Port Orleans Riverside Thoughts

[mickeymom22]

We have stayed at both. Once my youngest got old enough to be counted, we became a family of five...so Alligator Bayou was our spot. We had great stays there, but the 2nd time we got a really remote room. It made me feel disconnected from the rest of the resort. We always make use of the food court at a resort, and it just wasn't that convenient. I believe our room was on the backside of Building 37 so it was close to a bus stop, but the food court was far and the main pool was a bit of a trek. The 3rd time we stayed there, our oldest didn't come with us so we were back to being a family of four. Our youngest daughter wanted to stay in a Royal room. I was a little disappointed at first because I was kind of done with POR, but we said yes because we knew she wouldn't be into the princesses for much longer. Boy was I wrong! I loved that section of the resort! The grounds were great and the location. The interior of the room was so cute. I think I watched the fireworks over the bed more than she did! After that stay I would stay in POR again, but make it a Royal room, any room in Magnolia Bend, or a preferred room in Alligator Bayou!

Happy Planning! POR is a great place to stay!

 

[Porsche4]

We have stayed at both. Once my youngest got old enough to be counted, we became a family of five...so Alligator Bayou was our spot. We had great stays there, but the 2nd time we got a really remote room. It made me feel disconnected from the rest of the resort. We always make use of the food court at a resort, and it just wasn't that convenient. I believe our room was on the backside of Building 37 so it was close to a bus stop, but the food court was far and the main pool was a bit of a trek. The 3rd time we stayed there, our oldest didn't come with us so we were back to being a family of four. Our youngest daughter wanted to stay in a Royal room. I was a little disappointed at first because I was kind of done with POR, but we said yes because we knew she wouldn't be into the princesses for much longer. Boy was I wrong! I loved that section of the resort! The grounds were great and the location. The interior of the room was so cute. I think I watched the fireworks over the bed more than she did! After that stay I would stay in POR again, but make it a Royal room, any room in Magnolia Bend, or a preferred room in Alligator Bayou!

Happy Planning! POR is a great place to stay!

Thanks so much for your feedback. I was considering a Royal Room because my 23 year old daughter would absolutely love the themeing there, she is a big Princess fan even at 23. Was there carpet on the floor in the Royal Rooms or do they have laminated floors like the rest of the resort? Thanks again for your thoughts.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

We’ve stayed at both and many other WDW resorts and rPOR is our favorite moderate. Haven’t stated at gran destino tower yet though. We prefer riverside over French quarter. You’ll definitely get a lot of differing opinions but we’ve never found POR overwhelming or too far/long to walk. When I compare POR to Caribbean Beach, hands down Caribbean beach feels larger to me. We’ve stayed in a 5th sleeper alligator bayou room as well as royal rooms. I know someone asked about flooring. Last stay was 2018 and I know they’ve done some refurbishments to the resort but not sure if they replaced the carpeting with laminate.

I like the food court at POR and we also always liked yeehaw bob but I know he was sadly let go with many other Disney entertainment. We really like the theming at POR so much. French quarter is fun but riverside is just special to us. Also hopefully when POR and POFQ reopen the boats to Disney springs will be running too. You really can’t go wrong with either resort. They’re both great options.

 

[disneycat321]

We've stayed at POR twice - the mansions once and Alligator Bayou the second time - and we just absolutely love it. It's spread out, but we love the theming and walking around in the resort. We always used the buses, and you're never too far from a bus stop because there are a few of them. We were happy with the QS options, too. I really think you should go with what theming you like the most when choosing a resort. We liked the laid back, beautiful atmosphere, and coming from CA it's very different from anything local, which we like, too. We're hoping to stay there again on our next trip!

 

[Lizgistix]

Was there carpet on the floor in the Royal Rooms or do they have laminated floors like the rest of the resort?

I looked up the Royal rooms on the WDW site and the pictures show carpeting, while the regular rooms show a wood floor.

 

[NY Pirate Princess]

Is POR open for booking?

 

[Pixie Dusted Snow]

I've only stayed once but loved it.
I really like the main building and restaurants as well.
Bus service was efficient

 

[ninafeliz]

While I like both resorts and have stayed at both, I much prefer Riverside. I’ve stayed in AB, MB, and a RR, with the RR being most recent (over New Years 2018-2019, so it has been a while). I like the POR food court much better, it’s bigger with more choices and IMO better atmosphere (except I did love the freestyle machines at FQ and the beignets, but we just walked over to get those!), I like the POR pool a lot better (I could never figure out why people think the FQ pool is anything special, the serpent just wasn’t a big deal IMO), but my biggest reason is I just personally prefer the ambience of POR and just walking around the resort. I will say, while it didn’t make or break the stay, I liked the rooms we had that were on the closer side to the main building, either in AB or right across a bridge in MB so we could get refills, go to the gift shops, etc easier. We’re big walkers and resort people, so we always walk between resorts multiple times when we stay there and use both food courts, both gift shops, etc. I do thionk the kids water play area at FQ is a big bonus if you have kids that will want to use it, but we were there in winter so didn’t swim as much and just walked down to use it once. I also loved YeeHaw Bob at POR, but since he is gone that won’t matter any more . However, having written all of that, I would choose Riverside over FQ but wii or amd still be happy in FQ if that was the only availability or if the price was hugely different.

POR was my favorite moderate, and it still would be based on atmosphere, but the skyliner has made CBR jump it just because of transportation.

 

[Porsche4]

I looked up the Royal rooms on the WDW site and the pictures show carpeting, while the regular rooms show a wood floor.

Yes I saw that too and that was why I was confused because I thought that people had said the whole resort now had laminated flooring. If there is carpet that might be the deal breaker for me to splurge out on a Royal Room, I really don't like laminated floors. This might have to be a Travel Agent question once the resort opens up for bookings.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Is POR open for booking?

No, and unfortunately Yehah Bob has been let go (which makes sense but is still sad).

 

[mickeymom22]

Thanks so much for your feedback. I was considering a Royal Room because my 23 year old daughter would absolutely love the themeing there, she is a big Princess fan even at 23. Was there carpet on the floor in the Royal Rooms or do they have laminated floors like the rest of the resort? Thanks again for your thoughts.

At the time we stayed there there was carpet. My daughters are now 14 and 20 and we all would stay in a Royal room again! The little details are just too cute, and I am a sucker for those fiber optic fireworks!

Ask for a room in Oak Manor, it isn't far at all from the food court and main building. Happy Planning!

 

[AlwaysPlanningforDisney]

We've also stayed at both and I prefer POR much more over POFQ. I love walking around the grounds, I like the pool better, and even like the restaurants better. But, it is Disney, so you can't go wrong with either, right?!?!?!?

 

[MomOfDisneyPrincess]

We stayed at Riverside our very first trip in 2013. It is beautiful! I loved the lobby and our mansion room was very nice. I had nothing to compare it to at the time and we've always stayed at PoP since then, but it made a very nice impression on me. We never went to the main pool, as it always seemed very crowded, noisy and was a long walk. The quiet pool right outside our mansion was just that, quiet and very few people. I did not enjoy all the walking. We were between two bus stops and we were equidistance between the two. It also felt like a really long walk to the lobby/quick service restaurant and was a real chore to dash up there for a refill on the mugs for the afternoon or evening.

I had prepared for the walking, or so I thought. I have a dorky pinky toe that turns up under the next toe and gets "stepped on" with every step. We did so much walking those first few days that my pinky toe was very sore and it was excruciating to walk on it. I had to bandage it up with a piece of cotton to separate it from the other toe so it would not get "stepped on" continuously. Sadly, the damage was done and the walking really became an issue. I do still have fond memories of sashaying along through the magnolia's and enjoying their fragrance. But, between the extra walking and the very long bus waits, I cannot bring myself to stay there again.

 

[Alexis56578]

We stayed at Riverside September of 2019 and loved it. We were in building 18 or 19? We were super close to a bus stop and the walk to the food court and pool was nothing.

 

[JennP78]

I love POR but more importantly based on what you wrote in your OP you would love it also.

It's a beautiful resort and if you don't mind walking I think the only "downside" I can think of doesn't apply to you.

Even if you did mind walking there are ways to mitigate that with a room request.

I stayed in the Mansion area and it was perfect. Close to a bus stop and not far from the main pool which is fabulous.

 

[lilstint]

I’ve stayed at just about every resort on property and in my opinion Riverside is the most beautiful. Not sure if I missed something but isn’t it still closed? Is there any information available concerning reopening plans at this time?

 

[MiraclesTakeTime]

It's a very large resort. It was a bit confusing getting around the first few days, but the grounds are beautiful. The rooms needed updated when we last stayed, but looks like they have all been updated now. It was nice having t he bus to DS.

 

[browneyedgirl1683]

I loved it there. I'm used to walking everywhere in my city, so walking certainly didn't bother me. We were in building 38. I loved the quiet, it's beautiful, and touring the grounds was one of my favorite things. It felt like a vacation from a vacation. My only issue was that we did get turned around getting back at night.

My in-laws complained about the lack of bus service. We went in mid-March. I am used to using public transportation, so it wasn't such an issue for me. It really depends on perspective and experience.

 

[mn51]

I know that I am going to get lots of people saying stay at POFQ but I wanted to get some thoughts on people who have stayed at Riverside. First off I will say that the size of Riverside and the extra walking involved does not bother me at all. I know everyone raves about FQ saying that they love how small and intimate it is but for some reason I am more drawn to the look of Riverside. I really like the look of the reception and lounge areas more than FQ and as an early riser looking for somewhere to sit waiting for other party members to rise it looks like it might offer more for me. As far as I can tell the look of the rooms (other than the Princess rooms) all look pretty much the same. I am happy to give the buses a try but am also quite happy to grab a taxi or Uber to the parks if they don't work out. I would love to hear peoples thoughts on Riverside and any experiences they have had there.

We have stayed at Riverside a number of time and French Quarters a few times. We love Riverside and find it very relaxing. There were many nights that we did not go back to the parks and instead sat on the lobby porch just watching the boats come in and out. It's a beautiful resort to walk and just enjoy the beauty. We have stayed at other resorts and really have found the buses to be pretty much the same. Sometimes you hit it right and sometimes you don't. Go and enjoy. It's a beautiful resort.