Port Orleans Riverside FAQ thread - Royally Refurbished for 2011

[rileycat]

I apologize if this was posted before but this thread is long & it's difficult to go through the whole thing. We are a family of 5 so I understand that to mean we will be in AB. From what I've read only the Mansions have been refurbished at this point (we leave next week). I would rather have 2 queens than 2 doubles with a trundle. Our 2 9 yoa DS will sleep in one bed & my husband & I in the other with our daughter who is 5 & very tiny in the middle btw us. So the queen would be much better b/c no one will use the trundle anyway. Can I ask for a refurbished to get the queen beds (even though they only allow 4)? I'm confused b/c I saw some posts say there were queens w/ trundles but AB isn't yet refurbished?? I want to put my requests in & as of tomorrow I can check in online. And btw, if I do the online check-in, does that hurt my request chances???

 

[Sue M]

I apologize if this was posted before but this thread is long & it's difficult to go through the whole thing. We are a family of 5 so I understand that to mean we will be in AB. From what I've read only the Mansions have been refurbished at this point (we leave next week). I would rather have 2 queens than 2 doubles with a trundle. Our 2 9 yoa DS will sleep in one bed & my husband & I in the other with our daughter who is 5 & very tiny in the middle btw us. So the queen would be much better b/c no one will use the trundle anyway. Can I ask for a refurbished to get the queen beds (even though they only allow 4)? I'm confused b/c I saw some posts say there were queens w/ trundles but AB isn't yet refurbished?? I want to put my requests in & as of tomorrow I can check in online. And btw, if I do the online check-in, does that hurt my request chances???

Sorry, but i don't think they will allow you to book a room with a limit of 4 occup. for a family of 5.
You can phone and try, all they can say is no.

 

[andrewilley]

On the other hand, they are starting AB building 36 or 38 I think on maybe the 25th of October? Andre, help! Andre may know when that building will be finished so there may be hope!

Yes, building 36 should be completed on or around 11 November, but that's pretty tight timing for the OP...

Andre

 

[Missytara]

I would do Magnolia Terrace Building then.

They have to be placed in AB, as the poster stated, so Magnolia Terrace would not be a viable request for them.

 

[Missytara]

I apologize if this was posted before but this thread is long & it's difficult to go through the whole thing. We are a family of 5 so I understand that to mean we will be in AB. From what I've read only the Mansions have been refurbished at this point (we leave next week). I would rather have 2 queens than 2 doubles with a trundle. Our 2 9 yoa DS will sleep in one bed & my husband & I in the other with our daughter who is 5 & very tiny in the middle btw us. So the queen would be much better b/c no one will use the trundle anyway. Can I ask for a refurbished to get the queen beds (even though they only allow 4)? I'm confused b/c I saw some posts say there were queens w/ trundles but AB isn't yet refurbished?? I want to put my requests in & as of tomorrow I can check in online. And btw, if I do the online check-in, does that hurt my request chances???

A room with an occupancy of 4 is just that. You cannot get a room with 5 people with a room occupancy of 4, just because of sleeping arrangements. It has to do with the design of the building as regards to fire codes and exiting requirements.

Doing online check-in has nothing to do with requests; it is merely to indicate a time of arrival so they can try and have your room ready and you can place a credit card on your account.

 

[Missytara]

Hi! Can anyone verify that the Pop Warner people are staying at CBR this year instead of POR? Can't remember where I saw this but it was a while ago and seemed to be possibly just a rumor at the time. Thanks! 35 days to go!!

Yes, it has been posted by someone who called Disney Travel services; they moved them to CBR this year.

 

[gigi1313]

Yes, building 36 should be completed on or around 11 November, but that's pretty tight timing for the OP...

Andre

THAT IS AWESOME NEWS!!! for some reason, i was of the impression that no AB buildings would be finished prior to our arrival (11/18) so this makes me smile... even if we can't get one, we can definitely spy on one for pics (remember stealth ninja 16yo daughter!) however, i would *love* to score rooms in the refurb'd building since we are "showing off our disney world" to the ils who just don't get it... LOL!

 

[andrewilley]

THAT IS AWESOME NEWS!!! for some reason, i was of the impression that no AB buildings would be finished prior to our arrival (11/18) so this makes me smile...

By the 18th, building 37 should hopefully be complete too. Both are a bit of trek from the food court/etc though.

Oh, hang on, we do need those photos... buildings 36 and 37 are a mere few seconds walk from everything, honest, even the Magic Kingdom.

Andre

 

[Tammil]

So I'm sure this has been asked many times, but I guess it's my turn now We are headed to POR in 12 days and I would like to put a room request on my reservation. At what point is the reservation released to the hotel? I booked w/ AAA and have found I typically know more about Disney than my agent so I didn't add requests through her. And is there a special phone # to call to get someone actually at the resort? We are a family of 5 so we'll be in AB. We didn't pay extra for any special room. Where should we request? We won't spend a lot of time at the dining facility since most meals will be at the park. I want one w/ a decent location to a bus stop and if weather permitting the pool. And since we have a stroller, would 1st floor be better in AB? Last time we went to POR we were in Magnolia Bend and found the location great.

Now that I've giving you my nice laundry list on a Monday morning - thank you!

 

[Missytara]

So I'm sure this has been asked many times, but I guess it's my turn now We are headed to POR in 12 days and I would like to put a room request on my reservation. At what point is the reservation released to the hotel? I booked w/ AAA and have found I typically know more about Disney than my agent so I didn't add requests through her. And is there a special phone # to call to get someone actually at the resort? We are a family of 5 so we'll be in AB. We didn't pay extra for any special room. Where should we request? We won't spend a lot of time at the dining facility since most meals will be at the park. I want one w/ a decent location to a bus stop and if weather permitting the pool. And since we have a stroller, would 1st floor be better in AB? Last time we went to POR we were in Magnolia Bend and found the location great.

Now that I've giving you my nice laundry list on a Monday morning - thank you!

Your travel agent owns your reservation until it is released to you.

Ressies are rolled over about five days before you arrive for check-in.

Requests can be made at any time until about three to five days before you arrive, when room assigners begin to assign locations based on requests. You can check out the map on this thread or on Andre's website; portorleans.org to choose the building that suits your needs.

There is no direct line to the resorts; you have to call CRO and have them added to your reservation. However, until your travel agent releases the reservation to you, you can try and call CRO and see if they can do it for you. Depends on which CM you get. You may have to try a few times.

 

[3sweetpeas]

By the 18th, building 37 should hopefully be complete too. Both are a bit of trek from the food court/etc though.

Oh, hang on, we do need those photos... buildings 36 and 37 are a mere few seconds walk from everything, honest, even the Magic Kingdom.

Andre

There are little elves that pull you in southern style wagons to wherever you want to go!

 

[3sweetpeas]

THAT IS AWESOME NEWS!!! for some reason, i was of the impression that no AB buildings would be finished prior to our arrival (11/18) so this makes me smile... even if we can't get one, we can definitely spy on one for pics (remember stealth ninja 16yo daughter!) however, i would *love* to score rooms in the refurb'd building since we are "showing off our disney world" to the ils who just don't get it... LOL!

I am so excited for you! How fun to potentially be one of the first in the new AB buildings! We're counting on stealth ninja daughter around here!

 

[nancy01]

Does anyone have any information on how the rooms will be refurbed for families of 5? I had heard a while back something about a murphy bed, has anyone been able to confirm this?

Also, any ideas on what the decor will be like in the refurbed AB rooms? We are a family of 5 and hope to stay at POR for our next stay, but don't really care for the current AB room decor.

We stayed at POFQ just last week and LOVED it! I'm disappointed that we can't stay there again now that our youngest is turning 3. We rode a surrey bike around POR and it felt so large. Also, 4 bus stops scares me! What is the order of the bus stops, ie. which one gets picked up first etc.

I guess I had a lot of questions, lol!

 

[gigi1313]

By the 18th, building 37 should hopefully be complete too. Both are a bit of trek from the food court/etc though.

Oh, hang on, we do need those photos... buildings 36 and 37 are a mere few seconds walk from everything, honest, even the Magic Kingdom.

Andre

okay!! i'm happy!! i just pulled up the map from your site and had dh look at it (i might be a bit directionally and memory challenged) to ask where we stayed last year... he said it was bldg 36 or 37... and i know it was not a big deal to get to/from wherever we wanted to go... so YAY!!! i will definitely request a refurbed room

 

[Stan Solo]

Oh, hang on, we do need those photos... buildings 36 and 37 are a mere few seconds walk from everything, honest, even the Magic Kingdom.

Andre

Oh come on Andre we all know that POR is nice and big but walking distance to MK who are you trying to kid?

 

[Venomhatch]

Oh come on Andre we all know that POR is nice and big but walking distance to MK who are you trying to kid?

Yeah this has to be a typo.

 

[Sue M]

Oh come on Andre we all know that POR is nice and big but walking distance to MK who are you trying to kid?

Oh, didn't they tell you about the secret tunnel?

 

[Venomhatch]

Oh, didn't they tell you about the secret tunnel?

Not a secret anymore. Lol

 

[Sue M]

Not a secret anymore. Lol

oops

 

[Backstage_Gal]

If you follow the path past the South bus stop, you will see a small entrance just on the left. Look really hard! If you climb down, you will emerge at the MK about 5 hours later.