Port Orleans Riverside - Current reviews are poor

[erikwatts]

Hello,

We are booked to stay at Port Orleans Riverside at the end of October. This will be our first stay at this resort, but not our first Disney world stay by far.

As I am reading through reviews on the resort, on this site and others, the more current the review, the poorer they are. old reviews seem fantastic, but newer ones, not as much.

Can anyone tell me if the quality of this resort has gone down recently? I'm concerned that we may want to switch if there is a chance that we will have a poor experience.

Thanks in advance,

-Erik

 

[Tinkerbell 8]

I have not stayed at POR for a while, but if I were you I would keep looking at reviews, see if there are any recent pictures of the resort/rooms so you can get a better idea. No matter what hotel, Disney or not, there are always going to be bad reviews, sometimes someone has a bad stay, and it can happen anywhere. For example the person on here who had a recent bad stay at OKW, yet there are others who have had great experiences at this resort. If you're still unsure I would look into switching resorts since your trip is coming up soon.

 

[Phonedave]

I stayed in PO:R over the 2011 Marathon weekend (January 7-11 2011) and had no problems.

In fact they were out in force painting all of the trim on the building I was in on the last day.

The resort seemed to be in good condition to me. Not worn or dated at all.

-dave

 

[LuLaSue]

My last stay at POR was January 2010, Magnolia Bend Section. We were quite pleased.

 

[RiverRooster]

I was fortunate enough to be there the first two weekends in September. I was in a refurbished room in building 80 and it was quite nice. You can go to www.portorleans.org for a 360 view and pictures of the new rooms. There is a refurbishment schedule posted as well. The overall experience was a good one. New poolside activities each day, outdoor movies in the building 90 courtyard. Both visits were great.

 

[durangojim]

I know I'm in the minority but I detest POR for the following reasons:
1. The Bus service was horrible when we were there 2 years ago Sept. So bad that after waiting an hour for a bus with space to go to the MK in the morning, we got a cab.
2. I don't care for the layout of the resort (I know many do)
3. I didn't like the food court
4. Didn't care for the ammenities and decor of the room (we stayed in alligator bayou)
5. Did I mention the buses stank!

If we want to go cheap now days we stay at Pop, which I really like. If we want luxury and ambience we'll stay at BC, WL, or Poly. PORS offered me nothing and felt like a poor cheap imitation of a deluxe with nothing better than a value. Just my opinion.

 

[Epcot Dave]

I was there in mid-June this year and they were actively replacing AC units and painting the light poles in/by Oak Manor. They were also doing stonework on the bridge closest to the front. We stay exclusively at this resort and were impressed to see maintenance doing improvements.

The bus service wasn't bad....I'm actually shocked to see that it took all of 6 posts before someone complained about it.

If you get a building close to French Quarter, consider taking a FQ bus back and walking. We did several times from MK and had good results.

Also, see what stop you are closest to and consider using that during peak times. MK busses (and possibly Studios, I can't remember) do NOT stop at the Main (South) Depot first....ask the driver where they stop first and you can probably save yourself some hassle, especially at peak times. We were in Oak Manor and found it a good balance for us and were able to use the stop a couple of minutes' walk away to get a leg up on the MK busses in particular.

I hope this helps...the resort is a nice one. We've done trips in June, May, September, January, and October with the two of us, one kid, two kids, strollers and the whole shot, so the bus issues some complain of really aren't a big deal to us. To some they are, but I don't get it.

-Dave

 

[ryguy]

I think the food court is one of the best on property:shrug: They have a lot of choices. CBR's is pretty good too.

 

[BoardwalkGlenn]

I have stayed at POR twice (Magnolia Bend mansions) and so far is still my favorite resort. I'd go back there anytime, but I also want to try new places.

Never had a problem with bus service.

The rooms were clean (and probably even better now/soon with the remodeling going on).

The landscaping is beautiful! Love the Sassagoula River!!

Food court served delicious food!!

 

[jktrush]

We love POR!! Its our home away from home! The food court is good, lots of choices. We love the boat to downtown Disney and never had a problem with the buses. The buses are full at the end if the night when parks close but never waited that long. We always stay in the mansions area and found it so peaceful and lovely. With how large the resort is never had a problem with getting around. Don't worry about other reviews everyone has a different experience hopefully yours will be great!

 

[goofysgurl]

I stayed at POR with my family last year, and while it is not my favorite, we really enjoyed it. Of course the buses are a mess - there are 4 stops plus half the time the bus was shared with POFQ. The rooms were clean, the grounds were lovely and my kids loved the pool. The property is really large and I had wished I had payed the extra $$ for a preferred room - it was a hassle to walk all the way over to the food court to get my over-priced refillable mug filled.

I would ignore the reviews...because if you really look almost every resort will get a 10 the same week someone gives it a 2 - even deluxes.

 

[BlackCauldron]

I stayed at POR 2 weeks ago from 9/14 - 9/19 with a family of 4. I requested and received a rennovated room in Acadian House. The new rooms are fabulous, exceptionally clean, and light and bright.

If you do intend to stay at this resort make sure you do get a brand new room. The other rooms are quite out of date and can have issues (worn down carpet, mold in the bathroom etc.) If you are paying a premium for the room you might as well get something that has barely been used before.

Housekeeping was good, but I am not a messy person. All she really had to do was make the beds and wipe down the shower. The room was always clean but we never once got any towel animals. Not really a big deal to me. I'd rather have a clean toilet than a Mickey Mouse made out of my bath robe.

I would get to the food court at 8AM each morning and found it to be moderately busy but not overly crowded. Never had a problem getting a table and got my food in less than 5 minutes.

If you are concerned about the size of the resort, you might want to stay at French Quarter instead. You still get brand new rooms there as well and the resort is considered to be a more manageable size. However, as I said I had a room in Acadian House and it was only a 5 minute walk to the food court - not bad at all.

My only issue with this resort this trip was some of the bus schedules. My first day there I waited 20 minutes for a MK bus (in that time there were 3 buses for Epcot, 2 for AK and 3 for HS). I did notice that there was always a cast member at the front bus depot keeping track of the buses and making adjustments accordingly. The rest of my stay the buses seemed fine - never waited more than 10 minutes in the morning and had frequent busses coming back home as well.

All in all I love this resort and think it is one of the best moderates.

 

[BlackCauldron]

I should add that the only bus we ever shared with the French Quarter was on a return trip from the Marketplace. All of the parks had separate busses for French Quarter and Riverside.

 

[John]

Riverside is one of my favorite resorts, I have stayed there many times. Never had a bad experience. A lot of people complain about the bus service, but I have heard this about several resorts....The grounds are beatiful like others have mentioned. Riverside has one of the many hidden gems in WDW....Make time one evening on your stay to catch Piano Bob in the lounge. Great family entertainment. On our ten day trip we made it back three nights just to catch this wonderful act. A down right good person.

I say dont always go by the reviews, I say go and enjoy yourself and when you get back post a trip report and let us know how you liked it. Trust me it wont be terrible. It could turn out to be the best trip you ever had.....besides, your going to WDW....how bad could it be?

 

[gallerie]

Our first stay 4 years ago was nice. Our stay in Dec 2009 was the most horrible we ever had at any WDW resort, and we have been a lot. I will say that Pop Warner was there at the time and that amplified all the problems, but the rooms were not fresh, I hope they have made changes but we won't EVER stay there again

 

[splashmtnfan]

We stayed there in Dec. 2010. It was our first stay there and we will go back for sure! We stayed in the Alligator Bayou section. I have stayed at All Star Music and Movies and have to say the bus situation there was much worse than anything we experienced at POR. The same can be said for CBR. That is a huge resort with many bus stops and from my stay there I thought a longer walk to the food court. I know people who love those resorts will argue the buses are not an issue. Just like people who love POR will argue the buses are not a problem there either. We never had a problem with the buses. As someone else mentioned there was always someone at the main bus stop in the morning monitoring the buses and making sure there were enough buses for all of the parks. We did wait a while one morning for an Epcot bus but it was raining and we did not have ponchos or umbrellas with us. But by the time the bus arrived and we got to Epcot the rain had stopped and about half an hour later the sun was out. So you will not hear a complaint from me about sitting under the shelter at the bus stop and not having to walk in the rain at Epcot!! :lol:

Our room was nice, we were close to the food court and the grounds were beautiful. I can't say anything about the pools because it was freezing cold when we were there. Only 1 or 2 afternoons where it warmed enough to take off sweatshirts and the nights were so cold we skipped Illuminations one night because we just didn't want to get that cold again. But the pools looked great. I can't wait to go back and experience them. The main pool is a big draw for my daughters and the quiet pools looked nice too.

Enjoy your stay what ever you decide!!!

 

[Mr. I. Crane]

We were in Alligator Bayou in mid-June and everything was great. They were hard at work refurbishing a lot of the buildings and touching things up. Magnolia Bend was having the most work done with all of the new princess updates. We always request a building furthest from the food court and it was nice and quiet with just a short walk to the west bus stop. I would always recommend this resort.

 

[dramamama]

We were in Alligator Bayou building 18 for a week in February. It was wonderful! Our room was clean and did not appear worn at all. The bus waits were not bad - but it was off peak season. I loved the food court with all of the options. All of the resort staff were so nice to us. Though we will always hold Fort Wilderness dear to our hearts, we would be happy to stay at POR again, anytime! It is absolutely beautiful.

Keep in mind that many reviews are written by people who just can't be happy anywhere. Really? You stay in Alligator Bayou and say it was too rustic??? That's the point! We don't really care for POFQ, but that is because the New Orleans' theme doesn't appeal to us - nothing poor about the resort. As for buses and waiting, welcome to Disney World. If lines were too short it would be because the place wasn't worth visiting. Just put a smile on and have a magical day - just think, you could be at work!

 

[BigTxEars]

Sept 10-18th this year at POR. Great time at a great resort. Would stay there again without thought, if fact would love to be there right now.

 

[bhealthy]

I stayed there May 2010 and had a great time. I stayed in Magnolia Bends and it was peaceful, a short stroll to the food court and I didn't have any real problems with the buses. I've only stayed at Pop and Saratoga Springs to compare and I love Pop when going economical. Wasn't real impressed with SS. They had many stops with their buses and my first night there I was leaving MK and I had a wait of at least 30 minutes if not more. I know it's the end of the night, but even the value resorts were getting more buses. So it goes to show anybody can have a bad experience at any place at any time. I will be at POR end of October to November too. I'm taking my parents and it will be their first time here too. I say go and enjoy yourself and come up with your own review. Good or bad, you are in Disney. Rejoice!