Just back from POR

[Coloradomom]

We just got back from POR last night, after being there since 10/26. We've stayed there the last 4 years and love it and this year was no exception.

We (me, DH, DS17 and DD13) had connecting rooms in building 35 (3521 and 3522).This was a perfect location..we were just steps from the West Depot, right around the corner from a quiet pool, and just a short and pretty walk from the main pool and food court.
We had a wonderful housekeeper, Lillian, who did the most creative things with the wide array of stuffed animals we had.

Interestingly, when we checked in the CM mentioned the resort was sold out, yet it did not feel that way at all.The main pool was never overcrowded, nor was the food court. Bus service was great..almost every time a bus for our location was there within 10 minutes. And returning from the parks was fine too....there were only a few times, such as after Fantasmic, where people had to stand.

The parks were not crowded at all, except yesterday (11/2). Even for the most popular rides, there was not more than a 10 minute wait. If there was, we used Fast Pass when available. However we also are not at the parks in the mid-afternoon..we usually leave by 2 or so. Epcot was fairly crowded in the evenings due to the Food and Wine Festival,but not unreasonable.

If anyone has any questions, just let me know.

 

[goofy4tink]

Hi ColoradoMom. Glad to hear you had such a good time. That was our bldg. on our first trip. Some think it is too far out, but we liked it. Would do it again in a heartbeat but the family wants to try other resorts after staying at POR twice in a row!! I'l certainly miss going in late Oct/early Nov. Love it at this time. But have to go during the summer this time. But, again, I'm glad to hear things haven't changed at POR since our last stay.

 

[Jillpie]

Thanks for your post. I love POR! Did you hear any talk of the pool renovation at all? Is it still in January? Did you do the early entry to the parks and how did that work out?

 

[Coloradomom]

Jillpie - the bridge at the pool is blocked off, and there is lattice fencing so that you cannot swim from one part(the slide part) to the other side (the waterfall side). Other than that everything was as usual. We did not ask specifically about the upcoming renovations.

We did EE on Sunday at MK, that was the only time we did it. We wanted to sleep in some on this trip so we skipped the other EE days. However, we arrived at the parks a little bit before opening each day, and that seemed to give us plenty of time to do the parks without crowds. When we were there, all the parks opened at 9 so we tried to get to the bus stop around 8:20 each day which gave us plenty of time to catch the bus, go through the security check at the park, and get to the rope drop area before the park opened. This worked really well for us.

 

[JulesMom]

Welcome Back!

Glad to hear you had a fun time.

We stayed at PO-R in June for our 2nd time. We had a blast! I didn't think I would like AB rooms, but I liked it better than the mansions!

 

[hallie]

I'm happy to hear you had a great time!!

We are heading to the POR at the end of the month-YAY! Did you request a certain building in advance?

 

[Coloradomom]

Hallie- the only things we requested were medically necessary non smoking (DD has severe asthma) and the connecting rooms were guaranteed because of the kid's ages. We have found in the past that making requests does not seem to make much of a difference..every time we had requested a certain building we did not get it. And, we have been pretty happy with our other locations over the years (last year bldg 34, year before that Magnolia Terrace, and year before that building 39 which was probably our least favorite but still ok.

You will love it there!

 

[hallie]

Thanks for the reply!! The only thing we really need is the non-smoking so I think I'll just request that at check in and see what happens. Probably best, since I can't decide between the mansions and AB anyway-lol.