Any tips, all tips welcome!

[nicole48040]

My family (myself 32, husband, son 11yrs., daughter 6yrs.) are going to florida in November for a wedding and have decided to extend the trip with a disneyworld family vacation. We are staying at POR nov. 15th thru the 22nd. This is my whole family's first time flying. Any tips on POR, airline packing, park tips, etc. will be greatly appreciated. We also are on the dining plan so any ideas on that would be great too.

[Jumpin'JiminyCricket]

I'll take a stab at it, POR is a good moderate hotel, it's pretty spread out, prepare to walk a lot. It's nice and green, don't know how green it will be in Nov. but it has nice theming. The rooms are OK, nothing special, as some have said before me, and I will echo, you should avoid moderates unless you have a specific desire to stay in one, you don't really get anything more except a coffee maker than you do over a value. The buses at POR are like everywhere else, hit or miss.

Being on the dining plan with everyone else will be fun, we're going in Sept. and Canada was booked up the whole time we were there, allegedly, so get on those reservations soon if you haven't already. Most of the best food is in Epcot, but don't overlook the hotels for dinner as well, Kona in Poly is a really good place to eat, one of our new favs.

The airport stuff is a breeze, do the magical express it's nice and easy. Make sure you bring both shorts and jackets, it''s cold one day, hot the next.

You will be there plenty long enough to do everything, so no need to rush. Just remember WDW is where the magic happens, so don't fight it and worry about stuff, like how much things cost, sleep, etc. Attitude is everything, so let the magic and childhood memories wash over you at the front gate and you will smile the entire time. Enjoy.

[mrsgaribaldi]

I'll take the airline part. There is a restriction on carry on liquids. You can have a one quart zip lock bag with 3 ounce containers of liquid only for carry on. Whatever you can fit in the bag you can bring in the carry on. One quart ziplock bag per person. Make sure you pack the majority of liquids in the luggage you are going to check. I always put mine in alot of plastic bags and baggies in case they leak during the flight nothing will get wet.
In November it may be warm in Florida or cold. Bring some clothes for both types of weather.
Make sure you make ADRs too. The free dining has made it impossible to walk into places now.

to Intercot

[LouRodriGIS]

We stayed at POR last April. I actually disagree with a previous post. I thought POR, as a moderate, had a lot more to offer then the values we have stayed at and was worth the extra price for:

* Larger room with two sinks and bigger wash/bath areas
* Table service restaurant
* Piano bar which we loved
* Bike/jogging path that I used every day...gorgeous scenery
* GREAT themed pool - one of the best in WDW
* Although we didn't use it there is a boat ride to Downtown Disney
* Fishing and other water sports

[sainter]

Ditto to what LouRodriGIS said!!

[pshokie]

Back to the airline front, since this is your first time flying....

If you do not need an item on the plane or immediately when you get to the hotel, pack it in your checked bags. It just makes life a whole lot simpler.

Also, little things should not trigger the metal detection alrams, but sometimes they do. So I would avoid wearing any unnecessary jewlery, belts, watches, etc. Like I said, they should not trigger, but since this is your first flight ever, I am trying to eliminate some of the un-needed stress (in this case personnal searches).

Wear loose fiting shoes that are easy to slip off and slip on. IMHO, people at airports are more stressed than they are anywhere else (what with security and planes to catch). So they tend to be impatient and pushy. What ever gets you "through the line" quicker will decrease your own personnal stress. The screening section does not stop moving. So if you "overly-burdened" by things (like shoes), people will push past you. So keep it simple. On your next flight, you can adjust accordningly.

Good Luck!

[maizey05]

I actually think the rooms are decent sized and pretty nice. Sure, it's not The Four Seasons, but I'm sure that's not what your were expecting anyway. POR Riverside connects to PORFQ, which is neat. (I actually stayed at POFQ.). We enjoyed to boat to DTD. The theming at this resort is my fave of all the moderates. This resort seems the most Disneyish (of the moderates) IMHO. Maybe because it reminds me of New Orleans Square in DLR. It is a really beautiful walk along the waterway. We thought the bus system was super and never had any problems. If you get over to POFQ, have a beignet for me, please! Magical Express makes things really easy, as you don't have to worry about baggage claim. As for the dining plan. It is a huge savings. Just for fun, save all your reciepts from meals. Add it all up and see how much you've saved. I think between DH and I, we saved $100 just in the first 4 days! Most importantly, have fun there with your family!

[PetefromRI]

I have to agree with most of the other posters.We think a moderate is much nicer than values.Values aren't bad but mods are better.POR is a real nice resort with a nice food court.The pools are fun and there's a good sized arcade.You'll have a great time here and 8 days is a good length Disney trip.Great time of year as far as crowds go although the closer you get to TG the busier it gets.The weather should be decent but bring a jacket and long pants just in case.The food plan is awesome,if I had a complaint it would be that they give you to much food!!!As far as airlines go,give SouthWest a shot if they fly from your area,don't book as soon as dates are released,give it a few weeks or so and the rates usually drop.

[tinksmom02]

We stayed at POR last April. I actually disagree with a previous post. I thought POR, as a moderate, had a lot more to offer then the values we have stayed at and was worth the extra price for:

* Larger room with two sinks and bigger wash/bath areas
* Table service restaurant
* Piano bar which we loved
* Bike/jogging path that I used every day...gorgeous scenery
* GREAT themed pool - one of the best in WDW
* Although we didn't use it there is a boat ride to Downtown Disney
* Fishing and other water sports

Ditto that, plus:
You get a fridge in the room, too, and I think they charge $10/day if you want a room in a value.

[julieunruly]

Our family (me, hubby, DS (7), DD (4) flew for the first time two years ago on our first family trip to WDW. My tips:

1) Pack outfits (shorts, shirt, socks, etc.) for each day in large ziplock bags. Keeps them from being scattered about if rifled through by airport staff and also when you get to hotel, you can just take ziplock bag out of suitcase and put in dresser drawer at hotel).

2) Take along an activity (coloring book, gameboy, etc. to occupy kids during flight).

3) Tell airline stewardess this is your first time flying and they'll give your kids a First Flight Certificate. Also, for us, once they knew it was our first time flying, they seemed to show us a little extra attention.

4) Make sure you take the boat ride at POR. We stayed at POFQ and rode the boat to Boatwright's for dinner at POR and then back to POFQ afterwards. Very enjoyable. BTW-Boatwright's is a great place to eat.

5) MAKE ADR'S NOW, if you haven't already!!! (Some of our fav's-Ohana's, Princess Dinner at Norway, Boma's, Hoopdee Doo Review, Le Cellier).

6) Renting the stroller really came in handy for us. We had 2 backpacks with us (loaded and heavy) and we rented a double stroller and my daughter sat on one side and the backpacks sat on the other. This year my daughter will be 6 and still seriously considering renting the stroller in case she gets tired and a place to keep the backpack. BTW-make sure you pack a little first aid kit in your backpack. I used mine twice on our trip!

7) If you go to AK-Lion King Show, try to get an early seat down front b/c they pick kids from the audience to be in the show and if your down front you're more likely to be picked. My daughter was picked and she was in heaven. Also, at AK, do the Safari ride first b/c the animals are out in the morning.

8) HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry so long, just spouting out whatever came to mind. Have a great trip!

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Sept./Oct. '05-POFQ
Nov. '07-Pop Century

[Nicki'sMom]

We stayed at POR last September, and we loved it! Ask for a room in Acadia House. It is right across the footbridge from the pool and a little farther and your at check in and food court. It was a short walk to the bus stop and not a bad ride to Magic Kingdon. The rooms are nice, not to small and nicely decorated. Have a great stay!

[disneymom2000]

I stayed at Magnolia Terrace when I went and we were right next to a bus stop just pass the parking lot. It was a very short walk through the parking lot and down a little path. I was also very close to the big pool and a quiet pool. You can ask to stay in this Mansion when you sign in.
I would also read up on any sections in Info Central tab at the top of this page that you might be interested in. It explains everything from crowd control, dining plan and how to make ADR's, maps and magical express info. It also talks about the median temperatures during your time for the past couple of years or so.

[JCDarzi]

Just a quick note about the Magical Express...It's an awesome service. It's starts the trip out right. You check your luggage in your departure city and it shows up in your room at Port Orleans.

That said, please note that it can take a few hours from the time that you arrive on the bus at the hotel for your luggage to arrive. We arrived around 12:00 pm last year and had a princess dinner booked for 5:00 pm. Princess dress was packed in luggage and we had a very unhappy 3 year old princess. The luggage arrived aroudn 4:00 pm just as we were leaving for our dinner. We put the princess dress on our daughter over her clothes standing in the bus line at the hotel.

Lesson learned...assume that you will not have your luggage for a few hours and pack bathing suits, sun screen, and anything else you will want during your first hours at Disney in your carry-on. I should say that we have also used Magical Express where our luggage has arrived very quickly as well. It probably just depends on crowds and airlines.

[sandeecheeks]

Our first trip to Disney was last October at POR. My tips would be:
1) Get a room in Alligator Bayou if possible as they have a trundle bed (my boy and girl did not want to share a bed and this came in handy!)
2) Wear comfortable shoes - NOT sandals.
3) Use the extra magic hours if possible - I heard some negative things before we went, but we went to the early morning openings anyways and we always just walked onto the rides with no waiting.
4) Eat at off times! Eat lunch and supper early or later than the "normal" time (not at 12:00 and 5:00) and you will save yourself alot of time in lineups. We tried to have lunch at 11:00 and the one or two times we didn't it turned into a nightmare (with two hungry kiddlets) finding a place and waiting in line.
5) Ask for your "This is my 1st Visit Button" and wear it every day! We found staff to be extra helpful, often asking about our 1st visit and what they can do to help, and we also got some extra special treatment on some rides (ie we got ride a second time without waiting again). You can get these when you go to the Information places just inside the gates of any of the parks.
We LOVED POR - hope you have a wonderful trip!