Port Orleans News

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I've just had confirmation that the "Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory" food court at Port Orleans French Quarter will be reopening to guests on Saturday 19 November, featuring "American cooking inspired by the flavors of New Orleans". There will be some brand new menu items, plus some old favourites of course. After a couple of days of internal menu testing, the official ribbon-cutting ceremony will be at 8:30am on 19 November.

And of course it wouldn't be French Quarter without...

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The November 2016 Recreation Activities and Movie Schedules for Port Orleans Riverside and Port Orleans French Quarter are now available. See the main Recreation Activities Schedules page for full-size printable PDF versions.

The main feature swimming pool opening hours will remain at 9am-10pm during November. The evening campfires will operate from 4:30pm until 6pm this month, and the Movies Under the Stars will be screened at 7:00pm, with both activities occurring on alternating days at the two resorts — Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday at Riverside, and Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday at French Quarter.


Live Evening Entertainment

No visit to Port Orleans Riverside would be complete without spending an evening in the company of the legendary "Ye Haa" Bob Jackson at the River Roost Lounge, playing 8:30pm—midnight four nights a week (Weds—Sat).
Note: Due to other commitments, Bob will not be performing his regular Port Orleans shows on Saturday 29 October, Thursday 3 November or Friday 4 November.

Port Orleans French Quarter’s Scat Cat’s Club does not currently have official resident musicians, but filling the gap admirably are Jason Thomas and Billy Varnes, two members of the fabulous Off Kilter rock band which used to perform in Epcot’s Canada pavilion. Their dates are only announced a month or so in advance (generally most Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays) but if you happen to be around for any of their evenings (8pm—11pm) do yourself a favour and pop along, they are highly recommended.
Jason & Billy at Scat Cat’s, November 2016 (Saturday—Tuesday): November 5, 7, 12, 13, 14, 20, 21, 26, 27 & 28. Jason will be playing with Greg Hayworth on November 8, 15, 22 & 29. No shows are scheduled for November 1, 16 & 19.

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I'm sure everyone has been following the news of Hurricane Matthew, which is now hours away from reaching the Florida coastline and is then expected to push its way up the East coast over the next couple of days. Most of central Florida is now on high alert, and Disney have announced that the theme parks will all close at 5pm on Thursday and remain closed all day on Friday, with any outdoor events (such as the Halloween parties) cancelled.

The Fort Wilderness Campground has been completely evacuated, and the treehouse villas at Saratoga Springs (next to the Sassagoula River) and the lagoon-side bungalows at the Polynesian Village Resort are also being closed for the duration and guests relocated.

The resorts will be laying on extra support - food, drink, supplies, entertainment, etc - for guests who will presumably be advised to remain in their rooms during the worst periods of the impending weather system, which currently looks likely to be around the middle of the day on Friday.

I'll post more information on what Port Orleans are doing as-and-when I get updates. Obviously the situation is very fluid at the moment, as the predicted track and severity of the storm changes hour-by-hour, and multiple contingency plans are being put into operation.

My thoughts are with the cast members and guests at my favourite place right now - hunker down and stay safe everyone.

[Update on Friday morning] I've heard that in the expectation of the food courts being closed on Friday, the WDW resorts have been selling emergency snack boxes containing a very small sandwich, a piece of fruit, packet of chips, and a tiny cookie (not even a drink) for $12.99! This really smells like gouging to me - IMHO these should be provided for free to all guests who will be effectively trapped in their rooms. However I gather that if you complain, the cost is being refunded - I guess the cast members must feel guilty about charging for it too. And it probably goes without saying, but all Disney transportation will be shut down for the whole of Friday, and the airports are closed to all commercial flights too.

[Update on Friday afternoon] The resort food courts re-opened for breakfast this morning, initially with slightly limited menus to help process the heavy demand as quickly as possible. With the hurricane now past the Orlando area, the Walt Disney World theme parks are scheduled to be open tomorrow (Saturday) at 8am, with everything else following soon after. Disney Springs will be re-opening around 5pm on Friday evening, although probably not everything will be open initially.

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