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

[mickeystoontown]

I just got onto the Port Orleans site...did a search and connected thru search.. Finally!

I tried that as well but it still didn't work. I'll try again later.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Ditto here. Wow, very unusual, but I believe Andre is on his way to POR and does not realize it. Maybe he forgot to keep it plugged in!

I was beginning to wonder if it were my computer. I'll keep checking throughout the day. We have two free water view nights at any moderate resort. We are thinking of trying out POR those two nights and then switching over to CBR for our package.

 

[jcemom]

No swan is not included in free dining. My choice is stay at POR the whole 9 nights with free dining or stay at WL for 6 nights with free dining and switch to Swan for 3 nights on points. The cost for both including EVERYTHING would be right around 4000. So cost being the same, what is better all POR or WL/swan split?

I would go with POR for the whole 9 nights. WL is nice. We liked the boat to MK and the proximity to FtW. However, as a whole, we liked POR just as much as WL. At POR we like the boat to DtD. We also like the overall theme/feel of the resort. It's very lush with lots of plants, flowers, shrubs and trees. The grounds and pool area felt deluxe to us. Riverside Mill is better than Roaring Forks.

We also find split stays a bit of a pain. We never feel settled, knowing we have to pack up and check in somewhere else.

We've never stayed at the Swan, but we've visited a couple times. It looks nice, but while at Disney I'd prefer a Disney resort with a theme.

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

Thanks for the response, I appreciate it! I am so torn and I need to decide....or maybe the first one I ask for wont have availability and then I will do the other! But assuming I can get either, I am so torn! I really hate the buses and we have to bus to MK because of the TTC situation, no point driving. Then we can drive to the other parks. If we stay at WL we can boat to MK and at Swan we can boat to EP and HS. The drawback is the split stay!

 

[mickeystoontown]

FYI: The Portorleans.org site is back up and running.

 

[emilyhuff]

Hey yall is there a fee to send a package to POR?

I found the website mousehouseconcierge.com and wanted to buy a case of water! its only .70 cents a bottle compared to 2.50 in the parks. But i was reading that some resorts have a $10 fee per package..... anyone know?!

 

[Missytara]

Hey yall is there a fee to send a package to POR?

I found the website mousehouseconcierge.com and wanted to buy a case of water! its only .70 cents a bottle compared to 2.50 in the parks. But i was reading that some resorts have a $10 fee per package..... anyone know?!

No, POR is not a convention resort. You can find the info on the sticky at the top of the board.

 

[denise5374]

Staying at POR for the first time, arriving on 8/18 and I am torn about what room to request if any? We have 2 rooms, one has me, DH, DD20 and DS16 and the other is 2 adults(my BIL and SIL), ad we have a "pool view" room paid for. At first I really wanted a Mansion room but now I am not so sure, what do you think? Should I request nothing and just go with the flow? What is the big differences between the 2 sections?

Thanks!

 

[photos_101]

Quick update about the fridge situation here, front desk called this afternoon and was not able to find us a working fridge so they automatically credited our room account $15night. It was nice to have them do this without me having to ask for the credit. I simply asked upon check in if we had one in the room and asked to be put on the wait list for one. Luckily we drove and had a small cooler to use. I paid for a Royal room and do believe the compensation is fair. Back to my vacation now!
BTW.. these rooms are beautiful!!

Edit to add.. food court does have the new RFID machines but they are not activated yet. Coffee machine is nescafe. However coffee in rooms is joffreys.

 

[aroundtheriverbend]

Hey all, I think Andrew is still in transit, but for all you POR veterans - is it common for POR to be excluded from room only or free dining offers? I wasn't able to find historical data to support it, but a site called Chip and Co that alot of Disers frequent is posting that POR is going to be left out of room only offers for the fall starting tomorrow - but just POR and AofA. Not left out of FD though (that doesn't work due to my dates, though). I'm hoping the data is wrong, but has that happened before? Dates are like from October to right before xmas, only leaving out Thanksgiving. So it's not like they are working around a particular event or something....

Thanks for any help/perspective!

 

[CaraMiaBelle]

Hey all, I think Andrew is still in transit, but for all you POR veterans - is it common for POR to be excluded from room only or free dining offers? I wasn't able to find historical data to support it, but a site called Chip and Co that alot of Disers frequent is posting that POR is going to be left out of room only offers for the fall starting tomorrow - but just POR and AofA. Not left out of FD though (that doesn't work due to my dates, though). I'm hoping the data is wrong, but has that happened before? Dates are like from October to right before xmas, only leaving out Thanksgiving. So it's not like they are working around a particular event or something....

Thanks for any help/perspective!

Wow! I can't even keep the rumors straight anymore! I'm just hoping for FD tomorrow, guess we won't know until we call in.

 

[Venomhatch]

Hey all, I think Andrew is still in transit, but for all you POR veterans - is it common for POR to be excluded from room only or free dining offers? I wasn't able to find historical data to support it, but a site called Chip and Co that alot of Disers frequent is posting that POR is going to be left out of room only offers for the fall starting tomorrow - but just POR and AofA. Not left out of FD though (that doesn't work due to my dates, though). I'm hoping the data is wrong, but has that happened before? Dates are like from October to right before xmas, only leaving out Thanksgiving. So it's not like they are working around a particular event or something....

Thanks for any help/perspective!

It normally shows up for room only and dining offers.

 

[alm99]

Hey all, I think Andrew is still in transit, but for all you POR veterans - is it common for POR to be excluded from room only or free dining offers? I wasn't able to find historical data to support it, but a site called Chip and Co that alot of Disers frequent is posting that POR is going to be left out of room only offers for the fall starting tomorrow - but just POR and AofA. Not left out of FD though (that doesn't work due to my dates, though). I'm hoping the data is wrong, but has that happened before? Dates are like from October to right before xmas, only leaving out Thanksgiving. So it's not like they are working around a particular event or something....

Thanks for any help/perspective!

It is usually included.

However, if going forward it were to get dropped of offers that would stink. It is the only reasonably priced location for our family of 5 to stay in.

 

[minniemous]

Hi, We are going to Disney World this October and we will be staying at POR for the first time. Up to this point I have only stayed at the deluxe hotels at disney world but in an effort to save money we are giving the moderates a try. From what I hear they are excellent and lets face it anywhere you stay is going to be great. But I wanted to ask what is the biggest difference we will feel in staying at a PORT Orleans versus Say Wilderness lodge since they to do not have monorail access as well. My biggest concern is if the bus transportation will be very different to and from the hotel?

 

[minniemous]

Hi, We are going to Disney World this October and we will be staying at POR for the first time. Up to this point I have only stayed at the deluxe hotels at disney world but in an effort to save money we are giving the moderates a try. From what I hear they are excellent and lets face it anywhere you stay is going to be great. But I wanted to ask what is the biggest difference we will feel in staying at a PORT Orleans versus Say Fort Wilderness since they to do have monorail access as well. My biggest concern is if the bus transportation will be very different to and from the hotel?

 

[NJRRK]

Hi, We are going to Disney World this October and we will be staying at POR for the first time. Up to this point I have only stayed at the deluxe hotels at disney world but in an effort to save money we are giving the moderates a try. From what I hear they are excellent and lets face it anywhere you stay is going to be great. But I wanted to ask what is the biggest difference we will feel in staying at a PORT Orleans versus Say Fort Wilderness since they to do have monorail access as well. My biggest concern is if the bus transportation will be very different to and from the hotel?

Some of the quick differences:

Outside Corridors, the door to your room leads right outside to a covered walkway. In the same light you don't have a private balcony.

Buses to all the theme parks, no boat service to a theme park but there is a boat to DTD..

Bathroom is split; you have two sinks and an open closet separated from the sleeping area by a curtain. The commode and tub/shower are in a separate room.

Pool isn't quite as nice as the WK pool (imho others might disagree) but the main pools are close.

POR has a much larger food court and only one sit down restaurant.

No CL rooms available.

Last, for my list, POR is much larger and more spread out than WL.

 

[sweetnjmom]

I am getting very anxious about the entire free dining thing and how it will affect Port Orleans Riverside. I want to stay at POR. We are booked for 11/11 to 11/17 in a River View room (request for mansion building) at @$3300 for my family of 3. That includes 5 day park hoppers and the regular dining plan.

If I can snag a free dining room, it will save us $800.

But if I can't... I don't really want to switch to another moderate resort. Caribbean Beach only has Full beds. And Coronado Springs just seems too "adult" for my 4-year-old. So we're considering changing to Wilderness Lodge if we can't get FD at POR and can get it there. The cost would be the same as we're paying now $3300.

I'd really rather save money. Our dates are firm, however, so if we can't save we may as well be a boat ride away from the Magic Kingdom.

First world problems...

 

[minniemous]

Thank you for your response and insight!

 

[My2CrazyGirls]

I am getting very anxious about the entire free dining thing and how it will affect Port Orleans Riverside. I want to stay at POR. We are booked for 11/11 to 11/17 in a River View room (request for mansion building) at @$3300 for my family of 3. That includes 5 day park hoppers and the regular dining plan.

If I can snag a free dining room, it will save us $800.

But if I can't... I don't really want to switch to another moderate resort. Caribbean Beach only has Full beds. And Coronado Springs just seems too "adult" for my 4-year-old. So we're considering changing to Wilderness Lodge if we can't get FD at POR and can get it there. The cost would be the same as we're paying now $3300.

I'd really rather save money. Our dates are firm, however, so if we can't save we may as well be a boat ride away from the Magic Kingdom.

First world problems...

Sounds good either way! POR saving money or WL with what you would have paid for POR

 

[firstwdw]

Hi, We are going to Disney World this October and we will be staying at POR for the first time. Up to this point I have only stayed at the deluxe hotels at disney world but in an effort to save money we are giving the moderates a try. From what I hear they are excellent and lets face it anywhere you stay is going to be great. But I wanted to ask what is the biggest difference we will feel in staying at a PORT Orleans versus Say Fort Wilderness since they to do have monorail access as well. My biggest concern is if the bus transportation will be very different to and from the hotel?

This is just my opinion. There are 4 bus stops and sometimes you share with French Quarter-but not all the time. When we stayed at WL and took the bus to the 3 other parks(not MK), the bus stopped at other hotels. The other hotels were not necessarily close to WL so it added quite a bit of time. The Epcot deluxe resorts have many hotels sharing the same bus. Whereas at POR, yes you have several stops but they are really quite close and if you really want you can get off and walk it. I don't think POR is any different than the hotels that are not on the monorail(except for Pop and AoA who do not share buses).