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

[andrewilley]

Anyone ever go brainless like me on this one, and successfully make a last minute request?

Requests won't even be looked at by the resort until less than 5 days before you arrive, until then they are just words on a computer screen. So unless you are putting in your request a day or so before you arrive, it's exactly the same as putting in a request 12 months in advance.

Andre

 

[CanadianGuy]

Requests won't even be looked at by the resort until less than 5 days before you arrive, until then they are just words on a computer screen. So unless you are putting in your request a day or so before you arrive, it's exactly the same as putting in a request 12 months in advance.

Andre

This is spot on.

Booking early matters for classes of viable room categories. Not so much for requests.

 

[DBLGRR]

I will be staying at POR in November. We normally stay at CSR or AKL but decided to try a new resort. Thanks for all of the great info on this thread.

 

[dischic89]

Hello!!!

I'll be staying at POR for the first time in November (with my mom, DBLGRR)! We've never stayed there, but it looks beautiful! At this point, we aren't going to be requesting a room location....is this a bad idea? We don't have any problem walking and figured we would just leave it up to chance. Will there be Christmas decoration up by our trip (Nov. 8th-13th)?

Thanks for all the great info!

 

[DBLGRR]

Hello!!!

I'll be staying at POR for the first time in November (with my mom, DBLGRR)! We've never stayed there, but it looks beautiful! At this point, we aren't going to be requesting a room location....is this a bad idea? We don't have any problem walking and figured we would just leave it up to chance. Will there be Christmas decoration up by our trip (Nov. 8th-13th)?

Thanks for all the great info!

I am sure you will have a great time! Maybe I will see you there.

 

[Zombierella]

We are getting excited for our end of August trip! It will be our first trip there as a family of 6! We are driving down from Long Island and staying off site for 2 nights (doing Sea World) before checking in for our free dining package. We are checking in on 8/26 in an AB preferred room and plan on hitting the parks(either MK or DHS) right away.

My question is what time should we check in at to get our KTTW? I know there would not be a room ready then! If we go to DHS we will drive, MK use the bus. We like to hit rope drop. Also can we leave our luggage with the bell hop? I would hate to leave it in the car? Do they call or text you when a room is ready so we would know we can go back to the resort?

I swear I think my favorite time of vacation is right before! Sweet anticipation!

 

[andrewilley]

My question is what time should we check in at to get our KTTW? I know there would not be a room ready then! If we go to DHS we will drive, MK use the bus. We like to hit rope drop. Also can we leave our luggage with the bell hop? I would hate to leave it in the car? Do they call or text you when a room is ready so we would know we can go back to the resort?

You can check-in from around 6am and get your KttW card. You might even get lucky and get your room assigned there and then - someone did at 7am yesterday for example, but don't count on it (especially if you have a lot of requests).

You can leave your bags with Bell Services while you head to the parks, and yes if your don't get your room assigned when you arrive, they can text you when it's ready.

Andre

 

[LaDonna]

Are there any pics of views from certain rooms, I'm looking at Building16 and want to request that building, but was wondering if there is a specific "side" / "room number" I should also request. Is the view the same no matter what side?

okay I don't really need pics, just wondering what room might have better view, or closer to pool etc.....I know when I've stayed at Values I've always found a map of some sort showing which room numbers were on which side etc so I could ask for a certain row of rooms on a certain side

 

[crazy4wdw]

okay I don't really need pics, just wondering what room might have better view, or closer to pool etc.....I know when I've stayed at Values I've always found a map of some sort showing which room numbers were on which side etc so I could ask for a certain row of rooms on a certain side

Here's a map of the Port Orleans Resorts:
http://www.portorleans.org/images/Port Orleans Map.pdf

 

[Mariep26]

These are the lunches I have planned based on convenience and kids - Pizza Planet, Tusker House, The Plaza, Crystal Palace and Nbbling around World Showcase. 2 of the other days we'll do Riverside Mill and I want to try and fit in Wolfgang Puck Express.

Just chiming in that we found CP to be decent for breakfast. Great character interaction for sure. There is one item at the breakfast buffet that is a must eat for my family and that is the puffed French toast. It is amazing. Unfortunately I can't speak for lunch at CP. We also liked Tusker House for breakfast and thought the character interaction was the most organized at TH. Just my $0.02..enjoy!!!

 

[LaDonna]

Here's a map of the Port Orleans Resorts:
http://www.portorleans.org/images/Port Orleans Map.pdf

Yeah I've seen that one I was trying to find one that would show building 16 and then show me the placement of the room numbers so I can figure out what side to ask for

 

[Zombierella]

Thanks Andre! We have no special requests so maybe we will get lucky with a room assignment early. Either way so long as ar are checked in and able to make rope drop!

 

[jomommy]

Changed our reservation to a royal room...paid for our trip today! We are ready to visit POR for the first time. I requested the Oak building...any other requests you think I should make? We have a garden view room. Only 50 more days to our visit

We are getting excited for our end of August trip! It will be our first trip there as a family of 6! We are driving down from Long Island and staying off site for 2 nights (doing Sea World) before checking in for our free dining package. We are checking in on 8/26 in an AB preferred room and plan on hitting the parks(either MK or DHS) right away.

We'll be there the same time as you guys! Checking in August 27! We have Royal Guest Rooms, but I didn't make any special requests since we need two connecting rooms (six kids) and I'm happy with the first two available. We stayed in AB in 2008 when we were a family of 6. We loved it!

 

[moemt]

Have garden view room Aug 2. What are the odds for a group of 3 getting an AB room as it is me, niece 13 and nephew 9. The third bed would be real nice to have.

May end up adding Aug 1 if we travel down well as we have 1200 miles of driving to get there. WOuld hope to add a night and be able to be in same room as pkg dates.

Trip very close yet very far away.

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

Never going to crystal palace again. Horrible experience. Didn't even get seated until almost four hours after reservation.

Seriously 4 hours

What on earth was going on at CP that day for that to happen? I'm surprised you stayed, I realize ADR's don't guarantee seating immediately but that's ridiculous. I'd think in that circumstance I'd be insisting a manager waive the no-show fee so I could go elsewhere.

 

[Venomhatch]

Seriously 4 hours

What on earth was going on at CP that day for that to happen? I'm surprised you stayed, I realize ADR's don't guarantee seating immediately but that's ridiculous. I'd think in that circumstance I'd be insisting a manager waive the no-show fee so I could go elsewhere.

I did complain and they ended up doing some magic for us. But that was ridiculous. There were others we weren't alone. They somehow overbooked.

 

[andrewilley]

Yeah I've seen that one I was trying to find one that would show building 16 and then show me the placement of the room numbers so I can figure out what side to ask for

Just ask for a location or feature you want, not a room number. That'll give them more chance to fulfil your request. I have a list of the mansion building room numbers on my site if that helps though.

Andre

 

[andrewilley]

Have garden view room Aug 2. What are the odds for a group of 3 getting an AB room as it is me, niece 13 and nephew 9. The third bed would be real nice to have.

Pretty good to be honest, just by random choice they are 2:1 in your favour (as there are twice as many AB rooms as there are regular mansion building rooms). OK, technically I guess you need to allow for the preferred AB locations too, so the odds are more like 3:2 in your favour.

August 1st is a pretty busy time, so they could be at 100% occupancy, but if you do manage to get something they would try their best not to have to move you. However that same high level of occupancy could make that tricky (depending on what type of room they might have free for the 1st). It'd be worth a quick call to the resort before you set off, to see what they reckon. Make sure you get to speak to someone on-site though, rather than just the remote call-center teams who initially answer the phones.

Andre

 

[crostorfer]

Thanks Andre! We have no special requests so maybe we will get lucky with a room assignment early. Either way so long as ar are checked in and able to make rope drop!

I absolutely LOVE this screen name and wish I would have thought of it myself.

 

[msgoofy]

I've seen pictures of the corner rooms and they appear to have two windows.

Do you know the room numbers of those rooms which are located in the Acadian or Magnolia section?

I'd like to make a fax request close to our arrival.

Thanks for the info!