my honest review of Port Orleans Riverside

[uktivo]

As per the title says. I'm here right now, Wednesday 14th May.

Ok here we go.
The resort is clean and quite pretty. We (wife, 2 children) are staying in a Royal room pool view. They are nice, would I pay extra again? No. Check in on Saturday was really not great. The lady that checked us in didn't explain anything to us. Nothing about the dining plan, she mentioned nothing about the $100 gift we had been given by booking with Disney UK, she mentioned nothing about the memory maker package We had paid extra for in April. We are still trying to figure all of this out for ourselves. It seems We have to go to Downtown Disney to claim the 100$, not sure where yet but that's all front desk could tell mE. Re the memory maker. I've no idea how to action this. Front desk tell me I have to do this in the park. Unfortunately, we've had three days of photos taken so far sonic hope they are all linked to the magicband.

We are using Disney quick service dining plan, the first time we have done this. To be honest. It's confusing what you get for the package and it seems the serving staff also get confused quite easily.
Whilst on this subject. (I know I'm probably going to get flamed for this view) virtually every member of the staff we have talked to within the dining Hall have been nothing but sharp, short and rude. In the three days of being here, I've been tutted at and she shook her head because the lady serving me didn't understand my English. I've had a chap on the check out say, "I should have told him I was DDP before he started ", my answer "you should have asked ". I've had one checkout guy literally ignore my wife when she pointed out that he had charged us for 2 snacks to many.. she counted them our for him. He ignored her and still put through to many snacks. The final straw was last night. I took my two children to get ice creams and I asked the lady what flavours were in the tubs. She rolled off a list of ice cream, most of which I couldn't understand what she had said as she spoke so fast. She didn't even point to the tubs as she spoke, so even if I did understand her, I still wouldn't know which was which. I asked her three times to repeat it, eventually I gave up and had vanilla.

The Oak building where we are located is one of the closest to the food hall but even this is a fair distance away to just nip over and get a drink. I'd hate to be staying in some of the other buildings further away.

To be brutally honest, we stayed at the All star movies resort last year. We found that resort, better than this.

We used to love the ability to get our breakfast and go and sit by the pool in the mornings. You can't do that here as the pool is just too far away from the main building, plus 99% of the chairs there are lie low and have no tables.

All in all. We aren't impressed with POR. Sorry if anyone is about to come here but if you like similar things to us, and you have time to change. I would suggest you do.

 

[HiHoWeGo]

Sorry to hear that you had such a bad time. I've been to POR and POFQ and loved both.

I did find that the service on our last trip (staying at Kidani Village) was noticeably worse than ever before. I think Disney management simply doesn't care any more. Sure there are isolated pockets of magic at WDW, but they are getting fewer and further between.

 

[dizzyinwdw]

I appreciate your honest review! We are currently booked POR Royal Room (Garden view) for an August trip. This is very useful feedback.

I must say that in April I also noticed that some CMs were not as friendly. I first hand witnessed one CM swearing under her breath and quite unfriendly after she couldn't understand a gentleman in the line in front of me. She had to ask him to repeat himself a few times; he was quite cheerful as he replied to her requests yet she was still getting angry. Maybe having a bad day, but in my previous trips to WDW I have never seen a CM swear before and with an openly hostile attitude. I was a little shocked at this episode--glad my kids weren't with me. The man was just buying some items and appeared to be from the UK (at least from his accent--I understood him). From posts on here it seem the CMs are under a lot of strain beyond the norm and yet do an incredible job under the pressure--that's partly why this incident really stood out.

ETA: As PP we were at AKV-Kidani as well.

 

[boltfan]

Love POFQ but not POR. It's way too spread out and takes forever to get anywhere. And the bus service is spotty. Definitely will not stay there again.

 

[dizzyinwdw]

As for Memory Maker, if you linked it to MDE you should be okay using your bands. If you log into your MDE account you should see your pictures already--go to "my reservations and tickets" and there should be a memory maker at the bottom of the page with a link to view or download your picts (don't download yet). We did this each day of our trip to make sure our ride pictures showed up. I called IT and they helped me set it up prior to our trip. If you don't see your picts I would call ASAP. Hope you have a good rest of your trip!

 

[Disneylover99]

We used to love the ability to get our breakfast and go and sit by the pool in the mornings. You can't do that here as the pool is just too far away from the main building, plus 99% of the chairs there are lie low and have no tables.

We noticed that there are no tables to sit at around the main pool at POR as well. We bought sandwiches from Earl of Sandwich and we sat by the pool to eat them but we were hoping to sit at a table. There were always tables available at Pop and AllStarMusic around the main pools.

 

[uktivo]

We noticed that there are no tables to sit at around the main pool at POR as well. We bought sandwiches from Earl of Sandwich and we sat by the pool to eat them but we were hoping to sit at a table. There were always tables available at Pop and AllStarMusic around the main pools.

I think this is a massive oversight.
We always made use of the pool at ASM, the table and chairs were exceptionally useful.

 

[Micca]

Well I hate to hear this from someone who has come so far for their WDW holiday. I hope the rest of your trip will be enjoyable.

 

[Vaughn4380]

All valid concerns and you are certainly entitled to your opinion of your current Disney experience as compared to your previous experiences with Disney. I would encourage you to politely discuss these issues with a manager. They need to be aware of the gaps in the customer service provided by their employees, as well as your expectations about the grounds (like the lack of tables near the pool).

The only way Disney can address your concerns is if you let them know about them (not that you should have to do this on your vacation).

 

[nkereina]

If you stayed in Oak Manor, it sounds like you booked a Royal Room? A little thread searching will return results that the Royal Rooms aren't in the best of locations (done intentionally) so a good walk to certain areas is to be expected. As for the rest, unfortunately incidents and I'm sorry POR wasn't up to par.

 

[mm1971]

OP - Thanks for the review. I fully agree that paying for a Royal room is a waste of $$. No real differences that warrant spending more. The first time we ever used a dining plan it was a little confusing, but once you get it, it's not bad. I am surprised they didn't correct the snack error. We knew it was more spread out so no issues there.

Honestly, when we were there last August we had very good service and did not encounter any negative CM's. I guess it just really depends on when you go and what kind of day they may be having. We have always found them to be polite and helpful. We have friends with bad experiences. Sorry you had so many difficulties.

We did have to ask several times about the photo packages and where to get the cards, which was a little irritating. All the CM's were very pleasant with the responses, just not overly helpful. I can understand the frustration and that is partly why I will bring my own camera and save the $$ in the future.

We probably will not stay at POR again. We do still love POFQ. It's just more enjoyable for us.

We noticed that there are no tables to sit at around the main pool at POR as well. We bought sandwiches from Earl of Sandwich and we sat by the pool to eat them but we were hoping to sit at a table. There were always tables available at Pop and AllStarMusic around the main pools.

There are tables at the bar by the pool that guests are welcome to use. We had lunch there a couple times. I guess you wouldn't really notice them unless you were up there for a drink or other reason. It's not quite poolside, but comfortable and easier to eat there.

 

[ericstac]

we just got back from a weekend trip at the POR and I can vouch for the tables at the pool, they are up by the bar.. It would of been nice if you could order food from the bar though.. I had to go to the inside bar to order nachos and cheese fritters.. which were very tasty!

I have a family of five so we are pretty limited to where we can stay and I must say this is definitely a great place. I do know they had some transplants working there from the Poly though.. maybe you were dealing with 'those' people lol..

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Oh my goodness, I feel so bad for you guys!!! Your post is a perfect example of why travel agents can be beneficial to people. You guys should have known all the details about your dining plan and memory maker before you even left home.
As for the rude castmembers at the food court and the language barrier I am sad to hear you had so much trouble.
It's good to try different resorts, it will only solidify your favorites for next time.

 

[Disneylvr]

We stayed at POR last May and did encounter quite a few rude CM's in the food court, more so than any past trip. We still love POR and will stay there again but it was a bit of a disappointment.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Prepare to be trashed... Folks on here tend to only want "Disney can do no wrong posts


IMHO the Disney moderates are a waste. Too much money for too little service/quality. I have stayed at POR and was not impressed at all.

 

[sscornette]

We were at POR last fall and didn't really feel the magic, either. It was always super crowded and chaotic getting food. The hot tub was inadequate for the number of guests. We didn't get a single towel animal and they always gave us 3 wash clothes and 1 shampoo/conditioner for the 4 of us, even after asking for more. It was the most expensive hotel we have booked and it was nothing special. The grounds were beautiful and we loved the boat to DDT, but that was about it.

 

[bumbershoot]

Prepare to be trashed... Folks on here tend to only want "Disney can do no wrong posts

It's been up for nearly a day and nothing like that has happened.

I am surprised they didn't correct the snack error.

I am, too. I would go to the concierge desk at POR and talk to them about it.


Have you figured out memory maker yet?


Did you get the disney UK $100 yet?


Most importantly, have you settled in, gotten a little sleep, and started having a little more fun yet?

I found that the longer I was there at POR, the closer everything felt. Our first time there, which was officially 2 nights but the first night we got to our room at 2am so that hardly counts, things felt really stretched out. Second time there it was all much more compact. And it's not like our room was closer! First time we paid for a RR and it was almost the furthest room in that building from everything, and it was river view so you had to walk halfway back in the building to get to a staircase. Second time we were upgraded from our standard room to a RR standard, so we were at the parking lot. And yet it didn't feel that long, because we were more familiar with the place.

Hope you've settled in a bit more and are feeling better about things!

 

[RnbwSktles]

I stayed at POR in Jan and it was my first on-site stay, so I can't compare it to other hotels.

I only remember one rude CM at the front desk, but no one else stood out to me. I am honestly immune to mediocre/poor customer service, so it could be I just don't notice these things anymore. Except for one dinner on our first night, we only ate breakfast at the hotel and I never found it too crowded or anything.

I agree that the Royal Rooms aren't worth the money for more than a night or two. We just spent 2 nights there and then moved over to the Alligator Bayou section. I'm glad I experienced it, but that was enough.

As a PP mentioned, my only real complain was about the hot tubs! I had really wanted to soak before and after I ran the marathon in Jan and it was always full!

 

[edinburghlass]

I hope you have gone to the front desk and given them the opportunity to address any problems you feel you have.

From memory the info about the dining plan, any gift card and the Memory Maker came within my Mickey Mail. The gift card can be picked up at World of Disney in DTD, take your passport with you and use the counter at the jewellery section.

 

[buzznina]

It really seems that the CMs are becoming less polite(being nice). We went to one of the EPCOT resorts for lunch and my DW went to check out and I was getting the condiments when I heard my wife say "excuse me!" immediately I said to myself "oh crap, this is not good" Long story short, Manager sent the CM home and comped our lunch. So sorry about the issues you are having. We stayed in the Royal rooms in Oak manor and found the walk to the main building and pool very manageable, 5 minutes to each. The FC is right next to the bridge that goes to the main pool area which is maybe a 1 minute walk. Hopefully the rest of your trip will be better