Port Orleans Riverside Q&A Thread 2014 (Please read first post for FAQs!)

[Venomhatch]

Q- if you are staying in Oak Manner facing the courtyard, can you hear the movie or noise from ppl at the movie in your room at night? My little ones go to bed early and I am wondering if I should specifically request not to face the courtyard or if that is a waste of a request. TIA!

We stayed in the Oak Building right there on the side facing the river and never heard the movie or guests watching it.

 

[Twin Princess Mama]

We stayed in the Oak Building right there on the side facing the river and never heard the movie or guests watching it.

thanks so much! can't wait for our trip! 47 days and counting!

 

[andrewilley]

I've updated the Boatwright's menu on my website (www.portorleans.org/boatwrights.php) with the new 'back-story themed' naming and altered prices.

Not too many major option changes from what I saw in August, apart from the new names for some of the dishes, but the prices for Entrees in particular have gone up around $2 compared with the same time last year (and the Prime Rib has gone up from $27.99 to $33.99!).

I'll update the Desserts and beverages/wines sections when I get copies of those pages.

Andre

 

[Twin Princess Mama]

I've updated the Boatwright's menu on my website (www.portorleans.org/boatwrights.php) with the new 'back-story themed' naming and altered prices.

Not too many major option changes from what I saw in August, apart from the new names for some of the dishes, but the prices for Entrees in particular have gone up around $2 compared with the same time last year (and the Prime Rib has gone up from $27.99 to $33.99!).

I'll update the Desserts and beverages/wines sections when I get copies of those pages.

Andre

If you look at the disney websites new updated menus, it looks like the kids now have the option of jambalaya! Ppl who have had this b4, is it too spicy for kids?

 

[Sue M]

I've updated the Boatwright's menu on my website (www.portorleans.org/boatwrights.php) with the new 'back-story themed' naming and altered prices.

Not too many major option changes from what I saw in August, apart from the new names for some of the dishes, but the prices for Entrees in particular have gone up around $2 compared with the same time last year (and the Prime Rib has gone up from $27.99 to $33.99!).

I'll update the Desserts and beverages/wines sections when I get copies of those pages.

Andre

Ooooooh, I wonder if the shrimp & grits dish is similar to GF Cafe. I had the Shrimp & Grits in August at GF, it was amazingly good!!

 

[emij]

We just got back a couple days ago from our first WDW trip with stays at Poly and PORR.

We stayed 3 nights at Poly and then 4 at PORR - given all the construction at Poly, my family thought that PORR was the "Deluxe" resort that I had booked! It really is a lovely place. We had a River View Royal Room, which was simply fantastic. Even my DS7 thought it was super cool (once he got over being surrounded by princesses!). He liked the prince silhouettes, the magic carpet, the magic lamp faucets and the firework beds!

I requested a room close to the bridge - we got 1st floor room 9535 in Parterre Place and HOLY SMOKES what a convenient location! Easy access to parking, around the corner from the quiet pool, and right by the path to the bridge. All with a lovely river view.

The room was a bit small for the 2 queen beds - one bed was about 5 inches from the wall, so that is where we put DD4!

Our first day there was our "rest" day - we slept in, swam and took the boat to DTD.

In case it affects you - the big pool has towels and life guards available, the quiet pool does not. We took towels to the big pool on our first day, didn't need them, then when we went to the quiet pool I didn't take them as I hadn't needed them before, but this time I did! Housekeeping was happy to provide extra towels for swimming. After the one time use of the big pool, we stuck to the quiet pool that was near our room. The kids enjoyed diving for the tree nuts on the bottom! It was perfect to soak tired feet and recover from the day.

As for buses, we used the main front stop - on Monday we waited about 20 minutes (arrived at the stop at 8, got on the bus at 8:21) for MK - saw 2-3 each of buses for each of the other parks before we saw a MK one. We got on a double extended bus and stood for the short ride. This one did not go to other stops in the resort after picking us up (I believe it had already been around). My dh had a conference so he drove and parked at the TTC so we rode home with him.

On Tuesday, about the same time, arriving at the stop at 8:03 we saw 6 (SIX!) MK buses, but only waited 8 minutes for an AK bus. We got on, had seats and then this bus went around the resort picking up additional people. This was a fairly long ride, so I was glad we had seats (Only a few people stood on this ride). Again we rode back with DH after his conference, so we never used the return bus system.

On Wednesday, our check-out day, I learned that an on-line check-in request for a late check-out doesn't actually get communicated with the system! I went to the main desk and they worked their magic to allow a 1pm check-out, which was ideal for our 4pm flight. That allowed us to go to DTD and then swim without using public restrooms to change. We used the airline baggage check-in service, which is a wonderful service, so nice not to handle the bags again until arrival at home!

Overall, we REALLY enjoyed our PORR stay. Honestly, the only way Poly beat it was the monorail.

Thanks so much to all of you who helped make this trip a successful one!

 

[ElsasFan]

We are getting ready for our upcoming trip to POR. It is our first family trip to WDW (super excited!).

Our younger daughter is four years old and I am still on the fence about getting a stroller for her. Realistically, I think that she is going to need it during the afternoons and evenings. If we do rent one, I would prefer to rent from an off-site stroller company because the stroller is better quality and almost exactly the same price. One of my hesitations, though, is the already-limited space in our room. We are staying in AB because there are five of us. Will adding a (folded) stroller to the room make it seem even more crowded?

 

[AmyKat]

We are getting ready for our upcoming trip to POR. It is our first family trip to WDW (super excited!).

Our younger daughter is four years old and I am still on the fence about getting a stroller for her. Realistically, I think that she is going to need it during the afternoons and evenings. If we do rent one, I would prefer to rent from an off-site stroller company because the stroller is better quality and almost exactly the same price. One of my hesitations, though, is the already-limited space in our room. We are staying in AB because there are five of us. Will adding a (folded) stroller to the room make it seem even more crowded?

The strollers are definitely a pain, but it's so worth it. We get a double stroller (8 year old, 5 year old, and 19 month old). I'm not quite ready to drop to a single stroller but I'm getting close. We don't fold them up in the room. We either park it in front of the door (so you have to squeeze by to get out) or put it in the bathroom area under the clothes rack (so you have to squeeze to get to the sink). We use it for extra storage of all our park stuff while it's in the room so even though it takes up space, it serves a purpose.

 

[ElsasFan]

The strollers are definitely a pain, but it's so worth it. We get a double stroller (8 year old, 5 year old, and 19 month old). I'm not quite ready to drop to a single stroller but I'm getting close. We don't fold them up in the room. We either park it in front of the door (so you have to squeeze by to get out) or put it in the bathroom area under the clothes rack (so you have to squeeze to get to the sink). We use it for extra storage of all our park stuff while it's in the room so even though it takes up space, it serves a purpose.

I hadn't thought of using it for in-room storage--that would be an advantage. If you put it under the clothes rack, where do you put your suitcases? From looking at the floor plans, it looks like that is the best out-of-the way place for them.

Is putting the stroller on the bus much of a hassle? I like the idea of having it for the long walks when not in the parks, but not having to deal with it and the busses.

 

[eeyoreland]

I hadn't thought of using it for in-room storage--that would be an advantage. If you put it under the clothes rack, where do you put your suitcases? From looking at the floor plans, it looks like that is the best out-of-the way place for them.

Is putting the stroller on the bus much of a hassle? I like the idea of having it for the long walks when not in the parks, but not having to deal with it and the busses.

We haven't stayed at POR in years, but at other Disney resorts, we've always stored our suitcases under the beds.

 

[AmyKat]

We haven't stayed at POR in years, but at other Disney resorts, we've always stored our suitcases under the beds.

POR (and I think all the resorts) have the beds on stages so you can't put anything under them.

I hadn't thought of using it for in-room storage--that would be an advantage. If you put it under the clothes rack, where do you put your suitcases? From looking at the floor plans, it looks like that is the best out-of-the way place for them.

Is putting the stroller on the bus much of a hassle? I like the idea of having it for the long walks when not in the parks, but not having to deal with it and the busses.

We nest the suitcases together and put them in the back of the closet area where it meets the sink area. Does that make sense? They go up against the wall in the corner of the closet area. The stroller goes in the front part of the closet area and sticks out into the area where you stand.

They can be a hassle on the bus. It's not the stroller that's a problem though. It's really all the stuff we store in the stroller. Everyone has a jacket, we have snacks/cups, we may have souvenirs, etc. It's really important to have a bag with a shoulder strap to be able to shove all that stuff in while we're on the bus. There have been times were we all had to stand and holding onto little kids, the stroller, and the stuff can be overwhelming. The rental strollers (city mini) don't lock when they are closed. They stay together pretty well but we bring a bungee cord from home to use to help it stay closed.

 

[BebopBaloo]

Elsasfan - could you use an umbrella stroller? That's what we used for our daughter at that age and it was really convenient. It helped her and it took up little space in the room. It was also easy to fold and carry onto the buses.

 

[ElsasFan]

POR (and I think all the resorts) have the beds on stages so you can't put anything under them.



We nest the suitcases together and put them in the back of the closet area where it meets the sink area. Does that make sense? They go up against the wall in the corner of the closet area. The stroller goes in the front part of the closet area and sticks out into the area where you stand.

They can be a hassle on the bus. It's not the stroller that's a problem though. It's really all the stuff we store in the stroller. Everyone has a jacket, we have snacks/cups, we may have souvenirs, etc. It's really important to have a bag with a shoulder strap to be able to shove all that stuff in while we're on the bus. There have been times were we all had to stand and holding onto little kids, the stroller, and the stuff can be overwhelming. The rental strollers (city mini) don't lock when they are closed. They stay together pretty well but we bring a bungee cord from home to use to help it stay closed.

That does make sense about the nesting and where you put the suitcases. Thanks for the tip about the bungee cord. Another item that my husband will think I'm crazy for taking!

I will definitely take a bag with a shoulder strap, and I have one that was a promo item that I've never used--it's folded super small in a little bag. Maybe I'll take that to put in the other bag in case we acquire more stuff in the park during the day. Those bags have a way of growing.

 

[Venomhatch]

I hadn't thought of using it for in-room storage--that would be an advantage. If you put it under the clothes rack, where do you put your suitcases? From looking at the floor plans, it looks like that is the best out-of-the way place for them.

Is putting the stroller on the bus much of a hassle? I like the idea of having it for the long walks when not in the parks, but not having to deal with it and the busses.

I answered your other post in my other thread also.

 

[ElsasFan]

Elsasfan - could you use an umbrella stroller? That's what we used for our daughter at that age and it was really convenient. It helped her and it took up little space in the room. It was also easy to fold and carry onto the buses.

I don't think that we could. We got rid of our umbrella stroller a while back because it had been so long since we used it. She is really tall for her age, and the last few times we used it she was really crammed in. I don't think that it would be comfortable for very long. Thank you for the suggestion, though. That would definitely be easier on the bus. (And would take up less space in the room.)

 

[Carriesouthard]

I apologize if this has been covered in this thread but I can't seem to find it...

Where are the laundry facilities at POR?

Thanks

 

[Venomhatch]

I apologize if this has been covered in this thread but I can't seem to find it...

Where are the laundry facilities at POR?

Thanks

They are in a central area between each four AB buildings near a quiet pool or between each pair of mansion buildings near their quiet pools. So never too far.

 

[ElsasFan]

I answered your other post in my other thread also.

Saw it -- thank you!

 

[RustManFan]

I believe they are near the quiet pools, at least on the AB side. They should be clearly marked on the POR map

 

[emij]

I apologize if this has been covered in this thread but I can't seem to find it...

Where are the laundry facilities at POR?

Thanks

In the mansion section they are actually IN the quiet pool area - go through the gate to the quiet pool, there is a building that has restrooms and laundry. You scan your band to get into the laundry room. I saw on the map that they were NEAR the pool, but when in search discovered that they are REALLY NEAR, as in right there, at the pool. I imagine the other pool is the same way, but we didn't make our way over there.