Disney's PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE RESORT Information & Questions

My wife and I just booked POR for our first trip back to WDW since 2013. I booked a King room and was wondering if it's possible to request a river view with a King room. I know the King rooms are scattered throughout the resort and wasn't sure if they even had ones with a river view. Thanks!
 
I'm booked for POR May 4-12. Got a royal garden view with the current offer. I've stayed at AKL once and Pop twice, and have never visited Riverside. We're not too picky about resorts, however; I absolutely love Pop with all its vivid color and tackiness and silliness, but I am excited about Riverside's romantic atmosphere for our tenth anniversary.

My only concern about POR is the bus service. I've seen conflicting reports over the years. For reference, I've always found Pop's bus service very timely and convenient, and we don't mind if we have to wait a few minutes or stand when a bus does come around. I'm actually one of those weirdos who thinks Disney buses are kind of fun (I love seeing everyone excited to go to the park in the morning). With so many POR stops and shared service with FQ, however, I'm a little nervous. How has the bus service at this resort been lately?

We just stayed at POR a few weeks ago. The bus service was fine. Aside from the first bus we took to Epcot which took 30 minutes to arrrive, the buses came regularly.

We were the 2nd stop, so there were times all of the seats were already taken, but it wasn’t a big deal. None of the parks seemed very far away at all and the rides weren’t bad (with the exception of the night we left MK on a crowd level 10 non-party night and the bus driver crammed way too many people into the bus...)
 
Ok everyone. I need some help. Getting ready to book our room for August. It will be our 25th Anniversary and also my 50th birthday. I am wanting to book a preferred building but also water view. How do I go about doing this? I see where I can choose preferred or water view, but not both. What is the best way to do this?

TIA

Paula

My wife and I just booked POR for our first trip back to WDW since 2013. I booked a King room and was wondering if it's possible to request a river view with a King room. I know the King rooms are scattered throughout the resort and wasn't sure if they even had ones with a river view. Thanks!

From http://www.portorleans.org/room-locations.php:

"There is no dual-classification between the various booking categories, each room falls into one specific band only. Thus all rooms with a king-size bed are classed as “King Bed” rooms, even if they also happen to be in Preferred Location buildings or may have pool or river views. Similarly, non-King rooms with views overlooking the river — even in the Preferred buildings — count as “River View” rather than Preferred. The same policy applies for the six Pool View rooms in building 18. The booking categories for every room at the resort are listed on the Building Floorplan Maps page.

So for example, if you wanted to try to get a king bed room with a pool or river view, you should book a King Bed category, and then add a request for a Pool/River View if available. The same applies if you want a River View in a preferred buildings; book for River View and then add a request for a close location. See the Making Special Room Requests page for more details."
 
Is there valet service? I'm not sure how we'all fit everything in the car. We did pre-checkin so the room number will be text to me. Is there a way to pull up for luggage service without checking in? We also have a stroller to pick up at bell services. Thanks for any help. We're counting down the hours!
 


Is there valet service? I'm not sure how we'all fit everything in the car. We did pre-checkin so the room number will be text to me. Is there a way to pull up for luggage service without checking in? We also have a stroller to pick up at bell services. Thanks for any help. We're counting down the hours!

There is no valet service, but if you pull up outside the hotel entrance you can drop your bags off at Bell Services and they will bring them to your room. There is also parking near most of the buildings, so you might want to just drive round and park nearby and wheel your bags to your room (that's what we do).

Andre
 
From http://www.portorleans.org/room-locations.php:

"There is no dual-classification between the various booking categories, each room falls into one specific band only. Thus all rooms with a king-size bed are classed as “King Bed” rooms, even if they also happen to be in Preferred Location buildings or may have pool or river views. Similarly, non-King rooms with views overlooking the river — even in the Preferred buildings — count as “River View” rather than Preferred. The same policy applies for the six Pool View rooms in building 18. The booking categories for every room at the resort are listed on the Building Floorplan Maps page.

So for example, if you wanted to try to get a king bed room with a pool or river view, you should book a King Bed category, and then add a request for a Pool/River View if available. The same applies if you want a River View in a preferred buildings; book for River View and then add a request for a close location. See the Making Special Room Requests page for more details."

Thank you!
 
We just stayed at POR a few weeks ago. The bus service was fine. Aside from the first bus we took to Epcot which took 30 minutes to arrrive, the buses came regularly.

We were the 2nd stop, so there were times all of the seats were already taken, but it wasn’t a big deal. None of the parks seemed very far away at all and the rides weren’t bad (with the exception of the night we left MK on a crowd level 10 non-party night and the bus driver crammed way too many people into the bus...)

Glad to hear that! Evening buses are a mixed bag with any resort, I'm sure. I might try Uber for any busy late nights, but I think the buses will suit us fine otherwise.
 


Glad to hear that! Evening buses are a mixed bag with any resort, I'm sure. I might try Uber for any busy late nights, but I think the buses will suit us fine otherwise.

I too have been a little concerned about the buses--even though I stayed at POR in 2009 and 2011 and only recall waiting extra long for a bus once. I'm most concerned about making MK rope drop, but I'm trying to go with the flow and not get stressed out! I figure we'll get to the bus stop around 7:45 am for a 9 am park opening and hope for the best! We've booked a Royal Guest Room, so we'll probably be closest to the South Depot, but may use the East Depot for a less crowded experience.
 
I'm booked for POR May 4-12. Got a royal garden view with the current offer. I've stayed at AKL once and Pop twice, and have never visited Riverside. We're not too picky about resorts, however; I absolutely love Pop with all its vivid color and tackiness and silliness, but I am excited about Riverside's romantic atmosphere for our tenth anniversary.

My only concern about POR is the bus service. I've seen conflicting reports over the years. For reference, I've always found Pop's bus service very timely and convenient, and we don't mind if we have to wait a few minutes or stand when a bus does come around. I'm actually one of those weirdos who thinks Disney buses are kind of fun (I love seeing everyone excited to go to the park in the morning). With so many POR stops and shared service with FQ, however, I'm a little nervous. How has the bus service at this resort been lately?
We have had pretty good bus service at POR. The only time they shared with FQ is mid day, not at prime time park opening or closing.
I just stayed at Pop late Nov/ early Dec for 11 nights, and experienced the worst bus service ever thru most of our stay. 30+ min waits were common, and it wasn’t cause we just missed a bus. I don’t know if there is a general decline in bus service resort wide? My friend who was last at Pop in May said busses were good.
 
I too have been a little concerned about the buses--even though I stayed at POR in 2009 and 2011 and only recall waiting extra long for a bus once. I'm most concerned about making MK rope drop, but I'm trying to go with the flow and not get stressed out! I figure we'll get to the bus stop around 7:45 am for a 9 am park opening and hope for the best! We've booked a Royal Guest Room, so we'll probably be closest to the South Depot, but may use the East Depot for a less crowded experience.
When staying in Oak Manor we found East Depot the most convenient. It’s just in the back of the parking lot and way less of a gong show than the south.
 
Can anyone tell me about the Medicine Show Arcade? Is there a play card you can purchase or do you have to pay per game?
 
When staying in Oak Manor we found East Depot the most convenient. It’s just in the back of the parking lot and way less of a gong show than the south.

Sounds like a great tip! I've been wondering whether to use south or east (we will be in one of the royal room buildings) and am leaning toward east. Sounds like south is the most hectic stop.
 
Can someone confirm what toiletries are made available at POR?

Is it the H20 brand shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and lotion?

I'm trying to only bring what I have to in my carry-on bag!
 
Can someone confirm what toiletries are made available at POR?

Is it the H20 brand shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and lotion?

I'm trying to only bring what I have to in my carry-on bag!
They have H2O sea marine shampoo, conditioner and lotion as well as bar soap. But I don’t think they have body wash
 
Question about breakfast at Riverside Mill: Will they only do omelettes at the cooked to order station or will they fry up other kinds of eggs? Also, do they do egg whites only or do they just have pre-mixed egg beaters?
 
I just got back from my POR trip and it might be my new favorite resort. The Royal Rooms were everything I dreamed of and more, and I kind of never wanted to leave. I ended up staying at Parterre Place, which I found to be pretty convenient in terms of walking distance to the lobby/food court, and not a bad walk to the main pool (and, more specifically, the pool-side bar). My only real complaint is that it wasn't close to a bus stop, but I found it easy enough on the days I needed to use the busses to drive over to the bus depot in the morning, leave my car parked there, and cut down on my walk back at the end of the night.

I'm still looking to complete my goal of staying at every WDW resort, but once I do -- and potentially in-between before I do -- I'll definitely return to POR time and time again!
 
We stayed at POR December 7th-12th and it has become one of my favorite resorts. My niece was able to swim before the cold snap and she loved the pool. We also really liked taking the boat over to Disney Springs. It was a nice change of pace from the buses. Here's a tip though: if you can, request building 80 (Acadian). It's close to the second bus stop and less than a 5 minute walk to the food court, pool, etc.
 

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