Many POR Questions

[Bringonthemouse!]

For our upcoming trip in Nov. I am seriously considering upgrading from Pop to POR. Due to ever increasing travel costs we will not be able to return to the World for a few years and I want to make this a very special vacation for myself and DD16. We vacation for 12 days so this leaves us time to relax at the resort, it's not just a bed for us.
I have many questions regarding POR. Keep in mind we have only ever stayed at Pop so that is our comparison.
1) We have heard many great things about AB area. Which are preferred rooms and which are not?
2) We have only ever stayed at Pop. Is this resort smaller in comparison, therefore closer to main buildings and bus stops?
3) According to the Resort Map here on Intercot I noticed 4 bus stops. Do the Park buses make four stops around POR?:confused:
4) Is it worth the $$ to upgrade?? I am a single mom and definately not made of money. Just wondering if it is worth the splurge. This is not a resort we have visited in past trips so I know very little about it.
5) My DD is worried that the "feel" of the resort won't be very "Disney". Pop has many Disney icons around and a very fun atmosphere, she is worried that she will miss that aspect of our resort at POR. How do you find POR measures on the "Disney Vibe" scale?
6) Which buildings are best to "request". I don't want to pay for a preferred room but would love something close to water.

Let me know what you think and thanx so much for helping me out with a relatively large decision. The Intercot gang is the best!
:mickey:

[DumboMom]

:mickey:Hi,

I have stayed at POR twice with my family of four. My kids are both under five and love the resort. In regards to your questions I would say.
1. The feel of the resort is disney but not in a loud way. I have stayed at ASM before and I would picked POR over that anyday. I love that you can take the boat to downtown disney, which we often do at night just to get ice cream. The kids love being on the water and the people who run the boats are really nice.
2. There are four stops, however in the morning the buses only move out of the stop in front of the building near the general store. We have always been able to get on buses right away(from the resort). When I have stayed at CBR I had to wait for a second bus.
3. I have always requested Magnolia Bend. It is not always a water view but it is quiet and has a quiet pool in the area. I also think its a short walk to the food area, pool (fun water slides) and playground.

I think it is a matter of what you like. If you like the large icons and statues go with Pop but for a more serene time try POR. Plus, the place has Bob Jackson at the bar for the whole family. He puts on a great show!

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

Deciding to upgrade can be a hard decision.

If you have the money, POR is just wonderful, but don't upgrade to the point that you'll be worrying about the cost.

We stayed at POR on our honeymoon and loved it! There aren't "preferred" rooms like at POP, but you can pay extra for a water view, which can be either a pool or the river, although you can ask for the one you want, no guarantees though.

POR is really big. You're right that there are 4 bus stops, and at many times of the year POR shares the busses with FQ, so at some of the later POR stops it will be standing room only.

The size is really the only "con" of POR, it is a beautiful resort, and although it isn't as "in your face" as POP, there is great theming and it is lots of fun to explore. You can take a boat to DTD, which is fun in its own right.

We stayed in AB, building #18, which we thought was perfect. It was close to the main building and bus stop, and it had a quiet pool right behind it. Buildings #14 and #15 in AB are also close to the main building.

We really loved POR!

[aurora, ariel, and bell]

I have never stayed at pop, but have stayed at POR for past 5 years. One of which was when kids with us we stayed at AB. When we went by ourselves DH" and me, we stayed at Magnolia. it is beautiful there. I love the quiet pools, sometimes we had them to ourselves. The boat ride to downtown disney is nice and relaxing.
Boatrights has an amazing breakfast.
I have always been under the impression that POP would have way more little kids, and the pool is always packed...(not first hand experience)
We are going back this year with 3 granddaughters and staying at POR...I am afraid to try any other because I love this resort so much:number1:

[brownie]

We haven't stayed at Pop, but we have stayed at Movies and at Port Orleans Riverside. Where our room was located, we had a little bit of a walk to get to our car (it would have been the same to get to the nearest bus stop.) At Movies, I think everything was closer, but room location plays a role in this.

As far as the Disney "vibe" goes, it depends on what you are looking for. If you're looking for bringing the theme to life and attention to detail, you won't be disappointed at Port Orleans Riverside. If you're looking for the Disney icons, they don't have a large presence at Riverside.

I think your first consideration should be how much time you are going to be spending at your resort and what facilities you will realistically use. If you are going to be spending most of your time away from your resort, I'd probably lean towards a value resort and put the money towards something else on the trip. If you're going to have a free day or two or want to do make use of a resort facility that's not at the value resorts, I'd probably put more weight on staying at one of the moderate resorts.

[disneyfan328]

We have stayed at ASMu and POR. We loved both resorts. I would not rate the food court and POR very good, but it is a beautiful resort. Things are much more spread out than at the all star resorts but the grounds are just beautiful. We were always running into bunnies and chipmunks in the morning on our short walk to the Bus stop ( we were in bldg 15) which is a short walk up a little path that cuts through some trees. the buses get packed I think no matter which resorts you go to but yes there are 4 bus stops around the resort ( which with one main pool(*ol man island ) and several (5 I think) quiet pools it should give you an idea of just how spread out the grounds are. We loved having the fridge in the room and the trundle bed was great for our son.

Now as much as I loved the resort - I only stayed there becuase we had 5 people going and could not stay at a value unless we got a suite - POR was the cheaper option so we went with that. If we went back with 4 people I personally could not see spending the extra money - for us we don't spend much time in the room, we are at the parks or in the pool. Thats about it.

I wish that we would have had more time to spend at POR (9 days and it was our 2 youngests first time there so we were on the go from morning till night). We did like the boat ride to DTD it was a nice change from a bus, and the kids did fish at the fishing hole.

We are in the possible planning stages for a trip in 2 years and are already trying to figure out where to stay. Even with as much as we loved POR we are leaning towards staying either in 2 rooms at a Value or a suite and have a friend of DD's come along ( she is 19 so her and her BF can stay in a room alone or share the cost of the suite with us). If we ever get to go again and there are just 4 of us I would stay in a value and splurge on something else at Disney.

as an added note - we never ate at the restaurant at POR or at the food court at POFQ which I hear is better than the one at POR and they have Beignets (don't know what these are but people seem to rave about them). If having a restaurant is important to you, the values don't have them so this is a consideration.

We did love the Piano Bar guy though ( I think its Piano Bob). He was great for the adults and the kids so if you stay at POR make sure you find out what nights he is there and check him out.

As far as the "Disney Atmosphere" There aren't really any bright loud colors or big Disney icons around the resort, but it is still magical, and beautiful. Its all about what you like.) AB section with the trundle beds is very rustic in feel and the beds have log posts ect. we loved the theming and were very comfortable even with 5 of us and only one bathroom (there are 2 sinks with a vanity though so that did help).

[Grace]

:mickey:

1. [I]Preferred Rooms[I] There are two main areas at POR; the Mansion, and Alligator Bayou. Both are very nice. The Mansions are in a 'Gone with the Wind' style, and have french provincial style furniture and draperies. The Bayou has small ponds and footbridges, and the rooms are more rustic with punched copper furniture and tree-branch bedsteads. See the maps on this website for an area you might like best. Preferred rooms are those with a view of the Sassagoula River or one of the pools.

2. See the maps for bus stops and main buildings.

3. Yes, there are 4 stops, but we have always found the bus service to be very good here, and the location of this resort is fairy central to the parks with the exception of Animal Kingdom.

4. I would not spend any money on a preferred room, all of the resort is beautiful.

5. This resort is themed to the hilt; the original theme for it was 'Song of the South'. The lobby is designed to feel like a riverboat, with a harp ceiling fan and lots of fretwork. Look for hidden Mickeys. The store is called 'Fultons', and has Goofy, Donald, and other characters dressed in period style as decorations. The bar and lounge have pressed tin ceilings and a fireplace. The food court has a working water wheel and cotton press, and the restaurant features a suspended cotton barge halfway to 'completion'. There are horse and buggy rides, and a boat to DTD.

6. Most of the buildings are close to either the Sassagoula River, or to a pool. In addition to the main pool, there are 5 quiet pools.

Hope this helps!

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

I too am a single mother on a budget and although I haven't stayed at POR (we stayed at Coronado Springs) this is my opinion:

While the moderate resort was nice, we did not feel it was worth the extra bucks because the size of the beds were exactly the same as the values (doubles) we only go to the room to shower and sleep. If I was on a limited budget and had a few extra bucks to spend instead of going to a moderate, I would add a day or two to my reservation and stay at a value which is exactly what we are doing this time;)

[Bringonthemouse!]

Thank you very much for all the great feedback! I really appreciate your views. I think for now I'll stick with Pop and maybe wait an extra year for our next trip and splurge then. (that would be 5 years from now, can I actually wait that long???:()