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

[Backstage_Gal]

Sorry, I dont know what exactly is happening with all Kings, I just know that accessible rooms will have to accomodate 4 people come March 15 or provide a connecting room at no charge. I don't know if there are any regular kings, that was never a bookable category before.

ETA, I mean bookable regular King vs. accessible rooms were not separate categories. That was supposedly changed on 2/23, so you might want to check with CRO (yes, i know, not very comforting, LOL)

 

[BrendonMc]

Sorry, I dont know what exactly is happening with all Kings, I just know that accessible rooms will have to accomodate 4 people come March 15 or provide a connecting room at no charge. I don't know if there are any regular kings, that was never a bookable category before.

ETA, I mean bookable regular King vs. accessible rooms were not separate categories. That was supposedly changed on 2/23, so you might want to check with CRO (yes, i know, not very comforting, LOL)

That does make sense. I noticed from pics of the refurbished accessible rooms most now have queen beds. I have heard of Disney putting people/families in accessible rooms when they did not request or require it.

If what you say is true, it would certainly be a lot more economical for Disney to covert the King Bed accessible rooms to queen beds, rather than offer a whole extra room free of charge!

 

[andrewilley]

Andre....Are there King with Murphy Bed in AB right now?

Yes, all of the refurbished AB rooms should have murphy beds, even the King Bed ones now.

You can't actually book a King Bed room for three occupants as yet though, the booking system still says max of two people.

Andre

 

[andrewilley]

I realize that requests are only requests, but I'm sure everyone in all of the refurbished rooms didn't make a request for such a room. Why can't they accommodate the people who made the requests first? There was plenty of notice and I wasn't requesting five things, just queen beds.

They do try - but remember that there are more than 2,000 rooms at POR, and when the resort is full it gets very complicated. However normally requests (especially ones like yours, which should have been noted on the booking as a special case given all your communications) should at least be looked at.

The best way is still to send a fax directly to the resort, marked for the room allocation department, about 3 days before you arrive (definitely no more than five days) explaining the specifics of your booking. They DO currently read fax requests at Port Orleans (although I can't say how other resorts work) and they will try to action them if possible. They prefer faxes to phone calls, as incoming phone calls are picked up by a central switchboard rather than by the resort directly.

If you just arrive at the front desk, your room will otherwise be allocated from what's called a 'Ready Room' list - which means they will pick from any rooms that are currently free and have been signed-off as cleaned after the previous guests. This means that most guests can get rooms immediately, rather than having to wait until after 3pm. However the Ready Room list might not include anything that happens to matches your requests, in which case they'll need to get someone to check through rooms which are due to become available later in the day (e.g. ones that may not have been cleaned yet). Or even, if you push the point, I guess the Room Allocation team could bump an existing blocked room and give you that room.

Andre

 

[andrewilley]

Sorry, I dont know what exactly is happening with all Kings, I just know that accessible rooms will have to accomodate 4 people come March 15 or provide a connecting room at no charge.

There are a very small number of King Bed rooms which will be retaining the Accessible roll-in showers (literally just a handful across the two resorts) but the majority of Accessible rooms will now feature two queen beds.

I assume this is to tie in with regulations saying that whatever a 'regular' guest can book, a disabled guest must be able to book the same options too - after all, just because someone needs to use a wheelchair, it does not mean they have less of a right to a family room.

This has been achieved by the clever trick of removing the 'alcove' recessed section of wall next to the door, thus allowing more space beside the two queen beds for storing a wheelchair or ECV. This also allows for more space between the beds, to give better access. A very neat solution.

Regular queen-bed room:

Accessible queen-bed room (note the extra space created by moving the door):

Andre

 

[Debrn]

Just waiting to do online check in for tomorrows flight. So excited!!
I am hoping to get over to POR during my stay because may book Bounceback while I'm there for POR.

 

[hunmcbunny]

Just waiting to do online check in for tomorrows flight. So excited!!
I am hoping to get over to POR during my stay because may book Bounceback while I'm there for POR.

have a safe flight & loads of fun!

 

[HotdogDncrs]

Anyway, we did enjoy the trip although we probably won't be staying there again because we purchased DVC!

Congratulations, and Welcome Home

We are also DVC members. We will be staying at POR next week in a RGR (hopefully they will be ready). We decided at the last minute to head down to Disney for Spring break, and all of our points are already tied up for future vacations. We are hoping that we won't be disappointed since we are now used to staying in one bedroom villas, but we couldn't pass up the opportunity to stay in a brand new room! I've stayed at POR for one night in the past on a short trip, and although the room we were in was looking a little tired, the resort was beautiful, and I wished I would have had more time to explore and truly appreciate it. I was thrilled to learn that the resort is in the process of refurbishing all of the rooms, as they look beautiful.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this thread, it has been very exciting reading about somewhere new, and learning why you all love it so much. When we booked we were torn between staying at POR or AKL. We've stayed at Kidani in the past, and while we loved the theming, we really wanted to stay somewhere new, and somewhere where we could stroll around the resort. After reading this thread, I am confident that we made the right decision.

Does anyone have any updates on the status of the Royal Guest Rooms?

 

[MistressMerryweather]

Oh my goodness! I just saw the new Alligator Bayou rooms! I'm so excited. I love the way they refurbed them! I never like the uber-rustic feel.

Can anyone tell me if the standard rooms are *always* parking lot views? Trying to decide between garden or standard. Thanks!

 

[Spoonful_Of_Sugar]

Do the rooms at POR have the old coffee makers, or are they being upgrade to the Keurig (or similar) style coffee makers?

Sorry, not sure if this was answered.. if it was I missed it.

Just wondering about the coffee makers in the rooms, and if they were upgraded yet (I've heard some resorts are getting Keurig - or other single cup machines).

I would like to know, as I normally bring my own coffee, and don't know if I should bring pods, or grounds.

 

[bobbigrl27]

Just out of curiousity, I went to the Disney Website and tried booking a room at POR for March 9th. The Royal Rooms come up as an option, so they must be pretty confident that the rooms will be done.

P.S. hopefully some of the DISers that are staying in a Royal Room will take lots of pictures and post them here.

 

[hunmcbunny]

Sorry, not sure if this was answered.. if it was I missed it.

Just wondering about the coffee makers in the rooms, and if they were upgraded yet (I've heard some resorts are getting Keurig - or other single cup machines).

I would like to know, as I normally bring my own coffee, and don't know if I should bring pods, or grounds.

they are still regular coffee pots

 

[Spoonful_Of_Sugar]

they are still regular coffee pots

Thanks

Anyone know if they are planning to upgrade?

 

[bobbigrl27]

On another thread, someone said that they were replacing the POR coffee makers with Cuisinart models that use the coffee "pods".

 

[huckabear]

We'll be arriving at POR in less than 4 weeks!

We made our reservations back in August and requested connecting rooms in the Magnolia Bend area. We hoped for connecting rooms because one of three kids will be staying with my parents in their room and it would be much easier if the rooms were connected. We also requested refurbished rooms.

We made the reservation via AAA. Where would this be on file? Should I call AAA or directly to Disney or POR? We really want to be in the MB area as opposed to AB.

Should I do the fax like was suggested earlier?

 

[THERESA522]

Just returned from a great week @ POR! The resort is beautiful!!!

We were assigned a room in building 24, and they easily switched us to building 38 (renovated). The ONLY complaint I have about this resort is the lack of a dresser. It was just me with 2 kids and storage was horrible.

Weather was very hot (85) and MK was really crowded yesterday! The lines the rest of the week were light.

It is just terrible being home now.

 

[maplevale]

I would like to know, as I normally bring my own coffee, and don't know if I should bring pods, or grounds.

Do they not replenish coffee in the rooms? Just wondering if this is something I need to add to my list too.


Anyone else print out the room description from when they booked that they want to email me!?? We booked September 25 (through an agent) and we picked Garden View because the description said Queen - otherwise we would have upgraded our room type!

 

[THERESA522]

Do they not replenish coffee in the rooms? Just wondering if this is something I need to add to my list too.


Anyone else print out the room description from when they booked that they want to email me!?? We booked September 25 (through an agent) and we picked Garden View because the description said Queen - otherwise we would have upgraded our room type!

Just returned. They DO replenish the coffee.

Also, I had no problem switching rooms when they gave me full size instead of queens. I think the refurb should be done when you go though, so you'll definately get queens.

 

[Venomhatch]

Just got back home last night at 10:30pm, already planning on next trip. I am compiling a post trip report and some pics to share, if there is anything particular shots of anything requested?

 

[mouselovenfamily]

Just got back home last night at 10:30pm, already planning on next trip. I am compiling a post trip report and some pics to share, if there is anything particular shots of anything requested?

Nothing particular, just everything!!!

Hope it was wonderful!!!!