Port Orleans Riverside Review | Disney World room for 5

I've got a Walt Disney World resort recommendation for you. The Port Orleans Riverside may be our new favorite! (Let's face it, there are so many to fall in love with, but this is a gem). It's a Moderate resort, which means it has sit-down dining & a waterslide/hot tub, that the Values do not, but dining isn't as special, & it's a notch down in amenities compared to the Deluxe resorts.
If you're looking to accommodate a party of 5, this resort offers queen beds (not all Moderates do) & a murphy bed. It doesn't pop up on the official Disney list of resorts for 5 or more, likely because one of you has to be small enough for a murphy bed (love-seat size).

Port Orleans Riverside was perfect for our family. It's a sprawling resort, but you can certainly request a room in a building closer to the main drag and there are bus depots scattered for convenience getting out in the World.

Separated into 2 sections: Magnolia Bend & Alligator Bayou, each with an entirely different motif taken from Louisiana. The Magnolia Bend is just lovely, with rooms situated in plantation homes and white-columned archways over pools, offering Royal Rooms for the princess lover. 

We'd have chosen that side, but we needed use of the murphy beds only available in the Alligator Bayou to accommodate our party of 5. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it over in this section, being that I'm not particularly the Bayou-type. It's lush green pathways were a welcome retreat from the hustle of the parks.

The pools wowed us! The waterslide, the hot tub, the wading pool for little ones at Old Man Island was hard to leave. A playground, with nightly campfires for roasting s'mores is near this pool. Movies under the stars are shown on a big screen here too.

We scored major "fun parents" points when we jumped into the pool, just outside of our room, in the dark-way past bedtime. With smaller quiet pools to choose from and hammocks tucked away throughout the resort, you could certainly choose PO Riverside for an adult trip to WDW.

Horse-drawn carriages add such charm! Complimentary boat transport is available between this and the sister resort, PO French Quarter (where you are welcome to enjoy all amenities), and Downtown Disney. Grabbing beignets for breakfast at French Quarter, or a night out at Downtown Disney is easy from the Riverside.

A few notes on dining at Port Orleans:  

Create-your-own pasta (& create-your-own salad) were our favorite Quick Service options. Choose a protein, pasta, sauce, and other add-ins from a list and they cook it in front of you! We loved the shrimp, pesto, mushroom & broccoli combination. The portion is large enough to share between 2 adults or we shared 1 between our 3 kids (ages 3 to 8).

Lunch & Dinner QS meals come with a dessert & a N/A drink, & we often used the dessert & drink (various bottled choices) for "breakfast in the room" items that we stored in our fridge. (Photos & another review here)
Snack credit choices:
Hot fudge sundaes were a hit! Crumb cake was yummy, (basic cookies, brownies & cupcakes are here too.)
3 beignets at PO French Quarter, sister resort within walking distance, also accessible by boat.
Yeehaa  Bob is a fan favorite entertainer here at River Roost lounge, though we never had time to see him. Boatwrights Dining Hall gets buzz as being an overlooked spot for Table Service among the resorts, also didn't have time to dine here.

nighttime photos: disney.com, all others: detailgalblog.com Pin It