The New and Updated Port Orleans Riverside FAQ Thread for 2008 --- NOW CLOSED

[Zippa D Doodah]

andrewilley, I just wanted to thank you for your PO site. It was and is a great help to me.

 

[Pixiedust34]

I don't know if you all read this over at the restaurant board, so I want to post here that as of mid-Feb. Boatwright's will no longer be serving breakfast. We LOVE having breakfast at Boatwright's and will miss it.

 

[B9erSteve]

That's crazy! I wonder why? Hopefully they haven't stopped by the time we get there, I was dying to try the banana stuffed french toast!

 

[Pixiedust34]

That's crazy! I wonder why? Hopefully they haven't stopped by the time we get there, I was dying to try the banana stuffed french toast!

Here's the link where I got the information.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2066521

The banana stuffed French toast is excellent! You can also get it at Kona (called Tonga Toast there) and Captain Cook's over at the Poly, but it's not the same as getting out of your room and walking over to Boatwright's to eat. : (

 

[B9erSteve]

Well, it will stop breakfast after we have gone so, I should be able to eat there for breakfast. Sounds like it wasn't pulling in the business in those hours. If so, then I can understand. But it will be a loss!

 

[DundasDad]

Booooooooo! That's horrible. Boatwright's banana stuffed french toast and potato pancakes were THE best breakfast items anywhere.

I understand the economy isn't wonderful - but this doesn't seem like a well thought out decision.

Where to go for a sit down breakfast in that resort area now?

 

[Yarna]

We just got back from our week+ at POR, and we were just as happy with the resort this year as we were last year.

Firstly, the grounds were just as lovely in January as they were in April last year. I was expecting to see little to no flowering plants, but was surprised to find lots of beautiful plants and flowers all over the resort. Some of the plants were a little droopy due to the recent drought and freakishly low temperatures, but the groundskeepers have been busy spreading that Disney “magic” wherever possible.

I faxed the resort a few weeks before our trip and requested a room in Alligator Bayou. Happily, they placed us in building 28, which was close to a pool, kind of close to the west bus stop, and not very close at all to the main building. I didn’t mind that at all, knowing ahead of time that we wouldn’t spend much time in the food court. The room was quaintly themed in a rustic feeling with bed and mirror frames made of logs and tree branches. The beds were lifted a little higher off the ground, which I appreciated due to my 6 foot+ stature. I found the beds to be too firm, which led to some sleepless nights, but my partner loved the beds, so there you go. The linens were clean and Mousekeeping kept us stocked with more towels than two people could ever possibly use. Some of the room doors could use a fresh coat of paint, and a couple of rooms were being totally refreshed so there was cardboard in the windows. I found that a little less than “magical”. There’s got to be a better way to obstruct the view into a room that’s being rehabbed. Alligator Bayou was fun, and I thought the little “swamps” scattered throughout the Bayou were cute, but I think that if we return to POR for our next trip we’ll probably go back to Magnolia Bend. We appreciate the styling and grandeur of the mansions more. But that’s just us.

We didn’t spend much time at the food court – we only ate dinner there twice during the entire 9-day trip. I had the turkey dinner with double mashed potatoes both times (I really liked it!) and my partner tried the make-your-own pasta and the roast beef dinner. According to him, both were very tasty. They’ve got a good variety of taste temptations going, too. Again this trip we didn’t try Boatwright’s. Maybe next time…

The cast members were friendly, helpful, and courteous as usual. Mousekeeping always kept our room clean, organized, and comfortable. As I said earlier, they kept us in more towels than two people could ever possibly use. They didn’t go out of their way to do anything extra-special for us, but we’re quite happy with a simple freshly-made bed at the end of a long day.

The two pools we visited in Alligator Bayou were usually quite clean, although the abundance of trees creating a canopy over the pools often left leaves floating in the water and at the bottom of the pool. No big deal though. We used the opportunity to pick out leaves and also generate some heat – the more mild temperatures were great for walking around parks, but not necessarily for swimming.

The bus system may not be perfect anywhere in the WDW, but I very much appreciate them as a cost-saving measure – I don’t have to rent a car. At the west bus stop, we might have had to wait for a bus longer than 5 minutes once. Sometimes the buses were full (ie, at park opening or closing) but many times they were half-empty. We had the bus to ourselves during one ride to Hollywood Studios. That was a good bus ride. The driver, a guy our age from Brooklyn, gave us lots of info about how the WDW bus line is trying, and sometimes failing, to go green. We also talked about his take on park attendance and the recent weather in WDW. No, from my experience at POR, it’s best to not use the south stop at park opening and expect to wait awhile for a bus at park closing.

Anyway, that’s it for now. A little long-winded, I know, but I wanted to provide a comprehensive review of our latest visit to POR. We had a great time at POR in Jan 2009 although we’re contemplating staying at a different resort next time, just to try something new.

 

[cmsanto]

Yarna:

Thanks so much for this report. I'm just getting more and more excited for our March trip. Maybe I'll be faxing a request for building 58!

 

[alleymaxx]

Thanks Yarna for your post and to the original poster. The information you provided has been helpful. Me, DH & DD are scheduled to go in May 2009 and it will be our 1st trip to POR. We are POP vets.

Yarna - can you tell me if the Magnolia Bend area is close to the main bus stop? From what I have read the POR seems to be spread out and the "hike" to the bus stops seem to be the biggest complaint by guests. Although it would not bother me it would bother my DH & DD.

Any advice on which building/area to request?

 

[Yarna]

Yarna - can you tell me if the Magnolia Bend area is close to the main bus stop? From what I have read the POR seems to be spread out and the "hike" to the bus stops seem to be the biggest complaint by guests. Although it would not bother me it would bother my DH & DD.

Any advice on which building/area to request?

POR is somewhat spreadout, and if you think you're going to spend much time at all in the restaurant, food court, lobby, or general store, then you should definitely request lodging near that area. I personally don't mind the walking, but my partner did and made sure to mention it every day.

Out of the four mansions of Magnolia Bend, the closest to the South Depot, the "main" depot, is Oak Manor. You just walk across a bridge and then past the lobby and there you are. Although, if you're not adamant about using the South depot, I would recommend lodging in Magnolia Terrace. It's very close to the East Depot.

As far as which area to request, Magnolia Bend versus Alligator Bayou, that's really up to you. The layout of the rooms are identical, but the theming of each is vastly different.

Before making any decisions regarding your lodging, you should definitely check out andrewilley's website at http://www.portorleans.org. He's got just loads of information, photos, maps, etc that most likely will aid you in your decisions. I know it was and continues to be incredibly helpful to many of us.

And if the website doesn't meet your needs then just post something here and I'm sure someone will be able to help you out.

 

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

Hi all

Great thread!

Just upgraded our hotel from Pop Century to Riverside - I am so excited! We absolutely loved our stay at French Quarter last year, so I am hoping we love Riverside as much!

I will be pouring over the information in this thread over the next 3 months, but wondered straight off what areas people think are best to stay in - not bothered about being near the bus stop but would love to be fairly near the food court!

Thanks!

 

[andrewilley]

Could I ask that the folks who are going to POR imminently [not jealous, honest...] pop back here when they return to update us? Things like the main pool and/or possible Alligator Bayou pool closures, the Boatwright's breakfast situation, and especially whether Disney have temporarily closed some of the accommodation buildings during this quiet period (and which ones). Many thanks!

Andre

 

[B9erSteve]

Could I ask that the folks who are going to POR imminently [not jealous, honest...] pop back here when they return to update us? Things like the main pool and/or possible Alligator Bayou pool closures, the Boatwright's breakfast situation, and especially whether Disney have temporarily closed some of the accommodation buildings during this quiet period (and which ones). Many thanks!

Andre

No prob Andre. We'll be there on the 6th. But I'm not sure that I'll be able to update you until the 15th (unless I find a wireless access point.) I'm not bringing my laptop this time (travelling lite) so I'll only have my iTouch. I can make a small addition to this though, I was informed on another thread that the entire pool area and hot tub is now inaccessable. Appearantly, the fishing hole and campfire areas are still useable.

 

[JoMarie]

First off, this is my first time posting but I've been reading for a while now (what can I say, I'm shy!) and you guys are amazing!

My family and I, (my mom, my dad, my brother-25 and me-21--proving you are never too old for Disney!) are going to Disney World for the first time since 1994. We are huge Disney fanatics. (I'm actually watching Aladdin on the Disney Channel right now.) My brother won some kind of pool and decided he was going to take us on a trip to Disney World. We were originally going to stay at Pop Century but we might upgrade (if the economy lets us!) to POR. We decided that we would want to stay in Magnolia Bend.

Now, here's the question: I know you aren't guaranteed anything you request but I was hoping to request a certain building. So, in your expert opinions which building would be best?

I guess now that I post, I'm allowed to wear Lime Green when I'm there? I feel like I'm part of some special club!

 

[B9erSteve]

Nice to meetcha JoMarie. Feel free to ask any and all questions. I've been on other forums which people get snippy with FAQ's but I've rarely seen it here. Our first trip to WDW was in 2006 and I have to say we had a BLAST. But that was mostly because of the things that I learned on DIS. Hoop-dee-doo, ADR's, best resorts, best buildings at resorts, best times to hit certain rides. There's so much info here to enhance your experience, be sure tho take full advantage of it.

 

[andrewilley]

Hi JoMaire!

The "best" building can be a bit subjective as they all have different pros and cons. Waterview rooms at Parterre or Oak are probably the best located for access to the main building and the main bus stop, Magnolia for the main pool, and Acadian is a bit further away but is very close for one of the outer route bus stops.

To be honest, there isn't a single room in the resort which is more than 500 yards from the food court - although it can seem further after a long day at the parks, of course. See the map in the first posting of this thread for a better idea, or check out www.portorleans.org of course (plug, plug! LOL)

Andre

 

[sarbah77]

We just got back from our week+ at POR, and we were just as happy with the resort this year as we were last year.

[snip]
I faxed the resort a few weeks before our trip and requested a room in Alligator Bayou. Happily, they placed us in building 28, which was close to a pool, kind of close to the west bus stop, and not very close at all to the main building. I didn’t mind that at all, knowing ahead of time that we wouldn’t spend much time in the food court. The room was quaintly themed in a rustic feeling with bed and mirror frames made of logs and tree branches. The beds were lifted a little higher off the ground, which I appreciated due to my 6 foot+ stature. I found the beds to be too firm, which led to some sleepless nights, but my partner loved the beds, so there you go. The linens were clean and Mousekeeping kept us stocked with more towels than two people could ever possibly use. Some of the room doors could use a fresh coat of paint, and a couple of rooms were being totally refreshed so there was cardboard in the windows. I found that a little less than “magical”. There’s got to be a better way to obstruct the view into a room that’s being rehabbed. Alligator Bayou was fun, and I thought the little “swamps” scattered throughout the Bayou were cute, but I think that if we return to POR for our next trip we’ll probably go back to Magnolia Bend. We appreciate the styling and grandeur of the mansions more. But that’s just us.

We were in building 28, as well, when we stayed there! Unlike you, I found the bed to be soft, which is my preference. My DH and I agreed that they were probably the most comfortable hotel beds we've ever had.

(Of course, last time was at a Residence Inn and the mattress was so weirdly lumpy and I found myself either rolling OFF the bed or rolling downhill towards my DH... thus, I might have pretty low standards!)

 

[dklam]

We recently stayed in Magnolia Terrace. A short walk to the main building, and literally about 1-2 minutes (depending on how much walking I had already done that day ) to the East Depot. We never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a bus, and always had a seat when we got on there. The few times we took the bus from the South Depot (after having breakfast in the FC), the buses were much more crowded. Only twice during our entire stay did we share a bus with POFQ.

 

[Pixiedust34]

I'm going to be placing our grocery order soon. Is there room for a gallon (or even a half gallon) of milk in the fridge?

 

[andrewilley]

I'm going to be placing our grocery order soon. Is there room for a gallon (or even a half gallon) of milk in the fridge?

Half-gallon is no problem at all, but you might need to do some shelf-juggling for anything much bigger:

Andre