Port Orleans Riverside???

[hellodisneysunshine]

Whats upppp!? Haha, hey everyone! My family and I are going to WDW in september. We've decided that we LOVE the moderate resorts and that we're staying at POR. This is the only one in this catagory that we haven't stayed it. I've seen some beautiful pictures of the grounds and hear awesome things about this resort. Also, I heard that this resort has the best food court. And since we the QS dining, this was a major plus. What are some other pluses/minuses? How did you like your stay? Bus pick-up locations? Pictures? Anything helps! Thanks

 

[Perditamarie]

I think this resort has a lot of pluses:

* boat to DTD
* lounge w/entertainment
* great store that is well stocked
* beautiful grounds
* carriage ride
* use of 2 pools w/slides, plus many quiet pools
* we were in Alligator Bayou and found it very close to the main bldg and a few bus stops

cons:

* bus stops/buses were always full and it was a bit stressful waiting for an am bus as it felt like there would be a stampede - however, somehow everyone always made it on and it appeard CMs were monitoring to call in more buses

* was not impressed w/food choices...at all. I recommend eating at DTD or the parks

I would check out POFQ - there food court can only be better and they have beignets, and they are first on the bus route.

 

[Hauntedmansion13]

I live port orleans river side. The only bad thing is the wide spread of the houses to the main hub. There are four bus stops and the buses are crowed. West and east are less crowded while north mainly and south are packed. Enjoy your stay

 

[tallen429]

I agree with the PP who said the food court is lacking....I would use the word *sucks*, but that's just me.
Honestly, that was really my only "con".
We had no problem with the spread of buildings or the busses, but we were in a very good room location and we were also there at a slower time so we didn't have long waits or overcrowding.
We REALLY liked all the quiet pools. There was one right by our room. My kids are not strong swimmers nor do they care to be splshed much, so the quiet pools, which we had almost all to ourselves, we heavenly. We did go to the main pool once and it was nice, but we'll stick to the quiet pools.

Another GREAT plus for us was the fabulous lounge with Piano Bob. We were there in late Aug/early Sept and since it was sooo hot during the day, we were pretty wiped out by evening and spent most of our eveings at the lounge. it was great to have a place that was so kid friendly but that adults could enjoy too.
We thought the shop was good and the lobby CMs were terrific.
We used the boat to DTD twice in the evenings and while there are faster ways to get there, the trip was tranquil and enjoyable. Really convenient!

We are staying there again in June and while it wasn't my first choice because we are 5 this time instead of four and I think we'll be cramped, in any other case I would give it a huuuge thumbs up and it's the only Mod I would choose for our family.
HTH!

 

[BabyRN]

We loved POR. We loved taking the boat to DTD. The pools were awesome..if you want to get away from the main pool for a bit, there's plenty of quiet pools scattered all around the resort. Yes, some of the buildings are quite aways away from the food court, but, the walk is so beautiful to get there! I didn't have a problem with the food court there. We took the busses at the West Depot and never had a problem. To be honest, we're staying at the Poly when we go in November and I'm kind of sad that we're not staying at POR, even as a family of 6!

 

[LyndenP]

POR is the only resort I have stayed at as an adult. So far. I love the boat ride. I get lost wondering between the room and the main building. I for one really like their food court. Make your own pasta is great. And my fiance loves the build your own salad. The over all laid back atmosphere is what i enjoy the most.

 

[DisCopper]

If you've stayed at the other mods, and enjoyed them, then I don't see you having any problems at POR. It's actually my favorite of the mods.

It's spread out, sure, but so is Caribbean Beach. I LIKE that they're spread out. One of the reasons I go to Disney is to relax... I always spend time just wandering around the resort.

I've also never had any problems with the bus system, or at the food court. In fact, this is one of the few resorts at Disney where I've had perfect visits. Very little can RUIN my vacation, but even at the Deluxe resorts, I've had things that bugged me. Never had a problem at POR.

 

[SGMCO]

I think POR has one of the Best Food Courts in all of WDW.
If has the Best: Create your own Pasta--SOOOO GOOD!!!
I walked over to POR CS to eat whenever we stayed at POFQ, it was that good.
I think the large size of the resort is a plus because it is quiet and you
don't see as many people. We always caught the bus closest to our
building with no problem--we stayed in Mansions (caught bus at North depot)
There were very few people on the bus, if any but when we would get to
the South depot (main depot) that is where everyone was waiting and it filled up fast.
The Landscaping is beautiful and there are many cute wildlife, like ducks with there ducklings,
rabbits with there babies, water birds, turtles.
Where are also several quiet pools along with several laundry rooms.
I think you will love POR.

 

[auntie]

Whats upppp!? Haha, hey everyone! My family and I are going to WDW in september. We've decided that we LOVE the moderate resorts and that we're staying at POR. This is the only one in this catagory that we haven't stayed it. I've seen some beautiful pictures of the grounds and hear awesome things about this resort. Also, I heard that this resort has the best food court. And since we the QS dining, this was a major plus. What are some other pluses/minuses? How did you like your stay? Bus pick-up locations? Pictures? Anything helps! Thanks

You might want to check out the pictures I posted in this thread regarding our experience at POR..
All I can say is...make sure you request Aligator Bayou, we did so..but they didn't have it available for us. The Magnolia Bend area was in need of refurbishment to say the least. This was November of 2008.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2401227&highlight=por+disgusting


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[MousketeerMary]

We just returned from there, and it is a beautiful resort. However, we were assigned building 34 in Alligator Bayou, and ended up requesting another room in the Mansions due to the noise of the roadway AND getting lost trying to get to our room.( Actually twice - don't ask!!) I knew it was bad when my DH turned to me and said "Now WHY did we decide not to stay at Pop?"

I knew it was big when I booked it, but it was much more spread out that I anticipated. Not a plus when it was raining, and had to go to the food court to eat. And, as mentioned, the food court offerings left much to be desired. The build your own pasta was good. However, my gluten free husband couldn't eat much in the evenings.

As it turned out, our room in Magnolia Terrace was quite near the East bus stop, and we had no bus problems. And the room was blissfully quite, even though we didn't get either the King bed or the "water view" as promised. (And the bed was very comfortable.) Seeing the wildlife was great, and the boat to DTD was peaceful as promised.

Piano Bob in the lounge was a blast, and we would make the trip to see him again. However, I'm not sure it would be my favorite resort, as I anticipated after reading all of the glowing comments on it. Honestly, we had a fantastic time at Pop in December and would go there again. We really don't spend a lot of time in the resort, so a good bed, quiet room (that I can LOCATE, lol) and decent food may be enough for us.

 

[DisCopper]

You might want to check out the pictures I posted in this thread regarding our experience at POR..
All I can say is...make sure you request Aligator Bayou, we did so..but they didn't have it available for us. The Magnolia Bend area was in need of refurbishment to say the least. This was November of 2008.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2401227&highlight=por+disgusting


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Your pictures are horrifying. That's the worst I've seen at Disney (or any other hotel for that matter). I generally don't try to let things ruin my vacation, and, in most cases, I simply would have done what you did and requested to be moved to another resort.

But in this case... wow! I think I would have demanded that the manager come with me to the room and see it. If he wouldn't come, fine. I then would have mailed the photos to the Disney corporate offices and demanded a response. If the manager refused to come to the rooms, I would have mentioned that. I wouldn't stop harassing them until I got some sort of response. Not looking for anything free, but I would have wanted a huge apology from upper-management.

The housekeeper and supervisor who let that pass should be fired. Period.

 

[auntie]

We were refunded the night. I didn't take it any further than that..I probably should have, but we were happy to move on and start enjoying our vacation. As I said, I'm a long time Disney visitor. Only NEVER in 18 years of regularly visiting Disney, have we encountered anything so disgusting. I didn't even post the photos of the soda that had been spilled and dripped down the wall. They didn't even bother to wash it off.

 

[BamaFan121s]

My family loves POR. The main pool is really neat and never really super crowed. (At least not when we've been there.) The food court and bus stops are not far from any location there. The boat ride to DTD is really a nice ride. My favorite thing is that the buses have a quicker route coming FROM the Magic Kingdom--no long routes through the kennels, golf course, etc. The resort is not as compact as the values and not extremely close to the pools, so it is very quiet and peaceful.

 

[Sue M]

We loved POR. We were in Magnolia Terrace, very central location near to quiet and main pool, food and bus stop. I didn't find the bus crowded, but we were there in mid-late Aug.
I thought the food court was good. Lots of variety. Beautiful theming, river walks, horse drawn carriage rides, DTD boat, marina, Evening entertainment- Bob Jacksons show is great. We prefer the mansion section. Easy to get around, and close to amenities.
http://allears.net/acc/faq_dxl.htm

 

[kaffinito]

Whats upppp!? Haha, hey everyone! My family and I are going to WDW in september. We've decided that we LOVE the moderate resorts and that we're staying at POR. This is the only one in this catagory that we haven't stayed it. I've seen some beautiful pictures of the grounds and hear awesome things about this resort. Also, I heard that this resort has the best food court. And since we the QS dining, this was a major plus. What are some other pluses/minuses? How did you like your stay? Bus pick-up locations? Pictures? Anything helps! Thanks

I really loved POR when we stayed there. We didn't have any problem with our room condition - we were in the Alligator Bayou section - and loved the way the resort was set up. The food court was great - it's my second favorite due to the make your own pasta and the wonderful bakery there. We also liked the deli section for the sandwiches.

We also didn't have any problems with the bus service, and thought that it was prompt. It might have helped that we avoided the morning crush to leave though.

There is a photo thread here that will show you some more pics of that beautiful resort. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1730158 Enjoy!

You might want to check out the pictures I posted in this thread regarding our experience at POR..
All I can say is...make sure you request Aligator Bayou, we did so..but they didn't have it available for us. The Magnolia Bend area was in need of refurbishment to say the least. This was November of 2008.

Yuck! Your room was in terrible condition. I'm glad that you were able to get some satisfaction and were able to switch resorts. If you're not happy somewhere then you by all means should switch.

 

[a1tinkfans]

Whats upppp!? Haha, hey everyone! My family and I are going to WDW in september. We've decided that we LOVE the moderate resorts and that we're staying at POR. This is the only one in this catagory that we haven't stayed it. I've seen some beautiful pictures of the grounds and hear awesome things about this resort. Also, I heard that this resort has the best food court. And since we the QS dining, this was a major plus. What are some other pluses/minuses? How did you like your stay? Bus pick-up locations? Pictures? Anything helps! Thanks

My only "suggestion" is to look at a map and see where you'd perhaps like to be and request it. While not guaranteed, they are AMAZING at getting you to that area IMHO. We prefer AB section......
Meanwhile, the resort is great, with a fabulous food court, and a very wide array of foods to choose from...salads, burgers, pizza, bakery, meats, pasta, eggs, and the list goes on and on...There is also a restaurant...Great DTD boat ride, wonderful walking/jogging trails, a great big General Store with all those things you forgot + souvies, a Bar (inside and out) hottub, great pool + quiet pools, laundry facilities and so much more, it really is our second "home" as you can see below
Have a MAGICAL trip