Port Orleans Riverside FAQ thread --- 2012, Part Three --- NOW FULL / CLOSED

[Canooknic]

Any recommendations on getting to Universal from POR?

 

[pigletto]

Okay so really, how bad is it with 6 people in an AB room? 2 adults and 4 children 13, 9, 4 & 1.

2 years ago we stayed at POP (5 of us then) and it was tight, but we were only there 4 nights and were busy busy, so not in the room much. This time we will stay 8-9 nights.

We also had rented a van, so we never used the buses. Am I going to hate the bus? How long does it take to get to each park? I really hate taking strollers on buses, but we will have to.

Room only pricing:
8 nights 9/7-9/15 preferred at POR $1288
8 nights 9/7-9/15 standard at Poly $2535 or BC garden view $2163 or CR garden wing $2275

See my dilemma? WWYD?

I would find that overwhelming personally. In your situation I would look into renting at Bonnett Creek which is conveniently located but would require a car, and could probably be done for cheaper OR do a Fort Wilderness cabin which we did with free dining last summer. It was a great space, room for everyone and a great resort. It also has the bonus of having a full kitchen for some meals which helps and won't cost you as much as any Deluxe.

 

[pigletto]

Any recommendations on getting to Universal from POR?

The Dis used to have a deal with Mears with discounted tickets and a shuttle that brings you there and back. We used it twice and it was a fabulous service at a great price. I can't find right now.. does anyone know if they do it anymore?

Found it..

The info is on this page.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/universal/parkinfo/tickets.html#descriptions

 

[Gorechick]

We love Parterre Place and found it just as convenient to POFQ, main pool, and quiet pool as Oak Manor. Since most guests put in requests for Oak Manor, you may have a better chance of getting any room requests met by asking for Parterre.

 

[5mouseketeersforus]

Why so much love for Oak and not so much for Parterre??

(Asks the mom who has never been to POR but will likely be requesting Oak LOL)

 

[Canooknic]

Much appreciated Piggletto xx

 

[HLAuburn]

Why so much love for Oak and not so much for Parterre??

(Asks the mom who has never been to POR but will likely be requesting Oak LOL)

I think OM is just a little closer to the bridge to cross the river...so technically closer to the main building and the pool. It's also a little closer to the bus stop for that area.

We stayed in PP (before there were Royal Rooms) on the far, back side and I thought the location was fine. When we had stayed at POR before that, we were in AB building 27 and it seemed far away from everything, so even though you have to cross the bridge, we liked the location.

That said - we are staying again next week and I requested OM (just because everyone does!), but I will be prefectly happy with either building.

 

[Venomhatch]

Any recommendations on getting to Universal from POR?

Rent a car or Taxi

Do not quote me on this but Taxis to seaworld and universal are around $30+.

 

[Canooknic]

Thank you my dear xx

 

[Venomhatch]

Okay so really, how bad is it with 6 people in an AB room? 2 adults and 4 children 13, 9, 4 & 1.

2 years ago we stayed at POP (5 of us then) and it was tight, but we were only there 4 nights and were busy busy, so not in the room much. This time we will stay 8-9 nights.

We also had rented a van, so we never used the buses. Am I going to hate the bus? How long does it take to get to each park? I really hate taking strollers on buses, but we will have to.

Room only pricing:
8 nights 9/7-9/15 preferred at POR $1288
8 nights 9/7-9/15 standard at Poly $2535 or BC garden view $2163 or CR garden wing $2275

See my dilemma? WWYD?

I would just go with this: 8 nights 9/7-9/15 standard at Poly $2535

I first hand know that with the guest count you have the room size would more than accommodating that many people moving around and sleeping. Sorry POR I still love you but I have to try and steal this one because of the circumstances.

 

[lucifie]

Okay so really, how bad is it with 6 people in an AB room? 2 adults and 4 children 13, 9, 4 & 1.

If you can wait 2 weeks I can tell you how it worked for us. We're also a family of 6 - 2 adults and 4 kids 9, 7, 4 & 2. I'm dreading being crammed into one room for 6 nights but we decided to give it a shot because (1) It was the cheapest option to stay onsite and (2) it looks lovely and it will be our only chance to stay there until the kids are grown, unless we don't take them (which is not out of the question, but not in the plans for the foreseeable future).

 

[cerberus]

We love Parterre Place and found it just as convenient to POFQ, main pool, and quiet pool as Oak Manor. Since most guests put in requests for Oak Manor, you may have a better chance of getting any room requests met by asking for Parterre.

So if you are in Parterre, is it closer to go to the food court or pool at PORFQ rather than POR??

 

[andrewilley]

So if you are in Paterre, is it closer to go to the food court or pool at PORFQ rather than POR??

POR definitely. See my post from yesterday regarding best-case and worst-case walking distances:

Parterre Place > Food Court: 249 yds / 456 yds
Parterre Place > South Bus Depot: 266 yds / 473 yds
Parterre Place > Ferry Dock: 238 yds / 445 yds

The absolute best-case walk from a Parterre room directly to the back door of the POFQ food court would be about 612 yards - and add about another 200 yards to the worst-case room. The POFQ would be a few yards further still. And that would be from what is otherwise just about the most out-of-the-way room in Riverside, which would be quite some walk to anywhere actually within POR.

It's lovely to do once in a while, but I wouldn't ideally want to walk it every day.

Andre

 

[pigletto]

An update from my earlier post trying to decide between POR or POFQ (for 200 less).

I tried to book online. It was the Disney website so of course it didn't work. I called, and got through right away!!
However, the CM couldn't get the PIN codes to work.
After 45 minutes and transfer to Guest Services I went with POR in a Royal Room and even though there was no standard Royal rooms available online with my promotion, guest services booked me in one
So, in the end, I saved anyway (paid about 30 more than POFQ) and I am thrilled to have everything booked and paid for. All that is left to do is wait.

 

[cerberus]

OK, just for quick-reference purposes, here are the best case / worst case walking distances from ground-floor rooms in the various mansion buildings at POR (as calculated using Google Earth imagery, and taking the best walking routes into account).

Acadian House > Food Court: 307 yds / 499 yds
Acadian House > South Bus Depot: 482 yds / 674 yds
Acadian House > Ferry Dock: 454 yds / 646 yds

Magnolia Terrace > Food Court: 245 yds / 458 yds
Magnolia Terrace > South Bus Depot: 420 yds / 633 yds
Magnolia Terrace > Ferry Dock: 392 yds / 605 yds

Oak Manor > Food Court: 286 yds / 488 yds
Oak Manor > South Bus Depot: 303 yds / 505 yds
Oak Manor > Ferry Dock: 275 yds / 477 yds

Parterre Place > Food Court: 249 yds / 456 yds
Parterre Place > South Bus Depot: 266 yds / 473 yds
Parterre Place > Ferry Dock: 238 yds / 445 yds

Acadian and Magnolia's shortest distances are walked via Ol Man Island, Oak and Parterre's are via the alternative bridge to the south of the marina. The best-case distances are all from River View rooms, the worst-case distances are from Standard or Garden View rooms.

So, based on an average walking speed of 3mph - and assuming you don't get lost or stop to smell the roses en route - that gives the shortest Magnolia Bend walks to the food court as about 2' 45", and the longest ones as 5' 40".

Andre

Totally missed this post!!! You should add this to your website! Thanks!

 

[DevonsDisneyMom]

Very excited, looks like we will be staying at POR for the 1st time in August! Holding off booking for a few more weeks b/c I am hoping Disney will offer free dining for the end of August! Fingers Crossed!

So my question now is this.... After researching I want to request a room in AB building 16 or 17. There are 3A and 1C (age 11) in our party so the extra Murphy bed would be a huge plus. Any idea how I should word the request in the hopes of securing a AB section?

Lastly, looking at pictures of the new rooms in AB, drawer space seems to be really lacking! Any suggestions on how to situate 4 peoples clothes in the room for 10 days? I'm a bit of a clean freaking and I don't want suitcases and clothes scattered all over the place!

 

[PrincessKyleigh]

Mary I wake up every morning thinking about WDW! And my trip is just over 4 months away!

Heather

I'm the same way and we haven't even booked our trip yet. We are either going for Thanksgiving or Christmas, either way it's a long time to wait.

 

[andrewilley]

Totally missed this post!!! You should add this to your website! Thanks!

I plan to, I only did the measuring yesterday. I'll do some other figures and make a table of it.

Andre

 

[andrewilley]

Any idea how I should word the request in the hopes of securing a AB section?

Well I'd probably start with "please can we have a room in the Alligator Bayou section". And then I'd stop. You can always elaborate a bit with your reasons, and let them know how it would make your stay more magical because you love the idea and theme of the AB rooms, the extra pull-down bed being a real draw for you, the lush bayou, etc.

You're right about storage space. You can store four people's clothes in the new AB rooms, but you have to get a bit more creative than you did with the old armoires. It may mean that things get spread out a bit, and you might even want to consider a hanging clothes holder (which you can put over the rail in the washroom area).

Andre

 

[FigmentChick]

mamalovesdis - We did it!!! But with three adults (me, DH, and DMIL) and three kids (11, 10 and 2.5). It wasn't overly uncomfortable. There was room for us all and, boy, do we tend to spread out. LOL I think you'll be fine. Your teenager might not like being "that close" to family, but tell 'em to deal with it.

Hope this helps!