Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside Review
Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside is a Moderate Resort at Walt Disney World. This hotel review covers the pros & cons of Riverside, with photos of its rooms, common areas, amenities, grounds, and more. We will also cover basics about Port Orleans Riverside, including our take on it, and who might enjoy it best. (Last updated May 2, 2019.)
In our Moderate Resort Comparison, we ranked it pretty highly, calling it on par thematically with some Deluxes, so you might already know that we think a lot of people might enjoy it. As mentioned there, the theming really shines at Riverside, which draws is themed to a rural Louisiana port city that is along the Sassagoula River.
Riverside is divided into Alligator Bayou (bayou) and Magnolia Bend (mansions), which assists it in offering more thematic variety. In addition to these two different styles, each building within the sections uses different materials based upon its location on the river. The backstory is interesting and engaging (and is executed cleverly throughout the resort), and the quiet pathways that litter Riverside make it a great place to take a romantic stroll. The grounds are absolutely stunning, with rich wilderness in the bayou and perfectly manicured gardens around the mansions.
This variety of theming is really quite impressive and is pulled off remarkably well. The mansions of Magnolia Bend are surrounded by large, perfectly manicured lawns and beautiful gardens, which provide a stark contrast to the untamed wilderness and seemingly uncontrolled growth in Alligator bayou. In Alligator Bayou you feel you’d be at home floating down the river in a rickety boat hunting for crawdads. In Magnolia Bend, you might be better suited donning your dress seersucker, putting on a bow-tie, and drinking some mint juleps.
Now let’s take a detailed look at why we enjoy Port Orleans Riverside so much…
As you can see, the above style is quite a bit different than the below style.
Variety is the spice of life, right?
Due to Riverside’s sprawling layout, these differing styles don’t visually clash with one another. However, this layout may be perceived as a negative by some guests who aren’t fans of walking or internal transportation.
We don’t mind either, and found the transportation to be more than adequate. We found that the larger layout gave us more to explore and a larger area to wander for romantic nighttime strolls (or carriage or bike rides if that’s your thing).
The area around the Main Lobby ties all of this theming together perfectly with its steamship theming, providing an excellent transition between the bayou and the mansions. In addition to the variety of boat and bike rentals available outside, inside there are a number of dining and shopping options.
Boatwright’s Dining Hall is the table service restaurant at Riverside, and it is themed as a Southern, shipyard warehouse, complete with tools lining the walls and a large wooden hull of a fishing boat suspended from the ceiling. We have a full Boatwright’s Dining Hall Review from one of our more recent stays at Riverside. Additional. A lot of the restaurant’s story is told by the tools and artifacts hung from the walls.
Riverside Mill Food Court (read our review of the food court) and River Roost Lounge are the other two dining options at Port Orleans Riverside. The food court is themed as a riverside mill…I’ll bet you would have never guessed that based on its name!
The theme here is carried out excellently–it probably has the coolest theming of any food court at Walt Disney World. The menu is also fairly diverse at Riverside Mill, with plenty of options for guests.
Riverside has several pools, with the main pool being located on ‘Ol Man Island in the middle of the resort, where the playground is also located. I wouldn’t necessarily call the pool disappointing, but it’s probably our least favorite pool at any Moderate Resort. The complex is nice and large, and the pool is nice, but the theming leaves something to be desired.
It’s difficult to say what could have been done better with the theming, but I far prefer the approach taken by Port Orleans French Quarter, which combines uses fun gators and a serpentine to overcome what otherwise might be “bland” Louisiana theming for its pool. This is a relatively minor complaint at what is otherwise the best-themed Moderate Resort at Walt Disney World. Guests at Port Orleans Riverside receive MagicBands and can make FastPass+ reservations (read our Guide to FastPass+ at Walt Disney World for more tips and info on that).
As far as rooms go, Port Orleans again shines. Above is what the regular guest rooms in Magnolia Bend (the “mansions”) currently look like.
In addition to these standard rooms, the Royal Rooms are also located in Magnolia Bend.
Port Orleans Riverside received a ‘soft goods’ update to these rooms recently that refreshed some of the furnishings and revised the style (removing the comforters, among other things).
There were complaints prior to the refurbishment that the rooms felt dated. That is not the case anymore, but the style is definitely old-fashioned–from an intentional thematic perspective.
The other section of Port Orleans Riverside is Alligator Bayou. Those rooms feel slightly more rustic, but their biggest upside is that they have removed the dresser and replaced it with a fold-down Murphy bed that enables the Alligator Bayou rooms to sleep 5 adults.
Note that the Alligator Bayou rooms are currently being refurbished, with the project likely to last until Fall 2019. We recently stayed in a renovated room and shared the experience in our New Rooms at Port Orleans Riverside post, so check that out for a photo and video tour.
For the most part, the bathrooms are similar to how they looked prior to the refurbishment. I believe the mirrors and maybe the light fixtures were swapped out.
These rooms are the same style (albeit with thematic differences) as those covered in our updated Caribbean Beach Resort Review. We personally prefer the rooms at Caribbean Beach Resort, but the theme and overall atmosphere, we think, is better at Port Orleans.
Like all Moderate Resorts at Walt Disney World, pretty basic…
Above is a look at the ADA bathroom; this isn’t really representative of the resort as a whole.
In terms of amenities, Port Orleans Riverside’s rooms feel modern and clean, with a sufficient number of details and subtle charm to make them distinctly “Disney.” These details are more on the subtle side, rather than overt imagery of Mickey and various other characters.
With that said, if you are traveling with small children, this might not be for you. We view Port Orleans as a more romantic option; this is not to say it isn’t for kids (I loved our stays here as a kid), but it’s not our top pick if you’re primarily interested in kid appeal. You might want to instead consider a different resort or one of the above-mention Royal Guest Rooms for that.
Although the Port Orleans Riverside Royal Guest Rooms are beyond the scope of this review (again, read our separate Royal Rooms at Port Orleans Riverside Review for more on them), above is a peak at the inside of them. They are great rooms for families with kids and would make a great compromise for families looking for an incredibly well-themed Moderate Resort that also has a liberal helping of classic Disney theming.
The Royal Guest Rooms are brought to life by Disney Characters, and special “royal” touches like custom drapes and linens and ornately decorated beds. The headboards on these beds glitter with fiber optic “fireworks” lights. There is a nightly upcharge for these rooms, but the theming likely appeals more to kids than most Deluxes, and the rooms are cheaper, too!
Riverside is also conveniently located just a 10 minute walk from Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter (we also have a separate Port Orleans French Quarter Review where you can see its rooms and hear our thoughts on that hotel’s amenities, etc.), where guests can find a cooler pool and food court. French Quarter doesn’t have its own table service restaurant, but it’s still worth a visit to the (smaller and more centralized) grounds to see the New Orleans theming.
There are also boat rides available from both resorts to Disney Springs, and bus transportation to the parks. The boat ride on the Sassagoula is nice and relaxing, and having dinner at Disney Springs is a great way to conclude a day outside of the parks (or your arrival night).
Overall, Port Orleans Riverside is the perfect resort for guests looking for exquisite theming without breaking the bank. The theming is definitely Deluxe quality in many regards, although I wouldn’t put it above any Deluxe Resort in terms of overall quality. Families looking for distinctly Disney (character) theming may not find quite so much to love in Riverside unless they stay in the Royal Guest Rooms, but couples looking for a romantic resort-hotel should definitely give Riverside a look. I could definitely see saving a little bit by staying at Riverside over a Deluxe Resort and reallocating that money on dining or other experiences.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? If you’re interested in learning more about hotels, our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page is a good place to start. For where to eat, try out our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews page. If you want to save money on tickets or determine which type you should get, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at unconventional things you should take on your trip. Once you arrive at the parks, our Walt Disney World “Ride Guides” are great for determining what to do and when to do it. For overviews of all of these topics and so much more, the best place to start is our comprehensive Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide to make the most of your experience!
Your Thoughts…
Do you agree with us that Disney’s Port Orleans – Riverside is the best of the Moderate Resorts? Do you dislike Riverside?! Any other opinions or questions about staying at Port Orleans Riverside? We love hearing from readers, so please share your thoughts in the comments!
I just want to say how grateful I am to have run across our website! It is wonderful! I wish I had known about it when we made our first trip to Disney 4 years ago! We’ve been every year since! There is just nothing (for me) that compares to the magic of Disney! We’ve stayed at the Polynesian and Port Orleans-Riverside (twice and an upcoming 3rd this Spring) and we absolutely love the food court, boats, carriage rides, bike carriage rides and quick bus access to and from the Parks, really nice pools (one my son loves with water-slide). The Poly was nice but the rooms were not that much better (slightly larger in size & little nicer bath but has a leaky toilet that made noises all through the night). We stayed in a building not too far from the main lobby. I’m sure this was just bad-luck with the all night noise (from the toilet) at the Poly….it was not enough to eliminate us from future considerations of the Poly as it’s such a wonderful resort! Love the Hawaiian feel when getting off the bus entering into the lobby! Can’t really beat the monorail access either! Each resort has it’s own uniqueness! We wanted to try Carribian Beach or Coronado Springs this year, but reading recent reviews….doesn’t sound like a good idea due to construction/refurbishment. Utilizing your site, we saved over $1000 on our park hopper tickets! Booking through Disney’s Magic Travel agent was going to charge us over $2500 for 7 day park hopper tickets and we paid $1389 utilizing Undercovertourist.com website! We got a 7 day for price of a 6 day for 2 adults and one child! Utilized mydisneyexperience.com to book hotel with the advertised 20% off fun and sun special (undercover was approx. $20 higher per night). Your site still has more I need to explore…and I look forward to spending many days and hours taking it all in until our Spring Disney trip arrives! Thank you for the time it takes to maintain this site….I hope you never loose your figment imagination and motivation to keep this going! It’s the best combination of information out there! Fantastic Job! 🙂
Hi, I wonder if anyone can help?! This is going to be my first trip and I’m trying to decide between the Port Orleans Riverside and the Animal Kingdom (first choice was Caribbean Beach but other half is concerned about the construction taking place there!) The difference in cost is around £600 which is fine. Any thoughts or help on this would be really appreciated as I’m struggling to make a choice! 🙂
I love Port Orleans, but if money isn’t an issue, I would go with Animal Kingdom. The rooms are bigger, the room entry is indoors, and there are actual animals you can see up close every day. The restaurants are also more interesting and a definite step up from a moderate. They both have great theming, but a deluxe is almost always going to be cooler than a moderate.
Thank you, that’s really kind and helpful – especially as you have been to both and can provide an honest opinion 🙂
You will not go wrong at Port Orleans-Riverside! It’s a fantastic Resort with many Deluxe type amenities for the moderate price point. Animal Kingdom is beautiful and has it’s own vibe going, larger accommodations more upscale. PORiverside is more laid back but wonderful food court and restaurant, quick bus arrivals to take you to the parks. For your first trip to Disney, I’d say go for AK then try Port Orleans Riverside next go around! Be sure to dine at Boma at AK…it’s one of our favorites!
Port Orleans – Riverside is one of the resorts our family has enjoyed a few times. A few of our highlights are: Boatwright’s for dinner, the dancing piano at the lounge after dark and the sprawling layout of the entire resort area. I like going for a run first thing in the morning and the pathways carve out a nice 5k run. My hope is that we can get back to Riverside in 2019.
I’ll be there in about 4 weeks. Yea! I’m guessing the comment about the destination for the boats being lackluster was written pre-Disney Springs. I agree that Downtown Disney was dull, but Disney Springs is great with more to offer than we have time to experience.
You are absolutely correct. I will update that now–thanks!
Be there on December 17th. Looking forward to it even more after your review.
Thank you for your lovely and thorough review! We recently returned from a trip with 2 adults and decided to stay at Riverside after reading your review. It was worth it. Beautiful, some laid back and romantic walks, fun Halloween festivities on Halloween night, campfires with s’mores, GREAT food, and Yehaa Bob’s show in the lounge was fantastic. Boating to Disney Springs was easy. We stayed in a building near the North depot, which meant longer internal transportation but always managing to get on a bus, whereas the South depot near the main building seemed to have longer lines and have greater likelihood of having to stand or wait for the next bus. We’d definitely return, but try to stay near the North or West bus stops if we can.
Stayed here recently. The room did have a small fold out bed which was good so that our two kids didn’t have to share a bed. While nice and clean but being in the moderate category it had a few drawbacks. Rooms are a touch small and did not have enough storage for clothing for a family of 4. The room has a minifridge but no microwave, not a big deal but we usually like to heat up some oatmeal for the kids to have at breakfast or some popcorn at night. The resorts is made up of many smaller detached buildings, while good to keep guest noise down, the staff carts that travel between buildings can be noisy at night, was find for me but may be problematic if you are a very light sleeper. Depending where you are located it can be a bit of a hike to the main pool and restaurant. The biggest issue I have is not the resort but some of the families it tends to attract. Of our 7 days at the resort, I witness dozens of guest in clear violation of the no smoking zones. The other common sight was seeing someone crack open a beer at 9 AM, is that really necessary? I get it, you are on vacation but not a great example to set for a location that has many many children.
I’m surprised to see all of the negative comments about the Port Orleans Riverside. We’ve stayed at the Grand Floridian, the Polynesian, the Contemporary, and Fort Wilderness Lodge, as well as Port Orleans Riverside. Our favorite of all those is Port Orleans Riverside. We’ve stayed there the last 3 times, always in building #14, which is closest to the food court. The food court is the best we’ve found at Disney. And you have to catch one of Yehaa Bob Jackson’s show. Nice boat ride to Disney Springs. Love the pool and the grounds. Heading back there next month and again in March.
Going to Disney in February 2018 and trying to choose between Port Orleans Riverside and Caribbean Beach? Any suggestions? Unsure about Caribbean beach because of the construction going on.
Dirty room. Flippant response to complaint, including laughter. Look elsewhere.
We stayed at Riverside in 2013 and hated it! The walk to the food court, main pool, and bus stops was horrible especially when you have tired kids and a grumpy husband in tow. 🙂 We had asked for a preferred room but I’m not sure if we got it. We were told we HAD to book a moderate since we had a 5th guest. We had previously stayed at All Star Movies and LOVED it. To us, there was very little difference in amenities between the value and moderate. Rooms were almost identical. The moderate had a bed (which is really a large shelf) that pulled out of the wall for the 5th guest. None of the kids wanted to sleep on it so we ended crammed in 2 beds. We are long time Disney lovers and are planning another trip now. If you are considering Port Orleans Riverside and you don’t want to have walk a lot AFTER a long day in the parks, request a room closest to the bus stop, main pool, and food court. You will be glad you did.
I’ve stayed at FQ before (was pleasantly surprised after having stayed mainly at Deluxe resorts with my family, and paying for this trip on my own I was a little leery of the moderate resorts and am now totally on board) and am contemplating RS for an upcoming trip in April. I’d much prefer the mansion buildings to the alligator bayou- have people requested those buildings and have those requests generally been granted? I’m torn as to what to do- book what I know I loved, FQ, or chance it and hope that I get the building I request at RS. Does anyone have advice or experience requesting one type of building versus the other?
If you want to be sure to have a room in the mansion buildings, book a royal guest room (see the picture above.) They have that Disney magic and are only in the mansion buildings.
Hi Tom,
My family is considering a trip in December. We were only considering Port Orleans Riverside, but didn’t you say in a previous post that free dining is not offered to people staying at Port Orleans? So, as crazy as it sounds, we might consider Caribbean Beach. It sounds like the overhaul of Centertown might be close to completed or done by the time we would arrive. We are considering staying Dec 10-18. There is usually free dining offered around this time frame. Do you think Disney will still be offering the $75 gift card per room per night at that time too? The double dipping is interesting…….not sure what we are going to do yet. Any thought? Thank you!
Rebecca,
Check to make sure you can’t get disney dining as I booked yesterday and was offered the quick service dining option for free and I paid to upgrade it to the disney dining.
Disney are (according to operators) not offering the $75 gift card per room per night any more as the renovations have been widely publicised and anyone who books it now is aware of the situation.
We have booked RS for next year and was a toss up between it and Animal Kingdom Lodge (£1100 more expensive) and the cheaper option won, hopefully we picked the right choice!
Hi Tom,
Thank you for all the detailed and valuable tips! My family started coming to WDW when it opened in the 70’s. We have come with our own family over the years and the last trip was for the millennium in 2000. Now our “children” are grown adults and one is married. We have a total of 6 of us….ideally two in each bedroom. In the past the Beach Club was always a favorite because of the walking distance to Epcot and when the kids were younger the pool was perfect. Do you have any suggestions on where to stay in June? Ideally monorail or boat access. We are staying 3 days.
We had the same issue we booked to stay at CBR in Oct/Nov and after looking at all the forums we are now staying at Riverside we did get a good deal to change and with 2 kids 6 and 4 think this will be an enjoyable holiday.
We have a reservation at the Caribbean Beach in May. Due to the major refurbishments which we just found out about, we’re not sure whether to stay there or switch to Port Orleans Riverside. We are traveling with two 5 year olds who love the CB pool and pirate pool area. We aren’t sure whether to stay without the arcade, gift shop or dining options at the CB. While Riverside looks like it has everything and more than the CB has, we are not real fans of the bayou feel and the main pool at Riverside looks only so-so. Not sure whether to take a chance and stay at the CB with the limited amenities now or switch to Riverside. Your thoughts would be most appreciated.
That’s a tough call. If your family loves the atmosphere of Caribbean Beach…that’s something you definitely won’t get at Riverside. I’d probably just stick with Caribbean Beach, in your case.
Thanks again for all of your great information! We are planning to go in April and I am booking very soon (April 21 to May 3) and trying to decide between Caribbean Beach and Riverside. My kids are 5 and 3 and crazy about the pools – I am thinking Riverside but the pool looks bland. I read somewhere that we could use the pools at FQ? Is that true? Does that make up for it?
If pools are a priority (we are doing 3 days just at the resort intermittently and the balance of our trip at the parks) – would you stay at CB or Riverside – taking into account size of the resort for young kids, construction at CB (though I think we miss most of it) and the pools? Any advice would be MOST APPRECIATED!!
Yes, you can use the pools at French Quarter, but those are similarly sorta meh. The “Pirate Fortress” pool at Caribbean Beach is awesome.
If it were me, I’d book Caribbean Beach Resort and just deal with the couple days’ worth of construction. I think it’s worth it for the pool. Your mileage may vary, though.
Tom,
We are going in June for our 10th anniversary 9 (it’s a surprise). Right now we are planning at the Caribbean Beach, but I read your post yesterday about new construction. Would you recommend the Caribbean Beach or Port Orleans Riverside? We have kiddos ages 18m, 4, and 6.
Thank you,
Kelly
That is awesome – I will do that – thanks so much!!
I looked through several comments but have not read them all, so I apologize if this was stated already. We stayed at Alligator Bayou in October 2016 and were told that our room sleeps 5 adults. The fold-down bed is NOT for an adult! My daughter is 19 and is 5’5″ tall. She could not sleep on the fold-down without keeping her legs bent. So she gave up.
I loved the mattresses on the full beds, through, and even snapped a photo of the tags. They are Serta, and the same model is no longer available. We were there during Hurricane Matthew, but I had great nights of sleeping!
Love the information, would have liked to know there is no fishing unless you pay for it. Planned Florida trip for family to relax do Disney and fish. Port Orleans Rivereside
seamed to be the perfect place. Security let us know thete is no fishing at any of the disney resorts. I understand, just don’t appreciate planning a lifelong trip to have the whole family disappointed. FYI boats can no longer be rented at Disney.
Helpful commentary ! I learned a lot from the details – Does someone know where I can grab a fillable OR Defendant\’s Request for Hearing/Order for Stay example to work with ?