I switched my reservation. Bottom line, unless a queen bed is an absolute necessity (and for many it is) I think POR will be a great choice. The larger food court, sit down restaurant and larger main pool with longer slide as well as quiet pools right there are for me all worth the tradeoff. I will be very excited when POR gets a refurb because new rooms are always nice, but that doens't mean I am not 100% excited to stay there now or worried about the condition of the rooms.

 

[todai]

We are staying at POR in the latter part of September. My daughter wanted to stay at POFQ because of the remodeled rooms (I admit, queen size beds would be nice), but I like the idea of having a bigger food court. For the POR experts, does anyone think we will regret picking POR over POFQ?

We've stayed twice at POFQ and once at POR. We loved both, but, hands down, really liked Riverside better. It was amazing, especially with all the cozy little pools and extra laundry facilities. The food court is fantastic and its nice to have a restaurant nearby. We thought about staying at POFQ ref the remodeled rooms but decided we wanted to be back at the POR instead.

It all depends on what your priorities are.