Port Orleans Riverside Q&A Thread 2013, Part Three (NOW CLOSED, see 2014 thread)

[reader562]

I have to update my Sig picture now, but I switched and will be giving POR another chance. I am on the Official dates roster now as 4/4 - 4/12. Not very many April dates yet.

I hope it's as magical for you as it used to be!

 

[madzy]

Yes you can, but the price is still the same. It's catch-and-release.

Andre

Do you know what the price is by any chance?

 

[Alicatt]

In the mill a dessert would be considered anything from the bakery (cakes, cookies, iced coffee, cappuccinos, ice cream etc) or anything non-alcoholic from the market (chips, fruit, a small side salad, a second drink, etc) You can also get soup, fries, or a side of breadsticks as your dessert. Some cashiers will let a side of Mac and cheese work as a dessert, but others won't.

wow that sounds surprisingly lenient. Thanks!

 

[LisaTC]

In the mill a dessert would be considered anything from the bakery (cakes, cookies, iced coffee, cappuccinos, ice cream etc) or anything non-alcoholic from the market (chips, fruit, a small side salad, a second drink, etc) You can also get soup, fries, or a side of breadsticks as your dessert. Some cashiers will let a side of Mac and cheese work as a dessert, but others won't.

I loved getting fruit as my dessert. Sometimes I'd take it back to the room for a snack later or for a quick breakfast. The fruit is great!

 

[andrewilley]

Do you know what the price is by any chance?

$4 per 30 mins per person, but there are family rates too. See http://www.portorleans.org/recreation.php#Fishing

Andre

 

[Venomhatch]

I hope it's as magical for you as it used to be!

If its not I know how to get it taken care of.

 

[Canooknic]

95 hours and we should be checking in!!!!! Or even better already in our room!!! (Everyone please cross their fingers that #2841 is free for me!!!)

 

[princess@heart]

So true! Haha!

I live on the southeast coast where it NEVER snows and they are calling for 8-12 inches Tuesday/Wednesday. Saturday can't come soon enough for me! 6 more days!!

Where are you? I'm in Norfolk, VA. We got about 10 inches where I am on the Chesapeake Bay.

I'll be at POR on Saturday, too!!

 

[PoohBearFriends]

Last little bit of packing tomorrow morning and we are ready to fly to our POR stay at WDW!!!

 

[CableKC]

I am sure that it has been asked and answered about a million times before…..but could you give me the pros and cons of staying at Port Orleans Riverside over Port Orleans French Quarter.

I'm leaning towards Riverside cuz the decor and ambience seems to be more elegant and refined compared to the rich ( but IMHO gaudy ) color theme of French Quarter. But before I make the final plunge….I wanted to make sure that there isn't any other reason to choose one over the other.

 

[andrewilley]

I am sure that it has been asked and answered about a million times before…..but could you give me the pros and cons of staying at Port Orleans Riverside over Port Orleans French Quarter.

I'm leaning towards Riverside cuz the decor and ambience seems to be more elegant and refined compared to the rich ( but IMHO gaudy ) color theme of French Quarter. But before I make the final plunge….I wanted to make sure that there isn't any other reason to choose one over the other.

Rather than a lot of re-typing, here's my general advice on the subject from http://www.portorleans.org/faqs.php#Choice:

I’ve decided I want to stay at one of the Port Orleans resorts — but which one should I choose? Help!

The first thing you need to know is that all of Port Orleans is lovely and you certainly won’t be disappointed with whichever section you finally decide to book. That said, what are the main differences?

Port Orleans French Quarter is relatively small (around 1,000 rooms) and fairly formally laid out with pleasant three-story buildings set along pretty New Orleans styled streets and alleyways. That can make it a bit easier to get around, plus the resort has a very cute dragon themed slide at its pool which some kids really enjoy. The room interior decor is quite fancy and ornate for a Moderate. The resort features one swimming pool, a shop, a food court and a single central bus stop.

Port Orleans Riverside is much bigger (over 2,000 rooms) but also has a lot more facilities — a larger food court and shop, a full table-service restaurant, boat and bike rentals, more activities such as fishing, horse-drawn carriage rides and boat tours, one large feature pool with a longer/faster slide, five more smaller swimming pools, one central and three outlying bus stops, etc.

Port Orleans Riverside is split into two distinct accommodation areas:

• Alligator Bayou: Sixteen two-story lodges (64 rooms in each) sit in a lushly wooded area and are quite spread out, with secluded rooms that have a laid-back rustic theme (with wooden-hewn bedposts and “alligator-skin” patterned carpeting, for example).
• Magnolia Bend: Four much larger mansion buildings (256 rooms in each) are set in more formal ornamental gardens and feature fancier, more flowery room decor — rather more akin to the French Quarter section. This is the only section of Riverside that features elevators, which are located in the central three-story section of each building.

Many people prefer the rather more secluded Alligator Bayou area, but there are also plenty who comment that the rustic theming feels somewhat “basic” and they prefer the comparative plushness of the Magnolia Bend rooms.

If you want to book one of the new themed Royal Guest Rooms, these are all located in the Magnolia Bend section of Port Orleans Riverside, and are a separate booking category (not just a request). Please see the Royal Guest Rooms page for more details.

The actual amenities included inside all of the guest rooms are pretty much the same in all of the sections by the way — see the Rooms page for full details — only the theming of the decor and the fittings changes. The only notable difference is that the Alligator Bayou section contains the only Moderate resort rooms on Disney property to officially sleep five people, as they feature an extra fold-down Murphy bed (approx. 63" x 30") over the banquette bench seat. King Bed rooms in the Alligator Bayou section can sleep three.

Although the bus service is normally shared between the two resorts, French Quarter’s single bus stop can sometimes give time and convenience advantages over Riverside’s four stops, especially at busy times or when separate services are being run for each resort. At very busy times it is not uncommon to hear of buses arriving at Riverside with standing room only after having already picked up at French Quarter. When this happens Disney quickly add extra buses to the route, but some guests can be inconvenienced in the meantime.

If you still can’t decide, perhaps it would help to boil the choice down to a really simple one: French Quarter is smaller and more intimate but with less facilities, whereas Riverside is larger but with much more to see and do.

Personally, as I get asked this a lot and for what it’s worth, I prefer Riverside over French Quarter for the wider range of facilities and more varied and lush environment. I’ve stayed many times in both of its sections, and although Alligator Bayou was my ‘first love’, I now enjoy alternating with Magnolia Bend on different trips, as both areas have their own unique charms. Proximity to other features (main building, bus stops, pools, etc) is probably a bigger consideration for me than mansions vs. bayou.

At the end of the day, bear all of the above in mind and then just choose whichever theme appeals to you most — you really won’t be disappointed either way! Oh, and don’t forget that whichever you do finally choose, you can always stroll over to the other resort in around ten minutes and make use of all the facilities there.

Andre

 

[Nurse_Mommy4]

Say a guest has a R/O at POR, then checks out and two days later has a Two week package at FQ. Is it possible to have some luggage sent over to FQ when they check out of POR? Would they hold it for two days until the guest checked in at FQ?

 

[Yellowstonetim]

I am sure that it has been asked and answered about a million times before…..but could you give me the pros and cons of staying at Port Orleans Riverside over Port Orleans French Quarter.

I'm leaning towards Riverside cuz the decor and ambience seems to be more elegant and refined compared to the rich ( but IMHO gaudy ) color theme of French Quarter. But before I make the final plunge….I wanted to make sure that there isn't any other reason to choose one over the other.

Walking, that is the one major difference. POR is absolutely gorgeous but far more spread out. We stayed at POR and our adult kids stayed at POFQ. Both were very nice, but the one difference was the amount of walking at POR. But I too think it is far more beautiful than any other resort.

 

[asa disney]

I have a similar question to Nurse_Mommy4. We will be staying at POR from March 20th until checking out on the 23rd to go on a Disney Dream Cruise. On March 27th, we will be checking back in to POR for 5 more nights. Is it possible, if we consolidate luggage for the four day cruise, to leave some luggage behind with bell services until we return on the 27th?
Second question, having two stays in a short period of time, should we fax our room request for both stays at the same time but on separate faxes. I'm concerned that faxing the request for the second stay at the same time as the request for the first stay will be too far out from the second stay check-in, though.

 

[ILoveMMouse]

I have a similar question to Nurse_Mommy4. We will be staying at POR from March 20th until checking out on the 23rd to go on a Disney Dream Cruise. On March 27th, we will be checking back in to POR for 5 more nights. Is it possible, if we consolidate luggage for the four day cruise, to leave some luggage behind with bell services until we return on the 27th?
Second question, having two stays in a short period of time, should we fax our room request for both stays at the same time but on separate faxes. I'm concerned that faxing the request for the second stay at the same time as the request for the first stay will be too far out from the second stay check-in, though.

Yes, we did this in August We stayed for 9 nights at POR and then returned for 1 night at AoA after our cruise. Because we stayed at WDW for so long, we did have a lot of bags and didn't want to lug stuff that we didn't need on to the cruise. We spoke to Bell Services and they said it was not a problem, they could put our bags into long term storage for us. They even transferred them over to AoA so that they were waiting there for us when we arrived back after the cruise.

 

[maplevale]

Can I try and get a room upgrade when I check in? (Paid - full or discounted price).....I know it would be based on availability of said rooms. Right now we have a Gardenview room (??) and I want to see when we get there is any Royal Rooms are available and what it would cost (at that point in time).

Any chance they offer them for discounts if there are rooms available for the duration of your stay?

(We are booked on the Stay-Play-Dine deal if it makes a difference)

 

[Venomhatch]

Can I try and get a room upgrade when I check in? (Paid - full or discounted price).....I know it would be based on availability of said rooms. Right now we have a Gardenview room (??) and I want to see when we get there is any Royal Rooms are available and what it would cost (at that point in time).

Any chance they offer them for discounts if there are rooms available for the duration of your stay?

(We are booked on the Stay-Play-Dine deal if it makes a difference)

They may and they may not. I wouldn't be too disappointed if they say no. Your at Disney!

 

[ejayne2]

I just want to give a shout out to Venomhatch! I had an issue with my stay at POR and Venomhatch gave me a contact name at Disney. I have finally gotten my problem acknowledged and the issue now makes sense. Thanks Venomhatch for the contact name and all the info you share on the board.

 

[Venomhatch]

I just want to give a shout out to Venomhatch! I had an issue with my stay at POR and Venomhatch gave me a contact name at Disney. I have finally gotten my problem acknowledged and the issue now makes sense. Thanks Venomhatch for the contact name and all the info you share on the board.

Its our job as CMs to make sure your as happy as possible with your visit as can be. Again I am very sorry to hear about it.

Your very welcome!

 

[asa disney]

Yes, we did this in August We stayed for 9 nights at POR and then returned for 1 night at AoA after our cruise. Because we stayed at WDW for so long, we did have a lot of bags and didn't want to lug stuff that we didn't need on to the cruise. We spoke to Bell Services and they said it was not a problem, they could put our bags into long term storage for us. They even transferred them over to AoA so that they were waiting there for us when we arrived back after the cruise.

Thanks for the info.

Does either Venomhatch or Andre have an opinion about the faxing question from my previous post?