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

[yenanh00]

double post

 

[pixie dust 112]

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?

You can check in. Your room likely won't be ready, but you can still get your park tickets and they will call you on your cell when your room is ready. One of the parks will have Extra magic Hours that start at 8:00 and the busses to that park will be be running at 7:00, so you can go to whatever park has the EMH's.

Sorry, no answers for #2 or #3, as I don't have experience there.

 

[rthornton]

Andre - I have a group of five (all adults, but my oldest daughter is only 5'2") and have made a room-only reservation for 11/26 - 12/3 by phone for Aligator Bayou (requested a trundle bed), but I would prefer Magnolia Bend (stayed there in March, 2006 and liked it very much) with a roll away. Do you know if I contact the Resort directly, what their response would likely be? My bottom line is I want to stay with one room (we pretty much just use the room for sleeping) so the trundle is acceptable, but I think the roll away would be better.

 

[andrewilley]

Roll-aways are available for the Magnolia Bend section, although Disney normally try to put families of five into Alligator Bayou if they can, as those rooms are already equipped. Contact the Reservations Center again and ask for that to be added to your booking as a request, and ask again at checkin (or even contact the resort a few days beforehand) to see what they can do for you.

Andre

 

[DG-12]

When I asked about a roll-away for our September trip I was told they did not do that. Dana

 

[VickiVM]

We're 5 so will be staying in AB. Last time we were in POR was 5 years ago and my kids were 11, 8 & 6 and our luggage was not so much...but now that that they are preteens/teens, I really want to minimize our luggage along with the space it takes up, and spend one afternoon @ the pool doing maybe a load or two of laundry (I know,, sounds sick.

Does anyone know which AB bldg(s) are nearest a laundry room.

Thanks!

 

[webstah]

We're 5 so will be staying in AB. Last time we were in POR was 5 years ago and my kids were 11, 8 & 6 and our luggage was not so much...but now that that they are preteens/teens, I really want to minimize our luggage along with the space it takes up, and spend one afternoon @ the pool doing maybe a load or two of laundry (I know,, sounds sick.

Does anyone know which AB bldg(s) are nearest a laundry room.

Thanks!

If you look at the resort map, you can see that in AB, the buildings are clustered around the quiet pools.
The laundry facilituies are located at each of the quiet pools.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/port-riverside.htm

 

[Golf4food]

Been back for a week now sad1 and finally getting photos in order and up onto Flickr.

If anyone wants to see the full set you can click here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/penglynns/sets/72157624093064134/


Otherwise, here are some highlights. We were in Room 8730 in Magnolia Terrace, on the second floor facing the quiet pool between Magnolia Terrace and the Acadian House in a corner room. I'll post pictures from all around the resort, however, probably in multiple posts, because you can never have too many photos of a pretty WDW resort.

Bed view:

Towel Mickey, octopus (?), and mouse (we got a towel puppy a couple of days later but I forgot to take a photo):

Pool view from the balcony:

Front of the Magnolia Terrace house from inside the gazebo:

Gazebo by the river with walkway and Magnolia Terrace behind:

Side of Magnolia Terrace (quiet pool behind me) - our room is on the 2nd floor, right hand side, just above the stairwell, left of the lamp post on the right:

Bunny on the left, squirrel on the right - in the grassy area behind Magnolia Terrace:

View of the marina area from near the Mag. Terr. gazebo:

Magnolia Manor front view:

Parterre Place front view:

Main building area at dusk:

Riverside Mill from AB area:

AB Bldg 17 (?) and pond/bridge (aka Mosquito Breeding Hotel this time of year - take bug spray if you go out near dusk):

Another AB Bldg - no idea which one:

Main area at almost dark:

Back of Magnolia Terrace from the parking lot side:

Might have some more to add later, or feel free to visit Flickr and see them all.

 

[MickeyMirth]

Ahhh. Just the right medicine for my much needed daily dose of Disney. Beautiful pictures. Thank you for sharing them and including the link.

 

[skater]

Great pictures Gold4food. I needed these today. We're returning to POR this Sept. after going to CSR last year. Can't wait. It is a beautiful resort.

 

[mjp12831]

The portorleans.org website advises that early morning bus service from the South Depot generally departs directly to the park - can anyone confirm that this remains true?

Last year at FQ, only had to worry about the one depot and service went from the depot to the park directly without stopping anywhere else.

Want to max out park time and arrive as early as possible while getting a family of 5 moving - we intend to be at the bus stop before 8 daily and if possible closer to 7. With that strategy, is it best to request AB lodging close to the South Depot and hope to be able to use South all the time?

2nd question - if leaving in middle of the day (hit a water park for AM, come back to change and go to another park) the site implies that the busses do the entire loop after hitting the South Depot, so would imply that the East is best to depart from - is this also still correct?

 

[andrewilley]

When I asked about a roll-away for our September trip I was told they did not do that. Dana

They do have that facility - did you ask the resort directly, or the Disney Reservations Center people? Here's a photo of one at POFQ that has just been taken out from a guest room for example, but they also have them at Riverside (we had one once, in fact).

Andre

 

[Tink NY]

The portorleans.org website advises that early morning bus service from the South Depot generally departs directly to the park - can anyone confirm that this remains true?

Last year at FQ, only had to worry about the one depot and service went from the depot to the park directly without stopping anywhere else.

Want to max out park time and arrive as early as possible while getting a family of 5 moving - we intend to be at the bus stop before 8 daily and if possible closer to 7. With that strategy, is it best to request AB lodging close to the South Depot and hope to be able to use South all the time?

2nd question - if leaving in middle of the day (hit a water park for AM, come back to change and go to another park) the site implies that the busses do the entire loop after hitting the South Depot, so would imply that the East is best to depart from - is this also still correct?

When I was there in 2007 this was true. In the morning the buses would fill up at the south depot and never visit the other stops. After the morning rush they'd visit the other stops, starting with the south depot and going clockwise around the map. I can't comment on the east depot.

We were in a building pretty much centered between the west and north depots. (I believe it was building 39.) I thought we'd hate being that far away from the main building but to be honest it wasn't all that bad. You could do the walk in 5 minutes if needed, 10 minutes tops. We'd get breakfast in the morning anyway so using the south depot wasn't a hassle for us, but I do recommend using it in the morning.

 

[Golf4food]

Ahhh. Just the right medicine for my much needed daily dose of Disney. Beautiful pictures. Thank you for sharing them and including the link.

You're welcome.

Great pictures Gold4food. I needed these today. We're returning to POR this Sept. after going to CSR last year. Can't wait. It is a beautiful resort.

Just the opposite for us - we've stayed twice at POR and love both but are going to try CSR for a short stay tacked onto the end of a stay at AKL DVC in December because I've always wanted to try it, too. But I've no doubt we'll be back at POR again, it is just too pretty.

 

[DG-12]

They do have that facility - did you ask the resort directly, or the Disney Reservations Center people? Here's a photo of one at POFQ that has just been taken out from a guest room for example, but they also have them at Riverside (we had one once, in fact).


I did ask CRO directly- because we have a 2 yr old and also wanted a king bed room. Interesting to know they can do this- something to consider for our trip. (I asked because I was told that we could not have an AB trundle bed room b/c they are reserved for parties of 5) and I did not want to book two doubles without the trundle. Anyway, we are renting a toddler bed from ABBF. Is the rollaway high off the ground? Dana

 

[Flexan]

Been back for a week now sad1

Thanks for the pics. The pictures of the Yachtsman Steakhouse food you posted on Flickr made my mouth water.

 

[andrewilley]

I did ask CRO directly- because we have a 2 yr old and also wanted a king bed room. .... Is the rollaway high off the ground? Dana

Remember that CRO (or DRC as it is now known) often don't know everything that the resorts can do, they only know the general policies. They have to deal with dozens of resorts and their various options.

I guess that normally POR wouldn't offer to put an extra bed into a two-person room though, although a Pack'N'Play crib would be another option for a two-year-old. But I can't see any reason why they couldn't help you out. The roll-away beds are about 18-inches off the ground. See the photo I posted, you can see the length of the fold-down leg.

AB is the best section to take families of five, but it is most certainly not completely exclusive to them (unless the resort happens to be filled to capacity with parties of five I guess, but that's hardly likely). We've stayed in AB with two, three and four people, for example - so unless you get a really awkward cast member you should be fine.

Andre

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

After getting the 40% off pin, and being short on cash after my anniversary last week, I'm thinking about switching from GF to POR for our half-marathon weekend in October. Tell me I'm going to LOVE it?

 

[pixie dust 112]

After getting the 40% off pin, and being short on cash after my anniversary last week, I'm thinking about switching from GF to POR for our half-marathon weekend in October. Tell me I'm going to LOVE it?

You're going to LOVE it!

 

[andrewilley]

Tell me I'm going to LOVE it?

As long as you go expecting a moderate resort, I'm sure you'll love it. Just don't go into it expecting a Grand Floridian concierge suite...

Andre