Disney's PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE RESORT Information & Questions

[andrewilley]

I currently have a pool view room booked from November 29-Dec 2 for me and my wife. We are coming down with 2 other couples that have Royal Rooms booked. How would I send in a request to be located as close to them as possible?

Those two categories unfortunately mean that unless you get a pixie dust upgrade then you will be in different buildings. The Royal Rooms can be located anywhere within the red buildings, whereas a regular pool view could be in any of the numbered green buildings (both the large and small ones) that face towards one of the quiet swimming pools.

Your best hope would be to be placed in a mansion building room - Acadian or Magnolia below - which would be facing the squarish pool located between those two buildings, so Magnolia would offer the shortest walks to your friends.

In advance, make sure your two bookings are flagged as linked on Disney's systems. Then one of you should fax in your requests to the resort about 5 days before the first arrival, explaining the details of both bookings. See https://www.portorleans.org/room-requests.php

Andre

 

[Shula]

I will be faxing our room requests in a week. In the past I've done it on day 5 but this trip that falls on Sunday. My husband has access to a fax on our Day 7 and Day 4. Which of those days would be best? I have never used TP because I prefer to do it myself.

 

[andrewilley]

I will be faxing our room requests in a week. In the past I've done it on day 5 but this trip that falls on Sunday. My husband has access to a fax on our Day 7 and Day 4. Which of those days would be best?

I'd do it on the Monday, but it's not worth worrying too much about, it's not an exact science...

Andre

 

[Shula]

I'd do it on the Monday, but it's not worth worrying too much about, it's not an exact science...

Andre

Thanks! I've always thought it was 3-5 days but thought I'd recently read someone say 7. 13 days. I can not wait to get there! I tell people I could go to Riverside and not set foot in a park and my vacation would be complete.

 

[Embel]

I have an August reservation for my family of 5 in a Garden View Room with the child bed. I know that very very occasionally, a guest will be given a room upgrade at check-in. I don't think there is an upgrade option for this room, is there? I'm about to check in online and someone mentioned that it would prevent a pixie dust upgrade, but I don't see that one is even possible, so I think it might be a non-issue. Thanks for any help you can give me!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I have an August reservation for my family of 5 in a Garden View Room with the child bed. I know that very very occasionally, a guest will be given a room upgrade at check-in. I don't think there is an upgrade option for this room, is there? I'm about to check in online and someone mentioned that it would prevent a pixie dust upgrade, but I don't see that one is even possible, so I think it might be a non-issue. Thanks for any help you can give me!

Many people think that if they don't check in until they get to the resort that they will get a better room. But rooms are assigned approximately five days ahead of time, whether or not you have checked in online. You can always stop at the front desk and ask about your room when you get there.

Pixie dust upgrades are rare. A big resort has plenty of rooms in your booking category. But you can try to get one of the better rooms within your category. We've been able to get some of the nicer rooms within our booking category by calling reservations and making specific requests. We had asked for a room with a nice view that is close to the main pool. We had booked a standard view and I was trying to avoid a parking lot view. We ended up with a view of a grassy area that was close to the main pool and a short walk to the main pool and lobby.

 

[andrewilley]

But rooms are assigned approximately five days ahead of time, whether or not you have checked in online.

Rooms that need to be pre-blocked (mainly large groups, special medical needs, and sometimes detailed specific requests) can be pre-assigned, but regular guest arrivals are generally only assigned on the day, from the pool of currently available Ready Rooms at the time. For online checkin guests, they tend to try to assign rooms an hour or two before your arrival time. The idea is that this method aims to get as many guests as possible into rooms when they arrive, rather than having to wait for a fixed pre-assigned room to be cleaned and ready.

Andre

 

[MusicalAstronaut]

I have an August reservation for my family of 5 in a Garden View Room with the child bed. I know that very very occasionally, a guest will be given a room upgrade at check-in. I don't think there is an upgrade option for this room, is there? I'm about to check in online and someone mentioned that it would prevent a pixie dust upgrade, but I don't see that one is even possible, so I think it might be a non-issue. Thanks for any help you can give me!

There isn't anything you can do to create or dissuade the chances of getting an upgrade, except for maybe noting your reservation if you're celebrating something. Checking in online won't affect it. I got my first random upgrade this weekend. I checked in online, made a room request (upper level), then checked in at the front desk when I arrived. The Cast Member said my room wasn't ready yet but he'd look to see if anything else was, and I ended up in a Royal Room. It's really more about what's available than anything else. The parks were pretty empty this weekend and the parking lot at POR was very empty. I think it's simply that if they have a room available and it's past the point that someone could book it last minute, they have the opportunity to move someone into it.

 

[MusicalAstronaut]

So, side note, WHAT is up with all of the bees at the pool?! That was terrifying to see this weekend. If Disney can keep mosquitos out of the guest areas then you'd think they could keep bees out of the pool area!

 

[Tash87]

What time does the shop close?

I've just tried looking on their wdw website and can't find it

We will be arriving at 8pm ish and would like to get a few bits without going to Walmart etc.

 

[dansdad]

What time does the shop close?

I've just tried looking on their wdw website and can't find it

We will be arriving at 8pm ish and would like to get a few bits without going to Walmart etc.

From https://www.portorleans.org/

Fulton’s General Store opening hours: 8am—11pm

 

[buzznina]

So, side note, WHAT is up with all of the bees at the pool?! That was terrifying to see this weekend. If Disney can keep mosquitos out of the guest areas then you'd think they could keep bees out of the pool area!

Mosquitos and bees are totally different, you don't kill bees.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Mosquitos and bees are totally different, you don't kill bees.

Uh yeah. Let's ruin the world ecosystem so we can have fewer bees at the pool. Killing bees is just a bad idea anywhere.

 

[andrewilley]

So, side note, WHAT is up with all of the bees at the pool?!

Is the bee-repellent force field down again? Maintenance is getting very lax these days.

Andre

 

[Tash87]

From https://www.portorleans.org/

Fulton’s General Store opening hours: 8am—11pm

Thank you

 

[MusicalAstronaut]

Mosquitos and bees are totally different, you don't kill bees.

Never said we should kill bees. I'm a biologist lol. But there were hundreds of bees. They were crawling into people's resort mugs, landing on kids in the hot tub, all over the chairs, etc. Someone who is allergic wouldn't be able to go anywhere near the pool area. I'm sure they can at least make sure there aren't nests in the pool area. The park by my house has large bee hives/colonies next to the dog park and I've never seen more than a couple bees in that area.

 

[MusicalAstronaut]

Uh yeah. Let's ruin the world ecosystem so we can have fewer bees at the pool. Killing bees is just a bad idea anywhere.

Never said to kill the bees, thanks. But I do think there must be something they can do to keep hundreds of bees out of the pool area. I've never seen that issue at the pool before or at any other Disney resort.

 

[Superchikk]

Never said we should kill bees. I'm a biologist lol. But there were hundreds of bees. They were crawling into people's resort mugs, landing on kids in the hot tub, all over the chairs, etc. Someone who is allergic wouldn't be able to go anywhere near the pool area. I'm sure they can at least make sure there aren't nests in the pool area. The park by my house has large bee hives/colonies next to the dog park and I've never seen more than a couple bees in that area.

I wonder if they're attracted to the water & sugary beverages? Surely there's enough "food" around Disney for them, with all the blooming foliage. You're right - there must be a way to attract them to other locations so they're not as interested in the pool area. My sister & BIL keep bees and even thought the hives are within a few hundred yards of the house, they don't have trouble with them at all. There must be a reason.

Perhaps it's because of the spray used to keep mosquitos away and the stuff they spray on the plants? I know Disney does a beautiful job with their landscaping, but I highly doubt they use anything near organic methods or think about the honey bee population when they treat their plants. Maybe the bees just don't like those chemicals and go to the more populated (non-planted) areas to avoid it. Just thinking out loud.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Never said to kill the bees, thanks. But I do think there must be something they can do to keep hundreds of bees out of the pool area. I've never seen that issue at the pool before or at any other Disney resort.

We have issues with bees at our neighborhood pool which at times bees can be attracted to saltwater pools for drinking. The pool maintenance man added something to the salination mix to repel bees, but I'm pretty sure if our pool guy can figure it out so can disney. Hope this is fixed before our next visit. They've never stung anyone at our pool but it's a nuisance.

 

[MusicalAstronaut]

I wonder if they're attracted to the water & sugary beverages? Surely there's enough "food" around Disney for them, with all the blooming foliage. You're right - there must be a way to attract them to other locations so they're not as interested in the pool area. My sister & BIL keep bees and even thought the hives are within a few hundred yards of the house, they don't have trouble with them at all. There must be a reason.

Perhaps it's because of the spray used to keep mosquitos away and the stuff they spray on the plants? I know Disney does a beautiful job with their landscaping, but I highly doubt they use anything near organic methods or think about the honey bee population when they treat their plants. Maybe the bees just don't like those chemicals and go to the more populated (non-planted) areas to avoid it. Just thinking out loud.

I wonder if you're right about the mosquito spray, I was told when I was in Costa Rica to be careful using bug spray because it would keep mosquitos away but attract bees. I would think it's the sugary drinks and stuff, but I haven't seen them by the hundreds at other pool areas so I feel like there must be something about the bushes at POR in particular they like (or, like you said, other plants nearby that they dislike).