Alligator Bayou, Magnolia, or Royal--which to stay in at POR?

[spritna]

We stayed in oct. Requested mansion bldg, second floor. Ended up ab first floor. Asked to change and they couldnt do it. Hated ab. Will not stay at por anymore cause unless you get a royal room, there is a 50% chance you will be at ab if you request mansion. Someone on the boards who works there verified that yes a request is just that and there is a chance you will be at ab. Come to think of it this cm got really ill, i hope they are having a full recovery.

 

[nkereina]

There are buildings in AB that are much further away than any building in Magnolia Bend. We've stayed in both Acadian House and Magnolia Terrace, and they were equal distance to the main pool and buildings - very close. Just a walk over a bridge, and around the pool to the main buildings. Easy. The Royal Rooms have a similar set-up, also across a bridge and up the path to the main buildings. Royal Rooms are a further walk to the main pool, though. Also, Royal Rooms take up 50% of the mansion buildings now, so there are less other room types in the mansions to go around. If the mansions are important to you, book a Royal Room to guarantee it.

We used to not care for the AB rooms decor but they have brightened it up since, so it's much more appealing. No elevators in AB, if that's a concern.

 

[dansdad]

We stayed in oct. Requested mansion bldg, second floor. Ended up ab first floor. Asked to change and they couldnt do it. Hated ab. Will not stay at por anymore cause unless you get a royal room, there is a 50% chance you will be at ab if you request mansion. Someone on the boards who works there verified that yes a request is just that and there is a chance you will be at ab. Come to think of it this cm got really ill, i hope they are having a full recovery.

Actually, if you don't book a Royal Room you only have a 40% chance of getting a room in MB. There are 512 non Royal Rooms in MB. There are 768 non-preferred rooms in AB.

 

[samsteele]

I stayed in AB Bldg 14 with a young niece some years ago before the room update and before it was preferred. It was ideal for the bus - a very, very short walk - and we loved the grounds. I doubt if I would pay extra for a preferred room now just for pure convenience unless I truly needed it or was traveling with someone who did. Definitely check out pics online and there is a great site that has been around for many, many years: unofficial port orleans resort. It has lots of reviews, up to date pics and news/happenings. I relied on it extensively before my visit and found it invaluable. Enjoy the resort!

 

[Fantabulously Cherry]

I'm not sure which section we stayed in, I think AB. We got the king bed we requested and we are pretty close to the first bus stop. A little bit of a walk to the food court, but we didn't mind with all the beautiful scenery.

 

[BradyBrenMom]

Everyone's advice has been invaluable! If it were just my DH and sons, we would be happy with anywhere in the resort. After watching the you tube videos of the updated AB rooms, I felt much more positively about them. Since Mom is coming with us and I'm not sure how much stamina she'll have left with all the chemo, because she wanted a more quiet spot than the buildings right by the main pool and food court, we ended up changing our reservations to Royal Garden rooms. Now that that is taken care of, it's on to planning meals and activities around my sister's wedding at the Boardwalk! It will be the first time that the two families meet, so very exciting

 

[DizDaD7]

We're heading to Disney in October and planning to stay at POR--I just can't make up my mind about which section to stay in. I like the magnolia bend room styles best, but DH pointed out that those are the farthest from the main buildings. I'm just not wild about the rustic look of the AB rooms from the pics I've seen but the 3 other members of my family (all guys) think I'm being silly. It actually made me think about reserving a Royal Room just to have some girly theming!! Can those who have stayed at POR give me some advice? Is it silly to look at room design over location? What would you recommend?

1st off ........ to the Disboards, 2ndly we absolutely loved our location in Magnolia Bend..So close to everything....

 

[Sue M]

Hate to say it but your DH is wrong. Most mansion rooms are quite close to main amenities. We love the mansion section, and request a room close to foot bridge. On the map you'll see both Acadian House & Magnolia Terrace have sections very close to Old Man Island bridge. So you're close to everything. And I prefer the East or North bus depot over the crowded main depot.
In January we were in a RR in Oak Manor, again close to that foot bridge. Not as close to main pool, but very close to main building & boat dock.

Must add, when we had a River view close to Old Man Island bridge in Acadian House, you couldn't hear any main pool noise.

 

[buzznina]

Since you mentioned your mother I would then suggest to pay for preferred location and definately request a ground floor room. All AB buildings do NOT have any elevators, so you do not need your mom dealing with stairs every day.

 

[Hi Pluto]

I love the look of the Magnolia bend rooms, but I know my 5 year old will LOVE the fold down murphy bed and the alligator theming so I am looking at AB for that reason.

Now, if my son was older and in not such an "everything is still so magical" stage, then I would consider being selfish and going for the "pretty" room.

~Cari~

 

[michelleiada]

We loved the theming in Alligator Bayou. It's very Disney and fun!

 

[Juliet25]

I've stayed in both; AB most recently. It was beautiful. Not at all rustic really. I would say "lush" is the more apt description. I'm not a morning person, but waking up and walking over to the mill when it was still slightly dark was absolutely magical.

 

[DizDaD7]

There's no doubt that this place is awesome..No matter which place you stay in.....Everything about it SCREAMSDisney.

If anything is a negative, and a slight one at that, is the bus service. But other than this We love POR, just a step behind CSR....

 

[maxiesmom]

I have to remind you that while you can request a location, it is not guaranteed you will get it, unless it is a paid for room type. I have been denied my requests at POR twice now.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

Since you mentioned your mother I would then suggest to pay for preferred location and definately request a ground floor room. All AB buildings do NOT have any elevators, so you do not need your mom dealing with stairs every day.

.

I agree. We have stayed in a garden view AB room an a standard view RR. We all liked the AB room better. The furniture in the RR is larger which makes the room feel smaller. And because we had a standard view room, we were all the way in the back of our building, so we were not any closer to the pool or lobby. For the amount of the upgrade, I would pay for a preferred room.

 

[5dizneynutz]

I guess we are the only ones...but we HATED the Royal Rooms!! Our room was FAR from the food court, the decor is gaudy and the fireworks headboard lost its appeal after pressing the button the first time. We love the AB section and requested it again for that trip but was upgraded to the RR. Because it was an upgrade, I felt bad declining but after 2 nights of the long trek to a room we didn't even like, we asked to be moved to AB. We were much happier after that!!

 

[IndianaRRT]

We just got back a few weeks ago after our RR stay. Our room as fantastic-- I loved all the little touches. We stayed in a standard view Oak Manor RR. It was a very short walk to the East Depot (our room faced the parking lot so all we did was walk out the door and over to the depot) which we discovered was the "last" pickup about 90% of the time when we were headed to a park, so we didn't have to ride all the way around again before we left the property. We also had a very reasonable and beautiful walk to Riverside Mill for drink refills and/or meals. And it was very quiet! 5 stars from me!

 

[scoobydooby]

I like AB rooms the best and the more wild outdoor vibe in that part of the resort. We always book a preferred room there. Building 14 is soooo convenient we loved it. I didn't find it to be at all noisy. I had read it was but it wasn't and we were there 14 nights. The best preferred rooms though IMO in the AB section face the quiet pool in that area. But that's because we like to be as close to a quiet pool as possible.

 

[Disneytwinsmom]

Considering surprising my family with a royal room. For those of you that have stayed in them, are they all located in the same building? Which the best area to request?

 

[dansdad]

Considering surprising my family with a royal room. For those of you that have stayed in them, are they all located in the same building? Which the best area to request?

They are in the Magnolia Bend section in Parterre Place (Building 95) and in Oak Manor (Building 90). See the map in the link below, they are the red buildings.

http://www.portorleans.org/room-requests.php