Disney's Port Orleans Resort - Riverside

Fabulous stay at this beautiful hotel my only gripe is the room is quite small for 2 adults and 2 teenagers. Food was good but did get a bit repetitive after two weeks. Pool area is lovely and the life guards are brilliant always smiling and a credit to the hotel. Tony round the pool was lovely a pleasure to talk too and always happy. We did have one issue with someone leaving their yappy dog in the room whilst obviously going for breakfast (very annoying at 8am) maybe guests with dogs should be in a different part of the hotel. All in all our second stay here and it didn’t disappoint definitely recommend. Read less

I think next time I will stay at the French Quarter, sister-resort to Riverside. actually, I'll be staying anywhere that's quieter than any Disney resort imaginable! But that's another story.I am not sure if the music sets the vibe but here are the differences. And, I could stay at the French Quarter and be a happy visitor with the amenities. The music is different. By the way., There's more horn at Riverside and after a while it just sounds like noise. The French Quarter is currently renovating its rooms. however, the resort has a more laid-back feeling and vibe than Riverside. The French quarter landscaping is in square grids with quiet walkways around gardens that lead to the various buildings. Riverside is set off on different winding pathways that lead to bungalow style buildings culminating in the main building that more or less funnels people to its cafeteria and has no sitting areas outside. The Pools - Let's start with the pools. Riverside has a large pool that is removed from the main building that serves as the lobby, the bar and the huge cafeteria. The pool is very very busy. My sister and I checked out the hot tub only to find that there were children jumping in and out of it as if it was a kiddie pool. yes, adults were supervising. Sorry, my association with hot tubs is you sit in them to soak and for conversation. There is no diving board. On the other hand, he has smaller pools scattered throughout the resort, which are wonderful and very quiet. No one was in the hot tub at the French quarter. In fact, it's removed from the pool area, hidden in plain sight and creates a space for soaking not playing. The pool at the French Quarter is also very large with Mardi Gras themes of a huge Dragon and Poseidon waterslide. visually more attractive. The seating area is larger and more accommodating to families which therefore creates less stress and more open space. I noticed that both pools are near the canals, which is visually attractive, but worrisome due to signage warning of snakes and alligators. or ironic. The Cafeteria. Riverside resort is nice. let's face it, Disney - besides having security more efficient than TSA pre-check- has the answer to feeding masses of people on all its properties. Disney does it well. The cafeteria is big. The staff is marvelous and helpful, considering there are always tons of families with their scooters, Cadillac strollers and loose, running around kids. The noise level is crazy. I had two meals over at the French Quarter and I'm not sure why, but there did not seem to be the frenzied need to rush through the process of acquiring food as Riverside. I enjoyed two nice meals over at the French Quarter, and I would suggest if you can that you consider eating at 4 o'clock instead of the witching hours of breakfast and 630 on. 4 o'clock is also a good time to eat at Disney restaurants that require reservations. There is some leisure when you're able to sit down this early and you aren't rushed through your meals. If you are on the meal plan, be sure to get your mug so you can get free refills of liquid beverages. rooms-I did not see the French Quarter rooms, our room at Riverside was very spartan - no pictures-maybe one picture a table with old furniture. Coffee maker was very basic with Joffrey coffee, which seemed to be to be similar to a Folgers coffee. Nice shower, hot water, nice soap and other cosmetic amenities. be sure to visit the other resorts if you can. They are accessible by bus or tram and other forms of transportation. Each of them has their own unique vibe. Kudos to the Polynesian resort which greets you at the door with an aloha and a lei. Again, Riverside is all hustle and bustle, always in motion and busy. Read less

A fabulous hotel. Loved it. Fantastic grounds beautifully maintained. It was pouring with rain when we arrived and a member of staff kindly drove us to our room in a golf buggy. They couldn't do enough for us. The food hall was perfect for what we needed. The transport to the parks was an eye opener. We hadn't used it before as this was our first time staying in a Disney hotel. We usually hired a car but wont be doing that again. The bus service was excellent and rarely had to wait more than 5 minutes. Room was spot on. Clean and good sized. We are a family of 4 and had plenty of room. Would highly recommend this hotel. Thanks for a fab holiday with cherished memories. Read less

We usually stay at the sister hotel - Port Orleans French Quarter however we were unable to get a reservation this year and had often walked over to riverside and thought it looked lovely. The room was clean, well equipped and had extremely comfy beds. The character privacy curtain was a lovely touch. The pool areas were lovey. We used the quieter pool next to our room which was great for a late evening swim after a busy day at the parks. They also supply free towels next to the pool. The staff were nice however we did not find them as friendly as the French quarter who always went above and beyond. On arrival staff could see my wife had a walking stick, however there was no offer to assist us with the luggage. We hadn’t quite realised how far away our room would be and the pathway wasn’t the easiest to manoeuvre our cases along. When checking out our room we decided we would call for someone to collect our luggage for us. We rang for 45mins with no answer. The dining hall had your average food options. We opted to purchase a refillable mug however the drink options were extremely limited. 2 machines were out of service, one served flat Diet Coke instead of Coca-Cola and there was no option for the usual flavoured cokes. I will be glad to return to the French quarter next year. Read less