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

[Missytara]

Hey Andre, I looked at your plan upside down.

Quite frankly, as an architect, I can tell you when I click on the building, the plan felt in reverse, but I did not realize it until I got here and looked for the room.

 

[NJRRK]

Question about the fold down Murphy beds in Alligator Bayou: Has anyone used one with a toddler? Our DD (3) just moved into a regular bed at home from a crib and moves around a bunch in her sleep. We've found her on the floor in the middle of the night several times, though strangely, never heard crying. (She's pretty tough.) I'm a little nervous, though, about these beds. I know you can request bed rails, but even with those, I feel like she might just scootch her way off the end and land on her head. I guess we could put pillows down though... Just curious if anyone had any experience with it.

You can request bed rails from the front desk so that would keep your DD from falling off.

 

[andrewilley]

Hey Andre, I looked at your plan upside down.

Quite frankly, as an architect, I can tell you when I click on the building, the plan felt in reverse, but I did not realize it until I got here and looked for the room.

Thanks for the info. If you of all people managed to read the map upside-down then I definitely need to make them clearer. I'll look into adding some navigation annotations to the next versions.

I tried to keep all the maps broadly similar - the FQ and the Magnolia Bend ones all have the riverfront at the top of the maps for example, and the AB ones try to keep the top side as the northern-most face of the building (although that's not so easy due to the more varied layout of AB).

Andre

 

[sunset7132]

I doubt this was due to the remoteness of the building, you should get the same level of service in any building. I assume you reported it to management at the time, as there's not much that can be done about it after the event?

The cleanliness issue is the biggest one, things like lack of towel animals (which are meant to be a nice surprise if you happen to get one) and the housekeeper not speaking English are not really things they can do much about (or don't feel they need to do much about in the latter case).

Andre

The room was left dirty. No towel animals wasn't be biggest issue. Not speaking English was a big issue as I tried to ask her To push back night table, Try to ask her to clean out the garbage pail, tried to ask her to leave more shampoo. Having to call the front desk for every issue is annoying the cleaning staff should speak English.

 

[sunset7132]

The room was left dirty. No towel animals wasn't be biggest issue. Not speaking English was a big issue as I tried to ask her To push back night table, Try to ask her to clean out the garbage pail, tried to ask her to leave more shampoo. Having to call the front desk for every issue is annoying the cleaning staff should speak English.

We do love the Port Orleans French quarter we were just disappointed the last two visits with mouse keeping keeping in building seven

 

[mamattorney]

I forgot to mention that we saw a pair of river otters at Riverside on our trip.

I was out in front of our room putting on sunscreen when I saw, through some foliage, what I thought was a black cat walking down the path. All the sudden it disappeared and I wondered what happened to it. I went down the stairs to the path to look briefly for it and saw two otters turn the corner and walk right down the middle of the path, leaving little wet pawprints behind them. They took a rest right in front of the stairs close to our room.

By the time I was able to get the rest of my family outside, they had slipped themselves into one of the creeks and were zipping around playing in the water. It was just such a special surprise to see them.

 

[delgrec]

Having to call the front desk for every issue is annoying the cleaning staff should speak English.

I highly recommend the "SayHi"translation app. Perfect for situations like that. It virtually eliminates any language barrier.

 

[MikkiMom]

I forgot to mention that we saw a pair of river otters at Riverside on our trip.

We were there 6/1 - 6/8 and we saw them too but just on our first day. Then they disappeared. My son was very concerned about them and was going to ask a cast member if they had been taken away. But he never did ask so he'll be happy to now they are still there. I just wished we had seen them on a day when I had my phone with me so I could take a picture. The first time my son said he saw an otter we thought he was confused and it was just a cat or something. Lo & behold we walked over to where he was and there were 2 otters playing together and having a ball.

MikkiMom

 

[bumbershoot]

Having to call the front desk for every issue is annoying the cleaning staff should speak English.

If you actually called the front desk, that wasn't going to ultimately get you anywhere. That button leads you to an offsite (possibly out of state) call center, NOT the front desk. If that happens in the future, push the button for Housekeeping and talk to them directly. They NEED to know if one of their employees isn't doing a proper job.

 

[SRUAlmn]

We got a survey about POR after our last vacation. It asked a lot of questions, and I was able to specify each tiny problem we had with our visit. We got feedback afterwards, and they apologized about a few things. It was kinda awesome. It made me feel better.

When we stayed at All Star Movies two years ago, we had several annoyances. We never got a survey, so I contacted Disney direct about it and explained what we experienced. They apologized profusely and wanted more specifics so corrective action could be taken.

And don't take it the wrong way....we're not the "Negative Nancy" complaining type. There were just several things at ASM that ruined Disney Magic for us for a few minutes.

Thanks! I feel the same way. I have had many jobs in which I've been a manager and I would always want to receive feedback in regards to my staff, policies, and facilities. I don't take it as being a negative nancy, I take it as helping work towards others having amazing vacation experiences. I had a lot of specific suggestions regarding the south depot bus stop.

 

[Kevin1281]

Is it possible to walk from POR to OKW (Olivia's Café)???

 

[germ539]

Is it possible to walk from POR to OKW (Olivia's Café)???

It would be a very longgggggggggggggggggg walk. You could take the water taxi to downtown disney then take the OKW water taxi back to Olivia's. The only thing is after you get to OKW you'll have to find a way to get back to POR.

 

[georgiesgirl]

What is the best way to go from POR to Chef Mickeys? We will be traveling about 7pm. Thanks

 

[siskaren]

What is the best way to go from POR to Chef Mickeys? We will be traveling about 7pm. Thanks

Bus to MK, then walk to the Contemporary.

 

[georgiesgirl]

Thank you!

 

[maryj11]

Bus to MK, then walk to the Contemporary.

How long does it take to walk to the Contemporary, or can you just take the monorail ? I was thinking of doing the same thing ?

 

[Pirate4Ever]

How long does it take to walk to the Contemporary, or can you just take the monorail ? I was thinking of doing the same thing ?

It's only a 5-10 minute walk. Much more reliable than walking to the monorail and waiting.

 

[jewelsb]

After a crazy 3 weeks of being unsure we were going to make our trip, we have decided to go and now we have only 4 days to prepare! Yikes!! Now I feel so completely unprepared! So, one question at a time as I start thinking of them..... First, We have an AOR at Chef Mickey the first night, but I want to pick up our photo pass card before we go to dinner. What is the best route to go? Boat to DTD, then bus to MK & walk to the Contemporary?

 

[siskaren]

How long does it take to walk to the Contemporary, or can you just take the monorail ? I was thinking of doing the same thing ?

You can see pictures of the route here:

http://www.easywdw.com/uncategorized/contemporary-resort-2011-christmas-decorations-and-a-look-around-part-1/

Also, I could be mistaken, but I think that the monorail goes counterclockwise, meaning that if you get on at the MK, the Contemporary is the last stop, so walking would definitely be the more direct route.

 

[ChristineOH]

After a crazy 3 weeks of being unsure we were going to make our trip, we have decided to go and now we have only 4 days to prepare! Yikes!! Now I feel so completely unprepared! So, one question at a time as I start thinking of them..... First, We have an AOR at Chef Mickey the first night, but I want to pick up our photo pass card before we go to dinner. What is the best route to go? Boat to DTD, then bus to MK & walk to the Contemporary?

There is a photopass desk in the Grand Floridian for sure, and I think in the Polynesian too. There may be one in the Contemporary, but I'm not sure. Maybe someone else will chime in, because I didn't find it easily on google.

I'm not sure how late it's open, but unless you have other business in DD, it would be quicker to take the bus to MK, take the ferry to either GF or the Poly, and then take the monorail over to the Contemporary.

The photopass desk at the GF is on the second floor, near the doors that lead out to where the monorail stop is.