Anyone glad POR is undergoing rehab during their stay?

[kilarney]

I'm actually looking forward to POR being rehabed. The way I see it is that it will be much less crowded! As long as the busses run as frequently and everything remains open, I'm glad to have fewer people there!
Doesn't anyone agree?

 

[lmm]

I'm concerned that the facilities will not be as expected and that transportation/food court will be limited. I haven't been to WDW since 2000 and want a perfect trip.

 

[Goofyish]

I agree Kilarney - if a percentage of the rooms are closed for rehab. it means the resort is less crowded

Just hope all the facilities are still available (DTD Boat, Foodcourt, Pools, Transportation etc.) when we are there in August

 

[ls1222]

Thats how I thought at first (less crowded) but I'm concerned that they will stop running the boat to DD or have limits at the food court. I don't want to stay somewhere w/o the amenities. I'll keep my fingers crossed and hopefully people will report back to us.

 

[kinggoofy]

I agree too...We will be there in August from the 15th to the 24th.

As long as EVERYTHING is the same....it will not bother be a bit.

We have been there before when the Mansions and other sections of AB were being fixed up. When you took the bus around the resort that was the only time you saw any signs of remodeling going on.

But.......I have a hunch some of us will be getting a phone call regarding a possible switch / upgrade to go somewhere else.

I hope that is one call that does NOT come to me or any of you. It seems like everyone who post here or elsewhere really does like POR and does not want to stay anywhere else.

Lets hope !!!!!

 

[pherb]

My family and I just returned from POR a few days ago. It was our first visit there, and we were very pleased with the Resort. I know that part of the Magnolia Bend area was closed, and I believe part of the Alligator Bayou also was closed. (We took a bike ride around the resort & didn't see much activity in the AB area.) We stayed in Oak Manor (which was non-smoking) by the courtyard. Buses were only running to the Main bus stop, but we had absolutely no problem catching a bus. The boat service to downtown ran on schedule, and we had very little wait for that also. The food court & restaurant were also open, but I did notice that one section of the food court was closed when we went for a snack in the evening. The pool was great. It never got too crowded, and I was amazed at the number of lifeguards on staff there.
We had a great time at POR!

 

[kinggoofy]

Pherb....

Glad to see you enjoyed your stay at POR. Thanks for the updates.

Did you get a chance to see Bob on the Lounge ? ...
What part of the food court was closed. ?

Welcome to the DIS.

 

[Lori in CNY]

My family and I just returned from what i believe is my 5th time at POR.

This is just my own opinion but i felt you could notice the difference.

The entire center section of the food court is closed. This doesn't appear to be short term either. They have curtains hanging in front of it and potted trees in front of the curtains. The menus at all the food court stops have been reduced and there are fewer coolers and stations with "goodies to go". If you have never stayed here, you may not notice the difference.

The upper dining room at Boatwrights has been closed off. You cannot sit by the fireplace any more.

The only bus stop open is the South Depot-near the main building. There are signs at the others indicating they are closed.

There are only 2 mansions open-Parterre and Oak Manor and therefore the other quiet pools are closed too making our quiet pool relatively busy. And our request to be upgraded to a King Bed room could not be met since those rooms were too few to come by.

The boat to DD was still running though there were times we saw only the captain aboard.

The hair wrap station has been removed.

The pin station in the food court has been removed.

Castmember staff in the gift shop has been dramatically reduced. There are just not as many guests that need to be helped so they have moved some cast around.

Bob was still singing his heart out in the lounge most nights and he drew between 20-30 people each time.

The Cast that remains is friendly as ever.

I saw no signs of any construction underway. I expected to see the typical Disney walls surrounding dumpsters or construction equipment, etc. but there were none in sight.

We had a wonderful trip and this will always be one of our favorite resorts but we won't be returning until they are back up and running at full speed at PO Riverside.

 

[shellyhoward]

I have to admit, I am getting very nervous. Less crowds is wonderful, but now I have read that there are very obvious signs of things closing down. I am leaving in 2 weeks, and I was hoping the amenities wouldn't be affected.

If anyone else is just returning...PLEASE keep us updated!

 

[ls1222]

We are staying in Sept-Do you think that Disney would or should notify guests of cutbacks even if they do not have to be moved from POR? I certainly would like the opportunity to change resorts if I thought that they had cut back on too many amenities. I just love POR and really want to there. It makes me angry that Disney will take your reservation but then "we" are left in the dark.

 

[SuzyQue]

The entire center section of the food court is closed.

The menus at all the food court stops have been reduced and there are fewer coolers and stations with "goodies to go"

The boat to DD was still running though there were times we saw only the captain aboard.

The hair wrap station has been removed. The pin station in the food court has been removed.

If it's any consolation to you, all of the above was true during our trip last February, so it's not that they have made these changes just recently for the rehab. ~~

 

[shellyhoward]

I called last night and was told that in order to remain a moderate resort, they need to continue offering at least most of their amenities. He assured me it would probably be a good time to visit.

They have indeed made some changes to the bus stops, but he insisted they were the ones that were closer to the buildings they closed.

He said the boat to DD would continue to run because they know that is a very attractive feature. (He mentioned that they tried to stop this service, but they realized they made a big mistake).

 

[magicmouse2]

I called the POR relocation dept, and they said only certain buildings would be closed at POR for interior work, and that they were not closing the whole resort, and there would be no major construction.

 

[lmm]

Ok, now I'm really getting nervous. My feeling is they should shut nothing down with guests who hold reservations there. The right thing to do would be to stop taking reservations and shut it down completely at the time when they have no reservations for refurbishment. I called CRO on Wednesday and expressed my concerns (very nicely of course) and was told that POR was up and running as normal there were no changes and the refurbishments were only in POFQ. This obviously was not correct. Has anyone else had any luck in getting any kind of straight answer from Disney?

I love POR and want to stay there, however I do not want to stay at a resort with limited facilities. What do we do?????

 

[lmm]

Magicmouse2 - when are you going?

 

[magicmouse2]

September 9th.

We stayed in the Bayou this month and wanted to stay in Magnolia bend this time. The CM told me only a couple of the mansion buildings are closed. but got me off the phone as quick as she could. She also said we would be called if we were to be moved. Guess we will have to wait and see and not make too many plans around the resort in case we are moved. I dont think Disney appreciate that you have to plan journeys and PS times based on which resort you are staying at.

 

[lmm]

That's one of my issues as well - I plan things around where I am staying and if I am moved it kills everything. I just want to know what the deal is, so we can plan accordingly.