Port Orleans Riverside - 1/28/09 - 2/2/09

How was your stay at Riverside? Leave your comments or full trip reports here. Photos welcome.
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This forum is for Port Orleans RIVERSIDE Trip Reports, not for general questions. Please try to keep your reviews relevant, informative and useful to other visiting families. Thanks!
ctguy1962
Posts: 16
Joined: February 15th, 2009, 5:20 pm

Port Orleans Riverside - 1/28/09 - 2/2/09

Unread post by ctguy1962 »

We recently stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and had a very good time. This was my fourth time here and it was my girlfriend's first stay. We were put in Alligator Bayou in Lodge 17 with a king size bed. Check in was very fast and we were able to walk over to our room and get in around 11:50 A.M. This was after arriving at Orlando airport at 9:45 A.M. and taking the Magical Express to the resort. 2 hours from airport to walking in to our room isn't too bad. This was my first stay in Alligator Bayou since 1995 when the resort was still fairly new. When I commented to our check-in hostess that Lodge 17 was a pretty good walk from the lobby her comment was that she had placed people in farther buildings. I don't know exactly what she was getting at but the walk is actually nice and the setting and landscaping makes it relaxing.

We ate one night with my brother and his family at Boatwright’s and had a good meal and an attentive waitress. The bartender from Georgia remains a fixture at the Muddy Rivers pool bar. I think he's been there since the resort opened. We had good experiences with the Concierge desk getting our Hoop-Dee-Do tickets and getting our boarding passes printed prior to leaving on 2/2. One afternoon we used the Sassagoula River Cruise to get back to our resort from Downtown Disney. It's a nice change of pace from riding the bus and is very relaxing. We didn't use the quiet pool near our lodge because of the spotty weather but we were at Ol' Man Island main pool several times. The cool weather definitely affected the number of people using the pool. On our last day (2/2) the main pool was fenced off to allow for the planned refurbishment. It didn't affect us because we were leaving that day but a woman from a New England area family went up and berated the Disney construction supervisor. She was irate because she had booked the resort and no one from Disney had informed her that the pool was going to be closed. I don't know her specific circumstances but as anyone knows the main pool is a big draw for Riverside. I only knew about the closing thru an unofficial Disney website.

The only negatives we saw at the resort were that the landscaping seemed to need a good cleanup in some areas (leaves, etc.). And the windows in the Riverside Mill eating areas needed cleaning. I don't know if they are deferring maintenance due to the economy or just hadn't gotten to it yet. The bus system although not really a resort issue remains totally efficient in the morning but still tends to fall apart in the afternoons. I've been at Disney enough to see this many times. On 1/28 we waited 45 minutes to get a bus to Animal Kingdom in the afternoon. Several times during our stay it was not usual for there to be large gaps between buses in the afternoon and then several buses going to the same theme park would arrive within minutes of each other. I noted some negatives because we've come to expect a high level of standards from Disney. Regardless of these minor problems I would highly recommend this resort to anyone.
klmorg
Posts: 9
Joined: February 7th, 2009, 8:23 am

Re: Port Orleans Riverside - 1/28/09 - 2/2/09

Unread post by klmorg »

Thanks!! We are heading to POR in about 5 weeks and also staying in Alligator Bayou. We knew about the pool closing too and lucky for us it is planned to be re-opended by then!!! This will be our first stay in POR. Previously we have stayed at Ft W cabins, WL and Contemporary.

Thanks for the review.
ctguy1962
Posts: 16
Joined: February 15th, 2009, 5:20 pm

Re: Port Orleans Riverside - 1/28/09 - 2/2/09

Unread post by ctguy1962 »

I'm assuming you might be at Disney right now or getting real close to going so I hope you'll write a review when you get back.
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