Port Orleans News
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Port Orleans Guest Service Manager on DisneyParks blog
Posted Wednesday 1st February 2012, 5:26am (EST) by The Sassagoula Sentinel
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Kyle Raser, the current manager of Guest Service Operations at Port Orleans, was featured in a lovely posting on the DisneyParks Blog yesterday - just a few days ahead of Port Orleans Riverside's 20th Anniversary. Kyle talked nostalgically about his very first trip to Dixie Landings (as it was then known) as a 14-year-old back in 1993, which started him on his future career path. |
French Quarter Courtyard Refurbishment, 9 Jan - 2 March 2012
Posted Saturday 28th January 2012, 7:45am (EST) by The Sassagoula Sentinel
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The French Quarter Courtyard (behind the main lobby building) will be undergoing refurbishment work starting on Monday 9th January for approximately 8 weeks. The central area, from the lobby doors out towards the sidewalk, will be boarded up during this period but walkways will be available on either side of the courtyard.          Update on 19 March: Some more recent guest photos (see http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php ... st44363512) show that work is a little behind schedule, and is looking like it will be completed nearer to the end of March.  13 March, the section nearest to the main lobby is pretty much done now, and some of the walls are down:  Update on 17 April: The work was completed a while before Easter, a couple of weeks behind the original schedule. Here's a photo from DISer 'pixarmom' of the finished courtyard:  |
Dixie Landings opened 20 years ago on 2 February 1992
Posted Friday 27th January 2012, 5:44am (EST) by The Sassagoula Sentinel
 The initial section of the resort originally known as Dixie Landings first opened to the public on Sunday 2 February 1992, two decades ago, joining its sister resort of Port Orleans which had débuted nine months earlier. The initial 1,024 rooms in the rustic Alligator Bayou section would later be joined by another 1,024 Magnolia Bend mansion building rooms. The resort subsequently had a name change to Port Orleans Riverside in April 2001, at which time its sister hotel was also rebranded to Port Orleans French Quarter. Today, the combined Port Orleans resort offers a total of 3,056 guest rooms and employs around 1,200 cast members, including approximately 142 who have worked there since opening day. The latest issue of the Walt Disney World Cast Member magazine “Eyes & Ears” features an article on the resort, including details of the upcoming Royal Room refurbishments and some words from one of the opening day cast members. It does not mention whether there are any guest-accessible events planned for the anniversary on Thursday. Update: There will be balloons and decorations up in the lobby on 2nd February, and free birthday cake for the guests - while it lasts of course, so get there early!  According to General Manager Val Bunting, herself a native Southerner, the resort's highlights are almost too numerous to list. “It’s kind of that place [from] a hundred years ago, where things are much simpler and much quieter,” she said. “I tell [Cast Members], ‘You don’t have to be from the South, you just have to know what great hospitality is and provide great charm while you’re here.’” |
Alligator Bayou quiet pool maintenance dates in Jan/Feb
Posted Saturday 14th January 2012, 7:00am (EST) by The Sassagoula Sentinel
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The three Alligator Bayou quiet pools are due to be closed for short routine maintenance periods during January and February 2012. Pool #2 is due to be closed from Monday 23 January until Friday 27 January, pool #3 from Monday 30 January to Friday 3 February, and pool #1 from Monday 27 February to Thursday 1 March. These dates do not coincide with the existing work on the main feature pool on Ol' Man Island which is scheduled to be carried out from 6-8 February. |
Garden View category opens. Queen Beds not guaranteed at POR
Posted Saturday 7th January 2012, 11:00am (EST) by The Sassagoula Sentinel
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The new 'Garden View' room category came into effect on 1 January 2012 at Port Orleans, with views now available as follows:
While many guests will have booked Garden View rooms simply to ensure that they do not overlook a parking lot, a significant number of bookings have apparently been made solely on the basis that this was the only room type at Port Orleans Riverside which advertised Queen Beds in the amenities list (see below examples). Sadly, at present the chances of getting queen beds by booking Garden View are not any better than they would have been with any of the other room categories.   As of today (7 January) the WDW booking website is still quoting Queen Beds as a benefit of this room category, but the management team at the resort are working to get this corrected as soon as possible. I do know that resort staff will try their best to keep guests happy at check-in, and they will attempt to accommodate anyone who specifically asks for - or had made a Garden View booking because of - queen beds. However with only a limited number of queen bed rooms available, there are obviously no guarantees. If queen beds are particularly important to you I would suggest that you call the reservations center now and ensure that your existing booking has a note added to it requesting queen beds. Don't believe them if they tell you that you are guaranteed to be given queen beds anyway, as until around August that will not be true. A few days before you arrive you may wish to contact the resort on 1-407-934-6000 and ask to speak to the on-site room allocation department (not just the central switchboard who will initially answer your call) and reiterate your request and explain the reason. They will do their best to help you if they can. Note: this issue does not affect Port Orleans French Quarter, where all of the rooms have already been refurbished and feature queen beds. However in a bizarre twist, the WDW booking website no longer includes any descriptive text for Garden View rooms at French Quarter... has someone perhaps inadvertantly removed the accurate description?   Update on 15 January: Over the last couple of days Disney have finally corrected their official booking website, and Garden View rooms are now listed as having 2 double beds, rather than 2 queen-size beds. Oh well, better late than never. Update on 24 June: The final two Alligator Bayou buildings closed to undergo refurbishment today, so there are now no double-bedded rooms left at the either of the Port Orleans Resorts, and guests are now guaranteed two Queen Beds (or one King Bed, if booked, of course). |
