Port Orleans Riverside

[Clark Griswold]

I was hoping the resort experts could provide some personal insight into their stays at Port Orleans Riverside...bus wait times, accomodations, cast members, anything and everything that could help my family make a decision on our resort location for an upcoming trip. We have previously stayed at The Wilderness Lodge (several times), All Star Sports, Coronado Springs, Pop Century.

We are also considering Caribbean Beach, French Quarter, and possibly Saratoga Springs so any further advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[RiversideBunny]

The price includes scenery and wildlife fun.

 

[accord99cutie]

We had AWFUL bus service when we were there in early March. 2nd longest lines every night at closing (allstars were the only line longer than ours EVERY night!) and wait times of more than 15 minutes was the norm for us. The place was pretty, but it wasnt anything that took me away to a different place if you know what I mean. The cast members were ok, seemed like alot of them were there on a CP though, lots of young girls which also made me feel like I was just at the mall food court. I really didn't have a great time at this resort and I was pretty disappointed considering the amount of great reviews for it. COmpared to the other moderate we have been to (CSR) this place was not even close to giving us the same "vacation feeling".

 

[Clark Griswold]

The price includes scenery and wildlife fun.

That's a relief considering I'm bringing my Aunt Edna along!

 

[Pooh Lover]

Port Orleans Riverside is my favorite moderate resort. Its very relaxing, not over the top theming, large food court, good evening entertainment, decent sized main pool with a few "quiet" pools and a nice boat ride to DTD. The bus system I have had issues with on most visits and can be hit or miss. It always seems the bus you need is the one that never comes but hey, you can get that anywhere. Every bus will stop at Port Orleans French Quarter first and then Riverside, which can make for an already crowded bus by the time it reaches Riverside. This is one reason we love to stay at the Wilderness Lodge where almost every bus is near to empty. All in all, I really recommend POR and will be staying there in September. Have a great vacation whatever your choice!

 

[wvugeoggrad]

Port Orleans Riverside is my fav resort. Buses have been good and bad, I think this can happen at any of the moderate resorts since they are larger. I love the grounds there, very peaceful. My favorite thing about the resort is the piano player Bob Jackson. He plays Wednesday-Saturday nights from 8:30-midnight at the River Roost inside the checkin building. A must see free show!

 

[dixiegirl]

Oh definatly POR!!! Being a favorite of mine even as a DVC member I'd go back to POR in a heartbeat!!! The resort is beautiful..The surroundings are very homey!! The food court to me is great, something for everyone, Boatwrights dining hall is great as well..The pools are great, quite a few of them..Water taxi to and from Downtown Disney or you can rent as well....Bob the Piano man is great fun he plays on certain nites in the lounge , great for whole family...There is a great general store as well has lots of park stuff as well as those things you might have forgotten at home(pricey but you are at Disney!)..BUses we never found to be a problem either, and our favorite area to stay in is Aliagtor bayou area Buliding 14, 16, and 18 are great to stay in...Ok Sorry to go on and on....
__________________

 

[pluto1964]

I do like POR but we have had bad experiences. The buses are not always the best - very overcrowded, not running on time, etc. Plus, the last time we went, the rooms were not well kept. Very disappointed.

 

[Magical Dreamer]

We had 2 great stays, and are returning in November.....

Buses are largely a tiiming thing. If you walk up and a bus pulls in you tend to think the resort has great service. If you walk up 2 minutws after a bus pulls out you say the bus service stinks.

 

[NadieMasK2]

Leaving Saturday for our 5th stay! We love it. Every morning you get a nice peaceful walk along the river to go get breakfast. They have a good food court but can get VERY crowded in the morning. Gift shop is great. Mousekeeping is hit or miss, much like other resorts. We did once get a fantastic lady though - we had LOTS of towel animals all over the room! The pool is nice but I especially like the there are lounge chairs nestled among the shrubs and trees so I don't feel so exposed while I lay there and drink lava coladas.:lol: The quiet pools are very nice, and, well quiet! They were pretty much empty last we were there. As for buses, my little tip (which if everyone did this it wouldn't work, lol) is to use the depot by the lobby. It is the first of 4 stops in POR. We have waited for quite a while in the mansions area for a bus but we weren't in a hurry. Sometimes by the time they get to your stop they are already full.

I feel like it is a destination all by itself. In fact we may not even be going to the parks at all this trip, believe it or not.

 

[jstainfield]

My only thought about POR is to stay away during that 2nd week of December when all the Pop Warner kids are there... OMGoodness is all I'm gonna say about that.

 

[rpk4444]

This is my least favorite Moderate. I have stayed at all four of them and to me this ranks #4.
Two reasons jump out to me. #1 was the bus service. I think that it was because of it's size. And #2, the distance from the main pool. No matter where you stay in the resort, you have a good walk to the main pool.

If your set on this theme for your trip, I'd stay at Port Orleans French Quater. You can always take the boat up and visit Riverside. Even use their pool.

 

[DisneyJoe]

We had AWFUL bus service when we were there in early March.........and wait times of more than 15 minutes was the norm for us.

Disney states that buses run "every 20 minutes"; my personal experience has been that I wait 10-15 minutes; if we're lucky its less, but I rarely wait more than 20 minutes - except at park closing time, and that is a volume issue and is usually solved when they send multiple buses.

But "more than 15 minutes" is awful?

 

[RiversideBunny]

They may not want you at Port Orleans Riverside:

"Ellen Griswold: Oh spare me, Clark, I know your brand of family fun. Tomorrow you'll probably kill the desk clerk, hold up a McDonalds, and drive us 1000 miles out of the way to see the world's largest pile of mud!"

 

[Fashionista007]

POR has my favorite quick service dining of any of the resorts and I have stayed at most of them at least once. The breakfast is out of this world! They have my southern favorite - sausage gravy and biscuits. They also have a really good selection, it's not just all burgers and fries. I highly recommend it!

 

[Disney15]

We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside last year and loved it. We stayed in the Alligator Bayou section. Travelled over to the French Quarter and did not like the resort, the pool looked run down and the grounds were not clean.
We stayed at Carribean Beach a few years back and loved that resort as well. We stayed in the Aruba Section.
Both have private pools in there sections as well as a main pool near all
the main buildings. The buses never seemed to be a problem at either resort. You do have to travel to each area of the complexes to make pickups and drop-offs but it never took more than 5-10 minutes to do
these.
Hope you have a wonderful vacation!!!!!

 

[gallerie]

We've stayed at Port Orleans Riverside twice now and going back in December. Our favorite WDW moderate resort Bus issues once in a while but don't sweat the small stuff! We were on a bus more than once that skipped Parterre Place depot because it was full so keep to the main depot if you can.

 

[barrettismyhero]

Just stayed there in June..

Only thing that irked me was the bus lines/bus overcrowding..

 

[Atomicmickey]

Stayed there twice, in October 2008 and November 2009, for a total of 17 days.

In all that time, I can remember ONE long wait for a bus, and that's it. Bus service was great for us. We always waited at the main depot. Every once in a while at the end of the night it would be the last of four stops--but, whatever, you're just sitting on a Disney bus, it's not like you're stuck in Mogadishu.

Loved Alligator Bayou. Building 16 is closest, but they're all great.

DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES MISS YEHAA BOB at the bar. Bring the kids. It is going to be a highlight of your week, I promise. He starts at 8:30,
get there early and get a good seat. You can go into the food court and get food and bring it in. Settle in and you're in for a treat!

So! LOVE POR! Enjoy!

 

[Clark Griswold]

Thanks for all the helpful tidbits!