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

[Venomhatch]

Yay...a new thread! We will be arriving on February 16 and I had requested Oak Manor. I see now that Oak Manor is all Royal rooms (I didn't pay for that) and it won't open until February 17. I really need queen sized beds so which other location would be best? I'd love something close to a pool and the main building of course, lol. Any suggestions?

Maybe try the Magnolia Terrace Building it is just a short walk over to old man island and then over to food court etc. That building has been refurbed already and is close to main building.

 

[laura428]

Sorry, the cast member you spoke to is talking complete and utter... erm, well, you know what I'm trying to say.

The Acadian House and Magnolia Terrace mansion buildings are now both completely refurbished, and have been so for several months. Four Alligator Bayou buildings are also done (14, 36, 37 and 38). If you like the mansions, I'd suggest the river-facing parts of Magnolia Terrace would be a great choice. Alligator Bayou 14 is very close to the main building, but is classed as a 'Preferred' location.

What is due to start around 15th January is work on the 'Royal Room' updates for Oak Manor (and then Parterre Place) which might be where your cast member got confused. Not quite sure what they mean by 'front' either... the front would really be the parking lot side, as that would have been the mansion entrance way, with the river/gardens at the 'back' of the buildings, but not sure if that's how it's referred to internally.

Andre

Thank you so much, Andre!

I called back and had the CM note a request for Magnolia Terrace. I had to clarify this for her, as she kept on saying Magnolia Bend. I explained that Magnolia Bend represented all 4 Mansions buildings. She admitted that she'd have to look that info up as they don't have those specifics. She also told me that some of the renovated rooms would still have full-size beds instead of queen-size. ??????

I'm curious - one of the CMs I spoke with yesterday said that, 2 or 3 days before the reservation is to begin, that there is actually a room scheduler at POR who does the actual room assignments, and that this person is the best to speak to as it is their decision. I was told I could reach this person by calling POR directly. With all of the misinformation I've collected over the last few days, I'm doubtful. Think this is true?

 

[dustyraye]

Thanks for the new thread! Checking into POR tomorrow morning for our first New Year's trip.

We have booked a "river view" room, and since I have mobility issues, I have requested a ground floor room in Magnolia or Acadian. Fingers crossed that they are able to fulfill my requests. I have found that they are usually pretty good about requests at POR.

 

[cartydog]

Thank you for all the lovely pictures. Its helping me get excited for our upcoming trip! Going Feb 7-13th. Its our first trip as a family, but I've been loads of times when I used to live in Miami! I love riverside!

 

[Disney Addicted]

Great pictures Andre! I like the new Magnolia rooms over the old picture. They look much brighter.

Do you have any photos of the renovated Alligator Bayou rooms? Including a shot of the pull-down bed for the 3rd child? The beds are changing to queen, yes?

I had booked a CBR Pirate Room but may end up switching to POR if we bring our DD's friend. Or POP if my BIL's family comes with us instead.

 

[GetGlowing]

So one of the preferred AB buildings (#14) is fully renovated. Is #15 also underway? Then the other preferred buildings and the rest of AB will be finished after the Royal Rooms?

 

[mom2val]

Forgive me for not searching through all the old threads for the answer- which i am sure is there somewhere! Do all the refurb rooms now have queen size beds? We have a trip planned for Nov 2012 staying at Pop but I am thinking about switching to Por because I love to stay at a resort I never have stayed at before. The queen size bed was really nice in 2010 at POFQ.

 

[Venomhatch]

Forgive me for not searching through all the old threads for the answer- which i am sure is there somewhere! Do all the refurb rooms now have queen size beds? We have a trip planned for Nov 2012 staying at Pop but I am thinking about switching to Por because I love to stay at a resort I never have stayed at before. The queen size bed was really nice in 2010 at POFQ.

Yes all the refurb rooms will either have two queens or the one king options.

 

[Megsie1000]

Just a follow on from the previous thread.

We requested and got building 16 last March. I really loved this location. It was very close to everything without paying preferred. I was wondering myself which AB buildings are next on the list. If you don't mind it not being refurbed, I think you will like building 16!

Just wanted to thank you for the information. As to whether we don't mind it not being refurbished, of course we would prefer a refurbed room, but I am thinking with my Mom's mobility issues, the closer room might be worth more to us than the refurbishment. The non-queen shouldn't be an issue since it's my two young girls (9 & 6) who will be sharing, I'll have the other bed and the toddler will be in the trundle or the murphy.

 

[goofyredraider]

Thanks for the new thread, Andre! Counting on down!

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Yay! Glad to see the new thread. I look forward to more good info and discussion about POR

 

[patclairesmom]

Following over.... We have POR booked for April 6-13th. I requested the AB building #s based on the refurb schedule but now that they switch it and refurbed a Preferred building I guess I need to call back and just request a refurbished room instead of the actual builing #. Which way do you think would be best? Do the room assigners know which building are completed?

 

[andrewilley]

The room allocators should know which buildings have been refurbed, as they obviously need that info to determine which rooms are not available in inventory. By April, it will probably still be AB 14, 36, 37 & 38 completed, unless the schedule changes again.

Andre

 

[archdandy]

We are leaving for Port Orleans Riverside next Saturday and I'm super excited! It's our first visit here so I'm unfamiliar with the buildings and rooms. I was thinking we would like something in Magnolia Terrace as it seems close to two bus stops plus the dining area. We booked a garden view and I had hoped to get a refurbed room. Is it possible to get a room in Magnolia that has garden view and is refurbed?

 

[bunkkinsmom]

Just put in my request for 14, 36,37, or 38! I will know in 3 weeks and 1 day if we get it!!!

 

[Mickeyfan74]

Hello,

Checking into POR Friday the 6th Jan. Requesting Queen bed. CM says rooms will not be done until Summer? I guess I will CB mid-week to verify that again. I'm stuck with whatever I get I guess. Oh well it's only for 2 nights. I'll let you know if I hear differnt information when I return from our visit regarding refurb status.

 

[Venomhatch]

We are leaving for Port Orleans Riverside next Saturday and I'm super excited! It's our first visit here so I'm unfamiliar with the buildings and rooms. I was thinking we would like something in Magnolia Terrace as it seems close to two bus stops plus the dining area. We booked a garden view and I had hoped to get a refurbed room. Is it possible to get a room in Magnolia that has garden view and is refurbed?

Id ask for Magnolia Building or Arcadia

 

[Venomhatch]

Hello,

Checking into POR Friday the 6th Jan. Requesting Queen bed. CM says rooms will not be done until Summer? I guess I will CB mid-week to verify that again. I'm stuck with whatever I get I guess. Oh well it's only for 2 nights. I'll let you know if I hear differnt information when I return from our visit regarding refurb status.

There are lots of refurbed rooms available now with queen beds all over POR.

 

[andrewilley]

Checking into POR Friday the 6th Jan. Requesting Queen bed. CM says rooms will not be done until Summer?

<thwack> Is it just me, or is the quality of information being given out by the Disney Reservations Center getting worse at the moment? The trouble is, if you say to the call-center CMs "well I read on the internet that..." they tend to just patronisingly tell you not to believe everything you read and that they know better. And of course people believe them, because they are the public face of Walt Disney World.

While I'd be the first to admit that there is undoubtedly a lot of misinformation around on the net, I spend a lot of my own time and effort in trying to make sure that what you read here, and on my website, is as accurate, up-to-date and helpful as possible. I know of several resort CMs who help out too, and their input is very much appreciated.

Anyway, to put the record straight: as of now about ONE THIRD of the rooms at Port Orleans Riverside have been refurbished (that's all of Acadian House and Magnolia Terrace, plus Alligator Bayou buildings 14, 36, 37 and 38). By mid/late-summer, the whole resort should be complete.

Of course, you are not guaranteed to get one of the new rooms, but 6th Jan is not going to be exactly peak occupancy so I'd be most surprised if the excellent resort staff can't sort something out for you if you ask nicely.

Andre

 

[nanalisa]

I made requests when I made my reservations in August but when I checked in on Dec 15 the gal checking me in acted as if I hadn't made any requests but she was as nice as can be and honored all of our requests but one (corner room, no biggie). It was 11:00 am and we got our queen beds plus the room was ready. Maybe it helped that we didn't care which building we got. I don't have much faith in making requests with reservations.