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

[lovingeire]

Originally Posted by boocake

I have seen some info on other threads that the bus service at POR is not very good. I'm going in January with my 5 year old (just him and myself), and I am so nervous about this for some reason. I think once we are inside the parks, the waiting for rides and stuff will be tolerable, but I am nervous about him waiting in the mornings to get on the bus (the anticipation of getting to the park itself) and whether or not he'll be able to deal. I know kids do this stuff ALL the time, but I've never done Disney transportation so I'm just overly nervous I guess.

Is it true that bus service at other resorts tends to be better with less waiting?

We only stayed one night at POR but found the bus service to be pretty decent! (We were at AoA for a week before this final night that I got free from work.) I would request a room near transportation. We were in Alligator bayou iChat near the east bus stop. It took us a minute to get there. We maybe waited 10 minutes to get on the bus to MK. (We checked in that morning and saw a bus go by as we were in the the parking lot unloading.) we had hardly any wait for our ride home from Epcot that night. Our location was far away from the lobby/quick service but convenient to buses at least!

Oh and I have a two year old who is very active & antsy and he was very good waiting on the buses!

[boocake]

Originally Posted by lovingeire

We only stayed one night at POR but found the bus service to be pretty decent! (We were at AoA for a week before this final night that I got free from work.) I would request a room near transportation. We were in Alligator bayou iChat near the east bus stop. It took us a minute to get there. We maybe waited 10 minutes to get on the bus to MK. (We checked in that morning and saw a bus go by as we were in the the parking lot unloading.) we had hardly any wait for our ride home from Epcot that night. Our location was far away from the lobby/quick service but convenient to buses at least!

Oh and I have a two year old who is very active & antsy and he was very good waiting on the buses!

Thanks!! Very reassuring. I think it's a great idea to request a room near the busses!!

I have another question. I read somewhere else (and of course now I can't remember where) that it would be VERY difficult to make a 7:35AM reservation at Chef Mickey's from POR (or most of the resorts for that matter). Can anyone vouch for that? I'm leaning toward taking a cab that day anyway just because that's reaaaaaally early!

[ScoMar]

Originally Posted by GATORinaZ28

That's it right there! Take in Disney and enjoy! I try to enjoy my time there regardless of what's is going on.

I agree! Especially with so much bad going on in the world today! There has been so much sadness around us recently; a classmate of our high school age kids passed away, my aunt is very sick from going through chemo and radiation for lung cancer, the CT school shootings....I am ready to have some happy times with my family. I will have all the people effected by these tragedies in the back of my mind always, but am really looking forward to just being with family and taking it all in.

Thank you to all the wonderful people on this board for providing such helpful info about POR! I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

[lovingeire]

Originally Posted by boocake

Thanks!! Very reassuring. I think it's a great idea to request a room near the busses!!

I have another question. I read somewhere else (and of course now I can't remember where) that it would be VERY difficult to make a 7:35AM reservation at Chef Mickey's from POR (or most of the resorts for that matter). Can anyone vouch for that? I'm leaning toward taking a cab that day anyway just because that's reaaaaaally early!

The only thing that I think could be problematic is when the buses start running. I old call POR and check on that. I thought they started running at 6, but I'm not sure what time they would make it to POR for the first pick up. We had 9:30am ressies at CM after checking in and had plenty of time to check out of AoA. Drive to POR, check in. U load some bags, wait for the bus to MK and walk over to Contemporary. It probably took about half an hour for the bus & walk to CR since we had to wait for a bus.

[Mom2six]

Originally Posted by boocake

I would 100% agree with this if it were just me, but 5 year olds are not exactly known for their ability to sit back and smell the roses...much less while waiting to go to DISNEYWORLD for the first time in their life...

LOL. I love to sit back and enjoy the Disney atmosphere - but that's mostly after the kids are sleeping. They aren't much for sitting back when so full of excitement in the morning - now at the end of the long day, I can barely get them out of their seats/bed to go brush their teeth!

[vtownpatty]

For the most part, bus service was decent. We did discover on our last couple of days that bus service seemed faster from the depot near the front desk. Not sure if this is always the rule, but an idea to keep in mind...

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[MeggyK]

Heading to POR in 10 days with the kids as their Christmas surprise. So excited! I staying in a manor building alone for the Prinicess half marathon in Feb and stayed in POFQ with the kids in June.
This time we are trying the the Royal Rooms. We aren't arriving until late on Jan 1st. Probably will be about 9:30pm by the time we arrive. I'd love to send in a request for Oak Manor (to be slightly closer to the bus stops/main building). I realize that by checking in so late, we'll just be given whatever is left, but should I still try to make a request? Faxing seems to be the best option, correct?

Thanks in advance for any input. I love everything about Port Orleans. Can't wait to be there again!!

[cjsm&d]

Originally Posted by boocake

Thanks!! Very reassuring. I think it's a great idea to request a room near the busses!!

I have another question. I read somewhere else (and of course now I can't remember where) that it would be VERY difficult to make a 7:35AM reservation at Chef Mickey's from POR (or most of the resorts for that matter). Can anyone vouch for that? I'm leaning toward taking a cab that day anyway just because that's reaaaaaally early!

Take a cab! We do Kona Cafe for breakfast once each trip right around that time. We always take a cab. Just makes it much less stressful IMO.

I hope that your going on your MK day because then it really works out nice, hopping on the monorail after breakfast.



As far as the bus service, we have not had any issues at eithe POR or POFQ, but we are in full vaca mode when we are there and do not mind a 10 minute wait (My DS never had a problem waiting for a bus, even when he was 4 or 5)

[Mom2six]

Originally Posted by MeggyK

Heading to POR in 10 days with the kids as their Christmas surprise. So excited! I staying in a manor building alone for the Prinicess half marathon in Feb and stayed in POFQ with the kids in June.
This time we are trying the the Royal Rooms. We aren't arriving until late on Jan 1st. Probably will be about 9:30pm by the time we arrive. I'd love to send in a request for Oak Manor (to be slightly closer to the bus stops/main building). I realize that by checking in so late, we'll just be given whatever is left, but should I still try to make a request? Faxing seems to be the best option, correct?

Thanks in advance for any input. I love everything about Port Orleans. Can't wait to be there again!!

I don't know about faxing, but I wanted to say have a great trip. What an exciting Christmas surprise! The Royal Rooms look very cool - I love the faucets.

[andrewilley]

Originally Posted by MeggyK

I'd love to send in a request for Oak Manor (to be slightly closer to the bus stops/main building). I realize that by checking in so late, we'll just be given whatever is left, but should I still try to make a request? Faxing seems to be the best option, correct?

Yes, that's the best option. I'd suggest making sure your request is in your original booking too first, and then fax the resort about 3-5 days before you arrive (and mention your late checkin time, and your concerns about room choices being gone by then). See www.portorleans.org/room-requests.php for more info.

Originally Posted by lovingeire

The only thing that I think could be problematic is when the buses start running.

The first buses start at around 6:30am, and each park's full service starts about an hour before park opening. There are meant to be special buses which will get you to your character breakfasts, but honestly at that time of day (and given that you're going to be spending a good amount of $$$ on the meal anyway) I think I'd just get a taxi, should only be around $15 or so. Worth it just for the peace of mind.

Andre

[andrewilley]

Well Christmas is almost upon us, and for those guests spending a bit of time relaxing away from the parks there will be lots of fun and games at both Port Orleans resorts. As I mentioned previously, there are musical groups entertaining everyone in the lobbies daily in the run-up to the big day, and on Christmas Eve your kids (oh alright, the adults too) can meet with Disney characters at both resorts in the morning, and Santa will be making a special appearance at the Riverside Lobby in the evening.

For the rest of the regular monthly activities, please see http://www.portorleans.org/recreatio...s-schedule.php

Andre

[boocake]

Originally Posted by cjsm&d

Take a cab! We do Kona Cafe for breakfast once each trip right around that time. We always take a cab. Just makes it much less stressful IMO.

I hope that your going on your MK day because then it really works out nice, hopping on the monorail after breakfast.



As far as the bus service, we have not had any issues at eithe POR or POFQ, but we are in full vaca mode when we are there and do not mind a 10 minute wait (My DS never had a problem waiting for a bus, even when he was 4 or 5)

Yes that is our MK day - our first day in the parks, I am so excited - wake up for breakfast with Mickey and get to the park early enough for opening (well, close to opening anyway, I don't mind if we don't quite make rope drop). I think I will take a cab that day and do busses the rest of the trip. Thanks for the advice!!

[wdwmaw]

We have been at POR 2 full days now, this is our 18th trip and we have stayed at several resorts from value to deluxe. I hate to say it but so far the bussing is lacking. Actually never seen bussing like it before. We are at the south depot and keep hearing others complain about the busses. Have never seen two busses pull up at the same time, each time one bus has pulled away empty. Will update as much as I can an hope it does get better.

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[SeniorPrincess]

We stayed at POR from Dec. 10-18 and everything exceeded our expectations. The bus service worked well during our time period. We used south terminal always since we did see full buses passing by the outer POR stops. Never had a wait of over 15 minutes and usually not that long. Did have to stand on some evening buses after fireworks but sort of expected that.
We had a Riverview Royal Room in Parterre. Were initially concerned about distance from things, but the few extra steps to our Parterre building turned out to be no big deal. We had a great view and lots of privacy and quiet since there is no bridge traffic or pool noise over there!
We especially enjoyed the deluxe furnishings in the Royal Room, which gave us that magical Disney feeling. And we loved the spacious grounds at POR, which made me prefer this resort to the more expensive WL where I have stayed previously! Walked over to FQ several times just to enjoy footpaths and the river. Their dining hall is much less hectic also, plus those beignets!
One thing I had not read about previous to our visit was that you can see fireworks from the foot bridge at about 9:30 p.m. at night. Not sure where they are at--MK maybe? But it added a nice touch to the end of a magical day in the parks.
Happy holidays and hope you all enjoy POR as much!

[bluejasmine]

Just returned from a week stay! Was awesome resort is beautiful! Miss it already but we have a trip for sept booked at POFQ for sept!

ASMU/POR Dec 16-22, 2012 & POFQ Sept 8-15, 2013