Which is your favourite area at Port Orleans? VOTE NOW

[Admin]

Are you a confirmed Riversider? Or do you prefer the smaller, more secluded locale of French Quarter? Do you enjoy the rustic Alligator Bayou atmosphere, or the more formal mansion buildings?

Vote above for your favourite location.

[Admin]

So far we seem to have a lot more votes for the various parts of Riverside (83%) than for French Quarter (13%) ... interesting, I would have expected quite a bit more love for FQ in the mix.

Andre

[Lemonie]

I'm a French Quarter gal. I just love how quiet it is there, and how compact it is. We were considering BC for our next trip, but have reconsidered and are going to return to FQ. I think I like that fact that there is only one bus stop as well.

[Hugo_D_Aygo]

We enjoy the Alligator Bayou most of all but they don't seem to offer the King Size beds to that area.

Magnolia here we come!

Hugo

[Admin]

We enjoy the Alligator Bayou most of all but they don't seem to offer the King Size beds to that area.

Yes they do, lots of them. 54 to be precise. See the maps on the Alligator Bayou page. King Bed rooms are the ones coloured purple on the floor plans of each building.

Andre

[Chattyaholic]

Have stayed at Port Orleans Riverside twice, and going back in September with my daughter (she's 34, has never been to Disney) and will request a room in the mansions section. Love it there! Quiet and peaceful. The landscaping is pretty. Always enjoy the food court, and I like the quiet pools vs. the main pool. Love the boat to Downtown Disney. Can't wait to go back!!

[PAmom]

I really enjoyed our stay at FQ June 2013 and thought I would also like to try Alligator Bayou. The only downside I feel is that for my family of 2 adults and a 16 year old son, 15 year old daughter, the pull down bed is not of any use to us and also takes away the drawer space that is in its place at French Quarters.

[WyoDisney]

Moderate Rooms for five. I must vote AB. And then enjoy everything else.

[kimberley]

I'll choose forth one.

[disneygrammy]

We are staying at Port Orleans Riverside for the 6th time this November. I would not want to stay anywhere else. We love the relaxing atmosphere and the beautiful landscaping. Bob in the lounge is a bonus.

[Minnie&Nana]

We really like the architecture of AB and definitely prefer the Riverside Food Court, but the quaint, peacefulness and incredible river views of French Quarter won my vote. I would have added Elliot Dyson as a big preference for French Quarter - hopefully will get to hear the new fellow on our short (4 ngts) December trip.

[Bell]

I am a WDW Cast Member and love spending some of my free time at the Port Orleans Resort and have stayed at both French Quarter and Riverside with my family in the past. Here are my recommendations on best room locations at both French Quarter and Riverside.

FRENCH QUARTER:
Building 5
Rooms 5117-5126 (Second floor: 5217-5226, Third floor: 5317-5326)
-Rooms have beautiful views of the river
-The pool is right next to the building
-The building is on the same side of the "street" as the food court and bus stop which will give you the most direct walking route
-The walking path to Riverside is just outside your door
5117 is on the corner and closest to the pool and "street" that takes you to the food court and bus stop. 5118 is next door and so on through 5126 (going away from the pool/center of the resort). 5117-5126 all have views of the river. 5117, 5123, and 5126 are all corner rooms with 2 sets of windows on the corner where the table and chairs are placed inside the room.
Building 4 rooms 4114-4118 are also good rooms that are close to the food court/main building and just steps away from the bus stop with pretty views of a garden courtyard (no river views). 4118 is a corner room. The second and third flood equivalents would be nice as well (4214-4218 and 4314-4318).

RIVERSIDE:
Section: Magnolia Plantation
Building: Magnolia Terrace
8539 first floor corner closest to bridge to pool/main building
8739 second floor corner closest to bridge to pool/main building
8542 first floor corner opposite 8539
8742 second floor corner opposite 8739
***Note, these rooms are said to be King Bed rooms and/or handicap accessible rooms.
8531-8538 would also be good because they are located on the wing closest to the bridge to the pool/main building and have views toward one of the quiet pools (8531 and 8535 are corner rooms).
8603 would be another good location because it is in the wing closest to the East Depot bus stop and it is a corner room with views of the courtyard garden and just a short walk through the elevator breezeway to the bridge to the pool/main building.
If you can't or do not want to request the above specific room numbers and still plan to stay in the Mansion section of the resort, I strongly suggest requesting "First floor in Magnolia Terrace (Building 85)" because it is closest to the bridge to the pool and food court/main building and also closest to the East Depot bus stop. The other 3 mansions do not have as good of a location to access the resort as does Magnolia Terrace (Building 85).

Section: Alligator Bayou
Building: 14
1412 is the corner room closest to the food court/main building with views of the river (second floor equivalent is 1444).
1416 is the next corner room just a few doors down after 1412 with even better views of the river (second floor equivalent is 1448).
1415 is next to 1416 so it is not a corner room, but it still has a great view of the river (second floor equivalent is 1447) and it would be great if it connected to 1416 for a larger party requiring 2 rooms.
Building 14 is the absolute closest to the food court, main building, and bridge to the pool. It is also a very short walk to the main bus stop (aka South Depot or Blue Bayou and River Delta platforms). You will likely pay a premium for this building because it is labeled a "Preferred Location."

[Admin]

Thanks Bell, some very good thoughts on room locations there. If anyone want to see where those rooms at located on a map, check out the floorplans of each building via the Maps page.

Andre

[Chops]

Gotta throw in for French Quarter! We've stayed there thrice now, and absolutely love the lower-key environment, shorter walks, and less-populated public areas. Going back Oct 21-28 with our DD (2 1/2) for her first visit, and glad to have a guarantee of short walks, regardless of where our room ends up!

[Admin]

So overall in total votes cast so far, Riverside seems generally more popular than French Quarter (63% POR, 32% POFQ) and the mansion buildings are the most popular individual section of Riverside.

Andre

[precmom1967]

My husband & I love the Mansion Buildings and have stayed in both Acadian & Magnolia. We enjoy the quieter things around the river and the smaller pools. Always make time to watch Bob Jackson in the River Roost too!

[Synycyl]

Alligator Bayou gets my vote. And rather than desiring some place close to the food court like Building 14, my absolute favorite is building 26, facing the woods. It is where we ended up our first trip to WDW.

Every morning I would grab the family's refillable mugs and take the "long" walk to the dining hall for a morning beverage before breakfast. That is what I remember most about that trip.

Is it a little farther away from the main buildings? Yes, but what I liked was the peace and quiet. It had a secluded pool and bus stop near by also.

I figure I will be walking for miles in the parks anyway, what is another 200 yards to the food court?

John

[Dean Simms]

We first stayed in Port Orleans in 2013 at the French quarter and loved it. We returned in 2015 and tried the the alligator bayou. We loved that as well but when we return later this year it will be the French Quarter. Nice and quiet,not to big and you gotta love those beignets.

[ATLmom]

I vote the Royal Rooms at Riverside!

[NornIron]

Hi folks, new to this excellent forum, recommendation coming via the Dibb forums.

Hopefully looking to book a couple of rooms at POR for next year soon and taking onboard some of the suggestions re best area/blocks. One wee question springs to mind, given that views are not that important with the covered walkways, is there any advantage to requesting an upper room? Maybe all you're doing is giving yourself an extra set of stairs to negotiate with your luggage and to climb after a long and tiring day in the parks lol.

[Admin]

Upper floor means no one is in a room above you, which can be a real bonus if a family with two small elephants moves in above you...

Take a look at the room locations page for more info on the various pros and cons of different categories.

Andre

[Nicola74]

We requested a high floor last time and having stayed on the ground floor in the past, though many years ago, it was quieter when higher up. We also had a beautiful view. Even though there is the walkway, I did stand at the railing a few times just soaking in the view and drinking my coffee.

[NornIron]

We requested a high floor last time and having stayed on the ground floor in the past, though many years ago, it was quieter when higher up. We also had a beautiful view. Even though there is the walkway, I did stand at the railing a few times just soaking in the view and drinking my coffee.

Hi Nicola, can I ask where that was? Good point too from Andre re potential little 'elephants' above you.

Andre, can I ask another question? Had a wee look at the room locations page. We might only be able to afford the standard room. Am I right in saying that most, if not all the standard rooms will look towards carparks? Are there any standard rooms which look towards gardens, pools or river and also any that have king beds, or are they all premium? I'm probably asking a lot in looking for a standard room, with a view and a king bed. . We'll be a party of 4, two couples so 2 rooms and that's why I'm thinking king beds would be better than a room with 2 queens, but wouldn't be essential. We'll also be trying to get the 2 rooms close together, if not connected.

Don't know where to start!

[MardiGroggy]

NornIron:

First of all, when you book a king bed room, that designation takes precedence over all the other "view" categories. You could get a king room with a "standard" view of a parking lot, a garden view, a pool view or even a river view. Once you book the king room, you can still request the type of view, but requests are not guaranteed. The only thing guaranteed with a king booking is a king bed. (Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a standard priced room with a king bed and a great view.) A look at the various building maps will show where the king rooms are located in each building, so you can see the possibilities. In any case, if price is important, the king rooms will be on the high side of the going rates. Also, I don't think there are many (if any) king rooms that are connected to other king rooms, if that is important to you. If I remember correctly, most of the king rooms at Riverside have garden views, so that is what I would expect (odds-wise), without making any other special requests. Also keep in mind that the AB buildings are two floors, but do not have elevators. The Mansion buildings have three floors and do have elevators. If climbing steps is a problem for you, that can also help make your decision about whether you want an upper floor. (I prefer the top floors because of less noise.) If you want one or the other, as well as connecting or adjoining rooms, you will need to make those requests with your booking, but keep in mind that they are only requests. There is lots of information elsewhere on this site about the best way to make the requests you feel are important. Andre has honed the process down and his suggestions are spot on.

One other point about "standard" rooms: even if they do face a parking lot, there is usually plenty of landscaping around, so you aren't just staring out at nothing but cars. Some folks actually prefer those rooms, as they are closer to their cars when hauling luggage around or using the car during their stay. Another line of thought is that you don't really spend much time looking out of your windows anyway, so go for the lower rate and have more money to spend on other things. Truthfully, you normally get to enjoy whatever view you have while going to and from your room, or, as Nicola said, just standing outside your room and taking in the atmosphere from there. And you can easily wander around anywhere at the resort and enjoy ANY of the views, even if you have paid for the least expensive room in the whole place. So, as I have said many times here, there really are not any bad rooms in the whole place. It is all what you make of it!

Good luck with your planning. Asking lots of questions is a good way to start!

[NornIron]

Thank you Steve for your very comprehensive reply, plenty of food for thought. The only reason I was thinking of going for Standard King was the extra space in the room I thought this might give, as I don't suppose there's a lot of difference in size between a Queen and a King bed. The funny thing is that for the week in question, a Standard King is £105 more expensive than a Standard, the same extra amount for a Preferred. However, the latter would gaurantee proximity to the main areas, while a King could be anywhere. A Garden view is only £35 extra and I like the sound of the Mansions, any recommendations on a good block or even rooms?

Thanks again!