It's The Port Orleans FAQ Thread!!!

[iggbees]

*chuckles*

Question from DD6 that she wants me to ask: "Have any of you who have stayed there ever been eaten by alligators?"



The Mom version: Anyone seen gators on the river at all? This is not a OMG SQUEEEEEEEE NO ANIMALS PLEASE question, I actually LOVE reptiles and am hoping to see one relatively close in the wild!

when we stayed at pop in july our bus driver told us that there is a resident alligator that lives in the pond across from the entrance sign. he said that occasionally guests will see the alligator out there sunbathing.

out of all of the years i've been to disney, i've never once seen an alligator. i've also stayed at por (then dixie landings) 2 times and never seen one in the river. i'm hoping it stays that way when we go in january.

 

[BlindTyldak]

when we stayed at pop in july our bus driver told us that there is a resident alligator that lives in the pond across from the entrance sign. he said that occasionally guests will see the alligator out there sunbathing.

out of all of the years i've been to disney, i've never once seen an alligator. i've also stayed at por (then dixie landings) 2 times and never seen one in the river. i'm hoping it stays that way when we go in january.

I saw one at CSR on almost a daily basis, he lived in one of the little canals at the edge of the resort that was fenced off. But all I could see was his eyes poking over the duckweed so I never got a good look at him; Im estimating though he was about 6 feet. The CM's did know about him and said he never bothered the guests. Two other trips I'd see them from the monorail in the canals between MK and Epcot, but those were obviously a quick glance.

I'll have to bring a good flashlight and check the river at night I guess. I know there's got to be at least ONE out there!

 

[heartsy77]

subscribing

 

[heartsy77]

Ok we have to be in section with trundles( in Riverside), what buidling is preferred? I also requested a non smoking ground level room or lower level( DH has SEVERE asthma) I don't know which building to request?

 

[PrincessV]

I asked this on the Transportation board, but would like to run it by the POR experts...
I'll have our own car with us in early Dec. We'll want to hit the MK for the rope drop once morning and return to POR around 1:30pm. Should we take a bus or drive?
I'm thinking the advantage of the bus is the direct MK drop off, vs. parking at the TTT and waiting for the monorail to open. BUT, if the POFQ/POR busses are as bad as I've heard, that might not save us any time, anyway. I'll also have DS4 and his stroller to contend with.
Based on experience with this, what do you all suggest?

 

[maddhatir]

I asked this on the Transportation board, but would like to run it by the POR experts...
I'll have our own car with us in early Dec. We'll want to hit the MK for the rope drop once morning and return to POR around 1:30pm. Should we take a bus or drive?
I'm thinking the advantage of the bus is the direct MK drop off, vs. parking at the TTT and waiting for the monorail to open. BUT, if the POFQ/POR busses are as bad as I've heard, that might not save us any time, anyway. I'll also have DS4 and his stroller to contend with.
Based on experience with this, what do you all suggest?

We were at the POFQ last month and did the MK opening by bus- but we dont have kids- so we traveled light!

We got to the park in PLENTY of time- actually we were some of the first people there. I think we went to the bus stop around 8am.

You will be there in Dec though- probably more busy than Sept. that means- you will be picked up AFTER POFQ and you may have to stand-- BUT then again it will be EARLY and the bus may not be full. The thing is, just give yourself plenty of time both going to and coming back from the MK and you shouldnt have a problem.

Just things to think about......I know after a week of dealing with the buses this year- DH got a bit fed up.

 

[binky]

I asked this on the Transportation board, but would like to run it by the POR experts...
I'll have our own car with us in early Dec. We'll want to hit the MK for the rope drop once morning and return to POR around 1:30pm. Should we take a bus or drive?
I'm thinking the advantage of the bus is the direct MK drop off, vs. parking at the TTT and waiting for the monorail to open. BUT, if the POFQ/POR busses are as bad as I've heard, that might not save us any time, anyway. I'll also have DS4 and his stroller to contend with.
Based on experience with this, what do you all suggest?

I don't think you will have any problem with the buses, especially if you plan to get to the MK early. We were at POR in May (AB#25) and caught the bus at the West Depot each morning before 8:00, and we got to each park WELL before opening. We got in the line at the entrance turnstiles and waited about 30 minutes to get in. That was all 6 days, and it was around Memorial Day, which was pretty busy. The West Depot was never busy at that hour, usually only 3-5 families total waiting. And the bus was empty (or almost) when it arrived so we always got a seat in the morning. I just don't understand all the bad bus reports. Maybe going early is the key. Also, it's questionable as to which is the first stop. West was first when we got on each day, followed by North, East, and South (main) last. But others have said that the main depot is first. You may have to experiment, taking into account which building you are in. Have a great trip!

 

[rkmassa]

With the bus dropping off right near the MK, I would go with the bus. We had no trouble getting to the MK in plenty of time for EMH. It was a very short drive and the bus driver was very entertaining. Taking our car we rented would have meant driving to the TTT and then taking even more transportation. Go with the bus.

 

[jenr812]

Ok we have to be in section with trundles( in Riverside), what buidling is preferred? I also requested a non smoking ground level room or lower level( DH has SEVERE asthma) I don't know which building to request?

We loved bldg 38!

 

[ChairborneRangr]

I would definately use the bus to Magic Kingdom. Driving may be a marginal advantage elsewhere, but it is a liability for MK.

 

[hbehrman]

I asked this on the Transportation board, but would like to run it by the POR experts...
I'll have our own car with us in early Dec. We'll want to hit the MK for the rope drop once morning and return to POR around 1:30pm. Should we take a bus or drive?
I'm thinking the advantage of the bus is the direct MK drop off, vs. parking at the TTT and waiting for the monorail to open. BUT, if the POFQ/POR busses are as bad as I've heard, that might not save us any time, anyway. I'll also have DS4 and his stroller to contend with.
Based on experience with this, what do you all suggest?

We (me, DW, twin DD4) were ther from 9/24 to 9/30 and used Disney Transportation exclusively. We stayed at Magnolia Terrace and used the East Depot every day. We used the South Depot once on a Friday around 10am to go to DTD after eating at Boatwrights for breakfast and had our longest wait (with one exception, see below) of about 20 minutes. At the East Depot typically we only waited 5 to 10 minutes to be picked up. Travel from AK to East Depot took about 45 minutes (the longest), everything else was about 15-30 min with MK being the shortest.

The only transportation hiccup that we had was on 9/29 due to MNSSHP. We had dinner ressies at CP at 5:05pm so we were at the East Depot at 3:45pm (just in case). Well apparently the MK bus filled up at the other depots twice and the drivers did not call in for backup, and we saw the all the other park buses go by twice. I found this out from a trainer on the bus that showed up at 4:25pm and said we should not have been waiting almost 45 minutes. Luckily we got to MK at 4:35pm and through the turnstyles at 4:40pm, inline to check in at CP at 4:50pm, and checked into Cp at 4:55pm for our 5:05pm. This was accomplished by my wife and I carrying our twin DD4 from the bus to CP. This was the only issue we had all week with anything, and was quickly forgotten when we check in in at CP. I post this as a warning just in case you are going to a hard ticket/in demand event and time is critical.

All in all I was impressed with Disney transportation. As a counterpoint to the above, we were at Disney Studios for EMH (9/25) and left to get on line for the bus at about 10pm (we had been at Ak for EMH in the morning so it was a long day). The line to POR was packed beyond the queue and single file past the previous two bus stops. We stood in line (me with a sleeping DD4 inmy arms) for about 20 min with a POR bus just sitting in the pickup space. Apparently it had broken down after being filled with guests. Disney Transportation moved that bus and pulled in 4 buses for POR and the queue was cleared in under 10 minutes. Impressive.

Anything is better than driving when you are on vacation (it at least forces you to slow down). We always tried to talk to fellow guests in the queue about their time at WDW, any suggestions they might have for our visit, where they were from, and gave them tips referencing this board.

 

[Spoisal]

Has anyone taken the POR River Adventure Cruise? (well, has anyone's children taken it - it is a child activity). What were the reviews?

 

[PrincessV]

Thanks everyone for the bus advice! I'm determined that we will be outside waiting for the bus by 8am, so it sounds like we'll be okay, and I love the idea of a "front door" drop off at MK! Much appreciated

 

[heartsy77]

Who knows what building are preferred at POR?

 

[Spartan]

Who knows what building are preferred at POR?

To my knowledge there are no preferred buildings at POR, only preferred (water) views - unless you are just talking about what people's favorite buildings are? IMO water views are no big deal unless you spend a lot of time sitting in your room looking out the window over the exterier walkway. It might give a better location in a building, but not necessarily.

The mansion section preferred, if there was one, would probably be Magnolia Terrace, as it has the best location as far as it's close to the main pool, main building, and bus stop. Of course, the mansion buildings are so big in themselves that the location you are at in the building plays a big part - especially if you need the elevator which is in the center of the buildings and you are on one of the ends . AB bldg 14 seem to be the most requested out of that area for the same good location reasons.

 

[tstobb]

Ok we have to be in section with trundles( in Riverside), what buidling is preferred? I also requested a non smoking ground level room or lower level( DH has SEVERE asthma) I don't know which building to request?

We love building 14 - easy access to the busses and the pools

 

[Pixiedust34]

I was under the impression that AB bld. #18 was a smoking building - is that incorrect?

Building 18 has some smoking and some non-smoking rooms.

I'm new to this thread. We stayed at POR in 8/05 and fell in love with it! We are going back to POR in 8/07. I can't wait!

 

[beachgrl001]

Are the views in AB better than the mansions? It seems like most people prefer AB over the mansions...
I would really like to hear about Magnolia Terrace, how is the view? If I request 2nd or 3rd flr Im assuming that I would get some kind of view. We just dont want to be looking directly at a parking lot. ( I would never hear the end of it from my mother)

TIA

 

[Pixiedust34]

Are the views in AB better than the mansions? It seems like most people prefer AB over the mansions...
I would really like to hear about Magnolia Terrace, how is the view? If I request 2nd or 3rd flr Im assuming that I would get some kind of view. We just dont want to be looking directly at a parking lot. ( I would never hear the end of it from my mother)

TIA

I think both sections are nice, but we like AB because dd uses the trundle bed. I am not sure what the views are at the Mansion sections, but there are buildings at AB that do face a parking lot.

 

[Sk8Leigh]

Are the views in AB better than the mansions? It seems like most people prefer AB over the mansions...
I would really like to hear about Magnolia Terrace, how is the view? If I request 2nd or 3rd flr Im assuming that I would get some kind of view. We just dont want to be looking directly at a parking lot. ( I would never hear the end of it from my mother)

TIA

IMO I wouldn't worry about the view, because you have a walkway outside of your room anyway, so it's not like you have a patio or balcony directly outside your room. You either have to be outside of your room to see the view, or have the drapes wide open so that anyone walking by can look in. And I can't remember at POR, how high or solid the railing is on the walkways, to remember if you can even see over it very well from your room.