Port Orleans Riverside FAQ thread - Royally Refurbished for 2011

[disneylovr1]

The way it is now, with no difference between parking lot view and garden view, we always request a view that is not of a parking lot. But over the years I have decided that doesn't really matter as much. When we have stayed at a deluxe resort we used the private balcony a lot, we would take food back to the room and eat, just hang out there, have a bottle of champagne in the evenings, and from WL we watched the water pagent nightly. At the moderates, without the private balcony, I find that other than being excited when we first checked, in I never really looked at the specific view from our room, we never sat out on the walkway. So next year, when garden view becomes a bookable (and more expensive) view, I think we might just go with standard (ie parking lot, I presume) view. On the bright side, you are close to your car for dragging in all of the luggage I manage to bring no matter how much i try to "travel light" and for the heavy Target or Wal Mart runs we always make.

 

[Rekenna]

Hi Guys-I looked on the first info page and I serached through our awesome thread here and didn't find what I was looking for...I promise I looked!

What is the closest grocery type store (Walmart or otherwise) to POR? We are going to fly, we are leaning towards renting a car so I will be able to get to an "outside" store easily. I have used Garden Grocer before and they are great, but I could probaly save some $$ by doing it myself. If we decide to wing it on the buses (doubtful) then I will go the Garden Grocer route.

Danka!

 

[disneylovr1]

Hi Guys-I looked on the first info page and I serached through our awesome thread here and didn't find what I was looking for...I promise I looked!

What is the closest grocery type store (Walmart or otherwise) to POR? We are going to fly, we are leaning towards renting a car so I will be able to get to an "outside" store easily. I have used Garden Grocer before and they are great, but I could probaly save some $$ by doing it myself. If we decide to wing it on the buses (doubtful) then I will go the Garden Grocer route.

Danka!

I can't tell you exact directions, so hopefully someone else will be able to help you with specifics. But I can tell you we always have a car, and always make multiple trips to Wal mat and Target, and they aren't far. I have found that the super Target is nicer then the Super Wal Mart (IMHO), but either works. If it is still open the Goodings at the end of hotel plaza boulevard was closest, but also more expensive. Last I knew it hadn't closed but was limping along, it may have closed by now. Last time down we never checked.

 

[Rekenna]

I can't tell you exact directions, so hopefully someone else will be able to help you with specifics. But I can tell you we always have a car, and always make multiple trips to Wal mat and Target, and they aren't far. I have found that the super Target is nicer then the Super Wal Mart (IMHO), but either works. If it is still open the Goodings at the end of hotel plaza boulevard was closest, but also more expensive. Last I knew it hadn't closed but was limping along, it may have closed by now. Last time down we never checked.

Thanks! I will look the directions up for Walmart and Target and put them in our GPS.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Hi Guys-I looked on the first info page and I serached through our awesome thread here and didn't find what I was looking for...I promise I looked!

What is the closest grocery type store (Walmart or otherwise) to POR? We are going to fly, we are leaning towards renting a car so I will be able to get to an "outside" store easily. I have used Garden Grocer before and they are great, but I could probaly save some $$ by doing it myself. If we decide to wing it on the buses (doubtful) then I will go the Garden Grocer route.

Danka!

I can't tell you exact directions, so hopefully someone else will be able to help you with specifics. But I can tell you we always have a car, and always make multiple trips to Wal mat and Target, and they aren't far. I have found that the super Target is nicer then the Super Wal Mart (IMHO), but either works. If it is still open the Goodings at the end of hotel plaza boulevard was closest, but also more expensive. Last I knew it hadn't closed but was limping along, it may have closed by now. Last time down we never checked.

Just out of curiosity...what do you guys usually need to go get? We have always driven from Charleston, but we are about to move to Nashville, so will be flying. We usually bring packets of oatmeal, drinks, a few snacks since we drive. I assumed I could still fit those in a suitcase for the plane. Wasn't planning on needing to go to a store. Am I forgetting something?

ETA: You know what I would like to get there is a chair of some sorts to sit out in the walkway while the kids nap. Maybe we could start a chair swap for all the folks who fly!

 

[Venomhatch]

Thats why I love the fact I booked my room already in Feb. I have my royal room all secured.

 

[Rekenna]

Just out of curiosity...what do you guys usually need to go get? We have always driven from Charleston, but we are about to move to Nashville, so will be flying. We usually bring packets of oatmeal, drinks, a few snacks since we drive. I assumed I could still fit those in a suitcase for the plane. Wasn't planning on needing to go to a store. Am I forgetting something?

ETA: You know what I would like to get there is a chair of some sorts to sit out in the walkway while the kids nap. Maybe we could start a chair swap for all the folks who fly!

We don't HAVE to go to the store-for us, we usually drive, so I am used to having breakfast stuff in the room and it works well for our boys to eat while getting dressed. Also DS4 has autism and MUST have chocolate milk when he wakes up-or his day will just go to pieces. Also, he still wears diapers and those + wipes can take up so serious luggage room.

When we drive I like to pack: a roll of paper towels, a small pack of paper plates or bowls (for cereal), spoons/forks, cereal, granola bars, breakfast bars (like nutrigrain bars), juice pouches and of course Diet Mtn Dew (I NEED IT!). So not alot and we can get it all from Garden Grocer (they do a really good job) but, it would be a little cheaper if I could buy it myself.

Since we are flying Southwest we get 2 checked bags each (which we will not need that many) I thought I might make a small bag the "extras" bag-and then we will have a piece of luggage open to bring our Disney goodies home.

On my last trip to POFQ I just took a towel and sat out in the walkway-I know not as dignified as a chair, but it worked (it rained alot on that trip).

 

[andrewilley]

Hi Guys-I looked on the first info page and I serached through our awesome thread here and didn't find what I was looking for...I promise I looked!

What is the closest grocery type store (Walmart or otherwise) to POR?

The nearest WalMart is on the 535 Vineland Road. All of the supermarket websites have store locators, just key in zip code 32830 and see what they come up with.

We always take a trip to Wal-Mart on our first full day - I guess as Brits, we like to marvel at the strange things American shops sell.

Not to blow my own trumpet too much, but you could always also have checked: http://www.portorleans.org/faqs.php#Supermarkets

I’d like to do some general shopping, where is the nearest supermarket, etc?

There are a few essentials items available at the hotel gift shops, but at vastly inflated prices of course. The next closest option for very simple basics would be the Hess gas station opposite the central section of Downtown Disney — just walk across the main road from the Planet Hollywood area.

A little further away, but still within reasonable walkable distance, is the Goodings store at the Crossroads mall. This is located at the far end of Hotel Plaza Boulevard, about 20 minutes walk from the Disney bus terminus at the Rainforest Cafe end of Downtown Disney. The walk back with heavy bags of shopping in the Florida heat might not be fun though!

If you’re driving, the nearest Walmart from Port Orleans is on Vineland Road (SR535) about five miles away. There is also a Publix a little further along the same road, close to the intersection with the 192, and there is a Target on the 192 itself. Another possible option would be the WalMart on the intersection of John Young Parkway (423) and Sand Lake Road (482) as that is on the way to the Florida Mall if you happen to be making a trip there.

Check the WalMart, Publix or Target websites and use their Store Finder facilities to get driving directions and other store locations (Disney’s zip code is 32830).

Andre

 

[Rekenna]

Not to blow my own trumpet too much, but you could always also have checked: http://www.portorleans.org/faqs.php#Supermarkets



Andre

I agree, however I cannot see portorleans.org on my laptop (you and I have discussed this at length ), hoping to get my upgraded laptop soon with Windows 7 and then I will sit back and watch the magic happen! To everyone else that does not have the laptop issues I do-portorleans.org is where I would have gone to for supermarket research before asking here on the DIS-check it out!

Thanks for letting me know where the Walmart is and which zip code to use.

And, yes, USA stores ROCK!!!! I have never been overseas so I have nothing else to compare it to. As an intresting tidbit-Walmart's stock is based on their local consumer base (i.e. the further south you go in Kentucky the more NASCAR merchandise there is) now, ... back to POR awesomeness!

Andre-while I have your ear-do you have a trip report to share from your August trip? Or is it still too depressing that you are back home?

 

[softballmom3]

I agree, however I cannot see portorleans.org on my laptop (you and I have discussed this at length ), hoping to get my upgraded laptop soon with Windows 7 and then I will sit back and watch the magic happen! To everyone else that does not have the laptop issues I do-portorleans.org is where I would have gone to for supermarket research before asking here on the DIS-check it out!

Thanks for letting me know where the Walmart is and which zip code to use.

And, yes, USA stores ROCK!!!! I have never been overseas so I have nothing else to compare it to. As an intresting tidbit-Walmart's stock is based on their local consumer base (i.e. the further south you go in Kentucky the more NASCAR merchandise there is) now, ... back to POR awesomeness!Andre-while I have your ear-do you have a trip report to share from your August trip? Or is it still too depressing that you are back home?

Being a fellow Kentuckian I can honestly say that is true.........

 

[Sue M]

I agree, however I cannot see portorleans.org on my laptop (you and I have discussed this at length ), hoping to get my upgraded laptop soon with Windows 7 and then I will sit back and watch the magic happen! To everyone else that does not have the laptop issues I do-portorleans.org is where I would have gone to for supermarket research before asking here on the DIS-check it out!

Thanks for letting me know where the Walmart is and which zip code to use.

And, yes, USA stores ROCK!!!! I have never been overseas so I have nothing else to compare it to. As an intresting tidbit-Walmart's stock is based on their local consumer base (i.e. the further south you go in Kentucky the more NASCAR merchandise there is) now, ... back to POR awesomeness!

Andre-while I have your ear-do you have a trip report to share from your August trip? Or is it still too depressing that you are back home?

I usually go to the Publix on Vineland. We fly into Ft. Lauderdale to visit family first, then drive up to WDW. Before i return rental car we do a shopping trip for some things. I love Indian River OJ, can't get it at home Also pick up some bagels, cream cheese, milk for my coffee, and chips or something to snack on.
On the occasions we fly into MCO first, i just stuff some bags of bagels in our luggage, and instant oatmeal packets.

 

[Sue M]

I am a southern girl and my favorite movie of all time is Gone with the Wind.

Quite frankly, I adore standing at the bottom of the steps at the mansions and picture Scarlett O'Hara herself coming down those steps in a huge hoop skirt dress and breezing past me, saying "fiddle-de-dee." One of my many guilty pleasures at Disney.

The year I took my mom, we stayed in Parterre Place and there was this magnolia tree in bloom on the walk to the main building each day. I swear by the end of the trip, my mom was going to toss all of her clothes in the water and bring back that tree in her luggage. She made me take tons of pictures of it. One of them was on her desk at work, until she retired a few years ago.

That's so funny, I think of myself in Gone with The Wind too when I come down those stairs! Now, where is Rhett?

 

[Sue M]

We just returned from a 10 night stay and we had breakfast at least 6 times at the food court. I didn't find it overwhelming at all and we had no trouble scoring a table. Yes, it was busy but not unmanageable; we were there a variety of times between 7:30 and 9 a.m. I believe that the yoghurt/snack section had the longest lineup on a regular basis but otherwise we just sailed through.

And yes, you can bring food back to your room. They even have large paper bags at the check out for carrying multiple meals in. We did this a couple of times....my DH went up and got breakfast, while I got myself and the girls ready for the day. No worries!

We never had a hard time finding tables for breakfast either. And we were there 7:30ish so we could be at bus stop by 8 for park opening.

 

[Sue M]

Nope, they will have their own new decor - reminiscent of the existing Alligator Bayou rustic theme, but "on steroids" as one manager commented to me.

Andre

Will be interesting to see what they do there. I was never a AB fan, the twiggy furniture didn't appeal to me.

 

[Sue M]

I think the problem is that room categories are defined solely by their location - all of the rooms in a row which faces the river are classed as 'river view' for example. No reclassification is done to take account of the fact that the ground floor rooms might see the river well, but the top floor rooms may have the canopy of a tree blocking the view during the summer (leafy) months.

I guess they really do need to take that into account given that Disney are charging people a hefty extra fee to actually see the river though, rather than just facing towards it.

Andre

Hmmm. I know at some of the other resorts, staff went in room by room for the re-classification. Like at Poly- some rooms face MK but are blocked by bushes, so it's not classified as an MK view.
If I'm paying for a river view room, I'd expect to be able to see the River Hope this gets cleared up.

Didn't see you at POR Because you have your pic by your name, I looked while I was around the resort at pool or food court!

 

[Sue M]

I have a question: Last year was our first disney trip and we stayed club level at the Poly(we had a PIN code) this year we are taking a short trip so we are staying POR. Next year we are going for 8 days with the whole family (17 ppl) So my question is: since we were so used to the CL thing especially with breakfast in the morning, do you think that we will be ok in POR just ordering breakfast items from Garden Grocer(cereal, doughnuts ) and drinks and snacks at night? We cant really justify the difference in price from POR and Poly CL but dont wanna regret having to serve breakfast in our room. I dont wanna buy breakfast every morning.

After our POR stay we were CL at BC, and yes, it sure is nice having breakfast in the lounge. Nothing can compare to that, but we got along just fine having breakfast in our room, or at food court at POR. We bought bagels and creamcheese from grocery store and toasted them at the food court, and had our mugs for coffee, tea, etc.
We were on the dining plan, and at night were so stuffed, we couldn't even think of more snacks. I did keep OJ in room fridge.

 

[Sue M]

As promised, here are some photos from my recent trip to POR.

This one is the "river" view from my first room....

This is my second room including view.
heading toward the room....

at the room.....

view from room.....

Fishing....

Random resort pics.....

and as a bonus, Wishes fireworks....

Wow! Great pics. Glad you had a good time after things got sorted out. I haven't gotten a chance to take my photos off my camera yet, so you're ahead of me, and I have no idea how to post them either
But I loved my room in Acadian House. The new rooms are beautiful. And we got upgraded to pool view. A perfect location very close to the bridge over to Old Man Island.

We did go visit the fishing hole one morning out of curiosity, not to fish but just to look around. Got into a conversation with the guy who runs it. Very interesting man, who told us lots of POR history about past hurricanes there, since we didn't know at the time what Irene would do! Very peaceful spot.

 

[Sue M]

Loved the gulf and had great weather! How was your stay. Finally!....I got summer!

We had a great stay at St. Pete Beach. Our room was a beachfront room, loved it. Rained our arrival day, but by 1pm the sun was out.

 

[webstah]

We just returned from a 8 night, 9 day stay at POR.
We were assigned rooms in Acadia house, parking lot view, first floor, as close to the north depot as you can get in Acadia house.
We did not have any requests other than connecting rooms, which we got.
Our room was not ready when we checked in, but we recieved a text message before we got to bell services informing us our room was ready.
I timed the trips to the main building / food court, and at a leisurly stroll, it took me 6 minutes from room to food court.
Getting off at the north depot, it was less than a 1 minute walk to our room.
They fenced off the quiet pool and bathrooms between Acadia house and Magnolia Terrace, but left the laundry facility available.
We were so close to the main pool, it didn't really matter.
Busses were fine, but we did have to stand sometimes.
Met lots of nice Brits while there, and had many an enjoyable conversation.
The food court was busiest between 9 and 10 in the mornings, but we were still always able to find seating for 6.
We got caught in a deluge on our way to dinner at Tutto Italia in Epcot Wednesday night, where as soon as we crossed the bridge from China to the outpost, the skies literally opened up, and steams were running down the walkways.
We checked in to the restaurant early, and they took us right away.
The staff there were fantastic, providing bags to store our ponchos, as well as toweling to dry us all off. They seated us in an area where the AC wasn't quite as cold, so we didn't freeze in our wet clothes and shoes. We made sure to go to guest services and put in an applause o gram for them.
Disney staff was all very friendly and helpful.
All in all, a very good trip.

 

[Hoosier37]

I've been reading this thread today with great interest. We stayed at Pop for our first trip last March and really enjoyed it. However, I started looking at Port Orleans when I heard about the refurbishment and the addition of queen sized beds.

I was looking at POFQ, and while it looks wonderful, I am very drawn to POR's themeing. We know we want to stay at one or the other when we return (hopefully in 2013). Right now I know I would choose POR.

Keep posting pics of the newly refurbed rooms! I can't wait to see them.