We have just returned from our stay at Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort. This is our 3rd January in a row that we have attended the College Cheerleading Nationals held at Disney World and stayed on Disney property (Dolphin 2010, French Quarter 2011). This is a beautiful resort and great for families!
Check-in - I did the online check-in and everything was ready for us when we arrived. We arrived at the resort at 1 pm, proceeded to the online check-in line. There was no wait and our room was ready.
Our Room - Although we enjoyed our stay and I would definitely recommend this resort, I didn’t care much for our room. My sister and I were traveling with our 80 year old mother. We had requested the Magnolia Bend section as these rooms contain queen size beds and have a décor more suited to 3 adult women. Unfortunately, our room ended up being in the Alligator Bayou section. We were in building 34 which was conveniently located next to the West bus stop. However, this is where the convenience stops. It was a long walk to the lobby, restaurant and marina so we rarely ever ventured up that way unless we had to. The beds were double beds which made for quite a “cozy” night for my sister and me. The paint in the bathroom was peeling (that drove Mom nuts). There was very little counter space in the bathroom sink area (thank goodness only 1 of us was a Diva) Having stayed last year in a newly renovated room at the French Quarter I was very disappointed in our room at Riverside. However, I do feel that Riverside is a great resort for a family with young children. The resort has everything you need! Children would appreciate the rustic décor of the Alligator Bayou section much more than 3 adult women did. In addition, this section has the trundle bed. We would have been much, much happier in the Magnolia Bend section. I understand that not everyone’s room request can be met and thus, if I were to return to Disney World I would choose the French Quarter over Riverside. All of the rooms in the French Quarter are similar to those in the Magnolia Bend section (now with queen size beds) and I don’t have to “hope” that my room request was honored. The FQ is also much more compact and makes it easier to get around before and after a long day at the parks.
Magical Express - This was the first year that we utilized the Magical Express and had them handle our luggage. This is an awesome service and I highly recommend using it. We checked our luggage prior to our flight and it was waiting for us in our room when we returned from the park that night. We also took advantage of the resort airline check in service. The morning of our departure, our boarding passes were delivered to our room along with our final bill. So we never even had to check in at the airport. We went straight to security. We dropped our luggage off at the resort that morning, they checked it in and we weren’t bothered with it again until we got home that night and pulled it off of baggage claim.
Dining Plan & Food - This was also the first year that we used the Disney Dining Plan. The Dining Plan was a free special offer for non-discounted room w/ park ticket packages. Having gone to Disney the last two years in a row, I was able to calculate what we spent on food those years vs what we would save by getting a discounted room. I have to say the dining plan is a great deal, especially for 3 adults. With the basic plan you get 1 snack, 1 quick service and 1 table service meal per night per person. We planned our meals in advance and made reservations. This was rather hard considering I don’t know what I am having for dinner tonight let alone 6 months from now. But, everything turned out great! I thought that being on the dining plan our choices would be limited, but we ate better than we did in previous years! We brought a water Bobble so we used our snack credits for actual snacks and didn’t have to waste them on drinks. Gratuity is not included in the dining plan. I had a credit card tied to my room key, so we charged all the tips back to the room. Very convenient!
Transportation – Disney transportation is wonderful! If for no other reason, this is why you should stay in on Disney property! Last year we rented a car and my poor GPS was so confused (“recalculating”). However, be prepared to wait at Riverside. Riverside has 4 bus stops; we noticed that different parks stop at the bus stations in different order. For the MK the West stop was first, for Epcot South was first and West was second. Due to the size of this resort, this makes a huge difference. My mother (remember she’s 80) cannot stand on these busses, she doesn’t have the strength to hold on. Therefore, this was important that she get a seat. On the full busses, sometimes she was offered one and sometimes not. Since you can’t control the etiquette of others, this is another area where I preferred the French Quarter. The Riverside busses were always full, always! The FQ, not so much, with one stop! One morning we set out for the Animal Kingdom, it took us an hour to get there. By the time we got there, the morning magic hour was almost over and we had to stand in line outside and wait until the park officially opened. My daughter and her cheer squad were inside the park waiting for us (and waiting, and waiting). I’m still trying to figure out how the college girls got up and moving earlier than we did!
We took a taxi to the ESPN Wide World of Sports for the Cheerleading competition. Disney Transportation goes there, but not directly from Riverside. You have to transfer twice, that would take way too long. Hotel Concierge contacted the cab company and our ride was ready and waiting for us. It cost us $20 (including generous tip) and was worth every penny for the door to door service and no hassle! We used the Ferry service to Downtown Disney, very nice. I prefer the boats to the busses!
All in all, we had a “magical” time and Riverside is a beautiful resort.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
