Port Orleans Riverside Q&A Thread 2013, Part Three (NOW CLOSED, see 2014 thread)

[Katelly]

One week from today we'll be on the Magical Express right about now heading to POR!

Time to get out the suitcase and start packing!

 

[bookgirl]

We were on the lower floor since we had a stroller and didn't want to lug it up the stairs. We never heard anyone in the room upstairs either, except for an occasional toilet flush- which was very muted. I was very impressed with how "thick" the walls were. We could barely hear the people in the connecting room to ours. We were there from Sun to Fri and only had a couple of instances where the wait for the bus was more than 10 minutes, and one of those was after the fireworks at MK- so it wasn't totally unexpected. We saw multiple people offering to give up their seats for people with babies, children, and older people. And it was men, women, and older kids offering. I was truly impressed with it. Our room was right along the main path to the food court, and only a few times did we even hear anyone out there- and we were in bed by 9pm most nights!

We had a ground floor in Oak Manor. We were the last room before the river walkway on the arm of the H. We had a connecting doorway in the room. The walkway to the courtyard/movie area was right in front of our room as well.


The corner room in front of us (doorway faced the river) we could occasionally hear the flush or water (usually when we were actually in the sink area).

Never heard a peep from the room we connected too. There was a Ferb color cutout on a stick in that window so there may or may not have been a kid.

We only heard very muffled noise from the movie, not enough to even register over the tv or us talking.

As for people on the walkway, we could occasionally hear them (my mom could hear kids at our window because we had my Mickey and Minnie plushes in it with a bunch of LGMH's). But even with the prime traffic location we were in it was not intrusive or enough to wake us or bother us.

Walking above us either I didn't hear anything or it was so muffled as to be inconsequential.

When I'm by myself I don't care what floor I'm on, but my mom needs to be ground floor. I think either one is fine at this resort.

As far as buses it was good. I stood about half the time but rarely for an entire trip. My mom (70) was very often given a seat either by someone standing or by a parent putting a kid standing or on their lap. She did stand some and it was fine for the amount of time we were on, but I am always happy when people give up their seat for a senior or parent holding a small baby.

 

[siskaren]

Thanks that makes me feel better! Like I said...I hate standing on those buses especially with a small child. A lot of men don't give their seats up for women and children...unfortunately

We saw multiple people offering to give up their seats for people with babies, children, and older people. And it was men, women, and older kids offering. I was truly impressed with it.

You need to keep in mind thought that just because someone looks capable of standing on the bus, doesn't mean they are. You shouldn't expect someone to give up a seat for you (or for anyone else, for that matter.)

 

[katielafave]

You need to keep in mind thought that just because someone looks capable of standing on the bus, doesn't mean they are. You shouldn't expect someone to give up a seat for you (or anyone else, for that matter.)

Agree with this. DH sat whenever he could. He is 34 and has had many knee surgeries. His biggest issue is with balance and lateral movement which makes standing on a moving vehicle tough. He walks fine, but fatigues easily - especially when hauling a stroller and chasing after two little ones.

 

[emsmommy323]

Just got back from our flight and we are driving home. It was an amazing week, I'll write up a summary when I can. Buuuuuttttt...we we booked a bounce back date for next year! I don't know if we'll keep it, but it was free dining from 8/28-9/29 and mine and my son's birthday falls in there so we said why not? We can always cancel it if it doesn't work out! Long story short (for now) we loved POR!!!

 

[leshunlenese]

Got home today from our first stay at POR! I loved it very much. We were in building 17 in room 1735. Garden view as we booked.
Room was beautiful and lots of space for 3 adults and one child. I booked a free dining bounceback for next year and would have booked POR again but it will only be me and my DS and we are park people all day. My 4 year old never used a stroller and we were in the parks all day open till about 7 or 8. No naps and still had to make him go to bed. However, i can tell the difference between the rooms than at values and the extra space did make a difference
Never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a bus. We got very lucky as ever morning we arrived and the bus was pulling up or waiting on us.
We ate dinner in the food court a few times and the food was good, good service, no complaints.

The pool: my kid loves and he asked to do the water slide several times but always got scared once we got there.

I really enjoyed my stay here and will come back one day!

 

[disneymania0711]

Arrived at POR yesterday!!! My only request was an early check in. We arrived at noon with a room ready with a fridge! This place is simply beautiful. No problems with bussing at all. The boat ride to DTD was great! Enjoying so much!

 

[kittyab]

Got home today from our first stay at POR! I loved it very much. We were in building 17 in room 1735. Garden view as we booked.
Room was beautiful and lots of space for 3 adults and one child. I booked a free dining bounceback for next year and would have booked POR again but it will only be me and my DS and we are park people all day. My 4 year old never used a stroller and we were in the parks all day open till about 7 or 8. No naps and still had to make him go to bed. However, i can tell the difference between the rooms than at values and the extra space did make a difference
Never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a bus. We got very lucky as ever morning we arrived and the bus was pulling up or waiting on us.
We ate dinner in the food court a few times and the food was good, good service, no complaints.

The pool: my kid loves and he asked to do the water slide several times but always got scared once we got there.

I really enjoyed my stay here and will come back one day!

What is a free dining bounceback?

 

[dansdad]

What is a free dining bounceback?

It's a bounceback offer that includes the Disney Dining Plan for free.

 

[kittyab]

I never heard of it.

 

[Gorechick]

it is a special offer that you have to book before the end of your current stay.

 

[stickeymouse]

Just got back from a 7 night stay at POR. I must say, I LOVED it!

We booked Royal Rooms with a pool view and were upgraded to River View in Oak Manor. Rooms were in a perfect location. Very quiet yet not far at all from the main buildings.

PROS:

Royal Rooms: Loved the decor. Not too feminine, as my nephews also loved the rooms. Rooms were very clean and mousekeeping was fantastic.

POR "campus": Incredibly beautiful and well maintained. Every walk was picturesque. Pools were also good.

Sassagoula River: Loved the boat to Downtown Disney. Nice place to catch up on souvenir shopping and grab a bite/sweet treat.

Luggage/Airport Transport Service: I know this isn't unique to POR, but wow, what a difference this makes!

Buses: Only had to wait a long time (and even then, only about 20 minutes) once during our 7 day trip. Love the monitor giving a guesstimate of the arrival times. Buses were not usually that crowded, but we usually went to the park before their opening time (for character breakfasts).

CONS:

Food court: Could get hectic, especially during peak breakfast times. I did not love the breakfast food and thought dinner was much better. Also thought some of the food court staff were a little crabby compared to the other resort CMs.

Location: Every park was several minutes via bus, and bus was the only means of transportation to the park (without a car). Only a minor complaint, but of course, everything looks much closer on the map!
_____________

In summary, we loved our stay and would recommend POR to anyone. The only clear differences I see between POR and the deluxes is the deluxes' proximity to the parks and their having a signature dining restaurant (well, most of them).

 

[emsmommy323]

Okay, now that I've decompressed and caught up on some much needed sleep and lounging, here goes!

We arrived at the airport on the 16th at about 1:30 pm. We took Magical Express and it stopped at Saratoga Springs, Old Key West, POFQ and then us. There was another resort after us but I don't know what it was. We went in and checked in with no issues. The main hall was gorgeous and no decorations were up yet. We ended up getting 2 rooms in Building 18, 1816 and 1815, one was a corner, river view room. The pathway to the main building was right outside our rooms, perfect! Both rooms had fridges and were very clean. We went down to the dining hall and had a late lunch, as we were starving! The dining hall didn't have nearly as many options as POP had when we stayed there, but I had the make your own pasta station and it was awesome! Easily enough for two people to split. Everyone was satisfied with their meals. It does get crazy in there during the dinner hour and the 8-930 hours though, so be aware and plan accordingly!

The buses were fine unless you tried travelling in the middle part of the day. Then there was quite a wait and multiple stops as there are not as many people travelling during those hours. For some reason, we had the longest waits on Friday, all day. We rode the boat to DTD twice and that was nice both times.

The pool area was really nice. The kids had a blast on the water slide but you couldn't get near the hot tub at night. Tons of people and kids for a really small hot tub. We used the quiet pool near our building and the kids really liked that, though it was quite a bit cooler than the pool at Old Man Island. Also deeper, at 6' in areas of it. Also, FYI, there are no towels offered at the quiet pools so you'll have to bring your own from your rooms.

The pool bar was great, my husband got the Mai Tai that he enjoyed and I got the Citrus Blast. Wow is that a good drink! So good that I went back another day to get another one!

The mousekeeping was fabulous! We left a tip each day with our son's stuffed animals posed on the bed to hold the money in various ways (between Mickey's hands, tucked in Goofy's cap, etc) and she responded in kind with awesome towel animals and arranging of the stuffed animals in funny ways. The kids loved coming back to the room just to see what surprises awaited them. We always had plenty of towels and were very thankful and were sure to leave a note thanking her. One day I actually did get to see her personally and to thank her.

On the 21st we went down to the lobby and Christmas had sprung overnight! The tree was up and everything was decorated beautifully!

Our biggest complaint about our entire stay was that, imho, the coffee in the dining hall was awful! It was sooo strong that I had to cut it with 1/3 cup of hot chocolate and some cream to drink it! We ended up just making the pods in the room instead.

Another FYI is that in order to do a carriage ride, you have to make a reservation ahead of time. It's not a walk up situation like we had thought, so we didn't get a chance to do that. The kids fished at the fishing hole and didn't even get a nibble. We didn't try the surrey bike either (just not enough time!) so that's something for another trip!

So all in all, it was a great trip, so great in fact that we booked a bounce back for next September so that we can celebrate mine and my sons birthdays in September. This time was my daughter's birthday and she got so many Happy Birthday wishes and pixie dust that the day after her birthday she didn't wear her pin anymore because she felt bad. The parks were so quiet and we did every single thing we wanted to do multiple times...all in all a magical trip!

 

[kittyab]

I found the coffee too strong too, I kept saying I had to put a pound of sugar in it to make it drinkable.

 

[Katelly]

I'm glad I made reservations for the horse and carriage ride then! I didn't think it was necessary, but it looks like I made the right choice.

I love strong coffee so I'm happy to hear about the coffee. Sorry you didn't like it. My dh probably won't enjoy it either, he hates strong coffee.

Just wondering if any of the rooms have the runner/scarf on the bed yet?

It's great to read all these wonderful reports about POR.

 

[emsmommy323]

Neither of the rooms we had had the runner.

 

[Venomhatch]

Hello and good evening POR Fans. Just been busy but popping on for a bit.

 

[momofboyz3]

Okay, now that I've decompressed and caught up on some much needed sleep and lounging, here goes!

We arrived at the airport on the 16th at about 1:30 pm. We took Magical Express and it stopped at Saratoga Springs, Old Key West, POFQ and then us. There was another resort after us but I don't know what it was. We went in and checked in with no issues. The main hall was gorgeous and no decorations were up yet. We ended up getting 2 rooms in Building 18, 1816 and 1815, one was a corner, river view room. The pathway to the main building was right outside our rooms, perfect! Both rooms had fridges and were very clean. We went down to the dining hall and had a late lunch, as we were starving! The dining hall didn't have nearly as many options as POP had when we stayed there, but I had the make your own pasta station and it was awesome! Easily enough for two people to split. Everyone was satisfied with their meals. It does get crazy in there during the dinner hour and the 8-930 hours though, so be aware and plan accordingly!

The buses were fine unless you tried travelling in the middle part of the day. Then there was quite a wait and multiple stops as there are not as many people travelling during those hours. For some reason, we had the longest waits on Friday, all day. We rode the boat to DTD twice and that was nice both times.

The pool area was really nice. The kids had a blast on the water slide but you couldn't get near the hot tub at night. Tons of people and kids for a really small hot tub. We used the quiet pool near our building and the kids really liked that, though it was quite a bit cooler than the pool at Old Man Island. Also deeper, at 6' in areas of it. Also, FYI, there are no towels offered at the quiet pools so you'll have to bring your own from your rooms.

The pool bar was great, my husband got the Mai Tai that he enjoyed and I got the Citrus Blast. Wow is that a good drink! So good that I went back another day to get another one!

The mousekeeping was fabulous! We left a tip each day with our son's stuffed animals posed on the bed to hold the money in various ways (between Mickey's hands, tucked in Goofy's cap, etc) and she responded in kind with awesome towel animals and arranging of the stuffed animals in funny ways. The kids loved coming back to the room just to see what surprises awaited them. We always had plenty of towels and were very thankful and were sure to leave a note thanking her. One day I actually did get to see her personally and to thank her.

On the 21st we went down to the lobby and Christmas had sprung overnight! The tree was up and everything was decorated beautifully!

Our biggest complaint about our entire stay was that, imho, the coffee in the dining hall was awful! It was sooo strong that I had to cut it with 1/3 cup of hot chocolate and some cream to drink it! We ended up just making the pods in the room instead.

Another FYI is that in order to do a carriage ride, you have to make a reservation ahead of time. It's not a walk up situation like we had thought, so we didn't get a chance to do that. The kids fished at the fishing hole and didn't even get a nibble. We didn't try the surrey bike either (just not enough time!) so that's something for another trip!

So all in all, it was a great trip, so great in fact that we booked a bounce back for next September so that we can celebrate mine and my sons birthdays in September. This time was my daughter's birthday and she got so many Happy Birthday wishes and pixie dust that the day after her birthday she didn't wear her pin anymore because she felt bad. The parks were so quiet and we did every single thing we wanted to do multiple times...all in all a magical trip!

What a sweet little TR on POR. Thanks for sharing. That citrus blast is fantastic (that was my drink as well). My boys did the fishing as well & 2 of them got nada, my other one was so determined he went by himself one morning and caught one! What a great resort. Glad it was magical for you as well

 

[bumbershoot]

I never heard of it.

When you are there there's a packet you're given with a poster. The poster opens up and there's the offer in there. (if it's not still in the poster, it's near it)

 

[castledweller407]

Thank you all so much for this helpful thread! I've been reading every day for the past month, and I have learned so much about POR and am excited for my first visit! We will be arriving in 3 short days!

DD9 and I are flying in Wednesday (11/27) morning for our birthday celebration trip (she turned 9 last week). Due to our food sensitivities, we are going to drive to the Whole Foods Market on Turkey Lake Road from the airport to pick up food for our trip. It sounds like all the rooms should have a refrigerator by this week, and I also faxed in a request for a medical needs refrigerator. We are in a Royal Room.

My question for you all is what is the best route from the Whole Foods Store to POR? I know traffic on I-4 is generally horrible, and it looks like we could easily take Apopka Vineland Road. However, that route looks to take us past DTD, and I'd like to avoid that area due to the numerous reports of traffic congestion there as well.

What do you all think? Our flight gets in (hopefully) around 9:30, will pick up our car from National in the terminal and then head straight to Whole Foods. I am hoping we'd be arriving at POR around 11:30.

Thanks, so much, for everyone's help!!