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For the first page of this review of Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort, see this.

STANDARD ROOMS AT PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE

Port Orleans Riverside has two areas and three distinct room types.

• Its Alligator Bayou area has rooms sleep five in two queen beds and one short (~66 inches long) Murphy bed.
• Its Magnolia Bend area has two room types, Royal Rooms and Standard Rooms, each sleeping four in two queen beds.

This page reviews the Magnolia Bend Standard Rooms at Port Orleans Riverside.

All the rooms in Port Orleans Riverside are being refreshed and updated as part of a refurb that began in 2018 and is expected to be completed in 2020.

For typical families, these Port Orleans Riverside Magnolia Bend standard rooms are the best choice.

They won’t fit five–families that size at Riverside can only stay in the Alligator Bayou section.  And, while elegant, they aren’t as sumptuously decorated as the Royal Rooms.

But they are uniformly more convenient and less expensive than the Royal Rooms.

For most families, they are also a better choice than the Alligator Bayou rooms.

They are typically around the same price as the Alligator Bayou rooms, but are more convenient than most.  Moreover, they have about 50% more drawer space than the Alligator Bayou 5 person rooms, their drawers can be easily accessed all the time, and their theming, while not quite as interesting as that of Alligator Bayou, is less dark and murky.

A PHOTO TOUR OF THE STANDARD ROOMS AT PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE

The floor plans of the Riverside standard rooms (above) are about as typical of the Disney World moderate resorts as you’ll find–similar to those of the Royal Rooms and to the floor plans of sister resort Port Orleans French Quarter.

When you enter, you’ll find two queen beds on one side. Each has its own separately controlled reading light.

There’s a blank wall space near the entry–this is where a connecting door would be in rooms so outfitted. You can see it on the far right of this shot from the bath area.

A closer view of a bed…

…and of the bedside table between the two queens.

Each bed has a different charming image set into its headboard.

There’s another image on the wall between the bed area and the bath that reinforces the overall “steamboat landing” theme of Port Orleans Riverside.

The other side of the room has a table and two chairs, a combined dresser/TV/mini-fridge, and a small ottoman with a coat rack above.

From the bath end.

The table and chairs.

The central thingy on this side of the room combines a TV, dresser drawers and a mini-fridge, and is also where you’ll find the coffee maker–which I usually move to the bath area.

All the Riverside rooms are short on dresser drawers, but these rooms and Royal rooms have the most, and most convenient, drawer space. (Alligator Bayou rooms have about 50% less space in drawers that are hard to access when the Murphy Bed in those rooms is in use.)

The mini-fridge is similar to what you’ll find in other Disney World rooms. (I try to remember to put scaling objects in them so that you can get a better sense of the size of these fridges. I also try to remember to have something in focus…)

At the end of this wall, you’ll find a little ottoman with a coat rack above.

The bath area is separable from the bed area with a fabric screen. Beyond it, the sink area has a hanging area to one side, where you’ll also find an ironing board, iron, and safe.

I really like the detailing and color scheme of the sink area…

The tub and bath, as usual, are in a separate space. Here, too, the color scheme works for me.

For most folk who are committed to Port Orleans Riverside, these standard rooms will be the best choice.  They are more livable, less murky, and–mostly–more convenient than Riverside’s Alligator Bayou rooms. Riverside’s Royal Rooms are just as livable, but more expensive and less convenient and, to my taste, a little overdone.

PHOTO TOUR OF AN ROYAL ROOM AT 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 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

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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DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: FEBRUARY 2, 2013 TO FEBRUARY 10, 2013

The material below details operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.

The same stuff is in the table, but organized by park, not by topic.

(For more on February 2013, see this.)

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2015 AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Questions about Walt Disney World in 2015 are starting to come in, so here’s some preliminary observations on the year.

(They cover just some specific periods, and not the basics you’ll find in Best and Worst Times to Visit Walt Disney World, so check that first if you haven’t seen it yet.)

• New Year’s Eve is midweek in 2014, so the Disney World holiday season crush will last until Saturday January 3, 2015.
• Mardi Gras 2015 is the day after President’s Day.  Many northeastern school districts have the whole week of President’s day off, which makes it a bad week to start with.  A few southern school districts have off around Mardi Gras, and they will add even more to the crowds this week.
• President’s Day itself, February 16, 2015, is almost as early as it can be.  This means fewer low-crowd early February days, but a few more good days in later February.
• Easter, on April 5, 2015, is in the middle of its range. The weeks before and after Easter will be mobbed, as usual, but there will be good weeks in very early March, and April after the 11th should be great in 2015!
• Memorial Day, May 25, 2015, is as early as it possibly can be.  This makes me think the week that includes it will be a little less crowded than usual, but it’s still a week to avoid!
• The Fourth of July in 2015 will be on a weekend, so it will be even more crowded than usual, and the weeks before and after it will be the worst ones in the summer of 2015 at Disney World.
• Labor Day, September 7 in 2015, is as late as it can be.  Some states have school openings tied by law to after Labor Day, so the end of August will be a little more crowded than it is in years with an earlier Labor Day.  The end of August is still going to be a good time to go to Disney World crowd-wise–just not as good as years in which Labor Day is earlier.
• Thanksgiving, November 26, 2015, is in the middle of its range.  The week that includes it will be as bad as usual, but there will then be three great weeks at Walt Disney World after it.  Pop Warner week in 2015 looks to be the week beginning December 5.
• Christmas 2015 is on a Friday.  Some school districts will go on break Monday the 21st, and others Thursday the 24th.  Rough crowds will begin December 19, 2015, but New Year’s week at Disney World–the 26th of December 2015 through January 2nd, 2016–will be a particular mess.

MORE ON DISNEY WORLD IN 2015

See the links below!

MORE ON WHEN TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD

• For when to go to Walt Disney World, see this
• For the best and worst times to visit, see this
  • For 2015 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
  • For the 2015 Week Picker, see this
  • For 2016 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
• For forecasting crowds at Walt Disney World, see this
  • For the 2015 Crowd Calendar, click here
  • For the 2016 Crowd Calendar, click here
• For seasonal pricing at Walt Disney World, see this
  • For 2015 price seasons, see this
  • For projected 2016 price seasons, see this
• For weather at Walt Disney World, see this

Want a second opinion?  Then check out my book lol.

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OVERVIEW: SUMMER 2013 AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Summer at Walt Disney World—loosely defined as Memorial Day in late May through Labor Day in early September–is an often difficult season.

Summer Disney World weather is hot and humid, and in mid-August shifts to hot, humid, and also the peak of the hurricane season.

Summer crowds at Disney World are very high most of the summer–lightest in the last part of August, and also lighter in early June. They peak over the Fourth of July holiday.

Disney World summer prices show a different pattern in 2013 than in prior years, and begin high only at the value resorts.  They drop to near their lowest level of the year at the deluxe resorts resorts in mid-July, and at the moderate resorts and value resorts in early August.

Deals and discounts are available for parts of this period.

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DISNEY WORLD DINING CHOICES

Welcome to those coming from Capturing Magical Memories and those of you just hopping aboard.

I am the 3rd stop on our Magical Blogorail. Enjoy the ride as this month Magical Blogorail Teal discusses Walt Disney World restaurants!

This site has both suggestions and rankings for Walt Disney world dining.

Each of its integrated itineraries has a full set of dining suggestions. These suggestions are enduringly family-pleasing–especially kid-pleasing–experiences.   A full list of what’s in the Basic December Itinerary is here.

In addition, it offers ordered rankings of the theme park table service restaurants, of the resort hotel table service restaurants, and of character meals and dinner shows.

The first two of these are tricky, as I’ve tried to balance dining for adults with what kids like, with the emphasis on adults. The results, frankly, could be endlessly argued about.

So as a final aid, the site also provides The Comprehensive Guide to Walt Disney World Dining.

For families with kids who aren’t paying attention to my suggestions, the Comprehensive Guide is the place to start, but it also serves adults just looking for the best dining on a night out.

That’s because it has two rankings for each table service possibility, in a matrix: one for kids, and one for adults.  Thus any choice can be filtered for kid appeal, for adult appeal, or for both.

CHOICES FOR THE BEST OF DISNEY DINING

Which of the Disney World dining options is my strongest recommendation, or my favorite?  Well, none, for a couple of reasons. 

First, I’m just kind of a counter- service guy.

Let me have the rib dinner from the food court at Port Orleans French Quarter and I’m happy as a clam!

That is, so long as the sides are mashed potatoes and collard greens, and I eat it in the right order–first the ribs, then the collard greens, and only then the mashed potatoes, mixed in with what’s left on the plate of the greens!

Or breakfast from any resort’s food court is special for me.

Though I mostly just love traditional breakfast foods, this is also partly symbolic.

Most mornings at Walt Disney World I’m up early and “working”–either working at my real job or on this site, or researching this site in the parks.  That means I tend to miss breakfasts in the resorts…so when I get one, it means an easy day!

Second, when I’m at Walt Disney World, table service dining is not a huge priority, for a couple of reasons.

I visit six to eight times a year, and half those times are solo--I’m there alone to research something for this site.

And by temperament I’m just not someone who’s going to reserve a solo spot at Akershus or the Crystal Palace…although sometimes, when I’m particularly missing Paris, I’ll order appetizers and coffee for brunch at Chefs de France, while finishing off the morning’s Wall Street Journal and faking like it’s the International Herald Tribune.

The other half of my time, I’m with some or all of my family.

Now my wife and older son are very much table-service people, and if they had their way, every trip would have multiple table service meals, at Jiko, Citricos, Artist Point, and the like, with perhaps a side round-trip flight to Charleston for Husk.

If we ate the way these two would love to eat, we’d only be able to afford to be at Disney World once every three years!

MORE DISNEY WORLD DINING FROM MAGICAL BLOGORAIL TEAL

Thank you for joining me today. Your next stop on the Magical Blogorail Loop is Heidi’s Head.

Here is the map of our Magical Blogorail Teal loop should you happen to have to make a stop along the way and want to reboard:

• 1st Stop ~ The Many Adventures of a Disney-Lovin’ Spectrum Mom
• 2nd Stop ~  Capturing Magical Memories
• 3rd Stop ~ Your First Visit
• Final Stop ~  Heidi’s Head

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THE COUNTRY BEAR JAMBOREE

The Country Bear Jamboree re-opened late last year in Frontierland at the Magic Kingdom after a two-month hiatus for repair and refreshing.

The figures that are the center of the attraction were re-done (and re-furred), and multiple other rehabs and replacements were done as well.  My friend Jodi has a video of Imagineers discussing the re-do on her site here.

The show was also tightened up a bit–two songs were cut, one was moved, and some dialog was sliced.

The tightening didn’t change the tone of the show much–it’s still Country Bear Jamboree: one of my favorites, but definitely an attraction that some families can skip.

REVIEW: THE COUNTRY BEAR JAMBOREE

The Country Bear Jamboree is one of the rides that opened when the Magic Kingdom opened in 1971, and was one of the few there that had no precedent in Disneyland.

It features an active and fun medley of Americana-inspired, mostly humorous, songs presented on five related stages by more than a dozen audio-animatronic bears–and a few other animals as well!

At opening, the bears were a tour de force, and were the highest expression of Disney’s audio-animatronic skills to date. This, and the fun of the songs, meant that the attraction was wildly popular.

Since then, the technology has been eclipsed by other instances–e.g., Epcot’s The American Adventure, and tastes have shifted away from roots music.

As a result, the ride has become less popular, especially with returning visitors–although little kids continued to love it.

The refresh and update of the show improves its attractiveness to both first time and returning visitors by cleaning it up, tightening and shortening it. The shortening -from about 15 minutes to about 11 minutes–also increases the show’s hourly capacity.

Improving the attractions’ attractiveness and increasing its capacity at the same time is a good thing both for visitors to the show and everybody else.

The more people that see the Country Bear Jamboree, the fewer people in lines everywhere else!

And this may be working…when we saw it in mid-December 2012, my wife and my were among only a dozen or so in the audience  but on a late January 2013 visit, the show was more than half full!

While a couple of songs have been cut (and one moved) the basic musical approach remains the same.

This is not the “Country Music” of Garth Brooks stadium shows.  Rather, the music is of another, simpler era, combining influences and songwriters from Appalachian folk music, bluegrass, Bakersfield-style country, and the vaudeville country of Kenneth C. Burnes and Henry D. Haynes.

The song list is unified both by a generally comic presentation and–as in much great music*–by the bass line, which in almost all the songs relies on the traditional root-fifth, root-fifth pattern.

The music is off-putting to some who don’t have wide-ranging or tolerant musical tastes.  Too bad for them.  For little kids the show is a hoot, and for most of the rest of us it’s an enjoyable “C” Ticket.

For more history, and more and better photos, see my friend Mike’s review here.

*That’s me and my bass on the far right…

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