Just back from POR: the good and the bad

[Webln]

The four of us got back from Disney on Saturday. 4 adults, no children.
February 5-10, 2006.

Overall, our first trip was great. Here's an overview.

The POR resort:

• Location: wonderful. Rooms 8763-8764 (not connecting) in the Magnolia Terrace. Close to the food court, East end bus depot just a few steps away.
• Accessibility: okay, but very difficult to get around when checking in late at night. We got lost and ended up at POFQ. The CM at check in told us to look for the big "85" . She should have said to look for the building with rooms numbers starting with "85".
• Overall ambiance: quiet, romantic, beautiful grounds. Heated quiet pools that were empty most of the time, central pool not very crowded either. You cold hear the horseshoes hitting the ground at night. So many stars in the sky and during the day, not a single cloud. No rain. No fog. Perfect wheather (some might have found it too cold but not us).
• Food Court: a bit expensive, limited choice. No price tags on the items in the fridges so no way for us to know how much we were spending before getting to the cash. $6 for an individual pizza was okay. Same $6 for a omelette (no bacon, no toasts) is too much. On our first night, we got to the food court around 9pm and there was not much left. It was either pizza (with a 20 minutes wait time) or chicken fingers. Nothing else.
• Refillage mugs: as our room was close to the food court, it was money well spent.

The parks:

• MK: perfect to get a true feel of the WDW ambiance. Lots of characters, very few people.
• Epcot: wow! we had a blast. Soaring was the only ride where FastPass was required. But the wait time was only 45 minutes, which gave us time for lunch.
• MGM: my favorite park. No wait time for any of the rides. Just walked in and had fun. Star Tours was my favourite. I love Star Wars!
• AK: postponed until next time! We didn't get enough time to visit that park.
• DD: we were too tired to experience the nightlife but we visited several shops during the day. My DH even spent over 1 hour trying to fit the most pieces possible in his Mr. Potatoe box. The cashier could not believe her eyes on how much he was able to put in.

The food:

• We did not eat often at the food court. Too expensive, too much fast food.
• We went to a grocery near by and bought a few essentials that we kept in the fridge (milk, OJ, fresh fruits, etc.)
• Near that grocery was a wonderful Mexican restaurant. We ended up there 2 nights in a row!
• Each day, we would eat a normal breakfast, have a snack at the parks, then go out for a good dinner.

We drove from Montreal to Orlando and slept in Richmond VA on both ways. That was a long drive, but it was less expensive then flying.

So basically, we had a great time, experienced the true Disney spirit and while we're not ready to go back right away, we'll surely give it another try in a few years, just to see how it will have changed.

 

[indigoxtreme]

So over all you had a good trip that is the main thing. Thanks for posting

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your report ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[agnes!]

Webln -

I like all types of trip reports. Thanks for writing - your "summary-style" was very easy to read, had essential info and was entertaining as well. (I have a mental picture of an adult man fitting the World's Record for "Number of Pieces in a Mr. Potato Head" )
I do have some questions...do you remember which grocery store you went to? And, *please*, what is the name of the "wonderful Mexican restaurant near that grocery"?

Thanks,
agnes!

 

[fanofdisney]

I love PORS! We also got lost there frequently. (Which way do we turn again???)

Can you give me a little more info. on Star Tours? THANKS I'm so glad you enjoyed your trip.

 

[Webln]

Webln -

I like all types of trip reports. Thanks for writing - your "summary-style" was very easy to read, had essential info and was entertaining as well. (I have a mental picture of an adult man fitting the World's Record for "Number of Pieces in a Mr. Potato Head" )
I do have some questions...do you remember which grocery store you went to? And, *please*, what is the name of the "wonderful Mexican restaurant near that grocery"?

Thanks,
agnes!

Hi Agnes,

The grocery store was Gooding's Supermarket. It includes a grocery, a pharmacy, a flowershop and more. Like I said, it's a little more expensive but it was the first one we found and we didn't feel like getting lost all over the place. Open 24h.

Gooding's Supermarkets
12521 State Road 535, Orlando, FL (0.05 miles away)
407-827-1200

As for the Mexican restaurant, it's Chevy's (chevys dot com) still at Crossroads. When you enter the parking, turn on your left at the first intersection. Chevy's is behind Jungle Jim's. It has a fridge door outside by the front door. Find the fridge door and you'll know you're at the right place. I strongly recommend the "Mix and Match Fajitas".

 

[Webln]

I love PORS! We also got lost there frequently. (Which way do we turn again???)

Can you give me a little more info. on Star Tours? THANKS I'm so glad you enjoyed your trip.

Hi Fanofdisney,
Star Tours was great! I'm a huge Star Wars fan so this was a must. I had read reports that the tour was rough, but as kids are allowed to ride, it's not THAT rough. There's about 30-40 people sitting in a spaceship, with a crazy pilot and R2D2 as the co-pilot. I won't spoil the ride but let's just say that the pilot has never drove this kind of spaceship before and takes us for a wild ride. Great visuals on the big screen, even bigger effects in your seat!

 

[emma'smom]

What's the story with Mr. Potato Head? Where can you buy it and what do you mean by "filling up the box"?

 

[Webln]

What's the story with Mr. Potato Head? Where can you buy it and what do you mean by "filling up the box"?

There's a toy store in Downtown Disney. You can buy the Mr. Potato Head or not, I was told that it is standard so if you already have one, or if you prefer to buy the head at WalMart's, parts will fit in just fine.

Basically, they give you a box and it's up to you to put as many pieces as you want, Head or not. There are several parts that are dedicated to Disney: Mickey ice cream bar, hat (the ears), mug, balloon, glasses, suitcase, sandals, etc.

Tip: if you decide to buy the head, don't forget to stuck as many pieces as you can in it!

 

[mickeymousemom]

Thanks for your report! We love POR! We have never gotten lost there, but oh well. I was thinking that the food in the fridge had the prices on the shelves below each item, but then again, maybe not. I remember getting grapes for my DD and not knowing how much they were. Thanks for the tip about Chevy's. It seems I've read good stuff about it somewhere else. We are possibly headed down in a week and may try it!

 

[OhMari]

I liked your style of trip report too. Do you have to have a passport now to enter the U.S. and when you go back into Canada?