just returned from POR :)

[disnyfamly]

A wonderful trip as always, but too short for me, just 6 days.
We again requested AB bldg 14 and after being initially told "full", I begged and got a second floor room. It was a water front room and was a perfect view of the lake. SO many have questioned about refurbishment, so I can say that there was NOTHING going on in AB section. They are finishing Mansions first. We heard and saw nothing as far as that went. Some changes from last year include the iron, hairdryer and coffee pot in the room. The buses were much faster for the water parks and Animal Kingdom than for MK. All in all I believe the longest we waited was 20 minutes one day. But, I did hear HORROR stories about the wait at the bus stops in the back area of the resort, being full and having to wait in excess of an hour at times. The parks were crowded, the weather was very warm and we loved every minute of it! Mickeys Philharmagic was awesome. Food court was open fully and the question about "resort mugs" being used from previous trips was abundant from what we saw. Hapy to answer any questions. Can't wait for our next trip! Oh, so many people asked about the passes on Ebay. I bought them, used them (new ones) with NO difficulty. Saved a bundle and even got to Disney Quest, a place I never would have added on to our ticket. My family had a blast there!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

We'll be at POR for the first time in July. Did you eat at Boatwrights, how was it. We also requested bldg. 14, waterview so wish a little pixie dust for me. However we need first floor since we have two strollers. Did you go to see Bob Jackson? Any towel animals? What was your favorite thing about POR? Thanks for answering all the questions it's our first time not staying at a deluxe so I'm encouraged how everyone seems to like this mod. BTW did you take the water taxi to DTD, if so how often do they run?

 

[tinkgrl]

Hi,

Thanks for sharing! Mom & I love POR!!

Allison

 

[Stini228]

Thanks for posting!

 

[disnyfamly]

Robyn,
Glad you and others got some use out of the post, despite having been to Disney many, many, many times and a ("Dixie Landings") Port Orleans guest atleast 10 times, I only started on this DIS board recently. As far as POR goes and your questions:
Boatwrights didn't fit in for us this trip, but we have eaten there on our previous trips. Good food, and honestly, about the same as Northeast Prices at a decent restaurant. They are accomodating as far as food allergies go as well. Menu had fish, pork, jambalaya, a kids menu as well. Breakfast is also served, but I don't recall lunch as we never did that. I don't think they are open at lunch time. We went to see Jackson and missed him one night as we got back too late. We have seen/heard him in the past and had a fun time with the "old" standards. I did leave an envelope for Mousekeeping each morning before we left the room. We did not get a towel animal BUT, I asked if I could get "A" mickey soap and shampoo for my son (there was none when we arrived) and the next day there was a BAG FULL! We laughed so hard and got to bring some home The boats run frequently between DTD and POR and POFQ, like every 20 minutes AFTER 4:30 pm. They return to POR until midnight however they get very packed and the line starts at 11:30 after that the buses are till 2 am. I am wishing Pixie dust for you to get a great room! As far as WHY on earth it's my favorite...well, I guess at this point we're creatures of habit. We tried GF, not
enough "Child" atmosph., then Wilderness Lodge, room seems smaller and the lighting/lodge is dark too. Seems a bit dreary to me, yet others love it.... For us POR has been our home away from home, comfortable, clean and activities abound without drowning you in "commercialism", just a pleasant resort all around! Have a wonderful time marie

 

[Jillpie]

I completely agree with the OP's assessment of POR (dixie landings to us too ). This resort is absolutely beautiful. To the poster that is going for the first time...if you don't get bldg. 14, the next best thing is bldg. 15. In fact, this is our favorite bldg. because when you step off from the buses, it is a very short walk to your room, very important to us after a busy day at the parks. Also, these bldgs are very close to the main bldg, so if you need juice or milk for the mornings, you can get right off the bus at night and go right into the gift shop for it, then head to your room a short distance away. Also, enjoy the main pool with that fabulous slide!! How fun that is, you couldn't pull me off of it. The entrance to it is kind of hidden, so just ask someone to tell you where to go to get to the top. I could go on and on, I love this place!!! But as you can see from my signature, we won't be going there much longer, maybe one or two nights here and there being new DVC members. Have a ball, I know you will.

 

[Weluvdisny]

We stayed at POR last year and I'm going to go against the grain with the building number, but we stayed at #24 and loved it! The walk to the store was pleasant and not too long. I like the windy bayou paths that get you there. We were right by a bus stop and had no problems with a crowded bus. The pool by our building was always empty and I'm not a big "public" swimmer anyway this worked out great!

 

[Treasure]

We were at POR last month and absolutely loved it! It really is a pretty place and you feel that it is your home. We enjoyed breakfast at Boatwright's--the sweet potato pancakes were really yummy, and the service was down-home and friendly.

We got a different configuration of towel animals and my son's seven dwarf beanie collection every day that we were there (10 days!) Every evening we looked forward to going back to our room to see what our mousekeeper had come up with next. We left tips for her and left her our own arrangement of animals every day. It was lots of fun!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Thanks to all who posted about their great stays at POR. Originally I was worried we might me let down at a moderate after staying at deluxes, but now I don't think so. This whole trip was so unexpected, that I think we're going to be surprised how much we like POR. I think the kids might even like it better than GF (although we've had wonderful times there). My hope is that we like it so much that we split our stay with GF there next year. We'll be there for 12 nights next year, and I figure we'll save a ton of money if we split. Thanks again for all your advice.

 

[teachprek2]

We stayed at POR in June 2002 and everything was fine except the LOOOOONG walk from our room to the food court (#26). The bus service was GREAT (POFQ had just reopened that week and not too many people were staying there yet and we were one of the first stops for bus pick up)! We are staying at POFQ next week as I'm hoping to be a little closer to everything this trip. We have the mugs from our last trip and they just say Port Orleans. Since they do not say Dixie Landings or French Quarter, we plan to use them this trip too. See you all over the 4th!