Disney's PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE RESORT Information & Questions

[Silvite]

Mom had a stroke and cannot walk long distances. What do we request to be as close as possible to lobby?

 

[FelisLachesis]

I would assume Andre's talking about a soft goods refurbishment.

I'm just imagining the phone call the POR manager makes to the mattress store:

"Hello, Sleep Tonight Mattresses, how can I help you?"

"Hi, I'd like to order your Stealy Posture-Matic mattress, please"

"Sure! How many would you like?"

"3914 queen size, and 91 king size"

*sound of coffee getting spit out*

[Edit: I forgot, non-king rooms have 2 queen beds per!]

 

[FelisLachesis]

Mom had a stroke and cannot walk long distances. What do we request to be as close as possible to lobby?

If you booked a Preferred Room, then you'll be in one of the four closest buildings to the lobby already.

If you want, fax a request about 5 days before you go, and actually put in your fax request exactly what you said.

"My mom can not walk long distances, so could you shake some pixie dust and place us in the closest room you have to the lobby?" (yes, there's extra butter in that request)

 

[andrewilley]

Anyone who has stayed at POR recently...is the room décor really as dated as it seems in some of the videos I've watched?

Condition-wise the rooms are fine - there are going to be odd dings in the woodwork etc, but you can't really avoid that. What specifically is your concern? Take a look at http://www.portorleans.org/gallery-POR-AB-Rooms.php , and there is a 360-degree view of the sort of room you would be getting for a family of five.

I would assume Andre's talking about a soft goods refurbishment.

Correct, they would do these sort of refurbs by closing one building (or section) at a time with minimal if any impact on guests.

Mom had a stroke and cannot walk long distances. What do we request to be as close as possible to lobby?

The best option would be to make a "Preferred Location" booking which will guarantee you a room in building 14, 15, 18 or 27, all of which are fairly close to the main building. Fax in a request 3-5 days out mentioning that for medical reasons you would like building 14 for the closest access if possible.

Andre

 

[Alicatt]

Anyone who has stayed at POR recently...is the room décor really as dated as it seems in some of the videos I've watched? We stayed at POFQ in 2010 (before the beds were upgraded to queens) and we really loved it, but now we are a family of five so we need more space. We stayed at AOA last trip in 2014 and may have gotten spoiled by how new everything felt there. I have a FD reservation for 9/20-9/28 at POR and was super excited because this was our first choice this trip, but kind of got a little worried about the condition of the rooms. We are considering switching to a different offer at BC for one less night, but I'd like to stick with this one if possible. Thanks!

We were there in January and was still in good condition. The rooms were quite beautiful.

 

[efoote01]

What time is the latest boat to DS?

 

[ncc1701]

What time is the latest boat to DS?

Probably around 11:00pm. I remember last year on the ride to DS they said the last boat back to POFQ was 11:30pm. Not sure about the buses but I know they at least go back from DS an hour or 2 later.

 

[keahgirl8]

The best option would be to make a "Preferred Location" booking which will guarantee you a room in building 14, 15, 18 or 27, all of which are fairly close to the main building. Fax in a request 3-5 days out mentioning that for medical reasons you would like building 14 for the closest access if possible.

Andre

Agreed. Also remember that in AB, there are no elevators, so if stairs are an issue for your mom, you may want to request the first floor. The will do their best to accommodate you. I actually checked in super late once, and they didn't have anything on the first floor. They helped me get my luggage up the stairs, then back down the next day, when they put me in a first floor room.

 

[renes]

This is our first stay in a moderate in almost 25 years and we stayed at CB. We usually stay deluxe but due to family size increasing and friend of DD coming with we switched from deluxe to POR for summer trip. We are a group of 9; grandparents, DD, DSIL, grandkids (7,5,2 & 9 months) and friend. We have 3 standard view rooms booked thru an agency and the other 2 rooms would prefer to be connecting. I have tried to read through the posts but I am confused. Would the mansion rooms be best or AB? I went to TP hotel views and found some rooms in Magnolia Terrace room 8722. Any thoughts, suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[andrewilley]

Would the mansion rooms be best or AB?

Best for what, you've got a wide range of people there? Do you mean to give you a better chance of getting connecting rooms, or better in some other particular way? If you want to get two connecting rooms, that would be the best thing to request, not any particular building (and make sure that all three rooms are flagged as a linked booking in Disney's system). Otherwise, I think the younger kids might like the AB section best, for the fold-down beds. The older folks may prefer the 'plusher' feel of the mansion buildings though.

Andre

 

[albaker]

Our first trip to POR is booked for Oct! I booked a garden view (standard was not available), and I plan on requesting Magnolia building. Should I do that during online check in and fax it or is once enough? If a good discount rolls out for our dates I may try to upgrade to a RR.

 

[isabellea]

For her 5th birthday, my youngest DD wants to stay at a hotel with a waterslide. Since her birthday is on July 22nd AND we have booked our favourite motel in St. Pete Beach for July 24th (no waterslide), we decided to skip the usual birthday party and leave earlier than originally planned to stay two nights at a moderate in WDW. We are debating between CSR that we loved in 2015 and POR that is 20$ extra per night (with the exchange rate that means a difference of 50$CAD). Our budget is tight this summer and we're not planning on going to the parks or Disney Spring this time since we were there in March. We are are basically only going to WDW for the pools and basic resort waterslides (we looked at other resorts in the area with slides like Wyndham Bonnet Creek but the minimum height limit is too high for our soon 5yo). DH doesn't want to go to a waterpark.

Do you think staying at POR is worth the extra money? Like I wrote above, we know we will like CSR...

Can we go to the waterslide on the POFQ side too if we're staying at POR?

Thanks for helping me decide!

 

[anorman]

For her 5th birthday, my youngest DD wants to stay at a hotel with a waterslide. Since her birthday is on July 22nd AND we have booked our favourite motel in St. Pete Beach for July 24th (no waterslide), we decided to skip the usual birthday party and leave earlier than originally planned to stay two nights at a moderate in WDW. We are debating between CSR that we loved in 2015 and POR that is 20$ extra per night (with the exchange rate that means a difference of 50$CAD). Our budget is tight this summer and we're not planning on going to the parks or Disney Spring this time since we were there in March. We are are basically only going to WDW for the pools and basic resort waterslides (we looked at other resorts in the area with slides like Wyndham Bonnet Creek but the minimum height limit is too high for our soon 5yo). DH doesn't want to go to a waterpark.

Do you think staying at POR is worth the extra money? Like I wrote above, we know we will like CSR...

Can we go to the waterslide on the POFQ side too if we're staying at POR?

Thanks for helping me decide!

Yes. You can use POFQ slide if you stay at POR. Why not just stay at POFQ? My two daughters loved it there when they were younger but now prefer the more mature decor at POR.

 

[renes]

Best for what, you've got a wide range of people there? Do you mean to give you a better chance of getting connecting rooms, or better in some other particular way? If you want to get two connecting rooms, that would be the best thing to request, not any particular building (and make sure that all three rooms are flagged as a linked booking in Disney's system). Otherwise, I think the younger kids might like the AB section best, for the fold-down beds. The older folks may prefer the 'plusher' feel of the mansion buildings though.

Andre

I am sorry I wasn't clearer, I meant which would be best for chances of getting 2 of the 3 rooms connecting.

Thnaks for the help, since the "older" folks are paying, maybe the mansion building!

 

[andrewilley]

Can we go to the waterslide on the POFQ side too if we're staying at POR?

You can, yes. However the slide at Riverside is deceptive - the one at FQ might look snazzier due to the serpent theme, but the Riverside slide is actually twice as long and faster / more fun.

Andre

 

[anorman]

Our first trip to POR is booked for Oct! I booked a garden view (standard was not available), and I plan on requesting Magnolia building. Should I do that during online check in and fax it or is once enough?

I am curious too. I have arranged for a fax through touringplans.com but wondered should I add my requests to my booking or during online checkin.

 

[atkinstogram]

Anyone who has stayed at POR recently...is the room décor really as dated as it seems in some of the videos I've watched? We stayed at POFQ in 2010 (before the beds were upgraded to queens) and we really loved it, but now we are a family of five so we need more space. We stayed at AOA last trip in 2014 and may have gotten spoiled by how new everything felt there. I have a FD reservation for 9/20-9/28 at POR and was super excited because this was our first choice this trip, but kind of got a little worried about the condition of the rooms. We are considering switching to a different offer at BC for one less night, but I'd like to stick with this one if possible. Thanks!

We're here at the moment. The rooms have the odd sign of wear here and there, but otherwise they're lovely rooms. And Riverside is just beautiful. Plus, add it's proximity to FQ and it's new QS restaurant (where we've eaten a good few times so far) and you're onto a winner..

I am curious too. I have arranged for a fax through touringplans.com but wondered should I add my requests to my booking or during online checkin.

We did the touringplans fax only. Didn't add anything when checking in at all. Told them what room we would like and why (the why was the important bit) and we got exactly what we requested..

 

[traciruns]

We're here at the moment. The rooms have the odd sign of wear here and there, but otherwise they're lovely rooms. And Riverside is just beautiful. Plus, add it's proximity to FQ and it's new QS restaurant (where we've eaten a good few times so far) and you're onto a winner..

New QS? Do tell! I hadn't heard about that!

Thanks for all of the positive feedback regarding the rooms. I guess some of the video footage I saw just made the rooms look more like outdated 70's décor than old South. We were very happy when we stayed at POFQ a few years ago, so I'm sure it will be fine.

 

[Gorechick]

New QS? Do tell! I hadn't heard about that!

Thanks for all of the positive feedback regarding the rooms. I guess some of the video footage I saw just made the rooms look more like outdated 70's décor than old South. We were very happy when we stayed at POFQ a few years ago, so I'm sure it will be fine.

FQ QS recently got a refurb.

 

[isabellea]

Yes. You can use POFQ slide if you stay at POR. Why not just stay at POFQ? My two daughters loved it there when they were younger but now prefer the more mature decor at POR.

I prefer the theming of POR but I know that my daughters will want to explore and try both waterslides if they can. Since this stay will be ONLY a resort stay with a big emphasis on the pools, it will be nice to try POFQ for a few hours.

You can, yes. However the slide at Riverside is deceptive - the one at FQ might look snazzier due to the serpent theme, but the Riverside slide is actually twice as long and faster / more fun.

Andre

Great to know! Thank you!