Port Orleans Riverside

[epceddie]

Can anyone give me some pros and cons about staying here. What is the parking like? Do the buildings have elevators? Where are the best river views?
Any and all help will be appreciated.

[Alaska Disney Fan]

Big resort, very spread out, nice grounds, river views semi limited from rooms, but great as your walking, great boatride to DTD, cool pool area, nice walk (can be long) to the main building, multiple bus stops, no elevators. All of these can be taken as pros or cons. Port Orleans French Quarter is close to the same except small resort, everything is close to the main building, great river views from rooms and while walking the grounds.

[CleveSJM]

We love POR. They are one of the few resorts that can fit 5 into a room. Some rooms have a trundle bed that rolls out from under the other bed and can sleep a kid. Make it economical for a family of 5.

Parking is good. Lots of it and spread out close to the buildings.

No elevators. Only two stories but tough with luggage.

No good river views. The buildings are set back from the "river" and there is a walking path around it.

It's a big property. You can walk a lot of you get an outbuilding and go to main building a lot. It has 3 or 4 bus stops to make a stop fairly close to all the buildings. Fairly annoying when you just want to get to your stop or the parks.

All in all a very nice property.

Can anyone give me some pros and cons about staying here. What is the parking like? Do the buildings have elevators? Where are the best river views?
Any and all help will be appreciated.

[chrim]

While the Alligator Bayou buildings at POR (these buildings contain the rooms with the smaller, fold-down bed for a 5th person) do not have elevators, the buildings in the Mansion section of POR (this includes the "Royal" rooms), do have elevators.

Since all POR and POFQ buildings have exterior corridors, I'm not sure what value there is in your window facing the "water" (which could be a pool area). But that's me.

Personally, I think the POR has one of my favorite decorating themes at WDW, but that is personal preference. (And when I say that, I am including all the resort price categories.)

There is parking all around the perimeter of the resort, but the walking distance will vary based on your room location. In general, I would guess standard view rooms might be closer, since many of those have parking-lot views.

All the moderate and above resorts (including POR) have hot tubs in the main pool area, which can be nice for soothing sore legs at the end of a long day in the parks.

Many of the guest rooms at this resort are recently renovated (late 2011/early 2012), with the rest to be renovated this year (2012). I believe the work started with the Mansions and will complete with the Alligator Bayou section.

POR is the moderate resort nearest to the Magic Kingdom (although PO French Quarter is right next door, so not much further). POR is also right near the new pet kennel, if that is a need for you.

[Mousemates]

we just got back (yesterday) from a stay in the Mansions (royal guest room) and decided that for the money spent this is likely our favorite resort. The grounds are beautiful with the sassagoula river bisecting the property and making a walk over to the main pool or lobby areas an enjoyable one. We also utilize (and find very relaxing) the boat trasnport to downtown disney.

Our rooms were in the OAk Manor complex and were centrally located which meant short walk on the property. (We have stayed in Alligator Bayou in the past but found the building layout confusing and the theming less pleasing). The rooms themself were great (my DD 19 still loves the princess thing) with the "fireworks beds" and "holographic artwork" being nice touches.

The main pool complex is nice and there are large quiet pools scattered throughout the property. Remeber you also have access to the pool at French Quarter if your kids want to do the dragon slide too. Our only complaint was a few long waits on bus transportation, but we have experienced similar delays at most resorts over the years.


As for the parking....ours was much closer than at most of the deluxes we have stayed at. The buildings do have elevators and a look at a property map will help with river views, though from our persepctive it appears the best views are from the mansions section since the foilage there is more open.

[mom2morgan]

Elevators - I know for sure Alligator Bayou doesn't have them, but for some reason I thought the mansions were 3 stories and DID have elevators?

[epceddie]

Everybody, thanks for taking the time to reply. All of your info was very helpful.

[CleveSJM]

Elevators - I know for sure Alligator Bayou doesn't have them, but for some reason I thought the mansions were 3 stories and DID have elevators?

Yep, just checked a map. The Mansions are three stories and have central elevators much like the elevators at the Value resorts (exterior).

[GoldenDreams]

Some of the things that I like about POR are the pool area, the general store, and the food court. I think all 3 are a little larger than at the other moderate resorts.

[andmomlau]

We love POR especially with the renovations. Are you sure there aren't elevators in Magnolia Bend??

[ledudes]

I can't think of any cons. It is a nice large pretty resort, fun pool and activities like marshmallow roasting and night time movies. The boat to Downtown Disney is a fun relaxing ride, lobby is nice and reminds me somewhat of a scaled down beach club or boardwalk lobby. It is our favorite moderate. We couldn't get in this year witht he free dining so we are going to the Beach Club which is one of our favorites, but we definitely would choose moderate if we could have since we are rarely in our room.

[johnO]

We stayed in the Oak Manor building near the river a couple of months ago in January 2012. The grounds at Riverside are beautiful. From the design and look of the Mansions, the landscaping, to the decor inside the buildings. The theming is great. Fulton's Store is good sized and the food court has some good offerings besides the fact that it never seemed as crazy as a value reorts food court. There is a table service restaurant although we didnt have the opportunity to try it. And dont forget about YeeHaw Bob!! A really good time and one of those great "only at Disney" touches of Magic. The river boats were great for traveling to and from DTD. We never had any issues with the bus transportation. The only downside to our stay besides the fact that one week didnt seem long enough, was the fact that our room had not yet been refurbished and still had the smaller beds.
I would stay here again for sure.

[dulyjs]

I can't think of any cons.

As much as I really enjoy this resort (I've stayed there the past several trips and will be there again in three weeks), the biggest con is the busses. Not so much the busses from the resort to the parks in the morning but those returning in the evening. For some reason the PO busses are less frequent and more full. I have wait an eternity (sometimes close to an hour) for the PO bus and have seen more than one bus for other moderate and value resorts come and go. I suppose it has to do with the many stops at POR, but how easy would it be to run an few extra buses to take the extra traffic?

It might be a better alternative if you have a car to just drive wherever you need to go.

[BhamWriter]

I stayed at Magnolia Terrace a couple weeks ago, which is well situated for a quick walk to the pool and main areas. The room was recently refurbished (they are currently refurbishing Parterre Place, which I believe will be Royal Rooms). Although my room was on the river side, there was no close view of the river from the room. For that, you might want to consider POFQ.