Port Orleans Re-Opening

JIMINYCR

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
UNCgolf said:
Despite staying at POR several times I've never eaten at Boatwright's -- never been interested (as I mentioned above). I understand I haven't missed anything.
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Yes, POFQ is sorely lacking in the food court quality and number of menu items available, and could do with its own restaurant. On our 2018 trip we ate at Boatwrights because we were checking out of POFQ the next morning and DW wanted to pack up, get everything ready for the long drive and get to bed early. So we dined at Boatwrights... I was hesitant to do it because of the reviews I had read in the past. But DW, DS and I were pleasantly surprised by the meals we received. The service was also very attentive to us. I would give it another chance on a return trip.
 
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djsamuel

New Member
I was driving by Port Orleans Wednesday and you could see forklifts taking pallets of boxes into the building. The landscaping looks great and the bushes have been freshly trimmed. Looks like they are preparing for something, yet nothing has been announced.
 
The_Jobu

The_Jobu

Well-Known Member
Man it's slim pickins out there right now, I'd be happy to see the moderates re-open.

I booked Pop ages ago and now I need to add on a few days and there's nothing except an $800 a night room at GF (way out of my budget). Even all the dvc websites that have pre-booked reservations at discounts are selling at practically rack rates, no savings at all. And they dont have values and moderates, obviously.

Right now I extended my Universal hotel to fill in the days, but it'd be easier if I was staying at Disney while I visited the parks.
 
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LovePop

LovePop

Well-Known Member
The most recent reopening announcement is for AKL Jambo House, and the date is Aug 26, and even then there's no mentioning of Port Orleans. So one can expect Port Orleans and the other All Stars to open much later than that.
Disney is reopening the deluxe hotels first before the moderate/values, probably because they require a lot more staffing so it's harder to do, especially now with all the labor shortages. However, I expect all hotels will reopen by Thanksgiving to cash in on the holiday season. It would be so weird of Disney to miss out on the holiday bucks. And then there's October 1st, the 50th celebration. You would think all hotels should be reopened for that.
 
muddyrivers

muddyrivers

Well-Known Member
djsamuel said:
I was driving by Port Orleans Wednesday and you could see forklifts taking pallets of boxes into the building. The landscaping looks great and the bushes have been freshly trimmed. Looks like they are preparing for something, yet nothing has been announced.
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Maintenance has been keeping the property clean and plants kept throughout the pandemic. Locals have driven by sharing photos and the resort looks like it has been ready to open for months now. I wouldn't read too much into this unfortunately.

LovePop said:
The most recent reopening announcement is for AKL Jambo House, and the date is Aug 26, and even then there's no mentioning of Port Orleans. So one can expect Port Orleans and the other All Stars to open much later than that.
Disney is reopening the deluxe hotels first before the moderate/values, probably because they require a lot more staffing so it's harder to do, especially now with all the labor shortages. However, I expect all hotels will reopen by Thanksgiving to cash in on the holiday season. It would be so weird of Disney to miss out on the holiday bucks. And then there's October 1st, the 50th celebration. You would think all hotels should be reopened for that.
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I recall after 9/11 Port Orleans was one of the last resorts to reopen after being shuttered because as you said, it is a large resort (I think POR and POFQ together have more rooms than any other resort -- although I could be wrong) and requires a lot of staffing. If they're not going to be able to keep the resort at a high % of its capacity, it isn't worth the effort and cost to open it just yet.
 
CastAStone

CastAStone

5th gate? Just build a new resort Bob.
LovePop said:
Disney is reopening the deluxe hotels first before the moderate/values, probably because they require a lot more staffing so it's harder to do, especially now with all the labor shortages.
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Close! They’re reopening the Deluxes because they have DVCs attached so the back-of-house areas are already 1) full open and 2) mostly staffed. That’s also now true of the All Stars with Movies open, but Music and Sports are under active renovation so might as well knock that out now while they don’t need the rooms. Port Orleans has its own shared back of house facility, so its the only facility that’s still completely closed.
 
Ayla

Ayla

Well-Known Member
Disone said:
Depending on the timing of the refund and one's ability to front the money for the charge if the refund doesn't come in on time, it can definitely cost you money.
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I guess it's all in how you look at it. You're refunded all the money, so it costs you nothing. It ends up being a wash.
 
Disone

Disone

Well-Known Member
Ayla said:
I guess it's all in how you look at it. You're refunded all the money, so it costs you nothing. It ends up being a wash.
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Unless the refund does not hit in the same cycle in which case you have to front the money or pay interest to your credit card.
 
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Fanthomastic

New Member
Dave B said:
My wife was reading on her facebook Disney groupover the weekend that Port Orleans is scheduled to re-open July 1st, anyone here have info?
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Even though it’s a moderate, is still one of our two favorite resorts at WDW. We have a trip planned next month and are stuck at Pop Century. I called yesterday to ask if there was any word on a PO opening and the agent has not heard a thing unfortunately. I’d have happily switched.
 
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Raxel7851

Well-Known Member
We are Avid fans of POFQ having stayed there many times over the years. We consider it our “Go To” resort. We’ve also stayed at most of the Deluxe resorts a few times when POFQ wasn’t available. In May we decided to try POP for a few days before our GF stay. Never having stayed there, we found it a very nice resort. The grounds were beautiful and the theming was pretty cool. We would certainly consider staying there for a split stay. I’d never consider myself being “Stuck” there.
 
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Fanthomastic

New Member
Raxel7851 said:
We are Avid fans of POFQ having stayed there many times over the years. We consider it our “Go To” resort. We’ve also stayed at most of the Deluxe resorts a few times when POFQ wasn’t available. In May we decided to try POP for a few days before our GF stay. Never having stayed there, we found it a very nice resort. The grounds were beautiful and the theming was pretty cool. We would certainly consider staying there for a split stay. I’d never consider myself being “Stuck” there.
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Last time we were there, we were truly stuck. Lol. It was during one of the major hurricanes and there was a resort wide curfew that mandated everyone to their rooms in the early evening, as the hurricane was passing through overnight. The resort stores and food courts were an absolute zoo! When the hurricane was coming through, the winds hitting the exterior door to the room that wasn’t perfectly air tight created the eeriest sound imaginable. My wife was 8 months pregnant and we thought it was going to throw her into labor.

we also stayed at the WL during another hurricane lock down. Because all rooms have interior doors there, guests weren’t mandated to their rooms and Disney had characters on site to spend time with the young ones. That was great. To make it even better, Disney gave all guests an additional day admission into the theme parks to be used any time.
 
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buckeyegator

Well-Known Member
Fanthomastic said:
Last time we were there, we were truly stuck. Lol. It was during one of the major hurricanes and there was a resort wide curfew that mandated everyone to their rooms in the early evening, as the hurricane was passing through overnight. The resort stores and food courts were an absolute zoo! When the hurricane was coming through, the winds hitting the exterior door to the room that wasn’t perfectly air tight created the eeriest sound imaginable. My wife was 8 months pregnant and we thought it was going to throw her into labor.

we also stayed at the WL during another hurricane lock down. Because all rooms have interior doors there, guests weren’t mandated to their rooms and Disney had characters on site to spend time with the young ones. That was great. To make it even better, Disney gave all guests an additional day admission into the theme parks to be used any time.
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let us know when you are going again so we can be prepared, lol......
 
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djsamuel

New Member
muddyrivers said:
Maintenance has been keeping the property clean and plants kept throughout the pandemic. Locals have driven by sharing photos and the resort looks like it has been ready to open for months now. I wouldn't read too much into this unfortunately.


I recall after 9/11 Port Orleans was one of the last resorts to reopen after being shuttered because as you said, it is a large resort (I think POR and POFQ together have more rooms than any other resort -- although I could be wrong) and requires a lot of staffing. If they're not going to be able to keep the resort at a high % of its capacity, it isn't worth the effort and cost to open it just yet.
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Agree about the work being done over this whole time. I drive by there frequently, often when coming home from work, and it's always looked nice. I just noticed the other day that the activity has picked up and I've never seen that many boxes being taken inside by forklifts.

After 9/11 they had Riverside only open while French Quarter remained closed for quite a while. I am wondering if they will do the same here.
 
Horizons '83

Horizons '83

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
You'd think I would have paid better attention here, but what is the general consensus on PO vs. Riverside. Is the main difference size and noise level?
 
fbp

fbp

Well-Known Member
TJ Vazquez said:
You'd think I would have paid better attention here, but what is the general consensus on PO vs. Riverside. Is the main difference size and noise level?
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I love both equally for different reasons. I've found both very quiet.

POFQ - extremely compact and walkable, very unique hotel grounds, the man in the fun hat that greets you
POR - grounds are like walking through a Disneyfied bayou/swamp, water wheel and bridges are really cool, two fun bars, Yeehaw Bob (maybe)
 

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