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

[kittyab]

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)

I don't remember a poster. We are coming back in 2015, I am not sure if that offer would had been valid after that time.

 

[MickeyMomTo2]

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.

We are in Oak Manor now. No runner. We did get our fridge on Thursday.

 

[Katelly]

Neither of the rooms we had had the runner.

Thanks. I didn't think so, but was just wondering.

 

[Sue M]

Why much easier? I thought upper floor would be quieter -- no walking above my head, lol

I prefer upper floor too, for several reasons, less foot traffic going past your windows, and if you have a family of young children that run and jump a lot, above, you'll hear them for sure!!

 

[Sue M]

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!

Thanks for your TR! And info. We love the Pasta Bar, and even when we don't stay at POR, we've been known to drop by for it!!
When we were in wdw August they got the Joffreys coffee in at YC. I liked it! I used to have to mix the old Nescafé with hot choc to tolerate it

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

hope you're having a good evening. I just returned from a weekend girls only trip

 

[wdwagain518]

It's Monday so we are officially at one week to go!!!

 

[andrewilley]

Neither of the rooms we had had the runner.

They should be starting to arrive at POR (AB first I believe) in the next few days.

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.

I don't know quite where the store is on Turkey Lake Road, but I-4 might be your quickest/easiest route anyway unless its rush-hour?

Otherwise, if you want a simple back-route avoiding DTD completely, just head southwards on Turkey Lake Road, which becomes Palm Parkway after a bit, then continue straight on as it becomes the 535 going northwest (Winter Garden Vineland Road) which brings you just north of Disney property. Then turn left onto Vista Boulevard (which is a roadway going through a Disney support buildings area, but it's a public road). There is a sneaky shortcut into the back of POR from that road, but for your first arrival I'd suggest turning left onto Bonnet Creek Parkway and then turn left into the main entrance to POR - see Google Maps route: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/previ...52703!5m2!13m1!1e1!7m4!11m3!1m1!1e1!2b1&fid=0


Andre

 

[sunset7132]

The appetizers at POR are amazing

 

[Venomhatch]

hope you're having a good evening. I just returned from a weekend girls only trip

I did Sue. Thanks. Good morning everyone.

 

[castledweller407]

They should be starting to arrive at POR (AB first I believe) in the next few days. I don't know quite where the store is on Turkey Lake Road, but I-4 might be your quickest/easiest route anyway unless its rush-hour? Otherwise, if you want a simple back-route avoiding DTD completely, just head southwards on Turkey Lake Road, which becomes Palm Parkway are a bit, then continue straight on as it becomes the 535 going northwest (Winter Garden Vineland Road) which brings you just north of Disney property. Then turn left onto Vista Boulevard (which is a roadway going through a Disney support buildings area, but it's a public road). There is a sneaky shortcut into the back of POR from that road, but for your first arrival I'd suggest turning left onto Bonnet Creek Parkway and then turn left into the main entrance to POR - see Google Maps route: Andre

Thank you so much, Andre! This is a very big help!

 

[chimo2u]

8 more days until we're at POR! I just did online check in to expidiate the process when we arrive. I am in a POOL VIEW ROyal ROOM..
For my 2 choices I chose Corner Room, Highest floor. Will this give me the best shot at a nice view/ and good proximity within the resort to buses/ foodcourt, etc. I have read the POR.org site and so much info on there...but I had a hard time narrowing down where the best pool view RR's where.
What do you think? anyone who's been to the resort/ or knows the layout. I've never stayed here before, so am green as grass. Usually I am Club Level at the Deluxe resorts , so views/ rooms are usually already the best available! This is my first moderate level stay.
I am wondering if I should have chosen 2nd floor for a better view/ easier access to the room?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Marie

 

[aprilp]

Stayed at POR Nov 18-23rd. Didnt have a fridge the 18th or 19th but on the 20th one was there and cold when we got back from the parks. It was neat to get there with no decorations and one day they just magically appeared (like the fridge!). We booked a standard mansion room and got a corner room in Magnolia Terrace (8778) facing a courtyard, which we considered an upgrade. The white bed looked fine but will look even better with the runner if it looks anything like the pillow. We had no problems with the bands or the refillable cups (we were on the dining plan); in fact, we loved them both! My parents loved the coffee in the food court; I liked the hot chocolate and the multiple tea flavors. FYI, apparently there is a glitch in the system because on our Epcot day I noticed that the fastpass+ times that I had previously cancelled remained on there (which means that day we got multiple fastpass+ for multiple rides!). As for the buses, they were hit or miss. Sometimes the service was great (multiple buses at once) and other times we had to wait a while(30 minutes once but more like 10 minutes the other times). The MK and Epcot buses were often full but the DHS and Animal Kingdom buses werent. Maybe that was because it seemed that the buses went to POFQ after POR for those two parks, whereas the POFQ ppl already seemed to be on the buses for MK and Epcot? Dunno. Also, something weird...we were at the bus stop between Oak Manor and Magnolia Terrace (east?) and it did not show Epcot in the list of buses that would come to the bus stop. I had to assure multiple ppl multiple times that an Epcot bus would definitely stop there. They did not believe me until the bus actually did, lol. As for the boats to DTD, those were great; definitely a plus. The grounds were very pretty also.

Other than the fact that it was too hot (85!) and rained a couple of days off and on, it was great.

The tree in the lobby:

The gazebo and lantern lane which faced the river (loved the pot of poinsettas):

 

[Katelly]

Thanks for posting those pictures.....the Christmas tree and the lobby look gorgeous!

 

[MickeyMomTo2]

Stayed at POR Nov 18-23rd. Didnt have a fridge the 18th or 19th but on the 20th one was there and cold when we got back from the parks. It was neat to get there with no decorations and one day they just magically appeared (like the fridge!). We booked a standard mansion room and got a corner room in Magnolia Terrace (8778) facing a courtyard, which we considered an upgrade. The white bed looked fine but will look even better with the runner if it looks anything like the pillow. We had no problems with the bands or the refillable cups (we were on the dining plan); in fact, we loved them both! My parents loved the coffee in the food court; I liked the hot chocolate and the multiple tea flavors. FYI, apparently there is a glitch in the system because on our Epcot day I noticed that the fastpass+ times that I had previously cancelled remained on there (which means that day we got multiple fastpass+ for multiple rides!). As for the buses, they were hit or miss. Sometimes the service was great (multiple buses at once) and other times we had to wait a while(30 minutes once but more like 10 minutes the other times). The MK and Epcot buses were often full but the DHS and Animal Kingdom buses werent. Maybe that was because it seemed that the buses went to POFQ after POR for those two parks, whereas the POFQ ppl already seemed to be on the buses for MK and Epcot? Dunno. Also, something weird...we were at the bus stop between Oak Manor and Magnolia Terrace (east?) and it did not show Epcot in the list of buses that would come to the bus stop. I had to assure multiple ppl multiple times that an Epcot bus would definitely stop there. They did not believe me until the bus actually did, lol. As for the boats to DTD, those were great; definitely a plus. The grounds were very pretty also. Other than the fact that it was too hot (85!) and rained a couple of days off and on, it was great. The tree in the lobby: The gazebo and lantern lane which faced the river (loved the pot of poinsettas):

We are here now, and I was actually wondering about the East Depot. We have used East for MK, but South for all others. Twice this week, when we boarded a bus before park opening at the South depot (Epcot and HS), the bus exited Riverside without picking up at the East depot. They did S, W, N then exited before getting to East. Sounds like you were able to board an Epcot bus there, but I was curious about whether this happens often.

 

[lindap1]

So then am I to assume that since we want to stay in a royal room..the best action for busses would be South depot (first pickup) for all except MK..right?
and North Depot for MK? Still not seeing the bus order on the fan website and that's how I chose our room location...lol.

 

[Sue M]

8 more days until we're at POR! I just did online check in to expidiate the process when we arrive. I am in a POOL VIEW ROyal ROOM..
For my 2 choices I chose Corner Room, Highest floor. Will this give me the best shot at a nice view/ and good proximity within the resort to buses/ foodcourt, etc. I have read the POR.org site and so much info on there...but I had a hard time narrowing down where the best pool view RR's where.
What do you think? anyone who's been to the resort/ or knows the layout. I've never stayed here before, so am green as grass. Usually I am Club Level at the Deluxe resorts , so views/ rooms are usually already the best available! This is my first moderate level stay.
I am wondering if I should have chosen 2nd floor for a better view/ easier access to the room?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Marie

I'd request Oak Manor.

 

[chimo2u]

Thanks Sue

 

[JacknDawn4ever]

In the single digits now!!!! Cannot wait until my family and I return next March.....2 years has been 2 long! Ready for another magical vacation at our other home (POR)!

 

[andrewilley]

Twice this week, when we boarded a bus before park opening at the South depot (Epcot and HS), the bus exited Riverside without picking up at the East depot. They did S, W, N then exited before getting to East. Sounds like you were able to board an Epcot bus there, but I was curious about whether this happens often.

It's an experiment they've been running, to let some buses exit via the back service-road route, directly onto Vista Boulevard, and another bus will arrive and continue from the East Depot onward.

Andre

 

[Babyjeanmoore]

Hi! I have a question...we are staying at POR checking in on 1/18. We are 2 adults and 3 children, ages 4,6,8. What is the process to request and certain room and what should I request for us? We are garden view room also. I love the idea for 2 windows and want to be close to the bus transportation.

Thanks!