EXCELLENT Stay at POFQ

[baileybrad]

We worked in a 2nd trip to the world from Saturday, 8/14 - 8/21. We enjoyed a 10 night stay at BCV in early June on some of our DVC points. We had no points available and our decision came down between POR, mansions, and POFQ. We opted for the FQ because of its more compact area and the fact that all of the rooms had been remodeled. We did not want to take a chance on being placed in the AB section of POR.

We have stayed at both resorts in the past and enjoyed our stays. The "new" rooms were lovely and looked brand new. We have an 18 month old who naps everyday, along with a 4 year old who naps occasionally so housekeeping was important to us. Our 7 year old loved the pool and along with the rest of us. I did find the lifeguards there to be a bit intense but we follow the rules so it was more entertainment than anything else. One phone call on the first morning was all that it took and our room was ready each day when we returned from the parks--anywhere from noon until 2. They even located us a larger crib. We ate on-property a couple times more than we usually do because of Hurricane Charley. The food we had over at Riverside at the Cotton Mill was good, as was the FQ snacks we enjoyed at Sassagoula. On our last night we had really tasty meal there. We had contemplated driving somewhere to eat but the convenience won out....we were just steps from the food area in room #4132.

The grounds got back to normal around Wednesday from all of the storm debris. Our 3 boys loved running around the large courtyard grassy area in the evenings. It was like they had their own personal little football field. The DTD boats were not running until Wednesday due to the channel being blocked from downed trees. We used it a couple times after it was back up and running and to our kids it was a blast. It is kinda neat when you are at the pool to look out and see the smaller boats running up and down the water (the boat rentals were ongoing during our stay).

The strawberry topped cheesecake made for a great snack. The frozen drinks at the pools were devine. We swam everyday.

The parks were relatively quiet in the mornings. On Wednesday morning we walked on Dumbo with no wait at 9:30 am. On Friday, the 2 older boys and I did Thunder Mtn twice in a row with no wait. We then followed up with 2 back to back trips on Splash Mtn with no waits except for the walks thru the line. We headed up to Fantasyland for no wait on Peter Pan and then saw Dumbo had virtually no line at 10:05. I think you bet the idea.

We used our large cooler as our fridge in the room. We have done this many times in the past and it works great. We had cereal in the room for breakfast most mornings. We got an AP rate of $85 a night for the room.

I recommend this resort, highly. Our last 7 stays on-property have been at 4 stays @ OKW, 2 @ BCV and 1 @ VLW. We had previously stayed @ Riverside (DXL) 4 times and @ FQ (just plain ole PO) 3 times. We find the PO complex to be just as enjoyable as our DVC stays. The only obvious exception being the larger accommodations at the DVC resorts.

I am not sure if you can tell but we had a great stay and trip.

 

[crazyforgoofy]

I am SO envious. PO-FQ is our favorite resort. However due to "increased demand for rooms" I can't get it with my AP rate for a trip in October so have had to go with POP. I'm going to miss it so! Glad you had a great time.

That big grassy area is a kid magnet isn't it? We took 4 young ones in May and they played endless games of tag and red light/green light during our down times from the parks. And they adore the slide, it's just perfect for smaller kids. Didn't make it to the pools at Riverside, I couldn't get them to leave the "slide with Ariel's dad on top."

 

[zalansky]

Glad to hear you enjoyed your trip! We are headed there next weekend for a Labor Day stay and are anxious to see the new rooms. We stayed once in Sept 2001 and really enjoyed ourselves.
When you say you got a larger crib, do you mean larger than the pack n play they give normally? I am interested because we have a 20 month old who will NOT sleep in the pack n play and if there is another option I would be thrilled beyond belief!
Thanks for sharing...

 

[picantel]

sounds great. We are spending 3 of our 9 nights at the POFQ. I can hardly wait.

 

[baileybrad]

Yes, the crib was bigger than the normal pack and play. It was 24 inches longer than a pnp and about 18 inches wider. It had metal bars and very nice thick pad. It fit perfectly between the bed fartherest from the bathroom up against the wall. We were also able to slide a larger suitcase under it for storage. I was told when I made the reservations that they did "not" offer any larger cribs and our reservation even mentioned that we would be receiving something less than a full-size. It was not a full-size crib like all of the resorts use to offer, but, it was much better than a pack and play.

I called and spoke with someone in housekeeping on Thursday before our trip asking about a possible high chair because our accomodations at the DVC resorts offer them. I was told that they did not do so at the "regular" resorts or at least not at POFQ. We had a very nice conservation and I kidded with her that I suppose trying to get something besides a pack and play would most likely get me shot. She said that I should just ask at check-in and that they would just have to get me one from the "warehouse" and it would take a bit of time. I did so and it did take bit of time (3 or 4 hours) but we did get the better crib and are glad that we looked into it.

Good luck and if I can answer anymore "kid" questions feel free to ask. We solved our high chair problem by just bringing along a portable little chair that we have used for all 3 of our boys and it worked great ..... he just sat it on the floor and had his breakfast eating from the tray. We were driving so it was not a problem to just throw it in the van.

We did make 1 trip up to the other feature pool at Riverside. We enjoy it, also. But with the 2 younger kids napping in the room part of the time when we were at the "King's" pool that was not really something that we could do. It is also a nice pool.