Port Orleans Riverside Q&A Thread 2014 (Please read first post for FAQs!)

[Sue M]

Hi

I just booked a AAA room at POR a couple of months ago. I went through Disney. However, the discount is now 15% at least for the moderates.

When I got my 20% it was in January value season.

 

[Sue M]

Hi

I just booked a AAA room at POR a couple of months ago. I went through Disney. However, the discount is now 15% at least for the moderates.

It depends how far ahead you booked, and what season. I've noticed this with other hotels too, the further ahead you book, in some instances the AAA discount is higher.

A few months ago I booked my (Marriott) hotel for airport and got a great AAA discount for August. I checked back and now the % is lower.

 

[Sue M]

I heard they no longer offer AAA discounts but I can't say for sure.

That would be sad! For room only, that is usually the best (& only) discount for FQ!

 

[DL55]

This is my first time posting to this site. What a wonderful wealth of information on all things Disney! We are staying at PO Riverside in early May and have reserved a Garden View Room. My daughter's boyfriend (both are coming with us) is proposing to her just before we go so we can celebrate their engagement while at the most magical place on earth! He is actually making a B&B Enchanted Rose to put the ring in (daughter is a huge B&B fan). What a romantic!

My question is, if I send in a nice fax, how can I hint around at possibly getting an upgrade to a Royal Room to celebrate their "Princess" engagement? I would love to surprise them with a Royal Room when we arrive, but my funds are limited and I am hoping to get some magic pixie dust on our trip. This is my future son-in-law's first trip to Disney as well.

Thanks for any guidance you can provide!

to the DIS!

You can mention the engagement, won't hurt. Just don't be disappointed if there is no extra pixie dust. It is still a great resort and everyone will have a great time.

 

[lahobbs4]

Thank you for this thread! We stayed at AKL two years ago, and then tried POP last year. Holy regret!! Hoping to push that far from our minds after we try POR this year!

We will be booking 2 preferred rooms, but would like for them to be adjoining. I'm reading about faxing this in 5 days before. Pretty sure I would have no idea where to even find a fax machine. Any other way to make requests (that will be seen)?

Also, a note on the free dining question. You do NOT have to cancel your reservation and then make a new one in order to get free dining (if it becomes offered during your stay). Just call and they will add it to your reservation. This is what we did last year.

 

[DrDad]

Greetings from the wonderful Mansion rooms of Riverside.
We arrived last night and I am happy to announce that the Bayou Bloody Mary is all it is aclaimed to be and more! I just had 1 but 1 was enough and *wow* at the spice! Boatwrights Jambalaya however doesnt live up to its reputation. Today was a beautiful 80 degrees with no clouds (even though Mr. Weather Service is still reporting differently) and HS was packed. We are back from that, taking a break as the wife naps and I write to you fine folks about the hazards of a Bloody Mary .
Heading to dinner and then to see Yehaw Bob this evening.
Tomorrow night is the big day for the room decoration that I spoke of earlier. Pictures will be sent the next day.
Oops I have to run I think I hear a Bloody Mary in distress that needs some company. TTFN!

 

[DisneyLover0610]

I have called Disney more for this, short, on a whim trip, than for any other trip I've ever taken!!! I hope they don't mark on my reservation each time I call! I did call today and my Mickey mail is on it's way! Really excited for my first experience at Port Orleans! Thanks everyone for the advice!

 

[siskaren]

1. We will be booking 2 preferred rooms, but would like for them to be adjoining. I'm reading about faxing this in 5 days before. Pretty sure I would have no idea where to even find a fax machine. Any other way to make requests (that will be seen)?

2. Also, a note on the free dining question. You do NOT have to cancel your reservation and then make a new one in order to get free dining (if it becomes offered during your stay). Just call and they will add it to your reservation. This is what we did last year.

1. There's information in the first post of this thread about faxing online.

2. That's not guaranteed though, because there's a limited number of rooms available for any given discount. Also, you do have to cancel if you started out with a room-only reservation because you would have to switch to a package, and for some reason they can't transfer payments for a room-only reservation to a package.

 

[isabelle25]

Greetings from the wonderful Mansion rooms of Riverside.
We arrived last night and I am happy to announce that the Bayou Bloody Mary is all it is aclaimed to be and more! I just had 1 but 1 was enough and *wow* at the spice! Boatwrights Jambalaya however doesnt live up to its reputation. Today was a beautiful 80 degrees with no clouds (even though Mr. Weather Service is still reporting differently) and HS was packed. We are back from that, taking a break as the wife naps and I write to you fine folks about the hazards of a Bloody Mary .
Heading to dinner and then to see Yehaw Bob this evening.
Tomorrow night is the big day for the room decoration that I spoke of earlier. Pictures will be sent the next day.
Oops I have to run I think I hear a Bloody Mary in distress that needs some company. TTFN!

DrDad, say hello to the Mansions for us, hope to have one room there in august !! And good luck with the Bloody Mary in distress)) xxx

 

[csg]

Faxing our room request letter today. We've been planning so long it is hard to believe it is almost time to meet POR.

 

[Venomhatch]

Wow, I have to assume something is up with them emailing me updates on this thread. I dont have any spam from DIS and I missed two pages almost of replies!!!

Well Good morning everyone!

 

[junebug]

Love this very informative thread! My question is if I book a river view room at POR could I be located in alligator bldg 14 even though that is a preferred bldg? And do all preferred buildings have the Murphy bed?

 

[hammie59]

This is my first time posting to this site. What a wonderful wealth of information on all things Disney! We are staying at PO Riverside in early May and have reserved a Garden View Room. My daughter's boyfriend (both are coming with us) is proposing to her just before we go so we can celebrate their engagement while at the most magical place on earth! He is actually making a B&B Enchanted Rose to put the ring in (daughter is a huge B&B fan). What a romantic! My question is, if I send in a nice fax, how can I hint around at possibly getting an upgrade to a Royal Room to celebrate their "Princess" engagement? I would love to surprise them with a Royal Room when we arrive, but my funds are limited and I am hoping to get some magic pixie dust on our trip. This is my future son-in-law's first trip to Disney as well. Thanks for any guidance you can provide!

When you send your FAX, I'd steer clear of any language that appears you're asking for an upgrade. From what I've read, it's the quickest way to not get one. Like someone else said, just mention the engagement. If you have any rm requests, you can tie it all in that way.

We're headed to POR soon, and I also have hope we'll somehow get magically upgraded to a RR, but am not holding my breath in the least. I'll be happy if we get AB, which I requested. But good luck. I hope you get some pixie dust!

 

[hunmcbunny]

Love this very informative thread! My question is if I book a river view room at POR could I be located in alligator bldg 14 even though that is a preferred bldg? And do all preferred buildings have the Murphy bed?

All the preferred buildings are in Alligator Bayou and all rooms in the Alligator Bayou have the murphy beds. As for the other part of your question ... I'm not sure. Riverview and preferred are 2 different catagories. I would PM Andre or Venomhatch for that info.

 

[siskaren]

Love this very informative thread! My question is if I book a river view room at POR could I be located in alligator bldg 14 even though that is a preferred bldg? And do all preferred buildings have the Murphy bed?

According to http://portorleans.org/room-requests.php, there aren't any river view rooms in the preferred buildings.

ETA: OK, I'm confused. On the page I linked it says with regards to preferred rooms, "Views vary and can include parking lot or bayou/stream/garden outlooks — but not pool/river views." However, when you click on the buildings on the map, there are a few rooms in buildings 14 and 27 that are labeled as river view.

 

[snorkelyn]

Love this very informative thread! My question is if I book a river view room at POR could I be located in alligator bldg 14 even though that is a preferred bldg? And do all preferred buildings have the Murphy bed?

There ARE Riverview rooms in the preferred building. Andre's site has maps of each building that indicates room category for every single room.
www.portorleans.org

I only noticed this because my 1st request is Preferred, and my 2nd request is Riverview. So I booked preferred and will request a Riverview room. I'm sending my fax request tomorrow, and I check in on Sunday. I'm hoping I get my requests!

 

[firstwdw]

A few weeks ago I e-mailed Disney about my disappointment of the removal of boat rentals at Port Orleans marina. They called today and basically told me where I could still rent boats and that they didn't know why they were removed. I just said that was a perk of staying at POR and it was much easier to rent a boat on arrival day etc at our own resort rather than having to travel to another place that does rent them. I said that was part of the charm-watching the boats go up and down the river and one of many reasons for staying at POR. I never ever expected a phone call and was just letting them I was disappointed in the removal of the rentals.

 

[andrewilley]

Love this very informative thread! My question is if I book a river view room at POR could I be located in alligator bldg 14 even though that is a preferred bldg? And do all preferred buildings have the Murphy bed?

Correct on both counts. The River View booking category includes a number of rooms in buildings 14 and 27 which overlook the river. However, if you book Preferred Location category, you'll definitely get a room in 14, 15, 18 or 27 - but it will be non-water facing.

So it's perfectly valid to book River View and then request building 14 and still be within the category that you have paid for, but it's not technically within your paid category if you book Preferred Location and then request a view of the water.

When you send your FAX, I'd steer clear of any language that appears you're asking for an upgrade. From what I've read, it's the quickest way to not get one. Like someone else said, just mention the engagement.

If the higher category room was not available when you made the booking then it might be worth mentioning that you'd still prefer a Royal room if any have become available in the meantime.

Explain why it would make your trip perfect, and let them know that you'd be happy to pay the price difference for the upgrade when you check in. (It is unlikely that you would be asked to pay extra, but making the point that you're not just looking for something-for-nothing goes a long way)

Otherwise, it's sort of like ordering a 42" television from the shop and then phoning them to say you can't afford the 55" version, but you'd be really grateful if they'd send one anyway as it's a special occasion.

However, Disney do have a lot more pixie dust than Best Buy...

According to http://portorleans.org/room-requests.php, there aren't any river view rooms in the preferred buildings.

No it doesn't. The River View wording says: "River View rooms can be located in French Quarter buildings 1, 2, 5, 6 and 7, or at Riverside in Alligator Bayou lodges 14, 27 and 38 plus the mansion buildings."

What it does say is that you won't get a view of the river if you book the Preferred Location category, specifically "views vary and can include parking lot or bayou/stream/garden outlooks — but not pool/river views."

Andre

 

[andrewilley]

I've been working on a few ideas to update the user interface at portorleans.org and make it a bit easier to use (also using the screen space better and hopefully making the code more scalable for mobile devices at a later stage). I don't want to turn the site into some ghastly Microsoft-like mess of large mostly-empty square boxes but just to make it a bit more of a pleasant experience without losing the basic look-and-feel.

Anyway, if anyone would like to comment, I've got a few test pages converted. All the menu links go back to the main site if you happen to click on them, but the pages should be suitable for trying out in different browsers, etc.

www.portorleans.org/testmenu.php
www.portorleans.org/testmenu2.php
www.portorleans.org/testmenu3.php (try clicking on items in the questions list)
www.portorleans.org/testmenu4.php
www.portorleans.org/testmenu5.php
www.portorleans.org/testmenu6.php

I'd be interested to know people's thoughts.

Andre

 

[hunmcbunny]

I've been working on a few ideas to update the user interface at portorleans.org and make it a bit easier to use (also using the screen space better and hopefully making the code more scalable for mobile devices at a later stage). I don't want to turn the site into some ghastly Microsoft-like mess of large mostly-empty square boxes but just to make it a bit more of a pleasant experience without losing the basic look-and-feel.

Anyway, if anyone would like to comment, I've got a few test pages converted. All the menu links go back to the main site if you happen to click on them, but the pages should be suitable for trying out in different browsers, etc.

www.portorleans.org/testmenu.php
www.portorleans.org/testmenu2.php
www.portorleans.org/testmenu3.php (try clicking on items in the questions list)
www.portorleans.org/testmenu4.php
www.portorleans.org/testmenu5.php
www.portorleans.org/testmenu6.php

I'd be interested to know people's thoughts.

Andre

I like it...really like. It seems to be more user friendly to me. Thank you!