Port Orleans News

On Sunday 5th April, the refurbishment of Building 95 at Port Orleans Riverside was completed and the new "Royal Rooms" were opened to greet their first guests. The initial reactions have been somewhat underwhelming at best, as rather than being rethemed they appear to have been broadly dethemed. I always try to be positive about this wonderful resort, but am finding it really hard to find very much to praise about the Imagineering aspects of these new rooms.

First, the positives. The rooms have all of the fresh light style, new features, and practicality of the other Magnolia Bend rooms in buildings 80, 85 and 90 which have already been beautifully refurbished and welcomed by guests. However they have exactly the same layout, features, colour scheme, white bedlinen and identical scatter cushions, long dresser/counter, table and chairs, artwork, wooden flooring and bathroom tile patterns, door & curtain designs, ceiling fan, TV, USB outlets, etc. EXACTLY the same in fact - at first glance you could not tell them apart from regular Magnolia Bend rooms.

To maintain the distinction between the different booking categories and price points, there are a few modifications though - but nothing anywhere near to the detailed, immersive theming that we've become used to, where everything was unique to the Royal Rooms and featured detail elements invoked by various princesses and princes from multiple Disney movies, even down to Aladdin's magic carpet depicted on the floor and ornate custom design faucets and light switches. Probably the biggest difference now is that while the headboard artwork is admittedly the same bayou scene as featured in the regular rooms, in the Royal Rooms it lights up with LED effects mimicking an evening view of the scene with gorgeous illuminated flickering fireflies. While perhaps not quite as compelling as the previous firework effects, it is still very pretty. They have however removed the downlighters which are located above the beds in the regular Magnolia Bend rooms.

Other additions include a decorative hanging lantern light over the table, and while the construction of the round table itself is the same as the other rooms, the top surface is slightly more elaborate with a letter from Tiana printed upon it. The chairs however are exactly the same. The drawers in the (again, otherwise identical even down to the handles) dresser/counter have swirly flourish patterns on their fronts, and the mirror in the bathroom has a wavy outer frame with Tiana's logo at the top. While the oval wall-picture of Tiana and Naveen is the same as that featured in the regular rooms, the other two pictures have been replaced with a single larger portrait of Tiana. Oh, and there's a decorative wallpaper border around the top of some of the walls and different white/grey wall tiles in the bathroom/shower area. However there is nothing invoking any of the other Disney movies beyond "The Princess and the Frog", so just like the regular Magnolia Bend refurbishments (and French Quarter too) these are all purposefully Tiana-only rooms.

So the big question has to be are these new style Royal Rooms now worth an extra $95 per night (average rack rates) compared to the other refurbished mansion building rooms? Honestly, it's very hard to justify that expenditure for an illuminated headboard, an extra ceiling light, and a different wall portrait of Tiana, in otherwise identical rooms.

Some early photos posted by Facebook Group member Johnathan Cole:






For comparison, a regular (around $95 cheaper) Magnolia Bend room looks like this. Spot the difference?




Reactions from members of our Facebook Group have been broadly very positive about the fresh look and feel of the Magnolia Bend style rooms in general, but broadly negative about the specific distinctions of the updated Royal Rooms:

• "Woah! These are the royal rooms now? I don't like. How underwhelming"
• "POR needs to kick this up a notch or they will get so much backlash. The previous royal rooms were magical and absolutely gorgeous! If this is it, I'm disappointed."
• "it is beautiful but I prefer the other one! It was definitely more immersive."
• "Underwhelming to say the least"
• "Another drab, cheap reno."
• "Who would ever pay more money for these? They look like regular rooms"
• "Disney dropped the ball here if this is the finished product. Don’t up-charge a significant amount for a room that is the same as a standard room just for essentially a headboard. Nothing makes these 'royal' compared to the standard rooms. Incredibly disappointing."
• "This is the most disappointing thing I've ever seen. The true heart of the princess rooms is gone."
• "This looks no different than the regular room refurb. Seriously this is a disappointment if its Royal Room and you're paying more for what?"
• "we had a royal room booked for May... you have inspired us to change to Caribbean Beach"
• "I’m so glad I’m still in my reservation change window. I think I’ll be heading to the art of animation for a themed room."
• "I’m there in two weeks so too late to change my reservation… Bummer."
• "These are absolutely horrible!"
• "Why is Disney so determined to make everything so boring?"
• "They ruined the royal rooms! Those were our favorite."
• "What’s “royal” about these?"

For Walt Disney World hotel bookings made via the main US reservations system (website, phone call, travel agents, etc) Disney has just announced free Disney Dining Plans for all room occupants when booking select 4-night hotel packages. The packages must include a minimum of 4-day park hopper tickets for all guests, and longer stays may be possible depending on availability.

This offer provides the Quick Service Dining Plan for Port Orleans Riverside or Port Orleans French Quarter bookings. Inventory allocated for this sort of offer can sell out quickly, especially for French Quarter, so if you are interested in any specific dates it would be best to act quickly.

Book by April 30 for the following dates, subject to availability:

• June 28 to October 3, 2026
• October 19 to October 31, 2026
• December 6 to December 21, 2026

As previously indicated, from the 1st of January 2026, new simplified booking categories for the Port Orleans resorts have been implemented. The ability to book specific type views has been eliminated, replaced with Categories that specify general areas of the resort but which could overlook gardens/courtyards, the river, a pool... or a parking lot. If you'd prefer a specific view, you need to ask for it in advance as a Request (which is not guaranteed of course).

For Port Orleans French Quarter the three Booking Categories are now:

• Standard Location (buildings 1, 6, or 7)
• Preferred Location (buildings 2, 3, 4 or 5) [NEW]
• King Bed

• Standard Location (Magnolia Bend mansion buildings)
• Standard Location - 5th Sleeper (Alligator Bayou)
• Preferred Location (buildings 14, 15, 18 or 27, plus parts of mansion buildings 85 and 90)
• King Bed
• Royal Guest Room (mansion building 95)

The Walt Disney World website has extended the projected end dates for the current room refurbishment program until August 2027. Once building 95’s Royal Rooms are finished by March/April 2026, there will be a short pause and then they will move on working on the sixteen Alligator bayou lodges after the peak summer period.

The main registration lobby at Port Orleans French Quarter will be undergoing renovation work from 25th August for about a month. There shouldn't be anything that will impact on availability of any facilities for guests, but there will obviously be some sections of the lobby closed off while the work is carried out, and potentially some indoor noise during the daytime.