Has anyone been to PORiverside lately?

[Nermel9]

I was just there in November and I really liked it! I checked our whole room when we got there for mold, or broken things, or just dirt in general, because I read some bad reviews of it too, but it was very clean and nice, and our Mousekeeper was great! The food court was good, although crowded at times, and the pools were great! The boat to DTD is a nice little bonus too!

 

[AllSaints]

I took real advantage of the meal options "downriver" and in addition to breakfast at WPE, I went to Olivia's twice for breakfast and the Turf Club once for lunch. Wow, what can I say - both hidden treasures at the resorts.

I know that Olivia's is at OKW, but how do you get there from POR? I know where it is in relation to it, but is there a ferry that will take you there or do you have to start at DD?

 

[AllSaints]

We absolutely loved AKL in 2009 and lucked out by having a great pin to save some money. I originally had it planned for this trip, but wanted to save a bit of money (almost $800.00) and wanted to introduce our friends to Disney without the huge hotel kind of feel that AKL has. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE that resort but just thought POR would be better for our group. I'm really looking forward to going...now just hoping that the refurb doesn't get noisy or detract from anything. I remember when AKL had theirs going on and some people were cool with it, some people were driven nuts by it.

 

[laura428]

We stayed at POR from 11/28 thru 12/5. This was our second resort stay - the first was CSR February of this year. Within minutes of our arrival, I felt at home. Even though, during check-in, I was told that the building I'd requested, AB 14, was full and therefore unavailable. I was assured, however, that I'd been put in a building that was not much farther, Oak Manor on the Mansions side. Truth be told, I'm so glad it worked out the way it did because we absolutely loved the Mansions. Everything from the landscaping, the quality of the room, and the quiet (until, honestly, the arrival of at least 6-7 rooms of POP Warner around and above us on the 3rd... actually felt they tarnished the end of our trip there with slamming doors til 11:00 or 11:30pm, yelling outside their rooms and what sounded like tumbling above us... ugh!). And contrary to what a previous poster said about Parterre Place (one building over from us and even closer to the center of things), we felt very close to everything, much much more so than we ever did at CSR. I walked down to the food court several nights after the kids went to bed to grab drinks and snacks for DH and myself, and it was just a serene and really beautiful 4-5 minute stroll, past Parterre Place, over the bridge and into the hub.

Even though CSR had been recently renovated when we stayed there, we MUCH preferred POR. The decor (minus the granny bedspreads)' the peace and calm of the whole resort, the food court... everything... suited us there. Trust me, you'll just love it.

Have a great time!

 

[Missytara]

I took real advantage of the meal options "downriver" and in addition to breakfast at WPE, I went to Olivia's twice for breakfast and the Turf Club once for lunch. Wow, what can I say - both hidden treasures at the resorts.

I know that Olivia's is at OKW, but how do you get there from POR? I know where it is in relation to it, but is there a ferry that will take you there or do you have to start at DD?

I went early in the morning, so I took the bus to DTD and then transfer to the OKW bus - which quite ironically is also stop no. 1 as is POR.

On the way back, I had a lot of time, since it was my last day, so I took the water taxi from OKW, which takes you to the Pleasure Island stop. Then you take the Pleasure Island water taxi over to Market Place (or you can walk) to get on the water taxi to go back to POR.

Had I been feeling better, I had planned on transferring over to the water taxi to SSR and pick up some stuff to take on the plane, but alas I just wanted to get back to the lounge and rest up before the ME bus got there.

It is several changes, but like I said, it was my last day and I had a lot of time, so it was wonderful.

 

[Missytara]

We stayed at POR from 11/28 thru 12/5. This was our second resort stay - the first was CSR February of this year. Within minutes of our arrival, I felt at home. Even though, during check-in, I was told that the building I'd requested, AB 14, was full and therefore unavailable. I was assured, however, that I'd been put in a building that was not much farther, Oak Manor on the Mansions side.

Hey, you must have gotten my room at Oak Manor, which is what I always request!!!! I pay for water view and ask for a room off the quiet pool. This year, they said I was in Parterre Place.

I was sort-of bummed, but when I got there I couldn't believe it when I got to the room - I was just steps from the bridge over to the main building and facing the river - it wasn't but 30 feet from my room. I spent most of the time with my chair pulled out in the aisleway staring at the water. No one hardly went down that way, because there were only four rooms on the end of the wing - people either went along one side or the other and rarely passed in front of the room!

I loved it.

 

[auntfrannie]

I love POR! I've stayed there 3 times and was always lucky to get Parterre Place. I don't think the walk is long at all, although I will admit that I've always gotten a river view so I'm not traipsing from the back of the building. I stayed at POFQ last year and didn't like the closeness of the buildings at all, coupled with having to zigzag through them to get to my building.

The buses at POR always seem to run on a regular frequency so I've never had long to wait for one. The food court has a really good selection. The lounge staff is great! I had a ball talking to the bell services staff one morning; very entertaining group of people!

Have a great trip!

 

[Missytara]

We absolutely loved AKL in 2009 and lucked out by having a great pin to save some money. I originally had it planned for this trip, but wanted to save a bit of money (almost $800.00) and wanted to introduce our friends to Disney without the huge hotel kind of feel that AKL has. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE that resort but just thought POR would be better for our group. I'm really looking forward to going...now just hoping that the refurb doesn't get noisy or detract from anything. I remember when AKL had theirs going on and some people were cool with it, some people were driven nuts by it.

You will find the refurbs they are doing to POFQ/POR to be much different then AKL. Also, remember AKL is a different set-up then POR/POFQ.

I was there the week after Thanksgiving when they were doing building no. 6 at POFQ. They had the walkways blocked off; and were working solely on that building. They were bringing material directly up from the parking lot and putting it in each room. The demo material (i.e. drywall, tile from the bathroom) was being brought down to a container right away. You couldn't even hear them breaking up the tile, etc.

I stood outside and talked to the Superintendent for about an hour and you could have heard a pin drop.

They are also only working normal construction working hours and not overtime.

 

[MickeyEars]

We will be at POR for the first time May 27-June 5 and we're soooo excited. We have stayed at every value at least twice so we can't wait to finally be staying at a Moderate. We chose Riverside because of all the wonderful reviews. The grounds look amazing in the photos and the boat to DTD is definitely going to be a treat.

Carla

 

[laura428]

Hey, you must have gotten my room at Oak Manor, which is what I always request!!!! I pay for water view and ask for a room off the quiet pool. This year, they said I was in Parterre Place.

I was sort-of bummed, but when I got there I couldn't believe it when I got to the room - I was just steps from the bridge over to the main building and facing the river - it wasn't but 30 feet from my room. I spent most of the time with my chair pulled out in the aisleway staring at the water. No one hardly went down that way, because there were only four rooms on the end of the wing - people either went along one side or the other and rarely passed in front of the room!

I loved it.

Actually, we were on the garden side (I just had a standard view, not water), which I loved because it was so quiet. We're all light sleepers, so I knew that if we were overlooking a quiet pool, we'd regret it.

Glad you loved where you stayed - we did, too.

 

[jewelmicky]

POR was the first on-site resort I ever stayed.....and has a special place in my heart. I am dissappointed in some of the changes over the years.

The breakfast at Boatwrights was awesome....now it only has sitdown for dinner, and missing some of the better menu options. They should open it back for breakfast and so a downhome character meal.

Last time we stayed at POFQ, it was nice, small and compact....but I didn't like it as much. The buggy ride is fun, and just hanging out and fishin'.

We love the boat ride to Downtown for meals and shopping. We always spend one whole day down there.

We are staying at POR again in Feb.....I just hope they don't let it go too much, it being so close a refurb. I requested the bayou, but really like it anywhere on the grounds. There are bus stops scattered around. The grounds are so nice, I don't much mind the walking....lotsa ducks and bunnys running around.

 

[Missytara]

We are staying at POR again in Feb.....I just hope they don't let it go too much, it being so close a refurb.

Seriously, they don't suddenly ignore a resort because a refurb is coming up. I work in Facilities Management for the govt. and we don't suddenly ignore a building because someone is going in to replace an HVAC unit. With the high standards that Disney maintains, they are going to maintain the facility the same way they do now - most of what they are doing is cosmetic anyway; other than the elevators at the Mansions, which is most likely preventative maintenance.

 

[skater]

We had a "bad" year at POR a few years ago and I swore I would never return. We tried it again last year and had an amazing stay! The food court was great - one of the better ones on property IMO. The landscaping is beautiful as is the pool and the CM's were fantastic. A bad experience can happen in any resort. POR is most definately my favorite moderate.

 

[akadada]

I know you asked for recent stays; we stayed there a long time ago. . . we've since upgraded our stays to Deluxe places, but after staying at Poly, GF, and BC, honestly I think POR is in my opinion, best bang for your buck. It's a beautiful place. We still do the Deluxe lodging for convenience and better restaurants, but if economics or simply larger family suggested different lodging, POR would be our absolute first choice.

The only suggestion is if it's not peak season, rent a car and drive places. The bus rides are kind of a drag.

 

[DonnaDuck]

I am also so relieved to read this thread!

We will be staying at POR for the first time in 33 days!

Having only ever stayed at AKL & Pop during our WDW trips, some of the horrible reviews had me a little scared! lol

Hoping for a great trip!!

 

[QTnursestudent]

We stayed at POR in January 2010 as our first onsite resort stay. Besides the miserable cold, we had a beautiful time! I have a secret desire to stay at every WDW resort and we'll be staying at WL this January (DD's choice) but I have a feeling POR will always have a special place in our hearts. Food court was wonderful! Room was comfortable. Buses ran often. Really no problems or complaints (except that it was SO COLD but surely Disney didn't have anything to do with that. lol)

 

[Topscot]

We will be staying at POR March 30-April 2, 2011. Are the renovations just rooms, or is it more extensive (food court/landscaping). I don't want to get there and see a big mess or hear a lot of construction.

 

[klacey1]

Oh, I hope POR is mostly refurbished by the end of August-- that's when we're heading down! We stayed there in 2009 and can't WAIT to go back! We experience nothing but great customer service, a lovely room (free upgrade to king bed!), and beautiful grounds. We were in Alligator Bayou 15, which was a super quick distance to the lobby. I'd love to stay there again-- or AB 14 or 16 OR Paterre Place or Oak Manor. Being close to the lobby/main bus stop is important to us-- DBF is hoping for one of the mansions, but I'll take anything close to the facilities!
I have to say, I think "horrible reviews" for POR are few and far between. If I had experienced what a PP had, I would have requested that Mousekeeping come immediately and then I'd leave and go to the parks (not wait 2 hours to be moved-- I agree, that is ridiculous. I wouldn't have asked to be moved, however. Too much hassle!).

 

[SGMCO]

We stayed at AKL for the 1st time in Sept. but wished we could have stayed at POR again. I was disappointed in AKL. We've stayed at POR and fell in love with it. POR transportation was much better than AKL. The Food Court at POR is excellent, lots of good food choices, large area and AKL Food Court was not good, bad food, very small and always packed. Don't get me wrong AKL was a beautiful resort but thought we had a much more relaxed stay at POR. Only plus that I liked at AKL was the balcony but there are so many nice outdoor seating areas at POR that I won't miss it. The pool at AKL was made for just little kids the depth was shallow throughout around 3 feet, my DS wanted to swim, he's 14. Plus, my DS loves to take the boat ride from POR to DTD and we really missed that, DS loves eatting at Earl of Sandwich. We will be staying at POR on our future trips it is beautiful and I love all the uncrowded walking areas.

 

[washwords]

thank you so much, original poster. Just like you, I was just reading some of the recent horror story reviews and getting really nervous about the reservation I had been excited about in POR.

Thanks everyone for making me see the brighter side and that even some of the things that might go wrong aren't THAT bad. we go end of january.

funny, original poster, the AKL is where i was considering switching to... i think you've all convinced me otherwise.

now... alligator bayou or mansions and which bldg.