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

[andrewilley]

We just gave up "free" dining at AKL and went with the POR instead.

I know what you mean, there's a lot about "free" dining which is really no such thing.

Andre

 

[Venomhatch]

"Nothing in life is free, it always costs someone something." One way or another Disney will get their money!

 

[Crl1817]

Did something change to include POR in the free dining promo? It was excluded for the 2014 season. Did you get a pin code? Just wondering because I'm staying at POR during free dining in October but it is excluded then.

I think others have already answered, and probably more knowlegably than I can. We have only been to disney world once (Thanksgivg 2010) and while I knew about pins this is the first we have gotten for disney world. (We got one offer for Disneyland, but dh does not want to goI gather different people got different offers. I was surprised to see Christmas dates at all. I don't remember the details of which resorts were included, but both values and moderates were on the list, including POR, and I chose it for the queen beds and the Murphy bed.

 

[teamcooyon]

Are there drawers under the Murphy Bed in Alligator Bayou? I can't tell in the pics I've seen. Are there any other drawers in the room?

My concern is storing clothes for 5 people for six days. Would it be easier just to bring everything on hangers?
Thanks!

 

[andrewilley]

Are there drawers under the Murphy Bed in Alligator Bayou? I can't tell in the pics I've seen. Are there any other drawers in the room?

My concern is storing clothes for 5 people for six days. Would it be easier just to bring everything on hangers?
Thanks!

Yes there are 3 drawers under the murphy bed, but the general consensus is that they are definitely not big enough for larger families. There is a long hanging rail though, and the resort can provide you with as many hangers as you need, no need to bring your own. Might be worth bringing one of those hanging fabric storage units too, which pack flat and then hang up on the rail to give you extra storage compartments.

Andre

 

[princessophiali]

Just booked RR/SV for September and so excited! We have a four year old little girl whose main ambition in life is to do BBB...we are going to surprise her with RR...she knows about her BBB appointment. To say we are excited just doesn't even start to convey how we really feel.

So...I have read and read posts about RRs. My TA said we would be fine with SV, said there really wasn't a bad view to be had. From what I have read, it sounds to me if you get upgrade, it's mainly for location? So, staying in SV are we going to have a long walk to food court and parking lot? We will be driving down, so we will not use buses.

Really love this thread...it sends my excitement level through the roof!!!

 

[T4K]

Are there drawers under the Murphy Bed in Alligator Bayou? I can't tell in the pics I've seen. Are there any other drawers in the room? My concern is storing clothes for 5 people for six days. Would it be easier just to bring everything on hangers? Thanks!

We had 5 people and stayed 5 days. I had all the drawers full and I brought a hanging shelf. With a few things stored on the shelf above the hanging rail, we had plenty of room.

 

[farrahalex76]

Are there drawers under the Murphy Bed in Alligator Bayou? I can't tell in the pics I've seen. Are there any other drawers in the room? My concern is storing clothes for 5 people for six days. Would it be easier just to bring everything on hangers? Thanks!

We were there for 10 days with 5 people. I put the kids clothes in the drawers under the Murphy bed. I brought a hanging organizer for my DH and my stuff. As soon as we got to the room I called mouse keeping and requested more hangers. They asked how many and brought them down in just a few minutes. I wouldn't pack hangers. I was worried about storage and 5 people being cramped for 10 days but we never felt like that at all. We had a wonderful stay.

 

[andrewilley]

The July 2014 Recreation Activities and Movie Schedules for Port Orleans Riverside and Port Orleans French Quarter are now available. See the main Recreation Activities Schedule page on my site for full-size PDF versions.

The outdoor movies will start at 9pm and the daily campfires commence at 7pm this month. Special activities are scheduled for American Independence Day (4th of July).

Andre

 

[cindym]

What time does the food court close? We land at MCO at 6, so I figure we won't be in the rooms until around 8:30. We'll have 2 very hungry little boys with us! I know we can go to DTD but I don't think the people with me will want to go there.

 

[ALD85]

What time does the food court close? We land at MCO at 6, so I figure we won't be in the rooms until around 8:30. We'll have 2 very hungry little boys with us! I know we can go to DTD but I don't think the people with me will want to go there.

They're open till midnight!

 

[cindym]

Thanks! I haven't stayed at POR for a long time. 20 years to be exact! I really liked it then. I'm taking some newbies and thought it would be a good fit for them as they can't afford deluxe.

 

[andrewilley]

They're open till midnight!

But some of the individual counters close at 10pm/11pm, see http://www.portorleans.org/riversidemill.php. Pizza, bakery and grab'n'go sections are all open until midnight though.

Andre

 

[disfan07]

First time staying at POR on August....so excited! We had originally booked the Contempory for 5 nights but because of finances (AKA medical bills) we needed to change to save money. Originally we were doing all 5 nights at POR but in the end, we decided on 3 nights at POR and 2 nights GF and we will be starting at POR. But I have some questions:

1. We reserved a garden view room. What building(s) should we request if we want to be close to the main building? We will probably be taking back any food to our room so we would like to be closer if possible....would make the trip for early morning waffles a little easier!

2. Food Court....anyone have allergy experience here? I am going to email special diets but I was looking at my emails from last year and I noticed on the allergy lists they sent me, it said that POR has tinkyada brown rice pasta and ener-g rolls. I'm hoping that hasn't changed but if they have the pasta, does that mean I can get pasta from the create your own pasta station? That would be amazing! I have 17 food allergies including all top 8 allergens so something like pasta or a burger or chicken sandwich on a safe roll is like heaven to me. If anyone has allergy experience at POR I would love to hear about it

3. We will only be at the resort for about 2 1/2 days....August 13th-16th. (We should be arriving around 3/4 pm). We want to go play mini golf on the 14th and we will be going to MK on the 15th. We are also switching to the GF on the 16th probably around 9am. What else should we be sure to do at the resort itself the night of the 13th and the 14th?

4. What are the opinions about Boatwrights. . We are thinking of eating there on our arrival day but don't know much about the restaurant. How is the food? Is it worth it to go there instead of the QS? How are they with allergies?

5. Has anyone here done the carriage ride at the resort? My parents anniversary is 3 days after we get home from Disney so I was thinking of surprising them with a carriage ride on our arrival day. I know you can make reservations ahead of time but is it necessary? How hard do you think it would be to get same day reservations?

This is a different trip than we're used to. We are only doing 1 day at MK (Friday the 15th) and the rest of the time relaxing at the resorts. This trip is our escape from the real world and try to find our sanity trip. But we will be celebrating a few things:

My mom will be done with breast cancer radiation treatment in July so we are celebrating the end of that!
My birthday
My dad's birthday
My moms birthday
My parents anniversary

Is there anything else in particular besides the carriage ride that would add a little extra pixie dust to our stay? We've all been through a lot the past 6 months between my moms diagnosis, my medical issues and being in and out of the hospital, and my grandmas breast cancer diagnosis. While I know nothing is ever perfect and I definitely don't expect anything to be perfect, I do want to try to do whatever I can to make this trip as special as possible.

Sorry this was so long! I just want to make sure the important things are covered and this thread is so helpful. I'm so excited to stay at Port Orleans!!!

 

[hdh23]

I really had my heart set on PO but because of our budget decided to switch we are going Nov 1st has anyone ever heard of disney doing a discount besides FD that PO is included in around that time?

 

[LUVDisney1975]

10 more days until we are at POR!!!!!! We can't wait!!!!! I've been so excited planning all the details that I've driven my kids a little nuts I can't help it!! I have ALWAYS wanted to go to WDW!!

 

[siskaren]

1. We reserved a garden view room. What building(s) should we request if we want to be close to the main building? We will probably be taking back any food to our room so we would like to be closer if possible....would make the trip for early morning waffles a little easier!

Just ask to be close to the main building rather than ask to be in a specific building.

 

[SMorgan711]

Hi!! So I haven't stayed at POR since 2009 and I don't think they had preferred rooms back then. I'm a little torn between what room to book. We definitely want the Alligator Bayou. Currently, I have the general discount for Sept 13-20 for a preferred room. Called to apply AP discount and everything BUT preferred is available. Now according to portorleans.org, preferred is 14, 15, 18, 27 but could be ANY view correct? (Normally we stay garden view so we don't have to look at parking lots). AP river view is cheaper than what I currently have with preferred.


It says river view is 14, 27, 38. So even though 14 & 27 are preferred buildings, I could possibly book river view and request 14 or 27 and still have close access to the amenities and be guaranteed a river view?

Now I'm thinking, I could book a garden view and request building 16 and still be close to the main building.

I know that requests are only requests and never guaranteed so I think I'm really leaning toward river view and request 14 or 27.

What are everyone's thoughts? What do you usually book at POR?

 

[SMorgan711]

First time staying at POR on August....so excited! We had originally booked the Contempory for 5 nights but because of finances (AKA medical bills) we needed to change to save money. Originally we were doing all 5 nights at POR but in the end, we decided on 3 nights at POR and 2 nights GF and we will be starting at POR. But I have some questions:

1. We reserved a garden view room. What building(s) should we request if we want to be close to the main building? We will probably be taking back any food to our room so we would like to be closer if possible....would make the trip for early morning waffles a little easier!
I, too, am having issues with what building to request and what room to book! Take a look at portorleans.org, it shows you what each building is!

2. Food Court....anyone have allergy experience here? I am going to email special diets but I was looking at my emails from last year and I noticed on the allergy lists they sent me, it said that POR has tinkyada brown rice pasta and ener-g rolls. I'm hoping that hasn't changed but if they have the pasta, does that mean I can get pasta from the create your own pasta station? That would be amazing! I have 17 food allergies including all top 8 allergens so something like pasta or a burger or chicken sandwich on a safe roll is like heaven to me. If anyone has allergy experience at POR I would love to hear about it
I only have a dairy allergy and I stayed at POR back in 2009. I did stay at POFQ last year. Either way, Disney is great with food allergies so I'm sure you'll have more than what you think to choose from! I know I had the beignets at FQ but IDK if that would work for you.

...

4. What are the opinions about Boatwrights. . We are thinking of eating there on our arrival day but don't know much about the restaurant. How is the food? Is it worth it to go there instead of the QS? How are they with allergies?
Just note your allergies on your reservation! I think overall, Disney is great with food allergies and I've had nothing but good experiences throughout the parks and various resorts.

5. Has anyone here done the carriage ride at the resort? My parents anniversary is 3 days after we get home from Disney so I was thinking of surprising them with a carriage ride on our arrival day. I know you can make reservations ahead of time but is it necessary? How hard do you think it would be to get same day reservations?

We were suppose to do the carriage ride but we were too tired so my parents went instead. They loved it! They said it was really relaxing. I hope to do it this trip. We did the carriage ride at Fort Wilderness and I thought it would be relaxing in the woods but we really only took a tour of all the RVs and stuff LOL

This is a different trip than we're used to. We are only doing 1 day at MK (Friday the 15th) and the rest of the time relaxing at the resorts. This trip is our escape from the real world and try to find our sanity trip. But we will be celebrating a few things:

My mom will be done with breast cancer radiation treatment in July so we are celebrating the end of that!
My birthday
My dad's birthday
My moms birthday
My parents anniversary

Is there anything else in particular besides the carriage ride that would add a little extra pixie dust to our stay? We've all been through a lot the past 6 months between my moms diagnosis, my medical issues and being in and out of the hospital, and my grandmas breast cancer diagnosis. While I know nothing is ever perfect and I definitely don't expect anything to be perfect, I do want to try to do whatever I can to make this trip as special as possible.

Sorry this was so long! I just want to make sure the important things are covered and this thread is so helpful. I'm so excited to stay at Port Orleans!!!

CONGRATS on all your celebrating!! You guys deserve a nice break and I hope everything continues to go up!

see in blue.

 

[andrewilley]

It says river view is 14, 27, 38. So even though 14 & 27 are preferred buildings, I could possibly book river view and request 14 or 27 and still have close access to the amenities and be guaranteed a river view?

Correct, the rooms which overlook the river in buildings 14 and 27 are sold as River View category, not Preferred Location. To be honest, all of the river view rooms are nicely located (even the ones within the mansion buildings) as they all face onto the inner circle path around the island.

Andre