Disney's Port Orleans Resort - Riverside

I visit WDW annually, but this 4-night stay at Port Orleans - Riverside (POR) was my first time staying at a moderate hotel (I usually stay at the deluxe hotels with DVC members) and my brother's first time at WDW. We were able to check in early upon arrival (~11am) and although I had originally booked a basic Standard View room, we were unexpectedly upgraded to a Water View Royal Guest Room (thank you)! It was the first of a few unexpected treats on our trip. The room was decorated to a "T" (literally, as Princess Tiana's first initial was at the top of our light-up headboards) with princess-themed artwork, bedding, and drapery in a royal blue/purple motif. Our room was conveniently close to the main lobby, dining hall, and the South bus stop which was much appreciated after spending 15+ hours in the parks on some days. We enjoyed the relaxing riverboat ride from POR to POFQ (for beignets) to Downtown Disney one morning. We never had to wait long for a bus from POR to the parks in the morning, however there was often a 1-2 bus wait on return rides from the various parks back to POR in the evening. Travel times between POR and the parks were lengthier than those when staying at deluxe hotels, but I expected this and it did not come as a surprise. The ~H20+ bath amenities are always appreciated, but I missed the body/bath wash usually provided at the deluxe resorts (we received orange-scented shampoo, conditioner, facial soap, and body soap). We rarely saw housekeeping or any other workers around the rooms, but again, we were at the parks most of the day and always returned to a clean room in the evening. My brother and I agreed that we really enjoyed our brief stay at POR, but will likely stay at another Disney resort the next time we visit WDW - there are just so many to experience! Finally, Disney's Magical Express was an added bonus that definitely helped us save on transportation costs to/from Orlando airport.

This hotel was everything we wanted and needed for our Disney vacation. Once we arrived and parked our car, we never had a need to drive again until it was time to leave. Our room was comfortable, the pool was fun, the Mickey waffels were a hit, and I could go on and on. We really enjoyed our stay.

Great experience. Very clean room and grounds. Helpful staff. Food court was surprisingly good. Pleasantly surprised given the affordable price of the room.

I was a little disappointed staying here. I had heard such great praise about this hotel and couldn't wait to try to it out. This being a Moderate Hotel I was surprised when the service was below value. I'll start with the positives, the grounds are beautiful. The problems started when I got my room key and was told it was on the second floor. I had to park very far from the building because there was construction in the building next door and the closest parking lot was reserved for construction workers. So it was quite a hike with 2 small kids. The room was on the second floor with no elevator and once inside we found a dead cockroach inside one of the drawers. We found a little girl’s princess crown on top of the pillows and thought perhaps the hotel assumed we had a daughter (we have two sons). The room was not cleaned on the first day we were surprised to find it just how we left it in the morning. The construction of the building next door kept us from walking around our area and using the closest pool because there were strong fumes from the paint or whatever they were doing. This did push us to walk around and really see how beautiful the hotel property was, however, it made me wonder why we were stuck in the back in an area called the Alligator Bayou when there were so many beautiful areas where no construction was happening. On our last day we did not receive our check out statement under the door as requested and the housekeeping staff was pushing us out of the room at 9:00 am. We when left she gave us a dirty look, then later chased us down to give us the princess crown we had found the first day, it was then that I realized the room had not been properly cleaned before our arrival. It would take a lot for me to change my mind on this Disney hotel. It was very disappointing.

The riverside resort was awesome! I thought the staff did a wonderful job. When I first checked in computers were down but the staff took care of us and gave one day hopper pass so we could go to a park and finish checking in later that evening. I liked the little extras like the mickey mouse made out of towels they put on my bed. I used to stay at condos or hotels when traveling to Disney World but not any more this is the way to travel. The magic express from the airport to the resort and then the buses to the parks no more rental cars!

The hotel staff was extremely helpful. We had a great time and would stay again.

Beautiful resort. Room was not done until 3pm some days. The staff went around 8:30am in the morning with leaf blowers just outside the door and woke us up. People were very friendly throughout the resort. I would like to see the cable upgraded and free internet for the price you pay for the room. The grounds are manicured perfectly and the boat ride down to downtown disney was very nice. I will definitely stay here in the future.

Our experience was very good. The people at the front desk check in were excellent. I was concerned when I was told that I still owed money for the room. They helped me get an Orbtiz agent on the phone and then stayed with me for the 45 minutes it took me to resolve the issue. The food in the restaurant was excellent while the food in the food court at lunch and dinner was ordinary. The folded towel animals in the room thrilled the kids. We got, swans, autterfuly, a one9eyed duck and mickdy mouse (2 rooms). We had a hard time figuring out how to adjust the air conditioning. The pool was nice but other guests gogged the hot tub so it was very crowded. Our biggest problem was that we did not have enough time to enjoy all of the features of the hotel because of all of the things to do at Disney World, Universal Studios and surrounding areas.

We decided to try the Port Orleans Riverside and we were rewarded with a wonderful stay that the whole family really enjoyed. I booked a King room in Alligator Bayou which was spacious and had plenty of room for the crib that we requested at check-in. It was delivered so fast that it was waiting for us at the room when we got there. The food court, swimming pool, and resort grounds were all excellent. The room we had was extremely quiet (in contrast to the typical All-Star resort room) and the family slept very comfortably. The in-room fridge was an unexpected bonus. I regretably forgot to request a ground floor room and the resort was quite full so we were given a room on the second floor which was an extra hassle with our stroller and extra baby gear each day. Also, some rooms can be quite far from the main buildings, so I would recommend requesting a ground floor room close to the main building if possible. Some rooms face the parking lots, so I would try and avoid those as well. Otherwise, our stay at Port Orleans Riverside was perfect and we will definately be staying there again in the future.