Port Orleans News

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.

The new 'Garden View' room category came into effect on 1 January 2012 at Port Orleans, with views now available as follows:

• Standard: Parking lot views
• Garden: Lawns, courtyards (including fountains, water features, etc), bayou landscaping/pools/streams - but NOT parking lots
• Water: Swimming pool view
• River: View of the Sassagoula River
• Also bookable are Preferred Locations (buildings 14, 15, 18 and 27 at Riverside only) and King Bed rooms.

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.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The January 2012 Recreation Activities and Movie Schedules for Port Orleans Riverside and Port Orleans French Quarter are now available.

The outdoor movies will start at 7pm this month, and there will again be a slightly reduced set of pool activities in this cooler weather. The daily campfires commence at 5:30pm.

(click on the above images for printable versions)

The Doubloon Lagoon feature swimming pool at Port Orleans French Quarter will be closed for maintenance work on Tuesday 17 January and Wednesday 18 January, reopening on Thursday 19 January 2012. The spa/hot tub should remain open during this time. There is also construction work going on in the courtyard behind the entrance lobby, access will be along the sides of this area.

The Ol' Man Island feature swimming pool at Port Orleans Riverside will be closed for maintenance work from Monday 6 February to Wednesday 8 February, reopening on Thursday 9 February 2012.

All of the other pools at the resort will remain open for guests during these closures.