POR - Just got back... Questions????

[disneyfanfamily]

Not that I may have the answer you need. We were not in our resort very much but, I can try to answer some questions.

We are a family of 5. They put us in AB, building 36, room # 3650. We were on 2nd floor, which we were not crazy about. We stayed in the mansions section 2 years ago, and I definitely preferred that. We felt AB was too ...fluffy with bushes, if that makes sense. The mansions seemed neater and less wildernessy.

We left tips almost everyday (forgot a couple times and just gave extra the next day.) We did receive 1 towel animal, a cute puppy. Mousekeeping was fine. We did hang our towels on the curtain rod like they said in order for them not to take your towels. They took them anyway and gave us new ones.

The food court was nice. I did not notice alot of visual changes. My DH was very unhappy that there was no more Philly cheesesteaks. The pizza and pasta was yummy. Their portions are pretty good sizes.

They have the new dreamy refillable mugs. But I did see people using their old POR mugs. Not that it is right, I am just telling you what I saw. We bought 5 of the new mugs. I thought they were cute!

We took a carriage ride for $35 and then a tip. It was nice. I think their hours are 6:00 pm - 9:30.

Took the boat to DTD. A nice 15 (apx) minute boatride.

We did not eat at Boatrights. It was VERY crowded there.

We watched for about 5 minutes the piano man there. He was GOOD. I wish we had an open evening and we would have spent some time enjoying that. Everyone was having such a good time!

We arrived Wednesday morning around 11:30 (the 27th) and checkin was quick and painless. They sent us over to conceirge to put our already bought 10day hopper passes onto our room keys. That took about 10 minutes.

We never went to the main pool. Just one of the quiet pools behind our building. I noticed that the AB pool seemed more crowded then when we stayed in the mansions. Maybe because more families are in the AB section???

Any questions, I will be glad to answer, if I can!

Angela

 

[disneyred]

Are there towels by the pool , or do we have to bring the
ones from the room ?/

thanks !

 

[2mickeys1minnie]

Overall, were you happy with the resort? Would you stay there again? We are going to be in AB from 8/25-9/1. I hope we like it. How were the trundle beds...were they already made up w/ a blanket, sheets, etc.? Was it comfortable. My DD (3) will be sleeping in that. Was the food court always crowded? Thanks!

 

[disneyfanfamily]

You have to take your own towel to the pool. But there is a place to drop off your towel at the pool if you do not want to take it back to your room.

We did enjoy our stay. We will probably get 2 rooms at Movies next time. Mainly because we won't be going back for another 2 years. At that time our kids will be 14, 12, & 8, and the extra room will be nice. Don't get me wrong. We had enough room this time - a little tight - but for the amount of time we are in our rooms, it was fine.

My 6, almost 7 year old slept on the trundle. She loved it and slept really well on it. It has a sheet on it and a little bedspread thing. There is an extra blanket then that we gave her.

You might want to bring a plastic shoe holder - the one that hangs over the door, to put your toiletries in since there is no counter space by the sinks. There is a little ledge over the pedestal sinks, but not much room. We brought the shoe holder and it worked out perfect! We actually hung it on the hangar rack. If you hang it over your door it will block the full size mirror (unless the toiletries hang on the inside of the bathroom, which we did not like.)

Angela

 

[disneyfanfamily]

Oh...about the food court. Sometimes it was more crowded than others, but I thought it was fine. There is ALWAYS a place to sit. The longest in line was late in the evening when everyone was wanting icecream, or early in the morning. Besides the bakery, the rest of the food court does not open until 7:00 am. So if you do not want to wait in a long line, and you are not planning on getting something at the bakery, get there early to stand in line until the places open.

Even at the busiest times, we never waited longer than 15 minutes from standing in line to sitting down and eating.

Have fun guys!!!!

 

[mickeystoontown]

We are still on the fence as to which of the three Port Orleans sections to choose. Right now, we are leaning towards the mansions in Riverside.
I see that you've stayed in both and preferred the mansions section.

I would love to know how the bus service was. I've heard some say it was bad and some say it wasn't bad at all. I know it all depends on the time of year you go. What kind of experience did you have?

When going to Downtown Disney, which is easiest...the bus or the boat?

If we stayed in Alligator Bayou, what building would you suggest?

If we stayed in one of the mansions, which one would you suggest?

Any pictures you could post?

Thanks a bunch, Lisa

 

[NUguyinCrew]

How was the bus service to and from the parks?

 

[Prose]

re: Towels at the POR pools -- there are towels at the main pool, just not at the quiet pools.

We had no problems at all with the bus service -- we were in AB building 14, and caught the bus at the first POR stop. The only crowded bus we had was coming back from MK at the ed of the day when it was pouring buckets, and everyone left at the same time. Otherwise, it was great!

 

[lilyv]

Quiet pools-this is probably a really dumb question, but what are they? We're planning a stay at POR-2 adults, and I'm looking forward to a little relaxation in the pool.

If the resort doesn't provide towels there, I'm assuming it's ok to take towels from the room, right?

 

[pixdust]

Can anyone tell me how many rooms are in each building at AB and Magnolia Bend? I really want building 14, and it seems like so does everyone else. I was just curious how many rooms they have..

 

[disneyfanfamily]

Regarding the buses - we rent a car, so we never used the bus service.

We have always taken the boat to DTD and not the bus. We just like the relaxing boat ride. We think it adds to the fun.

I would love to post some pics, but still have not gotten things downloaded. We stayed in the Acadian section of the mansions last time. We were a bit away from the food court, but LOVED it. It was quiet and the pools were sometimes empty. It is a nice walk to the food court.

A quiet pool is just a pool tucked away between some of the buildings. They are not the main pool, but just some smaller pools that people can use.

Angela

 

[RustManFan]

I have stayed at POR 6 times. Everytime, except once when I asked, we were randomly assigned to Building 24. It is at the back of the resort and very peaceful. We rarely saw anyone else around the building even when it was peak season..... We generally drove our car and parked it up front at breakfast time so we wouldn't have to walk back after being on our feet all day. The times we did walk it was fine. Well worth the quiet atmosphere of Building 24.

The boat is one of our favorite activities at WDW. It is always a cooling relief if the weather is especially hot. This is one thing we always must do on our day of arrival when we never go to the parks.

WE LOVE PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE - ALLIGATOR BAYOU section !!!

 

[catmorgn]

How is the housekeeping service at Moderate resort? What is provided in your room? We are staying at CSR beg of Aug and it says that hairdryer, coffemaker and fridge are provided. Do they leave anything else besides towels each day? Do we need to bring our own mugs for coffee so we dont have to use plastic? Is there an ice tube, plastic cups, shampoo, cond, soap? Have never stayed on site before but you normally get those things in other hotels? Just wondering,.....

 

[DisneyHolidayFan]

As you can see below, we have stayed at POR several times and really loved it until the last trip there. A CM that we knew arranged our room at Oak Manor; a corner room that had been renovated and appeared very nice. We had only been there an hour or less when I found a bug (roach) in the bathroom. My husband called maintenance and we never saw anymore. I have also read about this problem at POR before on forums. I love POR but am so afraid that I could have this same situation again. I know that it could have happened anywhere but I know I would always be looking for bugs there. Also, I was disappointed in the curtain that was hung between the dressing area and the bedroom (a cheap remodeling idea). And the beds were not always the best. I want to again stay there but need to hear that housekeeping and maintenance are good. Convince me!!!!

 

[disneyfanfamily]

POR mousekeeping was fine. Nothing outstanding, but not bad either. There is the styrofoam cups for coffee and glasses that sit on the refrigerator. I know people have complained about the taste of the coffee, but my DH liked it just fine.

They leave a shampoo/conditioner combo in a little blue container in the bath for you. There is soap also. I did not see any ice trays.

They leave towels everyday. But we called several times for more towels. Between showering and swimming, we needed more than they gave us.

Angela

 

[Joey7295]

How was the carriage ride. The CM I was talking to on the phone told me it went behind epcot and that illuminations could be seen. I don't see how this could be possible.

 

[disneyfanfamily]

The carriage ride was nice. This is the 2nd time we did it. It goes around both Riverside and French Quarters. It does not go around Epcot. Unless I missed something, you can't even see Epcot. Maybe there is a different carriage ride somewhere???

Angela

 

[Miss Mo]

Is there an iron in the room? Trying to decide whether or not to pack our useless little travel iron!

Thanks

mo x

 

[Princess Jenny]

We are staying at POR in Sept. We have 5 in our party and I requested a trundle bed and I wanted to be close to the main dining and main pool. I believe she said she would put us down for AB (not guarenteed). My question is AB close to the main pool and dining? Or is there several buildings? We stayed at POFQ and we loved it!!!

 

[Prose]

There is also an ice tub and very cute foam cups with the YOAMD blue logo on them. We left a note one day asking for more and they gave us a huge stack (which, of course, we brought home with us ). We also asked for an extra blanket for the trundle and they were there within minutes.

Mousekeeping was fine -- we did not get any towel animals, but all of DD's "plushies" were sitting in the window welcoming us home each day. Everything was clean every day.

We were randomly assigned to building 14 (score!), but 15, 16, 18 or 27 would be really convenient to the food court and main pool, too.

I know for sure there was an ironing board, so I think there was an iron, but can't remember. If there isn't, I am sure they would bring you one.

Just FYI, the air conditioner is one of the older kind, so it does NOT shut off automatically at night. We were so relieved about that!

My only problem, and this is TOTALLY silly, is that we tended to leave the curtain closed between the bed area and the sinks, and everytime I walked through it, the plastic pull-rod bonked me in the head. You think after a couple of days I would remember it was there, but nooooo....