9 Things To Know About Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside [Review]

I stayed 3 nights at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside in late August 2025 with my husband, and it’s my new favorite Walt Disney World resort.

From lively nights at the River Roost piano bar to peaceful morning walks along the Sassagoula River, the resort balanced fun and relaxation. I loved the green spaces, tree-lined paths, and riverside courtyards that reminded me of home on the Gulf Coast and offered a refreshing change of pace from the busy theme parks.

Here’s what made this resort stand out, and why I’d choose it again over some of Disney’s most expensive hotels.

1. It Has a Park-Like Setting

There’s a lot to like about Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside, but I was most impressed by how peaceful it is. It was so quiet and calm, with the Sassagoula River running through the property (featuring the occasional cruise boat) and plenty of tree-lined walking trails leading to buildings, the lobby, dining, and Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter.

There was a nice view everywhere, whether we looked out onto a courtyard, the waterway, bridges, or tree-topped islands. The amount of green space and trees sets Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside apart from any other Disney resort I’ve visited.

Getting around the resort felt like a walk in the park! I get a little nature-starved in the Disney World bubble, surrounded by crowds, pavement, and unrelenting sun and heat. Starting and ending our days walking peaceful and shady pathways at the resort was a welcome relief, and I felt right at home.

Signs warn of alligators and snakes in the area, particularly in the water. Our captain on the Sassagoula River Cruise said alligators are rare here because they don’t like the boats. Snakes are another story, and we overheard some bike riders say they spotted something slithering on the trail.

I appreciated the subtle Southern theming and buildings that reminded me of a garden-style apartment complex with brick buildings, iron railings, open stairs, and courtyards with fountains.

All of the guest rooms are in named buildings, like Oak Manor and Parterre Place, each with courtyards, fountains, green space, or pools in between them. Our building, Oak Manor, faced a pool and laundry room at the bottom of the steps.

2. It’s One of the Few Pet-Friendly Disney World Resorts

Most Disney World resorts don’t allow pets, but Disney’s Port Orleans – Riverside is on the short list of dog-friendly Disney resorts.

Other pet-friendly Disney World resorts include:

• The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort
• Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
• Disney’s Yacht Club Resort

We saw a room with a dog door tag, indicating to housekeeping that there was a dog inside the room. It was on the bottom floor and close to the end of the building for easy access to pet relief areas.

The only pets allowed to stay at the resort are dogs, and there’s a maximum of 2 dogs per room. The resort charges a pet fee of $50 per night plus tax. Guests bringing a dog must sign a pet agreement when checking in that details behavior and vaccination requirements. Dogs must be well-behaved, leashed or in a carrier in public areas, and up to date on vaccinations and treatment. They are not allowed on furniture, in resort common areas, or on resort transportation.

3. There’s a Scenic Boat Ride to Disney Springs

With the Sassagoula River running through the property, Disney’s Port Orleans – Riverside offers transportation to Disney Springs via the Sassagoula River Cruise. Boats are one of my favorite ways to get around Disney World, and this is a lovely way to reach Disney’s shopping and dining district. The boat launch is just steps away from the lobby and dining building.

The waiting area was shaded, and it was easy to see the boat coming. We dined at the food court before getting on the boat, and we could see the dock from inside the building, where we decided when to leave the air conditioning and get in line for boarding.

The cruise was a breezy ride through the resort, with a stop to pick up more passengers at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter. Our cruise captain gave us a tour as we cruised through conservation areas — as close to Florida wilderness as you can get while still being on Disney World property.

We also passed by a golf course and saw other river cruise boats. It was fun to see the Treehouse Villas of Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa.

The river cruise takes about 20 minutes from the resort to Disney Springs. Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside is the cruise’s furthest resort from Disney Springs. Comparatively, our cruise from Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa only took about 10 minutes.

Hot Tip:

The cruise may not be the best option if you’re in a rush, as boats may take up to 20 minutes to reach the loading dock and the cruise takes 20 minutes to get to Disney Springs from the resort. We were pressed for time on our way back, so we booked a 10-minute Lyft to pick up our bags at the resort and ride to the airport.

4. Activities Are Abundant

From biking to fishing excursions and campfires, there’s a lot to do at the resort.

It’s one of the few locations where you can rent bikes at Disney World. With lots of trails, this is a great place for it. The bike rental booth is in a small building behind the lobby where the docks are.

Surrey and regular 2-wheeled bikes for kids and adults were available to rent.

Hot Tip:

The resort also offers horse-drawn carriage rides in the evenings — and you can get 10% off this experience if you pay with a Disney^® Visa^® Card or Disney^® Premier Visa^® card.

The resort is one of the few locations where you can go on a fishing excursion. There’s also dockside fishing at the Fishin’ Hole at Ol’ Man Island.

Each night from 6 to 7 p.m, there’s a campfire on Ol’ Man Island, and there’s a playground next to the campfire.

Movies under the stars are available in the Oak Manor courtyard at 8:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

Free play activities were dotted throughout the property, too. Croquet, giant chess, giant Connect 4, and other games were in courtyards and other common areas.

The Medicine Show Arcade in the lobby is open 24/7 — and has massage chairs.

5. Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter Is Walkable

Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside is next to Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter, where you can use the resort’s amenities and access additional dining. There’s a riverside walkway between the resorts that starts near the lobby. The walk takes about 10 to 15 minutes, or you can take a boat ride.

There’s a lot of Mardi Gras theming at French Quarter, including the Doubloon Lagoon pool with the Mardi Grogs pool bar.

The main reason most people visit Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter from Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside is to eat Mickey-shaped beignets and Joffrey’s chicory coffee from the Scat Cat Cafe.

One night, we walked over to pick up limited-time Ghoulish Beignets. These were darker than the usual beignets, with cookies and cream powdered sugar and a marshmallow creme drizzle.

The beignets were a fun treat, especially for spooky season, but don’t expect a traditional New Orleans beignet. Compared to Cafe du Monde’s beignets in the real French Quarter, these were denser and drier with less powdered sugar. We found them much closer to a donut than a beignet.

6. Buses Are the Only Way To Reach the Parks

Some Disney World resorts have monorail, Skyliner, or FriendShip boat access to the theme parks, but Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside only uses buses for park transportation.

There are 4 easy-to-get-to bus stops throughout the resort. The walking distance was about the same whether we went to the east depot behind the Magnolia Bend building or the South Depot next to the lobby.

It was nice to have multiple stops available, and this is one of the ways this Moderate resort differs from Value resorts — there was just a single pickup spot (in full sun) at Disney’s All-Star Music Resort.

All of the bus depots had covered seating with vending machines and overhead fans.

There was a monitor with ETAs for bus arrivals. In our experience, they ran a little early, but we had no complaints about that!

7. Rooms Are Comfortable, and Some Sleep 5

We stayed in the Oak Manor building, and our room was perfectly comfortable with subtle theming and thoughtful touches — including loads of storage.

I booked a woods view, which is standard, but received a pool view. That made it convenient to do an after-park swim to take a load off! Our room was next to the staircase on the second floor, so the pool was just a few stairs away.

The rooms had exterior motel-style doors with windows next to them, though they were angled and set back.

Our room had 2 queen-size beds, but the resort offers rooms with child-size beds that can be pulled down from the wall to sleep families of 5.

The theming was subtle and charming, including Southern-inspired florals on the bathroom door and tile, and headboard art featuring flowery swamp scenes.

The walls featured family portraits of Tiana and Naveen from “The Princess and the Frog,” perfect for a resort with New Orleans theming.

But the room wasn’t just cute, it was functional. I was impressed to find a sturdy stepstool under the bathroom cabinet — perfect for kids needing a boost to reach the sink.

Also impressive was the amount of storage. There were hanging hooks near the front door, a dresser with 6 large drawers, and storage under the bed.

The bathroom had a small closet and shelves at the sink.

There were good dispensers in the shower. If you’ve ever wrangled with Disney’s awful soap-dispenser-style shower amenities with a pump at the top that barely dispenses any product, you can appreciate how much better these are.

8. Lots of Dining

Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside has a food court, lobby bar, pool bar, and a table-service dining hall.

Riverside Mill Food Court is the main dining venue, open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. It offers some of the usual fare you see at Disney resort food courts, like breakfast totchos, burgers, pizzas, salads, and grab-and-go snacks, but it also offers a few specialty items, including mojo-roasted chicken, jambalaya, and gumbo.

There’s plenty of seating, mostly 4-top tables. Some have a waterfront view, or you can sit near the inner workings of the river mill.

You can find a kids area near the back, which has a long kid-size table, coloring pages, and a TV with Disney entertainment.

The night we arrived, we stumbled upon the River Roost bar, open daily from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. We’d planned to visit the food court for a late dinner, but we got drawn into the bar by the sounds of the lively piano player, Yehaa Bob. He had everyone singing along to Disney songs and piano bar classics. Yehaa Bob performs Wednesday through Saturday nights from 8:30 to 10 p.m.

We made a dinner of andouille nachos and a boulevardier cocktail, which featured bourbon, Campari, and sweet vermouth.

There’s also Boatwright’s Dining Hall, a table-service restaurant open for dinner from 5 to 9 p.m., and the Muddy Rivers pool bar on Ol’ Man Island, open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Hot Tip:

You can also visit restaurants at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter.

9. There Are 6 Pools on the Property

Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside has a featured pool on Ol’ Man Island, the largest pool on the property. It has a waterslide, kiddie pool, and spa.

The resort has another 5 smaller pools that are convenient to guest buildings. These don’t have waterslides, but there’s plenty of room to swim and abundant shaded loungers. The pool at Oak Manor has a laundry room, so you could take a dip while running a load.

Hot Tip:

Guests can also access the Doubloon Lagoon pool at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter.

Final Thoughts

Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside surprised me by delivering the best experience I’ve had at a Disney World resort so far, exceeding even pricey Deluxe resorts. After hectic theme park days, the riverside setting, tree-lined walkways, and park-like courtyards made it a peaceful, home-like retreat. It offers a unique mix of charm and versatility with the Sassagoula River Cruise, pet-friendly rooms, plentiful pools, and activities and entertainment such as Yehaa Bob and fishing excursions.