For those of you thinking of trying POR or a MOD for the 1st time...

[ptrbryant]

Months ago, I was in the same situation and I remember there were a number of us in a quandry: what to do when those who have always stayed at a Deluxe (for us, it was always WL) with w/General Code could no longer afford a Deluxe with the lack of codes?
After many postings, I decided to try POR for our trip May 16-23 (actually, we stayed 4nts. at SSR,too, and we liked POR much better!)

With the recent refurbishments, our Mansion room at Parterre Place was immaculate! Everything looked very new. As I'd read and found to be true, the landscaping is beautiful and, no matter how much walking I'd done in the parks that day, once we relaxed in our room, I had to go for an evening walk around the grounds. It was DH, DS9 and myself and I repeatedly said that I was surprised at how spacious the room felt. Keep in mind that we'd always stayed at WL, which has smaller rooms for a Deluxe. Maybe the double beds (which seemed oddly bigger than I'd imagined as well!) made the space seem larger, but we NEVER felt that the space was tight at all.

My issue with MODS before trying one was the idea of exterior-only corridors. Coming originally from the north, my idea of "exterior hallways" was limited to motels that I would not choose to stay at. Well, unlike motels, your room opens to a lovely vista of gardens and fountains rather than a parking lot. We heard fewer people walk past our room than we do at a traditional interior-hallway hotel. Our stay was very quiet, which we'd been hoping for.

Even though I'd prepared my family and myself for a sense of "let-down", esp. going from the Deluxe level of SSR to a MOD, we never felt it was something "less". Sure, it didn't have the breath-taking lobby of WL, but we found the grounds to be much more attractive.

Feel free to ask any questions...and don't be afraid--as we'd been!--of the MODS!!!

Karla B.

p.s. There was nothing per se wrong with SSR, it just didn't have that "Disney" feel for us and felt more like an upscale, gated suburban community.

 

[mapmakerj]

Thanks so much for your post. We are planning to stay at POR next June. It will be only our 2nd onsite stay (1st was AKL which we loved but, without a major code deal, is way out of our budget this time). We wanted to pick a place a little less "active" than the value resorts and my DH thought POR would fit the bill. From your post it looks like we made the right decision. Do you know if you can rent the little searay boats at POR or POFQ? My DS is dying to go out on one with DH and I thought I heard you could rent them at this resort. Did you swim? In the main or one of the quiet pools? Was it full? I like the idea of several quiet pools in addition the the main one incase it is very busy. Thanks for any input.

 

[jonestavern]

I am so happy you posted. We will be at OKW for Nov & are looking to stay at a moderate for cash on the weekends. we do have res @ POFQ, but are thinking of a change to POR.
How close was the bus stop? Is it the last stop on the run?
Was yr room quiet? We always avoid the pools/foodcourt scene so walking to those pts is preferable for us.
we are a family of 3 also, DH, moi & DS16

[I]Jean
[/I]

 

[goofy4tink]

Glad you liked POR so much. It's one of our favorite resorts. We will be there for our last two nights in WDW, after staying at BCV. As much as I love our DVC stays, I'm really looking forward to being back at POR again. It was our first WDW resort, then it was Dixie Landings, and it will always hold a special spot in our hearts. I still can't decide which section I like better. We have stayed in both. This trip we aren't asking for either one...just want non-smoking and we'll see what we get.

 

[DZNYMGCFAM]

Glad you enjoyed your stay at POR. We love that resort!! How were the buses?? That is my only complaint about POR, but it certainly does not keep us for staying there!!!

 

[Spartan]

POR is our favorite resort. We've stayed there probably about 10 times. The buses seem to be kind of hit and miss. There's 4 stops, and depending upon the time of the year, you may also be sharing the buses with POFQ. Your best bet for getting on the buses quicker is to go to the main stop, as it goes there first, and if the bus is filled, it then goes to the park directly instead of around to the other stops. The problem is that depending upon where you're at, the distance up to the main stop could be quite a haul. I'm convinced the buses are just a timing issue. It seems that everytime we're walking out to the bus stop, I hear one pulling away just before we get there. I just *KNOW* that was the one we needed, even though you can't see which one it was because you have to walk through a wooded section to get out to it.

Mapmakerj - you can rent the watermice at POR, but I'd suggest doing it from one of the deluxe resorts on Bay Lake. I think the ones at POR are the "toned-down" versions, and there's a lot less room to ride around in them because the water near POR and POFQ is more like a river than a wide-open lake. There's already a boat available to take you to DTD.

The quiet pools are usually almost deserted, but the main pool is always quite crowded. It's a nice option to have so many pools to choose from. You have to get your towels from the main pool, however.

 

[ptrbryant]

We always use a rental car and never used the buses, so I can't really answer anything about the transportation. One thing we really wanted to do, but didn't have a chance, was to take the boat to DTD...looked great and relaxing! Next time...!!! I did notice a variety of boats available for rent at the marina, but didn't notice specifically what kind they were.

The main pool was never overly crowded when we were there, but (and I forgot to mention this!) for some reason it wasn't heated. Since we never hit the pools until after 9, it was a little too chilly for us. We discovered the quiet pool between Parterre Place and Magnolia Terrace---it was heated and as quiet and restful as could be. There was no one there but us one night and the next night, there were only 3 other people (inc. dis'er bethc1952 & her dh, Jim---hi, guys! Beth, I hope you're feeling better and your cold is gone!)

We had a relatively short walk to the Food Court/main bldgs.---really just over two short bridges. I don't think any of the bldgs. are right next to the food court, so you really don't get that kind of foot traffic...a situation where a resort being a bit spread out is an asset!

Karla B.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

We spent the last night of our 10-day WDW family vacation (8 days at AKL and 1 other off-site) at CSR this past weekend and absolutely LOVED it. I worried that going from the queen beds to fulls would be difficult; but the beds were so comfortable and we were so tired that it didn't make a bit of difference! Also, the walking really wasn't as bad as what we have expereinced at AKL and Poly. Dh and I have been planning a trip sans children for later this summer. Originally, we'd planned to stay at a deluxe again. We may very well change this and spend what we save on more food/shopping!!

 

[sexyravenfan]

Riverside is our favorite resort. We have never had any problems there at all. The scenery is beautiful. It is so quiet and relaxing. The food court is the best and the pools are great. 1 month until POR!

 

[Bartoli]

We are staying at the Poly June 18 - 24th, but decided to come in a day earlier so we booked a night at POR. I wouldn't mind staying part of the trip there and part at the Poly, but with the MYW plan, it doesn't work out well. Anyway, how is the switch between resorts handled? Will DIsney take care of getting everything moved? DO we have to go to the Poly to check in or will they send our luggage and take it to our room? I did not want to waste a lot of time changing resorts. We hoped to be at the parks early the next day.

 

[metta4]

Oh I am sooo happy to see this post. We stayed at AKL last month and rec'vd a free upgrade to a savannah room. I loved the room, the resort and everything there. I have kind of been dreading/worrying about being at POR after the wonderful time at AKL. One of the concerns was the exterior hallways...thanks for setting my mind at ease.

 

[goofy4tink]

We are staying at the Poly June 18 - 24th, but decided to come in a day earlier so we booked a night at POR. I wouldn't mind staying part of the trip there and part at the Poly, but with the MYW plan, it doesn't work out well. Anyway, how is the switch between resorts handled? Will DIsney take care of getting everything moved? DO we have to go to the Poly to check in or will they send our luggage and take it to our room? I did not want to waste a lot of time changing resorts. We hoped to be at the parks early the next day.

Switching resorts at WDW is really quite easy. I have done it several times now. Just let the resort you are at (and will be moving from) know the night before you need to leave. Bell services will get your luggage and they will get it to the next resort. Sometimes you have to be in the room, sometimes you have to take it to bell services yourself. I think it depends on the resort. But they will be able to tell you there. Then, check-out of resort #1 and head off on your day. I usually go to a park really early and then around 11 or so, head back to the new resort to check-in. Be aware tho, your bags may not be there for a bit. So, keep anything you may need with you. We like to keep clean undies and bathing suits with us in a backpack. That way we can go for a swim at the new resort and grab a bite to eat if we can't get into our room right away.

 

[BethC1952]

dis'er bethc1952 & her dh, Jim---hi, guys! Beth, I hope you're feeling better and your cold is gone!

Hi, Karla!

Thanks for asking...today is the first day I feel human again! I'm just glad I got sick at the END of my vacation, not the beginning!

We love POR too, and we've stayed at all levels. We use the buses all the time, and this time had no real complaints. While there are four bus stops at POR, we always use the main stop. We enjoy the walk through the grounds, and really didn't think it was any farther than walking to the bus stop near our room. We also enjoyed the wildlife. Outside our building (Acadian House) Jim found a small bunny who responded to his voice and would come when he called it. The bunny was there for two or three days. By the third day, he would hop over when we came down the walk. Because these animals are wild, we never touched or fed him (or her), but we did take a few pictures which will be posted with my trip report.

We didn't rent watermice, but we did rent a pedal boat one morning, and had a wonderful time. In a pedal boat, you can go around the island, not just down the main part of the river. In 55 minutes we were able to go around the island, all the way down to POFQ and back. I took quite a few pictures then, too.

Beth