POR Review

[KatMark]

I'm so glad you posted your review. We're staying at POR in November and, even though I'm excited about staying there, I've also been concerned about all the negative reviews I've read about it. I'm just going to keep in mind that everybody's experience is different and think positive thoughts!

We have not stayed at the POR, but have visited a number of times. It is a beautiful resort. And one of the lawyers I work with stays at POR every year and he has never had a major complaint.

You are right to "keep in mind that everybody's experience is different and think positive thoughts." I know Amy and she gives it to you straight and it sounds as if everything was great at POR. If I listened to every bad review I read, we wouldn't have stayed at the Coronado eight times now. Like you said, "everyone's experience is different" and we've had eight near perfect stays at the Coronado. You can read a great review about the WL or the Poly or the CR, and the next day read three bad reviews. A lot of it comes down to a person's preference/expectations, etc.

I'm sure you'll be fine. Have a great trip.

 

[BABY_EINSTEIN'S_MOM]

Thanks for the review! We are headed to POR for our first onsite stay in October!!

 

[MickeyMirth]

Amy, thank you for taking the time to share such a thorough review! I agree with everything you said. We were there in December '09 and will be heading back in June.
You are totally right about the portions of food at the food court. On my first visit I got the pasta. It was served in a deceptive little bucket. When I poured it on the plate it overflowed the sides and my DH just raised his eyebrows. In my entire life I have never been unable to finish a serving of shrimp fettucine. Even I wasn't able to power through.
Lesson learned. After that we split most of our meals there.
All of the cast members we encountered were super nice and helpful. The boat to DD was great, an enjoyable and relaxing ride. My DH and GS were happy with the distance they were allowed to roam on the MouseBoats.
We've stayed at the FQ, WL and CSR but it will be difficult for us to try anything new after POR. Everyone has a different experience but I sincerely hope that all of you that have upcoming visits will enjoy it as much as we did.

 

[ScrapperBelle]

Thanks for the review! I have to say that I agree with you on everything you said! We loved the food court and our room was also extremely well kept (as was the entire resort).

On our last 2 trips we have stayed at the PO resorts. Although we do love the YC, one thing that is a real hassle when staying there is not having a food court option. I completely agree with you about the food court. The make your own pasta there is one of my fave things to eat at WDW!!!

For our next trip, we were planning to do a split stay between the POLY and YC...but we have been seriously considering either of the PO resorts again. You just can't beat the food court. Especially with teenagers!!

We never had an issue with the buses, but we mostly used the north depot (just outside our room in Acadian House). There were never more than a few people waiting for the bus here and most of the time we managed to get seats.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Great review Amy! Thanks for sharing. As you know, we had an excellent stay at POR in November. The room was clean, the CM's were very friendly, the grounds were beautiful, and the buses were just fine (and I went into the trip pretty much terrified about the buses from everything I had read here ). We are so glad we tried it and will definitely stay there again someday!

 

[jillyb]

We have not stayed at the POR, but have visited a number of times. It is a beautiful resort. And one of the lawyers I work with stays at POR every year and he has never had a major complaint.
You are right to "keep in mind that everybody's experience is different and think positive thoughts." I know Amy and she gives it to you straight and it sounds as if everything was great at POR. If I listened to every bad review I read, we wouldn't have stayed at the Coronado eight times now. Like you said, "everyone's experience is different" and we've had eight near perfect stays at the Coronado. You can read a great review about the WL or the Poly or the CR, and the next day read three bad reviews. A lot of it comes down to a person's preference/expectations, etc.

I'm sure you'll be fine. Have a great trip.

Well if it's good enough for a lawyer I know that it'll be good enough for this paralegal!!

This is so true! That's why I'm trying to keep things in perspective. For example, we ate at Coral Reef and love it, but other people have said they didn't like it. Sing it with me everybody....it takes different strokes for different folks!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Thanks for the review.

I'm a little nervous about staying at POR for the first time this August. We've always happily stayed at a value... but this year we are taking our niece so we needed bigger accomodations.

I'm worried about the bus issues... particularly because DS11 is in a wheelchair.

Thanks again!

If you are worried I would suggest you request one of the buildings near the south depot. That would be AB Buildings 14-18 I believe. That is the first stop at POR. I saw several families with wheelchairs and they always got on. If you are in a room near the final stop (east depot), that could be a problem since you will load last and the busses can only take two wheelchairs max. But honestly, I think you will be fine.

When we stayed at POR in 2005, I found the busses a bit of a hassle, but these days, during the busy times of day, only the South Depot shares with POFQ. The rest of the depots get a bus that is not coming from POFQ.

The order of the depots is: South, West, North, East. So as long as you are near the first two depots, or don't mind walking to them you should be fine. I"ll add that if you do want to walk to the South Depot, no matter where you are at POR, you won't have a longer than a 7-10 minute leisurely walk.

I hope you enjoy POR! We have done many values stays over the years and enjoy them, but I have to say after this most recent trip, I think we are done. Not that they dont' have thier own appeal but the lush, peaceful atmosphere of POR would be sorely missed!


And thank you everyone for your nice feedback on my review!

 

[Rosetta89]

Heading there in November for Thanksgiving! So excited loved your review. Have stayed at POFQ and loved it walked over to POR a few time and ate in there food court a few times! So excited to go there!!! Loved reading your opinion.

 

[YellowJackets]

Thanks for the great review, we will be at POR in 2 weeks.

 

[lagal]

We just got back from POR last night, April 2nd - April 9th...that resort is AWESOME...not a thing wrong with it...the food court I thought was great...the dessert/bakery there is out of this world, brownie sundaes OMG, those huge cupcakes, cheese cake, carrot cake, choco cake, any kind of cookie, ice cream, shakes, how can you not like that food court...all variety of foods from cut carved roast/ham/turkey/veggies/mash tators to pasta, pizza, burgers, salads, fish/chicken, etc etc...what more can you want...

Very clean/workers go out of their way to help you....great pool for kids...marina to rent boats/bikes/go fishing....

And for those that complain about the bus service...NEVER a problem the whole week we there, Easter week at that, ONE time we shared a bus w/POFQ, never had to wait 20 min for a bus to pick up or deliver...

All I can say is if you are scheduled to stay at POR you have NO WORRYS...

 

[disneydreamer1970]

Thank you for your review! I am looking forward to our first stay there in December.

Trish

 

[KELLY]

Thanks for the review.

We are thinking of upgrading to a moderate for are stay in September and POR is up there on my list. We stayed there once a long time ago. We are only 4 so the trundle is no big deal to us.

 

[daisyx3]

We were there April 1-8 so we probably saw you at least once--we were in bldg. 27. Did you go to the Marina on April 5 for the shuttle launch?
We are DVC and although I have enjoyed all of the deluxes we have stayed in, I told DH that if we do another non-DVC stay (in a year we are saving points, like this year) we will go back to POR, esp. if the oldest, going to college, can't come with.
Daisyx3

 

[Amy&Dan]

We were there April 1-8 so we probably saw you at least once--we were in bldg. 27. Did you go to the Marina on April 5 for the shuttle launch?
We are DVC and although I have enjoyed all of the deluxes we have stayed in, I told DH that if we do another non-DVC stay (in a year we are saving points, like this year) we will go back to POR, esp. if the oldest, going to college, can't come with.
Daisyx3

The shuttle was launching as we were on the Magical Express to return to MCO and go home. I think overheard a few people in the front of the bus who could see it. I was half asleep and in the back of the bus so I missed it!

We probably did see each other and I probably saw Lagal too!

So glad that others there the same time as me enjoyed the resort and had wonderful experiences too!

 

[Amy&Dan]

We just got back from POR last night, April 2nd - April 9th...that resort is AWESOME...not a thing wrong with it...the food court I thought was great...the dessert/bakery there is out of this world, brownie sundaes OMG, those huge cupcakes, cheese cake, carrot cake, choco cake, any kind of cookie, ice cream, shakes, how can you not like that food court...all variety of foods from cut carved roast/ham/turkey/veggies/mash tators to pasta, pizza, burgers, salads, fish/chicken, etc etc...what more can you want...

Very clean/workers go out of their way to help you....great pool for kids...marina to rent boats/bikes/go fishing....

And for those that complain about the bus service...NEVER a problem the whole week we there, Easter week at that, ONE time we shared a bus w/POFQ, never had to wait 20 min for a bus to pick up or deliver...
All I can say is if you are scheduled to stay at POR you have NO WORRYS...

Yep, if you are boarding at any bus depot other than the south one, you rarely share a bus with POFQ since only the South Depot shares with POFQ most of the time.

We had no problems with the busses either and were also there during Easter time (3/26-4/5).

Glad you enjoyed the food court and bakery, I know I have been going through bakery withdrawl since I got home!

 

[poegirl30]

We are going in June thanks to a pin code! We went at Christmas (except for DH who had to work), and all three kids loved it. My DD17 loved the pasta bowls, and she's a very picky eater. We also loved the boat to DTD. Our Christmas trip was amazing.

Can't wait to try out the pools this time, and all three kids really want to try the fishing too. Glad that you had a great time! We love POR!

 

[IslandAdventure4]

I'm so glad you posted your review. We're staying at POR in November and, even though I'm excited about staying there, I've also been concerned about all the negative reviews I've read about it. I'm just going to keep in mind that everybody's experience is different and think positive thoughts!

We stayed there last November. We loved it. Very Quiet. the grounds are beautiful. the kids will love the pool. Food was good. We only had 1 issue with the bus one morning, and we were there for 8 days. I think you will love your stay. Make sure you take the boat ride to DTD, so relaxing..... Have fun no worries, I look forward to you post trip review..

 

[JennyDrake]

I'll echo what you said about teh build your own pasta--it is delicious and easly enough a meal for two!

 

[jillyb]

We stayed there last November. We loved it. Very Quiet. the grounds are beautiful. the kids will love the pool. Food was good. We only had 1 issue with the bus one morning, and we were there for 8 days. I think you will love your stay. Make sure you take the boat ride to DTD, so relaxing..... Have fun no worries, I look forward to you post trip review..

I definitely want to take the boat ride to DTD. We didn't go there on our first trip so I want to go this time. We drive so we'll be driving to the parks instead of using the bus. We did that last time and loved it.

 

[ncc1701]

I definitely want to take the boat ride to DTD. We didn't go there on our first trip so I want to go this time. We drive so we'll be driving to the parks instead of using the bus. We did that last time and loved it.

yes take the boat to DTD. We did it every day of our trip in November.We had the DDP and went to Wolfgang Puck Xpress for dinner or lunch