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

[Chuckers]

A) The Bus issues had me concerned to start with and B) now this pending trip report might make me move all together. I have 17 days before I need to pay in full.

I just don't know where I can go that will be about the same price.

 

[germ539]

In about three days ill be publishing my report read and then decide your destination. Other than room isolated issues and food poisoning at BOG, the rest of the resort was beautiful.

As venomhatch has said "read and then decide your destination", would be the thing to do. We made and paid our reservations yesterday and don't think we will be changing even though we haven't seen the report, so with that said, to each their own. But I am wondering what happened and will wait patiently until the report.

Sorry to hear of your troubles there venomhatch, I hope at least the rest of your vacation time is enjoyable with your family.

 

[firstwdw]

A) The Bus issues had me concerned to start with and B) now this pending trip report might make me move all together. I have 17 days before I need to pay in full.

I just don't know where I can go that will be about the same price.

I'm with you Chuckers BUT I only have 3 days before my 45 day mark. Ugh.

 

[lillykat]

There was a problem at POR also, in our royal guest river room!

I guess I will have to.wait for your report but now I am nervous it is bedbugs or something. We are supposed to be in a royal room in May. Now I am really nervous bcyou seem very into POR and to say you might not return has me really nervous!

I am glad to hear your DD is feeling better!

 

[cheer25mom]

I am not so sure one preson's isolated problem should make everyone decide to jump ship, even if that preson is Venom. I will certainly be reading his report to find ut what the issue is, but problems crop up at ALL resorts, period. Someone is gonig to be dispeased at some point and voice that, even when the resort is doing its best to resolve the issue. With a property as large as WDW it is GOING to happen. I am reserving judgement until I find out what the problem was and how the staff handled it. I will also be considering WHO was involved as far as staff and wether it is an isolated incident or a pervasive problem. I don't think everyone needs to freak just yet.

 

[Venomhatch]

Ok, I owe the rest of my $$$ for our trip in a few days at our 45 day mark and am now worried. Venom hatch has been so kind and helpful to all of us that I just can't believe there were issues at the resort. If anything I would think the resort would go above and beyond to make his trip awesome. I certainly hope they went out of their way to fix the issues and I pray you ended up moving to a really great resort so you can finish your vacation. Problem being I don't know where I would change to. CSR booked for our week and CBR doesn't appeal. Guess we will hope for the best.

As venomhatch has said "read and then decide your destination", would be the thing to do. We made and paid our reservations yesterday and don't think we will be changing even though we haven't seen the report, so with that said, to each their own. But I am wondering what happened and will wait patiently until the report.

Sorry to hear of your troubles there venomhatch, I hope at least the rest of your vacation time is enjoyable with your family.

Yeah I believe my room related problems could have been isolated. But it is just enough to sway us from rebooking them.

 

[magicalmoments4]

I am not so sure one preson's isolated problem should make everyone decide to jump ship, even if that preson is Venom. I will certainly be reading his report to find ut what the issue is, but problems crop up at ALL resorts, period. Someone is gonig to be dispeased at some point and voice that, even when the resort is doing its best to resolve the issue. With a property as large as WDW it is GOING to happen. I am reserving judgement until I find out what the problem was and how the staff handled it. I will also be considering WHO was involved as far as staff and wether it is an isolated incident or a pervasive problem. I don't think everyone needs to freak just yet.

Hear Hear!!!

 

[Venomhatch]

I guess I will have to.wait for your report but now I am nervous it is bedbugs or something. We are supposed to be in a royal room in May. Now I am really nervous bcyou seem very into POR and to say you might not return has me really nervous!

I am glad to hear your DD is feeling better!

I am not so sure one preson's isolated problem should make everyone decide to jump ship, even if that preson is Venom. I will certainly be reading his report to find ut what the issue is, but problems crop up at ALL resorts, period. Someone is gonig to be dispeased at some point and voice that, even when the resort is doing its best to resolve the issue. With a property as large as WDW it is GOING to happen. I am reserving judgement until I find out what the problem was and how the staff handled it. I will also be considering WHO was involved as far as staff and wether it is an isolated incident or a pervasive problem. I don't think everyone needs to freak just yet.

If anyone needs the more detailed response to what the issue was they can PM me and I will try to be as brief as possible but as best as it can be to not let my personal disgust influence your decisions.

That is all for now...

I am sure my incident was isolated but I seem to remember reading others having similar room issues like the one we had. But this is not me supporting "jumping ship." It is just me saying inspect the rooms very carefully before moving into it and settling down.

 

[lillykat]

BOG has been booked up ever since I booked my July trip. I gave up, and decided on lunch after reading someone's review saying lunch was better.

P.S.....just figured out I'll be 6 and a half months pregnant....in JULY....in FLORIDA....geeze. I added close to the main building on my room reservation so I don't have to walk terribly far. Hopefully it'll work, lol. No rides for me!

Why no rides? I went once early in my pregnancy with DD#2, but know many who went 4-7 months. I would ask your OB/GYN but mine and my friends allowed pretty much all the non height requirement rides (except for the tea cups). That basically just excludes the mountains in the MK. My OBGYN was okay with the safri ride but I know others said no. Mine basically said no rollercoasters, no centrifuge, was okay with any ride an infant could go on. That really leaves a lot. Also was okay with soarin but not test track. Just remember to take a ton of breaks stay hydrated and go back to the hotel and rest and swim.

 

[WDW1979]

OK, so in my heart I guess I knew a week's break in mid-February 2013 really wasn't going to tide me over until late 2014...

... so I've just booked two weeks in August!
So just 144 days to go.

Andre

Happy news! And two weeks is wonderful.

About POR I feel the same as you. A year (or more) is just too long, even though a year is the usual amount of time I must wait. I fell in love with Disney World when my parents brought me there in 1979. A long time later I had a quick visit as a young adult in 1991, and it would be 1997 before I began regular trips to Disney. During that '97 trip I stayed at Dixie Landings and have been in love with it ever since. I have stayed at many Disney resort hotels since then but Dixie Landings/POR is my favorite. I used to split stays at resorts sometimes to try out various deluxe level Disney resorts, but I like POR the most and have stopped splitting my stays because staying in one place, particularly the serene POR, is relaxing. During our last trip we spent more time at POR (i.e. less theme park time) and we loved it. I slept by the pool while my youngest performed the Twist dance near the pool with other little ones and my other two children played "keep-the-beach-ball-in-the-air" with other kids and the POR pool staff. It was heaven and the memories are wonderful.

In the last few days my wife and I began to consider an April 2013 trip to Disney with a stay at POR (Alligator Bayou as we are a family of five). The exact week in April will depend on the date of my son's baseball evaluation and on the availability of rooms (hopefully preferred) at POR with the 25% spring discount.

Makes me happy when I think of it, which is often.

 

[andrewilley]

P.S.....just figured out I'll be 6 and a half months pregnant.... No rides for me!

I doubt that It's a Small World will do any long-term harm to the baby at that age...

There's really only a handful of the more thrill-oriented rides that should pose any problems (maybe three or four per park?) and the vast majority of Disney's attractions will be fine for you.

Andre

 

[scrappinggirl]

In about three days ill be publishing my report read and then decide your destination. Other than room isolated issues and food poisoning at BOG, the rest of the resort was beautiful.

OK thanks. I was afraid of bedbugs

 

[afnaechiquita]

If anyone needs the more detailed response to what the issue was they can PM me and I will try to be as brief as possible but as best as it can be to not let my personal disgust influence your decisions.

That is all for now...

I am sure my incident was isolated but I seem to remember reading others having similar room issues like the one we had. But this is not me supporting "jumping ship." It is just me saying inspect the rooms very carefully before moving into it and settling down.

I think you have a great POV. Many people read an issue with one person, and apply it to their worst fears and jump ship. They often don't realize your choice to not return is not based on overall quality of the resort, but your actual issue, and the fact that you will likely always remember the issue when returning to the resort and thus want to avoid remembering the unmagical. That doesn't necessarily mean anyone else should be ultimately deterred. Inspecting before settling is very sage advice.

Am very interested to read your TR to see what it was though. Hopefully you're all doing better now that you've moved out and your little one is healing!

 

[andrewilley]

Yeah I believe my room related problems could have been isolated. But it is just enough to sway us from rebooking them.

I'm aware of the POR issue that Venom had (all in all it's not been a good week for him and his family!!) but although it certainly would leave a bad taste in the mouth at the time, and it meant they had to move rooms at the very least, it is one of those unfortunate things which realistically might happen anywhere. However, hopefully now that the resort staff are aware of it they will have dealt with the problem (it was not bedbugs by the way, but was similarly distasteful) and it is no longer an issue - except by association for those involved of course.

Unfortunately, with 3,000+ rooms there are going to be occasional issues (even nasty ones) but if you let isolated cases sway your decision as to what you're going to do over the months or years to come then you'll never stay anywhere, and certainly never set foot in a hotel, on an aeroplane, or even a bus.

Andre

 

[4butlers]

We are planning on being at POR over Halloween and I was thinking of just shipping our costumes to the resort via Priority mail. I see that I could easily do that, but can I just as easily ship them back via Priority mail, or do I need to use UPS or another method? What's the process for that? If I can ship Priority, I would like to just use the same box and I could print a prepaid label.

Wondering if anyone has any info on this? Thanks.

 

[firstwdw]

I'm aware of the POR issue that Venom had (all in all it's not been a good week for him and his family!!) but although it certainly would leave a bad taste in the mouth at the time, and it meant they had to move rooms at the very least, it is one of those unfortunate things which realistically could happen anywhere. However, hopefully now that the resort staff are aware of it they will have dealt with the problem (it was not bedbugs by the way, but was similarly distasteful) and it is no longer an issue - except by association for those involved of course.

Andre

THANK YOU ANDRE for writing this!!! My initial reaction was to freak out but your post and others are reassuring. We are so excited for our first stay at POR that I can't imagine switching so we'll stay put.

 

[Chuckers]

I'm aware of the POR issue that Venom had (all in all it's not been a good week for him and his family!!) but although it certainly would leave a bad taste in the mouth at the time, and it meant they had to move rooms at the very least, it is one of those unfortunate things which realistically could happen anywhere. However, hopefully now that the resort staff are aware of it they will have dealt with the problem (it was not bedbugs by the way, but was similarly distasteful) and it is no longer an issue - except by association for those involved of course.

Andre

Yes, thank you for that post. I am sorry Venom had something bad happen. I had actually spent the last hour looking at other options and realized a few things. If I wanted to spend the same amount, I would probably have to downgrade to a Value and I REALLY want a hot tub. Also, I have made so many plans around being at POR that changing hotels would probably make me change a lot more.

I'll deal with the buses however they should be.. I am hoping mid May won't be THAT bad. Plus, I am still looking forward to staying at POR and I really don't want to change now. I chose this place even after reading other bad posts on the Trip Advisor site, realizing that isolated bad experiences are reported more often than good/non-problem experiences.

 

[kelleigh1]

Just speaking for WDW, but this could apply anywhere I've been around the world. If I refused to stay somewhere or eat somewhere just because of one (or even a few) negative report from someone else, I would never eat or stay at WDW. I've read good and bad about all resorts adn all restaurants and as Andre said, things are going to happen. It's too bad, but I can't let it sway me or make me panic about whether or not we should stay at POR.

And as Venom said, the best advice is to look the place over when you arrive and if you are not satisfied, speak up and ask to be moved. That is your right. You should never feel that you can't speak up and you should never feel that you must stay in unsanitary conditions just because that is the room to which you were assigned. You are paying good, hard-earned money for this vacation and you should be safe and comfortable where you stay.

 

[Koh1977]

Just speaking for WDW, but this could apply anywhere I've been around the world. If I refused to stay somewhere or eat somewhere just because of one (or even a few) negative report from someone else, I would never eat or stay at WDW. I've read good and bad about all resorts adn all restaurants and as Andre said, things are going to happen. It's too bad, but I can't let it sway me or make me panic about whether or not we should stay at POR.

And as Venom said, the best advice is to look the place over when you arrive and if you are not satisfied, speak up and ask to be moved. That is your right. You should never feel that you can't speak up and you should never feel that you must stay in unsanitary conditions just because that is the room to which you were assigned. You are paying good, hard-earned money for this vacation and you should be safe and comfortable where you stay.

Hear hear!! Good point!!

 

[hineline07]

We will be there in 29 days! It's our first trip and we're so excited! My question is this... We didn't get tickets in our package bc my DH is in the military so we're waiting until we get there... We arrive on the 7th but have a ADR the next morning at 8... Do we need to go get our tickets the night we get there (the 7th)... Also, since our tickets were not included in the package we got, will they still be on our key to the world card or no? Thanks