Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida is the world’s number one tourist destination, welcoming tens of millions of visitors every year. Many of those visitors wish to stay as close as possible to the heart of the magic and Disney provides more than twenty varied hotel complexes within the 47 square miles of its property. These range from economy venues such as the Value All Star Resorts right up to the deluxe (and expensive!) Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. Between these, the middle ground is covered by the ‘Moderate’ resorts which offer more comfort and facilities than the Values but still at a reasonably affordable price.

In this author’s opinion, easily the best of these Moderate resorts is the twin complex of Port Orleans French Quarter and Port Orleans Riverside. Nestled along the banks of the Disney-created Sassagoula River, these two resorts are probably the best themed, and certainly the most picturesque, places you can stay within Walt Disney World without breaking the bank.

After more than ten years of visiting Port Orleans, and continually finding myself answering the same questions on the online Disney discussion communities, I thought now might be a good time for someone to create a dedicated information guide to help out potential visitors and returning fans alike... and so here it finally is — welcome to PortOrleans.org!

So what can you expect to find here? Hopefully enough information to answer just about any questions you might have about these two resorts — the amenities, restaurants and bars, recreational facilities, transport, prices and even the theming & history — all in one convenient site. Please use the menus on the left to navigate around, but some of the more popular features are:

• Photo Gallery with more than 400 high-quality images of the resorts and their surroundings, plus a range of Desktop Wallpapers for you to download to your own computer and even some Video Clips.
• Individual sections on French Quarter and Riverside, including details of their accommodation buildings, dining options, swimming pools, etc.
• Information and photos of the Guest Rooms along with current Pricing Information.
• Full Recreation listings, from boat and bike rentals to fishing to romantic horse and carriage rides.
• Complete transportation information to help you find your way around by bus, ferry, car or on foot — including detailed Port Orleans and Walt Disney World Maps.
• The Frequently Asked Questions, Hints & Tips section should help you find out lots more about the resorts, including choosing the best room locations — or if your question isn’t answered there, why not ask in the Visitor’s Forum?
• Historical information and Trivia (including the resort’s intricately imagineered backstory) plus copies of the resort’s “Sassagoula Times” information sheets to help plan your stay.

This site is still a “work in progress” and there will always be more to add, but I hope you find it useful and will bookmark it and return regularly to see it updated. Any questions, comments or suggestions are very welcome via the Visitor’s Forum, or if you’ve already written a trip report about a stay at Port Orleans in the past why not help out other visitors and post a copy here too? Thanks.

Please enjoy your visit to PortOrleans.org and I look forward to hearing from you. Have a magical day!

 

RECENT SITE UPDATES: 03-Jan-10: Added new pricing information, including 2010 Room Rates and Valet Laundry charges. 08-Apr-09: Improved site navigation and removed/merged some redundant pages. 04-Apr-09: Updated Home Page to provide Visitor’s Forum info, including a new-messages count for existing users. 21-Mar-09: Updated the FAQs page. 01-Mar-09: Added Port Orleans Walking Tour and other video content to the Video page. 24-Feb-09: Added Mardi Gras 2009 Celebration at POFQ page. 11-Feb-08: Fully updated the menus & prices for the Muddy Rivers & Mardi Grogs pool bars and the Sassagoula Floatworks & Food Factory lunch/dinner menu, plus added a Scat Cat’s page. 09-Feb-08: Completed the missing half of the Port Orleans Backstory (from the Sassagoula Sentinel) alongside the existing Dixie Landings section. 25-Jan-08: Fully incorporated the Photo Gallery into the new site format. 18-Jan-08: Completely updated the web interface and menu system across the whole site, so it should be faster and easier to use now. Any problems, please leave a message in the forum. 14-Dec-08: This site features in Lou Mongello’s WDW Radio Show podcast (Show #97, Port Orleans segment). 25-Nov-08: Added 2009 Room Rates. [more...]

Note: this site is designed for 1024x768 screens and above. If you are still using a 800x600 display and cannot increase it you should still be able to use most features but you may need to use the ‘F11’ key to enlarge your internet window to full-screen.