Port Orleans News

According to a DISboards posting, Acadian House has now been re-opened for guests.

We're still waiting to see the first photos, but the guest checked in on Thursday 4th August and has described the newly refurbished room as follows:

Room is nice and has that fresh paint smell. I have never stayed in a Manor room before but based on pics I have seen. There are new headboards with pictures on them. One of a plantation home and the other of a paddle wheel boat. Otherwise the rooms look the same and the new tv stand looks like the one from POFQ rehab pics I have seen.

The quiet pool located between Acadian House and Magnolia Terrace at Port Orleans Riverside is scheduled to be closed for routine maintenance and refurbishment work between 5th September and 7th October 2011. The main Ol' Man Island pool and the other quiet pools will remain open as normal.

It has recently been confirmed by a visiting guest that Acadian House was being closed down by sections at the end of last week (June 24) and a sizable area of the Acadian parking lot was already set aside for construction equipment and vehicles. So it looks like work has commenced as planned, and the countdown is now on until the targeted completion date for this first building of 5th August. There is no indication as yet whether the building might be reopened in phases, or all at once.

Today's Disney Parks Blog has provided us with the first actual photos of the new Royal Guest Room concept destined for the Port Orleans Riverside mansion buildings. Travel Agents were given a sneak peek a few weeks ago, but at that stage photography was not allowed.

As we reported a few days ago, bookings are now live on the Walt Disney World website, with room availability starting from 4 March 2012.

Disney Parks Blog wrote: Opening in early Spring 2012, the Royal Guest Rooms at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside allow princes and princesses of all ages to stay where Disney royalty have stayed. Guests find regal touches left behind by some of their favorite Disney characters like fiber optics special effects above ornately decorated beds with gold and crystal accents; custom linens and drapes; and in-room art and details including princely banners and princess friends. The 512 Royal Guest Rooms start at $189 per night.

Walt Disney World has just released their 2012 room rates through their online booking site. At the time of writing, rooms were only bookable up to 25 October 2012 as there is a maximum 499 day rolling booking window.

The upcoming ‘Royal Room’ category at Port Orleans Riverside is now bookable for stays commencing Friday 17th February (which is when the refurbishment of Oak Manor should be completed) and Disney has also introduced yet another booking category – Garden View – into the already complicated and increasingly pricey mix. This presumably means that anyone paying for a basic room will now most likely end up with a parking lot view.

I will try to put together a full price breakdown as soon as I can [19-Jun: now completed, please see the Room Rates Page for all 2012 prices] but base rates appear to start at $159 weekday / $174 weekend for Value season, going up to $190 weekday / $205 weekend in peak Summer season. Special vacation dates will be even higher, for example $234 for the entire two weeks around Easter and $244 for the Christmas Holidays.

The various special categories add on as follows (well, according to the WDW website, anyway - but when you click on each option, the sums don't always seem to add up quite as shown...)

Normal Rooms
Standard View: ---
Garden View: +$11
Preferred Location: +$28 [Riverside only]
King Bed: +$28
Water View: +$28
River View: +$34

Royal Rooms
Standard View: +$34
Garden View: +$45
Water View: +$62
River View: +$68

There was initially a typo on the WDW website which quoted the final Royal Room price as ‘Garden View’ again, but that has now been changed to the correct ‘River View’ listing. Also, there appear to be no King Bed options in the Royal Room categories, so we must assume that the only choice there is for two queen beds – which does seem logical enough bearing in mind that these rooms are aimed directly at families.

So, finally Disney has made it possible to book a single Port Orleans Riverside (moderate) room for over $300 per night plus tax! Recession, what recession?