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

[DisneyLover0610]

Two part question -
If I want to ship something home, can I do that from POR? I've done it in the past from Beach Club, through their business center.
Has anyone ever shipped food, specifically cake, home? DH won't be with me on this trip and I'm thinking it would be nice if I could send him his favorite cake home. I'm sure that sounds crazy, I know it is. It would be one of those "it was the thought that counts" things
Thanks!!!

 

[Sue M]

You can ship things home, just ask front desk or gift shop. I do t know about cake though might not arrive in very good shape.

 

[jseargent]

Saturday is our check-in! DH and I are celebrating our 15 year anniversary. DH is totally cracking me up; he's already taken the largest suitcase! He's been packed for 2 weeks!! This is our first visit to this resort and I want to shout out a big thank you to Andre and Venom for all their patience and excellent advice. This thread is terrific.

 

[StarDreamer]

I've just made another minor change to the code, might help.

Does the drop-down menu work and select items if you hold and drag your finger down the list rather than just tapping?

Andre

drop down menu stays open on iPad, but not on iPhone. I tried sliding my finger down, but it just moved the whole screen with it. Try to quickly click the options, but that didn't work.

 

[LaraBeeBear]

Hi all, I have a question about the Riverside room decor. On the Disney site the Royal rooms are the more purple ones with the fiber optic headboards and the, I guess, 'non-Royal' rooms have the blue bedspreads and the smaller wood headboards. In other non-Disney sites the Alligator Bayou rooms have the more rustic look. So my question I suppose is, which way is it? Is there currently 3 room styles in Riverside or the 2? I'm planning a trip but have never been to Disney yet myself, so I'm a little clueless!

 

[siskaren]

Hi all, I have a question about the Riverside room decor. On the Disney site the Royal rooms are the more purple ones with the fiber optic headboards and the, I guess, 'non-Royal' rooms have the blue bedspreads and the smaller wood headboards. In other non-Disney sites the Alligator Bayou rooms have the more rustic look. So my question I suppose is, which way is it? Is there currently 3 room styles in Riverside or the 2? I'm planning a trip but have never been to Disney yet myself, so I'm a little clueless!

3 - The Royal rooms, the regular Mansion rooms, and the Alligator Bayou rooms. You can see 360 degree panoramas of each style here:

http://portorleans.org/panoramas-rooms.php

 

[LaraBeeBear]

3 - The Royal rooms, the regular Mansion rooms, and the Alligator Bayou rooms. You can see 360 degree panoramas of each style here:

Ah, ok thanks. That's what I was suspecting. I suppose if I prefer Mansion or Alligator Bayou I would have to request it specifically along with my booking?

 

[siskaren]

You can guarantee AB by booking preferred since all preferred rooms are in AB, but otherwise, yes. Royal rooms are a separate booking category.

 

[andrewilley]

Ah, ok thanks. That's what I was suspecting. I suppose if I prefer Mansion or Alligator Bayou I would have to request it specifically along with my booking?

Yes, Mansion Buildings vs. Alligator Bayou is by request rather than a guarantee. Parties of five will automatically get AB though, as those rooms are the only ones which have the extra pull-down bed. Same goes for Preferred Location bookings, as those rooms are all in the AB section.

Royal Rooms are a separate booking category, so you won't get one of those with a regular POR booking.

By the way, the bedding is now all plain-white sheets with a small patterned bed-scarf across the bottom of the bed. I'll try to update the panoramas when I'm next over there. Disney have just recently shot all-new sets of photos at the resort by the way, but I don't know how long it will take for them to be added to their website.

Andre

 

[andrewilley]

The April 2014 Recreation Activities and Movie Schedules for Port Orleans Riverside are now available. See the main Recreation Activities Schedule page for full-size PDF versions, or click on the image below.

The outdoor movies will start at 8:30pm and the daily campfires commence at 6:30pm this month.

There will be extra activities on Easter Sunday (20 April) including Character Meet & Greets, Jelly Bean Guessing Contest, Easter Candy Scramble, Cupcake Decorating and Family Games such as croquet, egg races and tug-of-war.

​

Andre

 

[utlegaleagle]

Made our reservation yesterday for a return trip to POR this Sept/Oct. So enjoyed the last trip, in large part to the help of Andre and the folks here on this thread. Hoping for a good one again this time (although, admittedly, a bit nervous with all of the FP+ tales swirling around).

Thanks, Andre!

 

[Ismo]

Why the switch to plain sheets? Was the upkeep too much with the themed bed spreads?

 

[T4K]

Many places are ditching the traditional bedspreads due to cleanliness. Cotton sheets and covers are easier to launder. I like knowing that whatever is "exposed" is laundered before my use. In many places, traditional bedspreads were not laundered between guests necessarily.

The plain white also presents a more clean and crisp aesthetic.

 

[Ismo]

That makes sense. I just looked up pictures of the new duvets at POR and it does take away from the overall theme of the room. But maybe in the future they'll have lightly themes duvet covers, like the ones with the blue stripe down the middle at Coronado Springs.

Or maybe they can make the little drapes that go at the foot of the bed with the patterns from the bed spreads.

But I can't argue with the reasoning, I'd rather a clean bed!

 

[Ismo]

In saying that, I just found another picture where that's exactly what they did!

 

[hunmcbunny]

Saturday is our check-in! DH and I are celebrating our 15 year anniversary. DH is totally cracking me up; he's already taken the largest suitcase! He's been packed for 2 weeks!! This is our first visit to this resort and I want to shout out a big thank you to Andre and Venom for all their patience and excellent advice. This thread is terrific.

I did the same thing on our last trip Its easy to do when its still cold at home but warm in Disney....this time we are going in August so it wont be easy to pack early lol

 

[JamieLM]

Question, I have a reservation at DTD 6:05pm, and will be leaving AK when it closes so around 5 or 5:15pm in Oct. depending on buses. Can someone tell me if it's best to go back to the resort and then a bus, or can you please provide a quicker route for us?

 

[VegasVic14]

I thought it was this but above poster said it was $500 on his recent trip to POR which is why I was asking if anything changed.

We did have a $500 limit (POR). There is no way we hit the $1,000 level using the bands after only 3 1/2 days. When we discovered that there was a limit on the next to last day, we simply used another credit card, so it wasn't such a big deal that we thought it necessary to go to the front desk and inquire.

On the day we were informed the bands had a problem, it was early in the morning at EPCOT but we were not told that we had hit any kind of limit... just that the process of charging via the band wasn't going through. We assumed it was a problem with our credit card, so we called our bank. The problem was not with our card, so we moved on. Throughout the day, about half of the charges to the band were accepted...the rest rejected. It was a yes/no kind of thing. Chalked it up to technical bugs now and then with the scanners.

The next day, our last one, again at EPCOT for lunch, I was told about the $500 limit when the band was rejected. This was the first I had heard that there was any limit whatsoever. There was no discussion of a limit when I checked in.

Bottom line: no big deal, just a surprise that there was a limit much, much lower than what the credit card would allow.

 

[andrewilley]

Bottom line: no big deal, just a surprise that there was a limit much, much lower than what the credit card would allow.

Sounds like lots of issues, and some misinformation handed out to you too. Normally, the charging limit for moderates is $1000 before the balance needs to be deducted from the credit card on file, but as soon as that has happened you can carry on spending.

I don't know if Magic Bands have a lower limit than the old KttW cards for some reason, but as far as I know it should be the same.

Andre

 

[andrewilley]

Question, I have a reservation at DTD 6:05pm, and will be leaving AK when it closes so around 5 or 5:15pm in Oct. depending on buses. Can someone tell me if it's best to go back to the resort and then a bus, or can you please provide a quicker route for us?

You'd want to go directly from AK to Downtown Disney, but there isn't normally a direct service (they did run an experimental route at the end of last year, but I don't think it was continued).

The quickest route would probably be to get a bus to somewhere mid-route, such as Coronado Springs or Caribbean Beach, and change there - but you are cutting it very fine if you leave the park at 5:15pm. I would suggest for a 6:05pm meal at DTD, leave AK no later than about 4:30-4:45 to allow some breathing space. Or just get a taxi.

Andre