Hey Riversiders!
We've been back for about a week now, and I thought I'd post my observations to help others.
We really enjoyed the beauty of the Resort. Riverside has a laid-back casual feel. Check in went very smoothly and quickly. I did the on-line check in, and all of my special requests done in that fashion were granted: Top floor, AB corner room. Our room was about as far away from the Lobby and Food court as you can get. This didn't bother me much, particularly at first, but as the week went on, it
did act as deterrent from walking down to the heart of the resort. The walk was pleasant enough and not too far really but we had a lot of rain the week we were there (the week before Memorial Day weekend). At the end of a park day your feet are too tired to do the walk.
Our non-park / resort day was very rainy, and so we were not able to take advantage of some of the Resort amenities. We never got to ride the boat to DTD for example, opting for the immediate convenience of our car. If we had it to do over, I would have skipped DTD altogether (don't really like it and they have all the same stuff in the shops at the parks) and I would've spent more time enjoying the resort. We only went to the main pool once, on a break from our Magic Kingdom day, and that worked out nicely. We also never got to hear Yeeha Bob, because we were too tired at the end of the day to walk down to the lobby. I never got to rent a bike, kayak, or swing in a hammock (they were always wet from rain). Didn't do enough sitting and watching the world go by. Ah well, There is far too much to do at Disney and we had a good, albeit busy, time.
Having a car at this resort really helped. I actually drove a few times to the main building and Food court. This was particularly helpful when bringing back breakfast for my slow moving wife and daughter. We drove to all the parks except the Magic Kingdom, and that also saved a good deal of time; an added convenience. We were able to park our car very close to our room, and there aren't many Disney resorts where this is true. We did use the bus on our MK day riding it twice there and twice back, and that worked nicely, saving us the hassle of parking, riding a tram, riding a monorail and reversing that on the way out. Been there, done that - it took us an hour, no exaggeration - last time when leaving the park after Wishes just to get to our car. We used the North bus stop, and never waited more than 5 or 10 minutes for the bus, and we always had a seat because the bus appeared to have started at the West depot and it was nearly empty when it got to us. And that included getting to the MK for park Opening. We got to the Depot by 8:00 AM and made to MK in time to see the Good Morning show - 9:00 AM opening.
About the Food Court: On our arrival day (we got there at 10:00 AM and were checked in by 10:30 and our room was ready!). After we settled into our room, we ate lunch at the food court, that turned out to be very nice, and the most pleasant meal we had at POR. I ate breakfast a few times at the Food Court and well, hated it, and I don't think I'm that picky. The food choices were very unhealthy for the most part, crowds were terrible, noise was to high and it was not easy to find a seat. I was looking forward to sitting outside in the Florida sun but they had removed all the outside tables.
It wasn't until the end of the week that I discovered the very small counter were they serve oatmeal and yogurt parfait's; the healthiest meal there. There was not much offered for breakfast in the grab and go refrigerators except for fruit and juice. The bakery was out of the bran muffin i wanted one morning, and even when i did get one on a later day, it was very oily. I didn't try the eggs / bacon / potatoes as they looked very greasy. Yuck.
One morning I couldn't find a seat, and but finally located one way over by a window (nice) on the far side of the dining hall, but the corner was swarming with flies. Yuck. So I moved. People can get pretty aggressive and territorial with their chairs in there so watch out. It was only at the end of the week that I noticed people bringing their breakfast trays into the Boatwrights' dining room to eat: much quieter and not as crowded. If I had it to do over, I would have brought cereal and milk to eat in my room, and skipped the food court altogether in the mornings. Too bad, because eating a pleasant, leisurely breakfast in the morning is one of the things I like to do on vacation. The food court in the mornings was a very unpleasant, crowded, hectic, noisy, and a not very good food, way to start the morning. (We did manage to go to Kona Cafe on our leaving day and had Tonga Toast, served to us at a real table, with real Kona coffee in a press pot. Nice!). We bought refillable Mugs but probably didn't get our money's worth because we weren't close enough to the lobby to just drop in for a drink, and we didn't eat lunch or dinner there. So here's a tip: if you're not in a preferred room, just stock your fridge with soda's and water, use the in-room coffee maker (i brought extra pods) and pass on the mug.
Oh, one more note, in case any POR staff or managers are reading this: Every hour on the hour they blare out a Down By the Riverside announcement and attempt to get children to grab tambourines and march around the dining hall. THIS ISN'T WORKING! It was extremely annoying and no one was really into it. It just added noise and confusion to an already noising and confusing meal. It interrupts conversation. It made it
that much harder to get your food and eat. They do this every hour on the hour throughout the day. Drove me nuts. Please: Children are over-stimulated already at Disney. Give us relative quiet while eating and save the tambourine parade for people masochistic enough to eat at Ohanas'. (Rant Over).
We did get to use both the main pool at Old Man Island, and the quiet pool near our building (36). Both were nice for swimming, and the quiet pool (a bit of misnomer really - should call it Relatively Quiet Pool) was very convenient for a refreshing dip after a long day at a park, just before bed. The main pool
was fun. I even took my 52 year old self down the slide. My adult daughter and I had adult beverages from the bar - kind of decadent and they were nice. There was a nice energy with everyone at the pool. Our only complaint was the unnecessary and constant blaring music and hyped pool side games. I know others have complained about this and they do it at every resort now. But it was totally unnecessary. Again; the pool should be a nice place for low stimulus activity, the kids don't need the hype they need respite from the parks, and only a small percentage were really involved. You don't need a PA system for 6 kids. I remember way back, when POR was Dixie landings, they played the nicest blue grass music at the pool. It was very relaxing. Now it's Radio Disney junk. Bleh. We left the pool earlier than we wanted to escape the noise. Please Disney: leave the noise at the parks, give us quiet at the Resorts.
Our Room: The room was very, very nice. The beds were comfy, themeing was wonderful, bathroom was small but very usable. The privacy curtain worked very well. Our room was also very quiet, even though I know we had neighbors, and our room had a connecting door to the next room. Two thumbs up for the room. We had a garden view room, and it was very nice, but honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about which view you have, because you spend so little time in the room anyway, and there really isn't anywhere near or around your room to sit and enjoy the view (not like a balcony at a Deluxe).
Would I stay here again? Absolutely. But I would probably pay for a preferred room (if there was a discount for one). I would also perhaps, go a little earlier in the Spring for the weather and the crowds. While the Resort was full, it only really felt that way in the Food Court at breakfast.
Single Digit Dance
