A review of Disney's Port Orleans Riverside Resort at Walt Disney World. Including rooms, dining and amenities.
If you're looking for a Walt Disney World resort which borders on the deluxe standard but with moderate prices, a whole host of amenities, a fabulous food court, and a relaxing vibe, Port Orleans Riverside may be the one for you.
Having first stayed here in 2015, we loved the resort so much, we chose it as our base for our 2017 visit too.
Here I review our thoughts on the rooms, amenities, dining and more.
Location
Port Orleans Riverside is situated within the Disney Springs Resort Area of Walt Disney World.
This means all parks can be easily accessed via Disney buses, private car and/or taxi services. The closest parks are Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Plus there's the added bonus of complimentary water taxis which ferry guests between the resort and Disney Springs.
Theme
Themed around the southern American state of Louisiana, Port Orleans Riverside is split into 2 main residential areas.
Guests can stay in one of the impressive white-columned buildings of The Mansions, which have a more open aspect. Or the more tranquil, leafy setting of Alligator Bayou.
There's also the added bonus of a sister resort next door, based on the French Quarter area of New Orleans.
As guests are welcome to use the facilities at both locations, this provides additional pools and food courts to enjoy.
On both occasions, we've opted to stay in the Alligator Bayou section of Port Orleans Riverside. The Mansion buildings have a more impressive exterior, however, we prefer the Princess and The Frog themed rooms of Alligator Bayou.
Port Orleans Riverside Rooms
All standard rooms have 2 queen beds, a curtained off double sink area, plus a compact bathroom. In here, you'll find a bath with shower above, and a toilet.
In the main bedroom area, there's a fridge, small table with a couple of chairs, and a TV.
A huge bonus of the Port Orleans Riverside Alligator Bayou rooms, and one of the main reasons we choose this area of the resort, is the pull-down Murphy Bed featuring Louis the Alligator.
This provides an extra bed, most suitable for a child, meaning these rooms can sleep up to 5 people.
Storage and extra bedroom fixtures
There are no separate wardrobes in the Port Orleans rooms. Instead, storage is provided in the form of a large open hanging rail and shelving in the sink area of the room. Plus extra shelves under the double sinks, and a small unit near the fridge.
The drawers under the murphy bed are a decent size, and there are a few hooks available in the main room.
You'll also find extra seating in the form of a window seat, as well as a coffee maker, iron, ironing board, hairdryer and a safe.
If you're a family of 5, you'll automatically be issued an Alligator Bayou room . However, if there are 4 people or less in your party, you may be allocated a room in The Mansions area of the resort.
This has happened to us on both occasions, but Cast Members at check-in were happy to change our reservation to an Alligator Bayou room.
For families of 4 or less, there's also the option of Royal Guest Rooms. These more elaborately decorated dwellings come complete with light-up headboards and a higher price tag.
Disney's Port Orleans Resorts Facilities
Pools
The main Port Orleans Riverside pool, Ol' Man Island, has a large pool featuring waterfalls and a pretty tame water slide. There's also a shallow children's pool, hot tub, sunbeds, plus a pool bar which serves a variety of drinks and bar snacks.
In all honesty, we were rather underwhelmed with the pool area. It was consistently busy, noisy, and we often struggled to find a couple of sunbeds together. Luckily, there are a number of quiet pools dotted around the resort, which we found more relaxing.
If you have children within your group, and are planning to spend more than a couple of hours at the pool, I suggest heading over to Doubloon Lagoon at Port Orleans French Quarter. The kids deemed the slide here much more thrilling. Plus, there's a fabulous splash zone play area (maximum height 48 inches) with smaller slides, water jets and tipping buckets.
Dining
When it comes to quick service restaurants, both Port Orleans Riverside and French Quarter really excel.
At Riverside, the Riverside Mill serves a wide selection of dishes from a number of food stations. Breakfast offerings include pastries, pancakes, waffles, breakfast platters, and even the option to design your own omelette.
During lunch and dinner sittings: burgers, chicken, hot dogs, pizza, pasta, sandwiches, baked goods and a build-your-own salad counter are all available. The large pizzas are big enough to share, the create-your-own pasta section is always a popular choice and the salad counter has a huge selection of healthy options.There's also a large refillable mug drinks station, plus a number of grab-and-go options.
Although we always enjoy the food at Riverside Mill, we deem the menu at French Quarter's Sassagoula Floatworks & Food Factory much more exciting. We particularly enjoyed the Jambalaya and a snack sized portion of the Gumbo. And no trip to Port Orleans French Quarter would be complete without sampling the famous Beignets. Messy but delicious.
Both the gumbo and beignets are available as a snack on the Disney Dining Plan, making these a good use of snack credits. You'll also find some of the more up-to-date drinks machines over at French Quarter, offering a much wider choice of cold beverages.
If you're seeking more formal evening dining, head to the ship yard themed Boatwright's Dining Hall at Riverside, which serves a number of classic American favourites alongside Southern inspired dishes.
Activities and Entertainment
For more evening entertainment, both locations have a resort bar and live shows. The best of these is at Port Orleans Riverside Resort, where the award winning Ye Haa Bob can be found delighting the patrons of the River Roost Lounge with his songs and silly antics.
It's a lively atmosphere when Ye Haa Bob is in residence, but definitely worth grabbing a drink from the bar and watching (or joining in with) the fun.
We've also enjoyed roasting our own marshmallows around the Riverside campfire. If you fancy trying this, head over to the main pool area between 6.30 - 7.30 pm, to pick up your complimentary sweet treats and skewers.
Continue with the nighttime activities by settling down on the chairs and blankets to enjoy Movies Under the Stars. These are shown each night at either of the two resorts.
There are a wide range of other activities on offer at Port Orleans, which will be listed in the monthly Recreation Calendar for each resort.
At Riverside, these include: pool parties, yoga, trivia and games. Most are complimentary, with just a small number requiring a fee, including: bike rental and some of the arts & craft based features.
Shopping
Fulton's General Store is located just off the Port Orleans Riverside lobby. This spacious shop sells a number of Disney souvenirs, including clothing, toys, and homeware.
You'll also find a small selection of food items here, such as sweets, breakfast cereals, bread and crisps, as well as both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
A few holiday essentials are also stocked in the shop. So if you run out of products such as sun tan lotion or toothpaste, it's worth checking whether they have it in the store.
Hint: If you're on the Disney Dining Plan, or wish to purchase one of the refillable mugs, these can also be bought at Fulton's General Store. During our last trip, the choice of mugs in the food court was limited, but we discovered the store had a wider selection available.
Transportation & Parking
Disney Bus
As with all Disney Resorts, Disney Buses are available to transport guests to the various parks. Due to the size of the Port Orleans Riverside complex, there are 4 depots. This means you shouldn't have too far to walk from your room to one of the stops.
Another advantage to staying in the Alligator Bayou section, is that the buses stop here first. The West Depot is closest to buildings 24-28, 34 and 35, so anyone staying in one of these rooms will be treated to an empty bus first thing in the morning.
After West Depot, the bus makes further stops at North Depot, then East Depot, before making one final pick up at South Depot - located near to the main lobby.
Hint: Although we tend to use our car when visiting Walt Disney World, the one morning we did catch the bus from West Depot, we boarded an empty bus which quickly filled. By the time we reached South Depot, there wasn't enough room for everyone, meaning some guests were requested to wait for the next bus. Therefore, during peak times (before park opening), I would suggest walking to one of the other depots to give yourself more chance of boarding.
Car
If you prefer to travel around Walt Disney World by car, there are a number of car parks located around the perimeter of the Port Orleans Riverside complex. You simply park your car in the one closest to your building and walk from there.
There is also a large car park in front of the main lobby, which is ideal for guests when checking in, or visiting the restaurants and bar located here.
If you are planning to use your own car, it's worth knowing that Disney charge a nightly parking fee at all resorts. For guests staying at Port Orleans Riverside, the charge is $20 per night. So you'll need to factor this in to the overall cost of your stay.
Water Taxi
One of our favourite ways to travel when staying at Port Orleans Riverside is by water taxi to Disney Springs. These distinctive blue and yellow boats depart from the dock situated near the rear entrance of the lobby, travelling along the tree lined Sassagoula River to Marketplace dock at Disney Springs.
Water taxi's depart approximately every 20 minutes from around 10am. During quieter times, they may also stop at Port Orleans French Quarter to allow guests staying at this resort to board the boat before continuing on to Disney Springs. During busy times (mainly in the evening), each resort will have their own dedicated taxis.
The last boat departs Port Orleans Riverside around 11pm, and leaves Disney Springs around 11.30pm. If you plan to stay at Disney Springs later than this, you can always catch a Disney bus, Uber or Minnie Van Service back to the resort.
The water taxis won't run if lightning is in the area, or winds are deemed too strong. But if the weather is on your side, I highly recommend using this as a relaxing way to travel to and from Disney Springs.
Disney's Port Orleans Riverside Resort Review at a glance:
Pros:
- Relaxing vibe around the resort provides a welcome breaks from the parks.
- Beautifully manicured grounds.
- The option to also use Port Orleans French Quarter facilities.
- Good food courts at both resorts.
- Extra pull-down bed and fun themeing in Alligator Bayou rooms.
- Water taxi to Disney Springs.
- Relatively central location within Walt Disney World makes it easy to travel to all parks.
Cons:
- Large resort means some rooms are a considerable distance away from the pool and lobby.
Star Rating: 
(4.7 / 5)
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Disney's Port Orleans Riverside Resort Review Summary
Port Orleans Riverside is one of the more expensive moderate Disney resorts, and it's easy to see why. Having stayed in some of the deluxe hotels, we feel the splendour of Riverside easily rivals these.
The elegantly themed lobby and beautifully manicured grounds make for extremely pleasant surroundings. We love the Alligator Bayou rooms, particularly the extra pull-down Murphy Bed. This, together with the extensive amenities of both Port Orleans resorts, means its somewhere we would certainly book again. And I would strongly recommend considering a stay here next time you're planning a Walt Disney World trip.
For more information, or to check current room rates and availability, visit the Port Orleans Riverside pages of the Walt Disney World website.
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