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

[cloutinkerbell]

I'm sure that this has been asked and answered but...... Is it allowed to ship cases of water to the resort? Are there any restrictions on amount, size etc.... What address should we use? Thank you in advance for help!

 

[alhurricane]

We just got back from POR yesterday. While I don't have the energy to type a lengthy trip report at this time, I thought I would chime in on our first on site stay at POR.

Overall, we loved POR. It is a beautiful resort, very quiet, and relaxing. We stayed in building 16 of Alligator Bayou and it was a great location with only a couple minutes walk to the main building area. Even though we are a family of 4, my 6 year old daughter loved the Murphy Bed and extra room. I was afraid the room would be too small for us, but we have no complaints. Mousekeeping did a great job everyday and everything was kept nice and clean. We enjoyed the quiet pools, but also had a blast at the main pool, especially the water slide!

My only complaint of the resort is the buses. On the theme park board, I wrote about the fiasco we experienced waiting for a bus on a MK EMH morning. The South depot did not see a bus for over 45 minutes. When the bus did arrive, my family and a few others boarded, but there was a still a huge line of people that had to wait for another bus. We also had some extended waits at MK for a return bus. Disney clearly needs to reassess how they handle the buses at POR. I noticed many fellow gusts sharing similar frustrations.

If we are fortunate enough to return to Disney at some point in the future, I would love to return to POR, but admit the bus situation would at least make me pause and think a little harder. If they ever allocate more buses to the resort, it would be a no brainer for us to return.

Thanks to everybody on this board who was so helpful in the planning, especially Andre and Venom!

 

[julluvsdisney]

No, the sections where work is actually going on are closed. Obviously you might see scaffolding from another area though, might be an idea to request a room away from construction work.

Andre

Hi Andre
Another question! In your opinion would it be worth it to upgrade to garden or pool view ? I wanted to be as close to the main building as possible in a standard view so I requested oak manor and now I'm thinking we will be placed in parterre place if I stick with standard view. Any advice would be greatly appreciated !!

 

[andrewilley]

I'm sure that this has been asked and answered but...... Is it allowed to ship cases of water to the resort? Are there any restrictions on amount, size etc.... What address should we use? Thank you in advance for help!

Yes, it's fine. They do ask that if you are shipping very large quantities of water bottles though that you ensure they are packed as just one outer carton per shipping box, to avoid the actual shipping boxes getting too heavy and unwieldy to handle easily.

Hi Andre
Another question! In your opinion would it be worth it to upgrade to garden or pool view ? I wanted to be as close to the main building as possible in a standard view so I requested oak manor and now I'm thinking we will be placed in parterre place if I stick with standard view. Any advice would be greatly appreciated !!

If you've got a Royal Room booked, by far the best option in terms of guaranteeing close proximity for access to the main building and the South bus depot would be a Pool View Royal Room, as these rooms are all clustered around the quiet swimming pool which is right next to the footbridge leading to the main area. Standard View rooms tend to be located on the far (parking lot) side of the buildings, and some can be a bit of a trek (although still no more than about 500 yards max to the food court door).

Andre

 

[julluvsdisney]

If you've got a Royal Room booked, by far the best option in terms of guaranteeing close proximity for access to the main building and the South bus depot would be a Pool View Royal Room, as these rooms are all clustered around the quiet swimming pool which is right next to the footbridge leading to the main area. Standard View rooms tend to be located on the far (parking lot) side of the buildings, and some can be a bit of a trek (although still no more than about 500 yards max to the food court door).

Andre

Thanks for the quick response! Yes we have a RR booked and it's a standard but we will be there during the construction so I was hoping to upgrade the room view in hopes of staying away from construction. But all they have left is standard or garden view. I was thinking garden will give us a better opportunity to stay away from the roof construction. Wish they had pool view available! bummer! Oh well ! Im still excited!!

 

[BebopBaloo]

Anyone know...

If we booked with a wedding discount (guests not the wedding party) will we be put in a certain block of rooms? I have no preference on where we are located. It's our first time at POR, so I'm open to any location. I'm more wondering because I know my in-laws would like to be next door, but I don't know if we would need to request that.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Anyone know... If we booked with a wedding discount (guests not the wedding party) will we be put in a certain block of rooms? I have no preference on where we are located. It's our first time at POR, so I'm open to any location. I'm more wondering because I know my in-laws would like to be next door, but I don't know if we would need to request that.

I would add the request to be near each other or even add a "traveling with" note to each of your reservations.

In our experience with wedding package rooms from Disney in California they were spread all over the resort. The wedding package dealt more with pricing (and meeting minimums for the wedding) than location.

 

[SMorgan711]

I would add the request to be near each other or even add a "traveling with" note to each of your reservations.

In our experience with wedding package rooms from Disney in California they were spread all over the resort. The wedding package dealt more with pricing (and meeting minimums for the wedding) than location.

I agree. I got married in February and we had our room block at POR. I expected them to all be next to each other but they were spread out all over. I would definitely add a request for whatever you're looking for!

 

[BebopBaloo]

Thanks for the quick replies! I'll add a request.

 

[andrewilley]

Port Orleans Riverside and Port Orleans French Quarter will both be taking part in a two-week trial of an innovative new time-saving checkin procedure for guests arriving between Monday 16 June and Saturday 28 June 2014.

To qualify, guests with arrival dates between 16 and 28 June will need to have first created a My Disney Experience account, and already received their Magic Bands at home (meaning that this test will only be available to domestic US residents). The guests will also need to have completed Online Checkin, and paid in full prior to arrival - including setting up a PIN number for their account. Basically, everything you would normally do while standing at the Front Desk needs to have been completed in advance.

Any guests who meet these requirements will automatically receive a notification email a few days prior to arrival to make them aware of the test, and then an hour or so before their stated arrival time they will get a further text message and/or email indicating their assigned room number. They are then free to proceed directly to their room without any need to first call at the Front Desk.

Anyone not wishing to take advantage of this test - or perhaps needing more information, or with questions or concerns about the location of their room - should simply show up at the Front Desk and check-in normally. There is no need to "opt out" if anyone does not wish to participate, this is purely an added convenience.

See http://www.portorleans.org/news.php#050614 for more info.

Andre

 

[bobbie68]

Has anyone stayed in the Parterre Place princess rooms? We're checking in on Friday (2 rooms) and I have a feeling we'll be in that building. Is it a far walk to the food court/bus? Based on the maps online it looks like a good distance to the bus…thoughts?? I'm guessing/hoping we'll have connecting rooms but not sure if we'd rather that or to be in Oak Manor if they can accommodate that.

Yes I did. I did not find it a far walk. We enjoyed it. It is about 5 minutes. We always caught the bus at the central and it was fine. Really Oak Manor is not that much difference in distance. I liked Parterre Place. It was quiet and it was closer to POFQ.

 

[jcyoung]

Port Orleans Riverside and Port Orleans French Quarter will both be taking part in a two-week trial of an innovative new time-saving checkin procedure for guests arriving between Monday 16 June and Saturday 28 June 2014.

To qualify, guests with arrival dates between 16 and 28 June will need to have first created a My Disney Experience account, and already received their Magic Bands at home (meaning that this test will only be available to domestic US residents). The guests will also need to have completed Online Checkin, and paid in full prior to arrival - including setting up a PIN number for their account. Basically, everything you would normally do while standing at the Front Desk needs to have been completed in advance.

Any guests who meet these requirements will automatically receive a notification email a few days prior to arrival to make them aware of the test, and then an hour or so before their stated arrival time they will get a further text message and/or email indicating their assigned room number. They are then free to proceed directly to their room without any need to first call at the Front Desk.

Anyone not wishing to take advantage of this test - or perhaps needing more information, or with questions or concerns about the location of their room - should simply show up at the Front Desk and check-in normally. There is no need to "opt out" if anyone does not wish to participate, this is purely an added convenience.

See http://www.portorleans.org/news.php#050614 for more info.

Andre

Awesome! I really hope this test works and they decide to make this the way they do it permanently! Sounds like a GREAT idea! Thanks for the update Andre!

 

[BebopBaloo]

Interesting about the check-in trial. Sounds cool. I'm guessing the normal welcome packet will be waiting in the room.

 

[EpcotBill]

Awesome! I really hope this test works and they decide to make this the way they do it permanently! Sounds like a GREAT idea! Thanks for the update Andre!

Interesting about the check-in trial. Sounds cool. I'm guessing the normal welcome packet will be waiting in the room.

If this test is a success in Disney's view it won't be so awesome or cool for the front desk CM's who get laid off.

 

[BebopBaloo]

If this test is a success in Disney's view it won't be so awesome or cool for the front desk CM's who get laid off.

Good point. Perhaps the job description will just change though..as CMs will still be needed to help when the tech doesn't work, or for the zillions of questions that folks are going to have anyway.

 

[Tiggr924]

Port Orleans Riverside and Port Orleans French Quarter will both be taking part in a two-week trial of an innovative new time-saving checkin procedure for guests arriving between Monday 16 June and Saturday 28 June 2014.

To qualify, guests with arrival dates between 16 and 28 June will need to have first created a My Disney Experience account, and already received their Magic Bands at home (meaning that this test will only be available to domestic US residents). The guests will also need to have completed Online Checkin, and paid in full prior to arrival - including setting up a PIN number for their account. Basically, everything you would normally do while standing at the Front Desk needs to have been completed in advance.

Any guests who meet these requirements will automatically receive a notification email a few days prior to arrival to make them aware of the test, and then an hour or so before their stated arrival time they will get a further text message and/or email indicating their assigned room number. They are then free to proceed directly to their room without any need to first call at the Front Desk.

Anyone not wishing to take advantage of this test - or perhaps needing more information, or with questions or concerns about the location of their room - should simply show up at the Front Desk and check-in normally. There is no need to "opt out" if anyone does not wish to participate, this is purely an added convenience.

See http://www.portorleans.org/news.php#050614 for more info.

Andre

Thank you for this report. I understand this is a test/trial, but personally, the potential of this change does not thrill me. What happened to the personal touch of disney? I understand some people may see this as a plus by being able to get into the room quickly, or whatever. I thought that was the purpose of online check-in, or maybe this will replace online check-in (??), which we opt not to do each trip. But what about personal interaction when entering a resort? Or the magical disney feeling? In general, it upsets me the direction of these changes, as they are moving to have everything operated by technology and taking away the human contact. But that's just me.

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Yes I did. I did not find it a far walk. We enjoyed it. It is about 5 minutes. We always caught the bus at the central and it was fine. Really Oak Manor is not that much difference in distance. I liked Parterre Place. It was quiet and it was closer to POFQ.

Thanks! I usually stay at POFQ bc of it's size and better bus luck IMO but my friends wanted to try the Royal Rooms for their two DD's so we figured we'd try it for two nights and if we don't like it then we'll go back to POFQ or CSR Business Class lol

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Thank you for this report. I understand this is a test/trial, but personally, the potential of this change does not thrill me. What happened to the personal touch of disney? I understand some people may see this as a plus by being able to get into the room quickly, or whatever. I thought that was the purpose of online check-in, or maybe this will replace online check-in (??), which we opt not to do each trip. But what about personal interaction when entering a resort? Or the magical disney feeling? In general, it upsets me the direction of these changes, as they are moving to have everything operated by technology and taking away the human contact. But that's just me.

I think it's great for the family who has stayed at the resort many times and knows their way around/in a rush to get to a park but going to the front desk never seemed like an issue for me IMO. It's nice to get the packet of info including parking pass, resort activities, etc. A few times I was greeted at the door by a CM with iPad and never went to a desk, they just brought my packet out and tested my MB's with the iPad to make sure they were active which was sufficient to me.

 

[Backstage_Gal]

If this test is a success in Disney's view it won't be so awesome or cool for the front desk CM's who get laid off.

There will be no layoffs, Disney is constantly hiring new people.

 

[FungLu]

Port Orleans Riverside and Port Orleans French Quarter will both be taking part in a two-week trial of an innovative new time-saving checkin procedure for guests arriving between Monday 16 June and Saturday 28 June 2014. To qualify, guests with arrival dates between 16 and 28 June will need to have first created a My Disney Experience account, and already received their Magic Bands at home (meaning that this test will only be available to domestic US residents). The guests will also need to have completed Online Checkin, and paid in full prior to arrival - including setting up a PIN number for their account. Basically, everything you would normally do while standing at the Front Desk needs to have been completed in advance. Any guests who meet these requirements will automatically receive a notification email a few days prior to arrival to make them aware of the test, and then an hour or so before their stated arrival time they will get a further text message and/or email indicating their assigned room number. They are then free to proceed directly to their room without any need to first call at the Front Desk. Anyone not wishing to take advantage of this test - or perhaps needing more information, or with questions or concerns about the location of their room - should simply show up at the Front Desk and check-in normally. There is no need to "opt out" if anyone does not wish to participate, this is purely an added convenience. See http://www.portorleans.org/news.php#050614 for more info. Andre

Rats! Miss it by four days.
I do love the cm interaction, but after flying eight hours, magical express for 90 min, and in general hungry, tired, and a little cranky, it would be an act of mercy on the cm's to bypass interaction with me