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

[brooklyn615]

I am so excited that I can't even help myself!!! Last night we finially made our reservations for December!!! We are in a royal guest room, garden view. I have never been to this resort so I hope it's nice!!
we have been to WDW twice, once at the Pop century and once at CBR, which by the way I really liked! Anyway, our 10yr anniversary is in September. We can't go away on our own b/c we don't have anyone to watch the kids so we decided to celebrate a little later and go in December with our boys. On our honeymoon, we took a short cruise that left from New Orleans. The plan was the cruise and then a few days in the French quarter. On the cruise, we were in the middle of a tropical storm and then when we finially got back to New Orleans, there was a water main break and no one in the French Quarter had water! We were a little upset at the whole experience but now, 10 yrs later I look back and laugh. I will always have the honeymoon that you'll never forget!!! lol So, back to my story, we decided to try POR because it is kind of like being back in New Orleans again but hopefully will be a better experience! We have never been to WDW in the winter so we are looking foreward to seeing all the decorations and such!
I don't have any friends who are into disney like I am so I wanted to tell someone who would understand how excited I am!!!
(if there was smile that did cartwheeels, I would have used that one!)

 

[NokOnHarts]

So I just read that all of Oak Manor is now Royal Rooms - I wasn't aware the whole building was changing to these. I had put Oak Manor (as well as 16 & 17 in AB) on our reservation as our room request for our trip this fall. We are booked as Garden View. Should I remove Oak Manor from our reservation requests since they are all RR or would they just ignore it since we didn't book a RR?

 

[Fire14]

So I just read that all of Oak Manor is now Royal Rooms - I wasn't aware the whole building was changing to these. I had put Oak Manor (as well as 16 & 17 in AB) on our reservation as our room request for our trip this fall. We are booked as Garden View. Should I remove Oak Manor from our reservation requests since they are all RR or would they just ignore it since we didn't book a RR?

I'd guess they would just ignore it but who knows you may get some "royal pixie dust"

 

[kristie73]

Got back last night. It was a great first trip to WDW. Thanks for all the advice and suggestions. We had an awesome time.

Just a little about our experience at POR. Magical Express bus wait was short from the airport. It was cool having our luggage and groceries brought to our room. We booked a garden view room and requested the Magnolia Terrace. We got the Magnolia Terrace building! But I was a little disappointed in the location. It was the 3rd floor, back of building...parking lot side and a view of a tree blocking the parking lot. Not really what I would call garden view, but it was fine. The room was nice. The ice machine on the 3rd floor never worked. Other than those, no complaints. The walk to the pool and main lobby was a short walk across the bridge. We only ate breakfast twice there. It was a mad house but fine. We bought two of the disney mugs and filled them up as often as we could. We didn't have a dining plan and maybe next time that is something we will need to learn about. Expecially if we can get a free dining plan. We only took the boat the first evening to Downtown Disney. It's a nice ride. But our last night we took the bus to Downtown Disney. We usually left and got off out the East depot because it was closest to our building. The buses sometimes got crowded or was a little wait, but I don't think it was anything unusual or worth complaining. We went to the pool every afternoon at least for a few hours. My boys loved it and loved the slide. Sometimes it was hard finding an ideal place to lay down but someone was always leaving and you could grab their chairs. There was a lot we didn't do like the movie night or campfire. We would definitely come back to Port Orleans Riverside. I was a little confused with the Magical Express checkout and luggage procedure. They checked us in and 4 of our bags. But I didn't know that. So yesterday morning, I logged onto the airline website and checked in and paid for 2 checked bags. But it was $35 each. I thought that was weird. But it charged us that because they thought we already checked in four bags. Whatever, I have to call Delta and see if I can get refunded some money as we only had 2 bags checked. Thanks for sharing your experiences to help make our trip great! I'm sad we are back home, but thankful that my feet get a rest.

Oh one other thing. My son had a stuffed Mickey Mouse that he brought from home. It has movable arms and legs. He left it on a bench at the East Depot bus stop. Boo! Someone took it and didn't turn it in. So that makes me sad.

Lots of discussion about the rooms and views. I really was disappointed that we got put in the back of the Magnolia Terrace building on the 3rd floor. I didn't quite see the parking lot, but it was there and blocked by a tree. It didn't feel like a "garden view" room. But I didn't complain to the staff.

Here's a picture of our view in front of our window.

Maybe I would have gotten something better if I asked for a ground floor garden view room. No big deal though. I wasn't looking out the window much. It's just the point in the cost difference that you pay. I didn't have free dining to help me feel better about the cost either.

We had a great trip and I'm not complaining. I'm sad we are home. I look forward to planning our 2nd trip.

 

[TeamBlack]

Oops, I thought I'd mentioned that here too when I linked to it on the news page at portorleans.org a few days ago. Denise and Jeff do some great photos and videos of WDW generally in fact. I've known Denise for ages (since before she started MouseSteps I think) and it's worth following her on Twitter (@Mousesteps and @MousestepsWalks) to see what she's posting next.

Andre

Denise, rocking the vocal fry.

 

[lfeikert]

Hi, we are booking a garden room in Oak Manor and I'm wondering how long does it take you to get to the bus, the dining hall and Ol Man Island? Thanks!

We can be to all of those places in 5 minutes or less I would say. Old man island is the farthest but still just a short walk. We have a water view room so we face the quiet pool but we are almost on the end of the building so we have a river view too! I can see the main building from right outside our room. This location is perfect!

 

[webepirates]

We had AB rooms booked on a bounceback from our February trip...we added a day on recently and to accomodate we got a Royal Room with garden view...Pixie dust happy dance Sooo looking forward to our first Christmas time in Disney! Love the previous post about walk times, thank you! sounds like a pleasure

 

[Phatoomch]

I am so excited that I can't even help myself!!! Last night we finially made our reservations for December!!! We are in a royal guest room, garden view. I have never been to this resort so I hope it's nice!!
we have been to WDW twice, once at the Pop century and once at CBR, which by the way I really liked! Anyway, our 10yr anniversary is in September. We can't go away on our own b/c we don't have anyone to watch the kids so we decided to celebrate a little later and go in December with our boys. On our honeymoon, we took a short cruise that left from New Orleans. The plan was the cruise and then a few days in the French quarter. On the cruise, we were in the middle of a tropical storm and then when we finially got back to New Orleans, there was a water main break and no one in the French Quarter had water! We were a little upset at the whole experience but now, 10 yrs later I look back and laugh. I will always have the honeymoon that you'll never forget!!! lol So, back to my story, we decided to try POR because it is kind of like being back in New Orleans again but hopefully will be a better experience! We have never been to WDW in the winter so we are looking foreward to seeing all the decorations and such!
I don't have any friends who are into disney like I am so I wanted to tell someone who would understand how excited I am!!!
(if there was smile that did cartwheeels, I would have used that one!)

You have friends here who understand and I'm excited for you!!!! We're also going when the xmas decks are up and I am soooooooooo excited, like triple excited .... like totally stupid excited

 

[blueeyesrnc]

Congrats Venomhatch!!! I've been hoping for a PIN but no luck so far. I've been considering my request for the RGR river view, and would like your input. I thought I would request Parterre Place cornor room. I'm hoping to get a room with a good river view. Your thoughts?

 

[gris gris]

We can be to all of those places in 5 minutes or less I would say. Old man island is the farthest but still just a short walk. We have a water view room so we face the quiet pool but we are almost on the end of the building so we have a river view too! I can see the main building from right outside our room. This location is perfect!

sounds great!!!! I can't wait to get there enjoy the rest of your trip.

 

[webepirates]

Quick question for our friends on site.. ceiling fans in royal rooms? TY! PLus I'm jealous, just so you know...have fun!

 

[germ539]

We're not that far from the 250 magical number post page, will you be doing a new one in the near future Andre? I among all the others here really appreciate all the work you have done on the posts and on your website.

 

[strawberrylilacs]

We will be there in a week. Going to FQ then RGR at Riverside. (spring offer available at Riverside made RGR cheaper than the rooms at FQ)
Question - where do I find phone number for POFQ (because I am starting there) to call the room allocator (not sure of title) I have talked to someone on the disability line. Needing a ground floor room due to ECV and not arriving till 12:30 a.m. Want to make sure we dont end up in a broom closet that time of night! LOL Havent checked in on line yet because I do not know if that is the best thing to do. Thanks for any help

 

[andrewilley]

Quick question for our friends on site.. ceiling fans in royal rooms?

[Edit: correction, no there aren't any ceiling fans in the Royal Guest Rooms]

We're not that far from the 250 magical number post page, will you be doing a new one in the near future Andre?

Yup. We just made it to three months with this thread! Phew!

Question - where do I find phone number for POFQ (because I am starting there) to call the room allocator (not sure of title) I have talked to someone on the disability line.

There's a separate POFQ FAQ thread which will help you with all things French Quarter, and the phone number is in the first post there: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2650040. Do make sure you ask to be transferred to someone on-site in the resort's room allocation dept, as the call will initially be answered by the WDW call center which is off-site.

Andre

 

[lfeikert]

Yes, there are Royal Ceiling Fans - presumably left as a gift after Princess Jasmine's visit...



I am sitting in the RGR now and as far as I can see, there is no ceiling fan (and yes, I did look up!)

 

[andrewilley]

I am sitting in the RGR now and as far as I can see, there is no ceiling fan (and yes, I did look up!)

Ooops, yes, you're right! Sorry, was thinking about the new AB rooms. The decorative light fitting takes the place of the old fans in RGRs. We'd better have words with that mean old Princess Jasime for not leaving Tiana a fan on her visit!

Andre

 

[Venomhatch]

Ooops, yes, you're right! Sorry, was thinking about the new AB rooms. The decorative light fitting takes the place of the old fans in RGRs. We'd better have words with that mean old Princess Jasime for not leaving Tiana a fan on her visit!

Andre

Wow I can't believe I didn't catch that sooner. We love the idea of a ceiling fan for night time. Does the room get hotter since their is no help of circulation from the fan? Or does it make a difference at all with them not there?

 

[KarlaG4Kids]

Quick question for our friends on site.. ceiling fans in royal rooms? TY! PLus I'm jealous, just so you know...have fun!

Darn, a ceiling fan is almost a MUST for this middle age lady. Maybe we need to start a fan swap for the RGR!

 

[ejrj]

Hi everybody!

I've been on planning detox for a few weeks so please forgive me if these questions has come up recently and I missed it.

I do recall talk of new coffee makers in the rooms. Pod style? What type of pods so that I may purchase and bring? Thanks.

Also, we will have a three year old & twin just-turned-two year olds. Can someone comment on space for two pack n plays? I've looked at room pics and I can see that moving the table over is a possibility but room for two?

Cheers!

182 days....although my detox officer says that knowing that number really isn't helping

 

[KarlaG4Kids]

Hi everybody!

Also, we will have a three year old & twin just-turned-two year olds. Can someone comment on space for two pack n plays? I've looked at room pics and I can see that moving the table over is a possibility but room for two?

Been there, done that, and boy is it an exhausting life! BUT VERY REWARDING!!! I had 4 kids in 2-1/2 years (including twins) and even though you hear "enjoy it" you don't really realize how special these years are until they are all grown! It is wonderful you are taking them all to WDW, they will remember those special times forever! Mine are all grown now, 31,31,29, 28 and they now have 9 grandkids for us to enjoy! We are ALL (19 of us) going on a Disney cruise in May and we can hardly wait! Have a fantastic trip!

Sorry, had to get OT for a second...now back to the wonderful POR thread!