Port Orleans Riverside FAQ thread - Royally Refurbished for 2011

[KCmike]

 

[nkereina]

So YES, the fifth person bed option IS staying, but not as a trundle bed (as they won't fit with the new queen beds). The new option will be a fold-down bed which is actually bigger than the current trundle beds, and it will allow an adult to use it rather than just kids. Oh, and AB fans will love to hear that the existing floor tiling in the bathroom and vanity areas will be staying, as it was only installed fairly recently. The general rustic concept will be staying too.

Great info, thanks for all of that! Just out of curiosity, any idea where/how the fold down bed will work? If it's Murphy bed style, just curious to know where exactly it will fold down and what, if anything, will be changed or removed from the room to accommodate this.

 

[DisMomJill]

My favorite was building 18. Very close to the main building, but you also got to enjoy a short walk through the resort when you went to the food court or shop. Another reason we used to request it was that there are no parking lot views, so you would be guaranteed a garden view. Building 27 was always our second choice for the same reasons (next year that won't matter, since garden will be a new category). Now they are preferred buildings, so you have to book that and it is more expensive. Personlly I don't do that, so we have since changed our requests to buildings 26 or 28. More of a walk, but to me that's part of the fun of POR. It only matters when it's raining! If you want to pay for preferred and your biggest priority is proximity, building 14 is great. We randomly got put there once years ago, and you could be in the food court in literally seconds from some rooms. We just enjoy walking around the resort, so never actually requested to be that close. Building 15 is close as well, but lots of parking lot views so we always avoided it. However, a parking lot view also means your car is close if you have one!

Thanks so much for the info! I booked a king room (preferred wasn't available for FD). Is it even worth it to request one of the preferred bldgs with a king reservation? I don't want to bother requesting that if the chances are extremely slim of getting it.

 

[Stan Solo]

I'm not sure how long they will be there, but a HUGE group of high school football players arrived Thursday night and they seemed to be taking up a large amount of room at the food court and in the quiet pool near Oak Manor. Depending on how long they stay, I could see that impacting bus service a bit the next few days.

Great! Just what I needed another reason to keep an eye on my DD16 when we go to the pool.

 

[Travel Mum]

We had these two last week and got to the bus stop at 7:20 both mornings. We were a bit early for Tusker House and a bit late for Crystal Palace (which was exacerbated by my insistence on hitting each PhotoPass person on the way to breakfast). We would have been ok on Crystal Palace, but the bus made a stop at French Quarter (one of the few times that happened on the way to a park) and it took up quite a bit of time for some reason. If I we do that ADR again, I would plan to be there at 7:10.

Thank you very much - that is so helpful and fantastic that you did the same breakfasts so really first hand experience

 

[wacowgirl]

Hello!!! we had our first trip to WDW May 27th-June 2nd of this year.. We are returning for a repeat , fall of 2012... (our wedding is june 2012) so we have to make it later in the year, We will be staying in POR, because with a family of 5, its the most affordable!! We stayed at CBR, in may, and I wasnt impressed with the amount of walking ,and I was in Jamaica 46, so I was close!!!!... I am looking forward to POR, we had our own car last time, and we wont this time,so I am kind of dreading the bus system, we really loved being able to get ourselves around and not wait in lines!! I may look into renting a car, but probably not, I promised soon to be hubby, I would do this trip on a budget, our last one got expensive!!! Look forward to seeing the refurb rooms and getting to know everyone,I have looked through MOST of the pages on this thread... I am not impressed with the new headboards..that someone posted!! I also assume we would be in AB, I am anxious to see what those refurbs will look like!!! Oh My name is Tricia!!!! Have a great weekend, I hope Irene didn't rain on anyones vacation time!!!

Hi Tricia! When in the fall are you going? Will you be catching MNSSHP? We'll be staying in AB also but that's because I reserved a preferred room. Hope you have a fab time!!

 

[jen42002]

We just got back from POR today! We stayed in Oak Manor and had a wonderful time. It was our first time at POR and I loved it. The room was great, location was awesome to pools, lobby and bus stop and we had the world's best mousekeeper, Jen. She left elaborate animals everyday, extra shampoos and soaps and even little notes wishing us a magical day.

We did not have any huge bus issues ... they were crowded, but we never waited more than 20 minutes except once at MK after Wishes let out. I did a lot of standing however (once holding my 2-year-old which was lots of fun).

I'm not sure how long they will be there, but a HUGE group of high school football players arrived Thursday night and they seemed to be taking up a large amount of room at the food court and in the quiet pool near Oak Manor. Depending on how long they stay, I could see that impacting bus service a bit the next few days.

We can't wait to go back!

We just returned today too! As DuckMom stated, the only time the buses were an issue was at the MK after Wishes. The POR bus stop is right next to the POFQ bus stop at MK. We left about 15 minutes before Wishes ended and the POR line was really long (about 2-3 bus loads of people) but the POFQ bus was sitting on the stop and was only 1/2 full. We jumped on the POFQ bus and walked to our mansion room which worked great.

Noticed what we thought was a big party by the Oak Manor quiet pool last night when returning from DTD. Must have been the pregame party The quiet pool between Acadian and Magnolia however was empty!

Having WDW withdrawl already

 

[Sue M]

Great shot! We just checked out of POR today. Loved our stay there. Got a BB for free Dining for NEXT Aug so I booked

Now at BC. Our first time here. Loving it

 

[disneylovr1]

Thanks so much for the info! I booked a king room (preferred wasn't available for FD). Is it even worth it to request one of the preferred bldgs with a king reservation? I don't want to bother requesting that if the chances are extremely slim of getting it.

It won't hurt to request it. Or simply request as close to the main building as possible. But since you can't book both preferred and king, it should be fine to make the request. When you get there they will show you the room they assigned to you on the resort map. If you think it is too far, ask what they have available that is closer and they will go through the possible rooms with you. So if your perfect location isn't available you can get the best possible from what is open. Only once did we have a room with that didn't fit most of our reqeusts, the resort was very full.

 

[MomofMy2Princesses]

Great shot! We just checked out of POR today. Loved our stay there. Got a BB for free Dining for NEXT Aug so I booked

Now at BC. Our first time here. Loving it

I want free dining for next July! Maybe this is a sign??

 

[Reilly]

ooohhhhh I'm very excited to see your photos, we are staying in a royal room in March..

 

[KCmike]

Thanks Sue.

 

[Yarna]

When Disney first revealed October's free dining, we booked POFQ because we had never stayed there and we wanted a renovated room. But, since free dining didn't kick in until October 23rd, we had to make two reservations - a one-night room only for the 22nd, and the remainder with free dining from 23rd-30th.

Now, thanks to the Disboards, I just found out that Disney changed the free dining dates from Oct 23 to Oct 22, so I called to add the 22nd to my existing reservation and cancel my room-only reservation. However, the free dining on the 22nd wasn't available at POFQ, but it was at POR. So we going back to POR instead, with free dining the entire week!!!

Now I need to request a renovated room in either Acadian House or Magnolia Terrace, and we will have the perfect vacation booked. But if we don't get a renovated room, who cares? POR is our favorite resort!!

 

[mcraw]

When is your check out date? I tried to move from 10/23 to 10/22 with free dining at POR and it wont let me. My check out date is 10/29. I thought it just mattered what day you checked in not out??

 

[mcraw]

The online system will let me book a stay for 10/22-10/28 or 10/22-10/30 with free dining but not 10/22-10/29. What is with the 29th?

 

[aml3679]

Unfortunately, we had to cancel our December 2011 vacation due to family circumstances. Not thinking we could book until after January, I was surprised that reservations were open until December 31st 2012.

Booked 11 nights at POFQ with 10 day park hopper passes and the deluxe disney dining plan.

So excited. We have not been to WDW in 6 years.

 

[tjknitz]

I am planning a trip for Sept 2012 at POR. I would LOVE FD - in fact, I'm praying for it because if they don't offer it, I will have to cut my vacation short (from 10 days down to 5/6). Anyway, if I book now and FD is announced for that time, would I just call right away and have that discount added to my reservation? I would assume there are no discounts being offered for Sept/Oct/Nov 2012 right now - correct?

 

[Venomhatch]

Just checking in again, had there been any new refurb pics up yet?

 

[nkereina]

I am planning a trip for Sept 2012 at POR. I would LOVE FD - in fact, I'm praying for it because if they don't offer it, I will have to cut my vacation short (from 10 days down to 5/6). Anyway, if I book now and FD is announced for that time, would I just call right away and have that discount added to my reservation? I would assume there are no discounts being offered for Sept/Oct/Nov 2012 right now - correct?

Yes, you can book now and then if/when discounts are announced, you can call to add it. Keep in mind it will be based on availability. If I was going to book now, I wouldn't book flights (if needed) until after the discounts are released - you may need to shift your dates, or do one or two nights room only depending on when the discount is offered. I don't believe there are discounts for next fall yet. Last year, they announced free dining in November of the prior year, and then re-released it in the spring.

 

[KCmike]