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

[andrewilley]

It's a $100 less to book the garden view and $50 less to get a preferred in AB. Decisions decisions. Thanks

Preferred Location would be in AB only (and I rather like those rooms to be honest - the theming is great fun, and the smaller buildings and the bayou woodsy location are great). Garden View could be in either section (not Royal Rooms though) so go for that if you are undecided and just see what you get.

Should I fax in a confirming request before we leave, or is that something my travel agent takes care of?

Medical requests are much more likely to be actioned that general ones, and yes I think that sending a fax yourself, with the details of what you need and what you'd like in your own words, would be a good idea. Explain why you need these things, just like you have done here, to help them better understand your requests.

At least 3 MK buses passed without stopping and there must have been a dozen DT Disney buses pass during that time.

This is a common comment ("lots of buses for xxxx came past empty, why couldn't one of those be diverted to the MK?) The problem is that the hubs which the buses are based from are at each PARK. An Epcot bus needs to go back to Epcot as its "home base".

I'm guessing the issues described above were shortly before a party evening, when suddenly a lot more people are going to the MK mid-late afternoon than would normally be making that trip? Sounds like they didn't predict the demand well enough, and thus they didn't arrange for enough extra buses to service the MK route.

(POFQ is a "backup hub" by the way, and buses can be released from the parking lot near to building 7 to add to specific park routes)

Our first day in the parks is MK - does the outer circuit path apply even before park opening? We're in Royal Rooms so my thought is that the East stop is maybe our best bet the first morning then.

It should do, yes. East Depot for MK buses is a good choice. Not sure about very early times though (such as for breakfast at 8am, where you want to leave by 7am). If you want to go that early, I'd suggest using the South Depot just in case.

Andre

 

[Gracefulskinny]

I'm guessing the issues described above were shortly before a party evening, when suddenly a lot more people are going to the MK mid-late afternoon than would normally be making that trip? Sounds like they didn't predict the demand well enough, and thus they didn't arrange for enough extra buses to service the MK route.

Dh have a reservation for Ohana for 8pm next friday. Were were planing to start heading that way about 6pm. Should I factor in a bit more time due to the party at mk? or would it be easier to hop an epcot bus?

(We aren't opposed to taking a ride around the monorail. As a matter of fact if we get that way with enough time we plan to take a loop around for the fun of it. )

 

[TooBoyz4us]

How wonderful for you! I hope you have a magical trip.
I feel like this trip will make us feel young again. We live in So California and have been going to DL together since high school,(over 30 years), but it has been many years (I think before kids which is 23 years) since we have gone as just a couple. I know it will be different, but I am expecting great!

Yours will be great!!! And magical

 

[Ashlander]

Dh have a reservation for Ohana for 8pm next friday. Were were planing to start heading that way about 6pm. Should I factor in a bit more time due to the party at mk? or would it be easier to hop an epcot bus?

(We aren't opposed to taking a ride around the monorail. As a matter of fact if we get that way with enough time we plan to take a loop around for the fun of it. )

We normally hop on whichever bus comes first. If you are leaving at 6pm you will have plenty of time.

 

[Gracefulskinny]

We normally hop on whichever bus comes first. If you are leaving at 6pm you will have plenty of time.

Thats kinda what I was thinking. Good to hear my plan is sound. Thanks!

 

[andrewilley]

Dh have a reservation for Ohana for 8pm next friday. Were were planing to start heading that way about 6pm. Should I factor in a bit more time due to the party at mk? or would it be easier to hop an epcot bus?

The Epcot bus & then monorail sounds like fun - and you definitely won't get caught up in any MK party congenstion that way - although two hours should be more than enough time anyway. You'll need to change monorails at the TTC onto the Resort line (or just get off there and walk if you like, the Poly is actually right next to the TTC).

Andre

 

[firstwdw]

Hi! My family of 5 is making our first ever trip to Disney Nov 10th-15th and staying at POR. Kids are DS9, DS8, and DS6. The youngest has some health issues (immune compromised, severe acid reflux disease, asthma, allergies, failure to thrive). I got some good information on the disABILITIES boards and the dining boards. We booked with a travel agent, and we did give her some room requests (connecting room with my ILs, near main building since DS6 tires easily and if gets sick we will be closer to assistance, first floor since we may use a stroller with him sometimes too, and a fridge since he needs to take in extra calories and drinks whole milk that isn't widely available on the property). Does anyone have any good advice for me? What are the chances we get those requests? Do you think that is too many? Should I fax in a confirming request before we leave, or is that something my travel agent takes care of?

Thanks!

If environmental allergies are also a concern you can request a VIP cleaning of the room prior to your arrival and I would note he's immune compromised as well on the cleaning request. They can deep clean the room and use special detergents on the sheets and towels (non chemical-fragrance free-that sort of thing) Worth a call!I would also fax all these requests a few days before you leave but the VIP cleaning needs to be noted on your reservation and there is no additional fee for that cleaning!Have fun!

 

[DisneyGurl5]

Returned last night from our 10 day stay. Sad to be home...we were upgraded from standard view to a preferred room in building 18 (yay!) and rec'd the ground floor, corner room we requested. We had a fridge in our room which worked v. well...mousekeeping was great, we got a few towel animals and they took our tip envelopes each day...just left them on our pillow each morning.
The new monitor at the South bus stop worked very well...it was usually accurate. In the mornings there was always a castmember working the bus stops. During the 10 days, the longest we waited was 7 mins. - honestly, in our last 4 trips the transportation this time around was an absolute dream! Granted, we are early-morning people but even coming back from the parks at night was great. We used Disney transp. exclusively (no cabs this time at all!) and went all around to different resorts, DD, the waterparks, Boardwalk, mini-golf etc. and it was hassle-free each & every time. I just wanted to comment about it because it's a hot topic on the forums and we spoke about it amongst ourselves also; it was perfect - we would walk up to a stop from/to wherever, and a bus/boat/monorail would be either waiting or would arrive within a minute or two....
We had a great stay. Parks were not busy, my dh and ds (13) rode EE at DAK about 8 times in an hour last Thursday.....they closed the regular line and just let everyone (maybe 15 people) use the Fastpass line and they just rode, got off, got back in "line" (none to speak of) and rode again and again and again....this was between 5 and 6 pm with a 6 pm close that day...we had a Tusker House reservation at 6:15 so this worked out perfectly.
We also ate at Ohana's, Mama Melrose, Raglan Road (highlight of the trip), Kona Cafe.....so much food! We saw Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba for the first time - awesome show! Visited the Art of Animation resort, which is so nice - lots of great photo opportunities!
POR was beautiful as always - love it there! Miss it already, especially coming back to cool, rainy Canada! Yuck!
We had decent weather, the first couple of days were cloudy and a bit rainy but the last 5 or 6 days were beautiful but still hot & humid!
Phew - better get to some laundry....sigh....
Oh yeah, the MagicBands are good - we had a couple of hiccups with them but certainly nothing major. We also ended up w. 4 extra snack credits as the Band wouldn't work for payment and the castmember let us have the snacks and insisted we not come back with our regular KTTW card to pay; this was at Typhoon Lagoon and we said we would just grab the card from our locker but she stated it wasn't our fault and just enjoy the free ice-cream....that was a nice surprise, too - although we definitely didn't need the "extra" food! Ha!

 

[slatterie]

Not that we'd use it but anyone know how much the babysitting services are? We have a 6yo daughter and an 8yo son. Just something I'm wondering about...wife and I don't get a lot of time alone.

There are in room babysitting services. But have you checked out the kids activity centers? There are various ones at various resorts but sadly, none at POR. We are bringing our DD to the Neverland one at the Poly so me and DH can have grown up time at Epcot. See link for rates on inroom babysitting.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/child-care-services/

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Double post!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

The Epcot bus & then monorail sounds like fun - and you definitely won't get caught up in any MK party congenstion that way - although two hours should be more than enough time anyway. You'll need to change monorails at the TTC onto the Resort line (or just get off there and walk if you like, the Poly is actually right next to the TTC).

Andre

Thanks for pointing out the party traffic. Don't know why that didn't cross my mind before now. I had it as a concern for getting back to the hotel. (We are planning on watching hallowishes from the beach after dinner) Silly me for over looking getting there! Oh well at least I thought of it now.

 

[csg]

Thank you very much for compiling all this information on POR. I've been keeping up with the threads for a while now. I look forward to reading what has been going each day. I just booked POR for our Mar/Apr 2014 trip. This will be my first time staying in a Mod. I just know we will love it there.

 

[Srbright]

What stop were you at and what time? As I said, others did go in and tell the staff though it shouldn't have been hard to guess that there was a problem when both of the shelters (A&B) had overflowing crowds. At least 3 MK buses passed without stopping and there must have been a dozen DT Disney buses pass during that time.

We went about noon. DH went in with a cab at 6:30 for the Behind The Steam Trains tour. The kids and I slept in and met him there to have lunch at Tony's.

If I have to pick the best feature of POR it would be that the blinds are almost complete blackout blinds.

Stacy

 

[Sydnerella]

Returned last night from our 10 day stay. Sad to be home...we were upgraded from standard view to a preferred room in building 18 (yay!) and rec'd the ground floor, corner room we requested. We had a fridge in our room which worked v. well...mousekeeping was great, we got a few towel animals and they took our tip envelopes each day...just left them on our pillow each morning. The new monitor at the South bus stop worked very well...it was usually accurate. In the mornings there was always a castmember working the bus stops. During the 10 days, the longest we waited was 7 mins. - honestly, in our last 4 trips the transportation this time around was an absolute dream! Granted, we are early-morning people but even coming back from the parks at night was great. We used Disney transp. exclusively (no cabs this time at all!) and went all around to different resorts, DD, the waterparks, Boardwalk, mini-golf etc. and it was hassle-free each & every time. I just wanted to comment about it because it's a hot topic on the forums and we spoke about it amongst ourselves also; it was perfect - we would walk up to a stop from/to wherever, and a bus/boat/monorail would be either waiting or would arrive within a minute or two.... We had a great stay. Parks were not busy, my dh and ds (13) rode EE at DAK about 8 times in an hour last Thursday.....they closed the regular line and just let everyone (maybe 15 people) use the Fastpass line and they just rode, got off, got back in "line" (none to speak of) and rode again and again and again....this was between 5 and 6 pm with a 6 pm close that day...we had a Tusker House reservation at 6:15 so this worked out perfectly. We also ate at Ohana's, Mama Melrose, Raglan Road (highlight of the trip), Kona Cafe.....so much food! We saw Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba for the first time - awesome show! Visited the Art of Animation resort, which is so nice - lots of great photo opportunities! POR was beautiful as always - love it there! Miss it already, especially coming back to cool, rainy Canada! Yuck! We had decent weather, the first couple of days were cloudy and a bit rainy but the last 5 or 6 days were beautiful but still hot & humid! Phew - better get to some laundry....sigh.... Oh yeah, the MagicBands are good - we had a couple of hiccups with them but certainly nothing major. We also ended up w. 4 extra snack credits as the Band wouldn't work for payment and the castmember let us have the snacks and insisted we not come back with our regular KTTW card to pay; this was at Typhoon Lagoon and we said we would just grab the card from our locker but she stated it wasn't our fault and just enjoy the free ice-cream....that was a nice surprise, too - although we definitely didn't need the "extra" food! Ha!

Sounds wonderful! So glad for you. It's always hard when it is over! What bus routes did you use for mini golf and the Boardwalk? And how long did it take? We have to go from POR to fantasia Gardens one night and Flying Fish (boardwalk) another.

Thanks!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[andrewilley]

(We are planning on watching hallowishes from the beach after dinner)

Great plan, it's a lovely view for Hallowishes, especially the perimeter burst fireworks. My Facebook profile picture is of just that view in fact:

(I took that as a quick hand-held snap with my DSLR - not a bad result, normally I'd never take fireworks photos without a tripod)

Andre

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Great plan, it's a lovely view for Hallowishes, especially the perimeter burst fireworks. My Facebook profile picture is of just that view in fact:

(I took that as a quick hand-held snap with my DSLR - not a bad result, normally I'd never take fireworks photos without a tripod)

Andre

Can it be the 11th yet?!?


These last 6 days are just dragging. The cost of planning ahead and preventing the high stress of getting everything done in the last minutes apparently has a downside. Now I don't have much to keep me busy so things can go faster. With everything mostly ready to go at this point DH and I are getting sever vacationitis!

 

[peainapod]

Is there somewhere I can see pics of the food court area?

Also, how is the food at Boatwright's?

 

[andrewilley]

Is there somewhere I can see pics of the food court area?

Also, how is the food at Boatwright's?

Photos at www.portorleans.org/gallery-POR-Food.php. And Boatwright's was very nice last time I ate there, athough the service was a little slow.

Andre

 

[slatterie]

Is there somewhere I can see pics of the food court area?

Also, how is the food at Boatwright's?

http://www.portorleans.org/riversidemill.php

http://www.portorleans.org/gallery-POR-Food.php

Never been to POR (will be in less than 2 weeks! ) so cannot comment on Boatwrights. I think reviews are mixed.

 

[RejoyceoverDisney]

Great plan, it's a lovely view for Hallowishes, especially the perimeter burst fireworks. My Facebook profile picture is of just that view in fact:

(I took that as a quick hand-held snap with my DSLR - not a bad result, normally I'd never take fireworks photos without a tripod)

Andre

You just made my day!!!/week!!!
I never really have got into the crowded park view of fire works so we have plans for Ohana one night and was planning on watching from the beach. You just totally go me happy dancing again!

42 days to go!
We'll be there in time for MVMCP fire works.