Quantcast POR bad reviews - should I worry?
 
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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
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    Default POR bad reviews - should I worry?

    I've seen a lot of bad reviews of Port Orleans on a few travel review sites -- outdated rooms, poor customer service, horrendous bus lines and overly crowded buses.

    The only moderate we've ever stayed in is Caribbean Beach, which we love, but we thought we'd try something new this year. Based on pictures and descriptions, we chose Riverside and are hoping for Magnolia Bend.

    What do you think? What's your opinion of Port Orleans?
    **mousetrapper**

    CBR Oct. 1999
    Poly Nov. 2001
    CBR Oct. 2003
    BC Oct. 2004
    CBR Sept. 2005
    Poly Thanksgiving Week 2007
    CBR Nov. 2009
    Port Orleans Nov. 2011
    CBR May/June 2013
    AoA Sept. 2013

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
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    I just saw a similar question from 2008 a few pages further in. Someone said Magnolia Bend was going to get a refurb starting soon---well, should be done by now!

    We stayed at Alligator Bayou some years ago and loved it. So pretty and peaceful! Didn't like the full-size beds, but I read those have been/are being replaced by queens.

    Hopefully, someone who has stayed there recently will give you some answers soon. But I'd go ahead and try it!
    First trip: 1992 with sister, last trip 2018 with grandchild, not done yet!

  4. #3
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    I wouldn't worry at all. I LOVE POR. I've discovered that you can find negative reviews of EVERYTHING if you look on travel sites. Some might be a random bad experience; frankly, some of them sound made up!

    Quote Originally Posted by mousetrapper View Post
    I've seen a lot of bad reviews of Port Orleans on a few travel review sites -- outdated rooms, poor customer service, horrendous bus lines and overly crowded buses.

    The only moderate we've ever stayed in is Caribbean Beach, which we love, but we thought we'd try something new this year. Based on pictures and descriptions, we chose Riverside and are hoping for Magnolia Bend.

    What do you think? What's your opinion of Port Orleans?

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
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    New Orleans, Louisiana
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    We LOVE POR!!! I have never seen overly crowded buses or experienced any rude staff there. It's a very peaceful resort. The only complaint I know of is getting lost in the Alligator Bayou section because all the buildings look the same and are spread out. Other than that I have never heard of anything bad about it.
    Kelly
    WDW TRIPS:
    1985 off site
    ; 1998 off site ;Sept 07 ASM;
    May 09 POR
    ; May 10 POR; Sept 11POR; May 12 POR
    May 13 POR


  6. #5
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    Jul 2008
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    We stayed at POFQ and would have to take the bus over to POR and the grounds were beautiful. The plus side is POR is picked up after POFQ.. at least during May they are.. not sure about busier seasons..

    and there are plenty of people that have bad reviews for every single resort. I keep reading bad reviews about CBR, where we're staying in June, but I also read plenty of good reviews for it and the people that like it love the resort for their own special reasons. Just do your research and pick out the building that is best for you.. and good luck.

    BTW I loved POFQ. The grounds are amazing and where we stayed it was suchhh a small walk to the cafeteria and busses and we did not even have a preferred room. I liked and disliked the busses for specific reasons.. I liked them because when we went the lines were not bad and they were shaded. Which is different/better than having to wait in the gleaming sun at Pop for a bus for 20 minutes. I hated them because it felt like it took FOREVER to get anywhere. And I do believe that POFQ has one of the longest ride times to all of the parks. But we also had to ride all over the entire POR area and what felt like its neighboring stops which I did not understand but yeah.. if we ever stay in POFQ again we will get a rental.
    Next trip - Sep29-Oct4! Free QS dining at POP. First trip with both kids. (6th total visit)
    "In dreams you will lose your heartache"

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
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    Wisconsin
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    I agree with mom2morgan. I think there are people that have unrealistic expections or are generally negative and will post bad reviews about anything. Sure, buses can be crowded depending on time of day or time of year, but so can buses to any of the resorts. I personally LOVE POR as you can see from my sig. It is beautiful and relaxing. If you enjoyed CB, I think you will very much enjoy POR.
    Have a super time

    Just wanted to add after I re-read your post that I have always had excellent customer service there and I find the rooms to be just fine. Disney refurbs things on a rotating schedule and the rooms have always met with my standards.
    Last edited by WDW&MK; 04-30-2011 at 06:20 AM. Reason: Added comments on Cust service and room quality.
    POFQ 09/2013, 09/2014, 09/2015
    WL 09/2011, 09/2012
    POR 09/2010, 09/2009, 09/2008, 05/2007, 05/2006, 05/2004,
    AKL 05/2003
    POR 05/2001, 10/98
    Next POP 9/2016
    All Star Sports 09/95
    Honeymoon Dixie Landings Aug 1994
    1978 first visit to Magic Kingdom

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2001
    Location
    Lincoln, NE USA
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    POR is one of our favorite resorts. Great grounds, great food court, great atmosphere. I don't know if some of these reviewers normally stay at the Ritz Carlton or think they should be the only ones at Disney, but we always loved it. Hopefully you will too.
    30+ trips; DCV owner at Beach Club Villas; 4 Disney cruises; 2 trips to Disneyland

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
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    Bluegrass State
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    Honestly, I don't pay much attention to Disney resort reviews from Non-Disney sites. I would be more concerned for negative review from my fellow Intercotes! As others have said...they could be first time quests that just has no idea of crowd levels, didn't know how to navigate transportation, used to 5 star hotels when POR is more of a 3 1/2 star resort, or just like to leave bad reviews.

    We LOVE POR and can's wait to return especially now that it has been renovated! Hope you enjoy it. If you are interested...send me a PM and I will send you a link to a website that is all about POR and POFQ so you can learn all about the resort!

    Romans 11:33-36
    1983, 1989 - Off Site
    2003 - April ASMo
    2004 - June POR
    2005 - April POFQ
    2010 - May POP and Dec CSR
    2013 - March F&G POP
    Weekend Trip Summer 2013 - Off Site
    2015 - Sept- AKL/CBR
    DEC - BC/WL
    2017 - July - Disneyland & D23 Expo!

  10. #9
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    NY
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    No worries! POR is a great resort (we have been to all the moderates).
    Alex

    4/1976 - offsite,4/1983 - offsite,5/1999 - CaribBeach,5/2000 - CaribBeach,
    11/2001 - Coronado,7/2003 - AKL, 8/2004 - POFQ, 8/2005 - Poly, 8/2006 - Grand Flo,10/2007 - POFQ, 8/2008 - Wilderness Lodge, 8/2009 - POR, 8/2010 - CaribBeach, 8/2011 - Coronado, 8/2012 -Coronado, 8/2014 - Coronado

  11. #10
    Join Date
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    Not much to worry about. The disney fan sites have thousands of positive reviews as well as the occasional problem report. Those are great odds.
    Boardwalk
    Animal Kingdom Jambo
    Coronado Springs
    POP
    POP
    POP
    POP
    Riverside

  12. #11
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
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    Texas 1137 miles from WDW
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    Quote Originally Posted by mom2morgan View Post
    I wouldn't worry at all. I LOVE POR. I've discovered that you can find negative reviews of EVERYTHING if you look on travel sites. Some might be a random bad experience; frankly, some of them sound made up!
    i agree sort of. you can find negative reviews if you go looking for them, but take them with a grain of salt and ready carefully. plenty of bad reviews can be attributed to unrealistic expectations, or just one bad item.

    i write reviews for a hotel review website and am always very objective and list good and bad. have only written one bad review in around 5 years or so...

    if you're looking for a review about a WDW resort definately look around, but look here first!
    Last Ride Ridden - Test Track
    Last Eatery Visited - Tangerine Cafe

    July 1984 (off WDW)
    June 1995 (off WDW)
    July 2005 (Pop Century)
    April 2008 (offsite)
    Feb 2009 (All Star Music)
    Feb 2010 (POP)
    Sept/Oct 2010 (Sports)
    Jan/Feb 2012 (ASMovies)
    Sep/Oct 2013 (offsite)
    Feb 2015 (POFQ)

  13. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
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    Lafayette, Louisiana
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    I really believe that you just have to try something for yourself to see if you like it or not. However, we've stayed at all 4 moderate resorts. We really liked CSR, we loved CBR, and POFQ is probably our favorite. However, I don't see us ever staying at POR ever again. We just didn't like it. I didn't like the room decor at all. To me it felt like I was staying in a cheap camp somewhere. Other than that I can't really put my finger on it, but we just didn't like it like we've liked other disney resorts.
    Denise

    Resorts we've stayed at in 20+ trips: ASMo, ASMu, ASSp, PC, CSR, CBR, POR, POFQ, WL, AKL Jambo, AKL Kidani, Poly, Contemporary, BC, YC, BWV, OKW, SSR, Swan, Shades of Green, Vero Beach, Disneyland Resort

    Next Trip: ???

  14. #13
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
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    Virginia
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    We've stayed at all the moderates and POR is my favorite!
    Jul80 DLR, Dec75 FW, Sept91 offsite, Sept95 ASSp, June00 offsite, June01 ASMo, July02 WL, June03 ASMo, Oct03 POR, Poly, Aug04 Pop,ASMu, Oct04 ASSp, Sept05 CSR,Pop,CBR, Dec06 WL,Pop, Sept07 POP,POR, Dec07 POP,May08 POP, Sept08 CR,Sept09 POP,Aug10 CBR, Feb11 POP, July11 AKL, Nov12 POP, March13 offsite

  15. #14
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
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    Jacksonville, Fl
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    I stayed there for the first time this year. I enjoyed the resort so much I booked another trip for this month. I liked the woodsy look I had in the room. Yes it did take a while for the buses but I didn't think it was anything different than CBR. My friend did not like it, he is a FQ fannatic and didn't care for the spread out area. I recomend a stay at the POR, at least once.
    BRENDA

    Been to the land of happiness more times than I can count and still going.

  16. #15
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
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    Florida
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    We love POR! We have stayed at many different Disney resorts and POR is our favorite. We don't even have a decision to make when we are going to Disney....it's a no-brainer, we stay at POR from now on! The grounds are beautiful, the food court has really good food and great atmosphere, the pools are wonderful and you can't beat the boat ride to Downtown Disney!! Make sure you see Bob Jackson at the bar....he's amazing!

  17. #16
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    Apr 2002
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    Port Orleans Riverside is the only moderate we've ever stayed in and we enjoyed the stay. The grounds are beautiful, our room was clean and comfortable.
    Diane
    ~•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•*•.•~
    When your heart is in your dream, no request is too extreme.

  18. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by mousetrapper View Post
    I've seen a lot of bad reviews of Port Orleans on a few travel review sites -- outdated rooms, poor customer service, horrendous bus lines and overly crowded buses.

    1) There have been legit complaints about maid service.
    2) Other than that, I would not worry about the other things you mentioned.
    Average Banjo Picker. Pretty-Good Sailing Master. Newly Ordained.

  19. #18
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    The grounds are big and it seems like there is not a straight walk to any building, but we enjoyed our last stay there in january of 2010. The best kept food secret on all of wdw property is the build your own pasta at the food court.

  20. #19
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    We loved it when we stayed there and have done so four times. The quiet pool was awesome, even during busy times of year. We never had bad customer service and the boat ride to downtown Disney is a nice bonus. I don't know where you saw all the negative reviews, but I wouldn't worry about them.

  21. #20
    Join Date
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    Martinsville, IN 15 hrs. 22 min, 970 mi. from WDW
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    We've stayed at POR several times and we just love it!!! No worries, just enjoy yourself - like one poster said you'll find negative comments about everything sometime or another.
    December 2012 - Pop - All Girl I Wanna Go What's One More Trip
    October 2009 - POR - Grand Gathering
    Dec. 2008 - Port Orleans Riverside
    August 2006 - Pop Century
    October 2005 - Pop Century

    Nov. - Dec. 2004 - Port Orleans Riverside
    March 2002 - Ft. Wilderness Campground - Family Reunion Trip

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