Can anyone sell me on POR?

[JennyAnne]

It looks like we'll likely have to stay there for our upcoming trip and I'm none too thrilled. I don't care for the theming, especially in the bayou section, which is where we'll have to stay (due to family size). So can anyone sell me on what you love? I'm feeling pretty disappointed right now.

[Dream'nDisney]

We stayed there once, but in the mansion area. The main pool and slide were fun and had a bar and hot tub right there. We also liked the individual "quiet" pools spread out throughout the resort. I enjoyed the area outside the main building at night. It was very pretty and quiet. We enjoyed sitting on the benches. At first, I didn't think the bayou area would appeal to me, but walking by them, reminded me of a lake house. They didn't look as rustic as I thought they would. We liked having the option of having food court and a sit down restaurant. In the lobby area, there was a young lady drawing caricatures, and we bought one of both our kids. It is so funny. We also rented a surrey bike and it was fun to ride the path to POFQ and back.

I'm not sure what size your family is, but if you are really wanting the mansion area, perhaps you could ask for a roll-away. We ask for one every time we stay, and our teenagers take turns sleeping on it. They have never complained about it being uncomfortable.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

Even though our favourite place to stay is just "up river" at POFQ, we've stayed at POR twice, and wouldn't hesitate to stay there again.

The bayou theming is quite neat. Yes, it looks "rustic", but I found myself loving that it felt like I was at a private retreat ... it was so quiet and peaceful! The landscaping is so lovely (and I'm not a landscaping type of girl) and the winding paths make it feel like a true escape from the craziness of a day at Disney.

The pools are a plus. The main pool is super, with a fairly long and fast slide. There are 4 quiet pools, which are often very quiet, and it feels like you have a private or semi-private pool. You can also head down to POFQ for a change and use that pool as well.

POR has probably the best resort food court at all of Disney. Lots of choice, and yummy choices. Even when we stay at FQ, we often head over to POR for a meal. There is lots to do, fishing, bike rentals, etc. that give the resort a true resort feel.

The one piece of advice, it may be worth paying for a "preferred" location, so you know you'll be close to the main building, the pool and the boat dock to DTD.

[Itchy]

We would stay there again in a heart beat. The carriage rides start there every evening. You must make reservations though. The resort is very quiet when we were there in early september.
The food court is very good as well as the restaurant. There is also piano Bob at the bar in the evenings ( check his schedule though ).
I think you will like it.

Hope this helps...

[AndrewJackson]

We've stayed there several times. It is our favorite moderate.

The AB section theming is great. Very quaint and quiet. The main pool has a slide and a nice pool bar.

You can rent boats and you can also take a boat taxi to Downtown Disney.

And, as you have discovered, it is the only moderate resort that allows five in a room.

[paragon]

It is our favorite!
Some things already mentioned, the boat rentals, the carriage rides, and the pools. Definitely a relaxing resort. I like walking along the river in the morning. There is a great jogging path as well. Food court is very good and manageable. Room size is just right. They also have a fishing pond as well, for a lazy morning of fishing. The main pool is very nice, and each area has a quiet pool a great place to sit and have a cup of coffee in the morning.
I have always found the staff there very friendly, more so than the staff at Coronado. Bus stops all around so getting around is easy.
Boatwrights is a good place to eat, as well.

Love this place.

[goofysally]

Why are you disappointed? You are going to Disney, staying in a beautiful moderate resort. Your last stay at Disney was CBR in 2004? POR had a great food court, nightly entertainment for the whole family, a great boat ride to Downtown Disney, lots of quiet pools, lots of walking areas, etc. etc.!

Our first family stay was in 1996 (Dixie Landings).
We have stayed there dozens of times since then.
Our family joke is that PORFQ and POR are our
family cottage!

Keep an open mind, and embrace this new adventure!

[Patricia]

One of my favourite resorts.
I actually prefer Alligator Bayou over the mansions myself. If you enjoy strolling this resort has award winning landscapes, rivers, Pirate cruises, beautiful pools, carriage rides, surrey bikes, Bob Jackson, great food court and store, campfires, movie under the stars and a fishing spot where the kids can rent a cane pole. My kids always loved this resort when they were young. We love the boat to DTD and have even used it to and from the French Quarter (you can also walk over there) for beignets and a night of jazz. Like goofysally above, my first stay was also at Dixie Landings.

[buzznwoodysmom]

It looks like we'll likely have to stay there for our upcoming trip and I'm none too thrilled. I don't care for the theming, especially in the bayou section, which is where we'll have to stay (due to family size). So can anyone sell me on what you love? I'm feeling pretty disappointed right now.

Exactly what is your family size, and what ages will your children be? I am asking because I see you mentioned bringing a 7-8 month old baby in another thread. If your family consists of 5, with any of the children being age 2 or under you can actually stay at any of the resorts. Children 2 and under do not count toward room occupancy.

While POR has many, many fans, I understand your hesitation. It has always been, and continues to be, our least favorite moderate. Despite trying this resort twice I just can't find love for it. We just don't like the theming and found nothing unique about it. Could be because we are from Louisiana. As much as I don't love this resort, if it were my only option, and I really wanted to visit WDW then I would give it another try. Better to get to go to Disney than not, right????

Also keep an eye out for CBR refurbishment updates. I have read that CBR is scheduled to start room refurbs next month. One of the things I have heard is that the rooms will finally be getting queen mattresses. And while this has NOT been confirmed, there were test rooms at CBR about a year ago that showed what looked like the same exact 5th bed that is in the POR rooms. Again there is nothing saying they will go through with adding these Murphy type beds to CBR, but just keep an eye out incase.

[paragon]

Well, it looks like the boat rides are out, just read that effective today, the boat rentals at certain resorts including POR will stop. Still, everything else at POR is great!

[mom2morgan]

I was just wondering where you had hoped to stay? I think it's funny how we get attached to certain resorts. Port Orleans is my "home" and I end up disappointed whenever I stay somwhere else - I just love everything about it!

[JennyAnne]

Why are you disappointed? You are going to Disney, staying in a beautiful moderate resort. Your last stay at Disney was CBR in 2004? POR had a great food court, nightly entertainment for the whole family, a great boat ride to Downtown Disney, lots of quiet pools, lots of walking areas, etc. etc.!

Our first family stay was in 1996 (Dixie Landings).
We have stayed there dozens of times since then.
Our family joke is that PORFQ and POR are our
family cottage!

Keep an open mind, and embrace this new adventure!

No, I've actually been back to WDW since then, I just haven't updated my signature. I was disappointed because this is a 40th anniversary trip for my parents, and it's their one shot to go with all of their grandkids. They don't care for the theming and neither do I. I want them to stay someplace that they will be excited about.

[JennyAnne]

Exactly what is your family size, and what ages will your children be? I am asking because I see you mentioned bringing a 7-8 month old baby in another thread. If your family consists of 5, with any of the children being age 2 or under you can actually stay at any of the resorts. Children 2 and under do not count toward room occupancy.

While POR has many, many fans, I understand your hesitation. It has always been, and continues to be, our least favorite moderate. Despite trying this resort twice I just can't find love for it. We just don't like the theming and found nothing unique about it. Could be because we are from Louisiana. As much as I don't love this resort, if it were my only option, and I really wanted to visit WDW then I would give it another try. Better to get to go to Disney than not, right????

Also keep an eye out for CBR refurbishment updates. I have read that CBR is scheduled to start room refurbs next month. One of the things I have heard is that the rooms will finally be getting queen mattresses. And while this has NOT been confirmed, there were test rooms at CBR about a year ago that showed what looked like the same exact 5th bed that is in the POR rooms. Again there is nothing saying they will go through with adding these Murphy type beds to CBR, but just keep an eye out incase.

I think we're going to have one of the kids stay with my sis and BIL. We'll have a bunch of kids by that point...4 year old twins, a 2 year old, and an 8 month old. I think we can still do CBR if one (or both) of the twins stay with their grandparents or aunt/uncle. I know people don't recommend that resort with small children, but it's the one that all of us really like out of the moderates. I wish we could go with a deluxe so we all have more space, but it's not affordable for everyone in our party.

And thanks for the heads-up on the refurb...that would be great if they got the larger beds.

[buzznwoodysmom]

I think we're going to have one of the kids stay with my sis and BIL. We'll have a bunch of kids by that point...4 year old twins, a 2 year old, and an 8 month old. I think we can still do CBR if one (or both) of the twins stay with their grandparents or aunt/uncle. I know people don't recommend that resort with small children, but it's the one that all of us really like out of the moderates. I wish we could go with a deluxe so we all have more space, but it's not affordable for everyone in our party.

And thanks for the heads-up on the refurb...that would be great if they got the larger beds.

CBR is our favorite moderate too. I know many people don't care for it, but we have always loved the theming. Great thing about Disney....something for everyone.

As for having a large group going, I think you can probably make it work to stay at CBR by having 1 or 2 of your kids stay with family in another room. We recently stayed at POR for Thanksgiving and had 5 rooms total. Our rooms were all pretty close to each other (3 were side by side). Anyway our kids played musical rooms all week. My nephew, who was listed in another room, was in our room all the time. And on a few nights we headed to see YeeHaw Bob (only thing we liked about the resort-lol) we had our two nieces, 20 and 16, babysit the younger kids in one room, while the older kids played in the arcade.

What would be ideal, and you could request this, would be to have connecting rooms with the grandparents. That way if you put the twins with them they have easy access to your room should they need something in the middle of the night. This won't be guaranteed, but you could request it.

Good luck and I hope you have a great trip!

[Melanie]

So, are you staying at POR or CBR?

[Dream'nDisney]

People say that CBR isn't for small children?! That's absurd! We stayed there when our children were younger, and they had a blast! The main pool is perfect for little ones, and they loved building sand castles in the sand by the lake. And now they have the cool themed rooms. I sure wish they had those when our kids were little. They would have loved them! It has something for everyone. To me, CBR is the nicest, most laid back moderate resort, and if were to stay at a moderate again, CBR would definitately be the resort. I love the island feel of it.

[Gator]

I'm totally with you on this subject. We went to POR on our Honeymoon and got shoved into the Bayou. It's a good thing the rest of WDW is awesome, because we didn't like that resort at all. Not one bit. The bus service was pretty bad, and still stands as the worst experience of the mods. And the rooms? It felt like we were in an apartment complex in south Birmingham.

We now have 5 (3 kids over 3) so this is our cheapest option as well. Add this to the whole Fastpass+ thing and I'm hard pressed to make a return to FL.

POR has probably the best resort food court at all of Disney. Lots of choice, and yummy choices. Even when we stay at FQ, we often head over to POR for a meal. TD.

I have to say that this shocked me! The food court here offers burgers, hot dogs, nuggets, and pizza. About the same thing that's offered at CBR and the All Star Resorts. Coronado has an amazing counter service with unparelled variety, and POFQ has the BEST southern foods available. If I have to stay at POR on my next trip, we'll be taking the boat up river to Sassagoula's for some cajun food and beignets. Now that is yummy!

[#1donaldfan]

You will actually like Riverside AB. It's such a relaxing and lush resort. There are tons of things to see and do and most of all there is no better feeling than to walk along the shaded paths to your room after a long hard day at a park. We have stayed there many times and AKL several, and room size there is no noticeable difference. The food court is great and Boatwrights offers up a very good TS dinner. Plus, you're on vacation, at Disney....YOU'LL LOVE IT !!

[i'm grumpy]

I wanted a Mansion room, but we had to stay in the French Quarter. It was very nice though. Still haven't seen the Mansion side. Last time we wanted Pop, but Sports was good too.

[JoDisney]

I understand the boat does NOT stop at the dock near Downtown Disney Marketplace during the DTD refurbishment. It only stops at the other end of DTD where Planet Hollywood, theater, Disney Quest, etc. are located. DTD boat rentals have also been removed during refurbishment.