Disney's PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE RESORT Information & Questions

[andrewilley]

The lovely lady I spoke to told me that she was going to preferred river view room does anyone know what building that might be?

I chose the river view with fifth sleeper.

I never can work out quite what Disney CMs mean sometimes.

River View rooms overlook the river, but do not guarantee any particular location (unless you happen to have five people sharing, which guarantees buildings 14, 27 or 38).

Preferred Locations guarantee a building (14, 15, 18 or 27) but only offer standard or garden style views, not river or pool views.

For example, building 14 rooms are classified as follows:

Andre

 

[calngavinsmom]

I never can work out quite what Disney CMs mean sometimes.

River View rooms overlook the river, but do not guarantee any particular location (unless you happen to have five people sharing, which guarantees buildings 14, 27 or 38).

Preferred Locations guarantee a building (14, 15, 18 or 27) but only offer standard or garden style views, not river or pool views.

For example, building 14 rooms are classified as follows:

Andre

Thanks for the illustration Andre. I was confused when the OP posted the "preferred river view". I thought those were two separate bookable categories. CMs can be confusing

 

[chocolateMinnie]

Stayed August 6-21. They were doing exterior work in Magnolia Terrace building 85. They were a pain to be honest and pressure washing from early morning to late afternoon, then repainting the outside areas. Very noisy around the ‘quiet ‘ pool and daily some walkways blocked off for machinery/lifts.
We had an issue with our first room (accessible which we hadn’t booked and first floor when the only request I had made was high floor). Upon arrival the door wouldn’t lock so they sent out maintenance who told me that they were making do with minimal repairs as the rooms would be refurbished shortly after our departure (and couldn’t see the irony in telling customer this).
It left about a two inch gap at bottom of door. Plenty of access space for a reptile or rodent.
Also the bathroom door wouldn’t lock, single sink with no working plug and black flies coming out of floor vent.
Three days into our 14 night break I requested a room change which they were unable to accommodate for 24 hours.
Moved to building 80 Acadian House.
This was still bottom floor but a standard room. Very nice although not refurbished.
No major issues except housekeeping regularly didn’t arrive until early evening.
We could see the rooms being refurbished on the opposite side of our building but other than noise in quiet pool area and workmen using pool toilets we experienced no noise in this building.
Unfortunately in day 12 we returned from the parks to find water pouring through the ceiling. Another call to maintenance who told us it was a major problem in room above and to call front desk for ANOTHER room change.
Thankfully this time we had awesome service from their housekeeping manager who had us relocated within an hour. She was Disney perfection.
The only inconvenience was repacking again and paying another bell service tip.
This time she put us in building 95 for our last two nights. One of the royal rooms. Also not refurbished but in a different league to the other two. Unfortunately the fridge didn’t work in this room but by this point I had given up with POR.
It is a beautiful resort. The location is fabulous and the food court was great. We had some wonderful staff interaction but I doubt I’ll be back. 10th trip worst experience.
IMHO if they have work going on like this they should either close that building or offer at a reduced cost.
I booked direct with Disney UK 18 months out and had no warning of this at all.

 

[Day-Day]

Stayed August 6-21. ...

Thanks for the post. This would turn me off as well. We are scheduled to visit in September and hope we have better luck. If we are able to make the trip, one of us will need some rest during the day. I don't know what to expect but it doesn't sound good.

Our stay this past May and June was fantastic. We stayed in Magnolia Terrace (Building 85) near the quiet pool. This was before any construction started.

 

[chocolateMinnie]

Thanks for the post. This would turn me off as well. We are scheduled to visit in September and hope we have better luck. If we are able to make the trip, one of us will need some rest during the day. I don't know what to expect but it doesn't sound good.

Our stay this past May and June was fantastic. We stayed in Magnolia Terrace (Building 85) near the quiet pool. This was before any construction started.

To be honest our ceiling issues could happen anywhere and it was handled very well indeed but you’re right the other issues were bad for a cheap hotel but Disney resorts aren’t cut price. The location of 80 and 85 are superb. Fingers crossed you have an amazing experience!

 

[cakebaker]

Stayed August 6-21. They were doing exterior work in Magnolia Terrace building 85. They were a pain to be honest and pressure washing from early morning to late afternoon, then repainting the outside areas. Very noisy around the ‘quiet ‘ pool and daily some walkways blocked off for machinery/lifts.
We had an issue with our first room (accessible which we hadn’t booked and first floor when the only request I had made was high floor). Upon arrival the door wouldn’t lock so they sent out maintenance who told me that they were making do with minimal repairs as the rooms would be refurbished shortly after our departure (and couldn’t see the irony in telling customer this).
It left about a two inch gap at bottom of door. Plenty of access space for a reptile or rodent.
Also the bathroom door wouldn’t lock, single sink with no working plug and black flies coming out of floor vent.
Three days into our 14 night break I requested a room change which they were unable to accommodate for 24 hours.
Moved to building 80 Acadian House.
This was still bottom floor but a standard room. Very nice although not refurbished.
No major issues except housekeeping regularly didn’t arrive until early evening.
We could see the rooms being refurbished on the opposite side of our building but other than noise in quiet pool area and workmen using pool toilets we experienced no noise in this building.
Unfortunately in day 12 we returned from the parks to find water pouring through the ceiling. Another call to maintenance who told us it was a major problem in room above and to call front desk for ANOTHER room change.
Thankfully this time we had awesome service from their housekeeping manager who had us relocated within an hour. She was Disney perfection.
The only inconvenience was repacking again and paying another bell service tip.
This time she put us in building 95 for our last two nights. One of the royal rooms. Also not refurbished but in a different league to the other two. Unfortunately the fridge didn’t work in this room but by this point I had given up with POR.
It is a beautiful resort. The location is fabulous and the food court was great. We had some wonderful staff interaction but I doubt I’ll be back. 10th trip worst experience.
IMHO if they have work going on like this they should either close that building or offer at a reduced cost.
I booked direct with Disney UK 18 months out and had no warning of this at all.

For that kind of trouble, compensation should have been offered. We're in a RR in September and I'm kind of glad we're not in a renovated room yet- that said, I expect everything to be in working order or for them to compensate for it and with more than the trouble of a room change.

 

[cakebaker]

Wow, seems to be a flood of complaints about the condition of rooms at POR that haven't been refurbished yet. I have a Royal Room and I know those won't be refurbished during our stay and now I'm really second guessing my choice. Has anyone stayed in a RR recently and if so, was it acceptable to you? I don't want to over react, but after the mess up with our stay at AKL last month, I'd like to avoid more issues this time.

 

[chocolateMinnie]

Wow, seems to be a flood of complaints about the condition of rooms at POR that haven't been refurbished yet. I have a Royal Room and I know those won't be refurbished during our stay and now I'm really second guessing my choice. Has anyone stayed in a RR recently and if so, was it acceptable to you? I don't want to over react, but after the mess up with our stay at AKL last month, I'd like to avoid more issues this time.

The royal room we stayed in on 18th and 19th August was in good decorative state and good working order with the exception of the fridge BUT I have to be completely honest and if I was returning to WDW imminently there is no way I would be staying in an area that hasn’t been refurbished because if they move onto the external works that we experienced it was a game changer.
If I’d never been to WDW before I would never be returning. It was the worst hotel experience I’ve ever had which was more than a little disappointing.

 

[cakebaker]

The royal room we stayed in on 18th and 19th August was in good decorative state and good working order with the exception of the fridge BUT I have to be completely honest and if I was returning to WDW imminently there is no way I would be staying in an area that hasn’t been refurbished because if they move onto the external works that we experienced it was a game changer.
If I’d never been to WDW before I would never be returning. It was the worst hotel experience I’ve ever had which was more than a little disappointing.

Thanks, I'm looking at options now. I don't want to deal with issues on this trip. I'm on an AP discount so choices now are really limited, but for $400 more I can change to WL and I know I love that one. Ugh! I thought I was done with this!

 

[chocolateMinnie]

Thanks, I'm looking at options now. I don't want to deal with issues on this trip. I'm on an AP discount so choices now are really limited, but for $400 more I can change to WL and I know I love that one. Ugh! I thought I was done with this!

I can’t blame you . We had two nights before POR at All Stars Sports and it was our first Disney value experience. While I could see where the differences in levels were apparent from our usual moderate or deluxe we had a beautiful room, no issues and a perfect stay. It’s what we all work for. Good Luck.

 

[rteetz]

Has anyone there now seen any SWGE info yet?

I am seeing reports of flyers in the rooms and sandwich boards in resort lobbies. Just checking if anyone has images of those things.

 

[chiisai]

Wow, seems to be a flood of complaints about the condition of rooms at POR that haven't been refurbished yet. I have a Royal Room and I know those won't be refurbished during our stay and now I'm really second guessing my choice. Has anyone stayed in a RR recently and if so, was it acceptable to you? I don't want to over react, but after the mess up with our stay at AKL last month, I'd like to avoid more issues this time.

I am in the same boat. I have a Royal Room booked for an upcoming trip and between this and the other thread about housekeeping, I'm trying to figure out my options. I may switch to Dolphin even though it's nearly double.

 

[Disneylovingmomof2]

I haven’t stayed at POR but have a room booked for Oct. Moving to CR for second half - I really wanted to stay there the whole time but there’s no availability.
Basically my concern is the slew of negative posts about POR lately. Basically it sounds like it’s a mess - gross, outdated, worn down rooms, bad housekeeping, etc. I know there are negative reviews for all resorts (I saw a ton before we stayed at Poly) but this seems like a pattern.
Is it worth it to pay double the price for a deluxe suite? They pop up periodically because pretty much EVERYTHING except POR is sold out.
I’m so worried!

 

[MegWheels]

I need help!

My mom and I are planning a trip for this coming March. We are going back and forth between POR and ASMo. I am trying so hard to justify spending the extra money for POR, but I'm worried about the distance. We would only book a standard room, so how far would the walk be to get to the dining hall and the buses? This will probably be the only time I'll go on a girls trip with my mom, so I want to make it the trip of a lifetime but I'm so torn.

I've never even been to POR but I've always LOVED the look of it from vlogs and pictures I've seen. What would you do?

 

[cakebaker]

I can’t blame you . We had two nights before POR at All Stars Sports and it was our first Disney value experience. While I could see where the differences in levels were apparent from our usual moderate or deluxe we had a beautiful room, no issues and a perfect stay. It’s what we all work for. Good Luck.

Ended up making the switch over to POFQ. I lost the AP discount, either FQ was excluded or there's no availability left with the discount. But, ended up being just a few dollars cheaper due to the room type so I guess it balances out. I think I'm happy, FQ is where we really wanted to be- the pool, the beignets and I don't have to walk from one to the other to get to them, just irks me a bit that I'm paying rack rate- but that's the bargain hunter in me. I just don't want issues on this trip so better safe than sorry. Maybe we'll give POR a try after all the refurbishments are done.

 

[andrewilley]

Has anyone there now seen any SWGE info yet?

I am seeing reports of flyers in the rooms and sandwich boards in resort lobbies. Just checking if anyone has images of those things.

Not seen a flyer yet, and I haven't been to the food court since early lunchtime. However I do know the food courts at POR and POFQ will be opening at 2:30am on Thursday, 3:30am over the weekend, and then 4:15am until the start of November. I'll check tomorrow and post more details. Presumably buses to Studios will reflect the same sort of operational times.

Andre

 

[Disneylovingmomof2]

I need help!

My mom and I are planning a trip for this coming March. We are going back and forth between POR and ASMo. I am trying so hard to justify spending the extra money for POR, but I'm worried about the distance. We would only book a standard room, so how far would the walk be to get to the dining hall and the buses? This will probably be the only time I'll go on a girls trip with my mom, so I want to make it the trip of a lifetime but I'm so torn.

I've never even been to POR but I've always LOVED the look of it from vlogs and pictures I've seen. What would you do?

POR has been getting some pretty bad reviews lately...

 

[chocolateMinnie]

I need help!

My mom and I are planning a trip for this coming March. We are going back and forth between POR and ASMo. I am trying so hard to justify spending the extra money for POR, but I'm worried about the distance. We would only book a standard room, so how far would the walk be to get to the dining hall and the buses? This will probably be the only time I'll go on a girls trip with my mom, so I want to make it the trip of a lifetime but I'm so torn.

I've never even been to POR but I've always LOVED the look of it from vlogs and pictures I've seen. What would you do?

I can’t comment on Alligator Bayou (5 bed) but no room in building 80, 85, 95 is more than 5 minutes walk across one of the bridges to the main building (80 and 85 are standard rooms) obviously the main bus stop is the same distance with many rooms in 80 and 85 much closer to their own bus stop.

 

[andrewilley]

POR has been getting some pretty bad reviews lately...

No idea why, we have had a wonderful almost 3-week stay. There is some room refurb going on in the next building to ours (we face towards it) but nothing that's intrusive or bothering.

Andre

 

[Day-Day]

I need help!

My mom and I are planning a trip for this coming March. We are going back and forth between POR and ASMo. I am trying so hard to justify spending the extra money for POR, but I'm worried about the distance. We would only book a standard room, so how far would the walk be to get to the dining hall and the buses? This will probably be the only time I'll go on a girls trip with my mom, so I want to make it the trip of a lifetime but I'm so torn.

I've never even been to POR but I've always LOVED the look of it from vlogs and pictures I've seen. What would you do?

Looking at googlemaps with the same scale, it looks like the walks at POR and ASMo are close to the same for many of the rooms when visiting the food court. Some POR standard rooms look closer than some ASMo standard rooms.

For bus stops, I think the POR rooms will average shorter walks with one of the four stops not being too far away.