Donald Duck
01-06-2014, 11:38 AM
Got home yesterday from 7 nights at POR.
I had reserved a preferred room at POR.
I had also requested bldg # 18 and a corner room on the 1st floor. (My wife has a bad knee)
I made all my FP+ reservations in advance before the new tier rules.
We arrived at POR on 12/2 at 1:30 PM.
(We drove from NY)
They said thy only had 1 preferred room left in bldg # 27 (which is far from the parking lot) and it wouldn't be ready until after 5:00.
I asked if they had another room that was ready now closer to the parking lot.
They had a 2nd floor room in bldg # 16 that was ready. It wasn't in a preferred bldg. but it had pool view, so the rate was the same.
We took it because we didn't want to wait until after 5:00 to check in.
Room was very clean and not too far from Riverside food court.
My overall thoughts on the FP+ is that 3 per day is not enough. We went the most crowded time of the year and if we weren't able to use the old FP as well, we would have only gone on 3 rides per day.
They have to increase it to at least 5 if not more.
I made my FP+ early so I didn't have to pick 1 tier one ride. We were able to go on Soarin and Test Track the same day.
This also must change. There's no reason to limit which rides you can choose per day.
Also, there shouldn't be a restriction on only 1 park per day. I will never buy a park hopper again if this rule stays.
The Magic bands worked great. It opened our room and got us into the parks with no problems.
Parks were crowded as expected.
Weather was in 70's during the day.
Only had a short shower one or two days, except for our last day (Jan 3rd) it rained almost the whole day.
We had some great meals: Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner, Crystal Palace for breakfast, BOG for lunch, Boma for breakfast, "Ohana's for dinner and Coral Reef for dinner.
Everyone loved BOG for lunch. I had made a FP+ reservation in advance.
I had the turkey sandwich. It was good not great but at least it was hot. We ate in the ballroom. It was beautiful.
Dinner at 'Ohana's was by far everyone's favorite meal. All of the food was great and there was lots of it. We had he best server, Kalani. He was great! He made the meal even better.
We liked it so much, we decided to go there for breakfast. The food was ok but our server was horrible. When we 1st arrived she came around with juice but didn't have enough for everyone. We had 5 in our party and 2 of us literally got about a tablespoon of juice. She never said let me get you some more juice. We had to ask her a few times for more juice. About 10 minutes later, someone else brings out the platter of food (without the waffles or fruit). So now we have some of the food but nothing to drink. No juice or coffee.
After the food I gone she finally comes back with more juice and asks if anyone wants coffee. I was the only one, so she asks me if I want cream too. I say yes. She comes back with coffee but no cream. I ask her if we can have waffles. She comes back later with the cream for the coffee and syrup for the waffles but no waffles or fruit.
I remind her again about the waffles and fruit. I ask the guy who brought us the platter for waffles. About 10 minutes later he comes back with the waffles.
Our waitress finally shows up again with a small plate of fruit. I asked her for more of everything, which she eventually brought.
We took a lot of pictures with Lilo, Stich, Pluto and Mickey.
It goes to show you how a server can make or break a meal.
It was the 1st time we had seen the new Fantasyland area. I though it was very good. I also liked the Ariel ride.
We spent New Year's Eve at EPCOT. It was great. We had a great dinner at the Coral Reef (sat next o the tank) and had ice cream in France. The ice cream was excellent. Illuminations was awesome as always plus there were additional fireworks for New Years.
It was 3 year since we were last there and everyone had a great time !
:mickey:
Donald Duck
I had reserved a preferred room at POR.
I had also requested bldg # 18 and a corner room on the 1st floor. (My wife has a bad knee)
I made all my FP+ reservations in advance before the new tier rules.
We arrived at POR on 12/2 at 1:30 PM.
(We drove from NY)
They said thy only had 1 preferred room left in bldg # 27 (which is far from the parking lot) and it wouldn't be ready until after 5:00.
I asked if they had another room that was ready now closer to the parking lot.
They had a 2nd floor room in bldg # 16 that was ready. It wasn't in a preferred bldg. but it had pool view, so the rate was the same.
We took it because we didn't want to wait until after 5:00 to check in.
Room was very clean and not too far from Riverside food court.
My overall thoughts on the FP+ is that 3 per day is not enough. We went the most crowded time of the year and if we weren't able to use the old FP as well, we would have only gone on 3 rides per day.
They have to increase it to at least 5 if not more.
I made my FP+ early so I didn't have to pick 1 tier one ride. We were able to go on Soarin and Test Track the same day.
This also must change. There's no reason to limit which rides you can choose per day.
Also, there shouldn't be a restriction on only 1 park per day. I will never buy a park hopper again if this rule stays.
The Magic bands worked great. It opened our room and got us into the parks with no problems.
Parks were crowded as expected.
Weather was in 70's during the day.
Only had a short shower one or two days, except for our last day (Jan 3rd) it rained almost the whole day.
We had some great meals: Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner, Crystal Palace for breakfast, BOG for lunch, Boma for breakfast, "Ohana's for dinner and Coral Reef for dinner.
Everyone loved BOG for lunch. I had made a FP+ reservation in advance.
I had the turkey sandwich. It was good not great but at least it was hot. We ate in the ballroom. It was beautiful.
Dinner at 'Ohana's was by far everyone's favorite meal. All of the food was great and there was lots of it. We had he best server, Kalani. He was great! He made the meal even better.
We liked it so much, we decided to go there for breakfast. The food was ok but our server was horrible. When we 1st arrived she came around with juice but didn't have enough for everyone. We had 5 in our party and 2 of us literally got about a tablespoon of juice. She never said let me get you some more juice. We had to ask her a few times for more juice. About 10 minutes later, someone else brings out the platter of food (without the waffles or fruit). So now we have some of the food but nothing to drink. No juice or coffee.
After the food I gone she finally comes back with more juice and asks if anyone wants coffee. I was the only one, so she asks me if I want cream too. I say yes. She comes back with coffee but no cream. I ask her if we can have waffles. She comes back later with the cream for the coffee and syrup for the waffles but no waffles or fruit.
I remind her again about the waffles and fruit. I ask the guy who brought us the platter for waffles. About 10 minutes later he comes back with the waffles.
Our waitress finally shows up again with a small plate of fruit. I asked her for more of everything, which she eventually brought.
We took a lot of pictures with Lilo, Stich, Pluto and Mickey.
It goes to show you how a server can make or break a meal.
It was the 1st time we had seen the new Fantasyland area. I though it was very good. I also liked the Ariel ride.
We spent New Year's Eve at EPCOT. It was great. We had a great dinner at the Coral Reef (sat next o the tank) and had ice cream in France. The ice cream was excellent. Illuminations was awesome as always plus there were additional fireworks for New Years.
It was 3 year since we were last there and everyone had a great time !
:mickey:
Donald Duck