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

[Venomhatch]

Sorry I have been busy lately everyone. We are in fact sorting refrigerator issues out here as well. We had a few that weren't working and well we love to make our guests happy!

 

[TooBoyz4us]

That all seems like GREAT NEWS for us at the first of Nov then
Thankyou Andre !!!

A couple of bullet point news updates:

Fridges: Both POR and POFQ are at around 40%-50% working fridges. Medical requests are all being granted, and general requests are still being dealt with on a case-by-case basis (they are even moving fridges around to try to help guests, but there are no guarantees at present). 500 more are expected at the end of this month which will make the situation easier again, and the remainder hopefully by early November.

Magic Bands: These are hopefully coming fairly soon now (not quite this month though) and I'll be able to post more information, and hopefully some dates, when I get home at the end of this week. I can confirm that Riverside will be first though, with French Quarter and month or two later.

RFID Mugs: The actual mugs will probably start to be issued to new guests from today, but the equipment to use them won't be activated until 19th Aug. I assume this is so existing guests won't be forced to swap their mugs when the system goes live.

Andre

 

[WyoMickey]

Our family got a call from Corbett at Disney reservations tonight letting us know that our request for Free Dining at POR for Nov. 11-19th has been granted

There are ten of us in two Alligator Bayou rooms and we were not able to get free dining, so one family of six went to FW cabins and one family of four to Coronado Springs. I emailed Disney and told them we would have a great time in our new locations, but logistics would be difficult and then asked them to reconsider giving us a shot at POR with free dining.

What do you know? At 8:30pm central time, 10:30 Disney time Corbett called and said they had granted our request. Received confirming emails 1/2 hour ago. We danced and shouted for five straight minutes. Then I went back and talked to Corbett some more. Ha Ha! Just kidding. We did dance after I hung up though.

See you in November my fellow POR fans.

 

[Yellowstonetim]

Our family got a call from Corbett at Disney reservations tonight letting us know that our request for Free Dining at POR for Nov. 11-19th has been granted

There are ten of us in two Alligator Bayou rooms and we were not able to get free dining, so one family of six went to FW cabins and one family of four to Coronado Springs. I emailed Disney and told them we would have a great time in our new locations, but logistics would be difficult and then asked them to reconsider giving us a shot at POR with free dining.

What do you know? At 8:30pm central time, 10:30 Disney time Corbett called and said they had granted our request. Received confirming emails 1/2 hour ago. We danced and shouted for five straight minutes. Then I went back and talked to Corbett some more. Ha Ha! Just kidding. We did dance after I hung up though.

See you in November my fellow POR fans.

Congrats!! Glad it worked out! And kudos to Disney for the pixie dust.

 

[bdink921]

Just wondering....how is the wifi in the rooms? I'll be bringing my ipad that has all of our reservation info on it. Not sure if I should just print it all out.

 

[tracy23]

Just got back home from our first time staying at POR.....loved it!! Buses ran great..we used the north depot...longest wait was for Epcot on Tues. No fridge in our room but my parents had one. We stayed in Acadian.. Such a beautiful resort...

 

[bartleby1]

I am sorry! Hoping when you switch rooms you will get one and a nice view! I just checked our ressies (MDE has been down so long I could never get access!) and we booked Standard, so likely we will be at the mercy of what is available..with Free Dining, I bet it's going to be booked our week since POR is one of the most economical places for the Free Dining. It will be our first trip at POR, is this yours? Share your experiences! We leave in about 5 weeks, sooo excited and nervous at the same time, too much to get done in a short time!!

Thanks, we were kind of bummed at our room situation since this will most likely be the last time the grandparents will be traveling with us. It is getting hard for them to do Disney due to some medical conditions so we requested connecting rooms so the kids could go back and forth and also to be as close to the main building as possible because my mom is handicapped and walks with a cane and my dad has neuropathy and loses feeling in his feet. We couldn't get preferred, so we had booked standard view, but hoped for building 16 or in that cluster. Instead, we are in building 37 which is just about the farthest away possible. I'm a little upset that they couldn't do either one for us, especially since I explained that the location request was due to medical reasons. They finally found us connecting rooms for tomorrow but the location is still not great (building 34). We do have our car, so we will have to drive to the food court instead of walking which makes me sad. I just wanted our last stay here with them to be perfect. Now, they aren't happy with not getting connecting rooms with the kids, not happy about having to switch rooms tomorrow, not happy about the location, and not happy that we don't have a working fridge. Tomorrow will be our first day on the parks and hopefully it goes smoother than today!

You are going to love POR though! It is such a beautiful resort. Don't worry about booking standard view. Honestly, view doesn't matter much to me since we keep our curtains drawn most of the time anyway. If you are anything like us, you will be too tired when you get back to your room to even care about the view, LOL! And while the resort is large, if you dont have mobility Issues, the walk to the pool and food court is quite enjoyable because the grounds are so lovely. We've done free dining in the past at POR when it was offered in August. You're going to love it!

 

[andrewilley]

for those without a fridge --- are they reimbursing for it?

Not as a matter of routine, no. It's not as though you've paid any amount specifically for a fridge; you just booked a hotel room which would normally include one.

However, several people have reported that they have received a $15/night credit if they complained, so I guess it's a discretionary thing that can be done to resolve a specific guest issue if they still can't arrange a fridge for you.

Andre

 

[andrewilley]

Just wondering....how is the wifi in the rooms? I'll be bringing my ipad that has all of our reservation info on it. Not sure if I should just print it all out.

If it's stored locally on your iPad, you won't need Wi-Fi to display it.

The Wi-Fi connection has been excellent here, but the speed and reliability of the internet link beyond the access point/router has been a little less consistent.

Andre

 

[bartleby1]

Just an FYI for those checking in soon regarding mugs. My mom bought one today and although the new RFID system isn't working yet, she was asked if she wanted a 1day, 2 day, 3 day, or length of stay mug and was charged accordingly. She opted for the length of stay and was told to bring her receipt with her whenever she uses the mug.

 

[tazmanrmv]

Quick question. My family and I are not planning to rent a car while we are at POR, so we were thinking of ordering and having our items delivered, but now I am curious, are there any "box stores" close by that taking a taxi would make more sense?

 

[Dittz]

Just an FYI for those checking in soon regarding mugs. My mom bought one today and although the new RFID system isn't working yet, she was asked if she wanted a 1day, 2 day, 3 day, or length of stay mug and was charged accordingly. She opted for the length of stay and was told to bring her receipt with her whenever she uses the mug.

Since the mugs are typically included in MYW packages, does this mean they will automatically be length of stay mugs if you get them with the package (or are they removing them from the packages)?

 

[dansdad]

Since the mugs are typically included in MYW packages, does this mean they will automatically be length of stay mugs if you get them with the package (or are they removing them from the packages)?

Refillabe mugs are only included with the Dining Plan. Just a MYW package, without dining, means you will have to purchase the mug.

But if you have the dining plan, then yes, they are automatically length of stay.

 

[bdink921]

If it's stored locally on your iPad, you won't need Wi-Fi to display it.

The Wi-Fi connection has been excellent here, but the speed and reliability of the internet link beyond the access point/router has been a little less consistent.

Andre

Thanks!

 

[scoobydooby]

Not as a matter of routine, no. It's not as though you've paid any amount specifically for a fridge; you just booked a hotel room which would normally include one.

However, several people have reported that they have received a $15/night credit if they complained, so I guess it's a discretionary thing that can be done to resolve a specific guest issue if they still can't arrange a fridge for you.

Andre

I just had a $15 per day credit put on our room account today at POR. I did not complain about not having a fridge, I just asked for directions to Walmart to enable me to buy a cool box as we don't have a fridge in our room. The offer was immediate when I asked that question. I hadn't even asked for them to try and find us a fridge.

We also have the none RFID mugs as we arrived three days ago, but we will have to get them swapped for the new ones as we are still here on the 19th and for 6 more days after that. I think they will be irritating actually. It's so hot here I have filled my mug and guzzled the contents back immediately then re filled it immediately at least 4 times in the last 4 days.

 

[Mrs Grumpy]

So excited! We will be arriving in 3 weeks for our first stay at POR (have always stayed at POP). I will be faxing in a room request but our only request is to be able to keep the same room. We have a room only reservation the first night before starting our free dining package. Really hope we won't have to pack up and change rooms. Both are booked under the standard room so I think our chances are pretty good.....I hope.

 

[andrewilley]

We also have the none RFID mugs as we arrived three days ago, but we will have to get them swapped for the new ones as we are still here on the 19th and for 6 more days after that. I think they will be irritating actually. It's so hot here I have filled my mug and guzzled the contents back immediately then re filled it immediately at least 4 times in the last 4 days.

Yeah, I tend to do the same. Will be interesting to see how it works out.

Oh, I checked and extending usage for lengths of stay greater than 14 days is free for as long as you are staying at Disney - but it has to be done by request.

Andre

 

[tjohnson121203]

A couple of bullet point news updates:

Fridges: Both POR and POFQ are at around 40%-50% working fridges. Medical requests are all being granted, and general requests are still being dealt with on a case-by-case basis (they are even moving fridges around to try to help guests, but there are no guarantees at present). 500 more are expected at the end of this month which will make the situation easier again, and the remainder hopefully by early November.

Magic Bands: These are hopefully coming fairly soon now (not quite this month though) and I'll be able to post more information, and hopefully some dates, when I get home at the end of this week. I can confirm that Riverside will be first though, with French Quarter and month or two later.

RFID Mugs: The actual mugs will probably start to be issued to new guests from today, but the equipment to use them won't be activated until 19th Aug. I assume this is so existing guests won't be forced to swap their mugs when the system goes live.

Andre

So medical requests are all being fulfilled? We arrive next week at POR and we have medicine for my son that needs to stay refrigerated.. I was getting a little nervous about not having some type of fridge to keep his medicine cold.

 

[bdink921]

Thanks, we were kind of bummed at our room situation since this will most likely be the last time the grandparents will be traveling with us. It is getting hard for them to do Disney due to some medical conditions so we requested connecting rooms so the kids could go back and forth and also to be as close to the main building as possible because my mom is handicapped and walks with a cane and my dad has neuropathy and loses feeling in his feet. We couldn't get preferred, so we had booked standard view, but hoped for building 16 or in that cluster. Instead, we are in building 37 which is just about the farthest away possible. I'm a little upset that they couldn't do either one for us, especially since I explained that the location request was due to medical reasons. They finally found us connecting rooms for tomorrow but the location is still not great (building 34). We do have our car, so we will have to drive to the food court instead of walking which makes me sad. I just wanted our last stay here with them to be perfect. Now, they aren't happy with not getting connecting rooms with the kids, not happy about having to switch rooms tomorrow, not happy about the location, and not happy that we don't have a working fridge. Tomorrow will be our first day on the parks and hopefully it goes smoother than today.

So sorry to hear this. We are in the same boat as far as need for a bldg close to the lobby/food court. Preferred was not available with our PIN code so I booked standard. DH has degenerative disc disease with chronic back pain and cannot tolerate a lot of walking. We are planning on surgery by the end of the year. Anyhow, with all of the walking in the parks we are hoping for a close room to make it a little easier on him. He already knows he will be spending quite a bit of time at the resort. I requested bldg 16 or 17 by phone and fax so we are hoping for a little pixie dust. We will not have a car. I wish he would just rent an ECV but he refuses to. At 46 it's a pride thing for him. Hope today is a better day for you guys

 

[andrewilley]

So medical requests are all being fulfilled?

Yes, those are getting the highest priority. Send them a fax a few days before you arrive to re-confirm your requirement for a fridge for storing medicines (see first post for details).

Andre