Just Back from 10 nights at POR (long)

[Momto8]

We just got back from POR the night before last. Had a great time and wished we didn't have to leave. Couldn't post this earlier as we had to help my son move yesterday and today I had to have outpatient surgery, so finally getting around to writing this.

Had our choice between Magnolia Terrace and Oak Manor and chose Oak Manor. Our rooms were very nice and were one of those that were recently renovated, Room 9255. You could tell the bathroom fixtures were new, etc. We had 5 in our party and were told we would have to stay in AB, but at check in I requested MB because we've stayed at POR 3 times before and it's always been AB. I've always wanted MB and asked if we could have a rollaway, which they did give us one. The CM said that it was $15 more for it. I told her we were already paying the $15 more for the trundle, so it shouldn't be another $15. After a little bit of arguing, I asked for her supervisor. She came back and said there was no charge for the rollaway, which really wasn't true as we had paid the $15/night already. She just meant there was not an additional $15 on top of the $15 we already paid. She just didn't want to admit she was wrong. We had a passholder rate of $74 plus the $15 for a total of $89/night plus tax. She tried telling me we weren't paying for it because the room was $144/night and we were only paying $89. Anyways we got what we requested, non-smoking in MB. We also had a view of the fountain in the courtyard and the river as well but we always had our curtains shut so it really didn't matter. Don't like people walking by looking in our room while we're in there.

My SIL also stayed here for 3 nights during our stay and like this resort also. She is very picky and I was surprised that she like it as much as she did.

Took the boat ride to DD a couple of times. The first time we had to wait for the 2nd boat before we could get on. But the 2nd time, it took about 4 boats before we got on. I would have taken
the bus that night, but my SIL really wanted to ride the boat.

If you have any questions about POR let me know.

 

[Lisa S]

I'm getting ready to book POR. I'm looking at the resort map that I found on this board. Where are the bus stops? If we stay in the AB bldg 14 it looks fairly close to the food court, but wasn't sure about the bus situation. We are a family of 5 and find it hard to find an affordable place at WDW.

 

[2MuchOhana]

Thanks for sharing! We are looking forward to staying there for the first time later this year. Do you know if Magnolia Terrace has been redone, too? I requested rooms in that building. I know there are no guarantees; but they are usually pretty good about it. I might change my request if not as Oak Manor was my second choice. Also, I thought I read that was a smoking building has that changed? Maybe I was mistaken.

Thanks Again. Glad you had a great time. Hope both the move and your surgery went well.

 

[susy]

I don't think that the front desk should meniton how much you are paying. It is NONE of their business. Disney offered the deal, not them. I would have laughed about the $144-the mods are hardly worth that kind of money.

 

[corinascot]

Wasn't it lovely? We stayed in Magnolia Terrace, room 8784, and it seemed like it had just been redone to me. Everything was fresh, new and clean. I assume the bldg is nonsmoking. I didn't notice any smoky aroma.

There's a bus stop behind Magnolia Terrace, a stop at the main reception bldg., and 2 other stops (behind AB?).

I'd highly recommend POR.

Corina

 

[TWOOD]

Do the renovated rooms have the privacy curtain? If so, anyone know how soon the AB section will get these? Thanks!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

We're staying at POR for the first time in July, how was the bus transportation? That's my only concern as I've read some posts of people who had trouble with the bus service to the parks? We're a family of 5 also and I thought we could only stay in AB. Which did you prefer, AB or the Mansions?

 

[cobbler]

Glad you had such a good time. I stayed at Riverside last year for the first time and really enjoyed it. I stayed in AB bldg 15 and was close to everything.

It does rate up there as one of my more favorite resorts!

 

[tinkgrl]

Hi,

Glad you had a good time!!! Mom & I love it there!!

Allison
Long Live Captain Jack Sparrow & Will Turner!

 

[Momto8]

LisaS, We have the same problem. We usually need a room for 5 or have to get 2 rooms. That is one reason why we stayed at POR. They have 4 bus stops. The main bus stop is the South Depot, which is the closest to the main building where the food court is located and near Building 14 & 15 in AB. The West Depot is next which is near AB Buildings 24, 25, 26, 34 & 35. Next is the North Depot near AB Buildings 36, 37 and Acadian House in MB. East Depot is last and is closest to Magnolia Terrace and then Oak Manor. You can also go to the South Depot if you're in Oak Manor, which is what we would do in the morning as this is usually the first stop. In the evening we would get off at the East Depot, which was pretty close to our room. Sometimes the buses would pick up at the South Depot last, but that was mostly the first stop.

Soltwisch Family, Thanks, my surgery went well. Just waiting for the biopsy report to come back. The doctor thinks it is okay, though but just want to be sure. I asked if they were still renovating POR at check in and I really couldn't get a straight answer from the CM. She told me no they didn't do anything to POR and that POFQ was closed for renovations. I told her that I heard that FQ was completed this spring and is now open. She then said yes, it was done, but I don't think she really knew what she was talking about after the rollaway bed fiasco. Later when my SIL checked in, I asked the CM that was taking care of her if Oak Manor had been renovated and she said it was totally redone. I don't know if they did Magnolia Terrace or not as I didn't ask. If they did do it, everything must be completed because I didn't see any renovations going on while we were there. I thought I read that they did do Magnolia Terrace awhile back. Either building would be a good location for MB.

Corina, I agree with everything you say. POR is one of our favorites because of all the landsaping and it is so pretty.

We did have a couple of times were the bus transportation wasn't that great. One time in particular we were at BB and waited about 45 minutes for a bus. Finally they had to put us on a bus for Saratoga Springs. Then they had to board a wheel chair, but the lift broke, so couldn't get the wheel chair on. Then they blew a fuse trying to get the lift to close, but was able to fix that right away. Right after that another POR bus finally showed up. For the most part, we didn't have trouble. Maybe about 3 or 4 times we had a long wait. We did use the bus though all the time for a 11 day trip, so I guess that's not so bad for that length of time. The bus transportation could have been better. For MK we did not share buses with POFQ. We did for the other parks.

Oak Manor has some smoking rooms in them but we were in a totally non-smoking area, so I never noticed any smell. I did see one young girl go walking by our room with a cigarette. I have asthma and so does my daughter's friend, so we had to have non-smoking rooms. Magnolia Terrace would be a good location but it does look like it is a little further from the food court. However, it is closer to the main pool.

TWood, They had privacy curtains in our rooms in MB. I would think they have them in AB as well, but am not sure as my SIL was in MB also (4 rooms down from ours). We had a coffeemaker, hair dryer, iron and ironing board in our rooms. We also had a 25" color TV. If I remember correctly, I think they only had 19" TVs the last time we stayed there.

Robyn, I prefer MB. Just like the theming better than the rustic look. It's all a matter of preference. Some like AB better. That was why I was so insistent upon staying in MB this time.

Susy, You're right. She had no business mentioning the rate we were paying. I don't know why she kept bringing it up, but she tried telling me that we had to pay $15 for the trundle bed and an extra $15 for the 5th person. She didn't like the fact that I questioned her about this and knew more than she did. I kept thinking about how many people who might have not known any better and paid more than they should have.

Sorry this is so long....I tend to ramble on. Hope I answered all your questions. Let me know if you have anymore.

Good luck to everyone with your planning!

 

[julfre]

DisneyMomx7

Stayed there in late May. Bus service was slow in general, but really bad on early entry morning as the busses filled up before they got to the last few bus stops. Sunday, Got to the bus station at 7:20. It was after 825 before I got to MK.

After that I realized many people went to the main(1st) stop at POR to avoid this problem. I saw posts about long bus waits before I went, but I just thought it was bad luck or timing, but 25-30 minutes was the normal wait for me last visit. I will say the buses from the parks were much better with maybe 10 minutes or less being the normal wait. I decided it was just being at one of the last bus stops and busses filling up before getting to me or just really bad luck.

 

[Momto8]

Most of our wait times were about 10-15 minutes, sometimes quicker, with the exception of about 3 or 4 times when we had a really long wait-maybe 20-25 minutes. Many times we would go directly to the park after picking up at the main bus stop, so I'm not sure if we were the last stop or if they skipped the other stops because the bus was full.

We didn't have problems with the bus when being picked up at the parks except for the one time at BB.

Now the boat to DD is really slow especially since they can only take so many on the boat at one time. Even with the boats coming every 10 minutes in the evening, you might have to wait for 3 or 4 boats before you can get on.