Disney's PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE RESORT Information & Questions

[leahgoogle]

We returned from our stay at Port Orleans Riverside a couple weeks ago. Everything was great! We had a standard room and I requested a ground level, refurbished room and we got Alligator Bayou building 36. It was close to the north bus stop which was nice. We had plenty of soap and towels and we opted to have housekeeping come every day and while they didn't make the beloved animals out of towels, they did make a mickey head and a nice place for our toothbrushes to go with towels. It was a great stay!

 

[whirlthepearl]

Brand new to POR! Have a 5 person room and want to be as close to main pool as we can be. I requested room 16 or 17. Is that the right pick??

 

[andrewilley]

Brand new to POR! Have a 5 person room and want to be as close to main pool as we can be. I requested room 16 or 17. Is that the right pick??

For the main pool, building 38 might be a better choice as it's just across a bridge to the main pool. A bit further away from the main building though. If you only have a Standard View booking though (meaning you would be in a room around the outer perimeter of the resort facing the parking areas, 16 might be the best compromise.

Andre

 

[roylanc]

4 weeks today we will be on our way back to POR.....
Can't wait, we stayed in Block 35 2nd level corner room 25 last time.
We loved it there & it was a real short walk to the West Depot Bus stop. ( which was never really crowded)
We loved the walk each morning across ol'man island to the food court.
Stopping at muddy rivers bar on ol'man island for a quick drink on our way back from the parks was great in the afternoons.

 

[roylanc]

Family and I are staying fro 8/10-8/17. This is not the first stay here for my husband and I but it is for our boys (10 & 7). They have stayed at POFQ and love the pool that they have over there and keep asking to go to it again on this trip. I know that the pools are shared by the two resorts, my question is about the walk to get there. We do not have royal rooms so we won't be in the buildings closest to FQ but I have put in a request for Magnolia Bend since we stayed in Alligator Bayou last time. Is the walk from that area to the FQ pool really long or is it a pretty easy walk? I figure that it is probably still shorter than some of the walks that have to be made at the large resorts, am I wrong? Thanks!

We walked to POFQ a few times in 2017. We found the walk pleasant & probably just over half a mile to walk.
Some evenings we found the lines for POR transport at the park bus stops long & you might miss one bus due to it filling up before you got on.
So we found it easier to get on a POFQ bus & then walk from there to POR.
We were staying in Block 35 so probably the furthest block away from POFQ.

 

[Curiouser&curiouser!]

We are staying in a Royal Room at POR next month. We added a day to the trip and had to book room only for the first night then we start a package, so two reservations. We booked the same room type for both reservations. What is the best way to hopefully stay in the same room the whole stay (I know it isn't gauranteed, but would like to try!)? Should I skip online check in and talk to them when we get there instead?

 

[Wood Nymph]

We are staying in a Royal Room at POR next month. We added a day to the trip and had to book room only for the first night then we start a package, so two reservations. We booked the same room type for both reservations. What is the best way to hopefully stay in the same room the whole stay (I know it isn't gauranteed, but would like to try!)? Should I skip online check in and talk to them when we get there instead?

Call reservations and have them add a request to stay in the same room to both reservations

 

[mommy-3]

Can you get free water from the machines in the food court? Do you need a refillable mug or just any old cup? Thanks!

 

[SarahC97]

Can you get free water from the machines in the food court? Do you need a refillable mug or just any old cup? Thanks!

There are drinking water spouts by the drink machines. I usually fill up there and no, you don't need the refillable mug to use them. Or to get ice!

 

[mommy-3]

Perfect! Thank you!!

There are drinking water spouts by the drink machines. I usually fill up there and no, you don't need the refillable mug to use them. Or to get ice!

 

[TOBS2010]

Perfect! Thank you!!

You can also ask for a free cup for water where you pay at in the food court. They will give you one just like you can request free water in the parks. The cups won't work for you to get pop/soda though.

 

[Curiouser&curiouser!]

Call reservations and have them add a request to stay in the same room to both reservations

Thanks!

 

[honeybiscuit]

How many wall outlets are in the room? What about the USB ports? We have a LOT of devices that need to be charged every night so I'm trying to plan out how that's going to work, and if we'll need a power strip. Thanks!

Edited to add that we're staying in a refurbished Alligator Bayou room, with the pull down, if that makes a difference.

 

[Day-Day]

How many wall outlets are in the room? What about the USB ports? We have a LOT of devices that need to be charged every night so I'm trying to plan out how that's going to work, and if we'll need a power strip. Thanks!

Edited to add that we're staying in a refurbished Alligator Bayou room, with the pull down, if that makes a difference.

Found this on Portorleans.org site:

2018/1029 Room Refurbishments
A few points to note about changes that are being made as part of the room refurbishment program that is taking place during 2018 and 2019. All of the French Quarter rooms are new-style now, and work will commence at Riverside in July:

• The wall safes are being replaced with larger keypad-operated versions that can hold most common laptops, etc.
• Toiletries for bathroom use (H2O Shampoo, Conditioner and Body Wash) are now supplied in large locked wall-mounted dispensers situated over the bath instead of the traditional travel-sized bottles. Bar soap and small bottles of Body Lotion are still provided.
• New USB power points are being fitted. For the French Quarter rooms, they have fitted two on the bedside table, and four more on the main drawer unit.
• Larger wall-mounted TV sets are being installed. These have no break-box box for external connections, although you can still access the HDMI sockets on the side for connecting your own devices such as cameras, laptops, and DVD players.
• Laminated hard flooring instead of carpets.
• Higher beds frames, allowing space underneath for storage of cases, etc.
• Window blinds have been replaced with net curtains.
• Added a shaving / makeup mirror in the bathroom

My daughter stayed in a new French Quarter room and said there were a lot of places to plug in (I had made a comment that USB and power outlets were all over the place in our Yacht Club room and there was nothing in our "old" Port Orleans Riverside room).

 

[seb65]

We are staying in a preferred room this month as my mom needs to be close to things. She will have a scooter.
If we need to leave for Early Morning Magic, at what time will we need to be to the bus stop? We usually go to the one near the store/lobby (is that the south?). Will this be an issue?

 

[Aurora_Disney]

How is the bus service from this resort? Also, are the rooms decent? We are currently supposed to stay at All Stars Movies resort, but I have heard the rooms are bad and the bus service can be bad. Need help! Thanks!

 

[SarahC97]

How is the bus service from this resort? Also, are the rooms decent? We are currently supposed to stay at All Stars Movies resort, but I have heard the rooms are bad and the bus service can be bad. Need help! Thanks!

I have stayed at both Movies and POR and I'd choose POR for a few reasons. First, I find it a much more relaxing resort with better pools. Second, the rooms are larger than what you find at the values and there are double sinks in the bathrooms too. If you get an old room that's not been refurbed at Movies, then you're also looking at full-size beds that are, or at least were last summer, showing their age. Finally, there's less of a chance that you'll have tour groups at POR than at ASM (depending on when you're going), which based on past experiences is a huge plus.

As for buses at Movies, I don't think they're bad at all. You have a lot of people say that buses are shared between the three All Stars, but in the over two weeks I've stayed at the All Star Resorts, I've only shared buses a couple of times at non-peak times of the day. So I really think that's a non-issue. Keep in mind that POR sometimes shares buses with POFQ too, so if you're going to knock the All Stars for bus sharing, you can easily say the same thing about the Port Orleans resorts. Of course, I have no complaints about the buses at POR and I really like that there are multiple bus stops around the resort that drop you off closer to your room rather than a single bus stop like they have at the values.

All in all, Movies isn't a bad resort at all. The theming is very cute and we've stayed there twice. But until all of their rooms are completely refurbished, I don't think we'll be back. If the price difference isn't a huge deal, I would suggest POR.

 

[honeybiscuit]

Found this on Portorleans.org site:


My daughter stayed in a new French Quarter room and said there were a lot of places to plug in (I had made a comment that USB and power outlets were all over the place in our Yacht Club room and there was nothing in our "old" Port Orleans Riverside room).

Thanks for the info!

 

[MomOTwins]

How is the bus service from this resort? Also, are the rooms decent? We are currently supposed to stay at All Stars Movies resort, but I have heard the rooms are bad and the bus service can be bad. Need help! Thanks!

Rooms at POR will be MUCH nicer than All Stars. Bus service is not great at either resort.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We are staying in a preferred room this month as my mom needs to be close to things. She will have a scooter.
If we need to leave for Early Morning Magic, at what time will we need to be to the bus stop? We usually go to the one near the store/lobby (is that the south?). Will this be an issue?

Make sure you ask for a ground floor room since the preferred buildings don't have elevators.
There is a convenient sidewalk that goes directly from that area of Alligator Bayou to the South Depot without going through the main building. There will be buses running for Early Morning Magic. I would be at the bus depot about 45 minutes ahead of time. It is a short ride to MK, only about 10 minutes, but you want to get there as soon as you can.