Good grief, I don't log in for 12 hours and there's another four pages appeared in this thread!!!
Have any of the perferred location rooms been refurbished? Do they have queen size beds or still double? TIA!
Yes, building 14 is done, and all of the refurbished rooms do have queen beds. That's what it says in the FAQ on the first page anyway...
Do you know if they offer cribs as suppose to Pack 'n Play Playard.
The Pack'n'Plays are provided as infant cribs, there isn't anything else available as far as I know.
River - water could be a quiet pool or fountain.
Water View now ONLY gives you swimming pool views, no fountains/puddles/etc. Of course there's always the chance of an upgrade to river view too...
Ok is there much of a difference between garden and water river view distance wise. Is it just the view or is there a real advantage booking the river view.
At POR, all of the River View rooms face "inwards" towards Ol' Man Island (see map in the first post) so the walks to the main pool and the main buildings tend to be some of the shortest ones at the resort.
any thoughts on online check in verses checking in at the desk?
There is maintenance work planned to start in the lobby immediately after Easter for about six weeks, which will reduce the amount of checkin space available. They have plans to use part of the River Roost Lounge area in the meantime, but I suspect it may get quite congested. It has been suggested to me that online check-in should help a lot in reducing the possible queuing time - and anyway, if you don't get given the location you want (check on the map when you get your keycard) you can always ask to be changed, you're not locked in to what they give you.
Do you think this is doable?- Check out of DTD resort early morning, head to POR and store luggage (around 7 am) and hit rope drop at HS? Also, IIRC POR is really close to DTD, right?
It's doable yes. If you're at POR by 7am it only takes a few minutes to drop your bags and you could even do checkin if there's no line. Then either drive or get the bus to HS around 8am and you'll be at the studio gates before 8.30am. Or alternatively you could have a vacation.
If you want RV in AB then you need to book preferred.
River View rooms (and Water View) are
not included within the Preferred Location booking category. All rooms with views over the river are classed as River View category no matter where they are located (the only exception being river view rooms with King Beds, which are classed under the King Bed category). Preferred Location bookings include the standard and garden view rooms only.
I also disagree with the comment about not doing the deluxe dining.
I think it depends on how you plan to tour. Many people don't want to take the time for one or two table service meals every single day. We, for example, tend to book table service meals every other day, and eat ad hoc as we go around the rest of the time (mostly counter service, or sometimes offsite during shopping trips).
Of course if you do get the Deluxe Plan, plans can be altered to spend more time at restaurants than you otherwise would, but it just doesn't really suit us - and most certainly it would work out more expensive than our normal vacation experience.
I'm glad to hear the positive reviews of Ohana and Whispering Canyon, because they look sound really good to me. Thanks again!
I'm not so keen on Ohana (characters are fun, but the food choice seemed rather limited last time we tried) but Whispering Canyon is great and gives you some nice options plus lots of fun with it. At the Poly, I far prefer the food at Kona Cafe over Ohana - and then go and sit by the water to watch the Electrical Water Pageant and the fireworks afterwards. Bliss.
Andre