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

[Maggie'sMom]

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 entire area where the mansions are. Magnolia Terrace is one building within Magnolia Bend. Oak Manor and Parterre Place are the two buildings in Magnolia Bend with the Royal Guest Rooms. Acadian House and Magnolia Terrace are the two mansion buildings which have regular, non-Royal, rooms.

 

[disney*mom*82]

I have a quick question that I cant seem to find the answer to.

We got lucky and got a PIN for free dining over Christmas and New Years that included POR!! We are a family of 6 (2ad, 16, 14, 6, 2). I know its a tight squeeze, we have stayed POR and I am not worried about that at all. My question is, we would like to make our 6 year old be down as a Disney adult for the DDP, and of course, we would pay for her to have the adult tickets. But, do they allow for 2ad, 3 disney adults and 1 under 3 in an AB room at POR? If not its no big deal, she is really a very small eater, but the kids menus just get so boring and so are the desserts!

Thanks!

 

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

Magnolia Bend is the entire area where the mansions are. Magnolia Terrace is one building within Magnolia Bend. Oak Manor and Parterre Place are the two buildings in Magnolia Bend with the Royal Guest Rooms. Acadian House and Magnolia Terrace are the two mansion buildings which have regular, non-Royal, rooms.

Thanks everyone. Didn't realize it was magnolia terrace for the building.... Just knew hadn't paid for a RR & when I faxed I asked to be close to the foot bridge to food court & main pool.

Thanks again. Now if I could just sleep tonight things would be better & we could get on the road early to POR for Mothers Day!!

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I have a quick question that I cant seem to find the answer to.

We got lucky and got a PIN for free dining over Christmas and New Years that included POR!! We are a family of 6 (2ad, 16, 14, 6, 2). I know its a tight squeeze, we have stayed POR and I am not worried about that at all. My question is, we would like to make our 6 year old be down as a Disney adult for the DDP, and of course, we would pay for her to have the adult tickets. But, do they allow for 2ad, 3 disney adults and 1 under 3 in an AB room at POR? If not its no big deal, she is really a very small eater, but the kids menus just get so boring and so are the desserts!

Thanks!

Yes, the AB rooms accommodate 5 +1 infant. You would be fine upgrading your 6yo to a Disney adult.

 

[disney*mom*82]

Yes, the AB rooms accommodate 5 +1 infant. You would be fine upgrading your 6yo to a Disney adult.

Yay, thank you, Ill make the call tomorrow. Its only a $20 difference, so a no brainer there!

 

[andrewilley]

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

Oh, and it never hurts to offer to pay the difference between Garden and Pool View costs for that one room, should one have become available in the meantime. I've never heard of them actually charging an upgrade fee, but making the offer makes your request sound more amenable.

Andre

 

[andrewilley]

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

It may depend on who you made the booking with. If you booked direct with Disney World in the US then they will definitely be able to help you - even inside the 45 days change window normally, as long as you don't want to cancel outright. If you booked with a high-street travel agent, it may be more difficult without paying a fee.

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 think you've received a lot of mis-information from Disney there (which sadly is nothing new). First, Standard View rooms are located all around the resort, there is no such thing as a Standard View booking which guarantees either AB or the mansions area (the nearest thing being Preferred Location, which would guarantee an AB room).

Second, the Royal Rooms are located in two of the largest and potentially remote buildings. There are some rooms fairly close to the footbridge over to the main buildings, but there are also some a fair walk way. The only way to guarantee relatively short walking distances from a Royal Room would be to book Royal Pool View, as these are all clustered are a quiet pool which is near to the footbridge.

Third, you are not guaranteed to be in building 90, that is a request only.

If we have added a room request already should we not add any to online check in ?

Go ahead and do online checkin, there's nothing to lose (it does not remove your original text requests from your booking). If the room they assign you a few hours before you arrive doesn't seem quite what you wanted when you look on the map, you can always ask them to check again from the updated pool of available rooms, effectively giving you a double-dip.

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

No, it won't mess with them. Your ADRs are tied to your named My Disney Experience account, not to your room booking.

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.

See the map above, all four mansion buildings are regarding as being in the "Magnolia Bend" area of the resort (as opposed to Alligator Bayou) so your request is just fine. One of the four mansion buildings (number 85) happens to be individually named "Magnolia Terrace", which can make the nomenclature a little confusing at times.

Yes, the AB rooms accommodate 5 +1 infant. You would be fine upgrading your 6yo to a Disney adult.

Do remember the extra adult fee though. Any more than two adults in a room will incur a $15 per night charge per extra adult.


Andre

 

[hunmcbunny]

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

If you are looking for specific information on POR go to Andre's site....
www.portorleans.org

Lots of great information about POR!

 

[WDW-A-RAMA]

Oh, and it never hurts to offer to pay the difference between Garden and Pool View costs for that one room, should one have become available in the meantime. I've never heard of them actually charging an upgrade fee, but making the offer makes your request sound more amenable. Andre

If one opens up during this offer, and I can change the rooms to matching categories, which would be the best to choose to maximize likelihood of connecting rooms close to main bldg?

 

[winterman]

Do remember the extra adult fee though. Any more than two adults in a room will incur a $15 per night charge per extra adult.
Andre

I'm quite sure that the extra fee only applies to over 18 year olds. Not the 10 to 18 year olds who have to buy an adult Disney ticket

 

[mrstomrice]

I'm quite sure that the extra fee only applies to over 18 year olds. Not the 10 to 18 year olds who have to buy an adult Disney ticket

Agree! We made both boys 10 to upgrade to the adult dining at Christmas and we were not charged any additional room fees.

 

[Carable]

We got a pin code and impulsively booked a week before our Fantasy cruise to come back down (we were just there in April, it feels so decadent to go again). It is just me and the 2 kids (7 & 9) as hubby can't take 2weeks off. I booked a royal room garden view for us, and I'm curious what requests I should fax in when the time comes. We would like to minimize walks to bus stops and pools since I will be relying on Disney transportation. I'm thinking I would politely request to be close to a footbridge? I'm just a tad apprehensive of the single parenting in Disney, especially in the heat of summer, but I'm sure it will be all good.

 

[aryfairy]

I have a quick question that I cant seem to find the answer to. We got lucky and got a PIN for free dining over Christmas and New Years that included POR!! We are a family of 6 (2ad, 16, 14, 6, 2). I know its a tight squeeze, we have stayed POR and I am not worried about that at all. My question is, we would like to make our 6 year old be down as a Disney adult for the DDP, and of course, we would pay for her to have the adult tickets. But, do they allow for 2ad, 3 disney adults and 1 under 3 in an AB room at POR? If not its no big deal, she is really a very small eater, but the kids menus just get so boring and so are the desserts! Thanks!

We asked about this when we went last December because the kids menu just doesn't allow for many choices. If you call and ask they will still list as a child in the room so it will not affect you're reservation and you just pay the upgrade fee for the ticket.

 

[Disneychick75]

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!





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

You have until 5 days before a trip to cancel if room only is booked. That's the way I reserve a room and then, if we decide to do DDP, I add it 5 days before our trip.

 

[DonnaBelle2005]

I am very much excited to be staying at POR 11/20-11/28 for TG this year. We have not stayed since it was Dixie Landing and for me that was 16 years ago.
Last stay was in August 2009 at ASMu. This stay is my surprise baby (he's 3 in June) first trip. He loves Mickey and I'm so excited!

I did just a standard room to keep cost down. I can't wait!!!

 

[abmitch01]

If you are looking for specific information on POR go to Andre's site....
www.portorleans.org

Lots of great information about POR!

thanks!

 

[abmitch01]

this is my first time on-site and am thrilled to stay at POR. I have 3 questions.

Does Magic Express from the airport run pretty smoothly?

how do you check i online? from your computer at home or your smartphone at the hotel?

and lastly, do most of you go without cars and find the bus transportation at POR to be just fine?

 

[dansdad]

this is my first time on-site and am thrilled to stay at POR. I have 3 questions.

Does Magic Express from the airport run pretty smoothly?

how do you check i online? from your computer at home or your smartphone at the hotel?

and lastly, do most of you go without cars and find the bus transportation at POR to be just fine?

1. Yes, usually.

2. From my computer at home.

3. Even when we have our car it never moves from when we check in until the drive home.

 

[LisaTC]

this is my first time on-site and am thrilled to stay at POR. I have 3 questions.

Does Magic Express from the airport run pretty smoothly?

how do you check i online? from your computer at home or your smartphone at the hotel?

and lastly, do most of you go without cars and find the bus transportation at POR to be just fine?

1. Generally good reviews. I do know some feel you have to leave on Magic Express too early, but that is because they are picking up varying resorts and heading to the airport to get you there within the 1.5-2hr predeparture.

2. Online at home.

3. We use a car about 1/2 the time. Always bus to MK.

 

[Ravenne]

this is my first time on-site and am thrilled to stay at POR. I have 3 questions.

Does Magic Express from the airport run pretty smoothly?

how do you check i online? from your computer at home or your smartphone at the hotel?

and lastly, do most of you go without cars and find the bus transportation at POR to be just fine?

1: Yes, it does.

2: Online at home using a computer and the MDE website

3: We always fly to WDW and always go without a car. In fact, that's one of the biggest reasons why we vacation at WDW: so we don't have to have a car and deal with traffic, driving, and car seats.