Just figured I'd deliver a small trip report or review of Port Orleans Riverside. I was there with my Aunt, Uncle, and Father from Feb. 28 - Mar. 5.
Our Rooms
We had two of what I would have to say are probably the BEST non-preferred rooms at the entire resort. Both of our rooms were on the 2nd floor of Magnolia Terrace My father and I had Garden View room 8744 that overlooked the garden gazebo between the two internal wings of Magnolia Terrace and my Aunt and Uncle had a King Bed Room #8742 (this room also turned out to be a corner room overlooking both the garden gazebo AND the river). These rooms were mere steps from a staircase which was just mere steps from the footbridge to Ole' Man Island. We were also a pretty short walking distance (maybe 5 min) from the East Depot (which was never very crowded...more on this later). The rooms themselves were very spacious with nice "plantation/riverboat" type theming. A word to all the other first timers, don't go in expecting 5* accommodations even though you might be paying that price (if you've found your way to this site, you probably know that by now). As for the scaffolding surrounding the middle entrances, I didn't really notice it that much, nor did I hear any noise from the roofing crew. Only when walking to the bus depot did I even see the scaffolding. Don't let this deter you from staying in this building.
Bars & Restaurants
We did not eat at Boatwright's during our stay. However, I walked by it quite a bit and it always appeared that walk-up seating was available. We also were not able to partake in Muddy Rivers as it was in its final days of refurb. We ate at the Riverside Mill food court the night we arrived. We didn't get to our room until after 11pm so there was no other option. We split a large pepperoni pizza that was actually pretty good. Be warned though, Pizza and pastries are the only things available after 11pm. We also spent an evening in the River Roost Lounge. IT...WAS...AWESOME! Yee-Haw Bob puts on quite the show. He even had a fuddy dud like my Dad, who never participates in anything, standing up on his feet, beating his chest, and hollering like Tarzan. Bob himself was quite impressive. He takes time to go around to every single table prior to the show to engage in a little small talk with each group (which you'll later find is part of the schtick). For his age, he is in impressive physical shape. Numerous times he was kicking his foot up over his head whilst playing the piano and singing. Not to mention, climbing up and down on the piano bench. Oh, and his hair always "looked good"
Do yourself a favor a carve out an evening to spend with Bob during your stay. He's FREE fun for all ages and I do mean ALL ages. He get's everyone involved.
Gift Shop
Cool Theming. The Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, & Donald motorized characters are neat. You'll notice that darn near every gift shop on the entire Disney premises offers the same core group of products. Fulton's General Store is a nice place with a wide variety of Disney crap for you to drop your hard earned dough on. My advice to you. Get some ideas of what you might like to buy and then go home and buy them on the internet. I know it's not "the same," but the difference in getting caught up in the moment while on vacation and waiting a few days to have the same product shipped to you can mean lots of $$ in your pocket. Just something to think about.
Room Requests
I used the info from Andre's site to place my room request. I asked for a room close to the main building as one of the people in our group has had his knees replaced. I specified that we would accept an upper floor as long as there is an elevator. It obviously worked well for us. Utilize Andre's site people. It's basically a free step by step how-to on everything Port Orleans.
Busses and Bus Stops
This is a topic that gets a lot of run around here and it always seems to vary from horrible experiences to "oh we never waited more than 5 minutes." We utilized the Disney Shuttles for all of our travel to and from the parks (except for the day we spent at Universal. More on that later). Since we were in Magnolia Terrace, we utilized the East Depot which was about a 5-10 min walk from our room. I don't think I ever saw more than 10-15 people waiting at a time. I think the longest we ever waited for a bus was 20 minutes. It was our very first wait on Monday morning waiting for Magic Kingdom. One thing I noticed at the East depot is that the busses tend to show up in bunches. There won't be any and then all the sudden, you'll see one heading to each park all lined up together. We loved it. Here are some things I noticed about the other depots. The West and North Depots are similar in nature when it comes to crowds but they are farther outlying. Then there is the South depot which is in front of the main entrance. The South depot was PACKED every morning when we arrived (if your bus is not full at the East Depot, you go around to the South Depot to fill up). One morning I heard a lady say they had been waiting over an hour to get on a bus for EPCOT. So my advise, avoid the South Depot in the early mornings. The return trips from the parks were not that bad. The Port Orleans depots fill up with people the fastest but you usually see a bus pretty quick and they are big on packing those things as full as they can get them. All in all, for a complimentary service, I thought it was more than acceptable.
Cast Members
I think a lot of people, especially the ones that come on here and complain, are lost in the aura that Disney World is the happiest place on earth and that the cast members are the extension of that happy place. While this may be true, you need to remember that these cast members are an employment force of human beings that have personal issues and bad days and good days just like anyone else. The cast members are expected to be overly joyous at all times. I honestly wouldn't want to be one of the front facing cast members. I couldn't be that happy all the time. These people are good at what they do. Most of the 2,000 or so business people I work with would not make it a month as a Cast Member. The reason they are so successful is the fact that Disney hires an army rather than a skeleton crew to make sure that every little thing is perfect for not only your one single visit once every few years, but for everyones one single visit every single day. So on the off chance you catch one having a bad day, give em a little break.
Overall
Overall, for the price, Port Orleans Riverside is definitely not the most extravagant room I've ever stayed in. There are far finer rooms that can be had just outside the Disney Bubble that will deliver a much more luxurious experience, but it's being inside that Disney Bubble that makes the price worth it. All of the small little amenities, the cast members, the perks....so worth it. I'd recommend Riverside as a home away from home to anyone that is Disney World bound.
