Port Orleans Riverside vs. French Quarter
Port Orleans French Quarter and Riverside are sister Moderate Resort hotels at Walt Disney World that we recommend to anyone who loves themed environments. So…which is the better option for your WDW vacation? This post offers our head-to-head smackdown to see which reigns supreme. (Updated February 11, 2023.)
We won’t bury the lede–they’re both great hotels and there’s no one-size-fits all answer to the question of which Port Orleans Resort is best. This is not trying to reach a definitive conclusion (although we will) as much as weigh the pros and cons of each Port Orleans Resort so that you can decide for yourself. Notwithstanding theme, we think Riverside and French Quarter each have a lot to offer.
This comparison addresses whether you should choose Port Orleans French Quarter, or if Riverside is the better choice for your family. With that in mind, we’ll compare theme, cost, dining, pools, and other amenities to help you determine which is right for you.
Depending upon your perspective, one thing that might be a pro or con is that both Port Orleans Resorts are the most “thematically pure” Moderate Resorts. While Coronado Springs added the new Gran Destino Tower and Caribbean Beach had Disney’s Riviera Resort built on a portion of its (former) grounds, this has not occurred at Port Orleans.
The upside to this is that both Port Orleans Resorts retain their charm and thematic integrity. The downside is that Gran Destino and Riviera Resort brought with them exceptional new dining and other amenities. Both Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs are now arguably “Moderate+ Resorts” in some regards, and it feels somewhat like time has passed by the Port Orleans Resorts as a result, at least from a functional perspective. Nevertheless, we love both Port Orleans Resorts, and the atmosphere is the big reason why…
Theme: Port Orleans Riverside – Both of these resorts are the height of romantic theming and Southern charm at Walt Disney World. Due to the expansion projects at the other Moderates, these two resorts are now the pinnacle of theme among the Moderate Resorts.
This is especially true at Riverside, which is divided into Alligator Bayou (bayou) and Magnolia Bend (mansions), and offers a subtle transition between the two and more thematic variety. The backstory at Riverside is interesting, engaging, and cleverly-executed throughout the resort.
The quiet pathways that criss-cross Port Orleans Riverside make it a great place to take a romantic stroll late at night, early in the morning, or (we guess?) under the high noon sun. These grounds are nothing short of stunning, with rich wilderness in the bayou and perfectly manicured gardens around the mansions. Despite being fairly spread out, it presents as intimate and romantic, and we’ve long recommended Riverside as the best budget resort for an adults-only or honeymoon trip.
French Quarter is likewise charming thematically, and its idealized presentation of New Orleans is fun. (It’s also a clever theme for masking the hotel buildings.) It also has a lot going for it, and a great sense of romanticism, but it still falls short of Riverside. The environment is just more enjoyable and has a greater sense of depth at Riverside.
Transportation/Layout: Port Orleans French Quarter – Both resorts rely exclusively upon bus transportation to get to the Walt Disney World theme parks, with boat service available at both to Disney Springs. Transportation is where French Quarter shines. It’s the only Moderate Resort that has a single bus stop, which offers a significant time-savings advantage when you’re trying to get to or from the parks. That can mean a slightly longer walk to the bus stop, but that usually is not the case.
This is because (and this is another advantage), Port Orleans French Quarter has very compact layout. It is easily walkable, and although guest rooms are spread among multiple buildings, French Quarter is not a sprawling resort like the other Moderates. Unless you get stuck in one of the farthest rooms from the lobby, everything at French Quarter is about a 5-minute walk from your room. That’s pretty significant if you have small children, or just don’t feel like making a 15-minute trek to refill your mugs in the morning.
For many people we know, this is French Quarter’s single-biggest selling point. Sarah is one of those people, whereas I’m crazy and actually enjoy the sprawling resort style of Riverside. (Fortunately, I can have the best of both worlds by staying at French Quarter and wandering over to Riverside.)
Rooms: Push – Both have rooms that we’d call perfectly fine, and they’ve benefited from functional improvements thanks to the latest soft goods refurbishment. Those room renovations also made them thematically less interesting, but a bit brighter and lighter, which is nice from a mood perspective.
Neither Riverside nor French Quarter has rooms that are as good as the recently redone rooms at Coronado Springs, which are a higher caliber because they cater to business and convention travelers. Conversely, both are now arguably better than the “Poly-lite” rooms at Caribbean Beach that are starting to show their age again.
The upside at Port Orleans Riverside is that the rooms in Alligator Bayou can sleep 5 thanks to the pull-down Murphy bed, so there’s that. On the flip side, we prefer the aesthetic of the Magnolia Bend rooms. At both resorts, the rooms are well-appointed, and tasteful from a thematic perspective. We find them perfectly comfortable, and have zero complaints…but we don’t consider them stand-out Walt Disney World rooms, either.
Dining: Port Orleans Riverside – French Quarter has the least dining options of any Moderate Resort, and is the only one without a table service restaurant. Many people consider this to be a “big deal” when planning a first visit, but we would caution you against giving too much weight to this.
The main reason is because you can walk to Riverside to dine there; it’s like a 10-15 minute walk. Second, although we think Boatwright’s Dining Hall is underrated, you will probably only eat there once–at most–during your stay. With both of these resorts offering boat transportation to Disney Springs–which offers a wealth of exceptional table service options–that is really the route you should go if you’re doing dinner outside the park.
Counter service is more or less a push. Both Port Orleans Resorts have large, loud food courts with items of varying degrees of quality. We’ve had bad and good meals at each, so we wouldn’t draw any conclusions from those, either.
With that said, Port Orleans French Quarter does have freshly-made beignets…and beignet ice cream sundaes, which are a strong selling point. (We’re not kidding.)
Pools: Port Orleans French Quarter – On our list of the Top 10 Pools at Walt Disney World, Doubloon Lagoon at French Quarter ranked #8 and Ol’ Man Island Pool at Riverside is unranked. In reality, the two pools are not that far apart.
Where Doubloon Lagoon has a distinct advantage, from our perspective, is in terms of character. It features have a troupe of musically-inclined alligators, which collectively (more or less) form the Bayou Gator Jamboree. It also has the 51-foot long slide themed as a SerpentDragonSnake, a giant half serpent, half dragon, and half snake creature known to scour the depths of the waters, leaving no one alive.
It’s all of these details at Doubloon Lagoon that have captivated my imagination since I was a kid, and have left a lasting impression. This all gives the pool a fun vibe, whereas Ol’ Man Island Pool is kind of dull and forgettable from our perspective. If you strip away theme, these pools would be pretty closely-matched (if you favor quiet, unthemed pools, you’ll favor Riverside). Why you’d arbitrarily ‘strip away’ theme at a place like Walt Disney World is beyond us.
Cost: Port Orleans Riverside – From the best we can tell, room rates are identical every rate season of the year for standard rooms at each of the Port Orleans Resorts. Prices are a bit less consistent/comparable once you get into the different view options or the specialty rooms, but the point stands that rack rates are the same.
So then, why does Riverside get the edge here? Discounts. If you’re booking a trip far in advance (before discounts have been released), it’s important to know that French Quarter often receives inferior room-only discounts, and is blocked out from other discounts (such as the popular Free Disney Dining Plan at Walt Disney World promo). The ‘discount differential’ can turn these neck and neck rack rates into a huge chasm in favor of Riverside.
Verdict: Port Orleans Riverside – When we think of the best Moderate Resort at Walt Disney World, it’s difficult to look past what Riverside offers in terms of a resort experience. The charming theming, the relaxed & romantic ambiance, the many amenities, and the beauty of its wonderful grounds all are significant selling points.
Add to that the greater likelihood of finding deals at Riverside, and we are inclined to give it a slight edge, overall. Now, this is not to say that some parties will not find more that appeals to them at French Quarter. For first-timers, Walt Disney World can be an overwhelming place, and French Quarter removes that from the hotel by offering a more compact layout.
Port Orleans French Quarter also can be said to arguably offer the best of both worlds. Those in your party who would prefer a compact resort have that option by confining themselves to POFQ, whereas those who want the true resort vibe can easily walk over to Riverside.
There’s no doubt truth to this (and I do it on every one of our stays at French Quarter), but it feels like a cop out. Following this logic, there’s no difference among any of the resorts situated around Crescent Lake, nor does anything separate the monorail resorts. That’s just us, though and your mileage may vary when it comes to some of these categories, or how much weight you put on various strengths and weaknesses of each resort. We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Ultimately, both Port Orleans Resorts are wonderful resorts that we highly recommend. Although we gave the edge to Riverside here, we regularly stay at each of them, with which we pick depending upon the nature of our trip (and available discounts!). Important amenities, recreation, and other variables might going to matter differently to you.
Our goal is for this post to be helpful in offering a head-to-head comparison of the most crucial elements of each Walt Disney World resort experience. With that said, we suggest supplementing this with our full review of Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter Resort and our Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort Review.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, 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 clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Do you agree or disagree with our verdict in this Port Orleans Riverside v. French Quarter head-to-head? What about our conclusions in each category? Is there something we missed or got wrong? Share any questions, tips, or additional thoughts you have in the comments!
We just stayed at French Quarter for Christmas and it was the 5th time we’ve stayed there. It’s charming and has a wonderful charm. There are a ton of activities and the scenery makes you feel you’ve stepped back in time. I will never stay anywhere else. It’s like a home away from home’n
I get a lot out of your great suggestions and reviews. However, I also love your larger DTB community and I value their inputs. I can no longer read their comments. In this article, there are 23 comments. I can only read two of them. Please address this issue. I miss reading other’s comments to your posts.
I have stayed at both, but the bus situation at Riverside should NOT be overlooked. We went during a very busy and hot summer. As for honeymooners, there is no romance about waiting more than 40 minutes outside MK for a bus at night then standing all the way home and being the last stop at Riverside. We had a lengthy trip, and every day was challenging at a minimum. It is a pretty resort, but please consider the bus situation. It can dramatically affect the relaxation of your trip. We live in a smaller-ish metro and are used to Uber at home so the same transportation as 30 years ago at Disney was shocking. We bit the bullet and stayed on monorail loop next trip. If we can’t afford that every trip, we choose a hotel with one bus stop and a preferred room. I understand you can share pools at either so I would definitely choose French Quarter!
Riverside, Dixie Landings at the time, was the first on-property resort we stayed at, and it is my favorite. Great on all of the counts you named, but especially the theming which was awesome!
Thank you so much for this review, and everything else on this site. You’ve helped me to make the decision to go ahead and book for 2019, and now I’m very exited indeed. Port Orleans Riverside, here we come!!
French Quarter will probably always get our vote ahead of Riverside, even though we adore the Royal Guest Rooms and the general aesthetics Riverside.
This is a tough, bc we really do love POR but…this is coming from someone who has 2 small children, and therefore has to consider transportation as a higher priority than dining or room theming (i.e. how crowded is a bus going to be making 3 other stops compared to just 1, and how annoying is it going to be getting a stroller and 2 children under the age of 4 onto an already overcrowd bus).
I don’t consider it a loss to consider these things bc FQ is truly delightful. We consider this resort each time we vacation, which is generally 3 times a year, even if we end up staying at a deluxe resort or renting DVC points.
We like both, but POFQ is relatively quiet, has a great pool, and appealing food choices. It’s a win-win situation.
The dinning options question seems like such a small thing. One can always use Dismey’s transportatation to go to any resort hotel for dinner.
My TA just got back to me on some package deals and it seems I have the choice of RS or PO for the same price. I have stayed at RS before and enjoyed it. However some of the walks were a bit long after getting back from a full day of walking inside the parks. But I am wondering what the “non preferred” rooms are at PO? Considering I am getting a packaged deal I assume possibly I might be falling into that situation if I choose PO.
Oh and the article mentions 1 bus stop, does that mean it picks up and goes right to the parks? RS was a pain and the bus was always standing room (took forever).
They don’t have ‘preffered’ Rooms because all rooms are considered such due to the size of the resort. Yes one bus stop (we stayed in the furthest building with a baby and a 6yo yet the walk was fine) and you go straight to parks. When we went last year…on the odd occasion we had to share a coach with PORS and POFQ people were dropped off first. I haven’t been to Riverside, but I loved the French quarter!
I live in the UK and we get free dining at Port Orleans French Quarter – I’m staying there in September and have it. I stayed at Riverside when it was called Dixie Landings. I thought it was ok but nothing special and I found it too big. While there I had a look around Port Orleans French Quarter which was then Port Orleans and loved it – am looking forward to my stay there.
Dogs are now allowed at Riverside, which makes that hotel no longer appealing to me. I am a dog owner but do not want to sleep in a room where a dog may have had an accident, shed its fur all over (housekeeping can only do so much) or neighboring dogs will bark. I”m curious if the dogs are confined to one of the buildings are allowed all over?
Thank you so much for this. We are struggling with this decision. We currently have French Quarter booked because it’s a harder get, but we go back and forth. One question I have is do they let you choice between aligator bayou and Magnolia bend? We would love to do Magnolia.
Does Riverside have more shade around the pool? I try to stay in the shade as much as possible.
Thanks.
The quiet pools and the main pool at Riverside all have plenty of shady areas. It was just perfect for our family. Those who wanted sun could easily find it, but I could relax in the shade.
We’ve stayed at French Quarter our last two visits, and we’ll likely stay there again in the future. The size of the resort is what drew us to it, and I like everything else enough to keep going back there. There is only the one pool, but as noted in this review, it’s a lot of fun. It’s also big enough that you can still find a quiet corner to relax. Haven’t tried the food court since it’s renovation, but it sounds like, at least food-wise, it was a positive change. We only really eat breakfast there anyway, so the lack of food options isn’t a big deal for us. As for transportation, it is just the one set of bus stops, and there is only one day I can remember where our bus was shared with a second resort (Riverside). The bus got to FQ first, so not really a worry, and we never had to share leaving the parks.
We have stayed at both locales several times. On a personal note, we have always preferred FQ. I like the fact that it never seems crowded and the one-bus stop does the trick. Also, for the lack of dining, the boat ride to Disney Springs is lovely and no one could ask for more varied dining venues. However, on our last visit at this resort in May 2017, we found the rooms and property in general are in a much needed redo. The room furnishings are definitely in need of replacements.
We have always stayed at POR, and love it for all the reasons mentioned by you. However, since they have become a dog friendly resort, we have changed our reservations for this spring to POFQ. I love dogs, but don’t want to vacation with them, so a personal choice. Also, we are senior citizens and the shorter distances in FQ are greatly anticipated. We have found the long treks at POR getting harder for us to do. Can’t wait to try FQ in a few months. Thanks for the great review Tom!
French Quarter is our go-to resort. We love the size, the theme, and especially the quiet. My favorite thing to do there is to get up early, get my coffee, and walk around snapping the same pictures over and over! There’s been several times where I don’t see a single soul. There aren’t many places at Disney where you can say that! There are only 2 of us, so the room size is perfect. I do wish the bathroom was just a bit bigger, but it’s certainly not going to keep me from staying there. There are certainly better rooms at Disney (oh, Yacht Club, how I dream about you…) but for a moderate resort for 2 people, it’s perfect.
I think the food court at FQ is fine, and we’ve liked everything we’ve tried. We did walk over to Riverside one evening to satisfy an ice cream craving, but that’s all we’ve eaten over there. At FQ we typically stick to breakfast or snacks, and the options are great for both.
Having the boat to Disney Springs is what initially led us to our first stay at FQ. We’d been talking about eating at The Boathouse at Disney Springs, so when I finally got us a reservation I decided it’d be fun to ride in on a boat, so FQ was chosen. (Before this we were Caribbean Beach folk, and once construction is 100% done I intend to stay there again, but I imagine FQ will remain our favorite)
We’re actually staying at Riverside for the first time the 2nd week of December, so all this may become moot after that weekend! But for now, French Quarter is our home away from home.
A really good and balanced article we have stayed at French Quarter 5-6 times and always enjoy it. We do tend to walk between both Riverside and French Quarter depending on our food thought! Its a short but enjoyable walk so I agree wit your thoughts on this. That said we have just booked to stay for 3 weeks at Riverside in Nov/Dec 2018 and looking forward to the change. Overall we think Port Orleans give the best value for money and its location is good for transportation and of course the option of of jumping on the boat transportation to Disney Springs is brilliant. roll on Nov/Dec 18
We tried Riverside twice, first time during Halloween 2016.
We requested & were granted a stay in room #8916 which is considered a “Garden View”, fabulous! Quite puzzlingly it was $20+ cheaper than the “River View” room right next door, especially because it had a superior view of the river!? We happened upon an Elvis impersonator quietly marrying an eloping couple in the Gazebo below. Charming 😀
We enjoyed the feel of this resort enough to rebook our next trip with my Mom-in-law accompanying us. We felt she would appreciate the lovely tranquil views & grounds. She did!
OMG I almost forgot to add… Yeeha Bob!
Both stays we planned one night to enjoy his show at the River Roost in Riverside.
You can catch him Wed thru Sat, good choice is on a HS or Epcot day because you can close the park and still have time for Bob 😀
Don’t miss! You never know when he may retire and he truly is a WDW Legend.
Yes, 8916 is such a score! I figured out the same thing from Touring Plans’ room views, and requested it for our trip this April (followed by several other Magnolia Terrace options). Don’t know yet how the request will play out.
Tom,
I love your blog. I get a lot out of your great suggestions and reviews. However, I also love your larger DTB community and I value their inputs. I can no longer read their comments. In this article, there are 23 comments. I can only read two of them. Please address this issue. I miss reading other’s comments to your posts.
There is a link below the response count labelled “Older Comments” that fully opens the comments section. Hope that helps, or try this link:
https://www.disneytouristblog.com/port-orleans-riverside-versus-french-quarter/comment-page-1/#comments
We stayed at French Quarter in September. The feel of the resort was certainly nice. It was small, quiet, and I liked the food they had for breakfast. Beignets make everything better. However, our room was NOT in good condition. One of the wood pieces of furniture had a huge, splintered gouge in it. The bench had a large, unfortunate-looking stain. This was my first time staying at a moderate, since we usually do DVC, so I was expecting the room to be a little less nice, but I wasn’t expecting it to be damaged and stained. There’s really no excuse for that.
That said, I think I would stay Port Orleans again, but I would probably wait until they did a room refurb or I would stay in a royal room over at French quarter.
I meant royal room over at Riverside.