Back from POFQ Not what I expected!

[tacomaranch]

We arrived to check in around 5 pm. No lines to check and we are greeted by Kristin. She is very nice and the problems were not entirely her fault but she did create many for us.

First, I had requested a ground floor, they put us on the second. We can not have anything but ground because DS will climb over the railing. It took over an hour for her to switch our rooms. She was on the phone forever. Mind you again, DS has autism and is going crazy in the lobby. DH is suppose to be watching him but well....Finally we get our room reassigned and our tickets.

Go the room in building 2 and it is very nice. The grounds are nice but there is a cleaning glove laying in the dirt outside our door. The resort is small and compact but not quiant and quiet. There are people everywhere and a lot of noise. The roads are very nice and roomy so walking is very nice especially at nite.

The room is very cute and nicely decorated and we had enough room to move around. We unpacked everything! We had so much stuff.

I had asked Kristin if she would get my case of water, she said she found it and it would be delivered. I also noticed my magical beginnings gifts had not arrived either. Then DH noticed that all the tickets have my last name even though I gave Kristin our confirmation sheet with the names. DH had to go in the morning and have new tickets and room keys issued. Still waiting on our water now day 2.

Each day I made the beds and put all used towels in the tub. I tried to clean up a bit also. I left $3 each day and candy. Each day I got a new towel animal and on my birthday and towel basket of flowers. It was a delight and I even took the mouse home with us.

Mousekeeping was excellent!

The busses were a nightmare. On the way home from MGM our line was the last one left with people still in line. Every other resort had picked up all the guests. It was terrible. Each nite it was standing room only. Each morning it was pick up first then all the people from POR were standing. I gave up my seat so many times as did my DH without even a thank you. People are so rude!

We would not stay at POR because of the standing room only buses but we like the room and trees and openess of POR better than POFQ. We will not stay at POFQ again because of the closed in feeling and the busses.

But we live and learn.

 

[Badllamamama]

The busses were a nightmare. On the way home from MGM our line was the last one left with people still in line. Every other resort had picked up all the guests. It was terrible. Each nite it was standing room only. Each morning it was pick up first then all the people from POR were standing. I gave up my seat so many times as did my DH without even a thank you. People are so rude!

not surprising, this is mentioned alot on the boards. welcome back and thanks for sharing!

 

[ericafny]

Glad you had a good time despite all of the problems. POFQ was on my list of resorts to stay in but having read so many disappointing things on these boards about the resort I think I will have to scratch it off the list.

Also wanted say hi in support of autism awareness. I am doing the autism walk here in long island in a few weeks. I work with children and adults with autism. So sorry you had a CM check you in that didn't understand your child's special need...

 

[CleveRocks]

taco,

I'll be at POFQ one month from today, and I hope I have better luck than you. Sorry to hear everything wasn't just perfect.

Not criticizing, just asking for the benefit of future guests ... When you requested a ground floor room on your reservation, did you note the medical reason why? If you did, it is VERY disappointing that such an important matter was not attended to. If you didn't, then hopefully you understand that many people make all kinds of requests, and without more information (especially medical/special needs information) the room assigner has to say "No" to some requests, as ground floor rooms are apparently a relatively scarce resource and there are not enough to go around for all who want one.

As far as POFQ being "quiet" or rather NOT quiet, I'm not terribly surprised by this. I've stayed at CBR twice, and when I read many people complain about how large it is, I respond that the expansive size helps make CBR seem more tranquil and quiet because people are not as crowded-in. To me, that's part of the charm of CBR. And that's why we're staying at POFQ this time, to try something somewhat opposite of CBR, to determine which set-up we like better.

The buses somewhat concern me, too. The order of pick-up/drop-off also helped tip the scales for us to stay at POFQ over POR. But since POR has almost the same number of rooms as CBR, POFQ adds almost another 1000 rooms to make a much bigger resort than CBR -- I can only hope that they usually run more PO buses than CBR buses to make up for the higher number of riders.

And lastly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

 

[tacomaranch]

Hi Eric and friends,

Yes, we did make the request for medical reasons and still it was just terrible to wait over an hour to check in.

We had stayed at 1 br in OKW before and it is hard to put any resort up to the standards there.

POFQ is a nice resort don't get me wrong, just not the resort for us. I need room to breath and move about. We live in the country with no neighbors. Heck, I shoot ducks in my back yard.

I don't know where to go next time but we keep trying them all just to see what there is and find a "home" for us.

I like the feel and looks of POR but I just can't have a stroller, gear and our DS while standing on a bus.

Also, we are Tacoma Ranch, named after my first mustang, not Taco but I might make them for dinner.

Thanks for the Birthday wish! I forgot to get my button at Disney.

All in all we had a very nice time.

 

[Spartan]

I know what you mean about the POR/FQ buses. If you are relying on bus transportation and you don't like standing, then POR is not a good choice of resorts IMO. For the FQ folks, it means that they have to add at least 10 minutes to their bus trip by the time it makes it's way around all the stops at POR before heading to the park. One day last week I accidentally jumped on a bus thinking it was heading for MK when instead it said Animal Kingdom - guess I just saw "Kingdom", not a good example to set for my 6yo who is trying to learn to read! Anyway, the driver was nice enough to drop me off at FQ to wait for the next MK bus. When the bus arrived it was empty, but the FQ filled at least 3/4 of it before even heading to POR, which has many more people than FQ. Then we went to the main RS stop and completely filled the remainder. We then went around to the other 3 stops in case anyone was getting off (there wasn't, but there were lots of people who were disapointed that they couldn't get on). I love the resorts, but love them a lot more when I have my own vehicle. I been to POR many times, but never saw the buses as crowded as they were this time.

 

[darlene9947]

We were at POFQ in August. We were are POR in July, 2003. I much prefer FQ. I love the compact set up. And I very seldom use Disney's busses. I much prefer to drive to the parks and come and go when I want and not be dependant on a bus to get me back to my resort. Of course, we drive to Disney so I always have a car with me.

Hope your next trip is more magical than this one.

 

[Lilolvr]

I know what you mean regarding the transportation. I had the same experience with our kids and strollers back in 2005. It was very difficult to handle.

 

[PA Princess]

I am so sorry to hear about your disappointments with POFQ. Thank goodness it was a good trip regardless of the resort issues.

I do think that Disney in general can be a real hassle to check into...even with no line it can be lengthy, and if there is a correction or mistake it can really be time consuming. My dh has done the kid lobby watch, and it can be trying for all of us. I think the good thing about going back to a resort you have stayed at previously (something we have not done much of), would be that you would know were things are so you could say...go let the kids play at the playground or go play a few games in the arcade, etc.

I am really sorry that the buses were such an issue. I do not know if we were just lucky or it was less busy last month or what, but we had better bus service at POFQ than any resort we have ever stayed at (CR, POLY, WL, CBR, ASMu). We had our car, but we did the bused because they were that easy.

I also think I prefer the open feeling of the larger resorts like POR and CBR (we loved this place), but with 4 kids and a grandma in two...life is easier if acess to amenities at the resort is not too spread out. We stayed preferred section at CBR and this was great.

 

[mickeymedic]

When I stayed at POR last February, there were usually separate buses for POR and POFQ when returning from the parks. I think we shared buses in the morning on the way to the parks - I don't remember exactly, but the buses were not that crowded on the way to the parks.

We're going again this February and staying at POR again. I really hope that they have separate buses again then.

 

[WDWSuperFan]

I am getting very concerned after reading these posts! We are staying at POR in November (15-25) and was told when I made my reservations that the resorts did not share buses. Do POR and POFQ always share buses? Should I be concerned? Thanks for any info!

Edited to say: I know that we are going to Disney at a very crowded time and I expect longer wait times for the buses, but for the buses to be full when they arrive concern me.

 

[tacomaranch]

The busses were shared our entire time there unless it filled up completely at POFQ which did happen a few times. It seems that every morning the bus was full of standing people just crammed in. It was truly a shame not to have more busses.

We would wander around the parks after they closed or just sit on a bench and watch the people load for an hour. Then we get on when there were just a few folks. It is not worth standing just to get back earlier.

Our stay was not bad. It is nice place, but just not for us. My DH really liked it said he would return. Ok, but we also agree to keep trying other resorts until we find the right one for us. For now it is OKW which we can't afford.

 

[goodfaerie]

Wondering if I shouldn't have booked at CBR...I guess I'll find out! Thanks for your post!

 

[KMLOVESWDW]

Wondering if I shouldn't have booked at CBR...I guess I'll find out! Thanks for your post!

Hope that you have a nice trip. DH & I will be at POFQ in May & cannot wait. Although we haven't stayed there yet, we did take time out from our last trip to go to both FQ & POR. I thought they were both beautiful. We liked a smaller resort ourselves-nice to walk around and take in the scenery, but no so big that you 're tired of walking so much after a long day. I have to say, after reading some of these posts lately, I too have been almost nervous. Either there are some extremely picky people out there who expect 'the world', or DH & I might not be picky enough. Guess it is all in what you make it!!

 

[*Fantasia*]

When I stayed at POR last February, there were usually separate buses for POR and POFQ when returning from the parks. I think we shared buses in the morning on the way to the parks - I don't remember exactly, but the buses were not that crowded on the way to the parks.

If I remember correctly.. after 3pm, POR and POFQ have their own bus back to the resorts. I remember checking twice to make sure it says POFQ on the bus because that's where we were staying at.

I have stayed at POFQ three times and all those times always had a positive experience with the transportation.

 

[Spartan]

For MK, we shared a bus in the morning, but had separate buses back to the resort. All the other parks were shared both directions from what I remember last week. Even leaving after Illuminations they were using shared buses. That being said, the line moves quickly because quite often one bus right after another will pull up. It's just that it hard to get a seat as they fill quickly and then they just start cramming people on standing only. It's not like that is unique to just these resorts, however. I think every bus leaving right after the shows has people standing. We also started using the strategy of just haning back a while. The buses will still be going well after the park closes.

 

[Disneyglobegirl]

We just returned from our first stay at POR - it was nice but we will not return. I have the same complaints about the bus transportation. We prefer POFQ over POR but will probably not stay at either again. I would definately return to CBR and Dolphin we loved both of those.

We will be trying a deluxe next time, DH wants to try WL or Poly next trip

 

[jworthy]

When we were there in January, the bus system wasn't too bad. They did seperate POFQ and POR in the afternoon (they would switch the signs at the parks). I wouldn't say the busses were any worse at POFQ/POR than CBR or some other resorts. We went to AKL to check it out and waited almost 45 min. for a bus to Epcot. Also, I waited about an hour for a bus from BB to POR. Every resort had at least 2 if not 3 busses show up while I waited. The bus drivers don't care either, if you had waited a long time. The bus drivers tend to be the rudest people that work for Disney. My point is that it doesn't matter where you are you may have to wait a long time for a bus, so don't make a decision on where to stay, unless the monorail goes through.