Guest Rooms, Decor and Amenities

The guest rooms in each of the three major sections of the Port Orleans resort — French Quarter and Riverside’s Alligator Bayou and Magnolia Bend — vary in their theming and decor, but the actual room size, layout and amenities are pretty much the same (see list).

There are currently ten bookable room categories available at Port Orleans (such as Woods/Garden View, Pool View, River View, Preferred Location and King Bed, plus the new Royal Guest Room options) which are seasonally priced at varying nightly rates (see the Room Rates page for current prices). For tips on choosing the best room locations for your stay, check out the Room Categories and Locations page.

Note: As from the end of April 2017 the final few vestiges of theming remaining on guest beds were removed. This includes the themed bed-scarves — which themselves recently replaced the original ornate, but heavy, comforter covers — and the scatter pillows. You probably won’t even get a towel Mickey-head design adorning your bed when you arrive, just plain white sheets and pillows. These changes have been made to keep the resort in line with current trends in hotel decor and to allow for easier and more frequent cleaning of all bedding items.

2018/2019: All of Port Orleans Guest Rooms are currently undergoing refurbishment (see Refurbishment Page). This includes adding a larger 55" TV, replacing the carpets with hard flooring, adding USB sockets, a vanity mirror and raising the beds to allow for luggage storage underneath, plus the adjustable blinds are being replaced with net curtains. Bed linen is still stark white. Overall, apart from some colourful new curtains, the level of detail and theming is generally being curtailed in favour of a plainer, clean and fresh — but rather bland — look.

Port Orleans French Quarter

The Port Orleans French Quarter rooms still have a slight New Orleans flavour, mainly created by the headboards and the drapes:


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Port Orleans French Quarter, Refurbished Guest Room Interior, August 2018 (Click to scroll, +/- or wheel to zoom)


Alligator Bayou (Port Orleans Riverside)

The rooms in the Alligator Bayou section of Port Orleans Riverside still have some theming in their wooden decor, designed to appear somewhat rustic as if these ‘tin roofed’ Lodges are located somewhere in the outlying regions of the cotton plantations. The original themed bed frames have gone, replaced with more generic blue headboards with incongruous small crown icons, and the only remnant of the original iconic wood-hewn decor is the table and the mirror surround above it. The dividing curtains portray a Princess and the Frog bayou scene.

This is also the only section of the resort to feature an extra pull-down child-sized bed (approx. 63" x 30") over the banquette bench seat:


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Port Orleans Riverside, Alligator Bayou Refurbished Guest Room Interior, August 2019 (Click to scroll, +/- or wheel to zoom)


Magnolia Bend (Port Orleans Riverside)

The Magnolia Bend section of Port Orleans Riverside is similar to the French Quarter, but this time the rooms and intended to portray the grand plantation mansions which thrived alongside the Mississippi in the antebellum South. The dividing curtain and bedheads feature Princess and the Frog characters.


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Port Orleans Riverside, Magnolia Bend Refurbished Guest Room Interior, August 2019 (Click to scroll, +/- or wheel to zoom)

 

This section also features the “Royal Guest Rooms”, which opened in March 2012, within two of its buildings (not yet refurbished, due to start in late 2019 / early 2020):


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Port Orleans Riverside, Royal Guest Room Interior, August 2017 (Click to scroll, +/- or wheel to zoom)


For lots more pictures of the room interiors, please see the Photo Gallery.

Room Amenities

Each Port Orleans guest room is approximately 314 square feet (25½ ft x 12½ ft) and is laid out as shown below for a standard two queen bed room. Click on the images for more detailed PDF Documents for easy printing. Note: adjacent rooms are mirror images of each other, so any connecting doorways are always located beside the beds.


Port Orleans Generic Room Layout

 
Port Orleans Alligator Bayou Room Layout

 

The standard room facilities include:

* 2018/1029 Room Refurbishments

A few points to note about changes that are being made as part of the room refurbishment program that is taking place during 2018 and 2019. All of the French Quarter rooms are new-style now, and work will commence at Riverside in July:

Accessibility for Guests with Special Needs

A number of rooms have been specially modified for disability access. These rooms are spread out across the whole resort and offer the same choices of views and bedding options as regular rooms. Many also provide extra floor space to allow for parking/charging of ECVs, and vanity areas have been replaced with a separate room containing the toilet, easy-access hand basin and a curtained roll-in shower area with a bench seat. Other details include the wall safe and other fittings being mounted at more convenient heights to facilitate easier access from a wheelchair. See the Accessible Rooms page for more details.

To discuss any special room requests based on medical grounds, or any other special needs, please call (407) 939-7807 well in advance of your stay and the cast members will do their best to ensure that your individual needs are met. Please don’t leave it to the last minute to call though. The TTY number for the hearing impaired is (407) 939-7670.

Advantages for Guests Staying On-site

Extra Magic Hours. Discontinued post-COVID, replaced with 30 minutes early park access. Extended access to selected parks on selected days (one hour before the general public on Early EMH mornings, two hours after normal closing time with Late EMH Evenings).

Free Use of Disney Transportation. Port Orleans has a bus service providing regular transfers to all the parks and water parks, plus a ferry boat service to the Disney Springs shopping and dining area. The monorail and other ferry boat services are all available for hotel guests too. This facility makes it easy to pop back to your hotel for a midday break or a refreshing dip in the pool.

Parking at the Walt Disney World theme parks. You will be given a parking permit to place in the front dash of your car (or you can use your magic band) entitling you to parking at the theme parks at no extra charge for the duration of your stay. Note: There is a $20 per night parking charge at the hotel though.

Free Package Delivery to the Resort. Not currently available due to COVID restrictions Any purchases made around the parks or Disney Springs can be delivered back to your hotel where they will be available to collect from the resort shop after 1pm the next day (or after 1pm the following day if you purchase your goods later than the pickup cut-off time).

Charging facilities. You can pay for shopping and meals pretty much anywhere inside Walt Disney World using your Magic Band so you don’t need to carry a lot of cash around with you. To use this facility you simply register your credit card details at the Front Desk when you check in and create a PIN number (this can also be done in advance using the online system). Alternatively, you can opt to pre-pay with a cash deposit and then any remaining balance at the end of your stay will be refunded upon departure. Note: credit cards need to be charged as soon as your total outstanding balance reaches $1,000.

Disney’s Magical Express. Service will be discontinued as from 1 January 2022. Guests arriving at Orlando International Airport can make use of Disney’s free Magical Express service which whisks their baggage away directly to their hotel room while they catch the shuttle bus service.

Disney Dining Plan. Not currently available due to COVID restrictions. For an extra charge, on-site guests can pre-pay for all their meals (one snack, one counter service and one table service meal per day for your entire stay). There is also a more inclusive Deluxe version of this plan at a slightly higher charge. Naturally, terms and conditions apply.

Magic Band. Note: These are no longer provided free to resort guests, if you want one you have to purchase it separately. Not only does this customisable rubber bracelet act as your room key, but it also means that you’ve got less to carry around all day as it provides:

On the Other Hand...

It’s only fair to point out that there are a few disadvantages to staying on-site too. The first is obviously the price; for the same cost as one room at Port Orleans you could get a longer stay or a larger room at many major hotels off-property, or maybe even a vacation home/villa. You are paying a lot for the convenient location of the hotel and all the Disney extras which you receive for ‘free’ as an on-site guest.

Also, bus services to non-Disney parks such as Universal and Sea World are not provided by Disney, and you would need to arrange your own external transport (car, taxi or public transport from the Disney Springs or Transportation and Ticket Center locations). Conversely, although it’s true that many off-site locations do provide their own bus services to Disney, these will be a lot less frequent and less convenient than the internal Disney transportation options. Please don’t be fooled by some of the more extravagant marketing claims from many of the off-site locations as none of them are really 5-10 minutes from the Magic Kingdom — well, not unless you have your own private helicopter anyway! If you’re staying off-site, you really do need to think about hiring a car.

While being located right in the heart of the Disney magic 24 hours a day can be a major selling point to some people — especially families — others feel that it can all get a little too much and prefer to get away from all the ‘Disnification’ when they return to their hotel. Luckily, the beautiful landscaping and old-South theming of Port Orleans really doesn’t force Mickey Mouse upon you at all (apart from in the resort gift shop, obviously) and it’s quite possible to chill out and have a relaxed ‘Disney-free’ day without ever leaving the confines of the resort.