British Family just returned from POR

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dianewillmore
Posts: 1
Joined: November 4th, 2013, 8:16 am

British Family just returned from POR

Unread post by dianewillmore »

We have just returned from POR and had a great stay. POR is lovely, very well laid out and picturesque. We were given Magic Bands and they worked very well, giving us access to the room, parks, dining and shopping and Fast Pass+. It was good not having to get our room card out every time we needed to enter a park or buy something. We registered with Disney before arrival and customised our bands and ordered Fast Passes for almost every day. This was a real bonus, as we booked Fastpasses for the most popular rides and were also able to get ticketed Fastpasses in the parks. We were in a preferred room building 18 Alligator Bayou and it was a great location, less than 5 minutes walk from the main buildings and the South bus stop. It was very quiet we never heard any noise at night and it was also next to a small swimming pool and coin operated laundry (machine to change notes to coins is located up the corner by the driers). We used the refillable mugs every morning for tea/coffee then one of us returned to the room with the mugs and then met the others at the bus stop, (there was a short cut across the car park). We also used the mugs to fill water bottles with iced water to take to the parks. (Tip: Quick service counters in Disney will also give you free iced water on request). Rooms were nicely decorated with comfortable beds and twin wash basins in curtained off area for privacy. However, if you are from UK and therefore probably staying for 2 weeks, there is very little in the way of storage, only 3 drawers under the drop down bed and about 6 coat hangers (we took about 10 of our own, hung everything we could up and just put underwear in the drawers). Breakfast in the food court is very busy after 7.45 am. British people should ask at the till for Twinings tea bags. Oatmeal (porridge) made with water is a good healthy option, and you can make it more palatable with various toppings: strawberries, raspberries, cranberries, granola, seeds, banana chips and brown sugar. My husband enjoyed the omelette counter, where you can choose various fillings such as peppers, onions, cheese, mushrooms etc. Boatwrights Restaurant was also very good. Entertainer in the bar very good from Wednesday to Saturday.
Concierge will cash travellers cheques. Note for young British adults wanting to drink alcohol in WDW, they are very strict in the bars and restaurants and every time our children (aged 25 and 27) wanted a drink, they insisted on seeing their passports, they would not accept their driving licences.
Disney Dining Plan is only worth doing if you had it free as part of your holiday deal, or you are big eaters and want a dessert and soft drink at both lunch and dinner and will eat one snack every day. The portions are large especially the desserts, if we weren't on the plan we would have shared a dessert between 2 or 3 people. You have to pay extra for appetisers, sides and alcoholic drinks and tips which Disney give suggestions which are 18% or 20%. If you don't use the soft drink, then you can ask for a bottle of water to take back to the room or the park. If you have 2 rooms, this is a pain as they give you 2 lots of receipts and as you have about 3 receipts already, this makes 6 receipts, very confusing! We got wise to this and took it in turns to order meals so all meals were on one room.

No problem with the buses, we waited on average 5- 10 minutes, the advantage with the South bus stop is that early in the morning the buses do not call at the other stops at the resort, they go straight to their destination - saving time. We noted that the buses seemed to arrive approx the same time every morning, so we were able to time it for a minimum wait. It is important to go to the parks early to beat the crowds. It took about 15 - 20 minutes to the parks. We chose to eat most of our evening meals at either Downtown Disney or Epcot, as they are easiest to get to on buses. Magic Kingdom hotel resorts are also quite easy to get to, but other hotels like Animal Kingdom lodge take ages, so we ended up getting a taxi - about $20 each way.

Boats to Downtown Disney are a nice option, but they only take half the number of passengers as they have to leave space for guests from French Quarter, so sometimes you have to wait for next boat, but they do run about every 8 minutes, the journey takes about 20 minutes.
We would stay at POR again :)
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reader562
Posts: 6
Joined: November 2nd, 2013, 1:26 am

Re: British Family just returned from POR

Unread post by reader562 »

What a wonderful trip report!! Thanks for all of the great information.
I also love the "Brit writing". :D
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Admin
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Joined: September 11th, 2008, 6:44 am
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Re: British Family just returned from POR

Unread post by Admin »

Thanks for the report, sounds like you had a great time. Building 18 is a great location, nice and central for everything but not too noisy in terms of foot-traffic.

I agree about the free Dining Plan being good value, but not so much if you have to pay for it. Luckily, as Brits, we get the DDP free with packages for most of the year, rather than the short off-season periods that the US offers.

Thanks for the Support donation too, much appreciated for helping to keep the site running costs down.

Andre
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reader562
Posts: 6
Joined: November 2nd, 2013, 1:26 am

Re: British Family just returned from POR

Unread post by reader562 »

I completely agree about dining. We're getting the Stay, play, dine deal so the cost per day is less than we would've spent no matter how cheaply we ate.
Now that I've made ADRs and looked at some other menus, I have no idea how we'll eat all the food. We NEVER get dessert with meals; I hope we can have it to go!
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grumpybearchemo
Posts: 47
Joined: April 14th, 2011, 12:01 pm

Re: British Family just returned from POR

Unread post by grumpybearchemo »

Just a tip, don't bother bringing coat hangers all the way from home, using up valuable space in your suitcases, just call mouse keeping and ask for some, it won't cost anything. I do it everytime, coming for 2 weeks from uk, I don't have room for such things in my case, but I do bring a pop up laundry basket and put it in bin at end of holiday.
disney2015
Posts: 1
Joined: May 1st, 2014, 2:54 pm

Re: British Family just returned from POR

Unread post by disney2015 »

What a wonderful post! I'm just deciding on POR and this convinced me. ;)
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MardiGroggy
Posts: 290
Joined: August 11th, 2013, 10:30 am
Location: North Florida

Re: British Family just returned from POR

Unread post by MardiGroggy »

Thanks for sharing. It is always interesting, and helpful, to hear about other peoples visits.
MardiGroggy
Aka: Steve

"Laissez les bons temps rouler!"
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