WDWorld2003
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2003
We returned from our 2nd trip to WDW (1st was in 1994) on Sat. - 1st time on site (we will never stay offsite again! Thanks to all of you on the boards our trip was wonderful! Voted in the top 3 of our vacations. I think we're going back next year!
POR has beautiful grounds!!!! I cannot say enough about them. We loved our walks around the property - the rabbits, ducks and geckos were so fun to see. Also, the flowering bushes (what are they?) had the most wonderful smell. The river running through the property was very pretty - loved the gazebo and benches all over. Our room was in AB Bldg. 14 on 2nd floor as requested. Nice and close to the bus stop, food court and a nice quiet pool. We were not bothered by noise from others other than the occasional rolling suitcase or those getting up early. Just normal hotel noise.
The rooms definitely need upgrading. Our carpet was stained and the bathroom (I've read this before) had mold on the walls and ceiling (maybe it's the same room). Complaining would take time from the parks so I just cleaned what I could and lived with it (I will mention it if I receive a survey though). Also, the corners in the bathroom could use a good scrubbing with a toothbrush - 10 more minutes of cleaning would do it! I would think supervisors would check the room more thoroughly. Those corners had been dirty a long time! We didn't get towel animals so I left a note for our housekeeper and we did get a couple that night and she also fanned our wash clothes every day after that - very cute.
Also, our last night we stayed at Epcot very late and when we returned our room was not clean. We had told our maid (a different one than our usual) our kids were sleeping in that morning and could she clean it later - however, she never came back
. We called the front desk and they brought towels, clean glasses, etc. It was after 11:30 pm so we didn't want them to clean it. We made our own beds and did a better job - this was the first night our sheets didn't come untucked 
We used the main pool only one evening as we were so busy during the day and most nights were quite chilly. It is very nice with a large slide and greenery everywhere.
We loved the refillable mugs and food court - ate breakfast there almost every morning. It was good and quick. They throw away a lot of plastic though!
We also rented a refrigerator - the 1st one they brought us was missing the side bars for putting milk, etc. so we had to call for another - it came fairly quickly but couldn't believe that for what they charge per night ($10.65) for one that the first one wouldn't be in good working order. Not sure we would rent a refrig. again either - It cost over $90.00 and we bought $70.00 in groceries - for $170.00 we probably could have purchased most of it in the food court.
The big difference we noticed in staying on site was the bus service
. We never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus. Our last day we actually had the bus to ourselves to Epcot and back! The only time we waited was after Spectro at MK (over 45 minutes!) but we talked to people in line so the time passed quickly.
We did rent a car and used it for short trips to the grocery store, Sea World, Typhoon Lagoon. However, our car was hit in the parking lot at POR (hit and run) so in the end it will probably cost over $1,000 after deductibles - oh well! (couldn't believe the 25% tax at the airport for car rentals!) Not sure we'll rent again but did love the convenience for a couple of things.....
We took the boat to downtown Disney one evening - nice and relaxing. We didn't rent any boats or bikes but many people were enjoying them and looked like they were having a great time. Saw Bob the piano player a couple of nights - what a hoot! Really enjoyed how he got the crowd going. We only spent a few minutes so didn't get to participate but would love to see him again.
The Fulton's general gift store was great! We bought many souvenirs there and spent time almost every night after the parks just browsing. Our teen DD's enjoyed the Arcade and spent a few $$$ on games.
All in all, we really loved our stay here and would return. We did go over to POFQ the last day to look around but preferred the grounds and food court at POR - the Mardi Gras theme did not appeal to us but to each his own. We loved the whole Disney atmosphere at the resort and grew attached to POR after 8 nights. We also ate at many restaurants so I'll try to do a restaurant review later.
If anyone has ?'s I didn't cover here I'd be happy to answer them!
POR has beautiful grounds!!!! I cannot say enough about them. We loved our walks around the property - the rabbits, ducks and geckos were so fun to see. Also, the flowering bushes (what are they?) had the most wonderful smell. The river running through the property was very pretty - loved the gazebo and benches all over. Our room was in AB Bldg. 14 on 2nd floor as requested. Nice and close to the bus stop, food court and a nice quiet pool. We were not bothered by noise from others other than the occasional rolling suitcase or those getting up early. Just normal hotel noise.
The rooms definitely need upgrading. Our carpet was stained and the bathroom (I've read this before) had mold on the walls and ceiling (maybe it's the same room). Complaining would take time from the parks so I just cleaned what I could and lived with it (I will mention it if I receive a survey though). Also, the corners in the bathroom could use a good scrubbing with a toothbrush - 10 more minutes of cleaning would do it! I would think supervisors would check the room more thoroughly. Those corners had been dirty a long time! We didn't get towel animals so I left a note for our housekeeper and we did get a couple that night and she also fanned our wash clothes every day after that - very cute.
Also, our last night we stayed at Epcot very late and when we returned our room was not clean. We had told our maid (a different one than our usual) our kids were sleeping in that morning and could she clean it later - however, she never came back
. We called the front desk and they brought towels, clean glasses, etc. It was after 11:30 pm so we didn't want them to clean it. We made our own beds and did a better job - this was the first night our sheets didn't come untucked We used the main pool only one evening as we were so busy during the day and most nights were quite chilly. It is very nice with a large slide and greenery everywhere.
We loved the refillable mugs and food court - ate breakfast there almost every morning. It was good and quick. They throw away a lot of plastic though!
We also rented a refrigerator - the 1st one they brought us was missing the side bars for putting milk, etc. so we had to call for another - it came fairly quickly but couldn't believe that for what they charge per night ($10.65) for one that the first one wouldn't be in good working order. Not sure we would rent a refrig. again either - It cost over $90.00 and we bought $70.00 in groceries - for $170.00 we probably could have purchased most of it in the food court.
The big difference we noticed in staying on site was the bus service
. We never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus. Our last day we actually had the bus to ourselves to Epcot and back! The only time we waited was after Spectro at MK (over 45 minutes!) but we talked to people in line so the time passed quickly. We did rent a car and used it for short trips to the grocery store, Sea World, Typhoon Lagoon. However, our car was hit in the parking lot at POR (hit and run) so in the end it will probably cost over $1,000 after deductibles - oh well! (couldn't believe the 25% tax at the airport for car rentals!) Not sure we'll rent again but did love the convenience for a couple of things.....
We took the boat to downtown Disney one evening - nice and relaxing. We didn't rent any boats or bikes but many people were enjoying them and looked like they were having a great time. Saw Bob the piano player a couple of nights - what a hoot! Really enjoyed how he got the crowd going. We only spent a few minutes so didn't get to participate but would love to see him again.
The Fulton's general gift store was great! We bought many souvenirs there and spent time almost every night after the parks just browsing. Our teen DD's enjoyed the Arcade and spent a few $$$ on games.
All in all, we really loved our stay here and would return. We did go over to POFQ the last day to look around but preferred the grounds and food court at POR - the Mardi Gras theme did not appeal to us but to each his own. We loved the whole Disney atmosphere at the resort and grew attached to POR after 8 nights. We also ate at many restaurants so I'll try to do a restaurant review later.
If anyone has ?'s I didn't cover here I'd be happy to answer them!
