Port Orleans Riverside

carriebeth

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Recently booked here because CBR was not available for our desired stay and we need the space for 5 option. Looking at photos of this resort I can not get excited about it. The alligator bayou area seems to look swampy to me and not so pretty. The pool area doesn't look nearly as nice as CBR. Is it nicer in person? Have I just seen bad photos? Also, we were only able to book what was called a "pool view" room, nothing else available. Where is a good location to stay at POR? The kids use the pool so walking distance to it is preferred and also like walking distance to the counter service food. Not sure how far spread out this resort is. Is being close to both a rarity or are there a lot of buildings that are that way? Are there elevators at this resort? It sure was a pain trying to get 2 strollers up and down the stairs everyday at CBR. Not looking forward to that again.

Also what is the first bus stop pick up? Is it consistent? With 8 children our family is sort of large and if we are not the first bus stop there are many times we will not all fit on a bus at all if we are several stops out.
 

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
We stayed there in 2012 (after the last refurb). We chose Alligator Bayou because we thought the subtle Princess and the Frog theming would appeal more to the kids than the more sophisticated decor of the Mansions, and because we wanted to request the non-preferred building closest to the food court.

We absolutely loved it. (For reference, we'd also stayed at CSR and WL in the past.) Maybe you have seen some bad photos, or some old ones from before the refurb (check these out -- http://blog.wdwinfo.com/2013/01/30/photo-tour-of-disneys-port-orleans-resort-riverside/), because our room (and the resort in general) looked fresh and attractive. The greenery was lush and the theming varied from rustic to stately (if you walk from one end of the resort to the other, you'll notice that each building section's styling -- its architecture, railings, etc. -- is more sophisticated than the one before, so that by the time you get to Magnolia Bend from Alligator Bayou, the look has completely transformed!) As lush as it was, it didn't feel "swampy." The pools were lovely (granted, the feature pool is not nearly as visually impressive as those at other moderates -- on the other hand, the quiet pools are more attractive due to having more greenery around them and more interesting shapes), and the walk down the path along the Sassagoula River (we strolled to French Quarter) was tranquil and beautiful. The food court is also larger (and in our opinion, better in terms of the variety of offerings) than other mods, and unlike CBR, PORS has a fun piano bar. We would happily stay there again.
 
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LadyBelle

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
It depends. I paid for a garden view earlier this month and got placed in building 36, which was really half garden / half parking lot view. It was a pretty good distance away from the main building - about a 5 or so minute walk. I wasn't all that impressed with the alligator bayou section. I maybe should have gotten a river view to potentially be closer, but it you don't call to request, you may not get it.

The website portorleans.org is a great place to look at maps, building layouts, bus routes. My building was close to the North Depot and once my niece found a short cut, it was quicker to get there than following the signs. I will say that we were the second drop-off location on the way back from the parks and that was really nice after spending all day at the parks and being super tired.

I would have called it Lizard Lair because there were so many tiny Gecko lizards around the section.
 

LeighM

Well-Known Member
One thing to note is that the Alligator Bayou buildings are two story and do not have elevators. You can request a ground floor room to avoid the stairs issue. Also, the first stop for most of the parks is actually located in Alligator Bayou section's West Depot. It is a large resort but it makes for a quiet resort and, because it's so pretty and relaxing, the walk to the main building never seemed to take that long. And taking the boat to Disney Springs was really nice. The Alligator Bayou rooms are themed to be rustic so it won't fit everyone's taste. I prefer the decor of the mansion rooms or the royal rooms but I requested an AB room for our upcoming trip so we can try to be closer to the first bus stop.
 

Rodb

Active Member
we have stayed at alligator bayou; oak manor and magnolia manor, but prefer magnolia the best. you are positioned near the bridge cross-over to the main pool and food court; plus you have a private pool between magnolia and arcadian. location -wise i would always take the main bus depot to the parks (out in front of resort) and get dropped off at the depot closest to your room on the way back. Keep in mind that the only drink refill is in the food court.
 

bunnyman

Well-Known Member
I've stayed in the Alligator Bayou and Manor areas of POR, and I like both. The Bayou area is more like you'd expect in a bayou area with that type of plantings, etc., while the manor areas have more of a estate feel with large lawns, etc. Manor areas are generally closer to the main pool and building with the food. I've always loved the main pool area. For a moderate resort, the theme is nice (first Disney pool my now 20-year old went in at 18-months). Can't go wrong with this resort area.
 

officialtom

Well-Known Member
POR is our favourite. We've stayed in both the bayou and the mansions and like both, with the bayou being more for kids. The main pool is beautiful (maybe not quite as nice as CBR) and the quiet pools are exactly that - quiet. The rooms are all relatively close to a pool. It's all quite quiet, relaxed, and in good shape. We absolutely love it! Preferred over CBR, CSR, OKW, AoA, and Pop (the others we've tried). Give it a shot. You'll love it.

Tip: Try Boatwright's, the TS restaurant. It's incredible.
 

jaklgreen

Well-Known Member
I have stayed at both CBR(several times) and POR. I prefer POR. The grounds are beautiful, both sections. The pool is centrally located on an island in the middle so it is not too bad of a walk from anywhere, plus they have quit pools spread out. I would book a preferred room, it will get you close to the main building and the pool. POR is not as big and spread out at CBR. We do not stay there anymore because we felt like we walked forever to get to the main building. I always request a ground floor room.
 

chrisbarry

Active Member
You must've seen bad photos because we always loved Riverside. It's a beautiful, peaceful and well themed resort. Stayed there four years in a row. Almost 5 really if you consider a stay at French Quarter. You'll love it. If you have a pool view room that's better because you shouldn't be on a parking lot, you'll be more in the interior of the resort.
Make sure to head over to French Quarter as well for a different pool and a quieter food court. We've also taken a less crowded bus home to French Quarter and then either walked or took the boat back to Riverside. It's one of the great things about Port Orleans, options.
Get excited!!
 

daisyduckie

Well-Known Member
Gosh, I've stayed at both CBR and POR and I much prefer POR. The resort seems quieter, and I love the lush green of the bayou area. While both resorts are large, POR seems much smaller. Maybe in part because it has 3 fewer bus stops. And if you want to go to Disney Springs, the boat ride from POR is much nicer than riding the bus. Go with an open mind, I don't think you will be disappointed.
 

carriebeth

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I would book a preferred room,

Couldn't get a preferred or anything other than pool view. We were booking with the bounce back offer and that's all that was available. Its me, husband and our 8 children so we need 2 rooms, preferrably next to each other, and need at least one to be the pull down bed to be able to stay here(number of people), that may have limited our options some. I have had bad luck with any requests we ever put on our rooms....never gotton a single request! It always ends up working out ok, we deal with the inconveniences but it would be nice to have an easy location or ground floor or something once!
 

Rodb

Active Member
The three times we were there at POR we used an AAA travel agent and then followed up a week before with the trip and always had our request honored.
 

chrisbarry

Active Member
Couldn't get a preferred or anything other than pool view. We were booking with the bounce back offer and that's all that was available. Its me, husband and our 8 children so we need 2 rooms, preferrably next to each other, and need at least one to be the pull down bed to be able to stay here(number of people), that may have limited our options some. I have had bad luck with any requests we ever put on our rooms....never gotton a single request! It always ends up working out ok, we deal with the inconveniences but it would be nice to have an easy location or ground floor or something once!

Don't give up though. Make sure you have a request noted on your reservation. I always avoid online check in and make sure I walk up to the desk and check in with someone just in case they put me somewhere that I didn't want to be. This summer we had 12 of us traveling in three rooms at the Yacht Club. We had garden view rooms booked and requested to be together and requested a certain side of the building looking out at the tennis courts and quiet pool area. They put us all together but gave us a garden view facing the front of the hotel looking out at the bus stop. Not my idea of a tranquil spot. So I very nicely asked them to try and relocate us to the side we requested. We really enjoy sitting on the balconies at several points of the day and this was important to us. I wasn't pushing for an upgrade. Same price. They really bent over backwards to help. They called back to the room assignment people and moved us to the side we wanted and kept all of us on the same floor just a few doors away from each other. Be calm and polite with them and they will try to work with you once you get there. We've found this a few times at several resorts. Once at Caribbean Beach, the cast member pulled out the room map of the resort and offered me several options in my price range and described what was right outside of each front door. Both of these examples occurred in peak summer season too.
 

Rlandrigan

Active Member
Port Orleans is a great home base! The feature pool at riverside is one of our favorites - It has shade! The ambiance at night is great, and the food court, table service, and piano bar are all really quite good. I think you'll like it compared to CBR, definitely worth trying out.
 

couchpotatooo

Well-Known Member
We stay here and loved it with our family of five. Park a little spread out but it such a nice walk you don't even notice it. The food there is good, you can take the buses or Water Taxi to get places. Lots of recreation to offer from boating,biking, to fishing right there at your resort. We would stay again. But our next trip were going to give Caribbean Beach a try. Anybody stayed there???
 

BlackCauldron

Well-Known Member
Recently booked here because CBR was not available for our desired stay and we need the space for 5 option. Looking at photos of this resort I can not get excited about it. The alligator bayou area seems to look swampy to me and not so pretty. The pool area doesn't look nearly as nice as CBR. Is it nicer in person? Have I just seen bad photos? Also, we were only able to book what was called a "pool view" room, nothing else available. Where is a good location to stay at POR? The kids use the pool so walking distance to it is preferred and also like walking distance to the counter service food. Not sure how far spread out this resort is. Is being close to both a rarity or are there a lot of buildings that are that way? Are there elevators at this resort? It sure was a pain trying to get 2 strollers up and down the stairs everyday at CBR. Not looking forward to that again.

Also what is the first bus stop pick up? Is it consistent? With 8 children our family is sort of large and if we are not the first bus stop there are many times we will not all fit on a bus at all if we are several stops out.


If the bus is shared with French Quarter (and they almost always are, except at the end of the day) then French Quarter will always be the first stop and then it will head to Riverside at the East depot, North, West, and finally South. The South depot is the "main" bus stop by the food courts. The only exception to this is the Disney Springs bus, which usually begins at the South depot, makes the circuit, then ends at French Quarter before heading off to DS.

If you want to be at one of t he first bus stops (the East depot) then you will need a room in Alligator Bayou, in one of the further out buildings. While you will be close to that first bus stop, you will be a fair walk away from the food court. An alternative would be to get a room over in Acadian House (or an Alligator Bayo room close to Acadian House) and then use the North depot. This way, you split the difference by being a little closer to the bus stop and the main building.

As far as getting the room you want - like others have said, make sure to note it on the reservation. You can also call and/or fax the Riverside reservation center around 3-5 days before you arrive to reiterate your requests. They will do their best to accommodate you.

During our last trip a few weeks ago, we needed three rooms and arrived to discover that our rooms were in 3 separate buildings, despite the fact that we requested nearby rooms and linked our reservations. A trip to the front desk, a polite request, and 20 minutes later we all had rooms just down the hall from each other, in the building I wanted. Never hurts to ask them to take another look for you.
 

LeighM

Well-Known Member
If the bus is shared with French Quarter (and they almost always are, except at the end of the day) then French Quarter will always be the first stop and then it will head to Riverside at the East depot, North, West, and finally South. The South depot is the "main" bus stop by the food courts. The only exception to this is the Disney Springs bus, which usually begins at the South depot, makes the circuit, then ends at French Quarter before heading off to DS.

If you want to be at one of t he first bus stops (the East depot) then you will need a room in Alligator Bayou, in one of the further out buildings. While you will be close to that first bus stop, you will be a fair walk away from the food court. An alternative would be to get a room over in Acadian House (or an Alligator Bayo room close to Acadian House) and then use the North depot. This way, you split the difference by being a little closer to the bus stop and the main building.

The West Depot is the one in Alligator Bayou and is the first bus stop for all the theme parks. The East Depot is in the Magnolia Bend mansion section.
 

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