Port Orleans Riverside

[MassFamily]

I requested a room in Aligator Bayou. I know they don't guarantee rooms but can I assume that I will at least be in that area if it is requested.

OK, answered my own question, I called reservations last night and they cannot even guarantee AB or the Mansions. That stinks, they are so different, at least I know now and won't be surprised if we get a mansion. I have to expect though that the resort won't be sold out and they will be able to get us into AB even if we are back by the parking lot.

 

[Nazran]

Port Orleans Riverside is our favourite moderate resort. it has what we feel to be the best food court on disney property, the pasta is what makes it for me. in fact we eat here almost every trip even though we aren't staying here. that's partially due to the fact that we absolutely love the boat ride from downtown disney and back, especially peaceful after dark. the pool is not as themed as some resorts but it has an understated beauty to it. the grounds are gorgeous and well taken care of. we prefer the Magnolia Bend area because we love the fountains and lawns and in general the stately look of the buildings. our favourite of that area is Oak Manor and Paterre Place a close second. the only knock for this area is the 10 min. walk to Boatwright's and the pool. but the charm of the pedestrian bridge over the river makes it worthwhile. overall, i can't say enough good things about this resort. i do still wish it was called Dixie Landings and i wish they had more merchandise with the resort logo on it, but that's a pretty minor complaint. enjoy!

I have never seen a photo from that perspective. That is awesome!

 

[rdkimmy]

With the extension of both the % off and gift card promos, our trip now falls within the dates. I priced it out both ways (7 nights, POR July 6-12). We have 3 kids, DDP and 8 day hoppers in - not sure if that makes any difference.
Gift card promo for us would be $25 less (if you deduct the $500 from the quote), but you cannot use the card against the trip. That provided enough of a hassle to not be worth a $25 savings.

You can use the gift card against the trip if you wait to upgrade your tickets after you get checked it. You could purchase a 1 day base ticket with your package. The difference will definitely use up that $500 gift card.

I did the math for my trip with 8 nights at POR in May, with dp, and with hoppers and water parks. The difference with the gift card or with the room discount was less than one dollar.

 

[aceys_h0ney]

Thanks for the input! We did go ahead and book it. We plan on just taking an airbed for my son. The 2 yo will go in the pack-n-play if we find room or sleep with her sisters. I thought a lot about being crowded but honestly we will spend most of our resort time in the pool and really only in the room to sleep and dress. We can manage!

I keep reading how big POR is so compared to a value like POP which is where we stayed before is POR bigger, smaller or same sizish? I felt like POP was a huge resort but want to prepare that they could be bigger!

 

[december]

These details are wonderful! There will be 6 of us (me,ds12, dd10, dd1, my sister, and her ds7) here in June. We are bringing a twin aerobed. The baby sleeps with me, so we'll have one bed, my sister and her son will have a bed, ds12 on the air mattress, and dd10 in the trundle!

 

[jupers]

Just chiming in to say I love this resort!!! We've talked about staying somewhere else, bit I don't think I will!!

 

[Missytara]

I have stayed at POR every year since 2004.

Last year, I got the 4/3 deal and moved over to SSR. I thought it would be a nice change, and I still had a lot of the same amentities that I had at POR.

Boy, was I disappointed. I even went down to POR twice to "visit" and I almost cried each time I had to get into that water taxi and go back to SSR.

Believe me, no deal is going to get me to go anywhere but POR this year. I am counting the days... as you can see by my ticker below!

 

[luvdisney00]

I'm so happy to hear all of these good feelings about POR! I am getting less nervous and more excited!!

 

[daisy2jae]

I'm so happy to hear all of these good feelings about POR! I am getting less nervous and more excited!!

agree...I had a hard time picking where to stay for our upcoming trip. I'm so glad I went with the POR. Sounds like we'll all like the resort!!!! I hope time goes by fast so we can be at the happiest place in the world!

 

[briankflanigan]

My wife and our three kids have stayed at POR twice in the past two years and absolutely loved it. It is a moderate resort which means the rooms are on the small side but other than sleeping we weren't really there that much. When we were at the resort we were either swimming, sleeping, or walking the beautiful grounds. The only downside is that now that the kids are getting older we're going to have to move to a larger room until just my wife and I can go back - Highly recommended!

 

[lisam427]

Our party of six stayed at por sept. 7-15. we went there to celebrate my sisters birthday. our party consisted of myself (37), dd (16), brother in law (25), sister (20), aunt (61), and grandma (87). we stayed a rooms 1403 and 1404 in alligator bayou building 14. the four of us were in one room, my aunt and grandma were in the other.

the room theme was adorable. the rooms were kept absolutely spotless. mousekeeping did a great job. my aunt and grandmother are the ultimate neat freaks. they were thrilled with the room decor and cleanliness. no signs of wear and tear at all. the beds and pillows were comfortable and we had plenty of room. i loved the double sinks/ mirrors. it made getting ready in the morning much easier. we even got towel animals every day!

the grounds are just gorgeous and so well kept. we took the boat ride to downtown disney 3 times, twice at night. loved it!! the boat ride is best in the evening. the resort is all lit up and the lights reflected in the water. absolutely beautiful!!!!! the fountains, plants, and flowers are sooooooooo pretty. it just is such a beautiful place.

the main pool and the hot tub were wonderful. we really didnt swim in the smaller pools. it was so nice to sit in the hot tub at night after a long day at the parks and then swim for a while in the pool. we went to the pool daily. we just loved it.

the staff was so friendly and helpful. my aunt is handicapped and with my grandmother being elderly, they went out of there way to help us in any way the could. from the check in staff to mousekeeping, they were all so nice. we got all of our room requests granted. i was so glad and relieved as we needed an accessible room for two of our party members.

transportation was excellent. we waited no longer than 15 minutes for a bus. most waits were about 5 minutes.

everything overall was excellent. if i were to grade this resort i would give it a !00% plus lots of extra credit . it is our favorite resort. everytime we go to disney we think of trying another resort but always go back to riverside. while there we are always glad we made the choice to go back. talked to dd yesterday about our next trip to disney. she said she would not want to stay anywhere else but riverside.

it was my brother in law's first time at disney. my sister has been to disney but this was her first time on property. the whole family just fell in love with this resort! they loved it so much they want to come back with us next year, and they too do not want to stay anywhere else. i strongly urge anyone considering a disney vacation to give riverside a try. you wont regret it. awesome resort!!!1 cant wait to go back!!!

 

[nikki&petey]

How long is the boat ride from Port Orleans French Quarter to DTD? Also, do the boats go anywhere else?

 

[Missytara]

How long is the boat ride from Port Orleans French Quarter to DTD? Also, do the boats go anywhere else?

The boats to DTD only go to DTD. They stop first at POR, then POFQ, DTD, back to POFQ, and back to POR.

It takes about fifteen minutes from POFQ. It drops you off at the Marketplace right near the Rainforest Cafe.

You can take a boat over to Westside or you can walk, either one.

There is also a water taxi that goes over to SSR and OKW as well, from DTD.

 

[Missytara]

Jumping in to this thread. I just booked a 5 night stay at POR for my family of 5 in Aug. I am a little worried about the size of the room, but we are bringing an air matress, so I hope it'll be OK. The resort looks beautiful and I am so happy to read that so many people like it so much. We will have a car so the buses are not that much of an issue. Now all I need is for FD to be released and I'll be set.

I stayed with three other girlfriends from work a few years ago, and we didn't feel cramped at all.

I brought a surge protector with several outlets, so we had one place to plug in all of our chargers, curling irons, contact lens cleaners, etc.

We hung our jackets on the hat rack, put our backpacks on the seat and put our shoes under the seat.

Each person got a drawer.

We put the luggage between my side of the bed and the wall. I just crawled out the end of the bed.

We each too a small section of the shelf above the sink, and two of us shared each sink.

We placed four laundry bags on the floor of the closet under the closet rod, and we each got two hangers to hang up special clothes.

Honestly, I felt more comfortable with four of us at POR, then I did last year with three of us at SSR in the studio......

 

[disneylova]

Is Magnolia Terrace a good building to request as far as proximity to bridge to pool, food court, and a bus stop. How are the rooms looking in the mansion section. I figured Oak Manor was the most requested, so we requested Magnolia Terrace. Any suggestions or thoughts on room requests?

 

[daisy2jae]

At the POR do they have the wire rack shelves near the sink? In the value resorts we've stayed in we've had them.

 

[Missytara]

At the POR do they have the wire rack shelves near the sink? In the value resorts we've stayed in we've had them.

No, it is a marble shelf above the double pedestal sinks.

 

[Missytara]

Is Magnolia Terrace a good building to request as far as proximity to bridge to pool, food court, and a bus stop. How are the rooms looking in the mansion section. I figured Oak Manor was the most requested, so we requested Magnolia Terrace. Any suggestions or thoughts on room requests?

You are correct that Oak Manor is most requested on that side; I always stay there in a water view room.

Magnolia Terrace is nice, because you are a bit closer to the main pool and then the main building is right on the other side of it. There is also a small quiet pool on one side of it.

You don't want to list too many requests, because then they cannot fill them all - you are good to just indicate you would like to be in Magnolia Terrace. If I stay on the mansion side, I always try to steer clear of asking for "close to bus stop" because you end up with the possibility of facing the parking lot.

They do have elevators, so it doesn't matter what floor you are on as well.

 

[Got Muchness]

We stayed at POR in 2008 and adored it! I have many pics of the resort but this is my favorite. It has my kids of course waiting on the boat for our ride to DTD and you can see the resort in the background.

 

[samshane]

SO happy to have found this thread - just booked POR last night for the beginning of Nov!