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

[siskaren]

We are staying at the POFQ in May for our 26th wedding anniversary. Our son is currently in the CP and booked the room for us with his discount. He was able to book us a King bed room which is automatically a garden view or water view I believe. There was no place to make additional requests or mention that we are celebrating our anniversary. Does anyone know how we do that?

I have the confirmation # and I have booked dining reservations already and the system knows we have the room booked. I would LOVE a corner room since we will be in the room a lot with me studying and dh working a bit. We will only be going to a park one day and the rest of the time relaxing, studying and enjoying the resort.

Any help would be appreciated! We are so excited to be getting away and excited to see our son at the same time

I looked at the room layouts at http://www.portorleans.org/room-requests.php and it looks like all king rooms at POFQ are corner rooms, so no need to request one. By the way, this is the POR thread, but Andre and Venomhatch are on both threads, so no worries.

 

[MickeyEars]

Welcome Home Andre!!! Glad you arrived safely...

Carla

 

[lillykat]

84 more days!

When staying in the royal guest rooms...with 2 young kids and a stroller what would be the best bus stop for us. Would we be better to go to the main stop or to the stp by the mansions? I would hate to go to the closer one only to have the buses go by full. Is one location better than another? Sorry a little stressed about the buses. Last two trips were at the poly, and before that at AKL pre kids with a car. We didn't have the best bus experience at the poly. (No bus for a long time sometime 40+ mins other bus drivers opening doors saying to go to the TTC, monorail break down at epcot due to lightning and 1.5 hour wait to get back to the poly by bus after the fireworks with a 1 and almost 3 year old), etc.

Anyone have experience with POR and food allergies?

Anyone going soon can you snap some pictures in the food court for me? Pictures of the grab and go to see what soy milk, any soy yogurt options? What about of the drink refill choices? Trying to see what is available versus what I want to order from garden grocer

 

[amytech]

I looked at the room layouts at http://www.portorleans.org/room-requests.php and it looks like all king rooms at POFQ are corner rooms, so no need to request one. By the way, this is the POR thread, but Andre and Venomhatch are on both threads, so no worries.

Thank you so much! Wonderful to know that the kings are all corner rooms. Sorry for posting on the wrong board and thanks for your help!

 

[elfling8]

PIF and online check in yesterday!!!! We are going to start our Disney movie night tonight, starting with Peter Pan I am going to have to get the Princess and the Frog from Netflix since we haven't seen it yet and will be staying in POR. We have a river view room, and I had called after we first made res. and added DH's b-day and requested AB. DS is a restless sleeper, and we would all be much happier if he has his own bed The only thing I could select for online check in was what floor, so I will send a fax when we get closer.
Getting excited!!!!!

 

[siskaren]

Anyone going soon can you snap some pictures in the food court for me? Pictures of the grab and go to see what soy milk, any soy yogurt options? What about of the drink refill choices? Trying to see what is available versus what I want to order from garden grocer

There's a lot of pictures of both the food court and the gift shop (they sell some food items there as well) in this entry from easywdw.com:

http://www.easywdw.com/uncategorized/port-orleans-riverside-resort-mill-boatwrights-river-roost-boats-ol-man-island-magnola-bend-alligator-bayou-part-1/

 

[andrewilley]

Anyone going soon can you snap some pictures in the food court for me? Pictures of the grab and go to see what soy milk, any soy yogurt options? What about of the drink refill choices? Trying to see what is available versus what I want to order from garden grocer

I'll take some tomorrow for you. I also want to have a chat with the restaurants manager to get some specific info on what they offer for food allergies etc.

If anyone spots a middle aged chap with a camera and tripod before dawn around Riverside in the morning, say hi!

Andre

 

[Braden's Momma]

Sooo this Saturday is when we will be surprising our kids with our trip! On the present table there will be six numbered envelopes (dd bday party). She can't read yet so I am going to have my son read them. Each envelope will have a paper with a few sentences of how proud mommy and daddy are of them etc. The last one says we are going to Disney World! They are going to flip out lol. I am withholding info about the Royal room so they can be surprised. And the best news is that I measured DD this am and she is 40 inches! So she can ride most of the big ticket rides!

 

[Smuckles]

Hi. I have some requests regarding Online Check-In and Room Requests at POR.

We'll be staying at POR for the very first time in late April. We'll be celebrating a number of things -- notably our anniversary as well as my birthday and my girlfriend's first visit. I have the fax template and plan to send it about ten days before arrival. This will also mark the first time the resort itself is important to me, as is room location.

I can complete Online Check-In two months prior to my arrival, but is it in my best interest? We paid for a garden view (accidentally, actually, but we're keeping it). We have three requests, in order of desire. My chief request is to be placed in Alligator Bayou, but we'd also appreciate a second-floor room, and then finally a corner room. I plan to call out a couple of building numbers as well, but that's not as important as being in AB and on the second floor.

First, are these requests unreasonable? I understand that they are requests only, but I imagine it's easier to fulfill reasonable requests. I have heard that if you complete Online Check-In, you are basically locking yourself in to whatever room you're assigned. This implies that by not completing Online Check-In, you are afforded a last opportunity to make a request known. I worry that a fax will get lost in the shuffle and I'll never know until I arrive. Sending a fax and then doing Online Check-In will certainly be a leap of faith.

Are these room request faxes typically given a response of some type? I plan to use one of those free website faxes, so I can't imagine I'll be able to receive a response fax. Will they e-mail/call/etc.? I don't want to seem uptight. Ultimately, if none of my requests are fulfilled -- if we're placed in Magnolia Bend, first floor -- I'll shrug and look at the bright side of being at Disney and have a good trip. I just want this to be perfect for our celebrations. I know it's not wise to want perfection, but it's natural to want the best for the person you love.

Thanks for any insight.

 

[socrmom3]

We stayed in January. 8 nights....Bldg 24.. It was quiet, the room was great, we were right around the corner from the pool.. It was a nice 15 minute walk to old man island, had no kids with us this trip. The old issue we had was the boat to downtown Disney.. If you aren't in a hurry or in a need to get there or back, it's not bad. You go right by the Treehouses.. Highly recommend this resort. We online checked in, and we were in our room within 20 minutes from getting off of the magical express!!! I can't wait to go back!!

 

[KrazeeK120]

I looked at the room layouts at http://www.portorleans.org/room-requests.php and it looks like all king rooms at POFQ are corner rooms, so no need to request one. By the way, this is the POR thread, but Andre and Venomhatch are on both threads, so no worries.

That isn't exactly true. The buildings are laid out in a "stair step" fashion. I have stayed in room 6140, which is a king bed room and is on the end of the "stair" on that section of the building, but it isn't a true corner room. It only has 1 window and I know that many true corner rooms have 2. It feels like it is in the middle of the building. I didn't care about having a corner room when I booked...I just wanted a king bed with a river view. But if you're wanting a corner room, you should request one. You may not be happy in room 6140 or other similar king bed rooms.

 

[firstwdw]

I'll take some tomorrow for you. I also want to have a chat with the restaurants manager to get some specific info on what they offer for food allergies etc.

If anyone spots a middle aged chap with a camera and tripod before dawn around Riverside in the morning, say hi!

Andre

I would love to know about gluten free offerings....I am assuming they do gluten free chicken nuggets, fries and Mickey waffles as we had those at another resort and in the park. I hope I am right!!! Thanks for looking into the allergy question and have a great trip!

 

[insureman]

Arrived a few hours ago after a looooooong trip from the UK. Going to get some sleep now in our lovely Royal Room, it's great to be 'home'. Bit chillier than August for the next couple of days though....!!

Andre

Andre glad you made it ok. Looking forward to some great pics.We'll be there this April. As far as being chilly we just had another 6 inches of snow today in southeastern Massachusetts with a temp of 22F (-5.5C) and 40 mile an hour wind gusts. Have fun!

 

[JeannineP4]

Does anyone know what rooms and areas are considered pool view at POR?
We are going to be there April 11th-14th and would like to plan. We stayed there August 2012 in a prefered room but only for 2 nights and didn't really get to see much as we arrived at 10pm on our first night. Can't wait to get there in less than 2 months!!

 

[alex9179]

Does anyone know what rooms and areas are considered pool view at POR?
We are going to be there April 11th-14th and would like to plan. We stayed there August 2012 in a prefered room but only for 2 nights and didn't really get to see much as we arrived at 10pm on our first night. Can't wait to get there in less than 2 months!!

From the first post on this thread.

For a complete guide to the booking category of every room at the resort, including clickable floorplan layouts of each building, please see the portorleans.org pages for Alligator Bayou, Magnolia Bend, and the Royal Guest Rooms.

When you click on the building on the map at Andre's site, they are color coded.

 

[lillykat]

There's a lot of pictures of both the food court and the gift shop (they sell some food items there as well) in this entry from easywdw.com:

http://www.easywdw.com/uncategorized/port-orleans-riverside-resort-mill-boatwrights-river-roost-boats-ol-man-island-magnola-bend-alligator-bayou-part-1/

Thank you this was very helpful.


I noticed they have pizza....does anyone know if they are made fresh (as in they can leave off the cheese) or are they premade?

 

[lillykat]

I'll take some tomorrow for you. I also want to have a chat with the restaurants manager to get some specific info on what they offer for food allergies etc.

If anyone spots a middle aged chap with a camera and tripod before dawn around Riverside in the morning, say hi!

Andre

Thank you!!

If you get a chance could you ask what non dairy alternatives they offer for dessert, asking for a 5 year old. Also if any of them are not chocolate. Also can the pizzas be made without cheese (individual). My 5 yr old is allergic to milk (can eat limited things that have been baked but can't have any cheese, yogurt, butter or milk to drink so no ice cream), but she is also allergic to chocolate, strawberries. Oranges and shellfish. Contact is not an issue for all but the shellfish. We find the non dairy options are usually chocolate or strawberry. If you don't get to ask don't worry about it. Just figured I am trying to prepare what I need to order etc. Do they sell peanut butter or sugar cookies?

 

[ChristineOH]

Sooo this Saturday is when we will be surprising our kids with our trip! On the present table there will be six numbered envelopes (dd bday party). She can't read yet so I am going to have my son read them. Each envelope will have a paper with a few sentences of how proud mommy and daddy are of them etc. The last one says we are going to Disney World! They are going to flip out lol. I am withholding info about the Royal room so they can be surprised. And the best news is that I measured DD this am and she is 40 inches! So she can ride most of the big ticket rides!

Yay! Have fun! And wonderful news on the 40 inches. My son just hit that for our first trip, and that was a massive relief. He would have been so sad, and not having as many rider switches is great for touring. We are keeping fingers crossed for this trip, as he is almost to 44".

 

[firstwdw]

We are telling our DS this week-probably tomorrow- about our trip this spring to POR and I am about ready to burst I am so excited for him!!! He has no idea and he going to flip!!!!

 

[andrewilley]

Webcam of our rather lovely room view is up. It's on channel 2 at **********.com. A boat just went past.

[Edit: Darn, gotta love website politics haven't you? I'll put the actual direct feed of my own video stream on portorleans.org later so you can see it, but for now just Google "Eyes Ears webcam"]

Andre