Just Back From Por....disappointed :(

[ilovemytink]

Okay. Let me start out by saying I LOVE WDW!!!! Now, this will be lengthy and I'm sure I'll get some people who really disagree with me, but that's okay. We all have differing opinions about things.

Let me just start out by saying that we have stayed only once at WDW and that was in '05 at All Star Sports. Had the best vacation EVER!!!! Was the most magical experience of my family's life!!! Couldn't have gone any better and couldn't wait to go back!! We live in Texas and we drove in '05. Decided not to do that again. YIKES!!!

Planned since Jan. '07 for our June 9-15, '07 vacation. Debated on upgrading to moderate and decided, after much thought, on POR. I requested AB three times....once when we made reservations in January, once two days before we arrived and when we arrived. Upon arrival, we were FIRMLY told that we would be staying in Parterre Place. CM showed us on the map our room and I then politely stated that we paid and EXTRA $135.00 FOR A WATER VIEW ROOM. CM said this was a water view room. REALLY??? When we got to our room, I will say that they were nice, but the "water view" was a view that you actually had to stand at the window and look sharply to the left. That was the "water view." That was just the beginning of the disappointment. I almost sat on the little floral bedspread and cried!!!

Okay. So I get over that because my husband is a wonderful man and just goes with the flow on everything and pulled me out of my sad little state. SOOOOO, we head to the parks.............that is, after we wait FOREVER for a bus that isn't full!!!!! POFQ and POR really need to do something about the bus service. We had to stand most of the trips to EVERY park. It was ridiculous. All this for $735.00 more than a value resort. We also added the water parks and more option, which we'll never do again. Don't even remember how much more that was. I mean, the water parks were really cool, but not that many slides. Also, LOTS OF STAIRS. We were pooped after we left. Went to DQ and it wasn't that great either. I mean, some of the "rides" were very neat and very "Disney" but we would have rather used that time at one of the parks instead. Live and learn, I guess, huh?

Now, on a good note..........the parks are as great as ever!!!! The shows and the rides at all the parks a awesome!!! Expedition Everest at AK is GREAT!!!!!!!!!! One of the best rides anywhere!!!! Love everything about Disney and love the MAGIC!!!! We will, however, stay at another moderate next time or value again and not spend the extra money that is, as far as I'm concerned, wasted.

Thanks for listening.

 

[Avivasmom]

Sorry you were not happy but I have stayed at POR twice and liked it never disappointed. BUT LOVE POFQ because it is small and love the grounds. Remember moderates do not have balconies so either have to look out window or stand outsideto see the water.

We have never done the water parks so no help there.

 

[Wonders10]

Hi there,

Sorry your trip didn't turn out as great as you planned. I was actually at POR June 8-11! We did get a Bayou room. I requested it when I made my ressie a few months prior and didn't even mention it until she told us our room was ready at check in. I asked where it was and she said the Bayou. My big mistake however was not making her look for a room closer to the food court/lobby. Just an FYI that Bldg 39 might as well be over at OKW because it is F A R, far, from the food court . That walk was not fun after a long day. But now I know for sure that I do not want that bldg again, at least not with a 6 and 4 yr old with me.

I never had a huge issue with the busses either during my stay I think I had to stand twice and once someone gave me their seat because I was carrying my sleeping nephew. We even used the other bus stops (not the main one) and had no problem with busses coming on time. I've just decided that depending on the time of day and the park you are going to (and the season) you might have to stand. I know we left Epcot Saturday night at 9 and the line was pretty menacing and we didn't wait more than 10 minutes for a bus.

As for the water view, I personally think they are a waste if you aren't in a room with a balcony. But I have heard that you need to be careful about water views at POR because they consider anything with water to be a water view, from the river to a pool to a bird bath.

Sorry also that you were disappointed in the water parks. They're fun but not really worth it for me because I dont' do water slides. GIve me a regular pool and I'm happy. Although I do enjoy the lazy river!

Anyway, sorry POR wasn't as great as you hoped! I personally love it and will definitely stay there again. But now you just have to go to WDW again and stay somewhere else to make up for the not so great things on this trip!

 

[ziggystardust]

I stayed at POR a few yrs ago and was so upset with everything that we actually took pictures and wrote WDW corporate. I'm very much a go with the flow type of person - especially when at WDW but these were safety hazards. I won't be staying there again even though I still think its an absolutely beautiful resort

 

[ilovemytink]

Thanks for the responses. I guess I just really needed to vent a little. I will say that I do think POFQ would be a better deal because it's so small and quaint!! It is just gorgeous!! Let me say that the mansions were beautiful and so were the grounds. It was quiet and very peaceful. (So quiet, in fact, that my son and I went to check out a "quiet pool" and ran up on a snake!!!!Of all the creatures on the planet to run into, a snake is the worst, in my opinion!!!)

I guess I just had my mind set on AB for so long and we did everything we were told to do as far as request, request, request. Well, we did and it did me no good. That was probably the most dissapointing thing to me was that we didn't get AB. We will try Cornodado Springs next time unless I read bad reviews on it. Thanks again!!

 

[eliza61]

Sorry you had a bad start to the trip, I can understand disappointment. I guess the only thing I disagree with is the transportation issue. Why did you feel you deserve to get a seat just because your room was more? This is the begininng of the packed season, a gazillion people are at disney and bus transportation is FREE, hey some body has to stand. We stay deluxe and in the summer the buses are packed, just the way it is. What other vacation spot in America,no matter the price gives you free transportation?

 

[Wonders10]

I stayed at POR a few yrs ago and was so upset with everything that we actually took pictures and wrote WDW corporate. I'm very much a go with the flow type of person - especially when at WDW but these were safety hazards. I won't be staying there again even though I still think its an absolutely beautiful resort

Yikes! Would you mind sharing what you saw?

 

[Disfan3]

Hi
Maybe they had a lot of parties of 5 and so they needed the AB rooms for those parties??? That might make sense...maybe you were there at a crowded time as far as busses?

I mean..we went for Spring Break and did not have a crowd problem...actually I think it was more crowded for Free Dining in Aug of 2006.

As far as the location I am sorry you were not pleased...I can imagine a water view is not all that at a Mod resort...unless you have a balcony to enjoy..IMO.

735 is A LOT MORE!! Esp not to enjoy the experience. I can say omg...I spent X amnt more at the Poly...and that is true...but I love both POLY
and POR

I am glad you loved the parks...did you ride the boat to DTD from POR?? I love that boat ride....

 

[ilovemytink]

I guess that came out wrong. We paid more for a "water view" room, but I certainly don't expect to sit down on the bus because we paid for that. That's ridiculous. Everybody at that resort paid what we did to stay there. That's not what I'm saying at all. As if I'm more privileged than someone else and deserve a seat. Not at all. What I am saying is that because POR shares buses with POFQ, and POFQ is the first to be picked up, the buses were already packed no matter what park or what time of day. When we were at All Star Sports, there were a zillion people there and waiting in line, but the buses were NEVER packed like they were at POR. It was just crazy.

 

[ilovemytink]

Yeah, I did think about that after I had my mini meltdown. I'm guessing there probably were many families of five and they needed to stay in AB.

The boat ride to DTD was great! Very nice and relaxing!!! That's one of the reasons we chose POR.

As far as the buses, because POFQ gets picked up first, the buses were already full. It was really crazy!! I also knew it wasn't just me when DH stated that maybe we should try someplace else next time.

 

[Wonders10]

Yeah, I did think about that after I had my mini meltdown. I'm guessing there probably were many families of five and they needed to stay in AB.

The boat ride to DTD was great! Very nice and relaxing!!! That's one of the reasons we chose POR.

As far as the buses, because POFQ gets picked up first, the buses were already full. It was really crazy!! I also knew it wasn't just me when DH stated that maybe we should try someplace else next time.

Not to throw salt in the wound, but I was in a party of 4 - 2 adults and 2 kids. We request AB because 1) I like the trundle for my nephew and 2) I just think it is more fun to stay in than the mansions. Personally I think that sometimes room placement is all about luck.

Sometimes I couldn't tell if the buses had already been to POFQ when they picked us up but I do know that at least half the time, they did not stop at POFQ to drop off (therefore they did not pick up either).

Again, I'm no trying to lessen your thoughts. Just point out the differing experiences of someone staying at the resort during the same timeframe.

 

[ilovemytink]

That's the truth. Just luck of the draw I guess.

 

[ilovemytink]

That's so weird you say that because we dropped off every time at FQ no matter what. Maybe last week was just super busy.