My Trip Report
Posted: December 15th, 2015, 12:24 pm
This was my first Disney trip in over 20 years. I traveled with my best friend and her three kids ages 22, 18 and 14, as well as a fiance and a girlfriend. That makes seven people and I would not do THAT again!
We stayed at the FQ for five nights and did the whole "Disney Experience" including the Magical Express, the 3 day park hopper and the quick meal service plan.
1. Magical Express. NOT so magical for us/me. We did not receive the yellow luggage tags to alert the collecters of the luggage to know we were Magical Expressers but when you walk through the airport to the Magical Express area, they stop you for your first Magic Band swipe (SO exciting! lol). At that point we told them our luggage was not marked but they said no problem and scanned our baggage claim stickers and assured us they would collect our luggage and bring it to the hotel. We proceeded outside only to find out that my ECV (I use my own electric mobility scooter) cannot be put onto the but with me ON it and I could never had made it up the bus stairs. After much back and forth, they sent a special van that was able to take all 7 of us with me staying on my scooter. If you are using what Disney calls an ECV, make plans according to your ability to move without the scooter in advance! Though to be honest, this didn't help us on the way back. I arranged for the same van through the Magical Express people the night before leaving but the next day, no one knew what I was talking about and they ended up sending two cabs for us. The cab my friend and I took got us there no problem, but the cab that her two kids and their significant others took actually charged them for the tolls and $75 for the ride, which one of them paid. ( we are trying to have Magical Express people cancel that payment). The other thing we did not know about the Magical Express Service is that you do not get your luggage for 3 to 5 hours after landing. We arrived at the hotel after 10pm, so none of us had sleepwear or toiletries. Then we found out that they never picked up our luggage because of not having the yellow tags! After that was discovered, we did get the bags very quickly.
2. Checking In. All our plans were made through a travel agent at AAA. We reserved two rooms, requesting that they be adjoining. One would be for the two couples and the other for me, my friend and her son. However, because it was "easier", the reservations were made where my friend and her three kids (all same last name) were to be in one room and the fiance, the girlfriend and I were to be in the other. You might think - so what, just make the sleeping arrangements you want, right? Except the magic bands are also tied to your room! So my friend and her son weren't able to get into my room and the fiance and gf weren't able to get into their rooms. But you still might be thinking, so what, the rooms are adjoining, right? But NOPE! Adjacent? Nope! The rooms were in different buildings!!! We found the first room, which did have an adjoining room, it just wasn't OUR room. We spent several minutes trying to find the other room and finally figured out it was in the next building. We decided we would work with it because it was now 11pm but we would talk to them in the morning. When I went to the concierge the next day, all he would say was that there was no guarantee that adjoining or adjacent rooms can be granted. I went over with him several times that not only weren't we next to them, but we were in a different building, but he just gave me attitude. I was getting really angry. To be honest, had he apologized for the situation, I would have been placated. Just for his to say "I'm sorry this happened but we are fully booked and at the moment there's nothing I can do but if something changes, we will let you know", would have appeased me. But he would NOT own the "mistake". This left me quite unhappy.
3. Packages. We had the Quick Meal plan for our stay but were worried that with three growing "boys" (ages 22, 18 & 14), they would cost us a fortune in food not on the plan. So we took the advice of someone on a trip planning site and we ordered a large box of food stuffs from Amazon. Amazon guaranteed delivery on Monday, which was fine with us since we were getting in late on Sunday night. On Monday morning, after trying to get some gratification about our room, I inquired about my delivery. They told me there were no packages for me at that time. While at Magic Kingdom, I received an email from Amazon saying our package had been delivered at 2pm. Back to the FQ at 5pm and I am told there is no package. I tell them there IS a package, it was delivered at 2pm. THAT'S when they tell me that all packages go to a central processing center first, then get delivered to the individual resorts. We did not receive the package until Tuesday evening. I thought this was a ridiculous amount of time to get a package.
4. The Resort. I found the rooms to be nice and comfortable. I was in a handicap accessible room and the bathroom, with its roll in shower, was quite spacious. We were on the corner of the building, facing the garden/pool and a walk way. The weather was nice and when you left the room, walking (rolling!) to the main building and the transportation stations was really very nice. The lobby was decorated with festive Mardi Gras themed Christmas trees and other swag and we took pictures of everything!
5. The Dining Area. I cannot say ONE BAD THING about the "Sassagoula Floatworks" dining area. There are four stations serving food plus self serve areas for salads, fruits, and beverages. The Quick Service Meal Plan was excellent and worked out well for us. What they don't tell you, and took us a few days to figure out, is that your two meals each day include the meal, dessert and a drink. And you already have your refillable cup, which is a Godsend! So if you went for breakfast, you could get your meal (choosing from pancakes, waffles, a huge breakfast bowl, bagels & eggs etc), plus a bottle of orange juice AND a dessert which you can carry out and save as a snack for later. Then you get a snack, then another meal of main entree, beverage and dessert and STILL another snack! NONE of us were hungry for food at any point. We barely touched the big box of snacks I had ordered AND on our last day, we each had 6 meals left on our plan just before leaving. Each meal credit can be turned into THREE snack credits! So we went to the gift shop and we both chose 18 snack items (pretzels, candy bars, lollipops, chips etc) EACH to take home with us!
All in all, despite some problems with the Magical Express and the room situation, I would stay at the Port Orleans FQ again.
We stayed at the FQ for five nights and did the whole "Disney Experience" including the Magical Express, the 3 day park hopper and the quick meal service plan.
1. Magical Express. NOT so magical for us/me. We did not receive the yellow luggage tags to alert the collecters of the luggage to know we were Magical Expressers but when you walk through the airport to the Magical Express area, they stop you for your first Magic Band swipe (SO exciting! lol). At that point we told them our luggage was not marked but they said no problem and scanned our baggage claim stickers and assured us they would collect our luggage and bring it to the hotel. We proceeded outside only to find out that my ECV (I use my own electric mobility scooter) cannot be put onto the but with me ON it and I could never had made it up the bus stairs. After much back and forth, they sent a special van that was able to take all 7 of us with me staying on my scooter. If you are using what Disney calls an ECV, make plans according to your ability to move without the scooter in advance! Though to be honest, this didn't help us on the way back. I arranged for the same van through the Magical Express people the night before leaving but the next day, no one knew what I was talking about and they ended up sending two cabs for us. The cab my friend and I took got us there no problem, but the cab that her two kids and their significant others took actually charged them for the tolls and $75 for the ride, which one of them paid. ( we are trying to have Magical Express people cancel that payment). The other thing we did not know about the Magical Express Service is that you do not get your luggage for 3 to 5 hours after landing. We arrived at the hotel after 10pm, so none of us had sleepwear or toiletries. Then we found out that they never picked up our luggage because of not having the yellow tags! After that was discovered, we did get the bags very quickly.
2. Checking In. All our plans were made through a travel agent at AAA. We reserved two rooms, requesting that they be adjoining. One would be for the two couples and the other for me, my friend and her son. However, because it was "easier", the reservations were made where my friend and her three kids (all same last name) were to be in one room and the fiance, the girlfriend and I were to be in the other. You might think - so what, just make the sleeping arrangements you want, right? Except the magic bands are also tied to your room! So my friend and her son weren't able to get into my room and the fiance and gf weren't able to get into their rooms. But you still might be thinking, so what, the rooms are adjoining, right? But NOPE! Adjacent? Nope! The rooms were in different buildings!!! We found the first room, which did have an adjoining room, it just wasn't OUR room. We spent several minutes trying to find the other room and finally figured out it was in the next building. We decided we would work with it because it was now 11pm but we would talk to them in the morning. When I went to the concierge the next day, all he would say was that there was no guarantee that adjoining or adjacent rooms can be granted. I went over with him several times that not only weren't we next to them, but we were in a different building, but he just gave me attitude. I was getting really angry. To be honest, had he apologized for the situation, I would have been placated. Just for his to say "I'm sorry this happened but we are fully booked and at the moment there's nothing I can do but if something changes, we will let you know", would have appeased me. But he would NOT own the "mistake". This left me quite unhappy.
3. Packages. We had the Quick Meal plan for our stay but were worried that with three growing "boys" (ages 22, 18 & 14), they would cost us a fortune in food not on the plan. So we took the advice of someone on a trip planning site and we ordered a large box of food stuffs from Amazon. Amazon guaranteed delivery on Monday, which was fine with us since we were getting in late on Sunday night. On Monday morning, after trying to get some gratification about our room, I inquired about my delivery. They told me there were no packages for me at that time. While at Magic Kingdom, I received an email from Amazon saying our package had been delivered at 2pm. Back to the FQ at 5pm and I am told there is no package. I tell them there IS a package, it was delivered at 2pm. THAT'S when they tell me that all packages go to a central processing center first, then get delivered to the individual resorts. We did not receive the package until Tuesday evening. I thought this was a ridiculous amount of time to get a package.
4. The Resort. I found the rooms to be nice and comfortable. I was in a handicap accessible room and the bathroom, with its roll in shower, was quite spacious. We were on the corner of the building, facing the garden/pool and a walk way. The weather was nice and when you left the room, walking (rolling!) to the main building and the transportation stations was really very nice. The lobby was decorated with festive Mardi Gras themed Christmas trees and other swag and we took pictures of everything!
5. The Dining Area. I cannot say ONE BAD THING about the "Sassagoula Floatworks" dining area. There are four stations serving food plus self serve areas for salads, fruits, and beverages. The Quick Service Meal Plan was excellent and worked out well for us. What they don't tell you, and took us a few days to figure out, is that your two meals each day include the meal, dessert and a drink. And you already have your refillable cup, which is a Godsend! So if you went for breakfast, you could get your meal (choosing from pancakes, waffles, a huge breakfast bowl, bagels & eggs etc), plus a bottle of orange juice AND a dessert which you can carry out and save as a snack for later. Then you get a snack, then another meal of main entree, beverage and dessert and STILL another snack! NONE of us were hungry for food at any point. We barely touched the big box of snacks I had ordered AND on our last day, we each had 6 meals left on our plan just before leaving. Each meal credit can be turned into THREE snack credits! So we went to the gift shop and we both chose 18 snack items (pretzels, candy bars, lollipops, chips etc) EACH to take home with us!
All in all, despite some problems with the Magical Express and the room situation, I would stay at the Port Orleans FQ again.