Port Orleans News

The on-going issues with the replacement of fridges at most Disney resorts due to safety concerns are sadly not quite behind us yet, at least not for all guests.

First the good news: If you are staying at Port Orleans French Quarter, you should now be OK. All rooms should now have working fridges installed, although staff do still need to do a 100% room audit next week to confirm that their inventory lists are fully correct. But there should no longer be any need to make special requests.

Port Orleans Riverside guests, however, are not going to be so lucky. There has been no improvement at POR over the last month or so, and the number of rooms with working fridges currently stands at around 40%. About half of these are needed to help satisfy guests with medical or other special requirements (including moving fridges around between guest stays) so the 'random chance' of you happening to get a working fridge is currently only about 20%.

Maintenance staff have now physically removed the old affected units (rather than leaving them in situ with a warning letter) but unfortunately the next batch of replacement fridges - which was originally hoped for around the start of November - is now looking to be nearer the end of the month. No confirmed dates are available yet, but as soon as I can let you know anything more specific I will post the information here.

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The gorgeously detailed and themed comforter bedspreads which formed so much of the initial impact of that first moment when you walk into a Port Orleans guest room appear to have been removed. According to reports from current guests (in Alligator Bayou and French Quarter so far) there isn't even a "bed scarf" now (that strip of decorative fabric which some hotels place along the foot of their beds) to mitigate an otherwise clean & sterile expanse of 'hospital' white.

Before & After:

Over the next couple of weeks there will be some adjustments to the Sassagoula River Ferry service to and from Downtown Disney due to the upcoming annual Orlando International Dragon Boat Festival (18-19 Oct) and the various planned events on Lake Buena Vista at Downtown Disney.



Race Hours:
18 October: 6:00pm - 8:00pm
19 October: 8:00am - 5:00pm

The resort ferry services affected are Old Key West, Port Orleans Riverside, Port Orleans French Quarter and Saratoga Springs, and additional buses will be provided during these times.

Most of the the ferry boats will not be running during the following periods:
9 October: 4:35pm - 6:45pm
10-17 October: 10:00am - 11:00am and 3:15pm - 6:45pm
18 October: 10:00am - 11:00am and 3:15pm - closing
19 October: 10:00am - 5:30pm

Update on 9 Oct:

I've just heard that the Port Orleans river ferry services to and from Downtown Disney will only be impacted on the main day of the races, Saturday 19 October. On that day, there will be no river ferry service until 5:30pm. Prior to that, the Port Orleans river ferry service will operate as normal.

The October 2013 Recreation Activities and Movie Schedules for Port Orleans Riverside and Port Orleans French Quarter are now available, including special Halloween activities. See the main Recreation Activities Schedule page for full-size PDF versions, or click on the images below.

The evening campfires commence at 6pm this month, and the Movies Under the Stars will be screened at 8pm (except for Halloween which will be 7pm/9pm).

Halloween Activities for 31 October include:

• Disney Character Meet & Greets
• Candy Corn Guessing Contests
• Scavenger Hunts
• Cake Walks
• Monster Mash Dance Party
• Costume Contest (all ages)
• Pumpkin Decorating & Crafts
• Trick-or-Treating
• Haunted Campfires

There has been a TV screen sitting quietly and unobtrusively at the Port Orleans Riverside South Depot for some time now, and it has recently been turned on. Now guests waiting at the bus stop can get a real-time estimation of when the next Disney Bus for their destination should arrive:



The information should get updated immediately as busses are changed or delayed, and if new ones are deployed to a route, and it is all based on the central despatch system linked to the GPS tracking devices fitted to all of the buses in Disney's fleet.

At present this is only at the Riverside South Depot with no immediate plans for the outer stops or French Quarter, but it's still a very nice start!

(Thanks for the photo D!)