POR Extremers: Love or Hate it?

[fam4jc]

Hi. We are going to book a little 5 night trip 1/31/05 to POR, Alligator Buyou b/c of the trundle bed for our Pastor's family. I want to hear about the extreme emotional responses to this resort. Did you love it? Why? Did you hate it? Why?

Thanks.

 

[helenk]

I stayed at the POR in September of last year, in the Mansion section.
It is a beautiful resort, there is plenty to do and the food court and the sit down restaurant were very good.
The only down side I could see would be that it shares the buses with the POFQ (the POFQ was closed during my visit so we did not share then) but I would expect that this would only be a problem during the busier seasons.
Other than that I think the POR is a great choice.

 

[lUVTOGO]

We stayed here in July and it was our 2nd time. We stayed once in AB section and once the Oak Manor section. We love this resort, had no problems with buses at all, even with them stopping at FQ. It is beautifuly landscaped, you can take the boat to Downtown Disney, the Food Court is good, and the AB section is very quiet! It is our favorite moderate resort!

 

[Nolcrest]

So far POR has been my Favorite resort. I even like staying there over the deluxes. I try to stay someplace different each visit but so far my heart belongs to POR.

On our last trip we stayed at CBR and I just had to visit POR for lunch 'cause I missed it so much.

The landscaping is beautiful and lush. I love the wooden bridges over the Sassagoula. The boat ride to DTD is peacuful.

I like that guest services, food court, restaurant, gift shop, lounge is all located in the same building.

It's nice having a selection of pools. We tended to use the theme pool during the day and the quiet pool at night. The laundry is conveniently located by the quiet pools.

Rabbits and ducks abound.

Esay food court with a selection that suited our family.

I like walking around a resort and POR is great for that, plus you can easily walk to FQ to check out their resort.

I found the buses to be convenient. POFQ was picked up and dropped off first so it wasn't a problem as far as I was concerned.

The pool side bar has a "veranda" with rocking chairs and it was very peaceful one afternoon just rocking away while people watching.

There is Nothing that I don't like at POR. I think it's great.

Have Fun!

 

[disneyfreakk]

i also really loved POR. we stayed in AB in the back by the bus stop. if we ever go back to this resort i will request a room close to the lobby. the lobby is very close to everything else offered at the POR AB. my favorite thing would have to be the boat ride to downtown disney.

the only downside to this resort was on the night of the MNSSHP we all waited almost 2 hrs for the bus. also, the food was not to our liking. but we eat mostly whole foods and that might be the reason most of the food here made us sick.

 

[kar313]

We've stayed at POR 2x and it's a great resort. We had a MB room (bldg 80) on 1st trip in '92 (it was Dixie's Landing then) and an AB bldg 14 in '03 both were great. AB room was right next to the lobby/main bldg, bus stop was right thru the woods and pool a short walk. Kids loved the old man island pool with the water slide. Pool area is very big and was never crowded.

We love the food court. Seem to have something for everyone, even my very picky DD. We stayed at CB in '01 and while we loved the resort my DH and kids were not happy w/ the food court. Seem not to have as many selections.

By the way, we had trundle bed in AB room was kind of crowded w/ it out but since it goes under the bed and just came out when DS 8 at the time slept on it it wasn't too bad.

This is def our favorite resort!! And although we still have yet to eat in Boatwrights, the River Roost lounge is great!

I tried to talk DH into deluxe the last time but we def use the food court and I don't think any of the deluxes have them.

 

[Peter Pirate]

POR is easily the best themed moderate and truly is deluxe-like in the theming, ambiance and quality. Aside from bad personal experiences I cannot imagine someone not liking POR.

BTW, it is the best resort for the runners amongst us. A great course, mostly lined with trees.

 

[sters]

Originally posted by Nolcrest
So far POR has been my Favorite resort. I even like staying there over the deluxes. I try to stay someplace different each visit but so far my heart belongs to POR.

On our last trip we stayed at CBR and I just had to visit POR for lunch 'cause I missed it so much.

The landscaping is beautiful and lush. I love the wooden bridges over the Sassagoula. The boat ride to DTD is peacuful.

I like that guest services, food court, restaurant, gift shop, lounge is all located in the same building.

It's nice having a selection of pools. We tended to use the theme pool during the day and the quiet pool at night. The laundry is conveniently located by the quiet pools.

Rabbits and ducks abound.

Esay food court with a selection that suited our family.

I like walking around a resort and POR is great for that, plus you can easily walk to FQ to check out their resort.

I found the buses to be convenient. POFQ was picked up and dropped off first so it wasn't a problem as far as I was concerned.

The pool side bar has a "veranda" with rocking chairs and it was very peaceful one afternoon just rocking away while people watching.

There is Nothing that I don't like at POR. I think it's great.

Have Fun!

Ditto.

And, also, there are carriage rides, bike and boat rentals. When I was there last November, they were even advertising campfires but I haven't seen anyone mention it on the DIS forums.

The only negative is that, because of the meandering lush landscaping, access from your hotel room to your car might.. MIGHT.. be inconvenient. We stayed in Building 17, near the quiet pool/laundry. I tended to use this pool at night or early in the morning (I'm an insomniac, so doing my laundry while floating on my back, basking in the moonlight wasn't so horrible!!)

It's a great resort and I'd highly recommend it.

 

[SalandJeff]

We now belong to DVC, but before joining, POR was our fav place to stay. Love the AB section. I don't understand the complaints about the buses, etc. It's a big resort...you're on vacation...relax and enjoy the ride (it's not like you're going to be late for work!)

If walking is at all an issue or you have little ones, you might try to get a room in one of the buildings that is closer to the lobby area so you'll be close to the food court, store, etc. There are quiet pools near each group of buildings and you'll have just as much fun there as at the main pool. I'm not sure if they are still renting boats, but that is kind of fun to take a trip to DD.

 

[kinggoofy]

We call POR our summer home away from home. We will be there from Aug 11th - 22nd.

there is nothing more to say ...Nolcrest hit it right on the head.

Be sure to see Bob Jackson in the River Roost. He is a HOOT.

 

[01Sweetpea]

We stayed at POR in Feb, and are going back in Oct. We stayed at AB bldg 27, and I requested the same bdlg for this upcoming trip. POR is so relaxing, so peaceful, so serene. It was so welcoming to come back to this resort after a hectic day at the parks. To walk around the river, to watch my kids chase the ducks, to stroll thru the paths. The boat to DTD was relaxing.

I guess that sums up my feeling about POR... relaxing. Everyone there seems laid back, no-one is in a hurry (until you hear the delightful squeal of a child who announces he sees the bus coming, then everyone runs!) People say good-morning to you. It was peaceful one morning watching the mist rise above the river while walking to breakfast. DH & I were walking holding hands, and he leaned over to me, gave me a kiss, and thanked me for picking POR as the resort to stay at.

Now granted, I have never stayed at another resort, but when planning the Oct trip DH said either we'll try POFQ or book POR. He has no desire to stay anywhere else.

 

[Mortlives]

What Nolcrest said. Oh, and the Br'er Rabbit shower curtains.

Kungaloosh!
Mort.

 

[txdznydude]

love it. love it! Love It! LOVE IT! I'm not kidding, I realy love this resort! (is that passionate enough?)

I award it "Best Resort Landscaping".

And I totaly agree with what everyone else has said!

 

[GeekChic]

please people, don't hurt me LOL

we hated it! lasted one night and transferred to another resort!

here's some of the reasons why:

we were assigned to alligator bayou and had asked to be close to the main building because i'm disabled due to MS. Nope, we were WAY far out, and there were no elevators and they didn't give us a first floor room so i had to deal with scooting up the stairs and DH had to fold up my wheelchair and bring it up.

it took forever to get to the MK (dd's favorite park) we felt like POR was in the middle of nowhere.

and dd didn't get any sleep on the shelf, er, trundle. i wished she had spoken up and climbed into bed with us!

i think a family of five would feel really crammed into the rooms, but that's JMO.

i think they'd be much better off with 2 rooms at pop or an AS. with some of the discounts going on now, especially, it would be worth it.

we've already decided that we'll stay at a value over a moderate in the future if we can't afford to do deluxe. for us, moderate wasn't worth the cost increase over the value for what we got for our money.

again, please don't hurt me LOL just our experience is all.

geek

 

[Mommaof3]

I waited until a negative had been posted before I posted. I agree that it is really a very pretty place. The food court was great and the pools were great. My children had a wonderful time. Now the other side. There were five of us--DH, myself, DD11, DS 6 and DS6. We had a room in the Alligator section close to check-in and a bus stop. The room was just too cramped for us and we spent most of our time in the parks. It was just difficult to be so tired and then come back to a room where we were crawling over one another. My other problem was the bus rides. We always seemed to be in about the last bus in the long row of resort busses and the trip always seemed to be between 30 and 45 min. The 30 wasn't too bad, but 45 at the end of the day with two sleeping children was a little difficult. I longed for the monrail! Don't think that we had a bad time. We had a great time. It is really a lovely place and you are making a "blessed" gesture. But it is a hotel with "smaller"rooms and the bus rides are a little long because the hotel is somewhat "far out". (literal meaning not 70"s meaning!) I don't know if this helps any. Have a great day!

 

[Stini228]

I love this thread!!! I absolutely love POR I agree with Nolcrest, well said!!! POR just really feels like home for me. It's so beautiful and relaxing.

 

[blowinbubbles]

Originally posted by Nolcrest
So far POR has been my Favorite resort. I even like staying there over the deluxes. I try to stay someplace different each visit but so far my heart belongs to POR.

This is good to know, as I've only stayed at the Poly, but have now changed my ressies to POFQ!

Originally posted by Nolcrest
The landscaping is beautiful and lush. I love the wooden bridges over the Sassagoula. The boat ride to DTD is peacuful.

Sounds georgeous. . . .my kids will love the bridge!

Originally posted by Nolcrest
Rabbits and ducks abound.

Esay food court with a selection that suited our family.

Even more plusses for the kids. . I loved seeing all the bunnies and ducks at the Poly, and it makes me happy to know they are at POFQ, too!

 

[litlpixie]

Love it!!!! 5 of us in our family, fit fine into our AB room and we couldnt have been happier. We love everything about the place and recommend it to any family.

 

[Mortlives]

GeekChic,

Did you ask about elevators? Someone help me out here, but I could swear I saw an elevator in our building, same as at POFQ. I know they're not obvious, but I'm sure they're there. I'm sorry you didn't have a good experience. I've also heard less than mixed reviews for the trundle bed, but we only have one kid, so it hasn't come up.

Kungaloosh!
Mort.

 

[aprilgail2]

I loved the resort but as far as the buses go I hate them at every resort. I did busses once and after that I rented a car every time! I much prefer being able to just get in the car and go from place to place without having to deal with crowded busses.