Port Orleans Riverside is one of the moderate resorts in Disney World. It is very clearly a step above the value resorts, and really thrives in its theming and beauty. This is absolutely one of the most beautiful and peaceful resorts in Disney World. It is the perfect escape to good ole' Louisiana.
1) Ambiance
The beauty and focus on theming is really the highest point for Port Orleans Riverside. From the second you step into the lobby, you feel like you are in southern Louisiana. It truly is picturesque to walk around the resort and take in not only the buildings but the beautiful landscaping.
The resort is bordering the Sassagoula River, which makes for some amazing photographs. We were in awe of this resort's beauty. It is important to remember that a lot of the trees and plants seen on this resort's grounds are not native to Florida. Imagineers must have brought in a lot of the greenery to theme Port Orleans Riverside.
The main lobby and front end of the resort is themed as an old-fashioned steamboat station, right on the river. This is where trade was passed back in the day, and mills were powered by the rushing water of the river. This part of the resort perfectly captures this element with the buildings and "dock" theming. You can even hop on a water taxi from the dock.
The front portion of the resort is charming yet smaller than you might expect it to be. I do wish there were more buildings and restaurants to beef up this area. It felt too minimal when comparing it to another moderate resort like Coronado Springs, which has a vast selection of eateries and activities in the front end. The quaintness did add to the peaceful ambiance of the resort, so it is possible that this was done on purpose by Imagineers. It seemed a little more geared towards older folks rather than young couples or families with children.
There are 2 distinct sections of Port Orleans Riverside. We stayed in Magnolia Bend, which was based on the mansions of the South. There is a Southern charm to this area. The buildings are stately white-columned mansions, which line the river, and are set back into lush lawns and perfectly hedged bushes. Tall trees shade the lawns, almost resembling a Southern college campus. It is incredibly calm and peaceful in Magnolia Bend and feels like an escape from reality.
The second section of Port Orleans Riverside is almost the complete opposite of Magnolia Bend. It is called the Alligator Bayou and is themed around the swamplands of Louisiana. This area features cottage-like buildings scattered throughout the swamp. The trees are dusted with Spanish moss. It felt quiet and deserted. As we walked through the area, I couldn't help thinking an alligator was going to jump out of the swamp at any point. It felt extremely authentic.
I personally would not want to stay in the Alligator Bayou. The buildings looked like camping cabins and lacked the beauty and fanciness of the mansions in Magnolia Bend. If I am going to pay the cost to stay at a moderate resort, I would much rather stay in the fancier area of the resort, rather than feel like I was camping in the bayou. I will also note that this section was in the very back of the resort, and a much further walk to the main lobby than Magnolia Bend.
The center hub of the resort is the pool. I was not impressed with this pool. Besides the fact that it featured a water slide, this pool was very similar to what you would expect at a value resort. There was not a lot of special theming and I think Imagineers dropped the ball here. The pools at the other moderate resorts (Coronado Springs and Caribbean Beach) are much nicer and much better themed.
2) The Rooms
Similarly to other moderate level resorts in Disney World, the rooms at Port Orleans Riverside are a step up from the value resorts. They are a little roomier and feel classier than the bare bone, sterile feel of the All-Stars resorts. That being said, the rooms at Port Orleans Riverside were probably my least favorite when compared to the other two moderate resorts.
The standard room featured two queen beds, a small table with 2 chairs, a mini-fridge, and a k-cup coffee maker. While nice and more spacious than an All-Stars room, I was slight disappointed that the amazing theming of the resort's exterior didn't carry over to the interior of the rooms. The detailing in the room, such as the shape of the chairs and headboards give off a "Victorian" theme. There were also a couple of paintings of steamboats as a nod to the Riverside nature of the resort.
The bathroom also seemed like it was supposed to be on the "fancier" side to mimic a mansion in the South. I did appreciate the double sink in the bathroom, which is an exclusive feature of moderate and deluxe resorts in Disney World. However, the connected room with the shower and toilet was very cramped feeling and felt like you were in a closet.
One major negative for the rooms at Port Orleans Riverside, was that the room still utilized a shower curtain as the divider between the living space and the bathroom space. That is a feature that used to exist in the value resorts, but even those resorts have been re-furbished to utilize a sliding wooden barn door instead. I was shocked to see that this moderate resort still had a shower curtain instead. The curtain had a pattern of Princess and the Frog on it, so it was evident that this must have been a more current addition too. The sliding barn door brings a much classier feel and more privacy for guests, and I would expect more from a moderate resort.
3) Transportation
One of the features of Port Orleans Riverside that is unique, is that there is a water-taxi offered to transport guests between Riverside, Port Orleans French Quarter, and Disney Springs. You can board the water taxi at the front end of the resort on the dock. While this is a neat idea and you would expect it to be convenient, we did not have the best experience utilizing the water taxi.
The water taxi only fit about 20-25 people and there were usually more people than that waiting to board. That meant you had to wait for multiple boats to come before you were able to board. There was no predictability in when the next boat would show up, they ran on their own schedule. Once actually on the boat, the ride to Disney Springs was actually much longer than I was expecting. It took about 20-30 minutes, including the stop at French Quarter along the way. We did get to see some sights from the water that we would not have been able to see otherwise. For example, it was neat to get a view of the Treehouses at Saratoga Springs. Using the water taxi was fun to experience, but next time I would likely use the bus system instead.
The other transportation method provided to guests at Port Orleans Riverside is bus transport. This is a large resort, but there are 4 bus stops scattered throughout the grounds. We lucked out and there was a bus stop located right behind our building. However, it seemed like none of the buildings were too far from one of the bus stops. While the My Disney Experience app did show estimated bus arrival times at each of the bus stops, I would advise not to rely on those times. There were many times the busses came through earlier than anticipated. The busses seemed to run regularly and there was never an instance that I felt we were waiting an exorbitant amount of time.
4) Dining
It is standard that all moderate and deluxe Disney resorts feature at least 1 Table Service restaurant. Riverside stayed true and offered a Table Service restaurant named Boatwrights. This restaurant is only open for dinner and offers Southern comfort food with items like cajun chicken, ribs, crawfish, and jumbalaya.
There is also a Quick Service restaurant called Riverside Mill. The food options are standard resort food court option, but the interior of this restaurant is actually quite impressive. It is meant to be inside of a River powered mill, and you do actually feel like you are in one. It is a very neat ambiance for grabbing a quick meal.
5) Port Orleans French Quarter
One of the perks of staying at one of the Port Orleans resorts, is that you also get to enjoy the amenities of the other Port Orleans resort. Riverside is connected to French Quarter by the Sassagoula River. You can connect between the two resorts by either the water taxi, or a walkway along the river. The walk takes approximately 10-15 minutes and is flat and paved.
The main reason we walked to the French Quarter from Riverside was to sample the famous beignets served there in the Scat Cat's Club. I have heard many Disney fans rave about these beignets and they have even gone so far as to say they stay at the French Quarter just for the beignets. While I wouldn't make my lodging choices based on them, the beignets were in fact delicious. They were also HUGE and I couldn't even eat a whole one in one sitting. They are served in portions of 3 beignets so I would highly recommend sharing this with at least 1 other person. Three beignets cost $8 and I do think it was worth the price. We got the salted caramel sauce to dip the beignets into and that was fantastic!
French Quarter also features a Lagoon Pool which Riverside guests can use as well. It is themed much more impressively than the Riverside pool, so if you have kids, it would be worth the walk over to enjoy the pool.
6) Cost
Port Orleans Riverside is a moderate resort and therefore is going to be more expensive per night than at a value resort. This resort averages around $330 a night, which is similar to the cost of the rest of the moderate resorts offered at Disney World. Disney often runs deals on their resorts, so if you pay close attention, you can get 20% or more off of the nightly rate.
In my personal opinion, I did not think the full price rate is worth it for Port Orleans Riverside. The theming was beautiful, but besides that, there was nothing that made this resort shine to warrant paying a moderate resort sticker price. If you are looking for a step up from value, you definitely get that at Port Orleans Riverside. But if it came down to it, I would much rather pay the moderate resort price to stay at a resort like Coronado Springs over Port Orleans Riverside.
All in all, I would give Port Orleans Riverside a 7/10. I really enjoyed the theming and ambiance of the resort, the bus transportation was fast and reliable, the rooms were comfortable and spacious, and while large, the grounds were still manageable to get around by foot. However, the rooms themselves lacked the amazing theming of the exterior, there were minimal dining options, the boat transportation was too time consuming, and the pool was disappointing. I am not sure that the fact that Riverside is connected to French Quarter is too much of a selling point. While it is nice to get the amenities of two resorts for the price of one, I am not sure how often people would be walking or boating between the two. I did enjoy my experience at Riverside and definitely think it is one of the most beautiful resorts in Disney World. However, I am fairly certain that if I were to book moderate again, I would stay at Coronado Springs.
Comments