Port Orleans News

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

The outdoor movies will start at 9pm and the daily campfires commence at 7pm this month.

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

The outdoor movies will start at 9pm and the daily campfires commence at 7pm this month.

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

The outdoor movies will start at 9pm and the daily campfires commence at 7pm this month.

According to DISboards member and Port Orleans French Quarter regular 'cruisingkat', POFQ's resident multi-talented jazz musician Elliot Dyson has been let go by Disney. Anyone who has spent any time at the resort will be familiar with Elliot's nightly laid-back jazz sessions at Scat Cat's Club which are a signature attraction of the resort, and I know he will be greatly missed by a lot of folks.

cruisngkat wrote:We go to Disney at least 5 times a year and see him each time we visit. We received a text from Elliot telling us he has been let go. We saw him this past Wednesday and Thursday nights (4/24 & 4/25) and he told us May 4 will be his last night performing at Disney as his contract was terminated.

As a result of being in that space, we have suspended all entertainment in that area due to the change in Guest flow and noise concerns. Elliot will be on hiatus during the refurbishment and we will have entertainment return after everything is completed. Our entertainment partners are part of the process and with the refurbishment will be looking at the offerings at French Quarter to ensure that our offerings match the quality, spirit and theme of the resort. This means that Elliot could easily return after the re-opening, however this has not been confirmed. The news of him let go is only referring to the time of the refurbishment.

The washing machines and dryers in the Port Orleans French Quarter Laundry Room (located near to the Doubloon Lagoon swimming pool) are now cashless and you will only be able to pay using a credit or debit card. This is initially a six-month trial and there are no immediate plans to extend it to any of the Riverside laundry rooms (as yet, anyway).

Strangely though, there is no facility to pay using your Key-to-the-World card (room charge) which given the current major push towards contactless payment using room keycards everywhere at Walt Disney World, and the upcoming personalised Magic Band system, does seem a little odd. Perhaps the new RFID payment technology isn't yet ready to be left on its own as a stand-alone unit without CM supervision?

I assume this is primarily an effort to cut down on maintenance costs and provide a more consistent service for guests, but it will also help to reduce the risk of vandalism and theft which has been an issue with cash boxes in the past.


Update on 29 March 2015:

Apparently the Riverside laundries are going cashless too now, and will soon be only accepting credit or debit card payments.

The laundry room near building 18 is already done, and the room near building 25 is closed at the moment so presumably they are currently updating that one. I'll post a further update when I know more details.