Port Orleans Riverside FAQ thread - Royally Refurbished for 2011

[jenny105]

The bus stories do vary a lot by personal experience, but for the most part they are not a major issue outside of peak park-exiting time (e.g. after fireworks shows, at which time all bets are off!).

The food court stories, however, are fairly consistently true: if you want breakfast between around 8.30am and 10am, you can pretty much expect a mass of people at the counters, and snaking lines waiting to pay. Splitting up and one person the getting food while the other joins the payment line helps. Lunchtime is generally quiet, and evening meal times are more spread out so it doesn't usually get as busy as breakfast time.

Andre

Waiting for buses doesn't drive me nuts unless I have to be somewhere at a specific time. But being that it's Disney transportation, I always give myself plenty of time. The worst it ever was was when I caught the bus from Epcot to FW. It took over a half hour just for that bus to show up! Then taking the internal bus to Pioneer Hall took long as well. That's my horror bus story lol.

Thanks for the feedback on Riverside Mill! We're not big breakfast eaters so we may just grab something at the parks on the go.

I agree with this plan. I even have another person scouting like a hawk for a table to sit at. Last year I was like sitting on a perch several times, waiting like a vulture for people to look like they were getting up. Then I'd move in for the kill lol. You laugh but there is other people doing the same, and some don't even speak English so you can't even say anything if they steal the table lol. Once your sitting down have others do the drink run and watch out when you get done. People will vulture you also. All other meals were definitly something I can work with.


Also I dont know who all you fly with, but I just learned airtran will be canceling service to my airport since southwest owns them. Ohh and no southwest won't replace them at the airport they are stopping there alltogether. So I don't know who I will use budget airline wise now. Surely won't be delta or us airways. I will miss them because they were always a way to save some money towards the Disney trips.

You make the Riverside Mill sound scary.

AirTran also stopped flights out of Atlantic City. I've never flown with them but they've been there for a long time and it's such a small airport, I wonder who will be replacing them.

we have stayed at POR at least 2x... both times w/large groups and had many a meal (b'fast/lunch/dinner) at the food court... we *never* had a problem getting a table outside (maybe 'cause it was august?) and rarely had a hard time finding one inside... we didn't always find a table for 10 or 15 as we would have liked, and yes, some of the lines tend to get long and look imposing but they move quickly and it's no worse than any other WDW food court i've visited and better than a few!

we have also used the buses extensively... we may have had a few "long-ish" waits some mornings going to a popular park at a popular time, and one night had a crazy long wait coming home from a park... but other than those scattered episodes, bus service was fine also!

if i had to compare it to another resort, i would say Pop's food court/bus service was better and CBR's much worse!

That's a great comparison because I've stayed at Pop numerous times. I never had a problem with their food court/buses so if the lines are a little bit longer at POR, I can deal. Plus the time of year we're going is not crazy busy so I'm not too worried about it. Worse comes to worse, we wake up a little earlier to get breakfast to miss the peak times.

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

 

[Venomhatch]

You make the Riverside Mill sound scary.

AirTran also stopped flights out of Atlantic City. I've never flown with them but they've been there for a long time and it's such a small airport, I wonder who will be replacing them.

Sorry its not that scary just trying on patience sometimes. I just keep telling myself its a world wide attraction and this is part of the experience lol. Plus my girlfriend keeps me in check most of the time.

---

Well Now it is Atlantic City, Asheville NC, Moline, Ill, N.J. and now Dallas Ft Worth.

As to replacing them, I just saw something that may suggest Jetblue might move in on these vacancies. But they aren't the only ones from what I gather.

 

[reking96]

I'll be there 9/24-10/1 and have requested a refurbished room so I'll see how it goes!

I'll be there the same dates. =) Have fun!

 

[KCmike]

We'll be staying at Port Orleans Riverside for the first time this November (this is my 15th trip and I'm generally a repeat guest of Caribbean Beach & the value resorts) and I'm already in love!! Do any of the Port Orleans veterans have any advice for us newbies?

Go, relax, and enjoy the beauty of the resort. Take the boat ride to Downtown Disney, the mill food is delicious, there are several "quiet pools" if you don't want the busy ol man island, and welcome newbie! Hope you have a great vacation!

 

[Venomhatch]

We'll be staying at Port Orleans Riverside for the first time this November (this is my 15th trip and I'm generally a repeat guest of Caribbean Beach & the value resorts) and I'm already in love!! Do any of the Port Orleans veterans have any advice for us newbies?

Well I have a question about the Carribean Resort. What is the best rooms to stay in? Do they have themed ones? Whats closest to the main bus depot? Not looking for a long walk to the food court lol.

 

[KaitR]

I haven't stayed at Caribbean Beach since I was a kid (early to mid 90s) but I absolutely LOVE Jack Spence's blog on AllEars.net. He does great reviews on the different resorts. The Caribbean Beach one is at:

land.allears.net/blogs/jackspence/2009/02/caribbean_beach_resort_pirate_1.html

One of my co-workers stayed in a Pirate room once and I believe there are Nemo themed rooms.

When I was kid my parents used to drive to the first bus stop in the morning so we guaranteed a seat on the bus

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

Here ya go lulu. I was excited as you are when I saw this thread and started to hope. I NEED a new POR mug (mine's starting to fade). Plus I think POR shirts and deco would be cool.


SORRY!!!! Here is the link now. My bad. I got distracted by something so trivial as work.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2767145

Awesome!! Thanks!

 

[Venomhatch]

I haven't stayed at Caribbean Beach since I was a kid (early to mid 90s) but I absolutely LOVE Jack Spence's blog on AllEars.net. He does great reviews on the different resorts. The Caribbean Beach one is at:

land.allears.net/blogs/jackspence/2009/02/caribbean_beach_resort_pirate_1.html

One of my co-workers stayed in a Pirate room once and I believe there are Nemo themed rooms.

When I was kid my parents used to drive to the first bus stop in the morning so we guaranteed a seat on the bus

Thanks for that. It was a considered back up at one point.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

OK---coming out of lurkdom just to say I am SHOCKED that there have been no spies, no oopsies snapshots, no my sister's friend's cousin's boss's ex-wife just stayed in a new room and posted pix on FB, no die-hard POR fan's exclusive, no FL resident stopped by and video taped, no sleuthing camera shots by blondes just taking the wrong path back to their room. WHERE ARE THE PHOTOS OF THE NEW ROOMS IN THE MANSIONS??????? I mean, seriously, the DIS already has top secret free dining codes and dates a week early from now thru next year and no one has a flipping photo of these new rooms? Sheesh.....











just kidding(not really though.....I am quite curious )


OK--returning to lurkdom. Back to regular programming...........

 

[Venomhatch]

OK---coming out of lurkdom just to say I am SHOCKED that there have been no spies, no oopsies snapshots, no my sister's friend's cousin's boss's ex-wife just stayed in a new room and posted pix on FB, no die-hard POR fan's exclusive, no FL resident stopped by and video taped, no sleuthing camera shots by blondes just taking the wrong path back to their room. WHERE ARE THE PHOTOS OF THE NEW ROOMS IN THE MANSIONS??????? I mean, seriously, the DIS already has top secret free dining codes and dates a week early from now thru next year and no one has a flipping photo of these new rooms? Sheesh.....











just kidding(not really though.....I am quite curious )


OK--returning to lurkdom. Back to regular programming...........

Thats funny yeah i was curious also.

 

[andrewilley]

Well I have a question about the Carribean Resort.

You'll probably get better response in a Carribean Beach thread rather than the Port Orleans FAQ one.

Andre

 

[Venomhatch]

You'll probably get better response in a Carribean Beach thread rather than the Port Orleans FAQ one.

Andre

I know this, it wasn't an attempt to hijack the thread lol. I was just asking that member because they mentioned being there. But thanks.

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

OK---coming out of lurkdom just to say I am SHOCKED that there have been no spies, no oopsies snapshots, no my sister's friend's cousin's boss's ex-wife just stayed in a new room and posted pix on FB, no die-hard POR fan's exclusive, no FL resident stopped by and video taped, no sleuthing camera shots by blondes just taking the wrong path back to their room. WHERE ARE THE PHOTOS OF THE NEW ROOMS IN THE MANSIONS??????? I mean, seriously, the DIS already has top secret free dining codes and dates a week early from now thru next year and no one has a flipping photo of these new rooms? Sheesh.....











just kidding(not really though.....I am quite curious )


OK--returning to lurkdom. Back to regular programming...........

lol

I know I check daily for a picture- or at least a pic of the display board like we saw for POFQ!

 

[KELLY]

Hi with 3 weeks left we are thinking of upgrading. My first choice would have been POFQ. I think beacuse that is the resort we are most fimular with. Well the only thing under the FD in a standard room is POR or CBR. So I'm trying to do some research on both before I call on Friday. Hopefully they will be nice and not charge me 50.00.

I have stayed at POR years ago like when I was 18 years old so that would make it 18 years ago LOL. So I don't really remember much about it. We were in the alligator section. I would rather be in the Alligator section but we are only 4 going during FD so not sure we would end up there. So I was thinking of asking for Acadian house since that will be refurbed. How are they with request at POR? We would also only be booking a standard room. Not sure if that matters for either section. The pool at CBR looks neat but my 3 year old would rather swim in the big pool anyway so that kiddie area really isn't a big draw for me. I prefer the theme at the PO resorts and the boat to DTD. Plus next year I really want to stay in a Royal room so I would love to get to know the resort.

Any suggestions I did make a reservation at boatwrights for they day we head to the WP. How is boatwrights for dining? I'm a little overwhelmed right now. We are on the QSDP at pop right now. So I had to make Adr's today and I actually found quite a bit so that made me happy. Now I just need to figure out where to stay in a little over 3 weeks.

Thanks
Kelly

 

[Chicago Mo]

Did anyone hear about this?
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2771372

 

[BDL]

Did anyone hear about this?
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2771372

I thought that this would happen when I 1st heard that POR was upgrading all rooms to either 1 King bed or 2 Queens. It logistically cuts down on the room that is allowed for the free trundle beds.

I know that there is the "pay for a roller bed" option that may still be available. And that would seem duplicitous. But with the addition of another resort, and more room to put people, the suits probably just looked and said, we make more for a family of 5+ in 2 rooms instead of 1 or charge them per night for the roller.

The only thing I can think of to get around it, I slept on the floor when I was kid and we went to Disney (not cuz my folks were cheap, but because I didn't want to share a bed with my sister). You can book your 2 queens room, have 1 of the kids sleep on the floor (or more than likely DAD), get the 4 park tix and then just get a 5th ticket for the length of the vacation on the 1st day at the parks. The only hiccup would be if a meal plan was involved.

 

[Venomhatch]

Did anyone hear about this?
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2771372

Ouch soo very sorry to hear that. I was sticker shocked so to speak when this year i priced the Polynesian.

 

[Chicago Mo]

this is will be our first and last at the POR!
Like you had said the poly is umm a bit pricy? or i believe it's time to buy DVC.

 

[Venomhatch]

this is will be our first and last at the POR!
Like you had said the poly is umm a bit pricy? or i believe it's time to buy DVC.

Yeah I laughed at the last line in this quote. I dont know if DVC is a great deal or not. But Yeah even at garden view it is $5,512 with our tickets. Are airline is already taken care of.

 

[Chicago Mo]

I thought that this would happen when I 1st heard that POR was upgrading all rooms to either 1 King bed or 2 Queens. It logistically cuts down on the room that is allowed for the free trundle beds.

I know that there is the "pay for a roller bed" option that may still be available. And that would seem duplicitous. But with the addition of another resort, and more room to put people, the suits probably just looked and said, we make more for a family of 5+ in 2 rooms instead of 1 or charge them per night for the roller.

The only thing I can think of to get around it, I slept on the floor when I was kid and we went to Disney (not cuz my folks were cheap, but because I didn't want to share a bed with my sister). You can book your 2 queens room, have 1 of the kids sleep on the floor (or more than likely DAD), get the 4 park tix and then just get a 5th ticket for the length of the vacation on the 1st day at the parks. The only hiccup would be if a meal plan was involved.

it's getting crazy trying to find vacations for a family of 5! Feel worse for people with more then 5!!! i'll sleep in the dresser drawer at this point!