Port Orleans Riverside Q&A Thread 2013, Part One (Please read first post for FAQs!)

[ssleblanc]

Originally Posted by Missytara

Garden view, you should have not trouble getting close to the food court and main building in either Acadian House or Magnolia Terrace; just add it to your reservation.

Narcossess' is at the GF.

I did an 8 day, all resorts, no parks trip solo at POR one year and had a blast. I spent a lot of time at the resorts and DTD; which I love - I am a big shopper and love hanging out at bars, so Raglan Road, Paradiso 37, and RFC were great places to just hang out.

I also spent a lot of time by the quiet pool relaxing and reading; I actually read 4 books that week.

I had Garden View in Magnolia Terrace and it wasn't too bad of a walk, though Acadian House would be a bit closer to the bridge.

I love the quiet pool between Magnolia Terrace and Acadian House. I wish I had spent more time there.

[Missytara]

Originally Posted by firstwdw

Silly but curious question: Those two big towers that say Port Orleans by the River that you can see from Andre's live feed.....are they supposed to be water towers? some kind of silo?? I know it's part of the theming and I've read up on portorleans.org...I know I should know this. I feel silly! Clearly, I'm not from the South!

Yes; it is the old style water towers.

[Missytara]

Originally Posted by ssleblanc

I had Garden View in Magnolia Terrace and it wasn't too bad of a walk, though Acadian House would be a bit closer to the bridge.

I love the quiet pool between Magnolia Terrace and Acadian House. I wish I had spent more time there.

I love, love, love the quiet pool there. It is my favorite. It is the screensaver on my computer at work.

A girl's gotta dream.

[Diznotyzed]

Three days to go and the tummy butterflies have arrived!

Checklist:
* Checked out a book from the library for on the plane and by the pool.
* Bought a new pocket sized camera.
* Actually bought a new swim suit with no tears involved!
* Went to buy healthy snacks for the plane and bought M&Ms instead.
* Dug out my goofy looking swim googles so I can wear my contacts on the water slides.
* Got a pedicure since my toes will actually see the light of day for the first time in months. My toes are as excited as I am.

Thought I was all set to start packing, but now I have a strong urge to go out and buy new underwear. Anyone else feel like you have to have new undies anytime you go on vacation?

Can't wait to be there!

[ssleblanc]

Originally Posted by alhurricane

How is the bus wait situation at POR? We will have our own car. Is it best to park on our own or use the bus system, especially at MK?

The bus was actually very hit or miss for us. We were there 2/7-2/15. The worst I experienced at the end of the day was the night of 2/7. It was MK after Wishes (we didn't rush out, but lingered about before heading for the bus). POR had the longest line of all of the stops under that roof. The line looped through the queue and then back past two other stops. As you headed for stop 5 (POR's stop), you didn't realize that the masses of people that you were passing starting at stop 3 were for POR. When you fought through the crowds to reach 5, you realized that all of the people you'd just fought to get through were actually in the same line you needed. Then, you had to fight to get back to 3, through the line of standing people, plus the swarm of people heading for 5 (I made a point to let people passing me know that if they were going to POR, the line was behind them - no one told me as I was headed that way). During that time, POFQ line was virtually empty yet several POFQ buses came and we saw no POR bus. I saw more than one POFQ bus leave, with no one standing. I should have just jumped on their bus and walked back to POR. I probably would have gotten back to the resort faster.

After that experience, I was really a bit worried about my 8:05 CP reservation the next morning. So, we took a cab. It was $20 and I probably would have been better off waiting for a bus, when you add in the monorail from TTC.

The only other time I had a bad wait was the morning of 2/11. We were going to AK (which had EMH ... which was probably part of the problem - everyone else was going to AK too). It took about 45 to 50 minutes to get on a bus. When we did, it was packed/standing room only (I realize we are not guaranteed a seat), and the bus still left behind about 30 people who were trying to get to AK. During the time we waited, we saw several full AK buses drive by, full, and many many MK and Epcot buses. The Transportation CM who was at our stop (South Depot/3rd Stop) was great. He kept calling in for a bus, stressing that there were a lot of people who had been waiting for a long time. They would tell him a bus was on the way, but it would show up mostly full. They just didn't seem prepared to handle the increased crowds going to AK for morning EMH. We basically missed EMH by the time we got there. I didn't plan for such a long bus wait. The second day we went to AK, I just drove (we were also leaving that day and had checked out/had the car packed with luggage).

Those two bus waits/rides were not pleasant, and had me worried about the POR bus horror stories I'd read. But the rest of the week it was not nearly as bad. I do think that next time I'm at POR, I will go to the first stop/North Depot in the morning. That is the first stop and there seemed to be a better chance of getting a spot on the bus at the first stop.

[ssleblanc]

Originally Posted by Missytara

I love, love, love the quiet pool there. It is my favorite. It is the screensaver on my computer at work.

A girl's gotta dream.

That quiet pool made doing laundry pleasant!

[Chuckers]

Well, I really wanted a preferred room so I could be in building 14 or 15, unfortunately, Preferred Rooms were either all sold out or not part of the savings deal going on... but then I realized that a King Bed is the same upgrade price as a Preferred.. so I booked that.

I know it doesn't guarantee me a spot in building 14 or 15, but I have a better chance of getting into one of the preferred buildings. Plus, I have a king bed! WOOT!

I asked for placement in 14 or 15 when I talked to the CM on the phone, but before I leave, I'll fax in a request for any of the 4 preferred buildings.

Of course that's still 70 days away... and I DON'T WANT TO WAIT!

P.S. I noticed on PortOrleans.org it says King Bed rooms are a max occupancy of 2, does that mean the fold down bed is not there? (I don't need it and I am hoping it's not there)

[scrappinggirl]

Originally Posted by Diznotyzed

Three days to go and the tummy butterflies have arrived!

Checklist:
* Checked out a book from the library for on the plane and by the pool.
* Bought a new pocket sized camera.
* Actually bought a new swim suit with no tears involved!
* Went to buy healthy snacks for the plane and bought M&Ms instead.
* Dug out my goofy looking swim googles so I can wear my contacts on the water slides.
* Got a pedicure since my toes will actually see the light of day for the first time in months. My toes are as excited as I am.

Thought I was all set to start packing, but now I have a strong urge to go out and buy new underwear. Anyone else feel like you have to have new undies anytime you go on vacation?

Can't wait to be there!

Did u get anything special on ur toes like Mickey? I was thinking about it what color did u go with?

[wdwmaw]

Originally Posted by Venomhatch

Start my single digit dance tomorrow!!! Congrats to your family!

Hope you have a great trip with a little magic for your family

[Diznotyzed]

Originally Posted by scrappinggirl

Did u get anything special on ur toes like Mickey? I was thinking about it what color did u go with?

Nothing Disneyesque, but I did go with a bright deep pink in honor of Spring flowers!

[Venomhatch]

Originally Posted by wdwmaw

Hope you have a great trip with a little magic for your family

Thanks we started our single digit dance and thank you for you magic wishes

[kandim]

Originally Posted by ssleblanc

The bus was actually very hit or miss for us. We were there 2/7-2/15. The worst I experienced at the end of the day was the night of 2/7. It was MK after Wishes (we didn't rush out, but lingered about before heading for the bus). POR had the longest line of all of the stops under that roof. The line looped through the queue and then back past two other stops. As you headed for stop 5 (POR's stop), you didn't realize that the masses of people that you were passing starting at stop 3 were for POR. When you fought through the crowds to reach 5, you realized that all of the people you'd just fought to get through were actually in the same line you needed. Then, you had to fight to get back to 3, through the line of standing people, plus the swarm of people heading for 5 (I made a point to let people passing me know that if they were going to POR, the line was behind them - no one told me as I was headed that way). During that time, POFQ line was virtually empty yet several POFQ buses came and we saw no POR bus. I saw more than one POFQ bus leave, with no one standing. I should have just jumped on their bus and walked back to POR. I probably would have gotten back to the resort faster.

After that experience, I was really a bit worried about my 8:05 CP reservation the next morning. So, we took a cab. It was $20 and I probably would have been better off waiting for a bus, when you add in the monorail from TTC.

The only other time I had a bad wait was the morning of 2/11. We were going to AK (which had EMH ... which was probably part of the problem - everyone else was going to AK too). It took about 45 to 50 minutes to get on a bus. When we did, it was packed/standing room only (I realize we are not guaranteed a seat), and the bus still left behind about 30 people who were trying to get to AK. During the time we waited, we saw several full AK buses drive by, full, and many many MK and Epcot buses. The Transportation CM who was at our stop (South Depot/3rd Stop) was great. He kept calling in for a bus, stressing that there were a lot of people who had been waiting for a long time. They would tell him a bus was on the way, but it would show up mostly full. They just didn't seem prepared to handle the increased crowds going to AK for morning EMH. We basically missed EMH by the time we got there. I didn't plan for such a long bus wait. The second day we went to AK, I just drove (we were also leaving that day and had checked out/had the car packed with luggage).

Those two bus waits/rides were not pleasant, and had me worried about the POR bus horror stories I'd read. But the rest of the week it was not nearly as bad. I do think that next time I'm at POR, I will go to the first stop/North Depot in the morning. That is the first stop and there seemed to be a better chance of getting a spot on the bus at the first stop.

We were there 1/30-2/8 and had the same experience with the bus to MK our first day there. i had rented a car so we drove after that. We have previously stayed in All Stars several times & the buses weren't that bad. But then, everyone's opinion on the buses seems to differ.

[ZeroMyHero]

Just paid off our upcoming trip - only 44 days to go. This thread and portorleans.org have been amazing resources to help me plan our first visit to POR. Thank you!

[andrewilley]

Originally Posted by Chuckers

P.S. I noticed on PortOrleans.org it says King Bed rooms are a max occupancy of 2, does that mean the fold down bed is not there? (I don't need it and I am hoping it's not there)

Yes the banquette bench with the fold-down bed is there in King Bed AB rooms too. But at present they don't have any options to allow 3 people to book one.

Andre

[kungaloosh22]

Originally Posted by Missytara

I did an 8 day, all resorts, no parks trip solo at POR one year and had a blast. I spent a lot of time at the resorts and DTD; which I love - I am a big shopper and love hanging out at bars, so Raglan Road, Paradiso 37, and RFC were great places to just hang out.

I also spent a lot of time by the quiet pool relaxing and reading; I actually read 4 books that week.

That sounds really nice. I think I need to put something like this on my bucket list.