Ol' Man Island Closing for Refurb - Port Orleans Riverside

[Maine-iac]

I love Mainers. Remember that heat wave at Christmas time when it was like 44 out? Yeah I had no coat either, haha.

Maybe you should cancel your Disney trip so you won't miss the heatwave. Have an awesome trip. I am jealous.

 

[Decembermom]

My family went to POR in Sept. 07 and my 4 year old daughter actually preferred the quiet pools.

 

[webstah]

I love Mainers. Remember that heat wave at Christmas time when it was like 44 out? Yeah I had no coat either, haha.

A Mainer's definition of Summah is 2 or 3 days in late August!

 

[RVGal]

Some general thoughts, not intended to anger/irritate/flame anyone.

My assumption on a thread like this is that it serves two purposes.
1) To give people who feel that the main pool closing will impact their vacation a chance to find out if they have options with Disney about changing their plans and, if so, what those options are.
AND
2) A place to vent disappointment over a glitch in long awaited and anticipated vaction.

The problem is that some people want to fix or smooth over the disappointment. Pools have to be rehabbed. Check. Pools are regularly rehabbed in Jan and Feb. Check. Disney doesn't do this to ruin our vacation. Check. Disney doesn't wait until the last minute on purpose. Check (sorta). This stuff comes up over and over. Check. Call somebody that cares and complain. Check.

None of that matters when you are disappointed. And many people that come to a thread like this don't really expect Disney or anyone on the all mighty DIS to do anything about it. They just want to commiserate with people that are in the same boat.

"I just got a letter and I'm disappointed."
"Me too! It stinks, doesn't it?"
"Yeah. I was really looking forward to that pool slide."
"I love that pool. I'll miss it this trip."

I'm paraphrasing and talking to the people in my head again, but you get the point.

CanadianGuy says call and complain politely and firmly if you want something changed in your reservation. For the people looking for an option, there you have it.

For those who want to commiserate, I guess this isn't the place? I'm not sure where else you would be likely to find a bunch of people sharing your disappointment. Maybe Trip Advisor? Those people get really nasty sometimes though. Like, light-the-torches-burn-the-vilage nasty.

I still say Disney made a mistake in the wording of the opening of the letter. I'm not saying it was their intent to rub folks the wrong way, hence the word "mistake", but the end result is the same.

Just my 2 cents. Carry on.

 

[susanrose73]

My husband called & complained (in a nice manner, of course) about the pool's rehab & the big slide being a reason that we booked POR in the 1st place. The CM, didn't seem too concerned. LOL

Just letting others know how our call went. Anyone else call?

 

[Nie0214]

A Mainer's definition of Summah is 2 or 3 days in late August!

We have two seasons, cold and colder! Speaking of which, are you enjoying the wet snow today? It's nasty to drive in!

 

[Leajess99]

We'll be staying at the resort from March 4-11th...so I called to ask about the pool after reading the posts, just to check on it. The CS person said that if it was, I would have received a letter, but she would check on it. She reported that the pool is scheduled to reopen March 7th (about 1/2 way through our stay, if the renovations are on schedule).

I have NOT received a letter regarding this.

Just an FYI.

IMHO...naturally Disney has to close areas down for refurbishment but I am paying for the immentities of the resort, including the heated pool. As a consumer (and in general here), I would expect some kind of compensation when the 'product' isn't delivered as stated. Disney is savvy enough to know that bookings would be affected when the main attraction pool is closed.

You are paying for the ammenities but POR has more than 1 pool and they have made it so you can use the pools at a nearby resort as well so you are not losing anything.

 

[Hawk]

DARN IT! Does this mean the Pool Bar is Closed? I'm cancelling my trip.

P.S. NOT!

Tim/Hawk

 

[debster812]

OK--I'm going to wade in here with my opinion, take it for what it's worth.

We were at PO-R from January 9th to the 18th. We were in Bldg 95, Parterre Place. I think the pool at PO-FQ was just as close, if not closer than Ol' Man Island. We could have easily gone to PO-FQ on foot. That being said, it was cold (for FL standards) and we only used the pool 3x out of the 10 days we were there.

We also happened to be staying at PO-R January of 2002 when Ol Man Island was also closed. We walked or took the boat to PO-FQ to use the pool once, just so DS could go on the slide. Otherwise, the quiet pools were more than fine.

And, Disney has been using the phrase "For your future enjoyment" since then, because I definitely remember the letter starting that way as well.

I agree with other posters who have said Disney is NOT doing this to anger us all, and they are not trying to write the most glib and cavalier letters, just to annoy. It's how they do business. This pool closure was likely scheduled for some time futher in the future, but what with bookings down, it being a colder month, and Disney having the money to spend, they decided to bump up the refurb date.

I'm sorry for those of you whose plans will be severely altered, but I really don't think Disney is out to purposefully hose everyone holding a reservation.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Actually, Kaytie and I agree more than we disagree as I read it.. namely..

Thank you, Knox. I agree that we pretty much agree

"Hello, frontline/low-paid Disney Cast Member who not only has nothing to do with policy decisions but who probably didn't even know about this problem until two weeks after I did? Wah, wah, wah, poor me, the pool will be closed, we can't swim, the letter you sent me is mean, it's all your fault...."
vs.
"Good morning? We're staying at Port Orleans next week and we just got a letter about Old Man Island being closed for our entire trip? That's not acceptable; what are our options? We don't have any? Could I please speak with a supervisor? Oh, there isn't one around? Please transfer me to Guest Services. No, really, I insist..."

Now, I don't know that EITHER conversation will ultimately be successful - but starting with a plan seems more likely to get positive results. Possibly even have some suggestions to offer (it's one of the standard suggestions for air travel - in general and on the transportation board - in case your flight is delayed/cancelled suddenly; having alternatives to present to ANY vendor certainly can't hurt).

 

[webstah]

We have two seasons, cold and colder! Speaking of which, are you enjoying the wet snow today? It's nasty to drive in!

It was a pretty slow trip home last night, but clearing the slop out of the driveway was worse.
Thank God for neighbors, one of mine cleared enough of the end of my driveway so I could at least get in the drive, and then work on clearing the rest.
Even with a snow blower, it took 2 hours, and the blower kept clogging up.

I have a sheet of ice for a driveway this morning.


As far as closing the pools on short noticer, they had to do that the last couple of years we were ar POR while we were there.
Not the main pool, but the quiet pool next to our building.
One year, the hot tub was closed for refurb.

Even though it was inconvenient, We just remembered that we were at Disney, and didn't let it bother us.

 

[bravos66]

Space opened up at CBR, so we switched our reservation from POR to CBR. We are so happy, and glad to see the CBR trip reports posted today. Will have to try POR another time. Good luck to everyone staying at POR, have a great trip.

 

[kaytieeldr]

You gotta love the PR spin haven't you? From the letter it sounds like they're putting a SPECIAL boat on, just for the POR guests who want to use the POFQ pool...

... as opposed to the one which runs from 9am to 11pm already...

Andre

But think about it... the alternative might have had to be for Disney to FIRST send out a batch of letters saying, "Dear Guest Arriving Soon: We have something to tell you, but first we need to know exactly how much you know about Walt Disney World, its operations, its transportation options, and your resort - Port Orleans Riverside". Then, assuming they even got responses from everyone, they would have to send out another series of letters specific to each Guests knowledge level.

Or, they could have sent out letters saying, "Dear Guest: The main pool at Port Orleans Riverside will be closed during your visit. If you have never been here before, we want you to know you can use the leisure pools around the resort, as well as the themed pool at the nearby Port Orleans Riverside. You can walk to that resort, and we provide boat transportation every X minutes between the two resorts from _ AM to _ PM daily.
If, on the other hand, you already know about the boat, this letter is JUST to inform you that the pool will be closed and you can swim at Port Orleans French Quarter."

 

[Maroon]

You are paying for the ammenities but POR has more than 1 pool and they have made it so you can use the pools at a nearby resort as well so you are not losing anything.

 

[chuckml]

But think about it... the alternative might have had to be for Disney to FIRST send out a batch of letters saying, "Dear Guest Arriving Soon: We have something to tell you, but first we need to know exactly how much you know about Walt Disney World, its operations, its transportation options, and your resort - Port Orleans Riverside". Then, assuming they even got responses from everyone, they would have to send out another series of letters specific to each Guests knowledge level.

Or, they could have sent out letters saying, "Dear Guest: The main pool at Port Orleans Riverside will be closed during your visit. If you have never been here before, we want you to know you can use the leisure pools around the resort, as well as the themed pool at the nearby Port Orleans Riverside. You can walk to that resort, and we provide boat transportation every X minutes between the two resorts from _ AM to _ PM daily.
If, on the other hand, you already know about the boat, this letter is JUST to inform you that the pool will be closed and you can swim at Port Orleans French Quarter."

First of all, Andre runs a great tribute website dedicated solely to the Port Orleans Resorts. In fact it was his website that helped us make the final decision to stay there, so I really don't think he is ripping the resort. All he is saying is that the letter they sent out is "spin", which it is, plain and simple. I mean really Disney, Don't spit on my head and tell me its raining outside. There is a better word that I'd rather use than "spit", but I'm afraid I'd get kicked off the boards if I did use it, But I think everybody knows what I'm saying. This thread is for people to vent their frustrations about not having their feature pool open when they are vacationing, thats all, and I think that they have the right to be frustrated at finding out at such a late date prior to their arrival. If you aren't affected by the pool closure, perhaps it would be better not to tell people that are affected by it that everything is ok. The pool closure is not the end of the world, and most people's vacation won't be ruined by it, but if those that are affected by it want to vent and comiserate with others that are affected, then please let them do it. Do you work for Disney or what, 'cuz they should be paying you. You've offered a better defense for them than any $300.00 an hour lawyer would have. Sorry if I have offended you, and thats the end of my rant.

 

[kmg1107]

I was just curious if anyone had any guesses as to whether the bar by the Ol' Man Island Pool will be open during the renovations. They have some great frozen drinks there that I would still like to enjoy. Thanks!

 

[maxiesmom]

First of all, Andre runs a great tribute website dedicated solely to the Port Orleans Resorts. In fact it was his website that helped us make the final decision to stay there, so I really don't think he is ripping the resort. All he is saying is that the letter they sent out is "spin", which it is, plain and simple. I mean really Disney, Don't spit on my head and tell me its raining outside. There is a better word that I'd rather use than "spit", but I'm afraid I'd get kicked off the boards if I did use it, But I think everybody knows what I'm saying. This thread is for people to vent their frustrations about not having their feature pool open when they are vacationing, thats all, and I think that they have the right to be frustrated at finding out at such a late date prior to their arrival. If you aren't affected by the pool closure, perhaps it would be better not to tell people that are affected by it that everything is ok. The pool closure is not the end of the world, and most people's vacation won't be ruined by it, but if those that are affected by it want to vent and comiserate with others that are affected, then please let them do it. Do you work for Disney or what, 'cuz they should be paying you. You've offered a better defense for them than any $300.00 an hour lawyer would have. Sorry if I have offended you, and thats the end of my rant.

I don't know of ANY business that doesn't try to make a negative look like a positive. So why would you expect Disney to be any different? And yes, I would look for them to hilight the things that are positive--you still have quiet pools that will be open, you are only a short boat ride away from a pool that has a slide. It would be silly of them not to remind people that there are still good reasons to stay at POR, even with the main pool being closed.

Disney is a business, and their main job is to sell you on their product. People seem to forget that.

 

[chuckml]

I don't know of ANY business that doesn't try to make a negative look like a positive. So why would you expect Disney to be any different? And yes, I would look for them to hilight the things that are positive--you still have quiet pools that will be open, you are only a short boat ride away from a pool that has a slide. It would be silly of them not to remind people that there are still good reasons to stay at POR, even with the main pool being closed.

Disney is a business, and their main job is to sell you on their product. People seem to forget that.

Disney is a business, and I understand what they are trying to do. That is my point exactly--it's spin. Listen, I still love Disney, and the pool closure will neither stop me from going this February, nor will it stop me from returning again as soon as I can. That being said, even if you love something or someone, it doesn't mean that someone or something doesn't occasionally deserve a little criticism. I love my daughter more than anything in the world, but when she does something wrong, I tell her about it, in hopes that it won't happen again. Again, I'm not trying to get into an argument with anyone about this, and I'm sorry if I did offend anyone--that was not my intention. FYI-- As I understand it, the Alligator Bayou quiet pools at POR will also be closed from 2/23--3/07, so its kind of a double whammy to those who are staying there at that time

 

[maccagerl]

You are paying for the ammenities but POR has more than 1 pool and they have made it so you can use the pools at a nearby resort as well so you are not losing anything.

So, I guess if you spent top dollar to take your family to a prime restaurant known for its fabulous dinners and desserts, and the waiter told you after the main course that they were refurbing their dessert kitchen, but they'd made arrangements with a restaurant a couple of blocks down the street to serve dessert to you, and you could either walk the few blocks down to the other restaurant or wait for the cross town bus to take you from this restaurant to the one down the street , it would be A-OK with you?

 

[maccagerl]

FYI-- As I understand it, the Alligator Bayou quiet pools at POR will also be closed from 2/23--3/07, so its kind of a double whammy to those who are staying there at that time

Where did you hear about the AB quiet pools also being closed? Does anyone have a copy of the letter that was sent out that they could post here?