Disney's Port Orleans Resort Riverside

We stayed at the port riverside for our first time onsite in many years having always stayed in a villa for our many trips to Disney. We were looking forward to all the benefits that staying onsite included. On check in we were told we were in block 28, knowing this wasn’t a preferred block , which is what we had booked, we queried it and was told that as we had a garden view room it was technically an upgrade. We went to our room and did some research and realised that this absolutely was not the case and were in a room three grades below the one we had booked.the next morning we went to reception and questioned it , fortunately a very helpful team member confirmed that we were in a lesser room and rectified the situation by initially offering to move us which we declined as we could lent face packing up and moving so she gave us resort credit for the difference , which for our eight night stay was over $280. just leaves a bit of a nasty taste that we were lied to when we checked in. We also found in one of our toiletry bags the housekeepers schedule folded up and tucked inside, not very happy as there was absolutely no reason for anyone to be looking in to putting things in our toiletry bag! The upside of the hotel are the convenience of the being onsite with the Disney transport and early entry. The pool area was very nice and although busy we enjoyed our time there. The laundry room was also very handy with a quiet pool that you can relax around whilst doing your laundry. The rooms were adequate but we were only a family of three and feel a family of four may find them a bit small. There is no where near enough storage for a family staying for more than a few days. We enjoyed our time but don’t think we would stay again.

Stayed in the port Orleans riverside royal room 9522 The hotel is set on an unbelievable beautiful landscaped spot, Disney have workers out pretty early everyday keeping the grounds spotless Check in was done on the App before we arrived at the hotel, we just collected our wristbands at the counter We signed up for the middle of the road dining plan, well worth it The room was ok for 2 adults and 2 small children, you’d need 2 rooms if travelling with bigger kids I’d say. The food court is dark like previous reviews have stated but that’s it’s look, the food was decent enough The busses from the hotel are timed and can get crowded pretty quick, the busses from the park seem to be badly timed sometimes a 50 minute wait, for what is a 15 minute journey All in all a good hotel and great holiday

We booked (4) nights in one of the better rooms on the property. On the first night, we had an issue with the room at 2AM that turned out to be a rather odd problem with the plumbing resonating----basically making a ridiculously loud noise---similar to a siren. The property general manager, 'Steve', responded and immediately got us into a new room and took excellent care of us the remainder of our stay. They even helped us back our stuff and move (my 9 year old slept through most all of it). Great job on hiring great people Disney!

We stayed at this resort 21 years ago, then it was called a Disney Dixie Landing. Over the years we have stayed at numerous Walt Disney World Resort as well as staying outside of Disney property. We have been coming to Florida from the UK for 28 years, so seasoned Disney travellers. We decided to come back to the Riverside resort due to a favourable offer that included our park tickets and dinning plan. When we were here 21 years ago the Disney magic happened and so this resort had a lot to live up to. After a 9 hour flight from the UK we arrived at the Port Orleans Riverside resort via airport transfer with the Disney Magical Express. We had a great bus driver and were the first stop. Check in took over an hour with so many people queuing and only 4 cast members on duty at 8 in the evening. We had a slight issue with two rooms one in building 39 the other in building 80, but this was quickly resolved and two rooms one door apart in building 39 Alligator Bayou, and a quiet pool view as a bonus, we were in heaven. The Rooms Our rooms had been refurbished and I have to say I like what they Disney have done. Laminate wood flooring and no carpet is a fantastic improvement. Our rooms were very spacious with lots of storage. Large wall mounted LCD Smart TV, tea/ coffee maker and a small but adequate refrigerator. The room is also equipped with a hairdryer and iron and ironing board. A small table and two chairs are themed to the room décor. Our rooms had in room air con which was easy to control via the wall mounted controller. The beds and pillows were so comfortable, all bed linen was white. There is also an in room safe. The bathroom facilities were excellent we had a tub with shower and double sinks with large mirror above them. There were plenty of towels provided, along with individual soap and body lotion, however the shampoo, condition, and body wash are in a locked wall mounted dispenser over the tub. Mousekeeping we found this service a bit hit or miss, some day good, someday a little less than perfect. One day towels were not replaced another day no coffee cups, another day fresh supply of coffee but no creamer pots, another day old cup used for coffee not removed. Hand soap and body lotion were never replaced even when empty and we are onsite for 14 days. My view is we are paying Disney for a mousekeeping service an are receiving something that is inconsistent and sometimes below what I would expect from Disney. The Resort This resort is just so beautiful and calming. It has not change in 21 year just blossomed. The location, landscaping of the ground and buildings are so well maintained. It is so picturesque wherever you are on resort. A walk around the whole resort is highly recommended. This is a large resort yet it never feels crowded. It is very quiet and relaxing. The resort has Disney bus transport to the park, we used the West Depot an never waited more than 15 minuets, and always managed to get on the first bus and this was at the end July and beginning of August when the resort was busy. Dinning The Riverside Mill food court was looking a bit tired, may be in need of a refurb, the drink dispensing machines are quite old as were the tea and coffee dispenser. The food is the standard quick serve offing of breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food court has stations for bakery, pizza and pasta, salad, sandwiches and grill. The food is of a high standard and there is something for everyone as well as a grab and go facility. There is plenty of seating and we always managed to find a table to fit our whole party. Table service at this resort is at Boatwright’s restaurant which is just along from the food court. We found the menu a little restricted and not really child friendly. There is only 7 entrees on offer for dinner, the restaurant staff were very helpful in swapping items out to meet our needs but it just was not to our British taste. We found the portions to be large. Desert was excellent, pecan pie cheesecake , Mississippi mud crème brûlée and bread pudding were all well received as were the cocktails. The Swimming pools There are 5 leisure quiet pools on site.The quiet swimming pool near our building was superb, clean, and spacious and never very busy. There was always plenty of towels available and during the heat of the afternoon a cast member was handing out cool towels, now that is Disney service for you . The pool had its own bathroom/ changing area as well as a laundry so you can put the wash on and take a dip in the pool while you wait for the washing to finish. This quiet pool was so inviting we made use of it almost every day. There is also a larger general swimming pools Ol’ Man Island which has a slide and a whirlpool hot tub. there is also games and entertainment taking place at this pool daily and the younger generation love it. Located next to this pool is the Muddy Rivers pool bar. Disney Springs Transport Transport to Disney Springs is via watercraft, the trip along the Sassagoula river is fantastic by day or night. The watercraft docks at the far end of Disney Springs at the Marketplace. You can also get a watercraft taxi from the Disney Springs Landings dock near the big ballon back over to the Marketplace dock so you don’t have to walk back to get the watercraft transport. My only feed back would be that at the first sign of bad weather the watercraft quickly shut down. We sometime found it closed even when the weather had gone around and never hit the area which was a little annoying, especially if you have walked to the Marketplace dock and then have to walk back to the bus depot which is half way around Disney Springs. Well I guess it’s safety first but a little frustrating. Resort Staff. Everyone from cast member to management on this beautiful resort were very friendly and extremely helpful. Especially Pete and Dennis from the Management Team and Angel from Maintenance. We would also like to thank the whole cast of employees behind the scenes at Port Orleans Riverside that tirelessly work everyday to make our trips so memorable. We really did not want our vacation to end, we had the most fantastic time at this beautiful resort. Port Orleans Riverside did not disappoint us. We will definitely be returning and will not leave it so long next time.

We did an online check in, which I loved. We got a text about 10 min before we arrived that our room was ready so we went straight to it. We were in the room for less then 2 minutes when the building manager(Nadine Bignall) came by. She said that housekeeping identified the air conditioning unit was leaking water onto the floor. I hadn't even noticed it yet. She helped us move all our bags to another room and gave us extra fast passes for the day for the inconvenience. I was very pleased at this pro-active step by the staff to give us a good stay. Thank you Nadine! The room had everything we needed and was very clean. The pool with slides wasn't far. The main building with the lobby and food was a bit of a walk from our particular building though. The bus station was right out front. There was a laundry facility right next door. We would never come in July again. The entire park is just too crowded and it sucks the fun out of pretty much everything. We would totally stay here again.