Disney's PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE RESORT Information & Questions

[DiaryofaDisneyKid]

I posted the following on the restaurants board several days ago but unfortunately I have not received a single response. I hope it is OK to post my questions here as they are all POR related.

Gluten Free at POR:​

I'm stayin at POR in mid-November and am wondering if anyone can offer some up-to-date info on the gluten free options? Most of the info that I have found online is dated and I'm not sure if it still applies. Some of the things I am wondering about:

• GF at the food court for breakfast and lunches: What are some of the choices? Do you still need to provide advance notice to the special diets department? GF Mickey waffles? GF fried foods? GF pizza?
• GF beignets at POFQ: still a thing? Advanced ordering needed? If so, how far in advance?
• Ole Man Island pool bar -- is there anything GF at all available there?
• GF at Boatwrights seems to have the most current info online, but I would love to hear any feedback from GF diners who have been there recently.

Many thanks to everyone, I'll be at POR for the first time ever in 52 days!

I had GF beignets at POFQ last November and they were great! I ordered them the same time as the non GF ones, no advance ordering needed. We will definitely be back for some this November!

 

[MDIME]

I'll be going in less 7 days, I'll let you know what I find out when I get back. I can only eat gluten free. I'll be having dinner at Boatwright's too. I'm hoping the gluten free beignets are still a thing. I don't know if I'll make it to the pool or not but I'll try to get an answer.

Thank you! Have a great trip!!

 

[MDIME]

I had GF beignets at POFQ last November and they were great! I ordered them the same time as the non GF ones, no advance ordering needed. We will definitely be back for some this November!

That's awesome, thank you!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I'm stayin at POR in mid-November and am wondering if anyone can offer some up-to-date info on the gluten free options? Most of the info that I have found online is dated and I'm not sure if it still applies. Some of the things I am wondering about:

• GF at the food court for breakfast and lunches: What are some of the choices? Do you still need to provide advance notice to the special diets department? GF Mickey waffles? GF fried foods? GF pizza?
• GF beignets at POFQ: still a thing? Advanced ordering needed? If so, how far in advance?
• Ole Man Island pool bar -- is there anything GF at all available there?
• GF at Boatwrights seems to have the most current info online, but I would love to hear any feedback from GF diners who have been there recently.

My sister ate gluten free at POR in June 2016. They would make gluten free Mickey waffles for her that were very good. They would toast a gluten free bagel for her, too. She would just walk up to the window when she wanted to order her gf food. It would take longer to make than the regular food, though, so be prepared for a little wait for your gf food. We only ate breakfast in the food court, but all Disney restaurants make accommodations for food allergies.

When we were there the Ole Man Island pool bar only served beverages and things like a bag of potato chips.

We ate at Boatwrights and they gave my sister a list of items that would be gluten free, either naturally or with a modification. You will find that in most restaurants there will be limits to which foods can be adjusted to be gluten free. But anything with wheat bread, like a bun or a sandwich, can be served with gf bread instead.

 

[Limes96]

My experience hasn't been recent (January 2016), but whenever I would order gluten free in the food court it would take forever. First they had to get the chef, which took forever. Then they made my food, which also took forever. I'm hoping the process will be a little more streamlined next time we visit in January 2018. I'd also be interested in hearing if others have had success in expediting the food court process, and if so...share some tips!

 

[DisneyWorldDad0830]

POR is my favorite resort for sure, live the atmosphere and the boat to Disney springs.

 

[MaggiesMomNJ]

We are finally going Feb 2-11 split stay POR Feb 2-5 and as of today, Poly villa studio Feb 5-11. If we get a discount, GF

Finally grabbed a Royal Pool View room as recommended by Andre (a long time ago)

 

[mrsgthatsme]

What are the odds of getting a standard room in AB if you only have 4 guests in the room? Do they try to reserve these rooms for groups of 5 due to the murphy bed? We stayed in the mansions last trip and would like to try something different but want to stick with a standard room.

 

[dansdad]

What are the odds of getting a standard room in AB if you only have 4 guests in the room? Do they try to reserve these rooms for groups of 5 due to the murphy bed? We stayed in the mansions last trip and would like to try something different but want to stick with a standard room.

We've had good luck with getting AB with a party of 3 and 4. Yes, parties of 5 get priority.

 

[FelisLachesis]

What are the odds of getting a standard room in AB if you only have 4 guests in the room? Do they try to reserve these rooms for groups of 5 due to the murphy bed? We stayed in the mansions last trip and would like to try something different but want to stick with a standard room.

The only guarantee for getting a room in AB is having a party of 5, or booking a preferred room. Booking a Royal room guarantees one of the two southern mansion buildings, but only open to parties of 4 or fewer.

That said, booking a standard, non-royal room will put you anywhere. If you want an AB room, you can certainly request one, but, like any request, is not guaranteed. The chances depend on how many parties of 5 are already booked while you're there, but it's not that bad, since there are more AB rooms than mansion rooms.

 

[pookie10]

POR is my favorite resort for sure, live the atmosphere and the boat to Disney springs.

Pofq is my fav!

 

[Chrelaine]

I rescheduled due to Irma. We were at ASMu and I was able to get a room at POR for Thanksgiving week, and paying the difference for a standard view Royal Room. I've stayed at POR twice before and love it. I have two questions about RR's.
If I request close to bridge for food court, would I be in be in the Oak building?
Am I correct in looking at the map and the South Depot would be the closest/best bus stop for RR's?

We were in 9711 which is Partierre Place. It took less than a minute to get to the steps leading to the main walkway and from there to the bridge was probably 20-30 feet. It took us about 5 minutes to get to the South depot. We loved the location.

 

[MaggiesMomNJ]

I didn't realize that the bedding was removed from the royal rooms as well ... we are interested in location and theming and booked the Por royal room pool view... what are the differences in terms of proximity to the food court and the main areas (never been there) between the Royal room pool view and the preferred rooms? I have seen the resort maps but it's kind of hard to tell unless you are actually there.

 

[mhartman09]

We loved our first stay at POR back in June. We're heading back in about a week and a half, but staying at Pop for this trip. Really wanted POR, but it wasn't available. Had to get in another stay at POR, so we just booked a quick 3 day/2 night stay 12/23 - 12/25/17 at POR!!! I'm thrilled to be returning to POR and super excited about being in WDW for Christmas! We've never seen Disney at Christmas time and we can't wait!!

 

[AprilDreamsOfDisney]

What are the odds of getting a standard room in AB if you only have 4 guests in the room? Do they try to reserve these rooms for groups of 5 due to the murphy bed? We stayed in the mansions last trip and would like to try something different but want to stick with a standard room.

Me and my two kids went last March Break and we got an AB room with murphy bed. It was amazing!

 

[mrsgthatsme]

Me and my two kids went last March Break and we got an AB room with murphy bed. It was amazing!

Yay! SO glad to hear you enjoyed AB!

 

[mrsgthatsme]

A quick question about the pool at POR. When we were there last November, the water was FREEZING! Like chattering teeth and slightly blue lips freezing!! Hoping it was just due to the time of the year and not that the temp it was is the standard. What have been others' experiences with the pool at POR during late spring?

 

[FelisLachesis]

A quick question about the pool at POR. When we were there last November, the water was FREEZING! Like chattering teeth and slightly blue lips freezing!! Hoping it was just due to the time of the year and not that the temp it was is the standard. What have been others' experiences with the pool at POR during late spring?

That must have been a malfunction. The pools are supposed to be heated to about 76-80 degrees. Which pool did you go into?

 

[andrewilley]

That must have been a malfunction. The pools are supposed to be heated to about 76-80 degrees. Which pool did you go into?

All WDW pools are meant to be heated to 82 degrees. The air around them during winter less-so unfortunately.

Andre

 

[andrewilley]

What are the odds of getting a standard room in AB if you only have 4 guests in the room?

Fairly good, probably close to 50/50 if you don't make any requests. There are 259 Standard View rooms at Riverside, of which 131 are in the mansions and 128 are in Alligator Bayou. Parties of five need to get priority for AB of course, but there really aren't that many of those staying at any given time.

Andre