somagical
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- May 29, 2010
and have the post-Disney Blues!! My DH and I miss being at WDW so much but feel incredibly lucky that we got to go and had such a magical time! We went to celebrate both our birthdays, our 2nd anniversary, and my graduation from Graduate school. It was a FABULOUS trip!!! A quick rundown...
Resort: It was our first stay at POR. Going into the trip I was quite nervous about staying at POR, given the mixed reviews on these boards, but I have to say that we loved the resort and would definitely stay there again! We loved the theming, grounds, and most CM's were helpful and friendly. We were put in the Oak Manor section of the mansions...great location. We did have several issues with Mousekeeping during our stay, which we addressed, but it did not ruin our experience at POR. We can't wait to go back!
Buses: This was something I was very concerned with given all the negative comments I heard about POR buses. Having now experienced them to/from this resort (and to/from many other resorts on property) I've decided it really comes down to timing. We didn't wait ONCE for a bus to or from POR from any of the parks. I feel this was a result of just having been there at the right time most times. We also always used the "main" bus stop, which I believe helped things.
Parks: They were empty! It was great not to have to wait for most rides or shows, but I will say that it made the experience a bit different. I remember walking in to Frontierland from Adventureland one day and absolutely NO ONE being in front of us all the way to Splash Mountain, and it just felt....weird. I am in no way complaining of course, just commenting on how it changed the vibe of the trip at times since we've never been there with such low crowds (and we've gone before in September & October) We experienced some glitches while on Splash Mountain and Haunted Mansion a few times...not sure what was going on there, but it was neat to be able to check things out for a few minutes longer than usual when we were stuck
Restaurants: We had free dining and I expected the restaurants to be packed b/c of this promotion. Although most were pretty full, they were in no way packed. Some were pretty empty in fact (and our reservations tended to be at "peak" hours for lunch or dinner) While we don't go to Disney for the food, we had some great meals at Sci-Fi Drive in (our favorite place b/c of the theming), Primetime Cafe, and Le Cellier. We didn't have ADR's for Le Cellier, but were in Epcot around 5pm and decided to see if they were taking walk-ins. They said they were and took us immediately. This could be b/c we are a party of 2 and we were eating on the early side, but I was surprised! Food was great
!
The worst meal of the trip was the dinner buffet at Crystal Palace. We felt the choice and quality of the food was just not very good. It wasn't horrific, just not that appetizing and we didn't love the choices. In addition, we also had very poor service (waited a half hour just to get our check, could not get silverware for over 20 minutes, drinks never brought to table, etc.).
It was really a great trip and I wish I was still there! Although I'm usually more of a lurker than a poster, I truly benefited from so many hints and tips posted on the DIS and can't thank you all enough
.
Side note: We purchased Bobble water bottles before we left and they were great. For those that aren't familiar with them, they are water bottles that have their own filter. You simply fill the water bottle with any tap water and it filters it as you drink. This was great for us as we despise the taste of Florida water and it filtered out all that sulfur taste in addition to saving us a ton of money on buying bottled water in the parks (besides, I rather save my snack credits for Mickey Bars and other treats
). Bobbles are great for flying as well since you can bring them through security empty and fill them up from a water fountain in the airport once you're by the gate. Saved us a bundle in the airport and on the trip (we drink a ton of water!).
Resort: It was our first stay at POR. Going into the trip I was quite nervous about staying at POR, given the mixed reviews on these boards, but I have to say that we loved the resort and would definitely stay there again! We loved the theming, grounds, and most CM's were helpful and friendly. We were put in the Oak Manor section of the mansions...great location. We did have several issues with Mousekeeping during our stay, which we addressed, but it did not ruin our experience at POR. We can't wait to go back!
Buses: This was something I was very concerned with given all the negative comments I heard about POR buses. Having now experienced them to/from this resort (and to/from many other resorts on property) I've decided it really comes down to timing. We didn't wait ONCE for a bus to or from POR from any of the parks. I feel this was a result of just having been there at the right time most times. We also always used the "main" bus stop, which I believe helped things.
Parks: They were empty! It was great not to have to wait for most rides or shows, but I will say that it made the experience a bit different. I remember walking in to Frontierland from Adventureland one day and absolutely NO ONE being in front of us all the way to Splash Mountain, and it just felt....weird. I am in no way complaining of course, just commenting on how it changed the vibe of the trip at times since we've never been there with such low crowds (and we've gone before in September & October) We experienced some glitches while on Splash Mountain and Haunted Mansion a few times...not sure what was going on there, but it was neat to be able to check things out for a few minutes longer than usual when we were stuck
Restaurants: We had free dining and I expected the restaurants to be packed b/c of this promotion. Although most were pretty full, they were in no way packed. Some were pretty empty in fact (and our reservations tended to be at "peak" hours for lunch or dinner) While we don't go to Disney for the food, we had some great meals at Sci-Fi Drive in (our favorite place b/c of the theming), Primetime Cafe, and Le Cellier. We didn't have ADR's for Le Cellier, but were in Epcot around 5pm and decided to see if they were taking walk-ins. They said they were and took us immediately. This could be b/c we are a party of 2 and we were eating on the early side, but I was surprised! Food was great
!The worst meal of the trip was the dinner buffet at Crystal Palace. We felt the choice and quality of the food was just not very good. It wasn't horrific, just not that appetizing and we didn't love the choices. In addition, we also had very poor service (waited a half hour just to get our check, could not get silverware for over 20 minutes, drinks never brought to table, etc.).
It was really a great trip and I wish I was still there! Although I'm usually more of a lurker than a poster, I truly benefited from so many hints and tips posted on the DIS and can't thank you all enough
.Side note: We purchased Bobble water bottles before we left and they were great. For those that aren't familiar with them, they are water bottles that have their own filter. You simply fill the water bottle with any tap water and it filters it as you drink. This was great for us as we despise the taste of Florida water and it filtered out all that sulfur taste in addition to saving us a ton of money on buying bottled water in the parks (besides, I rather save my snack credits for Mickey Bars and other treats
). Bobbles are great for flying as well since you can bring them through security empty and fill them up from a water fountain in the airport once you're by the gate. Saved us a bundle in the airport and on the trip (we drink a ton of water!).
