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

[WDW-A-RAMA]

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

Thanks for giving me a plan! I have it screen shotted.

 

[Disneychick75]

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

When we take taxis for MK, we get dropped off at the Contemporary and walk to the Magic Kingdom. It's a short walk and that way we avoid waiting for the parking lot trams and monorail crowds. If you don't want to walk from the Contemporary, we cold go inside and take the monorail to MK.

 

[Disneychick75]

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

When we take taxis for MK, we get dropped off at the Contemporary and walk to the Magic Kingdom. It's a short walk and that way we avoid waiting for the parking lot trams and monorail crowds. If you don't want to walk from the Contemporary, we cold go inside and take the monorail to MK.

Are the rehabs at POR unsightly? We're staying in Royal Rooms and don't want ugly views or noise from construction.

 

[flutterby3744]

I'm not sure if there is a better spot to post this question, but searching didn't yield any results....

We currently have a reservation for a standard room (booked and paid off in Feb)at POR at the end of July. Just out of curiosity, I took a look today to see if there were any preferred rooms available for me to upgrade to, and I saw that there is a garden view room open....at $250 cheaper than my original reservation with the summer vacation offer. Is there a way to change my reservation to upgrade my room AND save the $250, or has that ship sailed since I've already booked and paid for my reservation? TIA

 

[abmitch01]

we are going for 10 nights in mid August. I wanted to be in a mansion room to surprise DD, did not care about the view. Just didn't want to be in a Bayou room. I was told by two different cast members that the only standard rooms available were in the Bayou. On my second call I was told that there were Royal Rooms available right across the river from the dining, etc. It would add $325 to our package. This is the only way to get a mansion room or do a pool view mansion room for $315 with no guarantee of location.

So I did the Royal Room partly to surprise my DD but also to save a little walking at the end of a long day. Do you think a mansion room is worth $35 more a day if is's close to everything? To be totally honest, I'm a little out of shape and worried about all the walking, lol.

also, we'll be in building 90, is that a good one? TIA

 

[maryj11]

When we take taxis for MK, we get dropped off at the Contemporary and walk to the Magic Kingdom. It's a short walk and that way we avoid waiting for the parking lot trams and monorail crowds. If you don't want to walk from the Contemporary, we cold go inside and take the monorail to MK.

Thanks

 

[DisneyFreak06]

I'm not sure if there is a better spot to post this question, but searching didn't yield any results....

We currently have a reservation for a standard room (booked and paid off in Feb)at POR at the end of July. Just out of curiosity, I took a look today to see if there were any preferred rooms available for me to upgrade to, and I saw that there is a garden view room open....at $250 cheaper than my original reservation with the summer vacation offer. Is there a way to change my reservation to upgrade my room AND save the $250, or has that ship sailed since I've already booked and paid for my reservation? TIA

You should be able to make the change and have a refund put on your credit card. I think they might deduct a certain amount since your are making it less, but certainly not $250. More like $50. Someone may have more experience on this though than I do.

we are going for 10 nights in mid August. I wanted to be in a mansion room to surprise DD, did not care about the view. Just didn't want to be in a Bayou room. I was told by two different cast members that the only standard rooms available were in the Bayou. On my second call I was told that there were Royal Rooms available right across the river from the dining, etc. It would add $325 to our package. This is the only way to get a mansion room or do a pool view mansion room for $315 with no guarantee of location.

So I did the Royal Room partly to surprise my DD but also to save a little walking at the end of a long day. Do you think a mansion room is worth $35 more a day if is's close to everything? To be totally honest, I'm a little out of shape and worried about all the walking, lol.

also, we'll be in building 90, is that a good one? TIA

I don't know why they would say there are standard rooms in Alligator Bayou and not in the Mansions. They are all just bookable as standard rooms. The preferred rooms are only in the Bayou, and the Royal Rooms are only in the Bayou, but any other category is in both sections. I stayed in Acadian House and Magnolia House, and I didn't find the walk too bad. Used the bus stops in the back most of the time and then it wasn't too long of a walk to our room. (And my friend had a broken foot at the time...) I can only assume that the RRs wouldn't be much farther.

 

[siskaren]

You should be able to make the change and have a refund put on your credit card. I think they might deduct a certain amount since your are making it less, but certainly not $250. More like $50. Someone may have more experience on this though than I do.

You're only charged for making a change if it's less than 45 days until you arrive.

I don't know why they would say there are standard rooms in Alligator Bayou and not in the Mansions. They are all just bookable as standard rooms. The preferred rooms are only in the Bayou, and the Royal Rooms are only in the Bayou, but any other category is in both sections.

abmitch01 wasn't told that there were standard rooms in Alligator Bayou but not in the mansions; she was told that the only standard rooms available were in Alligator Bayou. However, since you can't specifically book AB or the mansions (you can only request), I don't know how they could make that statement.

 

[abmitch01]

I thought it was strange so that's why I called back to see if speaking with a different cast member would help but he said the same thing. Maybe this time of year is more popular than I thought?

 

[DisneyFreak06]

You're only charged for making a change if it's less than 45 days until you arrive.

Thanks, that's what I originally thought, but then I thought the CM I spoke with on the phone didn't mention the 45. Thanks for correcting me!

abmitch01 wasn't told that there were standard rooms in Alligator Bayou but not in the mansions; she was told that the only standard rooms available were in Alligator Bayou. However, since you can't specifically book AB or the mansions (you can only request), I don't know how they could make that statement.

Exactly what I was thinking. You'd think I could be more clear! I guess I'm a little tired today!

 

[LilacBarries]

My DH and I will be staying here for one night only after our cruise. I'm not planning in making any requests, we just have a standard room booked.in curious though, Is there a more likely place we'll be put? AB?

 

[LisaTC]

You're only charged for making a change if it's less than 45 days until you arrive.

Sometimes they won't charge you anything if you are still coming. That was the experience of many. If you are rescheduling, sometimes they are very "forgiving" since it isn't an exact cancellation only a reschedule.

 

[Ismo]

You can guarantee AB if you book a preferred room and you can guarantee Magnolia Bend if you book a Royal Room. We only want to stay on Magnolia Bend so this time we booked RR so that we know what we are getting. I can't say for sure if it's worth the extra money as I've never stayed in one before. But personally I'd rather stay pay a bit more money and know I'll be on Magnolia Bend. But everyone has their preference and some people no preference at all. So it boils down to what you're willing to pay for. I do think the RR look super cute and I've heard really good things about them. I'm really looking forward to staying in one in August!

 

[maryj11]

If we have added a room request already should we not add any to online check in ?
I have already called and added room requests at POR , I can do online check in right now and have seen they have a ground floor option for a request. We did not request ground floor when I called to add our request. I called to add the location that we wanted. Would we have a better chance of getting what I already requested if I dont check the box for ground floor on the online check in ?

 

[MudQueen22]

I've heard I can book through AAA.
If i do this, can I still book the whole package where I get the resort room at the POR, the park tickets, and the dining plan?
Would I then need to call AAA to check on price adjustments, or just call Disney after that?
Will Disney send me instructions on how to set up the MDE app? Or is none of this even offered if I book through AAA?
What kind of a price cut will I get booking through AAA?
I know this is a lot of questions. I've never been to Disney.

 

[abmitch01]

if you haven't been to Disney, I would get the Unofficial Guide. I think it helps you narrow down what you want and don't want quicker than trying to wade through all the threads on here. Read it and then come on here to ask questions, IMHO

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I've heard I can book through AAA.
If i do this, can I still book the whole package where I get the resort room at the POR, the park tickets, and the dining plan?
Would I then need to call AAA to check on price adjustments, or just call Disney after that?
Will Disney send me instructions on how to set up the MDE app? Or is none of this even offered if I book through AAA?
What kind of a price cut will I get booking through AAA?
I know this is a lot of questions. I've never been to Disney.

Yes, you can book through AAA. You can book a room only reservation with a AAA discount yourself direct through Disney. If you want to book a package (room plus tickets or tickets and dining) with a AAA discount, then you must book through a AAA agent. If you do that, you must go through the AAA agent anytime you wish to check on new discounts that might be offered. I'm not sure what the discounts are anymore. It used to vary according to the level of resort with a higher percent discount on the deluxes and the least amount of discount on the values. I don't know if that's still the case. I originally booked my trip coming up as a room only direct with WDW using the AAA discount. I believe it was 15%, but it could have been just 10%. I just can't remember now. I switched over when the Spring general public discounts became available and saved a little more.

AAA will give you the WDW confirmation number. You can use that to link your resort reservation to MDE and book your dining reservations and fastpasses.

 

[flutterby3744]

You should be able to make the change and have a refund put on your credit card. I think they might deduct a certain amount since your are making it less, but certainly not $250. More like $50. Someone may have more experience on this though than I do.

Thank you! Do you know if changing my reservation will mess with my ADRs?

It would be great if I could change it...that pays for the memory maker I have been debating on getting!

 

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

You can guarantee AB if you book a preferred room and you can guarantee Magnolia Bend if you book a Royal Room. We only want to stay on Magnolia Bend so this time we booked RR so that we know what we are getting. I can't say for sure if it's worth the extra money as I've never stayed in one before. But personally I'd rather stay pay a bit more money and know I'll be on Magnolia Bend. But everyone has their preference and some people no preference at all. So it boils down to what you're willing to pay for. I do think the RR look super cute and I've heard really good things about them. I'm really looking forward to staying in one in August!

Andre or Venomhatch -- aren't the royal rooms only in Oak or Paterre???? We are checking in tm & asked for Magnolia Bend because it doesn't hold any of the Royal Rooms & we wanted to try the mansions since we always stay in AB. Just a bit confused by this post.

 

[GigiDisneyfreak]

Andre or Venomhatch -- aren't the royal rooms only in Oak or Paterre???? We are checking in tm & asked for Magnolia Bend because it doesn't hold any of the Royal Rooms & we wanted to try the mansions since we always stay in AB. Just a bit confused by this post.

Magnolia Bend is the section of POR that all four of the mansion buildings are in. Yes the RR are only in Oak and Parterre. The other two buildings are Magnolia Terrace and Acadian house. These do not have RR.