Anybody NOT like POFQ

[DebIreland]

I know you want to know what people *didn't* like about POFQ - can't help you there, we LOVED the place.

The CMs were friendly and the buses were amazing. We didn't quite realise just how efficient the buses were until we moved to WL and it took forever to get anywhere. It mightn't have bothered us if we hadn't experienced the efficiency at POFQ. POFQ was spotless and the mousekeepers were amazing - they went above and beyond the call of duty, tidying up things and putting away things they didn't have to, e.g. the baby's toys, drinks containers etc. They were terrific. Lots of towel animals too. The pool was lovely and for those who comment on the lack of quiet pools, remember you have access by foot, bus or boat to *all* the pools at POR because they are sister resorts. You also have easy access to POR food court and Boatwrights table service restaurant.

What else? The cute playground, the stunning landscaping, the beautiful little bunny rabbits hopping around, the lovely CMs in the food court (which was spotless by the way) and the fact that we always got seats on the bus and space on the lovely boat ride to DTD (and this was late June when it was packed). Great resort. Sorry I couldn't come up with any negatives.

Good luck in making your decision.

A pic of one of our towel animals to get you tempted....

 

[dolphin01]

You sure do seem to have something against the hotel Depending on what part of the day, POFQ's busses go DIRECTLY to whatever park you are going to. It all just depends, yes the bus service can be odd BUT EVERY hotel has some sort of issue when it comes to transportation (indirect route, connecting, stoping at multiple resorts) ..... Did you know that the Swan, Dolphin, Yacht Club, Beach Club, and Boardwalk all share buses to certain parks? Does that make their service BAD? Ehhh..... Not at all.

By no means is POFQ perfect as I even showed in my original post, but in the end every resort has a few issues.

The question was asked and I answered. Does anyone not like POFQ...yes, me! Sure, other resorts share transportation but I can only speak about the ones I've stayed at. When we stayed at POFQ, with kids and strollers in tow, there was no skipping POR. It wasn't a good experience for us.

 

[JennyMominRI]

If you have stayed at POFQ and did not like it, please tell me why? I think I want to stay there on our next trip, mainly because of the New Orleans theme.

I have read quite a few complaints about smoke and although I am not a smoker, people smoking outside does not bother me.

Any other reasons why you didn't/don't like POFQ?

I didn't like it.I don't likee the theme at all..I thought I would as I always wanted to go to NO..That said,there was nothing worng with it. Rooms were nice, clean,service was good.. I just didn't like the theme.I really love POR though

 

[TnTsParty]

I know you asked for people who didn't like it but it is my favorite Moderate resort. I have tried all the moderate resorts but POR and found that I liked the size of POFQ the most. I love how close everything seemed and that if the bus filled up or on certian nights the bus would leave directly from POFQ no extra stops. Also I liked being picked up and dropped off first. The theming was wonderful to me.

 

[GrumpyC.Hook]

While the resort grounds are very nice and the rooms were more the adequate I will never stay at POFQ again. Why you ask?

We were there May 2005 and we stayed 7 nights/8 days and well we never got the magical feeling there. It started with the pool (there was only one) and it was always shut down they couldn't get the chlorine to regulate correctly. So we had no other option other then to take a bus to POR and then have to ride to a park and back to POFQ to get back. We couldn't walk my mom is disabled and the walk would have killed her knees as we only rent ecv's at the parks. We would have used the hot tub but parents were using that for their kids as a kiddie pool. Lifeguards felt it necessary to just look blankly at us and say nothing we can do.

The food court was slow and the food was less then quality. I had to speak with the manager more then once and he did fix the problems we had such as cold food, waiting 1 hour to order get our food and getting people who thought 1 person holding a spot for 18 family members was polite.

The last night we stayed there we finally were able to get into the pool and were walking back to the room got to the room and the keys didn't work . they said they were sending someone with a key after we walked to the front desk we waited at our room for about 20 minutes then left for the front desk again to get a new key to our room front desk said she couldn't do that without id (which was in the room) and no one was available to open the door as she was the only one at the desk and housekeeping had been dealing with a situation. Finally the manager came out after we were upset and asked for him. He came unlocked our room for us.

Frankly the hotel is pretty but the staff less then magical, the pool lacking, and the food was not worth it.

While others love the resort I think people would be better off at CBR or CSR for moderates.

 

[eeyoreiscool]

We enjoyed our stay at POFQ. I don't think anything was overly bad. We did have to wait a while to get into our room but it was within their checkin window. We also thought the bus system could have been better. We would stay there again without any hesitation.

 

[momof2inPA]

We enjoyed our stay at POFQ. I don't think anything was overly bad. We did have to wait a while to get into our room but it was within their checkin window.

That's one area where we had luck. They checked us in at 7 a.m. They would have done it earlier, but their computer system was down.

 

[2tinkersmom]

I have to weigh in on loving POFQ too, just got back two weeks ago.

We had no issues that have been mentioned previously....rooms were very comfortable, very well cleaned and several days of towel animals, kids loved the pool, we thought the food court had decent selections and satisfied everyone in our family of picky eaters, it was sooooo quiet in rooms and on the grounds, no issues with smokers whatsoever, smooth check in and very nice CM's everywhere....I don't know what else but we sure had a great stay.

As far as the buses, yes they share with Riverside but you are always the first on which is nice. Riverside has four stops total. But it seemed to depend both on the time of day and which destination you were heading to as far as whether you always stopped at Riverside.

Some days/times/parks didnt' stop there at all, sometimes we hit all four stops. We were sort of at a loss to figure out the rhyme and reason to it. At night, Riverside and FQ were always split to different bus stops leaving the parks so you never shared going back.

We liked the bus to Downtown. It does only depart every half hour from 11 am to 4 pm and then I think every 15-20 minutes from 4 pm to closing at Downtown. So no, you can't just walk up to it and expect to hop on right away unless you have lucky timing...but once you know the schedule you just time it for when you want to leave and we found it very pleasant several times.

We've stayed at Fort Wilderness cabins, Yacht Club and now POFQ and while we liked all of them for different reasons I think POFQ is now my first choice as favorite!

 

[momof2inPA]

At night, Riverside and FQ were always split to different bus stops leaving the parks so you never shared going back.

I know that was true at MK, but didn't they share the bus stop at Epcot. Our bus stop at Epcot during Evening magic hours was so crowded, we took a cab to the hotel. There were at least three busloads of people waiting.

 

[SAWYERMAW1]

1>Housekeeping was AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL. (we spoke to the manager about it).
2>Only one pool (we were on our honeymoon and looove quiet pools)

You didn't know there was only one pool when you made your reservations?

 

[Goobergal99]

Well, we didn't have any terrible experiences while there but It just wasn't Disneyish to me and I had a hard time getting into the spirit. It was a lil to quiet and I too didn't love the pool, my lil one said that the slide wasn't fast enough as well. I liked that the resort was small and quaint and that the bus service was good even considering that we shared with POR (except when enroute to the MK)

I guess I just didn't love it, then again I didn't love POP for similar reasons, I must admit that I actually preferred the All-Stars to Pop Century. This year we are trying POR, I have heard really great things about it, and although we didnt take the time to visit it while there, I liked what I saw from the bus.

Sigh, pehaps one day I will be rich enough to return to the Poly, that to me was the ultimate disney experience.

 

[budbeerlady]

We loved our trip there. The only down side (and I would expect this at most WDW resorts) were all the tweens hogging up the hot tub all the time. Poor Dh's back was killing him and he tried to go down there several times one night but decieded it just wasnt worth it. We loved POFQ, the short walk to POR and eating at boatwrights. We get up early so we were out of the food court and on the bus by park opening so that probley helped us avoid the crowds. We plan to go back again!

 

[jann1033]

we haven't stayed there, were thinking of it this trip but when i saw the themeing i was underwhelmed...just reminds me of a fancy super 8...not a fan of cities and mardi gras leaves me cold so maybe that's why( don't like the contemporary either), just not up my alley. very subjective though, like any resort.

 

[LovingWDW]

It's been a while since our stay at POFQ but...

Overall we enjoyed our stay very much. The grounds were beautiful and the pool area was nice. While the food court wasn't fabulous it was convenient and we probably used our refill mugs more here than any other resort. After a long day at the parks it was great being able to get anywhere in the resort without a long walk. We also enjoyed the boat to DD.

Double beds top our 'didn't like' list. The 'm'otel feel is a little bit of a turnoff, especially if planning to spend anytime in the room. No slider or french doors to open and enjoy weather and a view. For me nothing beats kicking back at the end of a long day and watching fireworks at the MK or Epcot from my room balcony.

 

[Minnie]

I won't say we didn't like it but I will say that it is not my favorite.

1 - We were in bldg 7 on the 3rd floor which was quite a hike from everywhere.

2 - Lack of balcony - We didn't realize how much we use this little extra at the deluxes and really missed it.

3 - Hot tub - I didn't like that it was set apart from the pool.

Small things yes and would we go back yes if the rate was right for a quick or budget trip. However we are returning to WDW this summer and will be going back to the deluxes where the extra comfort really makes our vacation.

 

[drakethib]

POR I love.

POFQ, I do not.

To me it was just not as nice as the other resorts.

 

[rcraw45425]

I posted when this thread first started, plese forgive me if I'm repeating myself. Our biggest disappointment was being so far away from all the action. With the deluxes you are pretty much in the thick of things. Other complaints were full size beds and lack of balcony/people smoking and talking outside our room. The whole layout at POR seemed prettier to us.

 

[Deweysgirl]

Liked POFQ very much-only two tiny complaints hardly worth mentioning but, you asked...The jesters are freaky looking and freaked my kids out!
The food court has no ambience, the ceiling is high and it echos, making it hard to hear and the design makes me feel as if I'm in a warehouse.

We love POR! We do like the pool better at POFQ but it's a short walk or boat ride over to POFQ from POR and you are allowed to use the pool there as POR and FQ are sister resorts. I do like the option of having the quiet pools at POR. I like the food court better at POR, the food at Boatwrights is delicious, Bob Jackson is a hoot and not to be missed at The River Roost and the landscaping and grounds are award winning and just beautiful at POR.

I didn't find any major flaws with either resort, it comes down to a personal preference I think.

 

[bblanch]

we haven't stayed there, were thinking of it this trip but when i saw the themeing i was underwhelmed...just reminds me of a fancy super 8...not a fan of cities and mardi gras leaves me cold so maybe that's why( don't like the contemporary either), just not up my alley. very subjective though, like any resort.

I feel the exact same way about the POR. Haven't stayed at either resorts. I see all the posts about it's beauty and wonders yet to me it just looks normal and plain. Perhaps it's because I live in plantation country, LA and see this type of theme on a daily basis, but I just don't get the draw to it.

 

[pooh2001]

Pro's of a moderate - price, refrigerator. will fit a family of 4 or less, themeing.

Con's of a moderate - buses everywhere (AKL - deluxe too), food selections (but better at CSR), double beds (queens in deluxe), open closet area (closet doors in deluxe), No inside corridors

As for POFQ - my kids hate the dragon slide - I think it would be good for younger kids - but for teens it is lame

The slide at CSR is 123 feet long - with 2 turns and a spitting water cougar looking down on you. Much better for older kids.


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