My thoughts on POR - just back

[dansdad]

They could EASILY solve this with some painted markers on the ground, or some roped off or barred off lines for the different parks.

I really hope they don't do something like this. One of the reasons we prefer the moderates and deluxes over the values is the lack of the ropes, lines, etc.

 

[jkahne9]

Love hearing all these great reviews of POR. Staying there for the first time in a few weeks and am really looking forward to it.

We will be there same time as well. Long Islander here,too. Driving down on the 29th.

 

[Eddygirl]

Thank-you so much for your review!

We are scheduled for POR May 5th-17th. Although I am toying with a split stay at the BC. So POR May 5th-11th and BC May 11th-17th. This will probably be our only DW trip (we are closer to Land) so thought it might be fun to do stay in 2 different locations.

I had insisted with DH that Garden view was a minimum requirement for me...I appreciate you solidifying this for me!

Sounds like you guys had a great time!

One question. How did parking valet at the Poly work? We will have a car for our trip as well and are unfamiliar with DW logistics.

 

[dillydilly]

Thanks for posting a review! We are headed over to POR next month. The last time we were there was in 2003. Really looking forward to our stay!

 

[SweetJoy]

Thank-you so much for your review!

We are scheduled for POR May 5th-17th. Although I am toying with a split stay at the BC. So POR May 5th-11th and BC May 11th-17th. This will probably be our only DW trip (we are closer to Land) so thought it might be fun to do stay in 2 different locations.

I had insisted with DH that Garden view was a minimum requirement for me...I appreciate you solidifying this for me!

Sounds like you guys had a great time!

One question. How did parking valet at the Poly work? We will have a car for our trip as well and are unfamiliar with DW logistics.

We had a couple of breakfast reservations at Kona and one dinner at O'hana. One day we had both - the guard just told us to feel free to park anywhere and we wouldn't need a 3 hour pass. The other times we just pulled up to the guard shack, said we wanted to valet park and he waved us through after scanning DH's magic band. We pulled up to the front and that's all there was to it.

A PP said her DH smelled marijuana smoke in the parking lot, we did too one evening. But, we also have smelled it at the Poly before and even in the MK!

 

[friend2Figment]

We loved the boat ride to dtd. We also used FQ bus one night as Riverside had a huge line we got off at FQ ate dinner then had a nice quite walk back to our room. Being flexible maybe important. We stayed in building 36 so we used North depot and most of the time the buses would fill up at south depot and never make it to our depot to pick up. We had the CM request more buses most days.

We had a garden view and it was very quite the room was really nice also. I just prefer the beach feel. The Mansions seemed more cheery I live in WI and don't want to feel like I am "up north" when I am on vacation.

 

[MamaMeggie]

We did love the resort - only ate breakfast once and it was crazy - we couldn't figure out why so many people were still there at 8:30 or 9 since we are rope drop people we were usually gone by then - breakfast in the parks at Starbucks was fine my me
We did take the bus on occasion - the north depot was nice, never crowded and the magic kingdom bus was always empty- the south depot was a nightmare and we only did that once- super crowded no lines no organization too many buses trying to pick up at once and no one knew where they should be- they need to fix that or have a cast member out there directing people.
Oh and we took the POFQ bus back one night and walked back to POR- not a bad walk at all and right by the river so really pretty.

Good tips! I'll have to try and remember for when we go in May.

How does breakfast "work" in the food court? Is it a buffet or do you choose each item?

 

[POOHsie]

Good tips! I'll have to try and remember for when we go in May.

How does breakfast "work" in the food court? Is it a buffet or do you choose each item?

The food is a la carte, and there are also platters. As with most Disney quick service, if you want the main thing on a platter but not the sides, you can order just that. There are 3 main food stations with different offerings, plus a bakery station. For bkfst, the 3 food stations have bkfst selections. There's also cold drink cases, cold cut fruit, etc. And whole fruit and other snacks in the center of the area. If you're on the dining plan, the purple logos beside a food indicates it is covered under the plan, either as a "Snack" item, or "Entree" item. IMO, best to pay for bkfst out of pocket and save credits for lunch and dinner.

We sometimes stroll down to POFQ because their food court has different items. We love the beignets at bkfst, then we take the park bus from there.

Here's a great website, and there's a ton of pictures of the food court. Go to "Photos & Video," then to "Riverside Mill." There's also pictures of the menu boards, so you get an idea of the offerings. Breakfast menu boards start at photo #49 (photos are older and prices have most likely changed).
http://www.portorleans.org/

 

[Katelly]

We will be there same time as well. Long Islander here,too. Driving down on the 29th.

We're flying, but instead of leaving from Islip on Southwest like we usually do, we're leaving from JFK. My husband thought it would be fun to take the LIRR to Jamaica to the Air Train to JFK. This should be interesting!

 

[MamaMeggie]

Thanks so much POOHsie! That is really helpful. My kids love beignets, so we'll definitely try that for breakfast one day.

 

[harmon54]

We tried the beignets and I thought they were ok but worth eating lol- although my husband thought they looked small because you order precooked and he didn't realize they puff up- we got way too many! We had no problems with drinks as someone else mentioned always plenty of ice and available drinks- heard the ice problem before so maybe they fixed it.
I thought the food at the food court was good- we had breakfast items which you can't really mess up - the chicken nuggets and fries which were standard but good and plentiful and the make your own pasta was great although definitely could share this if can agree on ingredients it was HUGE. And the pizza was fine as well- a large pizza fed our family of 5 so was a good deal as well.
I would agree maid service was adequate although when we asked for more towels we got plenty which we had to do often because my kids kept flooding the bathroom (be careful that your kids have the liner in the tub when they get in to shower). I do miss the extra touches that you used to get from maid service but it appears it is like this at all resorts now. .
Also everyone we encountered seemed nice and helpful if you had any questions about food etc

 

[dprincessmom]

We love POR and stay there frequently. It is by far my favorite Mod. With everything here on the DIS you have to take things with a grain of salt.

POR (and sister resort POFQ) are our resorts of choice because of the boat to DTD, easy transportation on the bus (yes they can get crowded during the busy times, but everyone has the same goal - get on the bus, get to the park), make your own pasta bar, relaxed feel of the resort.

The food court can get loud in the mornings, but it is manageable. We found that we would catch the bus in the morning at the South depot and get off the bus in the afternoon/evening at the East depot (close to our room).

We always take Disney transportation and have only had one issue on the buses in all of the years we have been staying there. The issue was fixed once dispatch was notified and everyone got home that night.

We haven't had issues with housekeeping, in fact it has been wonderful. As recently as our last trip (March 2013) we got towel animals, so it really depends on the keeper and the workload I guess.

POR won't disappoint. We are staying FQ next May and I can't wait to get back.

 

[WDWRids]

Marking my spot and coming back to read....Trying to decide on POR for Christmas 2014. What's the main difference between AB and Mansions? Which is best? Will be 4 adults in the room. Would love to have your thoughts.

 

[dprincessmom]

Marking my spot and coming back to read....Trying to decide on POR for Christmas 2014. What's the main difference between AB and Mansions? Which is best? Will be 4 adults in the room. Would love to have your thoughts.

2 differences - 1st is theming, 2nd is sleeping space. Mansions sleep 4, AB sleep 5 (pull down murphy bed, type thing for 5th). We prefer the feel of the mansions. Neither is bad and you will love POR. All are located within a quick walk to one of 4 bus stops.

 

[shalom]

My kids love beignets, so we'll definitely try that for breakfast one day.

When we had them, the beignets were more sopapilla than beignet, IMHO. Which is fine -- unless you have your heart set on beignets.

 

[CanadianPaco]

We just changed from CBR after negative review after negative review. We'll give that resort a try after their refurb.

We stayed at French Quarter a few years ago and thought it was all right. I think had we had gone preferred (instead of parking lot/ standard) we may have liked it more. But we walked over one day to checkout Riverside and LOVED the Manions.

So after a quick changed, we're going by try POR!

 

[Cee]

POR is a favorite of ours. Glad you enjoyed your stay.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[tinkerbella16]

Glad you enjoyed POR. That is my favorite resort.

We just returned from a week long stay at Riverside in a Royal Guest Room. I have stayed at POR before, but in building 24 (VERY FAR), so this time was a real treat! We had a garden view room in building 90 of Oak Manor. Literally a 3 minute walk to the main building and main pool. Our room was ready upon check-in at 11am. The room was clean and mousekeeping left us towel animals everyday. Our room was right in the courtyard where they play the movies each night so that was really nice. We did not have a fridge either, and we didn't care at first but later in the trip it would have been nice to keep things like food and drinks cold. We used the ice machine. I think this resort is like a mini-deluxe. They offer great amenities and the grounds are gorgeous without paying a ton of money to stay there. I think it is wonderful for the price. We also love the boats to DTD. It is such a nice touch to get on a boat or even just watch them. I agree about the food court being packed between 8-9am. We only ate at that time twice for breakfast and it was crazy. They ran out of condiments and syrup quickly. That is why I like waking up early and getting breakfast at 7am.. it worked out well and barely anyone was there at that time.

I just got back on Tuesday and I miss it already! I got the best sleep while there, the beds were awesome!

 

[DisneyFave]

IMO aside from Poly, POR has the prettiest landscaping/grounds of all the wdw resorts. And it has a little extra to offer like the boat to DTD, Horse & Carriage rides, and great evening entertainment.

I agree!! The POR is sooo relaxing. I love staying in either the mansions or AB. It very much feels like a second home to me.

 

[tcherjen]

Good review!! We loved staying there.