Port Orleans Riverside or AoA in April

[EasinEpcot]

Very excited to have a trip booked in April. We are currently booked in two Little Mermaid rooms at AoA. We've stayed in family suites at AoA on past trips and have outgrown them, we really need two double rooms instead. For the same price we could book at Port Orleans Riverside instead. We love AoA and the theming, but our kids are 15 now and I'm not sure it will hold the same appeal as when they were 10 (the last time we visited). Would love thoughts on the appeal of POR vs AoA for teens in particular.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Is Pop an option or are they full? (Guessing they do not have availability.)

I would keep AoA for the Skyliner but the one drawback I see is the long walk to the LM rooms.

 

[Dsny4fun]

I would go with POR, then your family could take the boat down to Disney Springs which has great places to eat and shop and just walk around. I always stay at POFQ and go to DS most evenings for dinner.

 

[EasinEpcot]

Pop is available. How is the pool there for teens? POR has hot tubs which is a big draw for our kids at this age. How long is the walk from the Little Mermaid rooms?

 

[elvispursley]

Personally, I’d go one of the PO resorts. With teens, I’d lean towards POR for the better pool options (even though you have access to those pools if staying at POFQ). The theming is one of the best of the resorts (imo). The food offerings are great, especially with the boat to DS.

 

[TexasJedi]

I feel like it's an unpopular opinion, but my family was not a fan of POR when we stayed a couple of years ago...we much prefer AOA.

While people online talk about the walk to the Little Mermaid rooms at AOA being long, depending on where you are at POR, you could just as easily have a further walk to the main building, and the lack of elevators was a pain when transporting the family's luggage up and down the stairs for check-in and checkout.

And while it could have just been the room we were in, the AC was much noisier and didn't seem to work as efficiently as what we we're used to at other Disney resorts. It was good enough, but AC usually isn't something we even think about or notice at other resorts in the summertime, so noticing that it didn't seem to be as good as others was notable to us.

Like another poster suggested, I'd personally go with Pop over POR as well if I was looking for two double rooms. Skyliner access is a big plus for us. (But we're big Skyliner people--that was one of the big factors behind choosing the Riviera as our home DVC resort.)

 

[gottalovepluto]

Pop is available. How is the pool there for teens? POR has hot tubs which is a big draw for our kids at this age. How long is the walk from the Little Mermaid rooms?

If you don't have a strong opinion I'd enquire of the kids if they prefer a hot tub or Skyliner access at Pop. (Don't see the point in AoA theming at that age when Pop has a chance to get you a better located room and neither of those hotels offers hot tubs.)

 

[highlander357]

I vote POR. I actually like to be a little bit away from the main building. I enjoy walking through the scenery on my way for my morning coffee or evening beverage. On my last trip we did some Skyliner hopping. I couldn’t believe how far away the furthest rooms (Little Mermaid) at AoA were from the Skyliner terminal. I like walking, but I told myself I would never stay there because of how far away those rooms were. People say the walks at POR are just as long, but I don’t see it unless you ignore the bridge across Old Man Island and walk around the entire resort. And even if they are just as long, I would rather walk along the river or woods than through a hotel complex.

 

[disneyseniors]

POR was our family resort for years, then we moved to POFQ due to mobility issues. Our teen grandkids loved POR. They stayed at the Poly with their parents while we were there, and they begged to be able to stay with us at POR. They really loved it there. We like the beautiful winding tropical pathways in AB and the gorgeous Mansions across the river. The atmosphere is laid back and beautiful. POR's food court was the best around. I dont know how it is now because that's been a few years back since we were there. The boat to Disney Springs was a plus too.

 

[EasinEpcot]

Post-trip update April 29, 2025
We ended up staying at AoA for our recent trip and had no regrets. The theming is so much fun, my teens still loved it and so did my MIL who felt like she was in a 4 star luxury resort. It's so well done, we felt immersed in Disney the entire week.

We were originally assigned 2 connecting rooms in Building 8 (Little Mermaid section) but at check-in we were able to change to 2 side-by-side rooms in Building 7 with a pool view. The walk to the lobby/restaurant and Skyliner is a little longer from the Little Mermaid section of the resort, but really not noticeable, even after a long park day. After this last visit, I can't imagine booking anywhere else, and I really loved the Little Mermaid standard rooms compared to the family suites (we have previously stayed in both the Lion King area and the Finding Nemo area).

Reasons we loved it:
Skyliner - this is such an elevated (no pun intended) way to travel to the parks, I would 100% only stay at a resort with Skyliner access in the future.
Landscape of Flavors - great food court with plenty of options and both indoor and outdoor seating.
Pools - all three pools are great and provide a lot of room for swimming. This time we only swam in the Flipping Fins pool near our room and it was wonderful - great size for swimming. And you are surrounded by the Little Mermaid sculptures and theming, so it felt very fun. We visited a few other resorts this trip and noticed that while their pools are highly themed, they are much smaller and thus more crowded than any of the AoA pools.
Immersive experience - we love the feeling of being at Disney 24 hours a day during our trips and the theming at AoA really supports that. This was our 4th stay at AoA in 9 years and I still got all the feels walking into the beautiful art-themed lobby.
Little Mermaid room vs Family Suites - we loved the family suites when our kids were little and our family of 5 was very comfortable. But once our kids got bigger (and had their own suitcases with more stuff) it started to feel quite cramped and it was harder for tall pre-teens to share a double bed. This time we opted for LM rooms with 2 queen beds each and it was a great decision. We had 3 people per room so there was enough room for everyone's stuff and sleeping arrangements were much more comfortable. We asked for additional luggage racks so we could get the suitcases off the floor and this really helped as well.