Just back from POR. Loved it!! with pictures now

[rkmassa]

Just returned from Port Orleans Riverside. We had the best time. The resort is beautiful. The room was just great. We don't have a single complaint about our stay there. I had read a few bad reviews, but we had nothing to report that was unpleasant. Even my DH, who never wanted to stay on property, raved about how much he loved the resort. Said he wants to go back next summer. Now that is saying something about the place if he liked it that much. Any questions, just ask.

next page for pictures

 

[Rootskate]

Glad to hear you had such a good time! Which section of the resort did you stay in? Alligator Bayou or Magnolia Bend?

 

[TZMOM]

We're not going until the end of August 2005, but did you have a small fridge in your room? I've requested Magnolia Bend - hope we get it!!!

Did you take the boat to DTD? How about renting water mice? fishing? sorry for all the questions - we've never stayed at a moderate before - has always been All Stars - & I just can't wait to get there!!

Thanks
Jane

 

[soccer mom]

Welcome back!

We will be arriving at POR on January 4 and can't wait! Had you made any room requests on your reservation? Were they honored? We are hoping for something close to the food court in the AB. We walked through the resort when we stayed at POFQ and loved it, but the size was a bit overwhelming if you want to utilize the amenities. Some of the buildings seemed like quite a hike to the food court/arcade/main pool. What do you think?

 

[rkmassa]

We didn't care for the AB area when we did our research for our stay. I love the look of the mansions. Our TA at the Magic For Less confirmed our reservation for us a few days before our arrival. We asked for Magnolia Terrace because I needed non-smoking for medical reasons. Asked for a corner room too. We were given a lovely room overlooking the courtyard and a corner room too. We were very happy. The refrigerator was there in a cabinet that kind of made it blend in to the room. Looked very nice. Not sticking out like I had imagined. Our walk over the bridge to the food court was quick and easy. We also walked over to the POFQ one morning. My DH didn't care for it. Much more crowded and full of small children-not that I have anything against kids. I have two of my own, but we were on our 10th anniversary trip, so we were looking for peace and quiet. We were very pleased with the resort in those aspects too. Very quiet and peaceful. Gorgeous grounds. Well maintained. Every morning we saw people out working and tending the grounds. We took the boat to DTD. Took 25 minutes. Very nice and relaxing way to go there and back. We chose to rent the water mice at the Wilderness Lodge. We wanted to tour the lake area over by the deluxe resorts. That was great too. Saw so much from the lake that you don't get to see, and seeing the MK was awesome too from the lake. I would recommend renting from some place on the larger lake. Didn't do the fishing. Saw the cutest little rabbits almost every morning out on the walkways. They were not frightened at all. Just sat and ate as people walked by. Lots of ducks in the lake area. Checked out the playground because we plan to take our kids there next summer. It was very cool. The pool was warm and never crowded, but it was a bit cold on a few days of our visit so that might have affected the crowd level. The quiet pool was not crowded either. Lots of chairs available at both. Towels only at the main pool, but we just took some with us and used them as needed. I can honestly say that this stay at POR was the nicest stay I have had in all the 10 or so trips to Disney. There is so much to do and see. My DH was not interested in staying on property. Very against it. He is now considering staying at the POR next summer for a week with the kids. He just loved the place. That is really saying something for him to take that kind of turn. We also took tours of the other resorts, YC, BC, BW, WL, Poly, GF, Contemporary, CB, and POFQ. My DH and I would recommend the POR over them all. We found lots of things we didn't like about the others, but nothing we didn't like about POR. For those of you going, you are going to love it.

I would be happy to answer any other questions. I hope to get my pictures back in a few days. I will post them to an online album after I scan them.

 

[c&m]

Thanks so much for your review! We are going to the POR with my elderly parents in March/April 05. It's so nice to hear that there's so much to see at POR and that it's peaceful. My parents plan to spend minimal days at the parks with us and just relax mostly at the resort and take the boat to DTD.

Really looking forward to your pictures!!!

 

[sunkissed212]

My boyfriend and I stayed at POR in September (right between Frances and Ivan's visits). I was a bit apprehensive because 1) I had never stayed anywhere but the Polynesian (yes, spoiled) and 2) I felt like I needed to impress my boyfriend since he wasn't that initerested in staying onsite (didn't see all the "hype").

Well, needless to say, we were both pleasantly surprised with how much we loved the resort and would definitly stay there again when we return (next year?). I loved the grounds in both sections. We stayed in AB. The lounge is FABULOUS and a great arcade (we're BIG kids) and gift shop too! We never had to wait long for a bus and we were usually the only ones on them! WooHoo!

2 thumbs up for POR!

 

[Rootskate]

Did you happen to notice the Hot tub? Is it right near the main pool or is it elsewhere?

 

[ciera321]

Thanks for the wonderful review!! We are headed tp POR for our May trip and from what you've reported, we made the right choice!!!

 

[AladdinsPrincess]

POR is also our favorite resort, for all of the reasons you described: sprawling, beautiful grounds, quiet and peaceful, fantastic food court and lounge, comfy rooms. I just can't say enough good things about it and I'm always glad to read that other people like it too!

 

[rkmassa]

The hot tub was located by the main pool. DH thought the hot tub felt good, but the older people in it thought it wasn't hot enough to keep the younger kids out. )

 

[northern michigan]

We were in bldg 27 and today we're in bldg 16. Our first room had hair in the tub and noisy early risers on the other side of adjoining door. Not impressed with housekeeping as of yet, theme is fun, landscpaing lush, food court great, but POR is obviously showing a lot of wear and tear. You really see it on the window sills, public restrooms and bathtubs. Spoiled from the new POP Century I guess. A CM told me that only the furthest out rooms have been refurbished as of yet as far as AB is concerned. Due to cold and rainy weather, we haven't done anything more than walk by pool, hot tub (it is next to main pool), and playground. Kids are looking forward to warm weather so they can try them all out.

 

[rkmassa]

Don't know anything about AB. That section just didn't appeal to me. We loved the mansions. All very beautiful. Our room was clean and nice. I know the mansions were recently redone, so that might be the difference. Mousekeeping was fine. Nothing spectacular, but no complaints either. Loved having the fridge. I don't the POR is showing wear and tear. We saw lots of people out cleaning, working on the grounds, testing the water in the pools. We were very impressed with the POR. If your heart is set on the AB section, ask for a room that has recently been refurbished.

 

[Rootskate]

Does anyone happen to know if all of the mansions have been renovated yet? Or is it just certain ones so far? We booked POR for May and requested the mansions section.

 

[tracyjane]

hi al

real glad to hear all the good comments about por. m havin my first stay there for 10 days in march . if there is anything important about the place i should know(bad points) please let me know...




tracy

 

[ufgator]

rkmassa, glad you enjoyed your stay. I love POR.

soccer mom, I called POR directly and requested Panterre Place and got a great room.

rootskate, all the mansions have been redone.

 

[northern michigan]

I think what other posters have said in the past is true. You have to decide what is most important to you in requesting a room. Our priorities were: no smoking, AB, main floor, close to food court (DH priority as he makes the beverage runs to the food court for us), and lastly a renovated room. If only my priorities were involved it would be no smoking and renovated room. There's always give and take. I found the POR CM's less "happy" to accomodate specific room requests with a smile on their face. They'd offer us a building and room, tell us what floor, no smoking, but didn't go the extra step like at POP by showing us the room map so that we could see if adjoining room (didn't want too noisy), corner room, or what side of building it's on. POP did do this for us. Maybe we just got lucky with that CM, but we were pleased. DH like bus service at POP better, one stop. POR has four stops, so it's quite a ride before you actually leave the resort. It didn't bother me, but he's always in a hurry.

 

[armomof3lvsdisney]

We Love POR

My family loves POR and we love the Alligator Bayou section. The CM's were very helpful with our requests and we got all of them. We can't wait to go back in March.

 

[rkmassa]

The only "bad" thing, and not that bad in really, was that when we missed a bus, which happened twice, we had to wait 20 minutes for another one going to where we needed. Missed DTD bus, thought about running to catch it but probably would have not helped, and I waited 20 minutes for another one. Took 30 minutes total to get to DTD (including wait). I thought I was saving time over the boat. Not that time. Also took 25 minutes to get back to the resort. Had to stop at FQ and then all the stops at POR until mine. No big deal. I wasn't in a hurry and the weather was nice. We used our rental car to get to a lot of places. We just couldn't pass up a rental for 79.00 a week. Came in very handy.

 

[rkmassa]

Some pictures from our trip. Hope this link works. POR at Christmas time. The mansions, rooms, pool, etc.

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=6167237&uid=2336789