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My family and I have recently come home from a magical trip to Walt Disney World! It was our very first family trip to the happiest place on earth. We stayed at Disney World Port Orleans Resort Riverside and here is my review on the resort.
First, I must say that I cannot compare to other resorts, but I loved Port Orleans Riverside. It is very quiet, serene and never felt like it was overcrowded and it was sold out. Disney World Port Orleans Resort is broke up into two different resorts – Riverside and French Quarter. Riverside is themed to be a bayou and French Quarter is themed like New Orleans.
Both are very nice and are so close, walking distance that you can immerse in using them both. You can even take the water taxi from to and from both of them. We did this one afternoon and enjoyed the pools over at French Quarter then indulge in some fresh beignets (they even have gluten free), be sure to try them if you go!

Port Orleans Riverside is broke up into two sections of different rooms. You have Alligator Bayou which is themed as backwoods cottages. Most of these rooms can accommodate up to five people. This is where we stayed in a preferred room, so that we would be closer to the main lobby, bus depot and food court. By doing this my husband had a quick walk in the morning to get his coffee before we started our day.
We also had a short distance to main pool which is called Ol’ Man Island after Tom Sawyer. It is a fun themed pool with a water slide which my boys and even my hubby enjoyed going down. There is also five other large mickey shaped pools located throughout the resort. The other section of rooms is called Magnolia Bend which features Royal Guestrooms. These rooms only accommodate four, but they are themed very well with a headboard that lights up and antique furniture. I wanted to stay in one of these rooms but I could not because I am a family of five.
At Port Orleans Riverside there is many dining options from the food court, River Roost bar and Boatwright’s Dining Hall. We had the disney dining plan and we took advantage of eating in the food court and at Boatwright’s Dining Hall. The food court has lots of options, so everyone is able to pick what they want. It was also nice to come back late from the parks and grab something to eat.
Boatwright’s Dining Hall is casual dining with sit down service. The restaurant books up so advance reservations is highly recommended. The night we ate here they were turning people away because they were fully booked. The food here is amazing! I can not say enough good things about all of the food. My boys loved all of it and the desserts were divine. They also came out and sang Happy Birthday to two of my boys because they were wearing buttons along with candles in the desserts (another blog post soon on importance of wearing your celebration buttons).
My family and I loved Disney World Port Orleans Riverside and when we go back we will most likely stay there again. It is considered a moderate resort and it shows in all the details. The whole staff was so friendly and made us feel magical in every way.
Disclosure: Please be assured that this whole post review is my opinion and I did NOT get compensated in any form. My family paid for the vacation, dining and entertainment from our own expenses. So everything is my honest review of Disney World Port Orleans Riverside Resort.
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