Resort Thread Disney's PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE Resort

[andrewilley]

Will be at PO-R starting next week. Curious about the current last ride time for the Sassagula River cruise to DSprings - last time it closed early for a show at DSprings - Last cruise was like 730pm. Anyone there recently that knows?
Thank you!

It's back to normal now, the last boat back from Spring to Port Orleans leaves at 11:30pm. After then, the buses run for another few hours.

Andre

 

[DizneyFamof4]

In regards to the refurb. I just hope they keep to a theme room. We made reservations to stay at POR for New years week and when I showed my DW and DD's the refurbed rooms they all said they look so "blah" and immediately asked about the Royal rooms . Even after I told them that they have not been redone in years, they did not care and my DD said, that is what makes WDW resort rooms so much better than other hotels. So we reserved a RR

 

[andrewilley]

Even after I told them that they have not been redone in years, they did not care and my DD said, that is what makes WDW resort rooms so much better than other hotels. So we reserved a RR

I'm with you 100% there. Back in August we chose to stay in a Royal Room overlooking the river, and they are still streets ahead of the more recent refurbs. The lovely carpet helps for one thing, and all the colour and detail - even though the plain and sterile white bedding does detract considerably. They have an atmosphere which is lacking in most of WDW's recent refurbs. When I see the words "clean and modern look" in relation to what is meant to be a themed location, it all feels like the idea of replacing Main Street with a modern chrome and glass shopping mall. Or adding a high-rise office block next to the Polynesian Resort themed longhouses (oh wait, they've done that one).

Don't get me wrong, I love the new amenities that they've added to other room types (USB ports, large TVs, vanity mirrors, bigger safes, etc) but they have rather thrown the baby out with the bathwater.

Andre

 

[nherbert]

We are at POR right now, we love this place. I know we are a bit different because we love POR and CBR but for different reasons, every trip we have to stay at both resorts.

POR is still as beautiful as we remember (last trip pre-covid). We now need two rooms to ensure we all get a big bed, DS is now over six foot and didn’t want to try the kid bed. We were lucky enough to get connecting rooms though see this post for an issue with room charging.
Post in thread '2 connecting rooms'
https://www.disboards.com/threads/2-connecting-rooms.3957726/post-65870500

We got building 37, which I know might freak some people out due to the distance but we love it. We are 50m at most from our mini pool (which no one but us seems to use as it’s too cold for everyone else but we are from Tasmania and we find 60F a great temperature for a swim). We are also super close to the North bus stop which is the second pick up and so far we have always had a seat. Buses are great by the way, almost zero wait too and from each park. We also just love the peace n quiet of the leisurely stroll to dinner in the food hall each night, the walk across the island just makes you realise you are at a resort and on holiday. We also got all our laundry done yesterday as we are so close to the huge laundry at the pool - for anyone who hasn’t been in awhile like us, these are now all controlled by an app and you don’t need coins anymore.

For any Australians this resort does not sell butter/margarine in the shop - you can get some small packets of this non-flavor creamy whipped stuff from the food hall but you need about three to cover a bagel. Waiting to see if our next resort has butter or if I need to order some in. The resort does have most of everything else you would need - including large bottles of milk. Though I couldn’t find any packets of water, just very expensive large bottles of Dasani - no $1 bottle of water here as we have in Aus. Had to pay $6US for a bottle of water!! Going to need to do a grocery shop as that is crazy!

For anyone who hasn’t returned since covid, the games room as still here, just as big though some of our favorites have gone including tank tank and the amazing air hockey table that used to drop around 50 pucks and it was a mad scramble to sink as many as possible. So sad that has gone, we loved it.

If anyone has read this far, we love POR, if anyone wants answers to anything I can try to answer.

Just a few photos.

I saw someone earlier asking about the new curtains, here is a photo - we were very lucky to get a corner room with two windows


I just wanted to post this photo as we wanted to know if the power chargers were USB-C or not - they are not, just plain USB.


I also noted some people seem to care about the fridge. Here at POR we have the mini fridge, which is working well at keeping our milk cold (as well as our supply of Australian chocolate)

 

[Wood Nymph]

We are at POR right now, we love this place. I know we are a bit different because we love POR and CBR but for different reasons, every trip we have to stay at both resorts.

We are here at POR right now, too. We are in the Acadia building and close to the North depot like you are. We also love POR. It works out very well for our trips.

As far as butter goes, some of the deluxe resorts might still have butter in their quick service restaurants. The resorts that have villas, like Beach Club and Wilderness Lodge sell a small amount of groceries. You might find a package of butter there.

We are returning to POR in March and really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, we are going home today.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Here are the curtains in our room. We are in the Acadia building.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

Does anyone think the refurbishment is going to make staying here not fun?

I have never been here but am deciding between this and FQ.

Just don't want to be bothered by construction taking away from the beauty the place has.

Was thinking beginning of May, and getting a preferred room.

 

[dansdad]

Does anyone think the refurbishment is going to make staying here not fun?

I have never been here but am deciding between this and FQ.

Just don't want to be bothered by construction taking away from the beauty the place has.

Was thinking beginning of May, and getting a preferred room.

We have stayed here, POFQ, CBR and BWI during room refurbs and except for hearing it on the DIS would have never known they were happening.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Does anyone think the refurbishment is going to make staying here not fun?

You won't even notice that a room refurbishment is happening. They are working in the Magnola Bend building. If you are staying in Alligator Bayou, a Royal Room or even the Acadia Building, you won't be affected by the refurbishment.

We are staying at POR in March and June and have no concerns at all.

 

[Laura's Dad]

We are here at POR right now, too. We are in the Acadia building and close to the North depot like you are. We also love POR. It works out very well for our trips.

As far as butter goes, some of the deluxe resorts might still have butter in their quick service restaurants. The resorts that have villas, like Beach Club and Wilderness Lodge sell a small amount of groceries. You might find a package of butter there.

We are returning to POR in March and really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, we are going home today.

We are returning in March as well, staying at FQ. Will you be there for Mardi Gras?

 

[Wood Nymph]

We are returning in March as well, staying at FQ. Will you be there for Mardi Gras?

We will be there after Mardi Gras. We arrive March 9th. But the Port Orleans resorts are the place to be for Mardi Gras. I think they do something special for the day.

 

[where_else]

Does anyone have a picture of the hairdryer in the rooms? Thanks very much

 

[highlander357]

I don’t but I know Molly from Mammoth Club always checks out the hair dryer on her room tour videos.

 

[where_else]

Thank you for the video

 

[didilovesdisney]

Hi All. I have a couple of questions I am sure Andre and others will be able to answer. I recently booked a bounce back at Riverside in May. It's a woods view room. The CM who was great told me it would be in the magnolia bend section but how could she really know that? I like both mansion and bayou sections so that's not a problem but since I definitely would want an upper floor and have requested that the bayou would be out. I might add right now due to a health issue steps are not my friend so having an elevator would be preferred. I will manage in the bayou though. Just wondering how accurate her information is. Oh and my DSIL is over at FQ but there's no BB rooms available so that's not an option although I will keep checking. I love Riverside so no big deal. Also I know Riverside is a pet friendly resort and just wondering what buildings they use for them. I am not allergic and it's not an issue just curious. I have requested non connecting upper floor room in building 85 or 80. So we shall see. Any info on my questions would be appreciated. Looking forward to my stay there it's been a while since my last stay. Since the skyliner my stays have been at Pop Century so this will be a nice change. Also any other helpful tips will be appreciated by you Riverside experts. Thanks

 

[Wood Nymph]

Hi All. I have a couple of questions I am sure Andre and others will be able to answer. I recently booked a bounce back at Riverside in May. It's a woods view room. The CM who was great told me it would be in the magnolia bend section but how could she really know that? I like both mansion and bayou sections so that's not a problem but since I definitely would want an upper floor and have requested that the bayou would be out. I might add right now due to a health issue steps are not my friend so having an elevator would be preferred. I will manage in the bayou though. Just wondering how accurate her information is. Oh and my DSIL is over at FQ but there's no BB rooms available so that's not an option although I will keep checking. I love Riverside so no big deal. Also I know Riverside is a pet friendly resort and just wondering what buildings they use for them. I am not allergic and it's not an issue just curious. I have requested non connecting upper floor room in building 85 or 80. So we shall see. Any info on my questions would be appreciated. Looking forward to my stay there it's been a while since my last stay. Since the skyliner my stays have been at Pop Century so this will be a nice change. Also any other helpful tips will be appreciated by you Riverside experts. Thanks

You should get one of the buildings that you requested. The rooms in Alligator Bayou are preferred and 5th sleepers, which you didn't book. So, you won't get an AB room. The other two mansion buildings are Royal rooms, so you won't get those, either. So that leaves the magnolia bend buildings.

 

[didilovesdisney]

Thanks @Wood Nymph for your response. I guess I was a little confused because under just the woods view room description it mentions the bayou as a possible view. So yes hoping for 85 or 80. I put 85 first because it looks a little closer to the bridge to main building. Do you know if either of those buildings are pet friendly?

 

[andrewilley]

It's a woods view room. The CM who was great told me it would be in the magnolia bend section but how could she really know that?

It's not guaranteed that you'll be in a mansion building, but it's highly likely. People who book Standard 5th-Sleeper or Woods View 5th-Sleeper rooms definitely get Alligator Bayou rooms, so the other Standard/Woods bookings mostly get placed into the non-Bayou section. One caveat is that there are only half as many rooms in mansion buildings 80 and 85 as there are in the AB area, so if they sell more regular rooms than 5th-Sleepers, they can overflow the extra guests into the Bayou section (but obviously not the other way around).

Building 85 would be my preference too. They rarely put guests with dogs into either 80 or 85, preferring to use AB 24 if there are no other conditions that need to be met (e.g. Royal Room).

Andre

 

[didilovesdisney]

Thanks Andre for your response. You explained why it's probable I will be in magnolia bend and why the CM seemed so sure. I appreciate both yours and @wood Nymphs helpful info. Also thanks for the pet building info too. Looking forward to following this helpful thread till my trip for any more info. I do also enjoy your portorleans.org website. Also very helpful. Thanks again.

 

[Kerr84]

Thanks Andre for your response. You explained why it's probable I will be in magnolia bend and why the CM seemed so sure. I appreciate both yours and @wood Nymphs helpful info. Also thanks for the pet building info too. Looking forward to following this helpful thread till my trip for any more info. I do also enjoy your portorleans.org website. Also very helpful. Thanks again.

You can call in a request and ask for an elevator which would knock out Alligator Bayou.