First time in a WDW Resort

[Courtman]

Hi all

In January Mrs Courtman and myself will be staying in a WDW Resort for the first time. We have booked a 4-night land / 3-night cruise package staying at Port Orleans Riverside.

We actually arrive in Florida the night before and are going to book an extra night in the hotel so we can go straight to the parks at 9am! I have a number of questions about staying on resort:

1. Transportation. Some of the threads on here seem to indicate that the coaches from the resorts to the park are not the way to go. What are they like from POR and if we took the car to the park would we have to pay the parking fee?
2. I've been told in an e-mail that our package includes a park hopper ticket. Will this ticket be valid from the start of the first day and run through until the day that we move to Port Canaveral for the cruise? We'd like the opportunity to spend the morning in the park if possible.
3. Can we charge items purchased in the park to our room?
4. Do you get early entry to the parks being a resort guest?
5. Are there any tours or trips that you would recommend of the parks or WDW? And how much are they?
6. Any other hints and tips to make the most of the stay....?!

Thanks for your tips, comments, help and advice!!!

 

[mrtoad]

You will love POR, it is a great resort.

The buses from POR are fine. At end of day they can be a bit busy but not too bad at all especially the time of year you are going. If you do take your car, bring your parking slip from the hotel and it will be free to park. The adantages of taking your car are not that many. You will still need to get on a tram from your car to the monorail and vice versa. It is most likely cheaper to just take the bus.

The hopper ticket will depend on if you get an ultimate hopper which is from day one unti the last day or a standard park hopper ticket. I would assume at that short stay it is a standard park hopper for x amount of days. Ask your travel agent or if you booked yourself call WDW and see. You might want to upgrade the ticket to one with more days.

Yes, you can charge items to your room.

Yes, there are early entry days for all the parks for resort guests. Go to allearsnet.com and you can find the days there.

I don't know much about tours, but recommendations for meals would be:

Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch ak the MK
California Grill for dinner at the Contemporary during the fireworks
Ekershus in Norway for dinner

Enjoy your trip!

Hi all

In January Mrs Courtman and myself will be staying in a WDW Resort for the first time. We have booked a 4-night land / 3-night cruise package staying at Port Orleans Riverside.

We actually arrive in Florida the night before and are going to book an extra night in the hotel so we can go straight to the parks at 9am! I have a number of questions about staying on resort:

1. Transportation. Some of the threads on here seem to indicate that the coaches from the resorts to the park are not the way to go. What are they like from POR and if we took the car to the park would we have to pay the parking fee?
2. I've been told in an e-mail that our package includes a park hopper ticket. Will this ticket be valid from the start of the first day and run through until the day that we move to Port Canaveral for the cruise? We'd like the opportunity to spend the morning in the park if possible.
3. Can we charge items purchased in the park to our room?
4. Do you get early entry to the parks being a resort guest?
5. Are there any tours or trips that you would recommend of the parks or WDW? And how much are they?
6. Any other hints and tips to make the most of the stay....?!

Thanks for your tips, comments, help and advice!!!

 

[Dj Corona]

Hey Courtman, we always stay at Riverside, so to answer some of your questions....As far as I'm concerned the resort buses are only way to go. Sometimes there might be a wait, and they may be a little crowded, but it's a lot easier then having to drive yourself. See if you can get a room close to the main building though, that way your closer to the main bus stop and everything else, or there could be alot of walking involved if they stick you towards the back of the resort. Yes you can charge things back to your room...your room key doubles as your tickets into the parks, credit card, etc. If you get a chance, try checking out the piano player at the bar at Riverside, especially if there's a bit of a crowd..he's pretty entertaining.There's also horse drawn carriage rides, and a ferry that takes you to Downtown Disney/Pleasure Island. Early entry to the parks varies, as does what will be open once you get there. When you check in they should give you a schedule of anything special like that, including if there are E-ticket nights (stays open later), or if there is anything special going on at all. Hope any of this helps......Enjoy!

 

[mrtoad]

I agree, the boat to DTD is a nice relaxing thing to do. And yes, it is a big resort so try to get kind of close the maing building if possible.

 

[celticdog]

[1]Transportation. Some of the threads on here seem to indicate that the coaches from the resorts to the park are not the way to go. What are they like from POR and if we took the car to the park would we have to pay the parking fee?

As stated before, the buses are fine. Why not let someone else drive? After a long day in the park, why deal with traffic back to the hotel? Besides, at night, it can be a bit confusing driving around WDW. You could take your car and as a resort guest, no you don't have to pay to park. You can either show them your park passes or parking pass from Riverside.

[2]I've been told in an e-mail that our package includes a park hopper ticket. Will this ticket be valid from the start of the first day and run through until the day that we move to Port Canaveral for the cruise? We'd like the opportunity to spend the morning in the park if possible.

Since you booked a package, you have a Unlimited Park Hopper pass (UPH). Which is good from the moment you check-in. Which means, if you want, you can go to any of the parks the night you arrive.

[3]Can we charge items purchased in the park to our room?

Yes, provided you give them a credit card. Which you will have to do anyway, because you've book a land/sea package. Everything on the cruise is charged back to your room. They don't like to deal with that dirty old money on the boat.

[4]Do you get early entry to the parks being a resort guest?

Yes, provided you get up early enough to take advantage of it.

[5]Are there any tours or trips that you would recommend of the parks or WDW? And how much are they?

I have heard Keys to the Kingdom is very good, but i've never taken a tour. I prefer to have flexibility in my schedule.

[5]Any other hints and tips to make the most of the stay....?

Think happy thoughts and just have fun. :sohappy:

 

[mrtoad]

One follow up on what Celticdog said. If it is true that you get the ultimate hopper when you book a package that is great but just make sure if you add the day to your stay it is done within the package or your ultimate hopper would not start until the first day of the package.

 

[wannabeBelle]

Hi all

In January Mrs Courtman and myself will be staying in a WDW Resort for the first time. We have booked a 4-night land / 3-night cruise package staying at Port Orleans Riverside.

We actually arrive in Florida the night before and are going to book an extra night in the hotel so we can go straight to the parks at 9am! I have a number of questions about staying on resort:

1. Transportation. Some of the threads on here seem to indicate that the coaches from the resorts to the park are not the way to go. What are they like from POR and if we took the car to the park would we have to pay the parking fee?
2. I've been told in an e-mail that our package includes a park hopper ticket. Will this ticket be valid from the start of the first day and run through until the day that we move to Port Canaveral for the cruise? We'd like the opportunity to spend the morning in the park if possible.
3. Can we charge items purchased in the park to our room?
4. Do you get early entry to the parks being a resort guest?
5. Are there any tours or trips that you would recommend of the parks or WDW? And how much are they?
6. Any other hints and tips to make the most of the stay....?!

Thanks for your tips, comments, help and advice!!!

Hey there Congrats on a great choice for a resort. PO Riverside is one of my favorites and I have stayed there 2 times this year alone!!!! It really is my Southern home away from home. Definitely make it a point to try Boatwright's for breakfast as soon as possible, you may not want to go to the food court afterwards!!
Transport: As all of the others have said, the bus is really pretty awesome, specially if you want to have a few drinks while you are in the park or in Downtown Disney!!!! No need to worry about getting lost, parking, trams, etc. The only time I would take my car is if I plan on Park Hopping in the middle of the day. As previously mentioned take your parking slip from the resort and all parking in the theme parks is included.
Tickets: If the E mail says you have the Ultimate Park Hopper, you are covered for all admissions to everything including Pleasure Island from the moment you check in until midnight of your check out day!!!
Charges- Yes you can charge a lot of stuff back to the rooms if you put down a credit card for charging purposes. Some of the booths in certain parks dont accept room charges but the vast majority do.
Early Entry- yes this is a perk of staying at the Disney resorts but I havent ever gotten up early enough to take advantage of it, ask for a schedule when you check in!
Tours: I have done the Keys to the Kingdom tour which was wonderful, however as a first timer I would tell you to skip the tours and concentrate on the parks. There is so much to see and do in the main parks that I dont think you will have enough time to see all the regular stuff!!!!! Disney is HUGE!!!!!!! There is just no explaining it. I did this with a first timer in May of this year. This couple was exhausted by the time they were done and they were there for 8 days!!!! And he had wanted to book all of these tours as well. I talked him out of it until we got there and if he still wanted to I showed him where Guest Services was in his resort. He never needed to use that information!!!!
Any other tips: Oh my, Well the best thing I can tell you is to plot out a listing of all of the parks and the hours for each day, choose what park you want to do on which day and select a sit down restaurant for dinner. Make a priority seating for the restaurant by calling 1-407- WDW Dine. They can give you a more up to date listing but for a listing of menus of all of the places to eat in Disney click here: www.allearsnet.com Look under the Dining Section and on your left hit the link that says "The menus!" This is also a great site to read up on the Theme parks, accomodations and so much more. The site is run by a lady named Deb Wills who is just amazing!!! Feel free to check out all her information. If any other questions come about , please post and Ill try to answer them!!! Belle

 

[NTI2002]

First off I ust wana sy HI!
I just joined this forum (it's one of the friendliest I've ever seen)
anywho

here are my tips.
I stayed at RiverSide with my sister and my cousins a few years ago. It's realy beautiful. I really got teh feeling that i was in a southern Byou taken right from teh brain of Tennesee Williams. It's filled with swaps, ponds, and twisting turning paths.
Which leads to my tip. once you get there, really explore the resort. Not jsut becasue it's gourgeous, but because, every time me my sis and my cousins set foot out our doors we got a little lost looking for the bus station lol.

my other tip, Try not to plan too much. on my trips with my family, I found myself always having the most fun when i wake up in the morning, look out of the window of the Polyniesan's Hawaii building and see the Castle across the Seven Seas Lagoon and saying "Well what are we doing today guys?"
Have a great trip!

 

[shelty66]

From POR drive your car to all the parks except the MK. For the MK drive to the old River Country parking lot(7:00). Walk across streat to bus terminal. Take bus to Trails End Breakfast Buffet(opens at 7:30am). After bkfst take very 1st FW boat to MK which (opens at 9:00AM). At POR rooms 1810-1815 are a super location. First floor 50 ft from pool & 1 bldg from Dining hall.

 

[lukacseven]

1. Take advantage of the provided resort bus service to the parks! Pick-up and drop-off right at the front gates, no worries about driving/parking.

2. I've never done a cruise vacation, so see other peoples comments on this topic. But, yes, as someone else stated, immediately following your check-in at night you are free to go to any or all of the parks that are open.

3. Already been covered, yes. Not sure if anyone also mentioned you can have items purchased in the parks sent to your room, so you don't have to carry bags around the park and on the rides aith you.

4. Yes, check to see what parks on what days. Only one park will have early entry on a given day.

5. I would recommend the tour of The Land at Epcot. It is a very interesting tour of the green houses/hatcheries/laboratories. The nice thing is that is only about 90 minutes and while you do get to see alot on the tour, it does not take all day, so there is plenty of time to see the other attractions. I am assuming the tour is not affected by any rehab/construction at the pavillion.

6. Tons of hints/tips! You have plenty of time before your trip, and the internet is full of tips/hints, dependign on what you hope to accomplish. Personally, I'd recommend checking the early entry days and plan on going to those parks on those days. Also note what times what parks are open until. Make your dinner plans ahead of time (usually 90 days). There are menus and pictures posted that give you a pretty good idea what each dining experience is like.

 

[Mom's the word]

Extra tips? Check out some of the on-property, out-of-park dining. We had the most fabulous buffet at AKL in the Boma restaurant. Also, we really love Spoodles at the Boardwalk, which is walking distance from Epcot. Allearsnet is the best information resource, the menus are a terrific help. Have a wonderful trip.