POR-Just back-Here's what I thought

[married2grumpy]

Just back from 9 nights at POR. At first glance I thought the grounds were beautiful and I was impressed by the lobby and smooth check in. CM at check in was pleasant but could not accomodate our faxed and phoned in room requests. A first floor room was a priority for us and we were told not one 1st floor room was available that evening and that the resort was at full capacity. We found that hard to believe but took our 2nd floor room for the night and were told we could switch in the morning after 7 am. At 7 am we were told nothing was available and they would hold our luggage until our new room became available. We decided to put our luggage back in the van for the morning and head off to MK. We got back to POR around 11 am expecting our new room to be ready. No luck. Now we were stuck without a room even though we were officially checked in since the night before. Luckily, we still had the keys to our old room so we had somewhere to go. We sat around waiting for the new room to be made up which wasn't until 3 pm. We felt like we wasted a day but were happy to finally unpack and settle into our new room. They put us in AB 14 which was a great location. Close to both the food court and pool. The rooms are in need of refurbishment but still were decent. My DH did find a palmetto bug in the bathroom one morning which sort of grossed me out but at least he found it instead of me or one of the kids. We thought the food court was nice and had a good selection. The kids loved the pool and the playground much more than CBR. We did the boat ride to DD which was relaxing and informative. We also did the carriage ride around the resort which was nice. The River Roost lounge had entertainment that we all enjoyed. We sang songs and had a great time. The landscaping was very pretty and the bus transportation was pretty good except for one morning when no AK bus came for over an hour. Housekeeping was horrible. We tipped $5 the first day and asked for 2 extra pillows. The tip was taken but sure enough we never got the pillows. The only time we had good housekeeping was the 2 days that our housekeeper was off and her replacement was on. Every time she'd make the beds she would take the bed rails off. At the end off a long day, you don't want to walk into your room and have to fight with those bed rails night after night. I found the grounds to be littered with trash that would sit for days. This also happened during our stay at CBR this May. My DH and I would pick up trash along the walkways during our walks to the bus or food courts. I wish other guests would pick up after themselves.
We liked POR and thought they had a lot more to offer than some of the other moderates. By the way, I didn't see and work going on there during our stay and all bus stops and food stations were open. If anyone has any questions, I'd be glad to try to answer them.

 

[BillSears]

Wow Married2grumpy we were neighbors. I was in bulding 14 on the first floor from 7/24 to 8/3 then I was moved to Magnolia Bend for our last night.

Housekeeping was pretty average for us we had fresh towels and beds made every day but nothing really beyond that.. Certainly nothing outstanding. One day a pillow disappeared but we left a note and it was back the next day. Our biggest problem was the leak we discovered on our second day there. The shower leaked over into our room and got the floor wet. I called up Maintanence when we found it and they offered to come over and dry the floor but instead we just ignored it. Well we ignored it till we found water in between the 2 beds then we asked then to come over and dry it all out and shampoo the rug. They brought over a blower and said they'd do the rug while we were at the parks. But they forgot to shampoo it so on our last night they moved us to another room.

The food court was pretty good. The only problem I had with it was that the line that made burgers/fries/pankcakes etc always seemed to be very long and if you ordered from there everyone else had there food and was just about done eating by the time you got your food.

I also picked up some trash here and there and I felt that they needed a CM assigned just to walk around cleaning up the grounds.

We got to see Bob over at the River Roost and he was great. We also did the boat to the Marketplace once and rode the buses abit. But I found that driving to all parks except MK to be faster for me. I think it was just a matter of luck but I always seemed to see multiple buses for other parks before the one I wanted would show up. We watched 4 EPCOT buses pass by before we saw a single MK bus one day.

Overall I'd stay again but this time I think I might stay in the Magnolia Bend section. It's further from the lobby/food court area but the room I was transfered to on the last night was much nicer and it even had spare pillows already in it

 

[LvsTnk]

Thank You for both of your reports! I loved reading them.

 

[eeyore0062]

We did see renovations that were ongoing while we were there 2 days ago. Much was being done at night, while most people are asleep. We saw it because we returned from PI at 2 am. They do try to maintain the Magic by not displaying too much renovation activity in an open resort--- hence the closing of CBR, PO-FQ and SoG during the intense renovations.

We thought that the grounds were very clean and well maintained in the Magnolia Bend area, the CM's very polite, and we even had extra pillows in our room when we checked in... they were located on the top of the hanging rack near the sinks.
Since we didn't have a reason to go to AB this time, I have no idea the shape that area was in. As for bugs... well, living in Florida, you learn to live with them, especially when you live or stay on the ground floor. They are just part and parcel with the Florida experience.

We had no issues with the busses, although my parents did say they had a long wait (about 30 minutes) for the DTD bus one particular evening, we only waited for 15 minutes the following night.

Right now the resorts are at 100% capacity and they do try to accommodate as many requests as possible, but the requests are not guaranteed unless they are for verified medical reasons. With the resorts being as full as they are, unfortunately, not everyone will get their requests. Also, many guests do stay until the last minute before checking out, or may request late check out, making it later for a particular room to open up. The best thing to do, is go to a park or perhaps the pool and call to see when the room is ready. No sense in sitting around the resort waiting... it will just make the wait seem longer.

I was very pleased with our experience, but then again, I have never been disappointed at any of the Disney Resorts. Staying offsite just affirms the opinion that Disney does it best!

 

[LadyLt]

Originally posted by married2grumpy
CM at check in was pleasant but could not accomodate our faxed and phoned in room requests. A first floor room was a priority for us and we were told not one 1st floor room was available that evening and that the resort was at full capacity. We found that hard to believe but took our 2nd floor room for the night and were told we could switch in the morning after 7 am. At 7 am we were told nothing was available and they would hold our luggage until our new room became available. We decided to put our luggage back in the van for the morning and head off to MK. We got back to POR around 11 am expecting our new room to be ready. No luck. Now we were stuck without a room even though we were officially checked in since the night before. Luckily, we still had the keys to our old room so we had somewhere to go. We sat around waiting for the new room to be made up which wasn't until 3 pm. We felt like we wasted a day but were happy to finally unpack and settle into our new room.

Am I reading this correctly, you sat around the room you were vacating until 3:00 pm in the afternoon. You insisted on a ground floor room in a resort that was packed at 100% capacity. Then you prevented Housekeeping from getting the 2nd floor room ready for another guest to check into? This really sounds like the height of selfishness to me. If it was your choice to vacate the first room you were given, then you should have stayed away from it until a first floor room was available.

As stated by another poster here and by Disney reservations, requests are simply that. You were NEVER guaranteed a room on the first floor. You were guaranteed a room which you received at check in. Disney does their best. But if everyone wants the same thing, some people are not going to get it.

 

[married2grumpy]

I can't believe that even a simple resort review can be picked apart and twisted by people. I enjoyed our stay at POR. As I stated the grounds were lovely, food court good, pool nice, nice entertainment, enjoyed the carriage ride and the boat to DD. Housekeeping was lackluster, there was some litter to be picked up and check in easy. My only problem was wanting a 1st floor room and not getting it at check in. We were told by the CM at check in that in the morning our 1st floor room would be available. We did have a late check in. I did not insist on a 1st floor room. They gladly offered one at 7 am the next morning. We were told at 7 am the next morning that our room was almost ready so we decided to vacate the room and head out to the parks. We returned early from the parks to unpack but the room wasn't ready yet. I had never checked out of my original room or turned over the keys. This was to be done when our new room was ready. We did not sit around the room all day. We walked around the resort and had some lunch but kept checking with the front desk until our room was ready.

I have stayed on site several times and know full well that requests are just that. I know they are not a guarantee. They said a 1st floor room would be ready the next morning. How was I being selfish? They offered me a 1st floor room and I was pleased. I didn't demand it.

The rudeness on these boards is out of control. If people want debates, there is a board specifically for that. If you did not find my review useful then just move on to another thread please. No negative comments are necessary. Thank you!

 

[n2mm]

married2grumpy...I agree with you about staying in your old room. Afterall you paid for a room for that time period and if POR had provided you a room when they stated that they would, you would not have had to hang out in your old room. You paid for a room the moment you arrived so you had every right to stay in your old room, until the new one was ready. If they had moved you first thing in the morning, it would not have been necessary. I hate moving to another resort or another room and swear never to do it again. I always feel like I've wasted a precious vacation day/or time packing and unpacking and waiting around for a room.

We love POR/Dixie Landing. We visited them several times during our trip last week to WDW (but was staying at another resort). WDW seems to be very short staffed and overwhelmed with the success of the FTP. We checked into the Movies on our first day, early afternoon, only to find out that we no longer had a room and was moved to the sports (seems that because we had a non-smoking room reserved for medical reasons, they had given away all of their smoke free room to other guests before we arrived at 4:00 PM)....then moved to the contemporary 2 days later and it took them 3 rooms before we could agree on one that was smoke free (yes we had a guaranteed non-smoking room for medical reasons). I hear from CM friends that they did not get enough college kids this time and is having an effect on the resorts. Some of my CM resort friends say they are being required to put in a 6 day week.

 

[Dave A]

We were there last week. 1st floor.

Wet floor too. Blower dried it.

Housekeeping folded our towels into elephants & fans & put it in the window!

Spotted no trash on ground.

Similar food court experiences. Hey, how about some wine for my wife. Do we have to go to the gift shop & buy a split
Dave