POR - Mansion or Bayou?

[karylrocks]

OK, I have decided on POR rather than POFQ for our tentative trip next year. Now the question is...Mansion or Bayou? I had thought I wanted the Mansions, but from the pictures they look a little frilly as we will be traveling with two teen boys. But the Bayou rooms look a little too rustic. I imagine the responses will be 50/50 (just like responses to "POR or POFQ?") but I am interested in hearing your reasons so I can decide what would be better for our family.

 

[ter-moo]

I'd go with Bayou for a couple of reasons:

1. Your boys will like the overall atmosphere of the rooms and of the grounds around them. (more woodsy)

2. You've got the trundle bed, in case your boys don't want to share a bed (IF it's big enough for one of them!

The rooms are really nice-looking. I don't think you'll find them "too" rustic.

 

[MHTeacher]

I would vote for the bayou section also. My DH and I stayed there in May for a weekend. I didn't request anything, since we had never stayed before and would only be there for three nights. We were put in the mansion section, and while it is very pretty from the outside, I didn't feel like the rooms had any personality. They were like any room you would get in a marriott, etc. I think the bayou section rooms look like they fit in with the theme of the resort more.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

Often, only families of five will be placed in Alligator Bayou. Though it's certainly not set in stone, as many DISers here have stayed in the Bayou with less people. But I have requested the Bayou twice and been denied twice since I was not in a party of five. Who knows - I may be the only DISer to ever experienced this problem!

But if I had a choice, I would go for Bayou, since I like the more outdoorsy feeling - which is sad since I can't ever get them! The mansions seemed sort of boring to me.

Well, either way, have a great trip!

 

[global_mom]

We have stayed on the Bayou side 5 times and have always loved it. Have not experienced the Mansion side since we are a family of 5 and they will only accomodate us on the Bayou side. With 2 teenage boys I would go with the Bayou. We like buildings 14 or 18 b/c they are closest to the now refurbished food court and close to the buses.

I do think that the trundle will be too small for your boys except in an emergency sleeping arrangement. Even my 6 year old is getting too big to sleep comfortably on it.

Have a great trip!

 

[boomhauer]

Often, only families of five will be placed in Alligator Bayou. Though it's certainly not set in stone, as many DISers here have stayed in the Bayou with less people. But I have requested the Bayou twice and been denied twice since I was not in a party of five. Who knows - I may be the only DISer to ever experienced this problem!

But if I had a choice, I would go for Bayou, since I like the more outdoorsy feeling - which is sad since I can't ever get them! The mansions seemed sort of boring to me.

Well, either way, have a great trip!

I think this is an issue with POR. Personally, I have no interest staying in the mansions. None. I was originally booked at POFQ, but switched to POR because I loved the look and theme of Alligator Bayou. We're a party of 5, but 2 of my boys are infants, so we may not get AB. If I don't, I'm going to request to be switched to FQ or Caribbean Beach.

I think Disney should consider putting more trundle beds in the resorts. People are paying for a resort and paying for the experience they want. Clearly, Disney is not obligated to make their guests happy, but should make every effort to do so. By only having one sectoin of one moderate resort able to accomidate 5 guests, they're shutting out a lot of guests from getting their preference.

 

[Tiffany]

OK, I have decided on POR rather than POFQ for our tentative trip next year. Now the question is...Mansion or Bayou? I had thought I wanted the Mansions, but from the pictures they look a little frilly as we will be traveling with two teen boys. But the Bayou rooms look a little too rustic. I imagine the responses will be 50/50 (just like responses to "POR or POFQ?") but I am interested in hearing your reasons so I can decide what would be better for our family.

Hi,
I just want you to know that you can "request" a room in either the AB section of POR or the mansion section but it is only that, a request, and may not be granted. I would hate for you to get your hopes up on one section or the other and then start your trip off in a bad state of mind if you do not get your requested section.

That being said we have stayed at POR twice and POFQ twice over the years. We were in the AB section of POR on both trips and enjoyed the theming very much. Think Huck Finn. Think "Gone With The Wind" for the mansion side.

 

[KMLOVESWDW]

Another vote for AB. The grounds in that part seamed more lush, which we like. We had building #38 which is the last building in AB before the mansions started so it seemed like the best of both worlds. We LOVED this resort & hope you will too.

 

[LegoMom3]

With two teen boys, I'd definitely prefer AB. As another poster said, it's "Huck Finn" while Mansions are "Gone With the Wind." And the theming of the rooms may indeed "look" rustic, but they are every bit as modern as the next room at Disney. We thought they had a very cozy feel to them (and not a frill in sight! )

 

[ptrbryant]

It may be that I live in the South now, but staying in the mansions section of POR felt just like I was staying at my mother-in-laws house. It's theme was lost on me. That said, it was clean and beautiful, just not very "different" from what Southerners see. If we stay at POR again, I'll definately request the Bayou section.

Karla B.

 

[byoung]

Both are good.

 

[hollieplus2]

Can someone post some pictures of the mansions from the inside and out? Thanks. I don't think I know what they look like.

 

[Tinkerbell63]

I'd be interested in seeing pictures of the Alligator Bayou section.

 

[SeaSpray]

I'd be interested in seeing pictures of the Alligator Bayou section.

I was just there a few weeks ago. Here's a link to my POR web page, with pictures of AB:

http://www.brownfamilyvacations.com/html/POR2007.htm

 

[Aurora63]

Can someone post some pictures of the mansions from the inside and out? Thanks. I don't think I know what they look like.

Do a search for POR Mansions or POR Pictures. You will find many. I just posted a bunch of pictures on a thread a few days ago, from the mansions side (Magnolia Terrace to be exact.) I really liked the mansions. But I am a frilly girl who is into frilly girl things!

 

[CandleontheWater]

I liked the mansion side much better. I think they are really beautifully themed and it always makes me feel like I'm in Lousiana driving along the canals past beautiful stately mansions. I love the elborate mirrors on the walls and the over bed lights are modeled after old time gas lamps. I am a 29 year old "girly girl" who loves Gone with the Wind. We stayed in the mansion side 2 weeks ago with my 26 year old brother who didn't seem to care less and couldn't understand why I was going on and on about the theming. We stayed at Coronado Springs last year and he said the POR rooms and the CS rooms looked exactly alike to him. That being said your boys might not care at all about what the rooms look like, or might not notice the subtle differences like my brother apparently doesn't. In that case I would chose what ever you happen to like better.

 

[Spencer'sMom]

Just returned from POR today. I have stayed in AB 9 times and loved it. Planned to do the same this time but my request could not be honored due to trying to get families of 5 in AB. We stayed in room 9534 of Parterre Place (the mansions). I knew that we would not like it because we were so used to AB but guess what... loved it ! The room was great, super location near the bridge to the dining hall/general store. We would certainly recommend the mansions. Either way, you'll love POR. It's still my favorite!

 

[MEG&MINNIE]

Great pictures ...Seaspray, Thanks for sharing them !

 

[disneyfanfamily]

We stayed one time. It was in the mansions. We should have had AB because we were a family of 5, but they ran out of room. They just brought us in a cot. So, realize that your request MAY not be met. We loved the mansion (Acadian) section. I definitely did NOT thing it was too "frilly". Just nice. The landscape was beautiful. We will be staying there again in just 2 1/2 weeks. So we will see where they put us.

Angela

 

[karylrocks]

Thanks for all the replies. I know that it is just a request, but I am going to try for AB and I will certainly be happy with whatever we get.

SeaSpray - great pictures! It has been quite a while since I have been on the WDW boards (been busy with DL and DCL) and it is nice to see a familiar name popping up all these years. I saw that you recently went on a cruise as well, and congrats on the weight loss (I am working on mine as well, 50# and still going).