Greetings from Louisiana!
Port Orleans Resort — French Quarter
And by Louisiana, we mean Disney’s Port Orleans – French Quarter and Riverside Resorts! These two resorts are part of Disney’s Moderate tier resorts, which land right in the middle between Value and Deluxe. Both resorts offer great perks to guests, including free transportation, a complimentary water park visit on the day of check-in, Early Theme Park Entry, and advance Lightning Lane booking!
While we love both of these resorts, they are not perfect, as these six unfortunate things happen every time we stay there.
All Disney World resorts are not created equal, and while Riverside and French Quarter are beautifully themed, we have run into a few problems when we visit and stay at these resorts.
Disney’s Port Orleans — Riverside Resort
Transportation is Limited
Both Riverside and French Quarter only offer bus transportation to the parks. Since this is the only transportation option, bus lines can be long, and buses can be crowded. If you are staying at Riverside, depending on your building’s location, you may be in for a longer bus ride as there are four bus stops that the buses need to stop at. Meanwhile, the French Quarter only has one bus stop.
Port Orleans – Riverside bus stop
Although bus transportation is the only way to the parks, boats travel along the Sassagoula River between both resorts and Disney Springs. You can also catch boats to Disney’s Old Key West and Saratoga Springs Resort, along with the Treehouse Villas from Disney Springs, if you want to do some resort hopping!
Sassagoula River
It is Easy to Get Lost
Although both of these resorts are in the Moderate tier, Riverside is specifically spread out similarly to a Value Resort or like Disney’s Old Key West and Saratoga Springs Resorts. There are multiple buildings and bus stops, so it can be easy to be confused and get lost. If you want an easier resort to navigate, French Quarter may be a better choice for you.
The main building at both Port Orleans Resorts is a good walk from the rooms.
You Have to Double-Check Which Room You Want to Book
Both French Quarter and Riverside are in the process of updating and refurbishing all of their rooms. While French Quarter’s refurbishment will wrap up in the Spring of 2025, Riverside will continue construction from April 2025 to January 2026. This means if you want an updated room, you need to make sure you book one.
New room at Port Orleans Resort — French Quarter
The same goes for Royal Guest Rooms at Riverside. You can choose between two different versions of rooms: Standard Rooms (with location and view upgrades) or Royal Rooms (also with location and view upgrades). Royal Guest Rooms will make you feel like royalty, with dark tones and touches of Tiana and her friends throughout.
©Disney || A Royal Guest Room at Port Orleans Resort
Only Riverside is Dog-Friendly
Now, this is not necessarily something that “happens every time” but falls more into the unfortunate category. Four resorts at Disney World allow dogs: Art of Animation, The Cabins at Ft. Wilderness, The Yacht Club, and Port Orleans – Riverside. If you want to bring your furry companion with you and stay at Port Orleans, you must book a room at Riverside and disclose that you are bringing your dog.
Port Orleans — Riverside
Beignets are Only at the French Quarter
The only place to currently get Mickey beignets at Disney World is the French Quarter. So, if you want one of these delicious confections and you are at Riverside, you will either have to walk to the French Quarter or take the boat between resorts.
We can’t resist a Mickey Beignet
Room Promotions are Constantly Changing
Disney World hosts a ton of promotions throughout the year that range from discounted park tickets to discounted room rates and even discounted Disney Dining Plan deals. While these are great, sometimes the promotions offered are not the best bang for your buck when choosing Port Orleans.
French Quarter
So, if you want to stay at these resorts with a discount, you will need to watch out for new promotions, as well as price out which promotions are the best. The most apparent promotion is not always the best one! Sadly, while you may get a great deal to stay at these resorts, you may not get the same deal in the future.
Check Out Disney’s Current Discounts and Deals!
Riverside
Well, there you have it! Both Port Orleans — French Quarter and Riverside are beautiful resorts, but they do have their quirks.
We have stayed at every hotel at Disney World so make sure to continue to follow along with us here at the Disney Food Blog for more hotel tips and to stay up to date on all the latest Disney news!
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Stayed at French Quarter many times and always loved it. Much quieter than Riverside but can still easily access Riverside by a short walk. Bus stop can get a little hectic early in the morning but there is always plenty of buses.
We have stayed at Riverside, in the Royal Guest Rooms, and that’s one of our most favorite places to stay! We love the highly themed rooms and the fireworks headboards – absolutely magical! We stayed in French Quarter once for a couple of nights, but unfortunately, I had a raging ear infection, and I don’t really remember it! I’ll be sure to bake in a French Quarter day on our next POR stay. Another thing I love about POR is that we’ve never had to park too far from our rooms. It’s important to have a car (and be reasonably close to it) at a resort as spread out as POR.