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

[Koh1977]

How is the main pool for little kids? 6 and 2. I know CBR's has a zero depth entry area...

 

[andrewilley]

How is the main pool for little kids? 6 and 2. I know CBR's has a zero depth entry area...

Fine, there's a separate children's pool right next to the main one. The main pool has two 'stepped' entry areas, although not zero-entry.

Andre

 

[SRUAlmn]

So if you choose to have them get your luggage, it doesn't even make it to the carousel? For some (stupid) reason I picture a couple of Disney employees standing around the carousel grabbing everyone's luggage. Lol

That was always the visual I had too

We live in SC, so we normally drive, but a few years ago my mom and sister flew down from Pittsburgh and met us. They took DME and used the luggage tags. We were staying at POFQ (not Riverside,) and their DME bus arrived around 5:00. Around 8:00 my mom's bags arrived, but not my sister's. There was so much confusion as to why only half the bags had come. My sister was so upset trying to get ready for bed without all her stuff. Finally, at almost 1:00am, her bags arrived. So they did come, but it wasn't exactly 'smooth.' This was about 5 years ago, so things may have changed since then, but I just wanted to share.

 

[ALD85]

Does POR have breakfast pizza in the Riverside Mill? I know they used to and then got rid of it. I see it I buffet menus at other TS restaurants. Was hoping they had it back!

 

[Izzieheartscindy]

That was always the visual I had too

We live in SC, so we normally drive, but a few years ago my mom and sister flew down from Pittsburgh and met us. They took DME and used the luggage tags. We were staying at POFQ (not Riverside,) and their DME bus arrived around 5:00. Around 8:00 my mom's bags arrived, but not my sister's. There was so much confusion as to why only half the bags had come. My sister was so upset trying to get ready for bed without all her stuff. Finally, at almost 1:00am, her bags arrived. So they did come, but it wasn't exactly 'smooth.' This was about 5 years ago, so things may have changed since then, but I just wanted to share.

Last year we packed our essentials and one set of clothes for everyone in our carry bags. I also had that "what if" mentality and doing that made more comfortable with at least two outfits as opposed to one. We will do the same again this year but from what I've heard the positive reviews far outweigh those that have had negative experiences. And some of those were the airline's fault...

As with everything in life, nothing is 100% guaranteed but you have to give it a shot to see if it works.

 

[iheartdisney]

Friday is the day to book our July trip! And I still can't decide!!!!
Our party will be: Myself, DD10, DS9, DD7 and my Best friend from many duty stations ago and her husband, and DD10.

CSR or POR Royal Room? Price is the same.
I was all set to book CSR, but then I heard about the Royal rooms at POR!

My quandary is this: i have been to WDW many times, but this is the first time for my friends and their DD. And i am in charge of all the planning and I want it to be perfect for them!
i thought the Royal rooms have a bit more "Disney" than CSR without being over the top Princess-ey for my DS9 and my friend's husband. (We were originally looking at AoA, but my son saw the Little Mermaid building and that idea got VETOED!)

Is there anything you could say that would sway me either way?

 

[bartleby1]

Hi all! I was just looking at some maps of the room locations at POR trying to debate what room locations would be best for us. Are there any maps that tell which rooms are connecting rooms? We already know we need AB since we are a family of five but we are traveling with my parents and would like connecting rooms. Mom can't do stairs so we need first floor. Looking at the maps, it doesn't appear that there are that many standard rooms at AB so I'm thinking we might have to bump up to garden view to improve our chances of connecting rooms. We're looking for our cheapest option since we spend so little time in our rooms but we really want the connecting rooms so the kids can visit, sleep, and spread out into Grandma and Pa's room, LOL! Any idea if this info is out there anywhere?

 

[alhurricane]

Well I am now on the fence about keeping our POR reservation or switching to an offsite vacation rental that is just a mile or two away. It's hard to overlook the price saving/amount of room difference when comparing the two, especially when having two small children. However, part of me would like to stay on site.

This is becoming a tough decision. I know only we can make it, but I hope you don't mind me 'thinking out aloud.' I'm sure we are not the only family that struggles with this decision.

 

[ttcl516]

On our way to the airport....can't believe this day has come. This thread was so awesome with all the info everyone contributes!!!

 

[McKelly]

I just had to post so I could see it's true........THREE WEEKS until POR! Yeah!

I booked a standard view room and requested AB. It doesn't look look like there are many standard view rooms in AB, keeping my fingers crossed we get what we requested!

 

[andrewilley]

Port Orleans Riverside's celebrated night-time entertainer, "Ye Haa" Bob Jackson, yesterday received the prestigious Walt Disney Legacy Award, awarded annually to a very select group of cast members for "keeping the magic alive through exemplary performance and commitment to the traditions and ideals established by Walt Disney".

As the highest honour one can receive within Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, The Walt Disney Legacy Award recognises those exceptional individuals who consistently excel in the categories of: Dream, Create, Inspire. The award is a global program which recognises the outstanding achievements of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Cast, Crew and Imagineers, and each recipient will have first been nominated by their leaders, direct reports and/or co-workers.

Congratulations Bob, this award is richly deserved for the amount of effort and dedication you put into entertaining your guests. Walt would have been proud of you, as you embody the values and traditions that he wanted for the parks (and now resorts) which carry his name. Wear your new blue badge with pride.

See Bob's Facebook page if you'd like to congratulate him yourself.

Andre

 

[Three cats]

I just had to post so I could see it's true........THREE WEEKS until POR! Yeah!

I booked a standard view room and requested AB. It doesn't look look like there are many standard view rooms in AB, keeping my fingers crossed we get what we requested!

According to Andre's site it says that AB has 128 standard view rooms so I would think you'd have a pretty good chance.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

Well I am now on the fence about keeping our POR reservation or switching to an offsite vacation rental that is just a mile or two away. It's hard to overlook the price saving/amount of room difference when comparing the two, especially when having two small children. However, part of me would like to stay on site.

This is becoming a tough decision. I know only we can make it, but I hope you don't mind me 'thinking out aloud.' I'm sure we are not the only family that struggles with this decision.

How small are the children? The main reason we never considered off-site, especially when mine was young, was the commute time to and from the parks. If you plan on leaving midday for a nap, you will be gone a LONG time. And realistically, once you leave, will you really come back?

Lastly, we very rarely have a rental car when we stay on site. We use DME and Disney transportation and don't look back. Traffic in Chicago is BRUTAL so we very much enjoy letting others do the driving while we are on vacation!

On our way to the airport....can't believe this day has come. This thread was so awesome with all the info everyone contributes!!!

Safe travels and have a fantastic trip!

 

[Izzieheartscindy]

On our way to the airport....can't believe this day has come. This thread was so awesome with all the info everyone contributes!!!

Have a safe trip and have fun!!! We're right behind you. We'll be there in two days!!

 

[andrewilley]

According to Andre's site it says that AB has 128 standard view rooms so I would think you'd have a pretty good chance.

Yes, there's a full breakdown of room quantities for each category/area on the Room Requests page. There are 128 standard view rooms in the main Alligator Bayou area, versus 131 in the regular mansion buildings.

Andre

 

[Venomhatch]

I don't know what happened but I got kicked from subscribing to this thread but I re-subbed so all is good.

 

[alhurricane]

How small are the children? The main reason we never considered off-site, especially when mine was young, was the commute time to and from the parks. If you plan on leaving midday for a nap, you will be gone a LONG time. And realistically, once you leave, will you really come back?

Lastly, we very rarely have a rental car when we stay on site. We use DME and Disney transportation and don't look back. Traffic in Chicago is BRUTAL so we very much enjoy letting others do the driving while we are on vacation!

We have a 4 yr old son and 6 yr old daughter. We will definitely have to take a midday break. We will have our own car since we are driving, but I am with you, I kind of like the idea of not doing much driving.

Never having been to Disney, it's hard to figure out the best decision. The places we were looking at were just south of Hwy 192 and the Disney resort, so it didn't SEEM like it would take long to get from point A to point B, but it may be more of an adventure than I realize.

I must say the charm of POR keeps working on me.

 

[bartleby1]

We have a 4 yr old son and 6 yr old daughter. We will definitely have to take a midday break. We will have our own car since we are driving, but I am with you, I kind of like the idea of not doing much driving.

Never having been to Disney, it's hard to figure out the best decision. The places we were looking at were just south of Hwy 192 and the Disney resort, so it didn't SEEM like it would take long to get from point A to point B, but it may be more of an adventure than I realize.

I must say the charm of POR keeps working on me.

I'd advise staying onsite if at all possible if you are planning on midday breaks. Just getting OUT of the park and back to your car takes quite a bit of time. The parks are big. Then getting off property takes more time since Disney property is big. Then driving to your hotel once you are off Disney property takes more time. Add in the time spent getting lost because you followed the wrong sign (we do this EVERY trip and we've been there MANY times) and then you need to turn around and do it all in reverse to get back after your break. Even getting back to your hotel room ON property takes quite a bit of time.

 

[andrewilley]

We have a 4 yr old son and 6 yr old daughter. We will definitely have to take a midday break.

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

 

[andrewilley]

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.

​

Andre