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

[andrewilley]

Sassagoula River Adventure Cruise - Port Orleans Riverside Dock on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. The two hour voyage begins at 11:30am. "

I believe these are one in the same

I don't think so, no. The old Sassagoula River Adventure was in search of the Port Orleans "Jester" but it is no longer operating as far as I know. Everything I've seen recently (including official Disney info, and my own eyes!) says that the Pirate cruise is at 9.30 not 11.30. Does anyone else know for sure?

Andre

 

[lilsydney]

I don't think so, no. The old Sassagoula River Adventure was in search of the Port Orleans "Jester" but it is no longer operating as far as I know. Everything I've seen recently (including official Disney info, and my own eyes!) says that the Pirate cruise is at 9.30 not 11.30. Does anyone else know for sure?

Andre

boy I hope not cause I have reservations for 11:30 leaving the POR marina dock- they called it Bayou Pirate Adventure when I called

I am on hold right now to verify

 

[andrewilley]

boy I hope not cause I have reservations for 11:30 leaving the POR marina dock- they called it Bayou Pirate Adventure when I called

I am on hold right now to verify

Fingers crossed that they are doing two cruises now, but as they only do them three days a week that would seem odd. Anyway, better to find out now than when you turn up at the dock and the cruise is just coming back!

Andre

 

[andrewilley]

I am on hold right now to verify

What did the WDW-PLAY folks say when you got through to them?

Andre

 

[Minniemouse07]

boy I hope not cause I have reservations for 11:30 leaving the POR marina dock- they called it Bayou Pirate Adventure when I called

I am on hold right now to verify

Dd did this cruise in December of 2007 and LOVED it!! If you listen to one of the early January (2008) email shows, I called in a review of it.

Dd loved it so much she picked another pirate cruise over BBB for her birthday trip this past July. She did the one at GF and loved it just as much. She says that one wasn't better than the other though.

I did notice that the GF one is "themed" a bit better...but no major differences other than that.

Both the POR and GF cruises ran from 9:30am to 11:30am.

If you sign up your kids, arrive back at about 11:15 or so and walk down the river a bit from the marina. I got some great shots of them arriving back on the boat (and got an "ARRRGH, No Pirate Pictures" from the pirates too!)!

 

[lilsydney]

after talking to a few different CM's including a supervisor and the tour manager (2 said yes to 11:30 and 2 said no) it appears that www.wdwinfo.com is incorrect as were two of the CM's

It does in fact leave at 9:30 and returns at 11:30. They aren't sure why I was given the bad info TWICE

I am thankful that I read your info Andre and double checked so thank you thank you

it would have been a HUGE disappointment for us all.

9:30 it is OFFICIALLY

 

[andrewilley]

I am thankful that I read your info Andre and double checked so thank you thank you

it would have been a HUGE disappointment for us all.

I'm glad I could help - as you say, it would have been so disappointing for the kids if they turned up and found the tour over. Bad Disney!

wdwinfo isn't so much wrong as out-of-date; the site did say that the old Sassagoula River Adventure was at 11.30am (which it was) - it just needs that line removing completely and the 9.30am time for the pirate adventure adding.

Andre

 

[Twilight Terror]

Let me know if they've finished the re-roofing of the food court.

Andre

Well, there is still scaffolding around, at least there was yesterday. I had no idea what it was about, but I guess it's to do with the re-roofing. It would explain why there were 3 buckets in the middle of the food court last night catching water when we had the edge of Ike's winds and hammering rain come over!

 

[annie1995]

Hello, I have a question for you all!! Do all of the rooms in the alligator bayou have trundle beds or only certain buildings? I am so hoping we don't get put out way in the boondocks LOL

 

[andrewilley]

There is some debate about this, but as far as I know all of the double-bed rooms in Alligator Bayou are meant to have trundle beds fitted. The King Bed / Disability Access rooms definitely do not.

Andre

 

[tiellady]

I have a question for you though in regards to the buses. We are taking our own double stroller. Is there room to put these on the buses? It does fold up but is still pretty bulky. Do they have space underneath or in the front or back?

Thanks!!

Hi...I took our double long stroller the first year I took both kids...it was a complete pain in the you know what. I found that it is much, much easier to rent the disney strollers...pick it up when you get to the park and leave it at the end of the day.
If you pay up front for your entire trip they give you a discount on the rental.
You can have a stroller anytime you want it or need it.
HTH
Have a great trip!!

 

[andrewilley]

If you pay up front for your entire trip they give you a discount on the rental. You can have a stroller anytime you want it or need it.

A couple of other things to bear in mind:

1) The walk from the bus stops at POR to your room can be quite lengthy, it's a big resort and it all depends on where you happen to get located. Bear in mind that if you rent a Disney stroller you have to give it up before you leave each park, so you won't have anything to get the sleepy children around the resort and back to the room later.

2) Prices for stroller rentals - especially double ones - have sky-rocketed over the past few months (nearly doubled in fact, you can rent a car for about the same daily price). It could be MUCH cheaper to buy a smaller lightweight stroller from somewhere like Wal-Mart and then throw it away at the end of your vacation.

Andre

 

[jdd]

We will be at POR in 17 days - woohoo

Just a couple of questions for you experts. On the map it looks like there are three bridges to Ol' Man Island - one big one from the food court area, and then two smaller ones out toward the rooms. Is this right? I'm thinking of requesting a room in bldg 37/38 - looks like it's close to the North Depot bus stop, and just a short walk to the bridge to Old Man Island. When we were at CBR a few years ago, I loved walking across the island (Caribbean Cay) to get breakfast each morning - very peaceful and pretty!

I read something about a campfire program - offered seasonally. Does anyone know when this starts? We'll be there first week of October - is this more for the winter months?

Finally, a weird question - does the trundle sit on the floor once it's pulled out, or does it raise up? Not sure if I like the idea of the kids sleeping on the floor....


Thanks for the help - great thread!!!

 

[ajk912]

Hi...I took our double long stroller the first year I took both kids...it was a complete pain in the you know what. I found that it is much, much easier to rent the disney strollers...pick it up when you get to the park and leave it at the end of the day.
If you pay up front for your entire trip they give you a discount on the rental.
You can have a stroller anytime you want it or need it.
HTH
Have a great trip!!

We got back about 3 weeks ago and always had the double stroller. I wasn't going to pay 30 a day for a rental, never mind the walk to and from the bus stops/room! Our double stroller (a jogging stroller) does fold up pretty compact but it was a PITA on the busses unless we got a handicapped bus, and those were great for the strollers! But, it wasn't THAT much of a PITA that I would pay $30 a day to avoid!

 

[ajk912]

We will be at POR in 17 days - woohoo

Just a couple of questions for you experts. On the map it looks like there are three bridges to Ol' Man Island - one big one from the food court area, and then two smaller ones out toward the rooms. Is this right? I'm thinking of requesting a room in bldg 37/38 - looks like it's close to the North Depot bus stop, and just a short walk to the bridge to Old Man Island. When we were at CBR a few years ago, I loved walking across the island (Caribbean Cay) to get breakfast each morning - very peaceful and pretty!

I read something about a campfire program - offered seasonally. Does anyone know when this starts? We'll be there first week of October - is this more for the winter months?

Finally, a weird question - does the trundle sit on the floor once it's pulled out, or does it raise up? Not sure if I like the idea of the kids sleeping on the floor....


Thanks for the help - great thread!!!

The trundle does not raise up, no. It sits about an inch from the floor, but the mattress is thick enough I didn't feel that my kids were sleeping ON the floor, if that makes sense.

I don't know about the three bridge thing..maybe? We were in building 39 so close to 37/38 and it was a hike (albeit a pretty hike ) to get to the main building to refill our mugs/get a snack/eat at the food court. I want to say a 1/2 mile walk, give or take? Normally, that wouldn't be a big deal, but when you are tired from being in the parks all day, you don't want to walk another mile to get some Diet Coke!

 

[jdd]

The trundle does not raise up, no. It sits about an inch from the floor, but the mattress is thick enough I didn't feel that my kids were sleeping ON the floor, if that makes sense.

Yes, makes sense - I'm sure the kids will love it....

I don't know about the three bridge thing..maybe? We were in building 39 so close to 37/38 and it was a hike (albeit a pretty hike ) to get to the main building to refill our mugs/get a snack/eat at the food court. I want to say a 1/2 mile walk, give or take? Normally, that wouldn't be a big deal, but when you are tired from being in the parks all day, you don't want to walk another mile to get some Diet Coke!

So, did you walk across Ol' Man Island, or go around? We usually only get breakfast at the food court (that is, I do - that's my "alone" time. I get up first and LOVE to walk around the resorts early in the morning. I get "to go" stuff for everyone, and take it back to the room.) By the end of the day, we're usually just ready for bed

How did you like the resort overall??

 

[andrewilley]

Just a couple of questions for you experts. On the map it looks like there are three bridges to Ol' Man Island - one big one from the food court area, and then two smaller ones out toward the rooms. Is this right?

Yes, there are three bridges onto the island, one of which goes from the area between buildings 27 and 38. It's still a fair old walk to the food court from 37/38 though, but it is pretty and you should be able to walk it in not much more than about 5-6 minutes. To be honest though, I do think it'd be quicker to follow the path past Alligator Bayou 27/18/14. If you're going to do a breakfast collection run, I'd suggest buildings 14-28 or 27 (14 is best). The walk over to the main South bus stop from 14/15 is very short if you go via the nearby car park and the short-cut pathway - even though it looks longer on the map.

I read something about a campfire program - offered seasonally. Does anyone know when this starts? We'll be there first week of October - is this more for the winter months?

It re-opens on 31st October this year, sorry I think you'll miss it.

Finally, a weird question - does the trundle sit on the floor once it's pulled out, or does it raise up? Not sure if I like the idea of the kids sleeping on the floor....

The trundle bed does stay on the floor; it's about 3 inches high, plus the mattress. A bit like a camping bed in a tent. It's fine to sleep on for kids, just as long as no one rolls on you from one of the main beds anyway!

Andre

 

[jdd]

Thanks Andre! Hope you had a great trip!

 

[Carys]

Just back from another wonderful stay at POR - thought I would pop on here to report there was quite a bit of re-painting going on about the place to keep it all looking fresh and lovely

 

[Twilight Terror]

We had a great time at POR. We ended up in the mansions - 80. It was a nice location actually, and somehow we ended up with two joining rooms, and it made so a huge amount of difference to have room to move around with mum and the wheelchair. The only thing we had the slightest quibble with was the selection available in the counter service area of the resort. We much prefered to pop down to FQn to grab a meal, both in the evening and for breakfast. Despite being smaller, FQ seemed to have a slightly better offering on the food front. But other than that, it was awesome.