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

[LovingDisny]

Good morning Dis buds! My family and I are on our way to Dallas Love Field! We will be at POR shortly!

Hey Neighbor! We will be leaving from DFW in 9 days

Have a great trip!!

 

[litlpixie]

SkyWayGuy- Thank you for your honest review! I just wanted to chime in and say I whole heartedly agree about the daily pool parties! I just dont get it-do the kids really need that much entertaining I would think the pools themselves would be enough. Anyway, thanks for posting- oh yea and the food court at breakfast been there, done that......still I'd take that in a minute over my fiber bar I had this morning while sitting in my boring office

Glad you still had a great vacation!

 

[bartleby1]

Hi SkyWay Guy, thanks for the review! One question, what type of extra pods did you bring for coffee? Is it Keurig or something else?

I'd love to know this too! I think I know what kind they are, but where to do they sell them?

 

[shawnstring]

I'd love to know this too! I think I know what kind they are, but where to do they sell them?

from what Ive gathered they use the Senseo style pods. Think little round "tea bags" of coffee. Amazon has many diff kinds (would post link but I can't post those yet.

 

[bartleby1]

from what Ive gathered they use the Senseo style pods. Think little round "tea bags" of coffee. Amazon has many diff kinds (would post link but I can't post those yet.

Of course - amazon! Why didn't I think of that, LOL? I buy so much stuff from them but didn't think to check there for these. I couldn't find them in the supermarket. I'll check amazon - must have my coffee on vacation!

 

[LovingDisny]

Skyway Guy, thanks for the review. Very helpful information! We when were at POR in 2010 they were not doing the everyday pool party. They did have CM's playing games with the kids at the pool, which my kids loved, but no loud music. My kiddo's may love the party, we will see. They were not doing outdoor movies either, so I am looking forward to all the new things.

Does anyone know if you can sit at Boatwright's during lunch and dinner if you get food from the foodcourt? Or can you just use that seating during breakfast because they don't do breakfast at Boatwrights?

 

[klwdisney]

If you don't mind me asking, how much did the cab ride back to POR from MK cost?

We didn't take one from MK this time, but from Boardwalk to POR and from POR to Poly it wasn't more than $12-$15 I believe. The couple that we were in were actually equipped with a credit card machine in the back if you didn't have cash on you. Very convenient!

Also, you cannot take a cab directly from the MK. You would have to walk to the Contemporary or take the monorail to the TTC.

(sorry it took me so long to respond! im still catching up at work!! )

 

[Cassy829]

I just want to introduce myself because this boards have been so helpful to me. We are going to Port Orleans Riverside this August. I have been to Disney as a kid with my family, and now I am taking my husband and daughter. Both sets of grandparents are coming, so it is going to be a special first trip. We are staying at a Royal Room, since my daughter loves everything princess. Now that it is getting closer, I wanted to join in all the discussions!!

 

[amomma23]

We have a continuing reservation, 1 night room only before our package starts. Both reservations are preferred rooms, and I had a CM note the continuing reservation. My question is... is there any reason NOT to do online check-in for both? I realize I'll have to stop and get our new KTTW, but if I check-in online for both reservations, it should speed up the process that morning, right?

 

[andrewilley]

Thanks! I am looking forward to taking a stroll around while I am visiting. Maybe I'll get my girls' caricatures drawn. Do they have a time frame that they are set up? or is it just random? It's usually in the lobby right?

Yes, usually done in the evenings I believe, 6pm-11pm last time I checked.

We're staying at Riverside for the first time this November!!! Now we're going to request Alligator Bayou because we're from upstate NY and normally spend a week in the Adirondacks in the fall but we'll be scrapping that this year to go to WDW and thought it might be fun to still have some woodsy feeling. Does anyone have any thoughts against this? POR is the only resort I've never been to and, as such, is the only resort(S) I don't really know anything about so any thought could be helpful.

Ah, sounds like you've left the best 'til last!

Yes, AB would be a great choice for that woodsy sort of feel, and I'll bet the boys will fight over who gets the murphy bed (depending on their age anyway). I'm sure you'll have a great time.

Does anyone know if you can sit at Boatwright's during lunch and dinner if you get food from the foodcourt?

It's mostly a breakfast thing as it gets so madly busy in the food court in the morning (more fool Disney for taking away the excellent breakfasts at Boatwright's ). I guess you can sit there for lunch too (unless they have already laid up the tables ready for dinner) but it's rarely needed. Definitely not for dinner though, as the tables are needed for the restaurant guests.

We have a continuing reservation, 1 night room only before our package starts. Both reservations are preferred rooms, and I had a CM note the continuing reservation. My question is... is there any reason NOT to do online check-in for both?

I don't see why not. Is the room category the same? If so, they'll probably try to keep you in the same room if possible. Might be worth asking during your first checkin to see if that has been done (you'll still need to technically re-checkin at some point on your swap day though, to get your keycard updated for the rest of your stay).

Andre

 

[wdwagain518]

I buy the pods from coffeerocket online...when I have an upcoming trip I just add them to my regular k-cup order. I find the prices a little bit better than amazon even with shipping, and I get them next day. They have a donut shop variety of the pods that is MUCH better than the ones they give you in the room.

 

[jkl2000]

Oh, they use K-Cups in the rooms? Excellent, time to start stocking up on them from work...

 

[MISSYLEXI]

I don't think they are K-cups. She orders the ones for the resort when she orders her K-cups. Can someone else verify this?

 

[bumbershoot]

Pods, not kcups. Different thing.

 

[just teachin]

We leave for POR early tomorrow morning, and just wanted to thank you all, but especially Andre and Venom for all their terrific information. You helped so much!! Thank you!

 

[wdwagain518]

I don't think they are K-cups. She orders the ones for the resort when she orders her K-cups. Can someone else verify this?

that's right.....I order the pods for vacation along with my regular k-cup order so I don't have to pay shipping twice....sorry for the confusion

 

[DanInMN]

Oh, one more note, in case any POR staff or managers are reading this: Every hour on the hour they blare out a Down By the Riverside announcement and attempt to get children to grab tambourines and march around the dining hall. THIS ISN'T WORKING! It was extremely annoying and no one was really into it. It just added noise and confusion to an already noising and confusing meal. It interrupts conversation. It made it that much harder to get your food and eat. They do this every hour on the hour throughout the day. Drove me nuts. Please: Children are over-stimulated already at Disney. Give us relative quiet while eating and save the tambourine parade for people masochistic enough to eat at Ohanas'. (Rant Over).

I strongly agree with this portion of your review. The "Down by the Riverside" thing has got to go! It is most annoying, and was the only thing we really disliked about our POR stay.

 

[andrewilley]

I strongly agree with this portion of your review. The "Down by the Riverside" thing has got to go! It is most annoying, and was the only thing we really disliked about our POR stay.

I rather like the tune itself, but not at the volume and repetitiveness of the way they play it in the food court.

Andre

 

[sktjcox]

just wanted to thank everyone for all the advise we just got back from 5 nights at por couldn't have been better so here's a little report.
we arrived about 1pm we had done online ckeckin a cm was right there to check us in it took about 5minutes. our room wasn't ready until about 3 they sent us a text.we were in ab bld 14 second floor which was exactly what we requested with a fax. the room was spotless all week long mouskeeping made a few towel animals the girls loved them.we went to the main pool once the quit pool once the main pool was nice but a little crazy.we ate at the food court 2 nights it was ok about what I expected but we didn't go to Disney to eat at gormet food. I was worried about the busses but I was pleasantly surprised we never had much of a wait at the south depot.one morning we were the only people on a bus to mk.other times we were crammed in like sardines,but we always got on . the cms were all really helpful and friendly.the girls loved that they always called them princess.all in all it was a great trip and we will be staying there again.if anyone has any questions feel free to ask

No, so glad to hear you had a great time! We booked a river ire for our trip, and I was wondering how noisy building 14 is? Is there a lot of foot traffic? Since riverview books as a separate category we might request 14, but I heard the busy area can be a downside? Thanks!

 

[ChristineOH]

We are going next June. We stayed at POR June 2011. We loved it. I was throwing around the idea of trying Beach Club, but have decided to stick with POR. We will be able to stay days longer at POR and I know we love it. My fear is paying more money somewhere else and wishing we were at POR the whole time. We are a family of 5, so we will be in the AB. We really loved the AB last time. I think I will book preferred. I thought about booking river view and requesting 14 or 27, but not sure.

For anyone who has been in 38, how long of a walk is it to the food court?

We are checking out today :-( from building 38. It is less than a five minute walk. We booked river view, and I will probably request the same building next year. It is still pretty close to the main pool and building, but still close to a quiet pool and laundry. We had the choice of a short walk to North Depot or South Depot for buses. We always used North Depot when leaving and got off at which ever stop came first when returning. If you are in a preferred building with river view, I am sure it is great to be a little closer to the main building, but we liked being more in the center with more options.