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

[mickeymousemom]

To be honest, as highly as I rate the Unofficial Guide, on that subject they do seem to just be looking for something to write.

Yes, there is a perimeter road around the resort which has a few cars and Disney buses on it (which is at least 80 yards from the closest Standard View rooms in building 16, and with two rows of trees and a parking lot separating you), and further out than that is the most remote stretch of Bonnet Creek Parkway (at least 120 yards away, and with a third row of trees), and that isn't even an especially busy road anyway. It's not exactly like your room will back onto Interstate-4.

In short, don't worry about traffic noise anywhere in Port Orleans (worry more about a herd of baby elephants moving into the room above you).

Andre

I totally agree with this! We have stayed in several different areas of POR and is home to us....so charming, so gorgeous, quiet, etc. We love it. Never had any problem with anything loud. I can't say enough how much we love this place!

 

[lillykat]

Trying to pack now. Threw the staff appreciation lunch yesterday at my daughter's school. We arrive tomorrow. Cannot wait to get there and just relax!!!! We faxed on Saturday but never heard anything back. Hope it works out. Do the boats run to DTD all day? We plan to head over there off dinner at TRex tomorrow. I can't wait. My girls have told everyone in creation that they are going to disney!!!!

 

[jesster]

What is it like at POR mid-November? We were just there end of April and loved the energy of the resort, and we had a lot of fun at the pool. Are people still hanging out by the pool in mid-November, or is it too chilly by that point? TIA!

 

[abmitch01]

No smokes that I know of, they used to sell smores though! Now you can get free marshmallows to roast.

Yes, there's a guide that you'll get in your Welcome Pack (which I upload monthly too, see www.portorleans.org/recreation-activites-schedule.php)

Andre[/QUOTE]


That was supposed to say SMORES, not smokes, lol!

 

[andrewilley]

I've finally got round to completing the updates to my Port Orleans building floorplan layouts that I was talking about a while back. So not only can you check the various room types & categories, plus the locations of all the Accessible rooms, but now all of the Connecting Rooms are listed too.

While special room requests can never be guaranteed of course, it is now much easier for you to check to see if a particular room request might be realistic or not.

See the Room Locations and Requests page and click on any of the buildings in the resort maps to see expanded floorplan views. You can also download combined PDF documents for each section of the resort from the Maps and Directions page.

I hope you enjoy the updated maps, and have fun planning!

Andre

 

[jcyoung]

Okay, so I have followed this thread for 7 months while planning my vacation, but I always thought we would be in AB because we are a family of 5. We did some creative room assigning with grandparents, and are now going to be in a Royal Room instead. Unfortunately, I have never paid enough attention to the posts about Royal Rooms because I never thought it would apply to us! I'm trying to sift back through, but there are TONS of posts on this thread!!!

So, I know that I want to request based on what I am looking for (close to foot bridge, ground floor, etc.) but is one building better than the other? We are going in October, so I think the roof refurb on Oak Manor will be complete (unless they are moving to Parterre after???) Is there anything that I should know about staying in the mansion side, or the Royal Rooms?

Any insight would be appreciated. I feel like I am replanning the entire vacation! It is so exciting!!!

 

[Venomhatch]

Okay, so I have followed this thread for 7 months while planning my vacation, but I always thought we would be in AB because we are a family of 5. We did some creative room assigning with grandparents, and are now going to be in a Royal Room instead. Unfortunately, I have never paid enough attention to the posts about Royal Rooms because I never thought it would apply to us! I'm trying to sift back through, but there are TONS of posts on this thread!!!

So, I know that I want to request based on what I am looking for (close to foot bridge, ground floor, etc.) but is one building better than the other? We are going in October, so I think the roof refurb on Oak Manor will be complete (unless they are moving to Parterre after???) Is there anything that I should know about staying in the mansion side, or the Royal Rooms?

Any insight would be appreciated. I feel like I am replanning the entire vacation! It is so exciting!!!

I think you would be ok requesting that and Oak Building and you should be strait.

 

[Ravenne]

Does the POR lobby have a name by any chance? Like the name of ASMovies' lobby is called Cinema Hall, does POR's have a name? If so, what is it? Thanks!

 

[maryj11]

Has anyone taken a taxi to Magic Kingdom ? If so how much would it cost ?

 

[librarymom2007]

So glad I called as soon as I got the Disney Visa room only offer, as it appears that POR sold out of the discounted rooms for my dates. Whew! I switched from a standard view to garden view and am paying less than I was with my AAA discount. It will be our first stay there. I've requested to be as close to the main building as possible. Really looking forward to it! I usually fax 4-5 days before our arrival, but we're going on a Disney cruise prior to our stay. Is it okay to fax about 8-9 days before arrival?

Fax what?

 

[Ravenne]

Fax what?

You can fax in room requests prior to arrival, but they are just requests, there are no guarantees. Here's the post with more info on it: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3116216

 

[andrewilley]

So, I know that I want to request based on what I am looking for (close to foot bridge, ground floor, etc.) but is one building better than the other?

The very best rooms are at the northern end of Parterre Place, but there are also some pretty distant ones at the other end of that same building. Oak Manor is a bit more consistent, with fewer of the more remote rooms, but again it's a large building. So asking for either building specifically could just as easily backfire on you - I would just ask to be close to the footbridge if that's what you want, let them work out what's best at the time.

Does the POR lobby have a name by any chance? Like the name of ASMovies' lobby is called Cinema Hall, does POR's have a name? If so, what is it? Thanks!

The main building lobby is known as the Sassagoula Steamboat Company. When you check in you are in the registration hall, just about to embark on a mid-1800's river voyage on one of the company's steam ferries along the Sassagoula (Mississippi) River.

Has anyone taken a taxi to Magic Kingdom ? If so how much would it cost ?

About $15-$20, but they drop off at the Ticket & Transportation Center not directly outside the MK gates, so you'll have a monorail or ferry boat ride from there to the MK. If you want to get a little closer, ask to be taken to the Contemporary Resort and walk over to the MK from there.

Andre

 

[librarymom2007]

You can fax in room requests prior to arrival, but they are just requests, there are no guarantees. Here's the post with more info on it: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3116216

Thank you!

 

[WDW-A-RAMA]

I just hung up the phone with Mary Jean where I was able to book two rooms at POR with a free dining pin that I received yesterday via email. I checked last night of the available room types through the pin link and discovered that Garden View and Pool View were offered categories. I decided to try for Pool, so at 7am eastern I called. I had to wait about 30 minutes, but I got through. I told her I wanted to switch my reservation from the Disney visa offer to the Pin. She put me on hold so many times as if this were her first time. I asked for Pool and she said they had one room, but she could call the resort to ask for another. She came back on and said she had the other pool view but it was updating with the additional children I added. After a few more holds, she came back and said she could not give me the other pool view room, but that garden in available. I did not know what to do at this point because I was going to request connecting rooms. I eventually ended up with one Pool view and one Garden view. Is this a mistake if I want adjoining/connecting rooms? I am excited to get POR, but now I am worried about the distance from my parents and other children. What should I have done? Is there any way to increase the likelihood of connecting rooms? Please help!

 

[Monorail Bob's dd]

I just hung up the phone with Mary Jean where I was able to book two rooms at POR with a free dining pin that I received yesterday via email. I checked last night of the available room types through the pin link and discovered that Garden View and Pool View were offered categories. I decided to try for Pool, so at 7am eastern I called. I had to wait about 30 minutes, but I got through. I told her I wanted to switch my reservation from the Disney visa offer to the Pin. She put me on hold so many times as if this were her first time. I asked for Pool and she said they had one room, but she could call the resort to ask for another. She came back on and said she had the other pool view but it was updating with the additional children I added. After a few more holds, she came back and said she could not give me the other pool view room, but that garden in available. I did not know what to do at this point because I was going to request connecting rooms. I eventually ended up with one Pool view and one Garden view. Is this a mistake if I want adjoining/connecting rooms? I am excited to get POR, but now I am worried about the distance from my parents and other children. What should I have done? Is there any way to increase the likelihood of connecting rooms? Please help!

You need to book rooms in the same category if you want connecting. You can get rooms in the same building in different categories but not connecting.

 

[Monorail Bob's dd]

I am doing an adults only trip in December with my dad and step-mom, we just switched with the pin offer to POR! I am trying to figure out a building request. We have a standard room and are hoping for the mansions section. What is the difference between Magnolia Bend and Magnolia Terrace? I put in a request for Magnolia and the cm said Magnolia Bend. Looking at the map, it looks like Magnolia Terrace is the name of the building we want. Is that accurate?

 

[Venomhatch]

Fax what?

Whoops I see someone has already helped me out with this. Thanks!

 

[GigiDisneyfreak]

I am doing an adults only trip in December with my dad and step-mom, we just switched with the pin offer to POR! I am trying to figure out a building request. We have a standard room and are hoping for the mansions section. What is the difference between Magnolia Bend and Magnolia Terrace? I put in a request for Magnolia and the cm said Magnolia Bend. Looking at the map, it looks like Magnolia Terrace is the name of the building we want. Is that accurate?

That's right. Magnolia Bend is the section the mansions are in. Magnolia Terrace is the building you want.

 

[andrewilley]

After a few more holds, she came back and said she could not give me the other pool view room, but that garden in available. I did not know what to do at this point because I was going to request connecting rooms. I eventually ended up with one Pool view and one Garden view. Is this a mistake if I want adjoining/connecting rooms?

There are a couple of isolated places where Pool and Garden View rooms connect, but generally you wouldn't be able to get that without upgrading one of the rooms.

I would suggest that you make sure the two bookings are flagged as Linked in the system first, and add a request for a Connecting door. Then about 3-5 days before you are due to arrive send the resort a fax explaining that you wanted to book two Pool View rooms but that the Reservations Center could only do it the way you've ended up. Ask them if there's any way they could arrange for Connecting Rooms for you, and I'm sure they'll do their best to help.

Andre

 

[Sue M]

I am doing an adults only trip in December with my dad and step-mom, we just switched with the pin offer to POR! I am trying to figure out a building request. We have a standard room and are hoping for the mansions section. What is the difference between Magnolia Bend and Magnolia Terrace? I put in a request for Magnolia and the cm said Magnolia Bend. Looking at the map, it looks like Magnolia Terrace is the name of the building we want. Is that accurate?

We love the mansion section, and always request Magnolia Terrace or Acadian House, location close to Old Man Island bridge. If you booked a standard view you'll prob be in the back near parking lot, but you'll be voles to bus stops. Hopefully you can get a room on same side of building that's closest to foot bridge. That way you'll also be close to main pool and food court, store, etc.