Port Orleans Riverside FAQ thread --- 2012, Part One --- NOW CLOSED

[lisalonglash]

Can someone tell me about Yeeha Bob? I see it mentioned a bit and am wondering if someone could fill me in.

Thanks

I haven't seen him yet (we don't go for our first POR stay until this fall), but I have heard/read only great things about him - that he really involves the children in the fun is the what I've heard/read the most

 

[Stan Solo]

I'm thinking of doing the world Segway tour at Epcot for 8:30. Epcot opens at 9:00 the day I'm looking at going.

If the buses start going an hour before the parks open I'm I cutting it to close?

Do they have smaller earlier shuttles for people that have early reservations?

Should I just book the 9:00am tour?

 

[jonofrio]

No offense meant at all, but no offers can be combined - so you couldn't have gotten both the 20% off the room and the free QS. Perhaps the CM didn't know the rules? Have you checked your invoice? Regardless, have an awesome time!

The free QS was a pin code the cast member said we had, the only extra we paid was for the upgrade to DDP. We really did get an awesome deal.....

 

[Stan Solo]

Can someone tell me about Yeeha Bob? I see it mentioned a bit and am wondering if someone could fill me in.

Thanks

Yeeha Bob does a very funny and family freindly entertaining show 5 nights a week in the bar at POR. The show is free and people come and go as they please. When we went all I ordered was a coffee and my DD had a tall glass of milk. He tells jokes and sing songs that are know by just about everybody. The best part of the show is the audience participation. His show is defently a must do for our next trip!

You can search him on YouTube but what you see on YouTube does not do his show any justice at all.

 

[pamkat1820]

No offense meant at all, but no offers can be combined - so you couldn't have gotten both the 20% off the room and the free QS. Perhaps the CM didn't know the rules? Have you checked your invoice? Regardless, have an awesome time!

I mean no offense to you but.....that is exactly what happen to us. Jonofrio is my mother we are traveling together. We have 2 RR booked for April with a 20% spring off deal and I was given a pin code in a email for free Quick service Mods and free dinning for Deluxe. I prefer the dinning plan so we upgraded paying the difference $$ for the DDP. I have also read on the pins and offer board that this has also worked for others. And yes I have checked our invoice our information is correct. I know that there are others who have posted the same info here awhile back but many have discussed it on the pins and special offers boards.

 

[siwash23]

You got Deluxe Dining for free? Same thing I was thinking. Something isn't right.

It's because of her dates. . .she was likely upgraded for free when she gave up the royal room. The week of March 23rd was supposed to be when both buildings with the Royal Rooms were open. However, only one will be ready during that time now b/c the dates were pushed back. Therefore, there was some overbooking in Royal Rooms that week.

 

[andrewilley]

I'm thinking of doing the world Segway tour at Epcot for 8:30. Epcot opens at 9:00 the day I'm looking at going.

If the buses start going an hour before the parks open I'm I cutting it to close?

Do they have smaller earlier shuttles for people that have early reservations?

Should I just book the 9:00am tour?

I'd go for the 8.30am tour. The first bus to Epcot should get you there in time (it's only a 10 minute ride) but you could always try for one of the character meal buses if you're worried, as they run earlier.

Personally I always try to get to Epcot around 30 mins before my Segway time to allow me to get a few nice photos of the front area of the park with no guests. You can get some fabulous photos during these tours by the way.

Andre

 

[andrewilley]

If you happen to be visiting Port Orleans during Mardi Gras there are lots of fun activities around the resort and by the poolside which guests can take part in. Look out for the signs, or ask at the front desk for information.

Every year, Port Orleans cast members get the opportunity to enter a competition to see which department (Front Desk, Housekeeping, Food & Beverage, etc) can dream up the most creative, best themed Mardi Gras parade floats based around the resort's "pargo" vehicles. These golf-cart like buggies are normally used to ferry cast members, guests and luggage around the resort's winding pathways, but it turns out that they also provide excellent bases for small parade floats.

The cast members get to parade their imaginative floats around both resorts for guests to see on the official Mardi Gras "Fat Tuesday", and this year it all kicks off from Riverside's Acadian House at 1:30pm tomorrow (Tuesday 21st February) and does a round trip through French Quarter. The full route details are in the map below:



Good luck to the 2012 teams, and may the best department's float win!!

 

[Luvmepluto]

Thanks for clarifying for me. I'm really hoping for a public free dining -no pins or anything rec'd for us so far. We have a room only at POP but after reading this thread, I would love to move here but we need the dining discount to make it all work. We stayed at POFQ but haven't at POR yet - I was concerned about the buses because POFQ was our worst bus service ever but that was back in 2001 so I'm sure it's better now. The resort looks so lovely & it's the only mod we haven't tried yet (same for POP, haven't tried that value yet but I'd rather do a mod)

I believe that POR has great bus service. We have never had an issue there. We have always had minimal waits.

 

[andrewilley]

I forgot to mention, Denise over at MouseSteps has recently uploaded a nice new photowalk of Riverside featuring 180 or so photos of every part of the resort with some accompanying notes. It can be found at: http://www.mousesteps.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=761&Itemid=49

Just as well she didn't go any closer to Oak Manor than this or she might have triggered the secret Royal Room defences...

Andre

 

[klmrph]

I believe that POR has great bus service. We have never had an issue there. We have always had minimal waits.

I have to agree, just got back and never waited long for a bus.

 

[hunmcbunny]

I forgot to mention, Denise over at MouseSteps has recently uploaded a nice new photowalk of Riverside featuring 180 or so photos of every part of the resort with some accompanying notes. It can be found at: http://www.mousesteps.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=761&Itemid=49

Just as well she didn't go any closer to Oak Manor than this or she might have triggered the secret Royal Room defences...

Andre

Thanks Andre...those pics are beautiful and it gives you a rough idea about how far a walk is around the place.

 

[1stTimeDisneyer]

We are planning for a november trip and would like to request the alligator bayou. However we do not want a parking lot view. So my question is do we need to request a garden view room to avoid the parking lot. We would like to look at the bayou.

thanks in advance and sorry for the typos it is an unfriendly tablet.

 

[Missytara]

We are planning for a november trip and would like to request the alligator bayou. However we do not want a parking lot view. So my question is do we need to request a garden view room to avoid the parking lot. We would like to look at the bayou.

thanks in advance and sorry for the typos it is an unfriendly tablet.

You cannot avoid the parking lot view with a standard room; most likely that is what you are going to get.

If you are set on garden view, I would book it. Especially if it is a very busy week, you will most likely not get garden view unless you book it. Standard views are normally parking lot.

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

I believe that POR has great bus service. We have never had an issue there. We have always had minimal waits.

I have to agree, just got back and never waited long for a bus.

Thank you both for the reassurance. There are a lot of opinions about the buses at the resorts. Other than our 2001 stay at POFQ, we've always had excellent bus service so I was thinking they've made overall improvements since back then so good to hear you think POR service is good

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

We are planning for a november trip and would like to request the alligator bayou. However we do not want a parking lot view. So my question is do we need to request a garden view room to avoid the parking lot. We would like to look at the bayou.

thanks in advance and sorry for the typos it is an unfriendly tablet.

You cannot avoid the parking lot view with a standard room; most likely that is what you are going to get.

If you are set on garden view, I would book it. Especially if it is a very busy week, you will most likely not get garden view unless you book it. Standard views are normally parking lot.

I think the answer is that you will need to pay for a garden view if you want to avoid the parking lot. I don't think 1stTime meant she was set on a garden view more than she did not want a parking lot view. So as Missytara explained, to avoid what you don't want, you will need to pay the additional to get what you do want - a non-parking lot view.

 

[HiHoOffWeGo]

June 2011 we booked AB GV and while we were there we never opened the drapes so we could have saved with standard view as we took the short cut from 16 across the parking lot to get to the south or west bus.

Speaking of bus. that June the longest wait we had was 10 min. and that was at Epcot for a return to POR at park closing time. It was such an enjoyable stay that nothing bothered us and all this talk about bus problems seem to be more talk then a problem. Now if this was Chicago then I would complain.

 

[niccikatie]

I forgot to mention, Denise over at MouseSteps has recently uploaded a nice new photowalk of Riverside featuring 180 or so photos of every part of the resort with some accompanying notes. It can be found at: http://www.mousesteps.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=761&Itemid=49

Just as well she didn't go any closer to Oak Manor than this or she might have triggered the secret Royal Room defences...

Andre

I actually walked right up to Oak Manor to look in the windows on Super Bowl Sunday. There were tons of people around because they were showing the super bowl on the lawn there and no one shooed me away. The rooms were gutted. I was hoping to get you guys some sneak peeks, but really there was nothing to see at that point.

 

[andrewilley]

There are a lot of opinions about the buses at the resorts.

Ain't that the truth! For every resort-based thread on these boards you'll probably find just as many bus horror stories (and praise stories) as there are for any other given resort. Even both on the same dates sometimes.

If I had waited an hour for a bus to Epcot, I'd probably be fuming... however a person who arrived at that same bus stop 59 minutes after me would see a bus arriving with less than a minute's wait. Same bus, vastly different experiences.

I think I probably see just as many praise stories as horror stories posted on the boards, it's just that the negative ones usually stand out more as they tend to be typed in large CAPITAL LETTERS with lots of exclamation marks!!!! Some are even possibly written in blood - or is it just crayon?

The truth probably lies somewhere in between, and for most people the service is just as advertised - generally a bus comes along at least every 20 minutes, sometimes more often.

Andre

 

[andrewilley]

I actually walked right up to Oak Manor to look in the windows on Super Bowl Sunday. There were tons of people around because they were showing the super bowl on the lawn there and no one shooed me away.

Obviously the deflector screens and laser defence turrets were shut down in order to power the video projector for the game...

Andre