Disney’s Port Orleans Resort - Riverside is a moderate-level hotel at Walt Disney World. Often considered one of the best moderate resorts, Riverside comes up a lot in planning a Walt Disney World trip because of its reasonable prices and huge room count. So, should you pay a visit to this lush resort along the Sassagoula River? Read on to find out!
Update: Construction, Royal Guest Rooms
Per Disney:
From early May 2025 through August 2027, Guest rooms at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside will undergo refurbishment throughout different parts of the Resort hotel. During this time, Guests may see or hear construction work in the area.
As of September 2026, we’re expecting this work to be focused on the Alligator Bayou rooms, the rest of the rooms at the resort having been recently upgraded.
If you’re considering booking, be sure to check for other active and upcoming construction or refurbishment projects at the hotel.
Basics of Disney’s Port Orleans Resort — Riverside
Disney’s Port Orleans Resort — Riverside is one of four moderate hotels at Walt Disney World. If you’re considering Riverside, you may want to read some of our other posts. We have a ranking of the best Disney World moderate resorts. We also have a guide to all the hotels of Walt Disney World. And here are our reviews of all the moderate resorts (links open in new tabs):
Review of Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort (Separate Review of Gran Destino Tower)
Review of Disney’s Port Orleans Resort — Riverside (you are here)
And if you’d like to see where this resort falls overall, check out our complete Disney World hotel rankings.
As a moderate resort, Riverside will fall between the value resorts and deluxe resorts in price and quality. Non-discounted nightly room rates at Rack rates for standard rooms at Port Orleans Riverside in 2026 start at $314 per night. Non-discounted nightly room rates at Royal Guest Rooms (more on these special rooms below) start at $398 per night.
Staying at Port Orleans, you get the perks of any Disney stay. You’ll have access to free transportation (by bus, as discussed below) to and from the parks and Disney Springs. You’ll also have access to Early Theme Park Entry and the ability to purchase and book Lightning Lanes 7 days in advance of your trip, rather than 3 days in advance of your visit date.
Port Orleans — Riverside vs. French Quarter
We don’t want to rehash the discussion of why there are two Port Orleans resorts (Riverside and French Quarter) and what that means practically. You can find that over in our review of Port Orleans — French Quarter, which you should probably read anyways if you’re already considering Riverside.
The short version is that these are two separate resorts located within walking distance (5 minutes campus to campus). This post will make a lot of comparisons to French Quarter because its proximity makes it an obvious alternative choice.
Theming and Grounds at Port Orleans — Riverside
The theming of Riverside is a somewhat…complex…matter. Wikipedia gets straight to the heart of the matter with “antebellum South.” Disney formerly used the terminology “romance and casual charm of a bygone era” but has switched to “rural Louisiana.”
Personally, I like the Port Orleans fan site (a great site), which goes with “Experience the sprawling mansions and genteel feel of the picturesque Louisiana towns along the Mississippi.”
Whatever the case and however you want to describe the theming, there’s little denying that it’s a beautiful resort. The best way to convey the theme is just to let the pictures (in the above gallery and throughout the review) speak for themselves.
The theming at Riverside is very “grown up.” It’s a good pick for adults at Disney World, as it replaces the kitsch of the value resorts with beautiful views and lots of nature.
Port Orleans Riverside Layout
Riverside can be divided into four areas—Sassagoula Steamboat Company, Ol’ Man Island, Alligator Bayou, and Magnolia Bend. Alligator Bayou and Magnolia Bend are both huge though, and you can see there are essentially seven sections of rooms at the hotel.
Here’s a map of the resort:
Sassagoula Steamboat Company is the main building where you’ll find check-in, the main bus depot, dining, and shopping. Ol’ Man Island is the island in the middle of the resort with the pool, playground, and “Fishin’ Hole.”
Alligator Bayou contains original Dixie Landings buildings—16 buildings of hotel rooms, with a nature/cottage concept.
Magnolia Bend consists of four (very large) Southern-style mansion themed buildings. One of these contains the Royal Guest Rooms.
I will say, I find the mansions to be a bit much. Let’s remember, these are moderate rooms. But they do look cool from afar.
Riverside sits at the north end of Sassagoula River, so doing a lap around the resort requires you to walk around the end of the river and then across it by bridge. There are five bridges at Riverside.
Three connect the north end of the river to Ol’ Man Island, and two cross the river farther south. A full lap around the resort is 0.9 miles, making it larger than Disney’s Boardwalk (home to Yacht Club, Beach Club, and BoardWalk Inn).
Booking Port Orleans — Riverside
We booked our most recent stay at Riverside through our our great travel agent Lauren Quirk of Travel With Character LLC. For our last stay, in a Royal Guest Room, we paid $344.93 nightly using a Disney World annual passholder rate.
Arrival and Check-In
We checked in online, which we generally recommend at Disney World unless you have questions for the front desk or you’re staying club level (not an option at Riverside).
At the moderate resorts, you might make an exception and at least plan to visit the front desk to get a map. The moderate resorts are huge and the buildings fairly indistinguishable, so it helps to get directions to your room.
Since Disney has ended their Magical Express shuttle service you’ll have to find your own way from from Orlando International Airport if you’re flying in. We were already in town, so just drove over. In general, I usually go with Uber or Mears Connect these days.
Our room was ready before we arrived, and we actually never had reason to spend any time at the front desk last visit.
Rooms at Disney’s Port Orleans — Riverside
There are three categories of buildings at Riverside that have different room designs. The Alligator Bayou room and Magnolia Bend rooms comprise the standard room types. The Royal Guest Rooms are a separate (more expensive) category.
There have been a variety of room updates in recent years, and it can be hard to keep track of what’s been done and what’s upcoming. As of this September 2026 update:
The Royal Guest Rooms are recently refurbished
Work is expected imminently on refurbishing the Alligator Bayou Rooms las refurbished around 2020
We’ve written separately to review the newly updated Royal Guest Rooms. Those rooms are not a notable upgrade from the Magnolia Bend rooms, in my opinion, and the main advantage of booking one over a standard room is that the standard room could be either a new Magnolia Bend room or an older Alligator Bayou room. The Royal Guest Room guarantees you a new room.
Dining and Drinking at Port Orleans — Riverside
Disney’s Port Orleans Resort — Riverside has one table service restaurant, one quick service restaurant, one lounge, and one pool bar. You also may want to remember there’s boat service to Disney Springs usually from about 10AM until 11PM, if you’re looking for more food and drink options. The proximity to Disney Springs makes it a good hotel option for adults visiting Disney World.
The Sassagoula Float Works Food Court at French Quarter is also worth considering, though I’d probably only make that hike in search of a specific item, as the general menu won’t be much better than the options at Riverside.
Boatwright’s Dining Hall
Boatwright’s is the only table service restaurant at the two Port Orleans resorts. It’s located just a few steps from the Riverside lobby. It’s a casual restaurant requiring one table service credit for those on a Disney dining plan. We passed on the chance to eat at Boatwright’s, as it’s unfortunately open only for dinner. Here’s a review from WDWNT. The menu is available here.
Riverside Mill Food Court
The Riverside Mill Food Court is—you guessed it—the food court at Port Orleans Riverside. It serves three meals a day, opening at 6:30AM and closing at 11PM. There are four stations—bakery, grill, pizza & pasta, and salads & sandwiches. There are a few “local” items, like Jambalaya and thenCajun Chicken Salad. The full menu is here.
There is ample seating. In contrast to the floats factory theming over at French Quarter’s food court, the Riverside Mill is relatively plain—though it does have a gigantic mill system operating inside it, which is pretty cool.
Muddy Rivers
Muddy Rivers is the pool bar at Port Orleans—Riverside. Not much else to say about it, honestly. It’s not a standout pool bar.
River Roost Lounge
River Roost Lounge is the main bar at Riverside. It’s relatively spacious and has a small food menu with some cool items like Andouille Nachos and Cajun Shrimp.
Apparently there are sometimes performances by Yehaa Bob Jackson, though we’ve never had the pleasure of seeing him. We did see another pianist perform, and that was enjoyable enough.
Transportation at Port Orleans — Riverside
From Riverside to the four parks (Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Epcot) and two water parks (Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach), you’ll be relying on bus transportation. The bus makes four stops around Riverside. Buses will also rarely be shared with French Quarter.
As we wrote in our review of Caribbean Beach, multiple bus stops are a nice convenience for a huge resort, but they make for long travel times and crowded buses. There’s no way around the size of the resort, so this is just something you’ll have to plan for until Disney World resolves its abysmal bus problems.
Guests who drive will have free parking and theme park parking is included. Plus you’ll have the convenience of parking in a lot very near your room. The size of the moderate resorts making driving a good option.
And in general, we still recommend using Uber to get around Walt Disney World, with Minnie Vans an alternative when those make sense.
You can get to Disney Springs by bus or boat. The boat runs roughly every 20 minutes and takes 15 minutes to get to Disney Springs. The last boat departs Disney Springs at 11:30. I suppose that beats the bus, but it’s not a huge benefit in our mind.
Recreation at Port Orleans — Riverside
Like every Disney hotel, Riverside maintains a decent roster of activities. These vary day-by-day and month-by-month, but some highlights include:
Daily poolside activities and scavenger hunt
Weekly trivia night
Campfires (multiple times each week)
Movies under the stars (multiple times each week)
Daily craft ($)
Surrey Bike Rental ($)
The main pool at Port Orleans — Riverside is on Ol’ Man Island. It has a cool saw-mill-inspired water feature as well as a small water slide. Nearby is a jacuzzi, as well as a pair of hammocks.
Shopping at Port Orleans — Riverside
The store at Port Orleans — Riverside is Fulton’s General Store. In addition to the typical vacation items, Fulton’s has a decent collection of Riverside gear.
Conclusions About Port Orleans — Riverside
While the Alligator Bayou rooms are still set for work, Riverside is at least no longer notably behind the other moderate hotels in terms of room quality. Beyond that, Riverside has some elements that make it really stand out.
It’s one of Disney’s most beautiful properties. The first time I visited, I was in awe of my surroundings. It’s stunning—more stunning than several deluxe resorts. It’s always one of the resorts I enjoy running around most.
Once you look past the scenery, things come a bit down to earth. Your dining and drinking options are average for the moderate resorts. Transportation can be tricky, particularly in comparison to neighboring French Quarter, which has a single stop serving all rooms.
All in all, the moderate resorts all have something going for them. At Riverside, you’re talking about unbeatable scenery. Its disadvantages usually won’t be enough to make it a bad choice.
All Your Other Disney World Planning Questions Answered
Don't be overwhelmed by Disney World planning! Take a second to check out our most important content and you'll not only be an expert, but you'll save big $$$ along the way. Just starting out? Check out our Walt Disney World planning guide!
When it comes time to book we’ll help you find discount Disney World tickets. Decide whether you need a dining plan in our Complete Guide to Disney World Dining Plans! And don't forget to book those Disney World Advance Dining Reservations!
Be sure to master your Disney World Lightning Lane Guide and Strategy a few weeks in advance. Good strategy will keep you out of long lines so you can maximize the magical time in the parks! We've got park-specific guides as well: Magic Kingdom Lightning Lane Strategy, EPCOT Lightning Lane Strategy, Animal Kingdom Lightning Lane Strategy, and Hollywood Studios Lightning Lane Strategy.
Know what to ride with our guides: Magic Kingdom rides, Hollywood Studios rides, EPCOT rides, and Animal Kingdom rides! Plus learn about the water parks with our Guide to Blizzard Beach and our Guide to Typhoon Lagoon! And for some fun prep, check out our Ranking of Every Ride at Walt Disney World.
Finally, before you head out, be sure to check out our to-the-point packing list, 10 essentials you forget to pack for every Disney trip.