POR- nightmare (8/26-29)

[4 mickey]

Hi
I think it might have to do with free DDP because DH & I have stayed there quite e few times prior to cruises and never ever had any such problems with either , check in , buses , cast members ...and to this day of all of the wdw resorts we have tried port orleans is our best cannot beat the peace & quiet there

 

[Forevryoung]

For those concerned that they are going to have a nightmare at POR, I am going to restate what the OP stated (or omitted)-

The OP's visit to POR was a nightmare for these main reasons:

1) She tried to check in on the first day of free dining at 7am, before any of the day staff arrive for their shifts so there were only 3 people working the desk. The line was very very long, with hundreds of people waiting already to check out and then check back in to get their free dining before they left for the parks for the day.

2) POR and POFQ were both completely booked but the bus system was awful because she never got a seat on the bus. The lines leaving the park at night were very long and her family had to wait for four buses (How fast did those busses come? Approx 30 min to get on a bus at closing?) It was also very hot so people didn't want to stand so close to each other (and POR was completely booked) so the line leaving Epcot at night reached the locker/stroller rental. Oh yea, did I mention that the resort was full?

3) The hotel staff seemed overworked and burdened. The resort was full and there were around 15,000 people checking in on one day alone around Walt Disney World for the start of their largest promotion. And it's hot out, very hot out, and there were a bunch of guests that were extra demanding to make the CM's job at the resorts not so easy. She expected the bus rides at park opening and closing to be very relaxing but we had to stand.

This made the experience a complete nightmare (her biggest complaints).

Put's things in perspective? For everyone going to POR, you will hear good and bad about every resort and each visitor's stay is unique. Don't sweat the small stuff- you're in Disney!

 

[RKO1968]

I was expecting to read about dirty rooms, clogged toilets and missing items.

You can read about that here.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1566040

 

[honeybee30]

We have stayed at POR several times, most recently this past July, and I must agree with the OP that the busses are the worst of any place we've stayed. Its the worst organized with crowds of people rushing the doors to board half full busses that have just come from POFQ. This is why we prefer to stay at POFQ. It's a smaller resort that gets picked up and dropped off first everytime.

However, the bus situation didn't ruin our stay at POR. It's still a lovely resort with beautiful grounds and charming decor. Travel is just a bit more stressful than we would like, so we won't be returning anytime soon.

 

[maxiesmom]

For those concerned that they are going to have a nightmare at POR, I am going to restate what the OP stated (or omitted)-

The OP's visit to POR was a nightmare for these main reasons:

1) She tried to check in on the first day of free dining at 7am, before any of the day staff arrive for their shifts so there were only 3 people working the desk. The line was very very long, with hundreds of people waiting already to check out and then check back in to get their free dining before they left for the parks for the day.

2) POR and POFQ were both completely booked but the bus system was awful because she never got a seat on the bus. The lines leaving the park at night were very long and her family had to wait for four buses (How fast did those busses come? Approx 30 min to get on a bus at closing?) It was also very hot so people didn't want to stand so close to each other (and POR was completely booked) so the line leaving Epcot at night reached the locker/stroller rental. Oh yea, did I mention that the resort was full?

3) The hotel staff seemed overworked and burdened. The resort was full and there were around 15,000 people checking in on one day alone around Walt Disney World for the start of their largest promotion. And it's hot out, very hot out, and there were a bunch of guests that were extra demanding to make the CM's job at the resorts not so easy. She expected the bus rides at park opening and closing to be very relaxing but we had to stand.

This made the experience a complete nightmare (her biggest complaints).

Put's things in perspective? For everyone going to POR, you will hear good and bad about every resort and each visitor's stay is unique. Don't sweat the small stuff- you're in Disney!

You are right, and the main thing I am getting from all of this is to be patient if I go to Disney during free dining. Of course the busses were packed, the resorts were packed, they kind of go hand in hand.

And for all of you who are quick to label POR a bad resort because of its busses, let me warn you about the Beach Club. It took our bus 45 minutes to get to the Magic Kingdom, because of all of the stops it made. Forty minutes to get to/from the Animal Kingdom. And this was during the third week of October, so you couldn't even blame free dining.

If you know going in that you probably will have to stand on a few busses and find that totally unexceptable, then take matter into your own hands. Either pay for taxis or rent a car. Problem solved! Disney provides free transportation folks, and if you can accept it for what it is, then you are ahead of those who can't.

 

[jess20k]

Sorry about your experience at POR! I just wish POR and POFQ had separate buses! They really need to do something about that! POFQ is not bad because the bus stops there first, but POR is another story! We also had a bad time with the buses at POR in 2006. We stayed at POFQ this past Feb. and did not have any problems with the buses, except once going and coming from DTD.

At least you ended up having a good time at CSR!

 

[TiggerCat]

I have to agree with Forevryoung. It was the start of the Dining Plan promotion and the place was packed. What would one expect to find. However, the crowds must have calmed down by Tuesday since we ate at the Cotton Mill that evening around 6 pm and didn't find it busy at all. In fact, it was empty. In terms of bus service, we stayed at the Dolphin from 21 - 30 Aug and I don't recall ever sitting down on the bus once. And the wait times for some destinations were longer than usual. But I fully expected that to be the case so it didn't bother me whatsoever. In fact, we liked the longer waits since it gave us more opportunity to enjoy the super hot weather!


TC.

 

[LvsTnk]

Thank You so much for your review!!!

I hope other posters don't get discouraged from posting their negative reviews as I can always take something away from someone else's good or bad experience.

I can totally understand why some people feel the need to defend a resort or the WDW we all love but.....I am still having a hard time understanding why if management knows that 100+ people are checking out and in at 7am on a given day they did not schedule more staff???

Good to know that we all must check when the first day of the dining program starts and avoid checking in at that time (7am) even if we are not doing the free dining.

Also good to know that we should all expect to be standing on almost every bus during the HOT HOT HOT summer months in the am and at pm closing. Don't forget to budget in extra money for cabs.

And finally there are some good CM's at CSR working the concierge desk in case you don't want to put up with the above.

I really am gald your trip turned out OK and thanks again for posting

 

[skipperkim]

Could someone please inform me of a resort that doesn't have nightmare transportation after park closing? That's why I always linger a bit. It's either that or make sure I beat the crowd out. I prefer the first one though. It's always fun to stroll through the shops late at night.

 

[scottny]

Could someone please inform me of a resort that doesn't have nightmare transportation after park closing? That's why I always linger a bit. It's either that or make sure I beat the crowd out. I prefer the first one though. It's always fun to stroll through the shops late at night.

Like I stated on here I had no nightmare bus issues at POR. Longest wait was maybe 10 minutes or so at MGM after Fantasmic.
At MK we took the FQ bus back as it was quicker and read so many had done it on here. We did not walk between resorts though the bus driver was nice enough to drive our group and 2 strangers back to Riverside.

 

[skipperkim]

Like I stated on here I had no nightmare bus issues at POR. Longest wait was maybe 10 minutes or so at MGM after Fantasmic.
At MK we took the FQ bus back as it was quicker and read so many had done it on here. We did not walk between resorts though the bus driver was nice enough to drive our group and 2 strangers back to Riverside.

Get off my bus!!! Yeah, I might do the same thing at MK. Even if you had to walk back to POR it would still be faster than waiting for a bus at POR from MK. Now you know why I stay at POFQ. Oh, it used to have its own bus stop at MGM too. I miss that.

 

[scottny]

Get off my bus!!! Yeah, I might do the same thing at MK. Even if you had to walk back to POR it would still be faster than waiting for a bus at POR from MK. Now you know why I stay at POFQ. Oh, it used to have its own bus stop at MGM too. I miss that.

that night it became a Riverside bus. It was very nice of the driver to do that.
I am still deciding between POR or POP for March. Decisions, decisions.

 

[cmm]

Thank You so much for your review!!!

I can totally understand why some people feel the need to defend a resort or the WDW we all love but.....I am still having a hard time understanding why if management knows that 100+ people are checking out and in at 7am on a given day they did not schedule more staff???

:

When we checked in on Saturday, the CM told us to come back anytime to check out/in. She did not say they wouldn't do anything til 7am. When we finally got through the line, the CM on Sunday told us that 1032 people (or perhaps rooms, I wasn't quite clear what she said) were checking out/in due to free dining and that POR was prepared. Seems to me they knew this in advance and did little to prepare. Having 3 people working the counter when you're expecting 1000 people to come through is hardly being prepared. We couldn't do anything because our tickets were not activated. We had a ressie at CP at 9:25 am, so we couldn't wait for the line to clear. We made CP with only 5 minutes to spare.

 

[NewYorkRedNeck]

I was at POFQ Aug 19-25..Had no problems at all .Did share busses with lots of folks from POR. Coming back from Epcot at closing was the worst I seen the lines and it was only 2 busses deep.Glad ya ended up having a great trip.

 

[SGMCO]

Like I stated on here I had no nightmare bus issues at POR. Longest wait was maybe 10 minutes or so at MGM after Fantasmic.
At MK we took the FQ bus back as it was quicker and read so many had done it on here. We did not walk between resorts though the bus driver was nice enough to drive our group and 2 strangers back to Riverside.

I was wondering about the busses coming back from the parks at closing
if POR and FQ had different busses?

I also wondered if anyone from POR caught the Bus in the mornings at
FQ?

 

[Kira G.]

Sorry about your experience at POR! I just wish POR and POFQ had separate buses! They really need to do something about that! POFQ is not bad because the bus stops there first, but POR is another story! We also had a bad time with the buses at POR in 2006. We stayed at POFQ this past Feb. and did not have any problems with the buses, except once going and coming from DTD.

I just want to share a different perspective on this, since it seems to come up all the time when people evaluate POR vs. POFQ.

We just got back from a trip to POR the week before the OP (8/17-8/25) - before the free dining promotion went into effect. I'm sure the resort was much less full than what they (and others) have described, and so buses were shared with POFQ the entire week.

With the exception of trips to and from DTD, which always seemed to be a bit of an problem, we had ZERO issues with buses the entire 8 days we were there. We stood one time on the way to the parks, and maybe 3 times on the way back. We almost always caught the bus at the East Depot, near our room, and we never waited more than 15 minutes for a bus and usually waited 5-10.

I actually felt sorry for the POFQ folks on the way to the park - they got on the bus and and then waited for the trip around POR before heading to the parks which adds on about 10 minutes to the trip. That would have driven me crazy! The East Depot was generally the last pickup, and then we were on our way! I much prefer that as I'm heading to a park in the morning!

I'm sure I would have felt differently if I had to watch full buses pull up and we couldn't get on. I don't know if this is a clue to what causes a problem for people, but the only time that happened was heading to the MK from the main (South) depot. There was another bus there within 3 minutes (and it was a Disney Cruise bus!) so the rest of us got taken care of immediately.

Perhaps that was a constant problem at the South Depot - I don't know. At the East Depot there were generally only a handful of people waiting and never once (really - NEVER ONCE all week) a problem with full buses.

I really don't mean to suggest that other people haven't had those issues, or to make excuses for Disney when they happen. However, I did want to offer a different experience for those who might be concerned about POR, and a different perspective on the POR/POFQ debate!

And I agree with Jess20K - it would just be so much better if the buses were separate all the time.

Oh, and by the way - the other aspects of our stay were terrific as well, we loved the resort, and would go back in a heartbeat!

 

[momimouse27]

Ah the wonderful world of free dining! I'm pretty sure I will make sure to never travel to WDW during that promotion. I'm sorry it was a rough start for you, but glad it ended well.

I'm thinking if I was heading to WDW, staying in a moderate, and without a car, I think CSR would be my choice. It is nice that they get their own buses and not everyone staying there is going to the parks.

It is odd that someone would have trouble merely because of the free dining...we did free dining last year at Contemporary and walked up, checked in at around 5 pm in around 15 minutes and were dining at Chef Mickeys that evening...go figure.

 

[momimouse27]

After reading all the posts... Ahhh, now I understand! First day of free dining, kids still out of school, yes that would be a long line!

 

[fumipappa]

It is odd that someone would have trouble merely because of the free dining...we did free dining last year at Contemporary and walked up, checked in at around 5 pm in around 15 minutes and were dining at Chef Mickeys that evening...go figure.

Missing the point of "Sunday" and "morning time".... And your check-in time was 5pm, almost end of the day... so there was no check-out people

 

[kaytieeldr]

Right, there would only be three days a year, maximum, when hordes of Guests would likely be checking out-and-in first thing in the morning, aka 7 AM - and how badly this affected the check-in line would depend in large part on the resort size and style. POR would be more affected than POFQ; Pop would be more affected than any single All Star; ANY resort would be more affected than CSR if, as this year, that entire resort was reserved by a corporation for a conference

I can totally understand why some people feel the need to defend a resort or the WDW we all love but.....I am still having a hard time understanding why if management knows that 100+ people are checking out and in at 7am on a given day they did not schedule more staff???

You can't magically create staff - if you have four people assigned to a given shift, and one of them doesn't work Sunday, you can't snap your fingers and make more appear. Even if you see the line has fifty people in it at 6:58, and you start calling your day staff to come in early, they're NOT right around the corner and they're likely not showered, dressed, fed, and ready to run out the door at that instant.