We spent 3 days at Universal at the RPH then moved on to Disney to POR. The first thing my 12 year old said about the resort was "Wow it is really quiet here", and it was very quiet and peaceful. If you want excitement this is not your resort. If you want to get away from the crowds and enjoy activities like surry bike riding, fishing and carriage rides then this is the place for you. I really liked the change of pace after spending all day in the very crowded parks.
Check In- It took us about 20 minutes. At first there was a long line but they opened up a few extra windows. Everyone was friendly and I was given a room in the AB section as I had requested. We checked in about 6:00 PM
Room- We were given the AB section room number 3829 (this was not the building number that I had requested). It was a good long walk from everything but not quite as far as some of the other rooms. There was the North bus depot near by but we never used it to be picked up because we were always at the food court for breakfast then went on to the parks from there. Our view was of another building near by and a small yard with some foliage and bushes. I really liked our view compared to the ones that got the parking lot view. The parking lot is right up against the building and it looks like you are staying in a regular motel. I would try really hard not to get a room that faced the parking lot. Our room was really quite cozy. It was in a corner and it was very quiet. I don't recall ever hearing the neighbors. The actual rooms are small but they were not to bad. The bathroom though is so small that when you are using the toilet you feel as though you are almost sitting in the shower.
The rooms do have free use of refrigerators.
Food court- It was very busy even at 7:30 AM. The place though is very big and can accomodate everyone pretty easily. We only had one problem when the food section that serves french toast and pancakes had a problem with their grill one morning. (I think they did not get it warmed up in time). My children wanted the choc. chip pancakes but the line was so backed up that we just couldn't wait long enough. Usually though things went pretty smoothly and it took us about 20 minutes to 1/2 hour for breakfast from start to finish. For a family of 4 the cost of each breakfast was about 26 to 30 dollars. The variety of food was OK but we did start to get tired of the breakfast menu. I was dissappointed that they did not serve Mickey Waffles.
Boatwrights- We ate 1 breakfast and 1 dinner here. I got the banana stuffed french toast and decided that I hate cooked bananas. My DS got the same thing though and liked it. My DH got the steak and eggs and the steak was small and tough. My other DS had pancakes but doesn't remember if he liked them or not.(They looked like the same ones in the food court). The bill came to 47 dollars. This meal was certainly not worth the money and we did not try to eat breakfast there again. My DH and I ate dinner there and I got the prime rib and he got the pot roast. Both meals were adequate but nothing to write home about. The bread was the same corn bread that is fixed in the food court.The bill came to about 60 bucks. (No alcohol included).
Arcade- It was actually very good. There was a lot of variety and my DSs just loved it. We took the kids to Disney Quest but it was so crowded that it was almost impossible to play anything. The POR arcade was not free but at least it was not crowded and the kids could play on anything they wanted.
The bus system- Now this gets kind of complicated. I don't know if what we experianced is typical but I will explain what I observed and everyone will just have to take it with a grain of salt knowing that I never asked anyone how the system worked and I can only tell you what what we experianced for the 7 days that we were there.
1. To Epcot- The bus stopped first at POFQ and was full and we had to stand. When the bus was full it did not stop at the other bus depots around POR (there are 4). I want to say the bus stop at EPCOT is around number 6 but I could be wrong.
2. Down Town Disney and Typhoon Lagoon- The bus stopped first at POR but would sometimes when we were going back to the resort it would drop off the POFQ guests first. The bus stop at the TL and DTD was number 1.
3. Blizzard Beach and Animal Kingdom. The bus stopped first at the POFQ. It generally was not full and we usually got a seat. I cannot remember the bus stop numbers at these parks.
4. MGM- The bus stopped first at POFQ. The bus was not full and we got a seat. I want to say the bus stop number at the park was around 12.
5. Magic Kingdom- We had our own bus. It did not stop at the POFQ at all. The bus stop number at the park was 13.
I found the bus system to be actually pretty good and we never had to wait very long. The longest I probably ever had to wait was about 10 minutes.
Boat ride to DTD- I liked the ride it was very relaxing. It took about 20 minutes to get there. It seemed though when you take the boat as opposed to the bus you had to walk a lot further to get to the other side of DTD.
River Roost Bar- There is live entertainment from the Piano Man Wed. thru Sat. starting at 8:30 PM. He plays the piano and sings and makes jokes. He is pretty good and if you find yourself without anything else to do in the evening you may want to try him out.
TV programming- All I can say is Yuck!! At Universal the TV programming is very extensive so we were shocked to find that there just isn't anything to watch on TV when you are at Disney. I guess they figure if you are in your room watching TV then you are not out spending money. I am not sure if all resorts have the same channels available but I can vouch that at POR the selection is very poor.
General Store- They have genreal food items such as milk, orange juice, donuts, cereal etc. They also have some medications and personal items available. There is also sell the typical Souvenirs.
Main Pool- It is well themed with water fall areas for childen to splash around in and a slide. It is small and gets very crowded. There is a pool bar with a varitey of drinks and some food items. You need to wear some kind of bug off spray when you are there. I got 10 bug bites the first day and looked like I had some kind of disease for the rest of the week.
mousekeeping- It was excellant. They even made little things with with the washcloths that held our toothbrushes and my makeup.
Well that is all for now. I hope this information is helpful.
Check In- It took us about 20 minutes. At first there was a long line but they opened up a few extra windows. Everyone was friendly and I was given a room in the AB section as I had requested. We checked in about 6:00 PM
Room- We were given the AB section room number 3829 (this was not the building number that I had requested). It was a good long walk from everything but not quite as far as some of the other rooms. There was the North bus depot near by but we never used it to be picked up because we were always at the food court for breakfast then went on to the parks from there. Our view was of another building near by and a small yard with some foliage and bushes. I really liked our view compared to the ones that got the parking lot view. The parking lot is right up against the building and it looks like you are staying in a regular motel. I would try really hard not to get a room that faced the parking lot. Our room was really quite cozy. It was in a corner and it was very quiet. I don't recall ever hearing the neighbors. The actual rooms are small but they were not to bad. The bathroom though is so small that when you are using the toilet you feel as though you are almost sitting in the shower.
The rooms do have free use of refrigerators.Food court- It was very busy even at 7:30 AM. The place though is very big and can accomodate everyone pretty easily. We only had one problem when the food section that serves french toast and pancakes had a problem with their grill one morning. (I think they did not get it warmed up in time). My children wanted the choc. chip pancakes but the line was so backed up that we just couldn't wait long enough. Usually though things went pretty smoothly and it took us about 20 minutes to 1/2 hour for breakfast from start to finish. For a family of 4 the cost of each breakfast was about 26 to 30 dollars. The variety of food was OK but we did start to get tired of the breakfast menu. I was dissappointed that they did not serve Mickey Waffles.
Boatwrights- We ate 1 breakfast and 1 dinner here. I got the banana stuffed french toast and decided that I hate cooked bananas. My DS got the same thing though and liked it. My DH got the steak and eggs and the steak was small and tough. My other DS had pancakes but doesn't remember if he liked them or not.(They looked like the same ones in the food court). The bill came to 47 dollars. This meal was certainly not worth the money and we did not try to eat breakfast there again. My DH and I ate dinner there and I got the prime rib and he got the pot roast. Both meals were adequate but nothing to write home about. The bread was the same corn bread that is fixed in the food court.The bill came to about 60 bucks. (No alcohol included).
Arcade- It was actually very good. There was a lot of variety and my DSs just loved it. We took the kids to Disney Quest but it was so crowded that it was almost impossible to play anything. The POR arcade was not free but at least it was not crowded and the kids could play on anything they wanted.
The bus system- Now this gets kind of complicated. I don't know if what we experianced is typical but I will explain what I observed and everyone will just have to take it with a grain of salt knowing that I never asked anyone how the system worked and I can only tell you what what we experianced for the 7 days that we were there.
1. To Epcot- The bus stopped first at POFQ and was full and we had to stand. When the bus was full it did not stop at the other bus depots around POR (there are 4). I want to say the bus stop at EPCOT is around number 6 but I could be wrong.
2. Down Town Disney and Typhoon Lagoon- The bus stopped first at POR but would sometimes when we were going back to the resort it would drop off the POFQ guests first. The bus stop at the TL and DTD was number 1.
3. Blizzard Beach and Animal Kingdom. The bus stopped first at the POFQ. It generally was not full and we usually got a seat. I cannot remember the bus stop numbers at these parks.
4. MGM- The bus stopped first at POFQ. The bus was not full and we got a seat. I want to say the bus stop number at the park was around 12.
5. Magic Kingdom- We had our own bus. It did not stop at the POFQ at all. The bus stop number at the park was 13.
I found the bus system to be actually pretty good and we never had to wait very long. The longest I probably ever had to wait was about 10 minutes.
Boat ride to DTD- I liked the ride it was very relaxing. It took about 20 minutes to get there. It seemed though when you take the boat as opposed to the bus you had to walk a lot further to get to the other side of DTD.
River Roost Bar- There is live entertainment from the Piano Man Wed. thru Sat. starting at 8:30 PM. He plays the piano and sings and makes jokes. He is pretty good and if you find yourself without anything else to do in the evening you may want to try him out.
TV programming- All I can say is Yuck!! At Universal the TV programming is very extensive so we were shocked to find that there just isn't anything to watch on TV when you are at Disney. I guess they figure if you are in your room watching TV then you are not out spending money. I am not sure if all resorts have the same channels available but I can vouch that at POR the selection is very poor.
General Store- They have genreal food items such as milk, orange juice, donuts, cereal etc. They also have some medications and personal items available. There is also sell the typical Souvenirs.
Main Pool- It is well themed with water fall areas for childen to splash around in and a slide. It is small and gets very crowded. There is a pool bar with a varitey of drinks and some food items. You need to wear some kind of bug off spray when you are there. I got 10 bug bites the first day and looked like I had some kind of disease for the rest of the week.
mousekeeping- It was excellant. They even made little things with with the washcloths that held our toothbrushes and my makeup.
Well that is all for now. I hope this information is helpful.
). You said POR was quieter, did you have much of a shock other than that when you moved from RPR to POR? I've read so many good things about POR, but I'm still trying not to build it up too much in my mind so I won't be disappointed. (Wow do I sound like a hotel snob? 
) On one of our previous trips we drove by POR and I saw the rooms that faced the parking lot and I thought exactly what you said, that it looks like a typical motel. However, after looking at other pictures on the internet and seeing the rest of the resort, it does look beautiful. Thanks again for the report.
