Disney's PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE RESORT Information & Questions

We will be at POR in three weeks! :) I am working on writing up my room request fax. It is really important to us to be on the top floor (light sleepers!), in AB (we stayed in the mansions on our previous trip and really want to try something a bit different!) and I would like to request close to west depot on the advice of a DIS poster! :) However, we really don't want to hear barking dogs on our vacation either! I hesitate to add a fourth request, since I feel the fewer the better. It doesn't sound like many people have reported issues with barking... do you think it is reasonably safe not to add that as a specific request? I am not certain if specific buildings are designated dog areas. If so, are any of these close to the west depot? If not, that might nullify the need for that request since it is indirectly covered by asking for the west depot??
 
I am not certain if specific buildings are designated dog areas. If so, are any of these close to the west depot?

They are trying to use Alligator Bayou building 24 as a preference for guests with dogs, and yes that is fairly close to the West Depot. Building 34 is also close to the West Depot though, but a bit further away from the main doggy zone.

Do remember that while West may be the first bus pickup (so you are more likely to be able to get a seat, especially in the morning), it also means that the buses will go round all the other stops before heading to the park, which extends your journey time. That area is also fairly remote for everything else you may want to do around the resort - the main pool, main buildings, food, ferry dock, etc.

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Personally I think there is a lot more to Port Orleans than getting a seat on a bus, but I guess some people plan to spend all of their time in the parks and only use the resort as a bedroom. However I reckon if that's all you want, why spend all that extra money on a lovely location like Port Orleans, rather than somewhere like the All Stars, if you are not going to take advantage of it?

Andre
 
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They are trying to use Alligator Bayou building 24 as a preference for guests with dogs, and yes that is fairly close to the West Depot. Building 34 is also close to the West Depot though, but a bit further away from the main doggy zone.

Do remember that while West may be the first bus pickup (so you are more likely to be able to get a seat, especially in the morning), it also means that the buses will go round all the other stops before heading to the park, which extends your journey time. That area is also fairly remote for everything else you may want to do around the resort - the main pool, main buildings, food, ferry dock, etc.

Port-Orleans-Riv-Map-Clean.gif


Personally I think there is a lot more to Port Orleans than getting a seat on a bus, but I guess some people plan to spend all of their time in the parks and only use the resort as a bedroom. However I reckon if that's all you want, why spend all that extra money on a lovely location like Port Orleans, rather than somewhere like the All Stars, if you are not going to take advantage of it?

Andre
Thanks Andre. Great point. I think I may just nix the west depot request and stick with the others. I’m
Sure whatever location in AB they assign us will be great. I didn’t think about the fact that there are pros and cons to the west depot location. The other requests are much more important to us given our family’s priorities. Thanks so much for your response.
 


i booked Port Orleans and they told me that there isn't a gym onsite? Where is the closest gym? How far of a walk is it?
 
i booked Port Orleans and they told me that there isn't a gym onsite? Where is the closest gym? How far of a walk is it?
Any of the deluxe resorts have a gym. You would have to pay to use. The Por boat goes to Disney Springs, then you could walk over to SSR. Not sure how long a walk it is. You could also bus to one of the parks and transfer to resort bus there.
 


Any of the deluxe resorts have a gym. You would have to pay to use. The Por boat goes to Disney Springs, then you could walk over to SSR. Not sure how long a walk it is. You could also bus to one of the parks and transfer to resort bus there.

It's a pretty short walk from the boat dock to Saratoga Springs - but I guess if someone is going to the gym regularly a bit of walking shouldn't bother them. :)

Andre
 
Can anyone recommend locations to request in Alligator Bayou for standard view rooms with a central location, not too far from the food court/main pool and a bus stop? TIA.
 
Can anyone recommend locations to request in Alligator Bayou for standard view rooms with a central location, not too far from the food court/main pool and a bus stop? TIA.

16 or 17 are probably your best choices.

Andre
 
This will be my second stay at POR, my DD and I had a royal room, garden view last time and she loved it so much we are doing POR again, even though I was harboring a secret desire to stay at an Epcot resort. It has been 5 years, so we are not doing a royal room again, but did book the garden view (I don’t really care what I am looking at as long as it isn’t a parking lot). I have never made any special requests at Disney and I have always been happy with what I have gotten. But (of course there is a but, right) my DD is terrified of dogs. She doesn’t want to switch resorts, so I am just trying to form a plan. Our trip is late July-early August. I like to be close to a quiet pool for late day swimming (she can’t tolerate afternoon FL heat, we never do parks in the afternoon) and I was reading about how we have better chance for bus seats at the west depot. A bus seat isn’t the most important thing to me, but it is nice, lol.

So, here is the question - what to request and how? I know people recommend faxes over phone calls, and I know prime fax time is 5 days before we arrive. We check in July 28, but we are driving and Disney is our 3rd stop, we are leaving home around dawn on July 21. I won’t be able to fax from the road I don’t think. Will an early fax work or is a call better in this case? My most important request is not near dogs or dedicated dog areas. She can tolerate service dogs, I am more worried about regular pets. I would like a quiet pool nearby, but there are a bunch of them, and the west depot would be nice, but we also frequent the food court. I feel like everything I want is at odds with everything else I want. I do NOT want to be the person who makes 23 annoying requests that are impossible to grant anyway. I am SO not that girl. My DD has autism (high functioning) so I do work a little to make trips manageable for her (very rigid, she needs to develop constants quickly - for example we try to eat one meal a day at the same place, usually the resort food court). Any experts with words of wisdom?
Thanks so much!
 
So, here is the question - what to request and how?

I would call central reservations and have the request to be away from the dog areas added to your reservation. Explain to the CM about your daughter's fear of dogs. You can do this at any time. Then when you arrive you could go to registration to make sure that you have been given a room far from the pet dogs.

We had a room near the quiet pool in Magnolia terrace that was really nice. I had asked to be near the main pool and the room we were given was very close to the bridge to Old Man Island.

The quiet pool near the West Depot is really nice with some shady areas in the afternoon. But it is next to the building that is used for pet dogs. There is a quiet pool near the preferred buildings and you could ask to be close to that one. :)
 
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This will be my second stay at POR, my DD and I had a royal room, garden view last time and she loved it so much we are doing POR again, even though I was harboring a secret desire to stay at an Epcot resort. It has been 5 years, so we are not doing a royal room again, but did book the garden view (I don’t really care what I am looking at as long as it isn’t a parking lot). I have never made any special requests at Disney and I have always been happy with what I have gotten. But (of course there is a but, right) my DD is terrified of dogs. She doesn’t want to switch resorts, so I am just trying to form a plan. Our trip is late July-early August. I like to be close to a quiet pool for late day swimming (she can’t tolerate afternoon FL heat, we never do parks in the afternoon) and I was reading about how we have better chance for bus seats at the west depot. A bus seat isn’t the most important thing to me, but it is nice, lol.

So, here is the question - what to request and how? I know people recommend faxes over phone calls, and I know prime fax time is 5 days before we arrive. We check in July 28, but we are driving and Disney is our 3rd stop, we are leaving home around dawn on July 21. I won’t be able to fax from the road I don’t think. Will an early fax work or is a call better in this case? My most important request is not near dogs or dedicated dog areas. She can tolerate service dogs, I am more worried about regular pets. I would like a quiet pool nearby, but there are a bunch of them, and the west depot would be nice, but we also frequent the food court. I feel like everything I want is at odds with everything else I want. I do NOT want to be the person who makes 23 annoying requests that are impossible to grant anyway. I am SO not that girl. My DD has autism (high functioning) so I do work a little to make trips manageable for her (very rigid, she needs to develop constants quickly - for example we try to eat one meal a day at the same place, usually the resort food court). Any experts with words of wisdom?
Thanks so much!
I would phone reservations, have it noted about daughter being autistic and fear of dogs. Also your location requests.
We love the mansion section. I’d request Magnolia Terrace inner courtyard on river side, close to Old Man Island foot bridge. You’d also be near East Depot. I prefer it to the Main South Depot. Too busy and Chaotic.
We are usually in Ft. Lauderdale for a week or so before WDW. I have my fax requests printed and ask my hotel front desk if they could send a fax for me. So maybe a hotel on one of your stops will do this. Or 7-Elevens usually do fax for a small fee.
 
Has anyone who has stayed at Riverside recently verify that they still are using the individual bottles of shampoo and conditioner and not the dispensers? Don't want to lug my own there if I don't need to! :) Thanks!
 

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