Port Orleans Riverside Q&A Thread 2013, Part One [Thread now FULL and closed]

[Koh1977]

Have stayed at both. Really liked CBR very relaxing, would do it again. POR though does have bigger beds, elevators (mostly) and the boat to DTD. The staff at both where lovely and the buses are about the same. If there is a word to describe CBR it would be lush.

Oops! I realized I typed the wrong initials...I meant CSR...BUT that's good to know about CBR too because I'm completely undecided at the moment as to which moderate to book for our summer trip!

 

[wdwmaw]

Checking in everyone. Hope you all are having a great Friday!!!

Having a great Friday! Hope your vacation is starting exactly like you'd planned!!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[andrewilley]

Just got off the phone with reservations after trying to add my son (18 5 feet 95 pounds so will have no issue with the bed) to the four already on the reservation. The CM told me you can only book five in a room if one of them is five or younger. I have never heard of this, is it true?

No, it's not true. You can actually book five adults if you like - but you do need to be made aware of the size of the extra fold-down bed (63"). And also remember the additional-adult surcharges, which can add up!

I was wondering if there is an added charge for the rooms with murphy beds. We will have people in the room. Thanks

Nope, no extra charge for five people as long as at least three of them are kids (i.e. 17 or under). However in any room type there is a $15 per adult per night supplement for any more than two adults (i.e. aged 18+).

I have a question about these rooms too. Is there room for an air mattress?

Yes, you can fit a single (a.k.a. twin) air mattress inbetween the bed and the entrance door. You can prop it up against the wall during the day.

Andre

 

[asherls]

Hi all! I'm new to this thread and it has been very helpful! Only 2 weeks and a few hours till we head out to FL! Getting so excited! it's my parents and me and my two girls and all I have left to do is figure out a surprise for my oldest daughter for while we are there. Can't wait to get to POR and relax.

 

[ellie'smom]

Oops! I realized I typed the wrong initials...I meant CSR...BUT that's good to know about CBR too because I'm completely undecided at the moment as to which moderate to book for our summer trip!

Have stayed in CSR ( a year and a half ago) as well. Liked it the least. Found the set up to be convoluted. We booked preferred and it was not convenient to anything. Main pool was pretty far from main building so getting a refill on your mug was a hassle. The staff was sub -par to down right rude. CSR has a lake but nothing happens on it, no kids activities, no boats , no anything. Even the on site dining was unimpressive. The Maya Grill's food wasn't very good . The quick service staff was the worst. One example was a woman asked a cook in one of the stations a question and the cook ignored her. When the woman asked the cook the question again the cook took her spatula pointed to the sign and went back to the grill.

 

[Indy Denise]

Just got off the phone with reservations after trying to add my son (18 5 feet 95 pounds so will have no issue with the bed) to the four already on the reservation. The CM told me you can only book five in a room if one of them is five or younger. I have never heard of this, is it true?

Not true. We have 4 adults and one 17 year old booked for July.

 

[czmom]

Woo hoo! Congrats Bob!!

What time would you recommend getting there to get seats?

I am curious about this as well....what time should we arrive for seats to see Bob?

 

[GrammyJudy]

I love this thread...what a great job Andre and thanks.

We are planning on 11/30-12/7, 2013. I think our first choice is POFQ beacusew of the size but POR seems to haqve so much more to do.

Anyway we will need 2 or 3 rooms for 3 generations that include me, my Dh, dd and her husband, DS and 2 DGS age 5 and 13. I am mobility challenged and will need a scooter. If we go POR I would think we should get preferred room.

We are hoping for some kind of discount. What are your suggestions??? Please help!

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[nickgid]

Hello, we are first timers heading to POR in 33 days. We are staying in a preferred room. Is there at room or building in particular I should request?

 

[sunnydays28]

The March 2013 Recreation Activities and Movie Schedules for Port Orleans Riverside are now available. See the main Recreation Activities Schedule page on portorleans.org for full-size PDF versions, or click on the images below.

The outdoor movies will start at 8pm and the daily campfires commence at 6:30pm this month.

http://www.portorleans.org/images/recreation/POR-Rec-2013-03.pdf

Andre

How likely is this schedule to be the same in May? While campfires and movies are not as big as being in the park, there islikely a night or two we will be around and like to do this, and I am an ultra -nerd planner so need to get an idea of which night we might like.

 

[alhurricane]

Given the ages of the kids, I think you would find staying onsite a lot easier. Those mid-day naps are pretty important, and it's so much easier to do that with an-site hotel, no matter how close the alternative offsite location may appear to be on a map.

One thing to bear in mind is even though you have a car, if you stay offsite you really all need to stay together all the time, whereas staying on-site means you can very easily split up on occasions - perhaps for one parent to take the younger child back to the room an hour earlier, or for one of the adults to stay on a little longer in a park while the other adult takes both kids back for a nap (and swap round the next time). It just gives you a lot more options to get what you want done, while avoiding meltdowns - for both you and the kids! (Quite apart from the obvious bonuses of room charging/shipping, extra magic hours, etc).

Andre

Thanks Andre and to others for their advice!

We have decided to keep our POR reservation. We are going to make the most of our first trip and get the full Disney experience.

 

[andrewilley]

Anyway we will need 2 or 3 rooms for 3 generations that include me, my Dh, dd and her husband, DS and 2 DGS age 5 and 13. I am mobility challenged and will need a scooter. If we go POR I would think we should get preferred room.

We are hoping for some kind of discount. What are your suggestions??? Please help!

Erm, what do you want suggestions about? Seems like you've got the basics worked out pretty well already (Preferred Location would indeed be a very good idea for you) but I'm not sure what sort of discount you are looking for? Are you a AAA member for example? Or do you plan to get an Annual Pass? Or are you just waiting to see if any special offers come along? www.MouseSavers.com is a great resouce for tracking discount offers.

I am curious about this as well....what time should we arrive for seats to see Bob?

Around 8pm should be fine to get a good table -and Bob often walks the room before the show chatting to the guests. But don't worry about turning up later in the evening after leaving a park, Bob always welcomes newcomers - and it's amazing how many friends from your hometown you might find there!

Hello, we are first timers heading to POR in 33 days. We are staying in a preferred room. Is there at room or building in particular I should request?

It's hard to say as everyone's ideas and wishes are different. Is there anything in particular that you want to request? It might be worth asking for a garden/bayou view rather than parking lot view (unless you just want to have very easy access to your car).

How likely is this schedule to be the same in May?

The schedules change monthly. May will most likely have more pool activities and later movie/campfire times though. See last year's May timetable to get a rough idea (they are archived at www.portorleans.org/recreation-activites-schedule.php).

Andre

 

[TK27]

I'm sure this has been discussed somewhere, but I can't remember.

Are the RFID wristbands active throughout the resort and Disney? For instance, is this how we'd get into the room, parks, charge our room and use our dining credits? Thanks in advance!

 

[Cinderumbrella]

I'm sure this has been discussed somewhere, but I can't remember.

Are the RFID wristbands active throughout the resort and Disney? For instance, is this how we'd get into the room, parks, charge our room and use our dining credits? Thanks in advance!

The wristbands aren't out yet. Keep an eye on the theme park board as there will be a bazillion threads about it when they are finally spotted...

 

[Venomhatch]

Here now no RFID bracelets. They are talking late spring right from the senior cast members mouth!

 

[andrewilley]

Are the RFID wristbands active throughout the resort and Disney? For instance, is this how we'd get into the room, parks, charge our room and use our dining credits? Thanks in advance!

Not yet, they will be phased in across property though. I seem to recall AKL might be one of the first hotels to get them? Port Orleans won't be until maybe May time though, although a lot depends on how the final testing goes (it's already been pushed back a month or so). There are still some teething problems with the touch-to-pay terminals for example - and if you only have a wristband, I guess there's no manual 'swipe' backup option any more.

When they do arrive though, if you've pre-registered online they will come already boxed up ready for your whole room - and everyone will have their own individually named bands. Super cute!

Of course, with the probability of no turnstiles any more very soon, I wonder how they'll count people back out of the parks...?

Andre

 

[SRUAlmn]

Today is the beginning of double digits for our family!! Yay! 99 days!

I am also at double digits; we are 14 weeks out tomorrow - 99 days!

OK, so ya'll got me curious so I had to check!

96 days for us! I had no idea we were in double digits already!

We are at 99 days too! Our trip will start at SeaWorld (6/8) and then onto POR (6/9)!!

Looks like we'll all be there the same week Yesterday (when ya'll posted) we were at 98 days.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

Here now no RFID bracelets. They are talking late spring right from the senior cast members mouth!

Not yet, they will be phased in across property though. I seem to recall AKL might be one of the first hotels to get them? Port Orleans won't be until maybe May time though, although a lot depends on how the final testing goes (it's already been pushed back a month or so). There are still some teething problems with the touch-to-pay terminals for example - and if you only have a wristband, I guess there's no manual 'swipe' backup option any more.

When they do arrive though, if you've pre-registered online they will come already boxed up ready for your whole room - and everyone will have their own individually named bands. Super cute!

Of course, with the probability of no turnstiles any more very soon, I wonder how they'll count people back out of the parks...?

Andre

SafetyMom (Moderator and from the DIS Unplugged) posted that AP holders might be getting them as early as the 20th of this month...

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=47674762#post47674762

Not sure if she meant just the ability to have the RFID cards or the bracelets. WDWMagic is reporting the AP holders will be among the first to test out the bracelets

http://www.wdwmagic.com/other/mymag...re-mymagic-magicband-information-revealed.htm

 

[firstwdw]

I just added requests to my preferred room reservation and one of them was "non parking lot view" But when I got the e-mail verifying the change on my reservation the word "non" is on one line and "parking lot view" is on the following line.

Maybe I'm being paranoid but I'm wondering if I should call back and have them switch it to "garden, bayou or river view please". I'm just afraid if the room assigner sees the phrase "parking lot" and not the word "non" then we will in fact end up right next to the parking lot which is exactly what I do not want.....

hmmmmmm

 

[NightAngelX]

Hi all! I am subscribing to this thread. Our next trip isn't planned yet. We need to do a budget trip next time and probably an All Star but I'm hoping there will be some sort of promotion where we can stay at POR. DH wants to stay in a Royal Room. He thinks those beds look awesome. It's just the two of us and we usually get a king and I realize those rooms don't come with a King but it appears that the upcharge for the Royal room is close to what the surcharge is for a King so possibly we can swing it.

Has anyone stayed in the Royal Rooms? Were the beds as cool in person as they look? I plan to do some searching but thought I'd ask here too.

Thanks! Hope to learn alot and can join in more!