Category — q. Reviews

(For the first page of this review of Bay Lake Tower, see this.)

STUDIOS AT BAY LAKE TOWER

Most Disney World studios put the kitchenette on one side of the entry hall and the bath (and sometimes the closet) on the other.

However, at Bay Lake Tower studios, both the bath and kitchenette are on the same side of the room, and the kitchenette is rotated 90 degrees from its more common layout.

This yields wasted circulation space in the kitchenette, and a quite short living area, making these rooms hard to live in when the sofa bed is unfurled.

In this view of the entry to a Bay Lake Tower studio, the bath and kitchenette are on the left, and the closet on the right.

Here’s the closet.

Note the large safe. My book is six by nine inches, and you could easily fit half a dozen in there–and probably should.

Across the hall you’ll find the bath, which includes a small sink…

…and all the usual other stuff, all in one space.  There’s another sink just outside in the kitchenette, so it functions almost as well as a divided bath.

The U-shaped kitchenette has all the basics on one side.

A closer view of the coffeemaker, toaster, and microwave.

Below all this are storage drawers…

…and the mini-fridge.

The other side of the kitchenette has storage shelves and a mirror. We don’t need to go into why there’s a blank wall to the left of the shelves and mirror–suffice it to say that it’s the relic of another design error, but one that Disney was able to fix.

Deeper in the room you’ll find the living space, with a queen bed and fold-out couch on one side.

This side of the room from the back.

A closer view of the queen bed. Note from the last two images how tight the bed is to the wall and couch, and how tight the couch is to the curtains.  This space is 30 inches or so too narrow for what it is trying to pull off.

A closer view of the couch…

…which folds out into a full bed that I measured as 54 inches by 76 inches with a four inch thick cushion. The room is so cramped with the couch unfurled that you’d be best off booking just three in it, if the third is short enough to sleep lengthwise on the un-opened couch.

Balconies are at the end of each studio.

Bay Lake Tower rooms come with three views–Standard, Lake or Theme Park. The Lake and Theme Park Views are of Bay Lake or Magic Kingdom. Standard views are either of something else, or are so low that they can’t be defended as having a specific view.

I’ve had higher floor Bay Lake and Magic Kingdom views at Bay Lake Tower, and the views at both were terrific.

Here’s an upper floor Bay Lake view.

My November 2017 studio was a second floor standard view room, and the daytime view was indeed weak.

However, I actually had an OK view of the Magic Kingdom fireworks.

The other side of the room has a dresser/TV thingy and table and chairs.

The TV side from the back.

A closer view of the dresser and (small) TV.

There’s six large drawers below, and shelves next to the TV.

Back in the room you’ll find this table and chairs.

Some Two Bedroom Villas are made up of a One Bedroom and a Studio via the connecting door near the entry, so we’ll look at a One Bedroom Villa next.

PHOTO TOUR OF THE LIVING/DINING/KITCHEN AREA OF ONE AND TWO BEDROOM VILLAS AT BAY LAKE TOWER

This review continues here.
 

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I just completed and published my updated review of Disney’s Yacht Club Resort. The updated Yacht Club review begins here, and has six pages in total:

• Overview and Summary of Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
• Accommodations and Theming at the Yacht Club
• A photo tour of a Yacht Club room
• Dining at the Yacht Club
• Amenities at the Yacht Club
• Stormalong Bay, the Yacht Club’s main pool

The update includes a bunch of all-new photos from my March 2017 say in a not-yet-refurbed room and my November 2017 stay in a refurbed room.

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For the first page of this review of Disney’s Pop Century Resort, click here.

THE POOLS AT POP CENTURY

Disney’s Pop Century Resort has three good-sized pools, one in each themed area except for the 70s area–the Hippy Dippy pool, Bowling Pin Pool, and Computer pool.

THE HIPPY DIPPY POOL AT DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT

The principal pool, the Hippy Dippy Pool, is near the center of the resort in the 60s section, on the food court side of Buildings 4 and 5.

Like other value resort pools, there’s no water slide or fancy kids splash pool, but otherwise it has more amenities than the other pools at the resort.

There’s a small kids pool on the side closer to Hourglass Lake.

You’ll also find at the Hippy Dippy pool a cornhole game…

…and a ping-pong table.

Pool games happen every afternoon, and many evenings a Disney movie is shown.

The Hippy Dippy pool at night.

The only bar at Pop Century is just outside the Hippy Dippy pool area, close to the food court.

The amenities, pool games, and general color and energy make the Hippy Dippy pool the most popular of Pop Century’s pools.  But if what you want is to play with the kids in the water, sun, or swim, the other two pools are perfectly good alternatives, and will likely be less crowded.

THE BOWLING PIN POOL AT DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT

The Bowling Pin pool is in the 50s area, centered among Buildings 1, 2 and 3, and closest to Building 2.

The pool overall–perhaps not surprisingly–is laid out to resemble a bowling pin…

…just as are the stairs of these 50s buildings. The pool is big and has a large pool chair area, but like the computer pool it’s not worth a walk that takes you past any other Pop Century pool.

THE COMPUTER POOL  AT DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT

The Computer pool is in the center of the the 80s and 90s area, among Buildings 7, 8 and 9, closest to Building  8.

The computer theming is a keyboard at one side of the pool and a screen (and another keyboard) on Building 8…

…the pool itself is a simple, but large, rectangle with plenty of pool deck space.

MATERIALS IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT

• Disney’s Pop Century Resort–overview and summary
• Theming and accommodations at Disney’s Pop Century Resort
• A photo tour of a refurbed room at Disney’s Pop Century Resort
• Amenities and dining at Disney’s Pop Century Resort
• The pools at Disney’s Pop Century Resort

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• Where to stay–the Basics
• Where first-timers should stay
• Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 150+ stays in them

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I thought, as we come up on six months after Pandora: World of Avatar opened at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, that it would be fun to take a step back and revisit the slew of changes at the Disney’s Animal Kingdom over the past few years.

The total transformation at the park has been remarkable. At the cost of the former Pocahontas meet and greet, we got among other things the best theme park fine dining restaurant in Orlando with Tiffins, the most completely-imagined themed area in the world in Pandora, and the best theme park ride in the U.S. in Flight of Passage.

Add to this Sunset Safaris in Africa, Tree of Life Awakenings, the evening show Rivers of Light, the single big miss of Na’vi River Journey, and the fact that broad swathes of the park can now be enjoyed after dark (most notably Expedition Everest, but don’t forget Chester and Hester’s Dinorama, which has always been its best after dark), and it’s hard not to be impressed.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom opened with a focus on animals. Most major additions after it opened did not—with the signature addition being the roller coaster Expedition Everest about a decade ago. While in its early years the park did have after-dark opportunities, in this decade they were narrowed to just evening Extra Magic Hours and late closes during the holiday season—and in the last few years the evening Extra Magic Hours went away, largely leaving Animal Kingdom at night only to those who visited in the holiday season.

The transformation was meant to broaden the appeal of the park, widen the parts of the day during which it could be enjoyed, anchor it in some well-known intellectual property (the worlds of James Cameron’s Pandora from Avatar, whose sequels are expected well before the Second Coming), and—frankly—to show Universal Orlando that Disney was willing to compete at the high level of theming and ride quality that it showed in its Harry Potter offerings.

The re-imagining began with the closure of the old Camp Minnie Mickey area, and the rebuilding of a new home for Festival of the Lion King in Africa, where it had always belonged anyway.

Next—and as significant to me personally as anything other than Flight of Passage—was the opening of Harambe Market, a new quick service venue in Africa, my go-to place for what I think of as an Indian-inspired corn dog but which Disney insists on calling a “beef and pork sausage” on its menu.

Then April 22, 2016 came and went, noted principally by those who booked vacations on Disney’s promise that this was the date that the new evening show River of Light would open. In the biggest schedule miss in recent memory, it didn’t open then, not debuting until almost a year later, but lovely wife Amy Girl and I still had fun during our visit that weekend, including walking behind Joe Rhode’s earring down one of the long hallways of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge.

In May 2016 the other parts of Disney’s evening program at Animal Kingdom opened, as did Tiffins—the best theme park fine dining restaurant in Orlando, accompanied by a great bar, and probably the most likely place after Raglan Road (and the drunk tank) to find Disney World bloggers and guidebook writers.

The new evening program included the short-lived and best-forgotten Jungle Book show in the Rivers of Light area, and the still-extant Tree of Life Awakenings—likely the most charming minor entertainment in any Disney Park, which I view as a don’t miss—and the Sunset Safari at Kilimanjaro Safaris.

It’s best to think of Sunset Safari as two additional offerings, on around sunset and one after dark. The one around sunset is a terrific supplement to or replacement of a daylight visit to Kilimanjaro Safaris, as certain animals–especially the cats—are much more active at this time of day. The after-dark version is different, worth doing, but much less compelling than a daytime or sunset visit, and should be viewed as an addition to one of those visits, and not be your sole visit to Kilimanjaro Safaris.

The sunset safaris also expended the vocabulary of most of us, adding “crepuscular,” “civil twilight,” “nautical twilight,” and “astronomical twilight” as we tried to advise people on what to see when, and why, while acting like we knew these words all along.

In February 2017 the evening show Rivers of Light finally opened. While diminished compared to its aspirations (this mismatch, and trying to resolve it, was the main reason it took so long to go live), and the only evening show at Disney World that is hardly anyone’s favorite, it has great charm, musicality, and visual delight, and I view it as a four-star don’t miss.

Then in May 2017 Pandora: World of Avatar opened in the old Camp Minnie Mickey area, bringing two new rides, Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey, dining in Satu’li Canteen and shopping at the Windtraders gift shop.

Pandora is the most completely realized themed area ever built, with remnants of the Resources Development Administration base from the first Avatar movie underpinning a stunning depiction of the shapes, colors and life of the moon Pandora.

The land is set ~20 years after the first movie, which both frees it from that specific movie and any sequels that come out while taking advantage of the astonishing visually lush setting. James Cameron is at his best in visualizing worlds (and worst in creating plots).

You don’t need to have seen the movie to enjoy the land, but it helps—particularly helping with the lesser of the two rides here, Na’vi River Journey, a gentle homage to the animals and plants of Pandora, and the religion of the Na’vi, which frankly needs all the help it can get.

If you do watch Avatar again (or for the first time), be patient. The beginning is dull, the avatar science makes no sense, and the middle, with its long stretches of workout routines and self-regard, is hard to be captivated by. The story (whose borrowings are much debated—I see it as a mix of The Dragonriders of Pern, Pocahontas, Jurassic Park, and a Jane Fonda workout video) really works only from beginning to end (and, far, far better on a 3D big screen than at home), so you need to begin at the beginning on the biggest TV you own, and give it time to unfold. (As an aside, I’ve always thought it too bad that the two movies Cameron is most famous for—Titanic and Avatar—are among his worst. Much better are Terminator 2, Aliens, True Lies, and The Abyss, which is particularly under-appreciated.)

Flight of Passage (the full name, that no one uses, is Avatar Flight of Passage) is the headliner, and the best theme park ride to come out in years—and the best at Disney World. You will see folk comparing it to Soarin’ Around the World at Epcot—a comparison that is not false, but adds as much value to understanding Flight of Passage as the claim that hamburger and Kobe beef are based on the same cow system adds to dining.

Flight of Passage simulates riding the back of a flying banshee through sublime, beautiful, gentle, tumultuous and dramatic scenes from Pandora. It is the culmination of a lengthy queue that begins outdoors among the flying mountains of the Valley of Mo’ara (actually, all too commonly it begins way back on the bridge between Discovery Island and Pandora…) then makes its way inside through scenes from abandoned industrial facilities and an active scientific research lab, culminating in a couple of pre-shows.

You will see some advocate skipping even trying for FastPass+ in order to see all the details of the Flight of Passage queue. For big fans of abandoned industrial buildings and biology labs, good advice. Everyone else should try for a FastPass+, although the mismatch between ride capacity and demand for it means that FastPass+ for Flight of Passage is quite hard to get, even for those booking right at 60 days.

Na’vi River Journey is much the lesser ride and easier to get as a FastPass+. So if you can’t get a FastPass+ for Flight of Passage, get one for Na’vi and show up at Animal Kingdom at least 75 minutes prior to the official opening, and once you are in, head straight for the Flight of Passage queue. After this morning visit, you should return to Pandora in one of the later sunset periods—perhaps at civil twilight?—to see the delicacy with which the bioluminescent plants in Pandora shift from day to night.

Speaking of queues, Flight of Passage has at least one too many pre-shows. Having gone through them multiple times since its May opening (although not remotely as many as Tom Corless has…), I kinda miss the days when Disney would build rides like Space Mountain where you went straight from the line to deepest space without any intervening explanation whatsoever.

I’d noted earlier in this post that

The transformation was meant to broaden the appeal of the park, widen the parts of the day during which it could be enjoyed, anchor it in some well-known intellectual property (the worlds of James Cameron’s Pandora from Avatar, whose sequels are expected well before the Second Coming), and—frankly—to show Universal Orlando that Disney was willing to compete at the high level of theming and ride quality that it showed in its Harry Potter offerings.

In my judgement, even though Rivers of Light and Na’vi River Journey each could have been better, overall the transformation has spectacularly succeeded on all these fronts.

Think of what you can now do in an evening at Animal Kingdom

• Ride late in the afternoon via FastPass+ the best ride at Disney World, Flight of Passage
• Have dinner at Tiffin’s, the best theme park restaurant in Orlando, towards the end of daylight
• Ride Kilimanjaro Safaris at the beginning of sunset
• Return to Pandora to see Pandora shift to its night colors
• See a scene or two from Tree of Life Awakenings on the way to Rivers of Light
• See Rivers of Light
• Ride Expedition Everest after dark
• See more from Tree of Life Awakenings on your way out of the park

A transformation, indeed.

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THE FOUR SEASONS AT DISNEY WORLD

Over the past few days I’ve updated my review of Four Seasons Orlando, the only five star resort in Walt Disney World, based on my July stay here–my third stay at Four Seasons.

The  update includes additions and corrections for things that have changed since my last stays, more than 50 new pictures, and a reorganization of the material to match how I’ve been doing these reviews lately.

The first page of the review is the overview and summary, and that’s the place to start.  In total the review has six pages:

• Overview and Summary Four Seasons Orlando
• A photo tour of a king bed room at Four Seasons Orlando
• A photo tour of a full bed room at Four Seasons Orlando
• Amenities at Four Seasons Orlando
• Dining at Four Seasons Orlando
• The pools at Four Seasons Resort Orlando

Have you stayed at Four Seasons? Let me know what you thought, using the comment form below!

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DISNEY’S PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE RESORT

With more than 2000 rooms sprawling in two different sections around Disney’s (man-made) Sassagoula River, Port Orleans Riverside is probably Disney World’s best-loved moderate resort, and has inspired a great fan site.

I’ve stayed at Riverside eleven times since I started this site, most recently in September 2019. These visits confirm that Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort remains the third best of the moderate resorts for first time family visitors.

(For what the moderates provide, and how they compare to the other Disney World resort classes, click here)

You can have a wonderful visit at any Walt Disney World resort.

However, this site recommends that first time visitors to Walt Disney World avoid the moderate resorts, while noting that these resorts are wonderful for visits after the first. (See this for why.)

That said, the moderates represent ~30% of the rooms of Walt Disney World, and will be sought by some because this site’s recommended resorts are sold out, because you are on return visits, or because–sensibly–you’re just not that into my rankings!

So I stay in them all–in 40+ different moderate rooms, eleven of them at Port Orleans Riverside–and publish reviews of each.

This review has nine pages

• The overview page you are on now
• Theming and accommodations at Port Orleans Riverside
• A photo tour of a four person standard room in Port Orleans Riverside’s Magnolia Bend section
• A photo tour of a four person Royal Room in Port Orleans Riverside’s Magnolia Bend section
• A photo tour of a refurbed five person Murphy bed room Port Orleans Riverside’s Alligator Bayou section
• Amenities at Port Orleans Riverside
• Dining at Port Orleans Riverside
• The pools at Port Orleans Riverside
• The history of Port Orleans Riverside

Note that the long-time travel agent partner of this site, Kelly B., can help you book your Disney World vacation at Port Orleans Riverside or anywhere else–contact her using the form at the bottom of this page.

OVERVIEW: DISNEY’S PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE RESORT

Resorts are ranked on this site for first time visitors based first on their kid appeal, and then on their convenience.

On this basis, Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside resort is the third best moderate resort for first time family visitors.

(Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort is first; Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort second; and Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter is fourth; these results are very close.  The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort are ranked last, and this is not close.)

Themed to the riverine rural south, Port Orleans Riverside combines sweeping riverside vistas, manicured gardens, and accommodations themed as stately homes in its Magnolia Bend section (red oval on map)…

…with a more backwoods and wetland-themed area in Alligator Bayou (blue circle on map).

Joining the two, and containing most amenities, is the river-port themed area Sassagoula Steamship Company (gold circle on map).

ROOMS AT DISNEY’S PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE RESORT

More so than most of Disney World’s other moderate resorts, Port Orleans Riverside has distinct areas and room types, with varied pros and cons.

There’s two areas–Alligator Bayou and Magnolia Bend–and three different room types.

Port Orleans Riverside is undergoing a building-by-building minor room refurb project. This refurb is complete in its Alligator Bayou section, and refurbs have begun in the Magnolia Bend section, which will likely be completed in early 2020–with the Royal Rooms being done last.

STANDARD AND ROYAL ROOMS IN THE MAGNOLIA BEND SECTION OF PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE

The Magnolia Bend section of Port Orleans Riverside contains four large buildings themed as graceful southern plantation homes, with courtyards, porticoes, grand stairs, and fountains.

The northern-most of these buildings are Acadian House and Magnolia Terrace. These are the best-located of the Magnolia Bend options, being closer to the resort’s central amenities and more convenient to bus stops than the two more southern buildings.

Rooms here sleep four in two queens (and a few two person king bed rooms).

Their floor plans are typical of the moderates. For a full review of this room type, see this.

The two southern Magnolia Bend buildings, Oak Manor and Parterre Place, are where you’ll find Riverside’s Royal Rooms.

Royal Rooms are distinctively decorated to a Disney Prince and Princess theme, and are higher cost than the other options at Port Orleans Riverside. Their floor plans are very similar to those in the two other Magnolia Bend buildings. They sleep four in two queens–no king bed rooms are in the Royal Room buildings.

Families who find the added theming worth the extra ~$50-$100 per night these rooms cost may find them quite pleasant. The buildings themselves, however, are distant from the main pool and from bus stops.

A detailed review of the Royal Rooms is here.

FIVE PERSON ROOMS IN THE ALLIGATOR BAYOU SECTION OF PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE

The Alligator Bayou section of Port Orleans Riverside is on the northern and western sides of the resort. The two-story, no-elevator buildings here are themed as backwoods cabins.

These rooms are among the few “traditional” moderate rooms at Walt Disney World that can sleep 5–the only other ones are at Caribbean Beach.

The fifth sleeping spot is in a short (66″) Murphy Bed that drops down from the TV/dresser object. (There’s also a few king rooms, also with the Murphy Bed.)

The geometry of the object containing the Murphy Bed means that these rooms have both less drawer space to start with, and also that the drawers are a little hard to access if the Murphy Bed is in use. So for families that don’t need the extra bed, a room in the Magnolia Bend section at either Acadian House or Magnolia Terrace is a better choice.

See a full review of these Alligator Bend rooms here.

There’s much more on accommodations and theming at Port Orleans Riverside here.

AMENITIES AT DISNEY’S PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE RESORT

Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside has almost as wide a range of amenities as you’ll find at any Disney World moderate resort, falling short compared to the rest only in dining compared to Coronado Springs, which is much better, in spa services and workout facilities, found among the moderates only at Coronado Springs, and in its kids pool, where you’ll find much better ones at Port Orleans French Quarter and Caribbean Beach.

Distinctive amenities here–shared with sister resort Port Orleans French Quarter–include boat service to Disney Springs and horse-drawn carriage rides.

Details on the amenities at Port Orleans Riverside begin here.

DINING AT DISNEY’S PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE RESORT

Port Orleans Riverside has an indoor bar with a limited menu, a poolside bar with chips and such, a table service restaurant, Boatwright’s, and a quick-service venue, the Riverside Mill.

Each has its fans–especially the indoor bar, River Roost, with its common live entertainment from Yehaa Bob— but collectively they are about average among the moderates, and are particularly bested by Coronado Springs with multiple bars and multiple restaurants.

For more on dining at Port Orleans Riverside, see this.

THE POOLS AT DISNEY’S PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE RESORT

Port Orleans Riverside has six pools–the main pool with a fun slide, pool games, and sawmill theming at Ol’ Man River, and five smaller, un-themed “leisure” pools scattered among the accommodations buildings.

Six pools is either a feature or a bug, depending on your perspective.  There are so many because the main pool is too small to serve all who might wish to use it, and is a hike from many outlying rooms. You’ll find the same feature/bug at Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs.

The main pool, though much loved, is uninteresting compared to those at Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs, and the kids pool next to it is quite weak compared to the alternatives at Caribbean Beach and French Quarter.

There’s more on the pools at Port Orleans Riverside here.

KID APPEAL AND CONVENIENCE AT DISNEY’S PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE RESORT

Kid Appeal. The southern bayou and plantation theming of this resort, while charming to many adults (especially the Magnolia Bend section, whose Georgian architecture is quite lovely), will miss most kids entirely.

That said, its extra amenities bump it slightly ahead of its sister resort Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter. (French Quarter visitors are encouraged to use these amenities; the difference is that for Riverside guests, they are immediately present.)

Moreover, the Royal Rooms will have great appeal to some kids–though they are more expensive, and less convenient, than alternatives.

Now, I get comments all the time along the lines of “We stayed at Riverside and it had great appeal for my kids!” Of course it did. All the Disney resorts have great kid appeal. My point is that some have even more than others…

Convenience. Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside is in the middle of moderates in convenience.

While often thought of as out of the way, it is in fact just across the street (or two) from Epcot, and along with Port Orleans French Quarter is the closest of the “traditional” moderates to Magic Kingdom. It also shares with French Quarter a slow boat to Downtown Disney.

The principal convenience frustration is that, since it sometimes shares buses with Port Orleans French Quarter, it can have in effect 5 bus stops. The Magic Kingdom bus is the exception–it has only four stops, as it always skips Port Orleans French Quarter.

Buses sometimes fill before they get to their final stop (although this is much less common than it used to be), and the first day or two of a visit, it can be hard to identify from inside the bus whether one is at the West, North, or East Bus Stop.

Getting off at the wrong stop matters, because Port Orleans Riverside is pretty darn big, and can be a challenge to get around.

While at my pace no room is more than a ten minute walk from the central service area and pool, this is assuming you take the most direct path, and don’t get lost. Getting lost–especially at night–in the far reaches of the Alligator Bayou section is easy. Or at least it is for me…

It’s not widely noticed, but the texture of the concrete paths in the Alligator Bayou section is meant to help with wayfinding. Where there are groups of buildings, the main path through them is textured to look like a plank road.

The texturing is meant to indicate to you that you are on a main path, and keep you from wandering off accidentally onto a building-specific path.

The image on the right side shows the texture of such a plank road.

As a final convenience point, the two story buildings in the Alligator Bayou area have no elevators.

Other distinctive features. One of only  two traditional moderates that can sleep five, in the Alligator Bayou section. (Caribbean Beach is the other, and its five person rooms are slightly more livable.) These Alligator Bayou rooms provide two queen beds and a short Murphy bed. With Port Orleans French Quarter, the only moderate with no lake, and with the French Quarter the only moderate with boat transport to Downtown Disney.

BEST PLACES TO STAY AT DISNEY’S PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE

This site suggests that first time visitors stay in standard rooms, not preferred rooms (because they won’t be spending much time in their rooms, or going to the main resort food area often; the single exception is visitors to the Animal Kingdom Lodge, who should always pay for savanna views.)

Unless you need the bed for the 5th person, stay in a top floor (quieter) standard room in building 85– “Magnolia Terrace” –in the Magnolia Bend section. This area is much lovelier than the other section, Alligator Bayou, and the storage is more convenient. And of the non-Royal options, Building 85 is the best choice–lovely, closer to the pool and central services, and with a nearby bus stop.

If you do need the fifth person bed in Alligator Bayou, shoot for a ground floor room (no elevators) in buildings 16, 17 (close to the amenities and bus stop at Sassagoula Steamship Company) or 38–better views, close to the main pool.

Room request forms for Riverside are particularly thin on options. If you booked a Royal Room you’ll automatically be put in Oak Manor or Parterre Place, the buildings that include them; if you booked five people three or older, you’ll automatically go into one of the Alligator Bayou rooms.  Beyond this, call to express your preferences.

The long-time travel agent partner of this site, Kelly B., can help you book your Disney World vacation at Port Orleans Riverside or anywhere else–contact her using the form below:

THEMING AND ACCOMMODATIONS AT DISNEY’S PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE RESORT

This review continues here.

TOPICS IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE RESORT

• Port Orleans Riverside: Overview and summary
• Theming and accommodations at Port Orleans Riverside
• A photo tour of a four person standard room in Port Orleans Riverside’s Magnolia Bend section
• A photo tour of a four person Royal Room in Port Orleans Riverside’s Magnolia Bend section
• A photo tour of a five person Murphy bed room Port Orleans Riverside’s Alligator Bayou section
• Amenities at Port Orleans Riverside
• Dining at Port Orleans Riverside
• The pools at Port Orleans Riverside
• The history of Port Orleans Riverside

OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD

• Where to stay–the Basics
• Where first-timers should stay
• Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 150+ stays in them

Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!