Just back

[Nagle]

Just got back this morning. Drove straight thru yesterday afternoon, and got home at 10:30 this morning.

4 Nights Royal Pacific Resort---Fabulous

4 Nights Port Orleans Riverside--- Never again!!!!!!!!!!!

Will post details later. Any questions ask away.

John

 

[Susan--Ontario]

Don't leave us hanging John. What was so wrong with Dixie. It's our favourite mod.

I'll be it was some busy with March Break people there.

Do tell.

 

[TimNDansMom]

Yes, do tell John! DH and I stopped in to visit DXL last week and reminiced about our 2 lovely stays there a few years ago.

Was Universal as busy as Disney? I would love to stay at RPR and take advantage of the Front of the Line access!

Welcome back, too!

 

[bunnyfoo]

Welcome back! What happened at POR? I've mostly heard good things about that resort ... Inquiring minds want to know

 

[Scratch42]

Please, I have a dentist appointment and then by the time I visit my mother, it will be very late!

Please tell us now!

Scratch

 

[DisneyLisa]

Welcome back John...I hope whatever happened at POR didn't ruin your trip. How was the drive?

 

[hockey mom]

Welcome back John. Tell all about RP, we haven't tried that one yet. We enjoyed our stay at POR so I would also like to know what has changed since we were there last.

 

[Canadave]

Welcome home...you must post soon...you've got the whole gang on the edge of our seats...hope you still had a good holiday

 

[Nagle]

Sorry to get you all so hyped. We were very much looking forward to staying at PO but the experience was certainly lacking. We actually stopped in at PO 3 days before checking in to see if they could accommodate us with our room requests. That was last Monday or Tuesday I believe (our 1 day of rain the whole trip) Upon check in we were told that there was not one room in any of the Alligator Bayou buildings that we wanted for the 4 nights of our stay. We were told that we could have a room there for 2 nights but then we would have to move to another room. I still don't get how someone checking in 2 days after us would have priority for a room and be able to force us to move.

We ended up in building #35. I was certainly unhappy to find out how far that was from the food court, General store, etc. It was in my opinion a lousy room location. Our room wasn't ready so we headed off to Epcot. After a couple of hours there ( and a great lunch at Tangerine Cafe) DS and I went to Blizzard Beach and DW stayed on at Epcot. When DW got to the room she prepared to take a shower. Definitely not a good thing to see the tub full of body hair from the last guests. I arrived soon after and after looking around the room we came to the conclusion that while the beds were made, we didn't feel that the room had been cleaned. We actually had to leave a note asking that the carpet be vacuumed as it did not appear to have been done in quite some time. Silly me I actually left a few dollars tip when we left the next day. We came back to a room marginally cleaner but they had neglected to leave any hand towels and only 1 face cloth. A quick call to housekeeping to request hand towels and a refill of soap and shampoo and we were off to the parks again. Quite a surprise upon our return to see 3 full sized bath towels, 1 hand towel and no soap or shampoo. Again the next day there was no soap or shampoo refill. I finally wised up and stopped leaving a tip hoping that the reverse psychology would work but alas not a day went by that the housekeeping was done in a satisfactory manner. Garbage cans in the room were not emptied for a couple of days at a time. All in all just poor housekeeping.
Seeing as it was quite a walk to the main bus stop we decided to walk over to the west bus terminal to head over to MK. Unfortunately the bus stops at the main terminal first and by the time it got to our stop it was full and we had to wait for the next one. We were lucky, we got on the 2nd bus to go by. Others were not so lucky. They were telling us about have 3 straight buses go by without picking them up during their stay.

There wer other things about the resort that we were not keen on but you get the gist. I think if I made ressies there again and ended up in buildings 34, 35 or 36 I would cause a scene. I realize room requests are not binding so that is why I would not attempt to stay there again.
Part of the problem was that we were there during March break. In the 4 days I was there I was only able to find room in the hot tub once. Seeing as that is one of the amenities we like about the moderates, it was a waste of time and money booking there. I would have been better off staying at the All Stars or Pop Century and knowing ahead of time that there would be no hot tub.

After going to WDW 7 times in 7 years maybe I am Disney'd out. I went in with high expectations and they were not met. We have had great trips where we stayed at Sports or Music and I feel we would have been better off there again this time.

Although we were not happy with the overall PO experience and would not choose to stay there again, some things were actually very nice. We LOVED the boat ride to DTD in the evenings. We did that twice and it was very relaxing after a day in the parks.

Breakfast at Crystal Palace was great.
Wishes fireworks show was wonderful.
We saw my Expos beat the Braves in spring training at Wide World of Sports. (WOOOOHOOOO)
We splurged this trip and booked some time at the Grand Floridian Spa. DW had a pedicure, I had the Sports Massage and our 12 yr old DS had a back, neck and scalp massage. WOW! Can't believe I waited 41 years to try a massage. Can't wait to try it again.
The staff at Royal Pacific Resort was fantastic.
Front of the line passes ROCK.
Walking from the hotel to the Islands of Adventure was wonderful.

The drive down and back were both very good. Made great time. We drove straight through there and back.

 

[cottontail]

Sorry about your bad experience with housekeeping at POR, overall how did the room look, worn or upto par, not counting the housekeeping problems.

Just wondering how many hours did it take you to drive from wdw to the Niagara falls , Ont.




Deb.

 

[Nagle]

Cottontail, the room looked old and somewhat worn. Now that French Quarter has reopened the riverboat captain us that they will be refurbishing Riverside one building at a time instead of closing it down and doing it all at once. They have already started with one of the Magnolia Lane buildings (Oak Manor I believe).
As to the drive there and back we left from and returned to Brockville not Niagara Falls. We went I81, I77, I26, I95 and I4 and reversed that coming home. We left on Friday March 12 at 11:45 AM and arrived in Daytona at 7:30 AM for breakfast at Cracker Barrell beside the Speedway. Coming home we got on the I4 at the Kirkman onramp at 1:15 PM on Monday March 22 and pulled into our driveway at 10:30 yesterday morning.

John

 

[DisneyLisa]

How did you find the I77/I95 drive compared to the I81/I95 route?

 

[Nagle]

Found the route much better thanks. Less truck traffic than I95 and we shaved off about an hour from the trip. Will certainly go that route again.

John

 

[abbyndrewmom]

I have to agree the parks and hotels were full last week!!! I think Texas must have also had their school breaks as it seemed every other person in the park was from Texas. We saw and talked to some Ontarioans but not nearly as many as I expected. All-Stars was not alot better then POr last week. House keeping service was okay but the pools and food courts were over run with teenage kids. It seemed there were alot of competitions on that week. I know we had a couple of bands and a few cheerleading squads staying at ASMv. We still really enjoyed our trip but we will be staying in a moderate next time.

 

[The House of Mouse]

I love that Cracker Barrel in Daytona! A little bit of country amongst the craziness of the area. Were you able to visit POFQ at all during your stay. We are doing 10 days at PC and 4 at POFQ in May. Also, did you happen to notice if there is a place for hair wraps or braiding at POR?

 

[Snowwark]

After reading your reply on the Tipping thread, I had to go back and find this, John. I missed it the first time, and I was curious to find out what had gone wrong at PO.

I would of been down at guest services as soon as I found the hair in the tub! Well, of course, I would of gotten dressed first. That would totally freak me out!! I believe in making a big noise about such things, but in a soft voice, and with a smile on my face.

PO is my favourite moderate resort, and all my experiences there (so far!), have been positive. What a shame that your first stay (and last),was so miserable. I'm very sorry to hear it was such a lousy visit.

 

[pampam]

I too would have complained to the manager of housekeeping. If one does not know, the problem will not be corrected. To mention it to the mousekeeper does no good because she may be a different person than the one who cleaned your room prior.

Once when we were staying in FW we were asked how we liked it. I mentioned it wasn't as nice as I would have liked. About a month after we got home, I recieved a phone call from the manager, asking me what the problem was. I explained that the vacation was lovely, but our vacationcabin was a little dreary. When he asked what I meant, I explained that the decor was dull, and the furnishings had a tired look- definitly not up to Disney standards. I have stayed at Disney resorts many times, and this time the decor was disapointing. He apologised and asked if he were to send me a voucher for 1/2 off would we go back. I said yes, I probably would. I recieved the letter, and used it about 8 years later. My point is, you have to mention it, and to the right person. If the complaint is told to the right person in a nice way of course, something may work to your advantage. At the very least, hopefully the problem will be rectified.