Can I switch resorts only 7 days until we arrive

[tcp0421]

The last few days I have been reading a lot of negative posts about POR. My In-laws are going with us. My MIL has a real bad heart. In fact she was just in the hospital last week. She said she is going to Disney if it kills her!! I have been reading about the long waits for buses. I know there is no way she is going to be able to stand for that amount of time. This is her first and most likely her last trip to DIsney, I dont want to "kill" her! (Not yet anyway). Maybe a few days into our vacation I will want to though. Any suggestions? Is it too late to switch resorts?

 

[safetymom]

Are you on free dining? That might limit the resorts that you could switch to.

POR is a great resort and you will most likely have a great vacation there. Remember most people that have a great time at a resort don't take the time to post that.

 

[Hopefully]

If you are on free dining you may not find any availability of those rooms. The only way to know if you can change is to call CRO and ask what is available.
Have you thought of renting a wheelchair for your MIL? If she can't stand or walk distances you may want to do this. There is information on the Disabilities board here on the DIS on companies that you can rent from. They will deliver right to your resort and you would have it for your length of stay.
Just a thought.

 

[tcp0421]

Are you on free dining? That might limit the resorts that you could switch to.

POR is a great resort and you will most likely have a great vacation there. Remember most people that have a great time at a resort don't take the time to post that.

Yes I am on free dinning. This really is getting to me! I have had our vaction planned for about 6 months and I have been on the boards everyday about 15 times daily, and only read a few negative posts. Now the last 2 days I have read a lot of negative! The rooms being dirty, cms not being helpful, wait times for buses and so on. I do know there is also a lot of positve, but all the negative is bothering me.

 

[Allison]

I would think with free dining, you would be limited on any changes.

The thing is, if you switch resorts then you will start noticing all the negative posts about that resort. It isn't just POR. It's all the resorts. The 5 people who had a negative experience are more likely to post than the 95 people who had everything go like they thought it would.

There will be a wait for buses no matter where you go. I have waited at the Poly, Caribbean Beach, POR, POFQ, Boardwalk and Beach Club not to mention the waits at the parks to get back to the resorts. Have you thought about a wheelchair or ECV or even renting a car? It sounds like that may help. Good luck.

 

[eeyore45]

2 years ago with free dining - I went and invinted my mom and dad to join us - after debating the pros and cons (reading lots of info here and allearsnet) we chose POFQ - but they didnt have availabilty - but POR did... more research and I picked connecting rooms at the Mansions...

Yes, I thought the food court was farther away - BUT with free dining, we didnt use the food court! My dad is not a disney fan per se - so I booked him at the NASCAR experience - best thing I ever did!! He used the food court, and he used the refillable mug - thought it was the best thing ever!!

I thought the busses were crowded and took forever - my mom started using her watch to time them - mostly 10 - 20 min! Mom was less stresssed than I was, I was trying to give them the best vacation ever - and I was stressed. That vacation only existed in my mind - but my parents just enjoyed spending time with us!!

POR was gorgeous, and my parents enjoyed the ambviance very much. They wouldnt have liked the Carribean feel, so I think we did ok.

IF you have a dirty room, call mousekeeping, watch them and smile and be gracious! Our room wasnt dirty, but it smelled of smoke - I called and they came, sprayed and aired it out - it was fine - and I am hypersensitve (unfortunately!) to smoke!!

My dad was so impressed that not only did they leave towel animals for us and rearrange our critters - but they left HIM and Mom towel animals - my dad tipped mousekeepers (and lol, dad is not exactly cheap - but I dont ever recall him leaving a tip for housekeeping, and yes, he saw my mousekeeper envelopes - but he was always around when the mousekeeper came, while we were in the parks, he strolled or headed over to Richard Petty - it was a rainy week so they started to drive, then would reschedule - he LOVED that!!)

The view of the river was beautiful
we took the boat to DTD it was wonderful~

it will be your choice on how the vacation goes - chose to have a great time - and find a way to make lemonade out of any lemons thrown your way!! It can work!! YOU'LL BE IN DISNEY!!

 

[eliza61]

The last few days I have been reading a lot of negative posts about POR. My In-laws are going with us. My MIL has a real bad heart. In fact she was just in the hospital last week. She said she is going to Disney if it kills her!! I have been reading about the long waits for buses. I know there is no way she is going to be able to stand for that amount of time. This is her first and most likely her last trip to DIsney, I dont want to "kill" her! (Not yet anyway). Maybe a few days into our vacation I will want to though. Any suggestions? Is it too late to switch resorts?

First,
Please take reports with a grain of salt, especially about transportation. For every negative report, you can find some one who adores the resort. I do have a question, if your MIL can't stand for 20 minutes how is she going to handle the parks? Some times it takes 20 minutes just to walk from one end to another and even with an ADR you can end up waiting 20 minutes until you get a table.

10-20 minutes is really not a long time to wait for a park bus at most resort, some times at the end of the night you will have back to back buses but on average I think 10-15 minutes is pretty normal. Will you have a wheelchair? Some of the bus stops may have benches for her to sit down on, not sure about POR but I know others do.
Good luck and don't worry about doing poor mom in, just yet.

 

[momofdbsdc]

We satyed at POR in May and loved it. Transportation can be ifffy at any resort. I would stick with what you have planned and enjoy your vacation! Definitely rent a wheel chair for you MIL though.

 

[maxiesmom]

You can always try to switch resorts. POFQ is much more compact, and even when it shares busses with POR they pick up at POFQ first, so your mil would always have a seat. I would keep calling and see if anything opens up.

What does your mil plan on doing during the day? If she is going to the parks, definately have a scooter for her. If you get one delivered, she can use it at your resort too. There are outside companies that can send you one. Look on the disabilites board for lots more info.

 

[jcpuppy.com]

I think you should stay put and not worry. If you need get a wheelhair or ecv for mom, she may need that in the parks anyway.
Think you are worried about mom. Let her enjoy her time and stop worrying, if you keep worrying you will ruin her time and defeat everything she is hoping for

 

[Luv2Roam]

You may find everything booked up due to the free dining period.
I ran into a friend last night at DTD. She and her DH made a last miunute trip this weekend to celebrate her b-day.
No rooms available. They are staying off site.
And get this -- They changed rooms because they discovered their room was stuck amongst a soccer team. Does that remind anyone of what can happen at Disney resorts too?

 

[ksbean]

Sit down and take a deep breathe. It should all work out. One thing to remember is there are thousands and thousands of people that stay and visit WDW each and every day. With WDW it's all in the timing and how you choose to face the day. We all have different opinions based on our own expectations and experiences so where one may not of had theirs met there were probably thousands of others that did.

Like others suggested you might want to look into renting a wheel chair or scooter for your MIL as there is lots of walking involved for WDW both at the resorts and in the parks.

PS I understand about going with the in-laws as we just did that this past Easter. Although I thought for sure they'd drive me to drink I am happy to report all worked out well. Go with the flow and I can fully recommend planning in a midday rest. It did us all wonders to pop back to the resort for a break. Have fun!!!! Karen

 

[tcp0421]

I think you should stay put and not worry. If you need get a wheelhair or ecv for mom, she may need that in the parks anyway.
Think you are worried about mom. Let her enjoy her time and stop worrying, if you keep worrying you will ruin her time and defeat everything she is hoping for

Yes I am worried, I am trying not to though. It wont let it ruin my vacation! I dont care if I have to crawl around Disney.

 

[Cindy B]

I was able to switch from one free dining resort to another during my horrific stay at Riverside.

However, the concierge at POR was unhelpful. I had to get to Coronado myself and switched myself. When the Coronado concierge asked me why POR didn't switch for me, I told him that POR concierge told me there were no rooms available. The Coronado concierge stated that there were rooms and he couldn't understand why POR said there weren't rooms.

I was able to switch during the stay and transfer my dining as well with no extra charge.

 

[Mousema]

If you need a wheelchair for your MIL, the resorts have them at no charge. I got one last year for my DM at POP and used it on and off during the entire trip.

 

[allaboutmm]

Our last trip stayed at POR with another family(their time at WDW) and we all loved it. We decided that POR would be the place we would stay from now on (we are a family of 5) when we go to WDW. Things have changed for us now,because we are in the process of buying DVC. But would never blink an eye to stay there again if we needed to. Good luck, I hope you and your family have a fun, safe trip!

 

[Nienor]

If you're worried about walking around the resort and busses, you might consider renting a car. It wouldn't be more than 150ish for the week if you use the right coupons. That way you can park closer to the foodcourt if needed and not have to wait for busses at night.