Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort is one of Walt Disney World’s Moderate resorts – the middle of the road category of hotels owned by Disney.
It is a sprawling resort compared to its sister resort Port Orleans French Quarter (my favourite moderate resort).
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About Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort
There are a little over 2000 guest rooms which are divided between two oppositely themed sections – Alligator Bayou and Magnolia Bend.
Alligator Bayou features rustic lodges and buildings with lush foliage and Magnolia Bend buildings features mansions with perfectly manicured lawns, gardens and grand staircases.
There’s six swimming pools on the property – Ol’ Man Island is the main swimming pool which features a saw-mill water slide and hot tub and a 5 smaller pools for those who prefer less noise while swimming or lounging poolside.
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There are 4 bus stops to the parks as well as the Sassagoula River Boat that shuttles guests to and from Disney Springs.
Guests can choose to eat at the Riverside Mill food court, grab a drink or small bites at River Roost Lounge or sit down for dinner at Boatwright’s.
Port Orleans Riverside Review Guest Rooms
Rooms at Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort can accommodate up to 5 guests (not including a crib that can also be placed in the room) and is approximately 315 square feet.
Standard rooms feature 2 queen sized beds and there are several rooms that have 1 king bed instead of the two. Handicapped accessible rooms are available upon request.
Rooms are decorated to match the section you’re in. Alligator Bayou rooms feature log headboards and rustic looking furniture whereas rooms in the Magnolia Bend section rooms are done in turquoise and gold with more modern furniture and fixtures.
We stayed in one of the Royal Guest Rooms (a princess themed room in one of the Magnolia Bend mansions) during our most recent visit and my husband and I found it to be more comfortable than a Value Resort like Pop Century.
Royal Guest Rooms offer a bit of Disney theming for Disney princess fans without going too overboard.
As with all Disney owned resorts, there’s a hair dryer, in-wall safe, iron and ironing board, table and 2 chairs, mini fridge and complimentary H2O Disney soaps and shampoos.
Dining at Port Orleans Riverside
The food is the reason why my husband calls Port Orleans Riverside his favorite resort.
Riverside Mill food court features everything from burgers, fries, sandwiches, soups and a make your own pasta and salad bar.
Portions are huge if you are going the pasta/salad bar route and a good deal for $10.
The food court is bustling during breakfast and dinner time but fairly quiet during off hours – after 10AM and before 5:30PM.
Boatwright’s, the table service restaurant at Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort is often overlooked by Disney visitors but after our first dinner there several years ago we were hooked.
Prime rib and steak are our favorite entrées at Boatwrights and the kids go crazy for the corn bread served before dinner.
Activities & Amenities
Movies Under the Stars and evening campfires are offered every night at Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort.
Free resort wide Wi-Fi is available including guest rooms.
There is an arcade and gift shop for guests looking to spend some time indoors.
There are also plenty of outdoor activities including surrey bike rentals, boat rentals, fishing and horse and carriage rides if you’re looking for family friendly activities outside of the theme parks.
As mentioned above, guests can take the bus to the parks or take a relaxing boat ride to Disney Springs.
Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort is located just 10 minutes walking to its sister resort Port Orleans French Quarter. If guests are looking for a change of scenery or another dining option, they can get to the French Quarter fairly quickly.
Yeehaa Bob offers nightly entertainment at River Roost Lounge and draws a crowd every day. Most nights it is standing room only. If sing-a-longs are your thing, this is the place to be after dinner.
Overall Impressions of Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort
Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort is a perfect place for families who are looking for a quiet and well themed and not over the top in your face Disney-fied resort.
Families looking for a little more “character” or Disney theming should consider the Royal Guest Rooms.
Guests who are not fans of walking may not like this resort as it can take anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes to get to the main building where the food and activities are.
Bus transportation is shared between Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort and Port Orleans French Quarter and thus travel times to the parks vary. We’ve experienced anywhere from 20 to 45 minute bus rides to the park.
The good thing though is that at the South Depot bus stop (right outside the main building) there are computer screens that show the bus schedules and pick up times for each of the parks so you know exactly how long you will be waiting.
Great dining options, proximity and boat transportation to Downtown Disney and relaxed theming is what keeps calling us back to Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort.
More About Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort
Address: 1251 Riverside Drive, Lake Buena Vista, Orlando, FL 32830-8514
Price Range: $$$
Hotel Class: 3.5 stars
Reviews: Over 80% of reviewers rated this hotel Very Good or Excellent
Availability: Click here for rates and availability
Have you ever stayed at Port Orleans Riverside Resort? What did you like and dislike about it?
Yes Yes Yes!!! We stayed here our first ever trip to Disney. It was the best-ext. We went back a couple times after and sayed other places and my husband is now like um really don’t ever book us off Disney property again. It’s totally worth it. 100 % I think we were in a princess room too. The room tiself wasn’t fancy but we loved the food and the pools. Also – a boat ride to downtown? So fun./ We did that and loved it too. The only thing that I would add is we booked Boatwrights the first night after flying like for a long time and being tired and we did not fully appreciate it because we were too tired. I realized after that Boatwrights should be the second or third night. Cheryl _ you have singlehandedly made me want to go back to Port Orleans this year. Darn you. Don’t be surprised when you hear me writing and tweeting about it. I have no impulse control.
Haha! I love your husband’s comment. It’s very hard to get away from Disney owned resorts after staying in one, for sure.
The boat ride and the food is what gets us every time. Well more so my husband than me. He doesn’t want to try other resorts in fear of ending up with sub par food (and then having to take a bus to POR to get his pasta and milkshake from the food court!).
I definitely agree that Boatwright’s should be left for a night after you’ve had time to settle in at the resort. Flying is an all day event when done with kids/babies/toddlers.
OK, I’ll take the blame for your next trip to Florida. I’ll be following your Twitter stream 😉
I meant the best-est.
I’ve not stayed at one of the Port Orleans properties, but have considered them on several occasions. Mainly because they are some of the only moderately priced resorts that allow room for a family of five.
I love the idea of the boat ride to downtown!! Haven’t been back to Disney World with kids.. but this looks a good spot!
So cute and quaint looking. Never been before but I will keep it in mind.
We stayed in a Royal Guest Room on our very first family trip to Disney a few years ago. The kids love Princess Tiana so they were so in awe of everything. The details are amazing. We loved Port Orleans Riverside and would definitely stay there again, however, we will be trying out Riverside’s sister resort, the French Quarter on our next trip. Then we’ll decide which of the two is our fave 🙂
My husband loves POR, Gwen. It’s his all time favourite and always the first on his list when we are planning a WDW trip.
We did try POFQ one year and I LOVED it – just haven’t had time to write a review. The size of that resort is what I like most – you can get to the anywhere – pool, food court within 2 minutes. And well, beignets! 🙂
Let me know how the POFQ vacation goes. Would love to know your thoughts about the two sister resorts.