You Want to Stay Where?! A July PTR* TR LINK 8/8!

[Izzieheartscindy]

Just joining in! We are booked in a POR Royal Guest room from March 2-10!!! DD5 is going to go nuts!! This trip is a surprise and it's killing me keeping it from her. She loves surprises and handles them well so I just have to keep thinking about the big reveal and how awesome that moment will (hopefully) be on that day! But, I do love that you get so much input on the trip and hope to do that next time. What TR were you reading about the Royal rooms???? I'm just discovering TRs now. I was a lurker until just recently and I'm so into these reports I hope to do one when we get back.

 

[pkondz]

The plot thickens...

 

[marDgreen88]

OKAY!!! I have made my list of ADR choices... I didn't look at anyone else's list because I thought I would feel like a cheater if I did. And I have to admit, some of them are super random guesses, but hey, ya never know!

1. 'Ohana
2. 'Ohana
3. Chef Mickey's
4. Be Our Guest
5. 1900 Park Fare
6. Tusker House
7. Yak and Yeti
8. Cinderella's Royal Table
9. Hollywood and Vine
10. Cape May Cafe
11. Via Napoli
12. Akershus
13. Sci-Fi
14. Garden Grill
15. Citricos
16. Liberty Tree Tavern

Quick Service
1. Earl of Sandwich
2. Be Our Guest
3. Wolfgang Puck Express

 

[smidgy]

yes, Magnolia Bend (aka the "mansion" section) is scloser to FQ than Alligator Bayou. but it is across the river. parterre place is closer to FQ, but oak manor is closer to old man island and the food court.

 

[hstrickland]

GOOD GRIEF!! What a pain! I can't believe you were on the phone that long, and I really can't believe they gave you a FL resident discount....really doesn't make much sense, does it? Bad mistake on someones part.

We've thought about renting points from David's, too. There are pros and cons....but I'm like you; it makes me nervous. Lots of people do it and have had great success. Perhaps one day we'll give it a try. For our next long trip, we're using some of my parent's RCI points to stay at a villa.

The Royal Rooms are great!!! Faith thought they were beautiful. Needless to say it was a little tight with 5 people, but with yall only having 3 it will be perfect. If I ever get around to it, I'm going to do that mini-TR on POR and the New Fantasyland...I have tons of pics. Will let you know when that gets started. I might need to finish my present TR first

Heather

 

[SoNotAPrincess]

It made my day to know my TR influenced your POR choice!

We stayed in Parterre Place, but Oak Manor is a bit closer to the pool, food court, bus stop, etc.; so you may want to put in a request for Oak Manor. Every step you save in walking around the resort is good!

FYI, Parterre Place has a rose garden with patches named after each princess and a really adorable "throne" set up that makes a lovely princess photo opp.

 

[amandaw]

I really have to get back to my regular DIS-ing so I'm not always so behind!

I am so excited for you that you get to celebrate your bday in Disney!!!

Well, you already know my feelings on the PIN code. It's very frustrating what you had to go through & they should be able to give you a better explanation of it. I'm glad you sent an email!

I think the POR Royal is absolutely perfect for Maddie!

Ok, I'm horrible at ADR games but I'm gonna give it a shot! Here goes nothing!

1. 'Ohana breakfast
2. 'Ohana dinner
3. CRT
4. Akershus
5. 1900 Park Fare
6. Chef Mickey's
7. Via Napoli
8. 50's PrimeTime
9. Be Our Guest
10. Le Cellier
11. Crystal Palace
12. Chefs de France
13. Mama Melrose
14. Yachtsman
15. Yak & Yeti
16. TREX

I'm probably completely wrong but those are my very uneducated guesses.

As for the 3 Counter Service meals, I'll go with:

1. Flame Tree BBQ
2. The Food Court @ POR
3. Cosmic Ray's

 

[baseballmickey]

Hey!! I found your PTR!!!

I am familiar with the concept of a PTR, but I am resigned to the fact that I will probably never have one of my own.

subbing in. Will try to keep up. Looks like you will be departing WDW the day before we arrive!! Love the ADR game, will give it some thought and put in my guesses in a bit. (I usually wait until the last minute on anything like this.)

Sorry to hear about that pin confusion. I'm happy that it led to a positive result, but still feel for you having to go through that. I think sending the email was a good idea, even if you don't get a response, it's good to get that out.

Looking forward to hearing more about your plans for the trip!!

 

[1000HappyWishes]

It's awesome you let Maddie choose the room to stay in. I'm sure no matter where you stay, you'll absolutely love it.

 

[Aussiesalad]

Grrr what a frustrating pin saga!!
I think writing to them was definitely a good idea, hopefully avoids this situation for someone in the future!

All the same, you are going to have such a fantastic stay there!!

 

[RunningthruDisney]

; thought I would have posted my list by now.

1. Tusker House
2. 1900 Park Fare
3. Yak and Yeti
4. Garden Grill
5. Sci-Fi
6. Akershus
7. Chef Mickey
8. O'Hana
9. O'Hana
10. Be Our Guest
11. Cinderella's Royal Table
12. Hoop De Doo
13. Cape May
14. Via Napoli
15. Boatwrights
16. Crystal Palace

Counter Services
Riverside Mill
Sunshine Seasons
Be our Guest

 

[shan23877]

Haha!! I think it's because I haven't gotten to that point in the TR yet!! Lol. Hmm..comparing CBR to AoA?! That's a toughie, I lvoed them both.

Food Courts: AoA WINS! Hands down, WAY more space and choices, and it's open later (ie you can still eat there after getting home from the parks) it's also in the same place as the bus stops/lobby/gift shop and EVERYTHING, so it's convient in the mornings, less walking back and fourth.

Rooms: CBR obviously has a little more space than AoA, but the AoA were moer kid friendly, and had like, THE best freaking bathrooms in the world (check out facebook for those pictures lol) They had tons of nice touches that were really awesome and they were BRAND spankin new when we stayed in them so they were clean, still all new smelling and stuff

CBR had a ton of beautiful stuff like the lake and island and pathways, but AoA has all the lion king, nemo, cars and stuff in it, and all the LM trinkets, it's all amazing, like, the BEST value I've ever stayed at for sure, Pop is awesome too, but AoA beats it for sure! It's all so awesome, tons of stuff for kids to enjoy (and those of us who grew up in the 90's lol!)

Pools: I enjoyed AoA's better, I mean, the big blue pool you can hear music underneath and dory and nemo, and the kids splash area was adorable! Each area has it's own pool too, like CBR, and they were never crowded!

I think in the end it comes down to what the kids in the party would like, if I was going back with say, my Mom, or Tyler, I'd choose CBR, but with Paige, Sylvia, someone younger, or taking kids, I'd choose AoA. I also REALLY want to check out the Lion King suites!!

Anyway, now that I've gone on the longest tangent ever, they're both amazing, and I don't know if I could choose! Lol. Also, glad you emailed about the pin, hopefully they get back to you soon!

Thanks for all of the info Katt! We've never stayed at a value before, and I have to admit it kind of scared me. I'm not sure why-it's still Disney. I'm weird.

AoA will definitely be at the top of our list for values (maybe for any resort) for next trip!

We loved our stay at POR. I think it's a lovely theme and a very relaxing resort. The pool party was always one of DGD favorite activity. And, behind the pool, they had marshellow roast in the late afternoon. My DGD loved the royal room and looking for all the special princesses touches, matching the prince to the princess. It was fun just lying on the bed and looking around and say 'oh look.....' The fireworks were amazing. Mousekeeping was awesome, with lots of towel animals and posing of her dolls, etc. And, you are right, we hardly ever looked out our window, so the parking lot view wasn't even noticable. It did put us close to the bus stop.

The Royal rooms are only in The Oak Manor and The Parterre Place. Oak Manor is a little closer to the East Bus stop and to Ole Man Island and to Riverside Mill. (Although, now when I look at the map, I see we always walked the long way around to Riverside Mill).

We always have a car, so we don't always rely on the buses. But, never had any problems with the buses. Overall, I really like POR. Although, my DS thought it looked too much like home (yeah, like I live in a mansion on the Ashley River!). And, my DGD says she still likes the Polynesian best! (yeah, like who wouldn't) I could easily go back to POR over and over.

I know you will enjoy it! Karen

Thank you so much Karen! I'm so glad to hear that you loved your stay there!
I'm getting really excited about it now. I haven't yet decided if I'll request a specific building. I think that if I do it'll be Oak Manor. I did read that the buses can easily fill up before they reach the East bus stop, so I'm thinking that we'll use the South stop most often.

I'm with your DGD. I think if I'm ever lucky enough to stay at the Poly I'll never want to stay anywhere else!

I read your previous TR and loved it! So of course, I was thrilled to find this. I am going to go through and read all your updates now

Thank you for joining in! Yours is my favorite post of the day!!

Don't forget to get your guesses for the ADR game in!

Lmao true 40% would've definitely been an excellent resolution!!

Wouldn't it?

I'm glad you decided to email Disney about it. If nothing else they should at least apologize and try to make sure it's something that doesn't happen in the future. Very smart about calming down enough to be able to email without blind emotion. I feel you get further with some common sense and logic than yelling and screaming. Even though its hard to do sometimes loo

It is hard to do sometimes! In the end I'm glad that I wrote the email, if only to get my feelings off my chest. Sometimes you just need to be heard you know?

I kind of wanted to yell and scream

Just joining in! We are booked in a POR Royal Guest room from March 2-10!!! DD5 is going to go nuts!! This trip is a surprise and it's killing me keeping it from her. She loves surprises and handles them well so I just have to keep thinking about the big reveal and how awesome that moment will (hopefully) be on that day! But, I do love that you get so much input on the trip and hope to do that next time. What TR were you reading about the Royal rooms???? I'm just discovering TRs now. I was a lurker until just recently and I'm so into these reports I hope to do one when we get back.

Welcome! Thank you so much for joining in!

You are going to have the BEST TIME surprising your DD! We surprised Maddie on our last trip, and she still talks about it all the time. She claims that was the "Best Day of My Whole Life!"

Here is the link for the TR that inspired our stay at POR. Make sure that you subscribe to it, she's just getting started!

TRs are the best! I love reading them, and have always gotten so much information from them. They've been so helpful to me when I've been planning trips.

If you have any questions, please ask away! We all love to help!

The plot thickens...

Indeed it does, Sir

OKAY!!! I have made my list of ADR choices... I didn't look at anyone else's list because I thought I would feel like a cheater if I did. And I have to admit, some of them are super random guesses, but hey, ya never know!

1. 'Ohana
2. 'Ohana
3. Chef Mickey's
4. Be Our Guest
5. 1900 Park Fare
6. Tusker House
7. Yak and Yeti
8. Cinderella's Royal Table
9. Hollywood and Vine
10. Cape May Cafe
11. Via Napoli
12. Akershus
13. Sci-Fi
14. Garden Grill
15. Citricos
16. Liberty Tree Tavern

Quick Service
1. Earl of Sandwich
2. Be Our Guest
3. Wolfgang Puck Express

Thanks for playing Marissa! I love that you didn't want to 'peek' at anyone's guesses!

yes, Magnolia Bend (aka the "mansion" section) is scloser to FQ than Alligator Bayou. but it is across the river. parterre place is closer to FQ, but oak manor is closer to old man island and the food court.

Thanks for the help Smidgy! I have a lot to learn about POR before we go!

GOOD GRIEF!! What a pain! I can't believe you were on the phone that long, and I really can't believe they gave you a FL resident discount....really doesn't make much sense, does it? Bad mistake on someones part.

It was such a pain, and a real disappointment. It just didn't seem like something Disney would do.

We've thought about renting points from David's, too. There are pros and cons....but I'm like you; it makes me nervous. Lots of people do it and have had great success. Perhaps one day we'll give it a try. For our next long trip, we're using some of my parent's RCI points to stay at a villa.

It still makes me nervous. I guess I'm too skeptical, because everyone seems to have had great experiences with points rental!

The Royal Rooms are great!!! Faith thought they were beautiful. Needless to say it was a little tight with 5 people, but with yall only having 3 it will be perfect. If I ever get around to it, I'm going to do that mini-TR on POR and the New Fantasyland...I have tons of pics. Will let you know when that gets started. I might need to finish my present TR first

Heather

I can't wait to hear about Faith's birthday trip! I'll bet that you have gorgeous photos to share!

It made my day to know my TR influenced your POR choice!

It did more than influence our choice, it pretty much made our choice! I'm so grateful that I saw your TR! I can't wait to see POR!

We stayed in Parterre Place, but Oak Manor is a bit closer to the pool, food court, bus stop, etc.; so you may want to put in a request for Oak Manor. Every step you save in walking around the resort is good!

I think that we probably will request Oak Manor. This will be Maddie's first trip sans stroller, so any step we save is good! I'd like to be close to the South bus stop and the food court, so Oak Manor sounds perfect.

FYI, Parterre Place has a rose garden with patches named after each princess and a really adorable "throne" set up that makes a lovely princess photo opp.

Ohhhh! (Imagine me squealing now) That sounds so lovely! I can see Maddie staging a photo shoot there daily! Keep the POR info coming-I am getting so excited!

I really have to get back to my regular DIS-ing so I'm not always so behind!

You have so much going on Amanda, don't worry about falling behind here. You know I'll keep you in the loop if anything really important is happening!

I am so excited for you that you get to celebrate your bday in Disney!!!



Well, you already know my feelings on the PIN code. It's very frustrating what you had to go through & they should be able to give you a better explanation of it. I'm glad you sent an email!

Thanks so much for your help with that! I was pretty upset, but now that I've sent the email I feel much better about it. It helps to know that you've been heard.

I think the POR Royal is absolutely perfect for Maddie!

Ok, I'm horrible at ADR games but I'm gonna give it a shot! Here goes nothing!

1. 'Ohana breakfast
2. 'Ohana dinner
3. CRT
4. Akershus
5. 1900 Park Fare
6. Chef Mickey's
7. Via Napoli
8. 50's PrimeTime
9. Be Our Guest
10. Le Cellier
11. Crystal Palace
12. Chefs de France
13. Mama Melrose
14. Yachtsman
15. Yak & Yeti
16. TREX

I'm probably completely wrong but those are my very uneducated guesses.

As for the 3 Counter Service meals, I'll go with:

1. Flame Tree BBQ
2. The Food Court @ POR
3. Cosmic Ray's

Thanks for playing Amanda!

Hey!! I found your PTR!!!

I am familiar with the concept of a PTR, but I am resigned to the fact that I will probably never have one of my own.

subbing in. Will try to keep up. Looks like you will be departing WDW the day before we arrive!! Love the ADR game, will give it some thought and put in my guesses in a bit. (I usually wait until the last minute on anything like this.)

Sorry to hear about that pin confusion. I'm happy that it led to a positive result, but still feel for you having to go through that. I think sending the email was a good idea, even if you don't get a response, it's good to get that out.

Looking forward to hearing more about your plans for the trip!!

Thanks for joining in! I'm new to the official PTR scene myself.

Where will you be staying for your July trip?

The pin thing was unfortunate. We're really happy with our final resort choice though.

It's awesome you let Maddie choose the room to stay in. I'm sure no matter where you stay, you'll absolutely love it.

Thank you! We figure that these trips are pretty much her trips at this age, so we may as well let her have some input. This is really the first trip that we've given her much information at all. It turns out that she's a really good planning buddy!

Grrr what a frustrating pin saga!!
I think writing to them was definitely a good idea, hopefully avoids this situation for someone in the future!

All the same, you are going to have such a fantastic stay there!!

It was frustrating, and I really hope that having heard my feelings about the situation, they'll make some changes.

I think we're going to love it there!

 

[shan23877]

; thought I would have posted my list by now.

1. Tusker House
2. 1900 Park Fare
3. Yak and Yeti
4. Garden Grill
5. Sci-Fi
6. Akershus
7. Chef Mickey
8. O'Hana
9. O'Hana
10. Be Our Guest
11. Cinderella's Royal Table
12. Hoop De Doo
13. Cape May
14. Via Napoli
15. Boatwrights
16. Crystal Palace

Counter Services
Riverside Mill
Sunshine Seasons
Be our Guest

Thanks for playing along! I hope that it will be fun!

 

[shan23877]

Hey Guys!


If you haven't already, be sure that you get your ADR guesses in by Thursday! I plan to reveal the ADRs that night. Also, I took serious advantage of the 25% off special on the Disney Store's website last weekend, so I'll have some shopping updates to share!



I promised that I'd let everyone know if I heard back from Disney, so here it is.

On Sunday while I was at work I got a voicemail from Disney.

The CM who called said that the PIN was a "regular rate, rack rate offer" and that not all PINs sent out actually have a discount attached. She said that this one was nothing more than a marketing device. She went on to say that the code was not a Florida resident (as we were told), a passholder (as we were told), or a percentage off only the night of July 12 (as we were told). She repeated again that this was a regular rate offer and was simply meant to encourage us to visit WDW this summer. Additionally I was told that there are no discount offers available for July. I did not care much for her tone.

She also told me that she had passed my feedback along to their marketing department.

What she did NOT say was "I'm sorry".

In the end I'm glad that I sent the email. I needed the chance to get my thoughts and feelings about the issue off my chest, and I needed to know that they were heard. Do I feel that the situation was handled in a way that I've come to expect from Disney? No. I do not, but this incident won't stop us from continuing to vacation there, and it will not keep us from enjoying our trip this summer. (though I am a little worried that there is a 'Disney Black List' out there somewhere, and that I'm now on it. I'm concerned that my paranoia about this will cause some internal freak outs. What can I say, I really hate confrontation and I really hate the thought that someone won't like me. )

So I guess that's the end of the PIN Code Saga of 2013.

I did subscribe to the July Code Watch thread though.

 

[merbobear]

Wow..just wow. I can't believe that is the response you got! First of all, that is kind of tricky to be sending out a "pin" to use on your vacation, only to be told it is a discount you can't use, then to be told it's another discount (still can't use it) and then finally to be told that it's not a discount at all. If they wanted to do a non discount pin, they should still attach some type of perk with it..like if you use that pin, you pay rack rate but you get a percentage off of photo pass, or you get SOMETHING of some sort. Even if it's a small token gesture, it would appease people! Also, the no apology bothers me. But I would still enjoy the vacation and still go there, it just would really irk me...in fact I am irked on your behalf! But still excited to see your shopping!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

What a strange, and unfortunately anti-climactic, ending to the PIN code saga! That is really weird that Disney would send out PIN's without any discount attached? Why not just send an email saying "hey, come to Disney!"

 

[ronnmel]

What's up with the rude, unsympathetic CM? Oh well, better put it behind you and concentrate on all the fun you'll be having at Disney.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I'm sorry to say that I'm not surprised by the response that you received from Disney. The last time we had a pin code saga (in my Mama's name), our's didn't end much better than your's did. Like you, I fear that I've been blacklisted and that I'll never get a pin code. Heck, who am I kidding? Even before I went round and round with Disney, I didn't receive any pin codes.

 

[afwdwfan]

Well, I'm glad you got an answer, even though it is crap.

Apparently, they just sent it out and told you to ask about it so that they can see what forms of advertising are working. But they aren't smart enough to get all the CM's on the same page so that the left hand knows what the right hand is doing. Not the first time Disney's done that, won't be the last.

That really is kind of crappy though from the customer standpoint. You sent a pin code that is good for nothing, but the corporation's own marketing department??? Thanks.


I'm like you though. I still love going to Disney and something like this wouldn't keep me from going, but come on. They need to at least respect the intelligence of their customer base enough to not try pulling some dirty trick like this.

 

[Izzieheartscindy]

I can't tell you how many of these "non pins" I've received!! I did what all good DISers do in trying to get a pin - saved vacations on the site, requested DVDs, maps, etc. Well, for all those saved vacations I would get emails about them tell me to call and quote XXX for a special offer. It was nothing other than the current promo or sometimes not anything other than rack rate!! I'm sure there are a lot people out there that don't know any better and think they are getting a special personal deal but it's really what is already offered to the GP. Sneaky, Disney!! But then again many businesses do these kinds of things so I'm not surprised...