Disney's Port Orleans Resort - Riverside

“Classic Disney”

Having visited Walt Disney World from the UK many times over the last 25 years +, we have only stayed "on property" a few times but being knowledgeable and looking to stay at a variety of different resorts, we put a lot of thought into where to stay on this trip to utilise Disney's free dining pack… more

Having visited Walt Disney World from the UK many times over the last 25 years +, we have only stayed "on property" a few times but being knowledgeable and looking to stay at a variety of different resorts, we put a lot of thought into where to stay on this trip to utilise Disney's free dining package on offer & settled on Port Orleans Riverside. Our previous two visits were at Caribbean Beach & The Swan, both with access to the Skyliner which we LOVED however we had stayed at Port Orleans over a decade ago for a few nights and wanted to return & we are so glad we decided to stay here this trip. We booked a standard room which means a room in the Magnolia Bend section of the property. It's not widely known but you can find a plan of every separate room type which is recommended as many people request room types or areas that are simply not compatible with what's on offer for the room actually booked. We knew all rooms in Magnolia Bend were refurbished so we were extremely happy with our accommodation as Disney met all our room requests such as upper floor & not in a block generally used as dog-friendly rooms. This was important to us as one major issue ahead of booking was the fact that this resort is one of several properties that now allows dogs however this wasn't generally an issue but a large reason was the fact that we were pretty much as far away from the blocks that Disney generally allocate guests with dogs. We did see guests walking dogs every day & did think that it was evident from the fact we saw dogs fouling landscaping that this resort wasn't quite as pristine as our previous visit but it's still an incredibly beautiful resort & if you weren't aware of it, you'd probably not know they were allowed on property. There are plenty of other reviews that provide information on the resort but we have visited almost every single resort at Walt Disney World and this remains one of the most relaxing and beautiful. Its vast but so incredibly picturesque but for us, it's classic "Disney" before they began constructing tower resorts. In terms of the food court, we did prefer strolling to French Quarter as food was served on far better quality tableware and an abundance of Coke Freestyle machine for fountain drinks (Port Orleans doesn't have them). We stayed at Caribbean Beach 2 years ago but got daily housekeeping, here it was every other day which we think is poor & is one of the only negatives of the resort. The bus service was fine, we experienced a couple of very crowded, stressful early morning journeys and once waited a long time for the water to Disney Springs but generally found transport to be more than adequate between the parks & Disney Springs. There are a number of pools around the property & this was a vast improvement over say Caribbean Beach Resort. Whilst there are also a similar number, the pools and surrounding areas at PO are much more pleasant and nicely themed. The lobby, gift shop, bar & two eateries make for a lovely hub in the resort to call home & as well themed as any moderate resort on property. Overall, Disney's Port Orleans Riverside is a beautiful mid-tier resort. There are procs and cons to staying at other resorts in the same price range but we loved our stay this April / May & would recommend to anyone looking for a base to enjoy a Disney vacation in a resort as deeply themed as the parks

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“Exceptionally Beautiful Resort. Two distinct guest room buildings areas.”

This was our fourth stay here (May 2022, July 2022, August 2023, May 2026). My review today is our most recent stay, a week in May 2026. There was 7 in our group: 4 adults and 3 kids ages 6,4,and 10 months. We requested adjoining rooms and that worked out great. The resort provided a port a crib fo… more

This was our fourth stay here (May 2022, July 2022, August 2023, May 2026). My review today is our most recent stay, a week in May 2026. There was 7 in our group: 4 adults and 3 kids ages 6,4,and 10 months. We requested adjoining rooms and that worked out great. The resort provided a port a crib for the baby. The resort gift shop has a little area with toiletries and basic meds which came in handy. There's a lot of walking at the resort - from our room to the food court, lobby, bus stop, pool, etc. But it's so beautiful and relaxing that we didn't mind. For guests who want a resort with minimal walking, this would not be it. For guest who enjoy nature and don't mind walking to and from areas, it's perfect. This is an exceptionally beautiful Disney Resort. Vast amounts of trees, shrubs, foliage, plenty of walking trails, multiple pools, two completely different guest room areas of the resort (Alligator Bayou and Magnolia Bend), a large food court, sit down table service restaurant, arcade, bar area, and gift shop. There's stops for horse and carriage rides and for river boats to French Quarter resort and Disney Springs area. There's a lot going on here but at the same time, because of the layout and amount of trees, it's quiet and peaceful. ROOMS: The two areas of guest room buildings are very distinct from one another. The buildings in Alligator Bayou are nestled within a vast array of trees and foliage. Even though there's a lot of buildings in this area it's impossible to see them all at once because the buildings are all so hidden by the trees. In fact, even buildings next to each other aren't fully visible. There's a maze of walkways - but plenty of directional signs - along with little bridges over pools of water. It's a cozy area, buildings surrounded by nature. The Alligator Bayou buildings do NOT have elevators. If stairs are an issue guests must request a ground floor when making their reservation or book a room in the Magnolia Bend area, which has elevators. It seems most - if not all - of the rooms in Alligator Bayou are "Fifth Sleepers", meaning there's a fold down kid-sized bed that when folded up doubles as a bench. Advantages of this set up is there's an extra bed for a kid so the room sleeps more family members. Disadvantages is that with this 5th sleeper there's no dresser top to set things on and less dresser drawers. These rooms can be a bit crowded for a family especially if there's a port a crib and/or stroller in the room. Some of the rooms do seem a bit outdated, but they're clean and there's fun colorful alligator decor. There's room under the beds to store suitcases. The tub/showers have a curtain and there's a curtain to separate the bathroom area from the bedroom area. The Magnolia Bend buildings, where we stayed this time, are a bit larger, have elevators, wider walkways, and are more open. There's trees, but more specifically appointed with a groomed vibe as opposed to the more wild appearing greenery in Alligator Bayou. Because of the more open landscaping we had a lot more natural light into the rooms which was nice. Another big plus is a very long dresser and mini fridge combo that has a lot of storage and provides a big space on top for setting things. There's even more storage in the bathroom area with a set of shelves and a large closet with plenty of hangers. The mini fridge kept all our food and drinks cold. There's room under the bed to store suitcases. The shower has a sliding door and there's a heavy wooden, decorated, sliding door to separate the bathroom area from the bed area. The bed was incredibly comfortable (we had a King Bed) and there's plenty of pillows. FOOD: We never ate in the table service dining room, so I can't comment on that. It was always busy, though. We used the food court, which had a pretty good variety of meals for breakfast/lunch/dinner and a grab and go cold case with salads, sandwiches, drinks, beer, yogurts, etc. Plenty of hot coffee and beverage dispensers. Even when busy there was never a long wait to get a drink. We were on the Disney Dining Plan and used our included refillable resort mugs every day. Plenty of tables and lots of windows in the food court. We also did the mobile order on our Disney App and picked up our food which was all packed up "to go". POOLS: Several pools with different sizes and vibes. The largest pool has a bar attached, slides, music playing over the speakers, and a large hot tub area. Lots of families enjoying this pool area. All the pools are fenced in. LAUNDRY: There was a laundry room next to the building we stayed in, adjacent to the pool. The machines use an App for payment and also lets the user know how much time until the machine is done. We used the laundry room and everything worked great. DISNEY BUSES: This resort often gets a bad rap for the multiple bus stops. It's a BIG resort, but we never had an issues at all with the Disney bus transportation. All of the bus stops are covered with benches, beverage vending machines, and TVs showing the arrival times of the buses. The buses do stop at each bus stop throughout the resort but it's not that big of a deal. Overall this is one of our favorite Disney on site resorts. We like the beauty of the place, food court, and pools. It's also a short walk or boat ride down to Port Orleans French Quarter Resort. We usually take a stroll over there at least once during our stays at Riverside.

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“Great option for Disney property”

We enjoyed our stay at Riverside. The resort has a lot of walking/jogging trails, several pools, and good dining. It's far quieter that I expected which is exactly what we wanted. It's a spacious property so be prepared to walk but the advantage is peace and quiet. Also, the Alligator Bayou uni… more

We enjoyed our stay at Riverside. The resort has a lot of walking/jogging trails, several pools, and good dining. It's far quieter that I expected which is exactly what we wanted. It's a spacious property so be prepared to walk but the advantage is peace and quiet. Also, the Alligator Bayou units do not have an elevator. To be honest, I did not realize that when booking and probably would have not booked it had I known beforehand. However, it was not bad at all. The lodging units in Alligator Bayou have two floors and if you are unable or don't want to walk up a level, book unit on first floor. We will definitely book Riverside again on our next visit.

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“Beautiful property, lots to do”

PROPERTY: Beautiful, lots of trees, really has the southern charm. Very clean everywhere we went. Boat to Dis Springs looked fun but we didn't have a chance to try it. This is a HUGE property, so finding our building in the dark was a little confusing the night we arrived, but there was staff aroun… more

PROPERTY: Beautiful, lots of trees, really has the southern charm. Very clean everywhere we went. Boat to Dis Springs looked fun but we didn't have a chance to try it. This is a HUGE property, so finding our building in the dark was a little confusing the night we arrived, but there was staff around even that time of night, and she pointed us in the right direction. All the staff is friendly and fun: we saw them dancing each evening in the quick-service food area at the main building, heard them hosting games and fun at the pool with kids, had numerous staff ask if we needed help finding anything as we wandered. There is also a fun looking poolside bar, "fishin hole", and nice looking restaurant ... but we didn't have a chance to try these. ROOM: Large and comfortable, has a mini refrig but no microwave, coffee maker but no cups. Little water pressure in shower, one of my pet peeves with thick hair, but it was ok. Room is very clean, beds very comfortable. NOISE LEVEL: Loud during the daytime. Very quiet at night. This place is packed with families, multiple pools full of children. Not really my style since I no longer have young kids, but it did look like they were having a great time!! We would have loved it had we been Disney people when the kids were young. If I ever return, I will choose quieter next time, maybe French Quarter or Coronado, from what I read. BEST VALUE: The laundry room!! Seriously. I was able to wash and dry a weeks' worth of laundry for 2 adults for about $13. Machines were fast and dried in one cycle. Super nice guest gave me a couple of laundry pods when I couldn't get the soap machine to work (I guess that would have been another $5 or so). SO nice to travel home with clean laundry!! OVERALL: Beautiful property + comfortable room and beds ... I would stay again

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