Guest Room Refurbishment Updates

News leaked out this morning, which has just been confirmed by staff at the resort, saying that the scheduled opening date for the new Royal Rooms at Port Orleans Riverside has been delayed, and is currently set for 9 March. The original target date was 17 February, and Disney is currently in the process of contacting every guest who was booked into the new rooms during the intervening three week period to discuss what options are open to them.

While I'm sure every case will be dealt with individually, please remember that the delay is not the fault of the resort staff and they will be doing their best to try to reduce the disappointment to guests, especially children. A number of guests who have been contacted so far have reported that they have been offered generous complimentary upgrades to Disney Deluxe resorts such as the Polynesian.

No reason for the delay has yet been offered.

Update on 5th January:

The resort Cast Members at Port Orleans Riverside are NOT handling the outgoing calls to guests affected by this delay themselves. There is a small team at the Disney Reservations Center who are going through every reservation and contacting the guests directly. This info came directly from a manager at the resort.

Obviously this process will take time, and I'd assume they are probably starting with the earliest reservations and going forward from there. If you are concerned that you have not been contacted after a few days, please try calling the Disney Reservations Center (not the resort directly) and ask to speak to someone on the team handling this situation.

I do not know whether there are any hard-and-fast rules regarding what alternative accommodations may be offered, nor if there is any automatic "water-view for water-view" matching policy in place. Personally, I would think it's more likely that each case will be dealt with individually to try to keep each guest happy, within overall guidelines laid down by the department.

Update on 12th January:

Most guests should have been contacted by now, with a few near the end of the three week period still saying they are awaiting calls. If you do still need confirmation, please leave a voicemail for the Disney Reservations Center special team on 1-407-248-1727, giving your name, reservation number and check-in date, and they will call you back.

The latest info I've seen on the revised refurbishment dates are that Oak Manor (building 90) will now be in progress from 22-January to 9-March, and Parterre Place (building 95) from 11-March to 13-April. Even if some rooms might be ready slightly before then, I really doubt they would now commit them to guests in advance, just not worth the risk.

Update on 2nd February:

It's looking like the initial 256 rooms that will be opened in Oak Manor on 9th March may not be quite enough capacity for all of the guests that are booked into Royal Rooms around the end of March (and I'm guessing this may apply over the Easter period too) so Disney are calling and offering a few more lucky people complimentary upgrades to Deluxe Resorts. This should only effect a few people, but I strongly suspect that if you really insist they would be able to let you stay in one of the Royal Rooms and simply offer the free upgrade to someone else instead.

The second building (Parterre Place) is scheduled to open mid-April (still the 13th at the moment) so after Easter the pressure should ease up.

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

This weekend saw the refurbished opening of the first of the Preferred Location buildings in Port Orleans Riverside's Alligator Bayou section. Building 14 appears to have replaced building 39 in the refurbishment schedule, so with the reopening of building 38 last week, refurbished rooms are now available in AB buildings 14, 36, 37 and 38 (plus the Acadian House and Magnolia Terrace mansion buildings).

There will now be a short break during the holiday period and then work will commence mid-January on converting Oak Manor to the new Royal Rooms. The projected opening date for this section is 17 February, with Parterre Place following a month later. [Update: Opening of Royal Rooms in Oak Manor has been delayed by three weeks to 9 March]

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

The official Disney Parks Blog has just unveiled a brand new preview video showcasing the new Royal Room designs at Port Orleans Riverside which are due to open early in 2012. Click here to read the article and view the video.

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

A visiting guest (KAE2008 from the DISboards) has just reported that refurbishment work has commenced on Alligator Bayou building 14, and possibly 15 soon - which is well ahead of the leaked provisional schedule that we had previously been sent. Looks like building 14 will be open by the weekend of 16 December, so at least one of the 'Preferred Location' buildings will have newly refurbished rooms before Christmas - excellent news!

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

Port Orleans Riverside's Alligator Bayou building 37 re-opened for guests last weekend (19 November) with refurbished rooms, joining building 36 which opened a week earlier. Work starts this week on building 38 (due to be completed by 9 December) and next week on building 39 (due to open by 16 December).

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

At Port Orleans Riverside, the first of the long-awaited Alligator Bayou refurbished rooms are now complete and Building 36 has reopened to the public, right on schedule. Construction workers will now be moving on to buildings 37 and 38, and then 39, all of which should be completed by 15 December - just in time for the Christmas holidays, it's almost as if they planned it that way...

One guest has already posted a few iPhone photos to PhotoBucket, and I've asked if she could maybe send me the original images so we can see more of the details. The soft furnishings look great, and it appears that the elaborate, immersive theming has been carried through with every element - and I adore the Port Orleans details on the new bedspreads! Also note the Alligator motifs on the comforter pillows.

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

As with French Quarter last year, a visiting guest was able to sneak a quick pre-opening look inside one of the newly refurbished rooms in Alligator Bayou building 36 for us on Tuesday 8 Nov, and they look amazing!

The room seems very true to the original rustic concept, but perhaps going even a little further than before - note that as I said a while back, the flooring in the bathroom has been retained, plus those lovely wood-hewn bed heads. The rustic planking effect in the bathroom and for the carpet are also nice touches. The new pull-down bed looks great too - complete with a picture of Louis from Princess and the Frog inside. Obviously there are still finishing touches to be done (such as the bedding and curtains) and you'll note that the cover isn't on the A/C unit yet, but so far it looks like they've done a fabulous job - although I too have some serious concerns about the amount of storage space provided for five people and all their luggage. Not sure if the section under the murphy bed is three drawers or one large one as there don't seem to be any handles on it as yet. And is it just me, or are there an awful lot of different wood colours going on? Perhaps that's deliberate to tie in with the backwater bayou theme though.

The first rooms are due to open for guests in a few days time.

Beth's comments about the room are as follows:

OK-I just got back today and have pictures of Bldg 36!!!! First off, it is nowhere near finished. One of the guys showed me into a room that he said was "more done" than the rest of them and it was not all the way finished by any means. It didn't look like they had started on 37-38 either.

Anyway, there is a fold down bed like the previous pictures of Aulani; it is where the old wardrobe/TV furniture used to be. The TV is mounted high on the wall, then there is the fold down murphy bed (sideways) that looks like a bench seat with maybe some drawer space underneath that. The refrigerator is besides it with a few very small drawers attached to the side. Overall there is very little drawer space compared to the old wardrobes. The bed was fairly good sized and would sleep someone up to 5 feet tall I believe. The problem is where are 5 people going to put all their stuff in that room?

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

Room refurbishment work commences this week on the first of the sixteen Alligator Bayou Lodges (building 36, which is due to be completed around 13 November). Buildings 37, 38 and 39 will follow at approximately two-weekly intervals, with all of these first four buildings being completed by 16 December in time for the busy Christmas period.

Note: The new Alligator Bayou rooms WILL still feature an extra bed option for a fifth person to sleep in the room, but rather than the previous trundle bed arrangement (which presumably would not work as well with the new queen-size beds) there will be a new murphy-style bed which will pull down from the wall beneath the TV.

After Christmas, work will shift back over to the two remaining Magnolia Bend mansion buildings, Oak Manor and then Parterre Place, both of which will be completely converted to feature the brand new Royal Rooms. Oak Manor will reopen by 17 February, and Parterre Place just over a month later. Once those are fully complete, the rest of Alligator Bayou will be refurbished.

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

The Magnolia Terrace mansion building should be fully re-opened for guests this weekend. Many of the rooms were brought back into inventory last week (some as early as 19th August in fact) and the remainder should now be ready.

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

According to a DISboards posting, Acadian House has now been re-opened for guests.

We're still waiting to see the first photos, but the guest checked in on Thursday 4th August and has described the newly refurbished room as follows:

Room is nice and has that fresh paint smell. I have never stayed in a Manor room before but based on pics I have seen. There are new headboards with pictures on them. One of a plantation home and the other of a paddle wheel boat. Otherwise the rooms look the same and the new tv stand looks like the one from POFQ rehab pics I have seen.

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

It has recently been confirmed by a visiting guest that Acadian House was being closed down by sections at the end of last week (June 24) and a sizable area of the Acadian parking lot was already set aside for construction equipment and vehicles. So it looks like work has commenced as planned, and the countdown is now on until the targeted completion date for this first building of 5th August. There is no indication as yet whether the building might be reopened in phases, or all at once.

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

Today's Disney Parks Blog has provided us with the first actual photos of the new Royal Guest Room concept destined for the Port Orleans Riverside mansion buildings. Travel Agents were given a sneak peek a few weeks ago, but at that stage photography was not allowed.

As we reported a few days ago, bookings are now live on the Walt Disney World website, with room availability starting from 4 March 2012.

Disney Parks Blog wrote: Opening in early Spring 2012, the Royal Guest Rooms at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside allow princes and princesses of all ages to stay where Disney royalty have stayed. Guests find regal touches left behind by some of their favorite Disney characters like fiber optics special effects above ornately decorated beds with gold and crystal accents; custom linens and drapes; and in-room art and details including princely banners and princess friends. The 512 Royal Guest Rooms start at $189 per night.

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

The following dates include some overlap between buildings, and are obviously always going to be SUBJECT TO CHANGE, so please don't make your wedding plans based on them! I have deliberately not quoted the planned completion dates to avoid anyone getting disappointed.

• Magnolia Bend, Acadian House: starts 26 June 2011, for approx. six weeks
• Magnolia Bend, Magnolia Terrace: starts 31 July 2011, for approx. six weeks
• Alligator Bayou, Lodges 36, 37, 38, 39: starts 25 October 2011, for approx. eight weeks
• Magnolia Bend, Oak Manor: starts 15 January 2012, for approx. five weeks [Royal Themed Rooms]
• Magnolia Bend, Parterre Place: starts 19 February 2012, for approx. five weeks [Royal Themed Rooms]
• Alligator Bayou, Lodges 24, 16, 17, 28: starts 3 April 2012, for approx. eight weeks
• Alligator Bayou, Lodges 14, 27, 18, 15: starts 8 May 2012, for approx. seven weeks
• Alligator Bayou, Lodges 25, 35, 26, 34: starts 5 June 2012, for approx. eight weeks

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

As part of a press event, journalists from the press and online sites received a tour of Port Orleans to view the various new features, including a tour of the refurbished and Accessible rooms at French Quarter, plus previewing the model room for the new Royal Themed rooms at Riverside.

Great review with some photos from Deb Koma at AllEars.net.

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

The latest information regarding the Port Orleans Riverside room refurbishment project indicates that work will commence on 26 June 2011, starting with the Acadian House mansion building (building 80).

Also, the 512 rooms which will receive the new 'Royal' makeovers will definitely be located, as previously expected, in Oak Manor and Parterre Place (buildings 90 and 95) and work on those will commence in late January 2012.

Nothing has yet been confirmed regarding any specific start dates for work on the Alligator Bayou lodges, but the estimated completion time for the whole resort is still being quoted as April/May 2012.

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

The Disney Parks Blog has just confirmed that the much anticipated 'Royal' themed rooms will be coming to Port Orleans Riverside during the upcoming refurbishment. One-quarter of the resort's room capacity will be given over to the new themed rooms.

Jennifer Fickley-Baker, Disney Parks Social Media Manager wrote: Exciting enhancements also are taking place over at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort, with 512 Royal Guest Rooms planned to debut by March 2012. The story behind these lush rooms is that Princess Tiana (“The Princess and The Frog”) invited some of her royal pals – Belle (“Beauty and the Beast”), Jasmine (“Aladdin”) and more – for a vacation getaway. Princes and princesses of all ages can enjoy their luxurious lodging quarters, which will include ornate beds that feature headboards with fiber-optic special effects, and gold and crystal accents. Guests also can enjoy artwork and special mementos left by Tiana’s royal friends.

• Ornately decorated beds that include headboards with fiber optic special effects and gold and crystal accents.
• Custom bed coverings and drapes that create a more luxurious “royal” experience.
• Unique, in-room artwork featuring Tiana and her royal visitors.

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

The following tentative refurbishment dates come from what should normally be a reliable source of information, but they seem very much at odds with the other details floating around from cast members at the moment. I guess these dates would only make sense if the Alligator Bayou buildings are going to be slotted in during the same time frame? Anyway, until work actually commences this is all merely speculation and should be treated as such.

Acadian House: 19 June - 29 July 2011
Magnolia Terrace: 24 July - 2 September 2011
Parterre Place: 8 January 2012 - 17 February 2012
Oak Manor: 12 February - 23 March 2012

[Update: these dates actually tie in very well with the recently announced news of the Royal themed rooms, which would explain the changes from some earlier rumoured dates and they do now seem a lot more likely to be accurate. Another online posting has indicated that the first Alligator Bayou sections may commence work in July too]

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

Refurbishment work on the final building at Port Orleans French Quarter was completed right on schedule, and building 3 was officially rededicated on Friday 15th April 2011. All rooms are now open to guests.

Work on Port Orleans Riverside is due to commence within "about six weeks" according to an insider, although earlier sources had quoted the first weekend after Easter.

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

The final building at Port Orleans French Quarter, building 3, is now undergoing refurbishment. Building 2 was completed around the end of last week and its rooms are now occupied. Work commenced on the one remaining building at the start of this week and progress is still well on target for completion of the whole resort by the weekend before Easter.

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

The latest reports from Port Orleans French Quarter indicate that the three-week timeline for the refurbishment of each building is still right on schedule. Building 1 is now fully completed and occupied, and work commenced on building 2 on Monday 7th March. This should hopefully mean that the final building (number 3) will start work around Monday 28th March and the whole resort will be complete by the weekend before Easter, just in time for the very busy Easter break period.

I'm guessing that work on Port Orleans Riverside’s Parterre Place will not start until after Easter, so maybe we’ll see work commence there around Monday 2nd May? Keep watching here, or subscribe to our RSS News Feed, for the latest updates.

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

With the Port Orleans French Quarter room refurbishment now approaching its two-thirds stage, and completion looking to be on schedule for before Easter 2011, firmer news is starting to emerge about the second phase of the project, Port Orleans Riverside. One guest recently received an email from Walt Disney World Guest Relations indicating an expected time scale for this work:

Thank you for contacting the Walt Disney World® Resort.

In order for Disney's Port Orleans Resort - Riverside to continue to flourish as a magical destination, it is necessary for us to make enhancements from time to time. As a result in May 2011, the resort will begin going through a refurbishment to replace the double beds rooms with queen beds. The refurbishment work is expected to continue through Spring 2012 for our Guests' future enjoyment.

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

The latest reports from ‘the Port’ indicate that building 1 of Port Orleans French Quarter commenced its refurbishment work around Monday 14 February, and that building 5 is now either fully complete or almost there.

It looks as though the schedule is calling for work to start on each new building at three-week intervals, but this is currently slightly overlapping with completion of the final touches on the previous one. At this rate though, the whole resort could possibly be done by around the end of March.

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

Refurbishment work on building 4 at Port Orleans French Quarter is now just about complete, with some rooms already added back into the resort’s inventory over the weekend, and the remainder due to be available by the middle of this week. Building 5 is the next on the construction schedule, and workers are already starting to transfer over to that location.

There has still been no official announcement from Disney about this project, but given the progress so far I would expect that either building 2 or 3 would be next for refurbishment. My money would on building 2 — unless, of course, they decide to work from the outside inward again, which would mean building 1.

Presumably the overall target is to complete the whole resort before the start of the busy Easter period. As always, stay tuned to portorleans.org for the latest news.

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

Refurbishment work is due to commence on the next section of Port Orleans French Quarter (building 4) very early in the New Year. The work on building 4 will take approximately four weeks and the whole project is currently running to time, or even slightly ahead of schedule.

Wishing everyone at Port Orleans - guests and cast members - a Very Happy New Year.

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

French Quarter building 6 renovation work is now completed, with the top floor having been open to guests for a few days now. The building was officially re-opened with a special ribbon-cutting ceremony on 17 December.

The resorts are in full Christmas swing now, with several guests reporting Christmas Carolers singing in the Sassagoula Floatworks & Food Factory at breakfast time on Thursday morning. Sounds lovely.

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas. Season's Greetings!

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

Now that refurbishment work on French Quarter building 7 has been completed and rooms have been reopened for guest use, new construction signs went up today saying please pardon the work around building 6. Sections of the parking lot serving buildings 5 and 6 were roped off and guests were asked to ensure that all vehicles had been removed from that area by the end of Sunday evening as construction equipment would be moved in to start work on Monday morning (29 November).

It seems that they are working to a four-week schedule for each building, although it might also make sense for them to take a week’s break over Christmas when the resort would presumably expect to be fully booked.

[UPDATE 6 December] “The workers are very busy on building 6, arriving at 7am and leaving as late as 10pm.” No wonder progress is so quick!

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

More photos added on 26 November

First reports have arrived of guests being allocated newly refurbished rooms in building 7 at Port Orleans French Quarter, check out the DISboards thread for discussions. The first rooms were allocated for guests sometime during the afternoon of 19th November.

We’ve been sent some great new first snaps, they’re taken with a camera phone but still give a great taster of the new decor — loving the regal purple and gold bedspreads now we can see the detail!

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

A few more ‘sneaky’ photos have been posted on the Port Orleans French Quarter FAQ Thread on the DISboards. These were taken through the windows of a couple of finished rooms in building 7 (including 7138 on the ground floor) and they show the bedspreads too. These actually look rather more purple/blue tinted than I remember, but I guess it’s tricky to tell from covert photos snapped between the window blinds.

Still no news of anyone staying at the resort who has actually been assigned one of the refurbished rooms yet, but it can’t be long now.

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

I just received an email from a guest who phoned the resort’s front desk this morning — although she would probably have got through to the WDW central switchboard:

I just wanted to share an update on the room renovations. We are going in 9 days and I just called the front desk to see if Building 7 would be open. According to the agent, her notes indicate that the building is to go back online today

My family and I are checking in on Wednesday, and I just called and asked if we could possibly stay in a refurbished room. I was happily told by Chris at the front desk that we will be in one of the new rooms in Building 7. I'll send an update when I can!

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

These images just in from our brave “top secret agent” guest, who noticed that someone had inadvertently left one of the doors open in the newly refurbished (but as yet unopened) section of Port Orleans French Quarter. Many thanks for emailing them to me.

Remember, these (ever so slightly unauthorised!) photos are of an incomplete room, as yet without bedcovers, shower curtain, etc. We also don't know whether there are any more changes to be made to the fittings/etc before these rooms are opened for guest use — the test room that I managed to peek into a few weeks earlier had slightly different bed headboards for example, closer to the style of those in the Riverside Magnolia Bend section.

However, even with the above caveats I'm guessing people will still want to see these sneak peeks... Enjoy!

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

Quote from a guest who has just returned from Port Orleans French Quarter, and which matches closely with what I managed to glimpse of one of the test rooms:

I asked at the concierge desk earlier this week about the refurb details and was invited backstage to see the display board! No pics allowed but they knew I was going to post some info. Unfortunately, it has been days since I saw the display, so I don't remember as much as I wish I did.

The colors are based on shades of the colors of the beads they give you in the lobby — gold, green, and purple — but not garish, more muted and the purple more royal. No blue in the room. Walls are a yellow cream with a cream and gold border at the ceiling. Bedspread is green with a gold design (possibly matching the border, but not sure) — not as bright or multicolored as the current spread — more elegant. I think the carpet was green. I can't remember the color of the chairs or curtains, nor do I remember the look of the table. The nightstand is smaller to accommodate the queen beds. The dresser includes the refrigerator, all one unit. Dark wood with some lighter inlays on the end. Flat screen TV.

In the vanity area, there is one long unit with two bowls instead of two pedestal sinks. I couldn't tell from the picture if the shelf that is currently above the sinks is still there. Dark wood trim around the vanity but open below, not a cabinet.

Someone wondered about the pictures in the rooms. They will remain, not being replaced.

Overall, I think the room looks very mature and tasteful.

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

The guest-room refurbishment process at Port Orleans French Quarter has now commenced. Work started on building 7 on Monday 1 November 2010, initially with floors two and three of the building which are now designated as hard-hat construction areas and are thus off-limits to all guests and resort cast members. A large area of the parking lot next to building 7 is currently fenced off for materials storage and dumping of scrap material.

The expectation is that each building will take approximately one month to update, with the whole resort being completed by April 2011. After that work will commence on the mansion buildings at Port Orleans Riverside and then finally the Riverside Alligator Bayou section. The whole process is expected to take between 12 and 18 months.

A test room — corner room 7116 — was completed a while ago, but the resort managers are not allowing any guests to view it at the moment (no matter how much you plead). Luckily the blinds were not completely closed, so it was possible to sneak a peek at some of the interior detail such as the expected flat-screen TV and queen size beds. The basic colour scheme appears to be in greens and yellows, with gold accents and dark wood furniture.

The new bedspreads are a fairly dark green with ornate golden flourish detailing, and the headboards resemble those in the Riverside mansion buildings. The carpet is a lighter green with yellow/gold details (again, much like the current mansion buildings at Riverside) and the curtains are pale yellow. The wash area retains the traditional twin-sink layout but with a shallow dark wood pelmet-style surround, decorated to look like drawers. The ornate detailing in the corners of the archway to the wash area has been retained.

More info as soon as anyone manages to get a better look (or photos!) inside a refurbished room, but we can certainly expect building 7 to be completed and available for guests sometime between the end of November and Christmas. Please remember that there are no guarantees that you will get any particular location, but it certainly can’t do any harm to put in a request...

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

French Quarter room rehabs are starting around now, as we already knew, followed by Riverside. Once the process gains momentum, two buildings may be done at a time for speed. The rooms will be completely gutted and fully renovated (including replacing bath tubs, basins, etc). New small cupboards with drawers will be added to the bathrooms. Flat screen TVs will be added on dresser-style units, with drawers underneath, and the old Riverside tall armoires will be removed.

I’ve also heard that the bedside tables will be made smaller (18 inches wide) to allow for... queen beds! From what I’ve gathered, the third-bed option in the Alligator Bayou rooms will be retained, but probably not in the form of the current trundle beds due to adverse guest comments about them being rather low to the ground. The talk I heard was of some sort of Murphy bed arrangement which might pull down from the wall, but I can't see quite how that would fit into the room layout, especially with connecting rooms. Time will tell on that one, I suspect.

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

A guest visiting the resort last week asked a manager at Port Orleans French Quarter about the rehabs and the possible new room themes. She was told that everything is still just conjecture at this point as far as the different themes go, but that if it did happen it would be only be a portion of the rooms, and that those rooms would be at Riverside rather than French Quarter.

The manager did however confirm that both resorts were definitely going to be refurbished and the work should take 18 months or so to complete. French Quarter would be started first (pretty much imminently) and would be completely finished by April 2011. She also mentioned that she had seen samples of the new carpet and it looked fabulous.

[Discuss this item in our Forums]

Back in March 2010, Disney filed work permit paperwork with the Orange County Comptroller’s offices for “guest room renovation” work to be undertaken at Port Orleans French Quarter by Friedrich Watkins Company of Orlando, FL — the same company which did the last series of Port Orleans room refurbs in 2004. This new work permit referred only to Building 7, and stated that the work must commence sometime before mid-March 2011.

More work permits were filed in June 2010 for room renovations to Port Orleans Riverside buildings 24 and 95 (Parterre Place) with commencement dates sometime before June 2011. Most recently, in July 2010, more permit paperwork was filed to cover all of the remaining sections of Port Orleans French Quarter (buildings 1 to 6), also with a requirement to commence work by March 2011.

There is still no official word from Disney about the refurbishments but the nearby DVC resort of Old Key West is in the process of having all of its rooms updated (based on permits issued at the start of April).

The last series of room refurbishments (2004/05) progressed at a rate of approximately 64 rooms per week and were carried out by the same company without requiring major closures or impacting on guest experience.

For other rehab news, check out Mouse Planet and wdwmagic.com.

[Discuss this item in our Forums]