Disney Resort - Port Orleans Resort - Riverside

R

rravindra

New Member
Hello All

My family and I will be visiting the above WDW resort in June, 2006 and this being our first trip and I need some advise and tips from you folks who have been to these resort and theme parks many times before

I would lile to know your experience in the above resort and how do you keep kids entertained who are 12 years (twins) and a 7 yr old.

We have taken the 7 day package and would like to know as to which theme parks we should visit first and so on.

We are not swimmers and hence will not be interested in the water parks although they are part of the packgae, can we exchange these tickets to something else????

Does anyone know if there are bus trips to the Kennedy space centre, busch gardens and sea world from the above resort and if so are they arranged by disney as well.

How are the line ups in June ( 19-25), are they manageable or is it over crowded.


Thanking all in advance for your reply.

RR:hammer:
 
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d'Isigny

d'Isigny

New Member
My wife and I LOVE Port Orleans Riverside. It is beautiful...quiet...romantic...

The main pool is nicely themed...but you're not interested in such things...

You'll need the 7 days just to see a portion of what the Theme Parks have to offer...and if you've never been to Disney World...you're in for a treat. It isn't like anything you've ever seen.

Forget Busch Gardens or Sea World...once there...you may not want to leave.

My advice is to learn as much as you can about the parks...get a guide book (Birmbaums is a good one). Read up on the attractions...the best way to get around the parks...get an idea where rides are located...go on rides that may seem to target children (like Peter Pans Flight)...

Do not miss the firework displays or parades. Illuminations and Fantasmic will blow you away. Specrtromagic...Wishes...you will be amazed...

Disney was built to appeal to all your senses....it is a visual treat.

Once I land there...you can't get me away from the parks...
 
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P

Peter Parker

New Member
We just returned from Port Orleans Riverside. We were there from Thursday night thru Sunday. It was our first time in Riverside, we stayed at French Quarter last Fall for 8 days. Riverside is much bigger and has more guests so you will find the food court and buses a bit crowded. That was the only downside. The hotel has a recreational area called Ol' Man's Island for the children. It has a big playground, a beautiful pool and small trails. After a day of bike riding around the resort's walking/bike path and bridges, you can enjoy the pool to cool of. You will need it in June. It was a bit hot this weekend and it was only March. They have individual bikes, kids bikes and surrey bikes for the family. You can rent 2 passenger boats, paddle boats, or even 17' and greater Boston Whalers. You can also eat at their dine in restaurant and they have a piano bar with a great show. Plan to get seats in this piano bar, kids welcomed. Everyone participates in the show. They sing, scream, laugh and clap. Take advantage of the boat ride to Downtown Disney, which is very scenic. While at Downtown Disney, visit the Lego store. It is the one free place in Disney World and kids really like it. My son could spend all day there playing . It is a nice resort, I could go on and on....

Word of advice, plan your recreational activities during the day and get ready to hit the parks after 4:00 p.m. It is much cooler after 6:00 p.m. and the parks are not as crowded. Take advantage of Extra magic hours at night to ride the popular rides. Plan ahead and see which park closes late.

Have wonderful vacation, Don't rush and relax while you are there. If there are lines and heat, it can sour your vacation. Rides are the main attractions at Disney World, but there is more to see and do.
 
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Teenchy

Teenchy

Member
rravindra said:
Does anyone know if there are bus trips to the Kennedy space centre, busch gardens and sea world from the above resort and if so are they arranged by disney as well.



RR:hammer:
Click to expand...

Dhems fightin words on these boards..watch out!:D
 
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WDWRLD

WDWRLD

Active Member
Never heard of any other attractions in central florida....Or at least none that I can see from any of the Disney Transportation....LOL


Joking aside.....POR is great, Read Birnbaums cover to cover, go to wdwig.com aka Debs Disney and look around. Im looking foward to mabee getting lucky and catching another launch of the space shuttle in July right at the marina of POR.
 
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Nansafan

Nansafan

Active Member
rravindra said:
Hello All


We are not swimmers and hence will not be interested in the water parks although they are part of the packgae, can we exchange these tickets to something else????


Thanking all in advance for your reply.

RR:hammer:
Click to expand...

Don't knock the water parks till you've tried them. Once you get to your resort check out the TV. Resort TV shows what's going on in the parks from attractions, to water parks, to shows, to shopping etc. The first thing we do when we get in our room is flip on the TV while we unpack to ready ourselves for our adventure.

Read, read, read, this site, guidebooks and anything you can get your hands on. WDW for a first-timer can almost be overload. The more you know ahead of time, the better you'll be prepared. Nothing beats the look on a kid's face the first time they see Mickey Mouse and it doesn't matter how old they are. My son was 6 on our first WDW trip and he'll be making his 20th trip to WDW this summer at the age of 19. He still gets that same glow on his face when we walk under the left tunnel of the train station and step out into Main Street USA.
 
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Master Yoda

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
Disney does not offer any transportation to other locations in the Central Florida area. Both Kennedy and Bush Gardens are quite a haul from WDW so if you do go to these attractions a rental car would probably be your best bet. Sea world is much closer and I believe Orlando's public transportation (Lynx) has a route that goes there but for the time spent on the busses a rental car would be IMHO the lesser of two evils. Quite honestly you can easily spend 7 days in WDW and not run out of things to do so I seriously doubt that you will "need" to go to the other attractions in Central Florida for lack of things to do at WDW.
 
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SallyShine

SallyShine

New Member
Brian Skinner said:
Joking aside.....POR is great, Read Birnbaums cover to cover, go to wdwig.com aka Debs Disney and look around. Im looking foward to mabee getting lucky and catching another launch of the space shuttle in July right at the marina of POR.
Click to expand...

In 1999 we saw a space shuttle launch from the deck of the Wonder. It was 5 am and we were already back to Port Canaveral. I will always remember the way the sky lit up brighter than day light. It was truely an awesome sight!
 
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celticdog

celticdog

Well-Known Member
Master Yoda said:
Both Kennedy and Bush Gardens are quite a haul from WDW .....
Click to expand...

They're not that far. Kennedy is only about an hour away. It's a quick trip down the Beeline. BG is a little farther down I-4.

But I concur with everyone else, there is soooo much to do at WDW, why go anywhere else?
 
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shoppingnut

shoppingnut

Active Member
Forget about Busch Gardens entirely unless your kids are really into thrill rides and even then, I would go to Universal and IOA as it is closer. Seaworld only has a few rides and the rest of it is shows.

You can easily spend 7 days at WDW in June because of the crowds you will have to go back to parks twice in order to do all the rides. If you want to go to Kennedy Space Center, go to there website as I believe there is some information on buses leaving from WDW, but it is not done by Disney, but the space center. The KSC is about 1 hour away from WDW.

Don't knock the water parks until you try them, there is much more there than you think. For instance Typhoon Lagoon has swimming with the sharks which the kids will probably love, there is a wave pool, lazy river. I would give it a try since it is included in your package and a disney water park will in no way be anything like any water parks elsewhere in the world.

Go to the parks early at opening time as there are no lines and it is cooler at that time and by noon-1pm, you'll be ready to leave and you can head back to the hotel for some pool time to cool off and head back out around 4p when it is cooler for the rest of the night. Do take advantage of extra magic hours.

I love POR hotel, I highly recommend it.
 
Upvote 0
wannabeBelle

wannabeBelle

Well-Known Member
rravindra said:
Hello All

My family and I will be visiting the above WDW resort in June, 2006 and this being our first trip and I need some advise and tips from you folks who have been to these resort and theme parks many times before

I would lile to know your experience in the above resort and how do you keep kids entertained who are 12 years (twins) and a 7 yr old.

We have taken the 7 day package and would like to know as to which theme parks we should visit first and so on.

We are not swimmers and hence will not be interested in the water parks although they are part of the packgae, can we exchange these tickets to something else????

Does anyone know if there are bus trips to the Kennedy space centre, busch gardens and sea world from the above resort and if so are they arranged by disney as well.

How are the line ups in June ( 19-25), are they manageable or is it over crowded.


Thanking all in advance for your reply.

RR:hammer:
Click to expand...
Get thyself to a good bookstore and go to the travel section. Take a look at all the guidebooks there are for Disneyworld from the Official Birnbaums to the Unofficial Guide by Bob Sehlinger and Len Testa and all of the other ones. This is NOT a small place and has so much to see and do. There will be NO trouble at all keeping all of the kids entertained. Deb Wills' site has been mentioned on here and it is an absolutely AMAZING site and can give you a lot of information regarding Disneyworld. Read everything on her site and listen to her advice as well as the veterans on these boards. Lines will be there. Will they be unmanageable? No probably not. Dont worry about it. Use Fast pass. Get the Unofficial guide which has touring tips. You are on vacation, where are you rushing to???
As far as the Water Park option if you arent much into swimming with kids that age, check out DisneyQuest!!! It is a virtual reality playground in the Downtown Disney area.
This vacation is not a get to the beach, plop down on the sand and call it a day thing. To get the most out of this trip does require at least some planning. As far as leaving the property, if you run out of things to do, you can always go to the front desk and ask them to help you rent a car. I will bet you that will not occur. Belle
 
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figmentmom

figmentmom

Well-Known Member
You're going to be hard-pressed to see all there is to see at WDW in the time allotted for your trip, but it may well be that you and your family might just want to spend a day somewhere else as a change of pace! The Kennedy Space Center is informative and interesting, especialy for kids 7 and 12. As everyone else has said, read the guidebooks for information, and search this website for specific answers to specific questions.

You may be surprised by the appeal of the water parks, so don't rule them out altogether. Also, your kids might enjoy DisneyQuest, so plan time for that. Relax, and see things at your family's pace - it's a vacation, not a quest for the Holy Grail! :lol: Be prepared for HOT weather - lots of sunscreen, etc.

Have a great trip! :wave:
 
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B

bkw86

New Member
We stayed at POR last July and loved it. I recommend getting the Passporter WDW book - http://www.passporterstore.com/store/1587710277.aspx. It is outstanding and rates all the rides, hotels and restaurants. Also, besides this website you are on, another excellent site is The Disboards http://www.disboards.com. They are very active message boards and have FAQ's for every resort including POR, cover the rides, etc. Just about any question you want answered can be found on this boards or the The Disboards.
 
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D

disneyislove

New Member
My family has stayed at POR several times, and each time was a different experience. It truly is a great hotel, one of my favorites. The pools nice, and the boat ride to DTD is very relaxing. Also, the rentals they have at the hotel are very nice, we chose the boat rentals, and it was a different, yet fun aspect of WDW.
 
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