Just back from POR!

[momofmikey]

We stayed at POR from 8/26-9/3 in the AB section (we're a party of 5). We loved the resort!

1) Checked in around 1:00 on Friday with only a 5 minute wait - only one person ahead of us. Room wasn't ready, which was fine, since I knew check-in wasn't for a couple hours. Got the call about 45 minutes later that the room was ready.
2) We got our request of corner room, first floor. We were in building 39, overlooking a very small pond. There were lots of trees blocking our view, but it was very nice. Loved having the extra window! Room was in good shape, and upon arrival, we had mickey ears towel animal on the bed. Also had a cute anniversary message on our phone from Mickey and Minnie, which was a nice touch.
3) Never used the trundle bed, so can't comment on that. My daughter is 3, so she just slept in a pack and play, which fit great in the bathroom area, under the closet.
4) Location was fine. It was a bit of a walk to the food court, but it's along the river which is beautiful. Didn't even bother to time it, b/c it really wasn't a big deal.
5) Shop was great and had a nice selection of everything.
6) Went to both the quiet and main pool. I will say the first night at the quiet pool, it was FILTHY! Heard a bunch of people complaining how badly it needed to be skimmed. Did get fixed I noticed later in the week. Nice size though, and my kids had fun. Just remember to bring your own towels to this pool b/c none are provided for you there. There are towels though at the big pool - which was a lot of fun. My boys loved the slide, and kept going down it. We only spent about an hour or so all week at the pools, but I could definitely see us spending more time there in the future. It's also adjacent to a nice pool bar, and a small walk over a bridge to the main area.
7) Food court was good. I honestly thought Pop Century had a better selection, but POR was still fine. I think I just had trouble with what I ordered. I had a roast beef and blue cheese sandwich the first night, which I found very tough, and then a ham sandwich, which i didn't care too much for. My DH liked the pasta bar, and the kids loved the ice cram station. Did love the cherry coke and golden peak iced tea!
8) Everyone was very nice. The last night we were there, I went in to pack up cereals for the long car ride home. None were out, but a super sweet cashier went in the back and got whatever I needed.
9) Watch out for the golf carts - seriously - they're lunatics. On every walk, at least 4 or 5 would come zooming by - I was always a nervous wreck
10) Boat ride to downtown is wonderful - did it a couple times. I will say though if you're in a rush, you may be better with the bus. Didn't realize until they mentioned it, but the boat ride is just under 1/2 hour. One day we were meeting family at Downtown, and realized we would have been better driving.
11) Buses were great, except one morning for AK - think it was a Thursday. We actually after waiting a while, and hearing others who had been there longer complaining, decided to just drive. Other than that, never more than a 5 minute wait. Sometimes it was standing room only, but we were fine with that.
12) Can't get over how close MK and Epcot was - going that back way to MK really saves time - was either right under or right around 10 minutes, as was Epcot.
13) Didn't go see the piano guy at all, but when we walked past, everyone seemed to be having a great time, and it definitely seemed a lot of fun. Also, didn't eat at Boatright's.
14) Laundry was fine - did it Thursday night around 10:30 - was plenty of washers - 1/2 hour time - and plenty of dryers. Dryers are not the 30 minutes they say - was closer to 50 minutes. Split up the load, so had no trouble with everything being dry.
15) Walked over to POFQ one night, and it was a beautiful walk along the river. We've stayed there before. I loved POFQ then too - POR had an edge though for us, besides of course being the only one we can stay at, I really loved the grounds. I loved AB section - it was so unbelievably lush and rustic which is right up my alley.
16) We had no problem with the a/c except my daughter kept shutting it off. Other than that, it continued to go on all night, and the ceiling fan also helped.
17) Resort is very quiet, except as always for the inconsiderate parents that let their kids go screaming down the walkways at midnight. Never fails.
18) Did feel like we encountered a lot of smoke this trip, but as someone mentioned, they really need to put the designated areas in other places. The benches were set up along the walkway to the food court, so you were constantly walking in a smoke fog. Not their fault, Disney needs to find better areas.
19) Mousekeeping was great - best I've ever had. Did towel animals or cute things with my kids' animals almost every night. We tipped every night as well.
20) Booked bounceback for next year! POR is our cheapest alternative with our family size, and I'm very happy being there. We are really not in the room all that match, so I personally wouldn't justify paying for riverview, unless you could get the mansions - that view looked awesome if you're the type to take advantage of it.

Any questions, I'd be glad to answer.

 

[autismgoesdisney]

We were there the same time!!!!! I liked it as well, except I thought the food court and the buses were packed! There were a few days we waited 45 mins for a bus! It was nuts. We agreed that next time we'd stay at POR again, however, we'd take our own car to the parks!

 

[momofmikey]

Small world - I noticed all the NY and NJ plates in the parking lot. Great week for us to go with school starting this week. We didn't find the food court too bad, but in fairness, we weren't there every day, maybe 5x all week. Probably just a matter of timing. Interesting about the buses - definitely luck! My DH always prefers driving, but was pleasantly surprised with the POR buses.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

We were there the same time!!!!! I liked it as well, except I thought the food court and the buses were packed! There were a few days we waited 45 mins for a bus! It was nuts. We agreed that next time we'd stay at POR again, however, we'd take our own car to the parks!

Ditto that!!! We will never use Disney buses again. We've given them a try more than once and each time the service was horrible.

 

[momofmikey]

Ditto that!!! We will never use Disney buses again. We've given them a try more than once and each time the service was horrible.

wow - so weird how we can all have such different experiences

 

[KSDisneyDad]

We stayed at POR from 8/26-9/3 in the AB section (we're a party of 5). We loved the resort!

3) Never used the trundle bed, so can't comment on that. My daughter is 3, so she just slept in a pack and play, which fit great in the bathroom area, under the closet.
10) Boat ride to downtown is wonderful - did it a couple times. I will say though if you're in a rush, you may be better with the bus. Didn't realize until they mentioned it, but the boat ride is just under 1/2 hour. One day we were meeting family at Downtown, and realized we would have been better driving.

16) We had no problem with the a/c except my daughter kept shutting it off. Other than that, it continued to go on all night, and the ceiling fan also helped.
17) Resort is very quiet, except as always for the inconsiderate parents that let their kids go screaming down the walkways at midnight. Never fails.

Any questions, I'd be glad to answer.

Glad you had a great trip. With your kids so young, POR is still a great choice. As our kids have gotten older, we realized that POR no longer works for us as a family of 5. The trundle bed is pathetic. I hope these rooms truly get Queen beds and a murphy. Not sure how that will work as the rooms are quite small to fit two queens and a murphy. But I'd rather give up some floor space and get queen size beds and a murphy than the current doubles and the pathetic trundle. Getting our two oldest to share a queen is bad enough, but doubles don't work for us anymore for extended stays. Plus, we prefer at least two bathrooms. Connecting rooms at the values work for us, as do the DVC villas.

When we stayed at POR last year, the one redeeming factor was that relaxing boat ride to DTD. Even though it probably took longer than driving, it was such a pleasant trip. That's got to be my favorite part of POR.

It's funny that you mentioned the AC. When we stayed at POR, ours kept going out and I had to get under the AC unit and reset it. Once I reset it, it worked all night long, but I had to reset it every afternoon.

Sorry about those inconsiderate families. That can happen at any resort. I have to admit that one good thing about the outside corridors at the Values and Moderates is that it reduces the number of families that are around you. This in turn normally keeps the rowdy neighbors down as you're only affected by those who stay close to you. For this reason, we've very rarely had issues at the Values or Moderates with kid running along the corridors. But, it only takes one rude family to ruin it for everyone in that area.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

wow - so weird how we can all have such different experiences

It is. But I also think buses vs driving is more a matter of personality and preferences. We just realized that we are not bus people after our last attempt to give them a try. What one person finds relaxing and enjoyable, someone else finds frustrating and miserable. Thus, repeated 15-minute plus waits at the bus stop may be perceived as "pleasant short waits" by one person and "agonizingly long waits" by someone else.

 

[momofmikey]

It is. But I also think buses vs driving is more a matter of personality and preferences. We just realized that we are not bus people after our last attempt to give them a try. What one person finds relaxing and enjoyable, someone else finds frustrating and miserable. Thus, repeated 15-minute plus waits at the bus stop may be perceived as "pleasant short waits" by one person and "agonizingly long waits" by someone else.

agreed! My thought after driving the 20 hours to Disney is I don't want to go near a car all week. My DH prefers though to have the car, although he sucked it up this trip b/c my daughter thought the bus was the greatest thing!

 

[Disneylvr]

Thanks for your report/review! POR is one of our favorite resorts. We did go with POFQ for our January but only because we wanted to make sure we got a rehabbed room. POFQ is completely finished but I think POR will still be in the middle of their rehab in January. We will be sure to visit their food court though and we also love the POR gift shop!

 

[krissyh]

We stayed at POFQ last Feb and after a 40 minute wait (9AM) for the bus to AK, we gave up and drove.
There was a CM at the stop (who spoke limited English, at best) who told us five minutes after we had been there for about 20, but no such luck. We saw multiple buses for the other parks and one with something we couldn't figure out on the sign (he stopped, opened, and quickly drove off).
Maybe it is just buses to AK? We had great luck otherwise.

 

[laura_<3]

Thanks for your report, we are staying at POR for the first time next September

 

[footballmouse]

Thanks for your report, we are staying at POR for the first time next September

So are we! Labor Day weekend. Thanks for the review, this will be our first time staying here. We are also a family of 5.

 

[HPCrazy]

We'll be at POR from August 17 - 23. This is our first time (did POFQ many years ago) and have heard nothing but great things about the place. We usually stay at the Values (All-Stars mainly) so I'm really looking forward to this!