POR Likes/Dislikes

[tndisney5]

We have stayed at POR as a family of 4 but will be planning on staying here once again on our next visit (july) as a family of 5. Last time we stayed at POR was during the month of Dec. so we didn't use the pool. We also didn't eat at the food court, only Boatwright's. I realize it is a large resort. Will we hate walking to food court, bus stops, etc in summer heat? Does anyone know where families of 5 are typically assigned? Are those rooms all in one section or spread out throughout the resort?

 

[Goldfrapplol]

The rooms in the Alligator Bayou section are the only rooms that accommodate 5 people.

 

[Linda67]

We stayed at POR last month and loved it!
Previously we have always stayed at deluxe resorts
We did book a "preferred" location - all of these rooms are in Alligator Bayou
No problem at all in walking over to food/buses etc. In fact the food court at POR provided some of the best meals of the trip!
All this said POR is a BIG resort but for us, the preferred room location was every bit as close, if not closer than most of our deluxe rooms to the main amenities

 

[freckles04]

Our personal likes:
Beautiful resort
Nice feature pool
Lots of shade (pool area is shady too)
Updated rooms
Great food court (try the tomato bisque!)
Lots to do (boat rentals, fishing, boat to DTD, etc.)
Hot tub!!! great for your feet after a long day in the parks

Our personal dislikes:
We had bad luck with long waits for buses vs. our stays at Pop Century. Our personal experience was so bad that we probably will not stay at POR again. Others have had fantastic luck so take that for what it's worth.

We paid for a preferred room and were placed in building 27. I would refuse that bldg if I had it to do over again. You are paying the same $$ as the other preferred buildings but it's much further away. Wasn't worth the extra $$.

 

[librarymom2007]

We just checked out of POR yesterday. It was our 3rd stay there. I love their food court. They have great salads. We were in building 80 and not far from the North bus depot. We had no issues with the buses. The pool is so fun for kids. The size of our room was great compared to our room at AKL. 4 people and all our stuff fit comfortably.

 

[tndisney5]

One other question...We will be booking online. The room accomodations for 5 say 2 queen beds and i bunk sized bed or 2 queen beds. Do I need to call and make sure we get the first choice? Or is it a given since we are booking 5 people that the first choice is the only option?

 

[jsal318]

If you are booking for 5 people, you will be put in the Alligator Bayou section. It is the only section that has accommodations for 5. No worries!

 

[minnie mum]

You might want to spend some time on the POR resort thread. As well as excellent information, it has a detailed map that shows the location of all of the buildings as well as the relative distances to bus stops, dining, pools, etc. The food court is located in the same building as Boatwrights, so not seeing why that might be an issue.

When you stayed there previously, were you in the Mansions section or AB?

If after looking at the map you are still concerned about walking distances, you could always pay the up charge for a preferred room, if one is still available for your dates.

 

[boltfan]

POR is beautiful, but too big for our taste. We stayed there in 2010 because we couldn't get our favorite, POFQ, for free dining. The walk to the food court/gift shop wasn't horrible, but about 3x as long as it took us at POFQ. And don't get me started on the waits for buses. The food court was nice, but again, not better than POFQ. I'm very happy that we'll be at POFQ this November, but I know many people who LOVE POR, so I think it's just choose whatever meets YOUR needs.

 

[tinkerbella16]

POR is one of my favorite resorts. The first time we stayed there we were in Alligator Bayou. It was in 2007 and we had no idea how far some of those buildings really are. I would suggest a preferred room in AB. We were in building 24 and so so far from everything but the West Depot bus stop. So keep that in mind in case you don't get preferred and they assign that to you.

 

[Mollymum]

As others have said, you'll be put in AB. The murphy bed is around 5'3" I believe, my petite 14 year-old DD was comfortable on it.

We were in preferred building 15, and it was the ideal location for us - close to everything.

We loved the food court. Try the create-your-own pasta dish. The magic cookie bars are great too.

No probs with buses for us - just seemed like typical waits we've had at 2 other resorts in past.

Have a great trip!

 

[FancyNancy]

My POR Likes:
It's a beautiful resort.
The food court
The mansion section
The quiet pools
The gift shop

My POR Dislikes
We didn't care for the main pool for some reason
We didn't like all of the but stops you have to make when going to and coming back from the parks

 

[T4K]

Our personal likes: Beautiful resort Nice feature pool Lots of shade (pool area is shady too) Updated rooms Great food court (try the tomato bisque!) Lots to do (boat rentals, fishing, boat to DTD, etc.) Hot tub!!! great for your feet after a long day in the parks Our personal dislikes: We had bad luck with long waits for buses vs. our stays at Pop Century. Our personal experience was so bad that we probably will not stay at POR again. Others have had fantastic luck so take that for what it's worth. We paid for a preferred room and were placed in building 27. I would refuse that bldg if I had it to do over again. You are paying the same $$ as the other preferred buildings but it's much further away. Wasn't worth the extra $$.

And see I thought 27 was perfect for us. I never felt like I had to walk that far for anything.

 

[Fjobe]

We love POR. Just to throw another option out there - some of the newly renovated rooms at Caribbean Beach Resort will accommodate families of 5.

 

[tndisney5]

We love POR. Just to throw another option out there - some of the newly renovated rooms at Caribbean Beach Resort will accommodate families of 5.

Really?! I think it must be booked because it keeps saying our party exceeds the size allowed. Hum. What part of CBR are the 5 person rooms located?

 

[minnie mum]

Really?! I think it must be booked because it keeps saying our party exceeds the size allowed. Hum. What part of CBR are the 5 person rooms located?

There is a rumour that some of the rooms at CBR will have the Murphy bed added to some rooms during the current refurb which only started recently. The refurb isn't scheduled to be complete until next year. I have seen no official announcement yet that the rooms offering 5 person occupancy are available for booking, or are even a reality. Yet.

 

[km3jones]

Just got back. Family of 5. Garden view in building 28. Worked great, 5 min walk at most to food court and buses. Good food court.

 

[starousse]

We stayed at POR last month and loved it!
Previously we have always stayed at deluxe resorts
We did book a "preferred" location - all of these rooms are in Alligator Bayou
No problem at all in walking over to food/buses etc. In fact the food court at POR provided some of the best meals of the trip!
All this said POR is a BIG resort but for us, the preferred room location was every bit as close, if not closer than most of our deluxe rooms to the main amenities

We're thinking ahead for next year and like you, we've stayed at Deluxe resorts for the past three years. Twice at WL and once at Beach Club. We wanted to do this trip a little more budget conscious. Did you really miss the Deluxe resorts during your stay at POR?

 

[Cheert789]

Really?! I think it must be booked because it keeps saying our party exceeds the size allowed. Hum. What part of CBR are the 5 person rooms located?

There are no 5 person rooms I believe and CBR I believe POR is the only room available with this option

 

[Sue M]

There are no 5 person rooms I believe and CBR I believe POR is the only room available with this option

There will be! They are undergoing refurbs at the moment.