POR Good or bad?

[TyNicJen]

We booked POR for the end of June. No choice since I have 5. Last time we stayed @ POFQ and it was great. I'm worried about the buses. Are they that bad? Waits really long? Where do we request to be to be near main pool and food. Not big walkers as we do it for a living.
Where can I find a map of the grounds.

TIA to all

I'll be waiting:

 

[theflowerladee]

We have stayed there 2x and enjoyed it both times. If memory serves me
we were in the Alligator Bayou and it was pretty close to the main bldg.
We enjoyed the pool and the biscuit and gravy.

 

[Indianadisneyfan]

We stayed there in Oct. and loved it. I'm not sure which building we stayed in but it was room # 8596. It was about a 2 min walk to the bus stop and 5-6 min walk to the pool and Boatwrights. The buses wasn't crowded at all, but school was in so that could make a difference.

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

We've stayed at POR twice, our last visit in 2005. The grounds are absolutely beautiful. I loved the long walk along the river, across the bridge, and into the main building, even though it was a hike.

The buses? That's another story. We waited over an hour for a bus to MK more than once, both day and early evening. Leaving MK to get back to POR, the bus lines were insanely long. Seems like other resorts got picked up more frequently, including POFQ. But POR, as large as it is, the lines were always crowded without enough buses to service a resort this size. You either waited long at MK and had to let the first bus go and wait for a second or third bus, or when you did manage to get on the bus, it was standing room only, sometimes late at night, little kids trying to keep their balance in a dark bus as they really crammed them in there. I know each resort has it's own drawbacks, but it is the bus service that keeps me from booking that beautiful resort again. I sincerely hope that new bus system will help once it is put into place. I did complain to WDW about PORS bus service when I returned home.

Some folks have no problem with POR bus service. And we did wait over an hour last year for a bus from AK to WL, so no one resort is free from problems. It's just that from MK to POR was consistantly bad in our experience, no exceptions.

tink

 

[Snork]

POR is my favorite resort. The grounds are awesome, the boat ride to DTD is cool, I love Boatwrights, and I really enjoy the fishing hole...

However, I really dislike the bus situation. Our last trip was 8 days long, and I only had the oportunity to sit down twice while on the bus. One morning we waited 45 minutes for the bus to AK. Gripe, gripe, gripe.

Regardless, it is still my favorite MOD compared to the others...

 

[kentear]

We stayed there several years ago and enjoyed it very much. It is LARGE though so be prepared for walking unless you get a room close to the everything. We were out in the back but the good part was one of the bus stops was just outside our door. The buses were not a problem for us at all. Timely, not full, no problems

 

[flafan]

Hi

You can find a resort map on allears.net . I just booked for next year May: . We wll have a car so the bus service is not a concern.

I am hoping to be near the main pool. My kids favorite part of Disney is swimming in the pools.

 

[mjkaferle5]

We booked POR for the end of June. No choice since I have 5. Last time we stayed @ POFQ and it was great. I'm worried about the buses. Are they that bad? Waits really long? Where do we request to be to be near main pool and food. Not big walkers as we do it for a living.
Where can I find a map of the grounds.

TIA to all

I'll be waiting:

We were at POR at the end of June last year. Bus service was great, never had a problem!!

To answer your question - POR good or bad?

I say neither.....................It was great!!

 

[dmzrn]

Ok... we were there last June, peak time. LOVED it!!! We are headed there again tomorrow Anyway, here's the scoop...as far as bulidings go, we stayed in AB because we have a family of 5... that being said, I would have chosen it anyway.... love the rustic feel of AB... the beautiful winding paths, trees, smells.... great. It is a large resort, and you will surely read complaints of how much walking people have to do. This amazes me... do you Not expect alot of walking when at WDW???? Anyway... onward. Last year, we stayed in bldg 34. It was about an 8 minute walk to the food court, main pool. This year, I requested bldg 27. I really like it's location... 2 minute walk to either food court or the pool. Keep in mind that there are 5 other pools on the property"quiet"pools... but the big pool is fun! As for the buses... we never had a problem. I will say that the main bus depot I think it's the South depot, is always busy. We were 1 minute from thr West Depot last year, and will probably always go to that one this year too. I have read about the long waits, I don't doubt this has happened, but we did not experience this at all. Longest wait we had was 15 minutes. As for standing on the bus... this happened once to us last year, on the way home. But, we were fortunate enough that several people offered seats to my 2 , 7yo twins... who basically sleeping standing up! When you're tired, not the best, but also not the worst thing either. I can only hope that this year goes as well... if it doesn't... we're still at Disney... we'll deal with it. So, go... have a great time... you are staying at a great resort! Also.. I will tell you that when the parks are closing, Disney dispatches more buses for POR, because it's a big place, alot of people to get "home". All in all, I think they do a great job. I hope you love it

 

[Lilolvr]

The bus service at POR can be hit or miss. They share with POFQ and use the same queue at the parks for the return to the resort.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1411881

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1438767

 

[saikai]

We have stayed at POR and CBR while we liked both we really loved POR. IMO the walk from Jamaica building 41 was longer than any walk to food courts at POR. The busses did seem to come a little closer together at CBR but I'm willing to wait a few more minutes just to enjoy the beautiful grounds. The main pool was also much better at POR.

 

[disneyobessed]

Great!!! we love everything about it...

 

[tink2007]

We are staying at POR next week. I have requested the Magnolia Building. I Know there is a bus stop some where around there. Is that a busy stop? I have read that it is hit or miss. We will have our elderly parents with us so I dont want them to have to stand. I am willing to drive it we need to.

 

[mellowmood]

I stayed at POFQ and POR and didn't care for the theme at either. They were fine for moderates - nothing specific wrong with them. Check in and maid service were fine - no problems.

I just didn't care for the theme - although I was certain I'd hate them and was surprised to find I didn't. They are pretty enough, too. I won't be going there again, as I much prefer CBR or CSR for a mod...but if you happen to like the theme at the Port Orleans resorts, I think you'd enjoy them very much!

Don't know about busses; don't ride them.

 

[pixdust]

We stayed there last March. It is awesome. The ONLY bus trouble we had was the day we wanted to go to Typhoon Lagoon. That bus is also the DTD bus and it took forever for one to show up, and then it took forever to get to Typhoon Lagoon. It was just sort of annoying. We saw 30 buses for MK, AK, MGM before one showed up for DTD. We still had a great time once we finally got there. If I could have 1 wish for POR would be for the Typhoon Lagoon Bus to be connected to another park and not DTD.
But, all that aside, it was not annoying enough to keep us from wanting to stay at POR again. Planning on going back in August. Was tempted to try POP or CBR, but there is still so much to see and do at POR, that I am only slightly tempted by POFQ.
We Love POR.

 

[pixdust]

We are staying at POR next week. I have requested the Magnolia Building. I Know there is a bus stop some where around there. Is that a busy stop? I have read that it is hit or miss. We will have our elderly parents with us so I dont want them to have to stand. I am willing to drive it we need to.

We stayed at Magnolia Terrace and just walked across the bridge to catch the buses outside the front desk area. It was a short walk. I have bad knees and didn't find it too far. We found it beautifully themed and can not wait to get back.

 

[Indianadisneyfan]

I also stayed at Magnolia terrace. Our room faced the parking lot on the ground floor and it was only 2-3 min walk to our bus stop.

 

[Robin4]

We just got back Wednesday from our 2nd stay at POR and LOVED it! When we stayed there for the first time it was because we had 5 in our party but now I can't imagine staying anywhere else! We visited most of the Deluxes for dinner during our stay and as funny as it sounds I liked POR better than any of them! The nice thing about the resort is that even though it's a big resort the main building was not overwhelming. Also I think they have the nicest foodcourt, it's big but it's also peaceful, if that makes sense. Like even though there would be many people in there you wouldn't feel like you were ready to get out of there. POR is large but the AB rooms are the closest to the foodcourt, lobby etc. and since you are a party of 5 you'll have to stay in AB anyways. We stayed in building 27 both times and thought the location was great! I think it's building 14? that's closest to the foocourt but both buildings are water view! If you request a building I think you get 2 choices so if you want a convenient room I would request 14 or 27, it saves a lot of walking! Over all there's not enough good things I can say about POR, I've never had a complaint and always feel at home when I'm there!

 

[disneyluv4]

We love POR. Stayed there about 5 times. We also have 5 in our party. We always request building 18, 14 or 27, they are in AB, which is where they have the trundles. Building 18 is smoking optional, but we honestly can not tell, and we are non-smokers, actually my husband quit years ago and has a stong smell for it. We love that building, it is our favorite. The last time we got 27, and it was nice as well. Even closer to the main pool.
The buses are hit and miss for us. They could really use a system. They need to have a line like at the parks. It is really unfair, when you've been waiting for 20 min. and someone who just showed up gets on the bus. As far as MK we have found that if we stay till closing, we do not rush out, we let everyone else rush past and just take our time, maybe sit on the bench and people watch or shop and by the time we get out it is not bad at all. Have fun!!

 

[pavil]

It's great.
Pretty quiet, very well landscaped, good dining options. Many at resort things to do (fishin hole, Surrey bikes, Horse drawn carriages, boats to rent, Boats to DTD). Plus your have pool privleges at POFQ, which has a more lively pool and nicer hottub IMO. POR pools are good to, I just prefer FQ's.

The only knock on it is that it is a spread out resort. Plan to do some minor walking or drive your car to the main lobby areas of either hotel. Buses were not an issue for us at anytime, they ran fine.

Just a hint, the busses to AK and MGM are shared with POFQ, if you are concerned about getting a seat, drive over there to pick up the bus. Epcot and MK have seperate busses for each resort. I could be wrong on this but I am pretty sure.