Port Orleans Resort Riverside @ Walt Disney World

When we went to WDW in 2018, we stayed at Port Orleans Resort in the Riverside section. It was legit a dream. We got a pretty good deal on the hotel booking- it was worth it for the proximity to the park, the layout of the resort, and other benefits to upgrade to a moderate resort. We don’t want things to be more expensive than they need to just for the sake of it, so we were looking into value resorts initially, but for the price going with a moderate one was so worth it.

First off, I do want to say that I’d absolutely recommend staying onsite when you visit Disney, if it’s possible. This may not be as true now, during COVID times, but hopefully most of the perks return eventually. You get more for the money that you spend on park admission if you’re staying on site! You’re closer to the parks, and have access to free transportation to them. That means you’re not paying for parking at each park! You do have to pay for parking at the hotel if you bring your car, but I’d honestly recommend not having a car on property and just using the free Disney transportation to get around. That’s what we did! You also have the ability (though I don’t believe this is happening in COVID times) to make gift shop purchases throughout the parks and have them sent to your hotel, rather than lugging them around all day, which is nice.

There has been a lot of news the last few days on changes to resort perks, actually. I’m editing this post right now, because so much has changed since I drafted it! The first big change is the non-return of Extra Magic Hours. In normal times, Extra Magic Hours are an hour or two at the beginning or end of the day, at a different park each day, that resort guests with park tickets are able to be in the park beyond it’s normal operating hours. This system is fun, because more time in the parks, but it’s also a little confusing to try to keep track of which parks are offering Extra Magic Hours each day, whether they’re in the morning or evening, and whether they’re one hour or two. However, Disney just announced that instead of Extra Magic Hours returning, they’ll now be offering half an hour of early admission to park guests who are also staying on property. This is more straightforward and easy to keep track of, but imo 30 minutes isn’t really going to be much of a benefit. Regardless of how I or anyone else feels, it’s what they’re doing now! Either way, the ability to spend more time in the parks may be the biggest benefit of staying on property, and surely helps you get more for the money you’re spending on park admission.

Another recent change is the end of the Magical Express program. This is a bussing service that takes resort guests from Orlando International Airport to their hotel for no additional cost. This was awesome, because WDW is pretty far from MCO and that Uber ride could be like $40 or more. They also handle your luggage completely, storing it at the hotel for you to pick up whenever you’re ready. However, Disney announced they’ll no longer offer this service as of 2022. The thing to note here is that in 2022 a high-speed train servicing Florida will add stops at MCO and at Disney Springs. That may serve as a sort of replacement public transit option to get guests from the airport to Disney. HOWEVER, that service won’t be free like Magical Express is, and it will take you to Disney Springs rather than right to your hotel lobby entrance.

In regards to Port Orleans specifically, this resort has the most beautiful grounds. You can hop on a boat in the Sassagoula, the river running through the resort, that takes you to Disney Springs for free. The resort is themed to Louisiana scenery, as you might imagine. It’s made up of two halves. Riverside has a classic and lush bayou vibe, and French Quarter has a New Orleans Mardi Gras party vibe. There are beautiful plants everywhere and the trails are lovely to walk.

You can also get beignets on-site at French Quarter, which is great. We walked over from. They’re Mickey-shaped and come with either chocolate or berry sauce for dipping, and you can get them alongside a breakfast platter or sandwich if you want to make a whole meal.

I can’t leave this without mentioning how GORGEOUS our room was. I didn’t know I’d want to write this one day so I didn’t take enough pictures when we were there. I have to recommend all interested parties hop over the Disney website to check out the incredible room theming. We stayed in a standard Royal Guest room. Look at this video of the fireworks show above the bed!!

I hope it was fun to read about this awesome resort and room. I did find out that it has yet to reopen following the COVID closure, but I’m sure it’ll be back up soon, hopefully even by the end of this year. While I of course hope to check out some other resorts on property in my future stays, I also plan to return to Port Orleans one day because it was a freaking dream.