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

[Flexan]

We are coming in on Saturday May 22nd- Just want to confirm the yeehaw bob will be there that night- and If I read his schedule right he starts at 8:30pm right?

Is it normally crowded? Do we need to get there early to get a space?

Go to www.yehaabob.com for up-to-date info.

 

[Fundytrail]

Is it normally crowded? Do we need to get there early to get a space?

YES and YES! But worth it

 

[Muddy Rivers]

I agree. Bob Jackson is our favorite. You will not regret it. He is great for families!

 

[lsg1]

We will be heading down to stay at the POR in August. We have stayed at the WL for the past 13 years and my kids (actually just one of them) is giving me a very hard time with this. I just couldn't pass up free dining for 5 in a moderate resort and read such good things about POR. I have a few questions. I am unable to stand for long periods of time and we usually bring our own wheel chair, but I am thinking of renting a ECV from offsite. Will this fit in the room? Also, being that we are a family of 5 we will be placed in the AB section. Are there elevators if we are placed on the top floor and I want to bring the ECV in the room at night to charge? Also, are the TVs flat screen TVs like at the WL? Last (probably not) question - I know in the past you had to pay for a fridge, and then they started providing them free at the deluxe resorts. Is there still a charge for a fridge or do they provide one in the moderate rooms now?

Thanks, and this is a great thread...trying to read it all

 

[andrewilley]

If there are five of you then I really doubt you'll fit an ECV into the room as well - well, not without remvoing the table anyway. Alligator Bayou does not have elevators as it is only two stories tall (although Magnolia Bend does) so if you do stay in an AB room you'll need to make sure you get a ground floor one in an accessible building such as Lodge 14 - but NOT in an adapted room as they have one King Bed rather than two doubles.

TVs are normal hotel 4:3 tube TVs in a cabinet, not flat screens. Fridges are free in every room though.

Andre

 

[momdisfan]

Has anyone done the horse-drawn carriage ride at POR? I am thinking of doing it on our arrival night. We arrive at MCO at 3:15. We are going mid/end August - is this something that I really need to reserve ahead of time? Not sure how popular these rides are and if possible I would like to just walk up and do it, not have to reserve ahead of time. What are anyone's thoughts on this?

 

[webstah]

We have done it both ways, making a reservation as well as walk up.
When we made the reservations, we made them that day, in the morning.
August may be a little busier, so you could probably call a day or so in advance.
The walk up was kind of a fluke, as we were walking towards the food court along the river path and one of the drivers came out of the employees area. We asked if there was still openings for a reservation, and she said she could take us right then.

 

[bolgers love wdw]

We just got back last night from our 2nd stay at POR and once again it was absolutely fantasic!!!! We booked a bounceback for September and we were going to try a different resort, but we just couldn't resist coming back to Riverside!!! I will post more later after all the fun stuff we get to do after vacation....like laundry and getting groceries!!!
Feel free to ask any questions and we will be more than happy to answer!!

 

[Amy&Dan]

We will be heading down to stay at the POR in August. We have stayed at the WL for the past 13 years and my kids (actually just one of them) is giving me a very hard time with this. I just couldn't pass up free dining for 5 in a moderate resort and read such good things about POR. I have a few questions. I am unable to stand for long periods of time and we usually bring our own wheel chair, but I am thinking of renting a ECV from offsite. Will this fit in the room? Also, being that we are a family of 5 we will be placed in the AB section. Are there elevators if we are placed on the top floor and I want to bring the ECV in the room at night to charge? Also, are the TVs flat screen TVs like at the WL? Last (probably not) question - I know in the past you had to pay for a fridge, and then they started providing them free at the deluxe resorts. Is there still a charge for a fridge or do they provide one in the moderate rooms now?

Thanks, and this is a great thread...trying to read it all

The size of a POR room is not much smaller than a WL one and given the fact you have double beds vs. queen beds, you might actually have a bit more room to walk around in!

If you cannot fit that ECCV in easily, talk to the front desk (don't call housekeeping, go and talk to them personally) and ask them to remove your table and chairs to make room for your ECCV. They are happy to do that for guests that need that room for their scooters. It would fit very nicely in that space. Although you might be able to just move the table over, closer to the tv stand/dresser and fit the scooter in the space closer to the window.

I suggest Randy's Mobility, we used them a few years ago and they were wonderful!

My kids have stayed at the Poly, SSR, BWF, and OKW. We have done units as big as two bedrooms at those DVC's. All that said, they'd rather stay at POR than any of those. I am betting your kids will enjoy the resort, its nice and spread out with more pools than WL has and the food court is wonderful for families.

TV's aren't flat screen and frigs are free and standard in every room.

 

[lsg1]

The size of a POR room is not much smaller than a WL one and given the fact you have double beds vs. queen beds, you might actually have a bit more room to walk around in!

If you cannot fit that ECCV in easily, talk to the front desk (don't call housekeeping, go and talk to them personally) and ask them to remove your table and chairs to make room for your ECCV. They are happy to do that for guests that need that room for their scooters. It would fit very nicely in that space. Although you might be able to just move the table over, closer to the tv stand/dresser and fit the scooter in the space closer to the window.

I suggest Randy's Mobility, we used them a few years ago and they were wonderful!

My kids have stayed at the Poly, SSR, BWF, and OKW. We have done units as big as two bedrooms at those DVC's. All that said, they'd rather stay at POR than any of those. I am betting your kids will enjoy the resort, its nice and spread out with more pools than WL has and the food court is wonderful for families.

TV's aren't flat screen and frigs are free and standard in every room.

Thanks...this is very helpful and encouraging

 

[Amy&Dan]

Thanks...this is very helpful and encouraging

You might go over to the disabilities board and ask over there for some advice and input from people who have stayed at POR with a scooter.

I know when my fil had a scooter at SSR in a studio, we were told they'd move out the table and chairs if he needed that extra space. The manager at SSR told me all Disney resorts can do this and often do.

Bldg. 14 is a wonderful location due to its proximity to the food court and the first bus stop within POR.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[pinkxray]

We are staying at POR and heading to SSR on evening. Is there a way to get there besides driving? Do the boats stop there or just go directly to DTD? If anyone has made the drive how long does it take? Thanks!

 

[Amy&Dan]

The drive from POR to SSR would be under five minutes, they are right next to each other.

The boats don't go between resorts (well except POR and POFQ) so you'd need to transfer at DTD. If you go the boat route, allow one hour. The waits for boats can be long sometimes, esp getting to DTD during the dinner hour.

You could also take the bus to DTD, then walk over to SSR. From the Marketplace bus stop to the main area at SSR, it would be about a 15-20 minute walk (and a very pretty one).

If you are heading to SSR for dinner, I can tell you that Turf Club is wonderful, one of my favorite places to eat in all of WDW!

 

[Goofy22]

OK, We just upgraded to POR because my Mother just decided she wanted to go and we had one room at POP which wasnt enough room.
I was told before by a CM that there are a few trundles in the Magnolia Bend Area but not many ppl are aware of this can anyone confirm this"? As we definitely need the Trundle. Also what is the best location to be near the food court , bus stop , ole man island???

 

[andrewilley]

There are NO trundle beds in Magnolia Bend (the main beds are on wooden bases, so there's nowhere to slide them underneath). You can request roll-away beds though (wheeled fold-up beds).

Andre

 

[Goofy22]

There are NO trundle beds in Magnolia Bend (the main beds are on wooden bases, so there's nowhere to slide them underneath). You can request roll-away beds though (wheeled fold-up beds).

Andre

Andre,
Thank You,

So what section would you recommend requesting to be near the food court, bus stop and ole man island? And do they have a fax number? Sorry I didnt get to read the thread yet.

 

[rocio]

Just got back from an amazing vacation at POR. The centerpiece of our trip was watching Atlantis launch into space from KSC, but the rest of our time was great too. I wasn't sure if I would like POR as I LOVED Coronado when we were there last May. I still like the pool at Coronado, but I really did enjoy POR. The pool was nice, liked the short walk we had to the Riverside Mill and it was just such a relaxing place. Rented surrey bikes one evening and had a blast doing that. So here's a bit of info for those going soon. On our last day under all our bags, I found a not on the desk that said they had spotted a Florida Black Bear in the vicinity of POR. Yikes! Guess I should read those notices when I get there huh? Oops. Not sure what the status of the bear is, but in a way I"m glad I didn't see it before I decided to take a midnight bus to the Magic Kingdom for EMH by myself. Overall, a wonderful time.

 

[Golf4food]

Just got back from an amazing vacation at POR. The centerpiece of our trip was watching Atlantis launch into space from KSC, but the rest of our time was great too. I wasn't sure if I would like POR as I LOVED Coronado when we were there last May. I still like the pool at Coronado, but I really did enjoy POR. The pool was nice, liked the short walk we had to the Riverside Mill and it was just such a relaxing place. Rented surrey bikes one evening and had a blast doing that. So here's a bit of info for those going soon. On our last day under all our bags, I found a not on the desk that said they had spotted a Florida Black Bear in the vicinity of POR. Yikes! Guess I should read those notices when I get there huh? Oops. Not sure what the status of the bear is, but in a way I"m glad I didn't see it before I decided to take a midnight bus to the Magic Kingdom for EMH by myself. Overall, a wonderful time.

We saw the notice last week but never saw the bear. There's a lot of undeveloped land on WDW property for wildlife - we saw a deer from the MK railroad on day. Black bears are not aggressive like a Grizzly - a lot of people think "bear" and assume the worst, but Florida black bears generally stay away from people in most instances. I grew up in rural Florida and rarely heard of black bears going near developed places and can't think of a single attack. Best to keep your eyes open but not too worried about it.

 

[andrewilley]

So what section would you recommend requesting to be near the food court, bus stop and ole man island? And do they have a fax number? Sorry I didnt get to read the thread yet.

LOL, it is a bit of a long thread. There are some tips and a map in the first post, but the best building is generally regarded as Alligator Bayou #14. Also Oak Manor and Magnolia Terrace river-view rooms are really nicely located.

Andre

 

[yenanh00]

Couple of question

1. We are catching red eye flight the night before so we will be there around 7 AM. Since there are no park open that early, we cant check in, and we wont be renting a car, what kind of activities do you recommend?

2. Have anyone use the Kids night out service? How much does it cost for generally 2-4 hours?

3. have anyone mail in a package for themselve? What kind of thing do you mail? What is your Disney's survival kit?