Disney's PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE RESORT Information & Questions

[Wood Nymph]

If this has been asked before, I apologize. Does anyone know the order of the bus stops?

The park buses stop first at the West Depot, then North, East and then South.

 

[klangl6]

The park buses stop first at the West Depot, then North, East and then South.

Thanks. We're trying to figure out which building we would like to request. Right now, we are leaning to building 80 (Acadian).

 

[Lsdolphin]

Apparently dogs will also be riding the Magical Express. Supposedly they are supposed to in cages but I am not sure how that fact will prevent them from barking all the way to the resorts. Or how these cages will fit on a seat. Or most importantly how this will affect those with allergies. I am also not sure how a cage will prevent dog hair from sticking to those fabric seats! Still trying to change my reservation and big surprise, would you believe only POR has rooms available for next week.

 

[Sarahraegraham]

In case anyone was interested, I saw on Facebook that the first dog guests to POR arrived this evening.

 

[andrewilley]

In case anyone was interested, I saw on Facebook that the first dog guests to POR arrived this evening.

I was just about to say that too. Very cute package of goodies supplied, and lovely looking dogs from the photos. The photos were taken in the lobby by the way, so there should at least be an expectation that dogs could be found there while guests are checking in.

Andre

 

[Sammie]

In case anyone was interested, I saw on Facebook that the first dog guests to POR arrived this evening.

What Facebook page?

 

[Sarahraegraham]

What Facebook page?

KennyThePirate Crew

 

[paradesintherain]

Ooooh the first dogs! I hope I get to meet some on my upcoming stay!

 

[Wood Nymph]

KennyThePirate Crew

I don't see anything about POR on their Facebook page.

Could you post a link?

 

[Sarahraegraham]

I don't see anything about POR on their Facebook page.

Could you post a link?

The crew is a private group. You have to be a member to see it

 

[agavegirl1]

Notice...I posted the response I received from an email to guest services with a cc to Bob and George on the information sticky regarding my booked reservation at POR. I am on my phone at my weekend house so can't copy t here. Information from CM phone call within hours of my inquiry...
Dogs are not permitted in preferred rooms and "Disney expects a lot from it's guests re: the rules and the trial can be stopped at any time. I don't have to worry about my allergies and so on. Please check it out if you are interested.

 

[andrewilley]

A copy of the waiver document which guests need to sign when they check dogs in to hotels: http://www.portorleans.org/Disney's-Port-Orleans-Resort-Riverside_Pet-Agreement_13-Oct-2017.pdf

A few interesting new bits of information - accurate for Port Orleans Riverside specifically. Some of these don't seem to tie in very well with details that guest relations have been giving out during phone calls, but the following is what is actually being applied at the resort as of Saturday 21 Oct:

• So far, the room assignment department at Port Orleans Riverside has not been given any specific directions from Walt Disney World management to indicate that they should enforce the accommodation of all dogs into building 24 only, so they are still expecting that existing booking for other room categories will be assigned to one of the original four dog-friendly areas (buildings 15, 24, 80 and 95 on the map). Building 24 will definitely be their preferred choice wherever possible though. For example, if a guest had booked a Royal River View Room room six months ago, and they now state that they wish to bring a dog with them, they will be assigned a room in building 95 close to the originally marked Dog Relief area on the Dog Friendly Locations map.
• Any guest who has expressed a wish to be located away from dogs will be assigned a room as far away as possible from those original four designated areas.
• As far as common areas go, at the moment dogs will be permitted - under control and on leashes - in all common areas of the resort except for Food & Beverage locations (such as Boatwright's Dining Hall, the food court and presumably the River Roost Lounge) and the fenced pool areas. The lobby and even merchandise shop are fine, as are all the public pathways. This policy is covered by the wording in point 12 of the waiver document.
• The maximum seven hour 'alone-time' rule will be mostly left to guests' honesty, but in cases where there is concern the electronic door-lock system can be interrogated remotely to prove how long a room has been left unattended. Similarly, Disney are aware that there may be situations where the required 30-minute return time to attend to a barking dog may potentially be difficult to enforce when guests are away from the hotel.

As before, the information above is correct at the time of posting, but could all change again before long!

Andre

 

[Disneymaddness]

Thanks Andre! I really do appreciate your as up to date as possible reports.

 

[Ensusieasm]

Thank you, Andre, for this update.

I find rule #7 the most interesting:

"7. I agree that I must have a pet carrier available for each pet in case of an emergency and/or if I need to use transportation services."

It would seem that this rule would make it very difficult for a guest bringing two large dogs, as they would have to bring two very large kennels and they really don't constitute a "pet carrier". Do they have pet "carriers" for 90 pound Labrador retrievers? How would a person carry them? This sounds like a size restriction without calling it a size restriction, as does rule #3:

"3. I understand and agree that the hotel retains the right to exclude my pet if, in the hotel's sole discretion, my pet is considered dangerous by reason of size, disposition or is likely to frighten or harm other guests of the hotel. I agree that at all times while on hotel property I will ensure my pet complies with all relevant laws and regulations. I agree that if I do not adhere to these policies, I will be required to board my pet at my own expense."

Which brings up another question. When does the dog owner guest get this document? Prior to arriving at the resort I hope?

 

[Ensusieasm]

Notice...I posted the response I received from an email to guest services with a cc to Bob and George on the information sticky regarding my booked reservation at POR. I am on my phone at my weekend house so can't copy t here. Information from CM phone call within hours of my inquiry...
Dogs are not permitted in preferred rooms and "Disney expects a lot from it's guests re: the rules and the trial can be stopped at any time. I don't have to worry about my allergies and so on. Please check it out if you are interested.

Well, maybe yes and maybe no, about preferred rooms. See Andre's post #7192, as there seems to be an exception.

 

[DLo]

Thanks. We're trying to figure out which building we would like to request. Right now, we are leaning to building 80 (Acadian).

I was in Building 80 in September and liked the location. Close to the North Depot and a short walk to the pool and food court.

 

[dreamseeker9]

Hi all - just back from a great trip at WDW. We had 15 people staying at POR, in 3 Royal Rooms (one of which was a roll-in shower) and 3 non-Royal Rooms. We were all in Buildings 85 and 95. There were some ups and downs - the good far outweighed the bad, but I'll get the bad out of the way first. Some rooms had maintenance issues - doors that didn't open very far, a ceiling peeling in a bathroom, a soap dish missing from a shower with chipped tile. Nothing major, though. Buses were hit and miss. We mostly used the South Depot, and we had a big group with 2 strollers and a scooter, so we sometimes had to wait for the next bus, or even for 2 more buses. In the mornings, we were almost always standing. Coming back from the parks, it seemed like other resorts (especially the All Stars) had many more buses than Riverside. I switched from POR to AOA midway through, pre-planned to be with other friends who arrived. AOA had for MK only the extra-long buses. I don't understand why POR doesn't have those buses, there were definitely enough people to warrant their use.

One more bad experience, and this is more POFQ than POR - my friend's flight was delayed, so she arrived at the Orlando airport around 11:00 PM. She got in line for DME, and people had been in line for almost an hour - apparently, the only DME bus at the airport wasn't working. So Disney put everyone into taxis. She handed her taxi driver her slip of paper with her resort name, but he dropped her off at POFQ. She had never been to either resort and didn't realize it until she called me and said she was in a lobby with a fountain. By this time, it was after midnight. The POFQ front desk CM told her that he wasn't sure if the shuttle bus was still running between the resorts, and made no other offer to help her get over to POR, except to tell her it's walkable. So she walked by herself to POR, with her luggage. I was irate when I found that out, so late at night. I know it's safe, but Disney should have done better.

OK, the good - I love the Royal Rooms, and we were upgraded from standard to garden view. We were in 9525, perfect location for the quiet pool and for the bridge over to the main building. We had just okay service in the lounge, but we had great service at Boatwrights, where we dined twice and really enjoyed both meals. They accommodated our large party well. I wish the pool bar was open past 8:00 PM, we would have gone there more. The main pool is great, as are the quiet pools - we swam in 2 of them. I did laundry one day, and being able to track my machine's time on my phone was terrific. The front desk was always very helpful, including the concierge - I forgot to print out a ticket to Universal's HHN, and they helped me out. The food court is organized chaos at times but is consistently good. I loved the create your own omelet station. The ice cream was also really good, with huge portions! We had big portions at Boatwrights, too, and took leftovers back to our rooms both meals there.

I had a lot of fun pin trading in Fulton's General Store, and the CMs there were really helpful (this was my first trip pin trading).

We enjoyed 2 evenings of taking the boat to Disney Springs and had great captains each time. We had to wait nearly 30 minutes one evening, the line was long to go to DS, but that was okay and was somewhat expected.

One evening, one of our group's little princesses hurt her arm at the playground. I wasn't there, but her grandmother went to the food court for a bag of ice - out came the manager with the ice, checking on her and seeing what they could do to help. She ended up being okay and not having to go to urgent care, thank goodness.

We didn't see any dogs, but the new policy just kicked in our 2nd day there.

I'm happy to answer any questions that anyone has. This board has been a great help with our trip planning, thanks to all!

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Just booked poly for next summer instead of port orleans because of the dog issues! Hope this trial ends with them scrapping it so we can come back the following year.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We checked into POR yesterday and we received our request of a room near the main pool in the dog free area. I asked about dogs at the resort when we checked in and the cast member told me that they have received lots of complaints about the new dog policy. She didn't tell me if there are any dogs here now, though. We walked around the resort and spent a lot of time here yesterday without seeing a single dog. The only dog we saw was in Disney Springs.

 

[andrewilley]

See http://www.portorleans.org/news.php?first=271017 for more info.

Andre