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

[JamieLM]

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

Thanks Andre, I will look into bumping the reservation to a later time.

 

[pnc76]

Any updates on how this is going or what sections have already been done.

Thank,

 

[LaraBeeBear]

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

Interesting. Are they changing the bed clothes for just a couple resorts, or are they doing a slow change across several?

 

[Sue M]

Andre you are the best!! Thanks for all the work. I just checked (with my iPad) and the drop down menus are staying down!

 

[BebopBaloo]

Interesting. Are they changing the bed clothes for just a couple resorts, or are they doing a slow change across several?

All resorts have gone to the new style bedding.

 

[yayornay]

We're back from our first on site stay and I just wanted to say how beautiful the resort is. Being from the south I've heard people say there's not much draw to POR because it's typical of what you see here anyway. That is true, but true to Disney, everything was over the top gorgeous. I really enjoyed the resort more than I thought I would. We had a RR with a parking lot view in Parterre, but honestly that was fine with me. I really liked the RR (although it wasn't as clean as I'd hoped, but not terrible-just hair in the corners and the molding covered in dust/hair/etc. Nothing that Lysol wipes couldn't take care of.) It was a short walk to the lobby/cafeteria and not too far to the pool. The roof construction made the trek to the laundry a little tricky, but again, nothing unbearable.

We had our car and I preferred driving over the buses. We had a double stroller and maneuvering that thing on the bus was not easy. We found it easier to just keep it in the car and drive ourselves for the most part. The bus service was fine and fairly quick, but again that massive stroller was the death of us!

I caught a glimpse of YeeHaw Bob and really wish we'd had time to enjoy him. Looked like a lot of fun.

The life jackets at the pool were awesome and there were plenty.

I'm trying to remember if anything else stuck out, but I think that hits the highlights. I've been converted-we'll always stay onsite in the future!

 

[Venomhatch]

Andre you are the best!! Thanks for all the work. I just checked (with my iPad) and the drop down menus are staying down!

Now if we can work on a mobile version. Kinda like most banks and other companies have for the phone. Sort of a shrunken down version with minimal animations. You can view anything on the ipad just about as a normals webpage but when your on the go a phone version would be cool.

Just a thought Andre, Very nice improvements! Way to upgrade the site!

 

[andrewilley]

Andre you are the best!! Thanks for all the work. I just checked (with my iPad) and the drop down menus are staying down!

It's working with iPads now (when the header block is visible normally anyway, but not when the navbar scrolls) but still not with iPhones. I'm still trying to get it working, but it might need a bit more of a rewrite to tapable menus rather than hover code for iPhones. Good old Apple, Android seem perfectly capable of writing an OS which mimics normal web use on a touch screen - but not our pals in Cupertino who do things their own way, and even different ways on different devices.

Now if we can work on a mobile version.

Yeah, that was kinda in the back of my mind when I was doing the current revamp, but the first stage needed to be to get it into a simpler single-column layout which would allow me to start coding a mobile version around that. It's just very time-consuming and teach-yourself-everything-as-you-go for something that I don't even make the annual server costs back in donations.

Andre

 

[Venomhatch]

Yeah, that was kinda in the back of my mind when I was doing the current revamp, but the first stage needed to be to get it into a simpler single-column layout which would allow me to start coding a mobile version around that. It's just very time-consuming and teach-yourself-everything-as-you-go for something that I don't even make the annual server costs back in donations.

Andre

Well it is much appreciated and I use it for a source every day for guests or just to answer something.

Your hard work is definitely appreciated!

 

[Keekski]

We leave on Monday for POR! We'll be there until Saturday. We're traveling with a large group (me, DH, DD3, DD1, my parents, MIL & her DH and FIL and his wife). It will be my second time at Disney and first time staying onsite (although my first trip was only a day trip).

 

[Ismo]

We leave on Monday for POR! We'll be there until Saturday. We're traveling with a large group (me, DH, DD3, DD1, my parents, MIL & her DH and FIL and his wife). It will be my second time at Disney and first time staying onsite (although my first trip was only a day trip).

That is a big group! Hope you all have a great trip!

 

[BebopBaloo]

It's pretty cool that POR has character meet and greets as part of their Easter line up. Does this happen at any other time of year? Are the characters Princess and the Frog characters?

 

[Ravenne]

A few pages back, someone had mentioned roofing being done on the mansion buildings. Does anyone know when is that projected to be completed? Especially for the Royal Room buildings?

 

[ChattyAshley]

My husband and I are so excited for our first ever trip to WDW!! And staying at POR May 1-7!!! Since we're newbies, I'm sure we'll have a billion questions and get lost a bunch of times... hopefully we won't drive everyone crazy once we get there! Oh, and since we'll be celebrating our 10 year anniversary, I'm hoping the kind-hearted romantic people at POR will take extra special care of us!

 

[kkayluvsdis]

My husband and I are so excited for our first ever trip to WDW!! And staying at POR May 1-7!!! Since we're newbies, I'm sure we'll have a billion questions and get lost a bunch of times... hopefully we won't drive everyone crazy once we get there! Oh, and since we'll be celebrating our 10 year anniversary, I'm hoping the kind-hearted romantic people at POR will take extra special care of us!

We'll be there the same time! April 29-May 7 What a great anniversary celebration! We had our 10 year last year but I feel like it will be another 10 years before we ever get to celebrate with a couple only vacation! dang kids..hehe

 

[dreamseeker9]

I'm at WDW now, staying at CSR. I was able to apply the bounce back offer to my existing POR reservation in late September. I had a garden view booked, but all that was left for the bounce back offer were Royal Rooms. It was still cheaper than my existing reservation, so I saved money and now I'm guaranteed a mansion building, which is what I wanted, and I get to stay in a Royal room for my birthday!

 

[Sue M]

It's working with iPads now (when the header block is visible normally anyway, but not when the navbar scrolls) but still not with iPhones. I'm still trying to get it working, but it might need a bit more of a rewrite to tapable menus rather than hover code for iPhones. Good old Apple, Android seem perfectly capable of writing an OS which mimics normal web use on a touch screen - but not our pals in Cupertino who do things their own way, and even different ways on different devices.




Yeah, that was kinda in the back of my mind when I was doing the current revamp, but the first stage needed to be to get it into a simpler single-column layout which would allow me to start coding a mobile version around that. It's just very time-consuming and teach-yourself-everything-as-you-go for something that I don't even make the annual server costs back in donations.

Andre

I haven't checked on my iPhone yet mainly because as Venom says, viewing web sites on a phone is not great!

 

[Venomhatch]

I haven't checked on my iPhone yet mainly because as Venom says, viewing web sites on a phone is not great!

Well not until September/October when the new iPhones come out to compete with the Note 3. I can't wait!

 

[alktdknckmom]

We have a preferred room booked as well, and just want to be as close to the lobby building as possible. Building 14 would be ideal, but I don't think any of them will be bad.
As for 1st vs 2nd floor, some have said they prefer 2nd floor to avoid noise from people walking by on the ground level paths, and also it avoids having someone above you. The 1st floor on the other hand has a little less walking with no stairs to deal with, which is great for strollers and those with difficulty walking.

That's a good point. We have a 5 yr old, but I don't think we'll bring a stroller with us, so maybe 2nd floor so they can get to bed easier when people are walking around at night. Even if we do bring a stroller, it wouldn't be the big, heavy kind. Good thinking - thanks for the response!

 

[tweis]

Hi all

We will be staying at POR for 2 nights before our cruise later this month. We will be getting a rental at the airport and my question is, if we drive the rental to MK do we have to pay for parking? I think I read that it is free if staying at a resort but I just want to double check. Also, where is parking in relation to the buildings with the royal rooms?