Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Photo Walk 2015; 250 Photos in Tour of Resort
Hi everyone!
Today we are sharing an update photo walk of Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort on 3 pages. Last week we posted a photo walk of Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter Resort, and we are starting where that walk left off. Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort was one of the most requested resorts from guests when I was a Disney Authorized Vacation Planner, in large part due to the rooms in Alligator Bayou that sleep 5. Now, Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort also offers rooms for 5, allowing more families to be able to sleep in one room. Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside has 2048 rooms, about double that of Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter. It was originally called Dixie Landings, the name changed in 2001 (I can’t believe it has been almost 15 years since then!)
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Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort is in the Moderate category at Walt Disney World.
We are starting the walk here, at the sign we ended at last week. We always photograph the walk first, and then time it afterwards! Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort is much larger than Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter, though there are bridges that allow guests to walk more quickly to the main building from their rooms.
We begin here at 8:56 a.m.
There are several bridges along the way, this one being a traffic bridge.
As we head under the bridge, we will be walking adjacent to the main parking lot for Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort. The main building is pretty large, and includes an expansive lobby, Fulton’s General Store, Boatwright’s Dining Hall, River Roost, and the Riverside Mill food court.
While we won’t see much of the parking lot to the left, we do see the Sassagoula River to the right.
It is a wooded walk, but you can see a litte of the cars parked to the left.
Signage points to both parts of the resort. I still think of them as two separate resorts, because in most ways they really are. They have two separate lobbies, two separate food courts, etc. But guests staying at either resort can enjoy the amenities at the other. Most recreation is at Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort. And there is only one table service restaurant, Boatwright’s Dining Hall at Riverside.
It was too early for the boats to be going to Downtown Disney yet, but it turned out this one was picking up guests for a Pirate Cruise.
The buildings on the right hand side – over the river – are part of Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside, and we will eventually be walking there.
We are passing this first pedestrian bridge at 8:59 a.m., just 3 minutes after we left.
Guests in Magnolia Bend walk over this bridge to the main building.
We are following the path to where it says Lobby and Food Court.
We stopped for one photo of us. Jeff doesn’t always go on the photo walks with me, so it was nice to have him here this time.
Benches along the way.
The Port Orleans water towers are in view to the right.
Lobby and Food Court sign.
We are passing the Medicine Show Arcade.
This is a large game room.
The main building is pretty long – it doesn’t take long to get anywhere, but it is much larger than at Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter.
We will be walking to the left.
Most of the photo walks I have done are currently called New Balance Running Trails.
Guests can rent surrey bikes here at the recreation building.
A Pirate Adventure was about to begin.
We are walking along the pathway that hugs the main building and the water.
We are heading toward the bridge.
Port Orleans directory.
Horses are brought to Port Orleans Riverside regularly for carriage rides.
Guests can take a boat from here to Port Orleans French Quarter or Downtown Disney (soon to be Disney Springs). There are no more personal boat rentals.
Horsedrawn Carriage Ride sign.
Boatwright’s Dining Hall.
We will be going inside the main building after the timed walk.
The Riverside Mill is a sprawling food court, which we will stop at later in the article.
We are heading over the bridge.
We arrive at the bridge at 9:02 a.m., 6 minutes after we began.
A boat sits in the marina.
Looking back over the bridge toward the main area.
The water wheel of the Riverside Mill food court is a distinctive feature.
We are heading to Ol’ Man Island, which includes the feature pool.
The Legend of Ol’ Man Island is posted here. The 3.5 acre area includes the feature pool and fishing. We are stopping the timed portion of the walk to look around the pool area.
The pool is nice, with a 95 foot long waterslide. There are 5 quiet pools at Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside as well.
Water features were turned on at 10:00 a.m. on this day. Pool hours are enforced and can change.
Sign for the Well House Mudslide.
There is a bucket feature here.
A pool for children is nearby.
There is just one small hot tub. I like the one at Disney’s Coronado Springs much better, it is extremely spacious. This isn’t a lot of hot tub for over 2000 rooms.
This is a view from the water slide.
There is an Ol’ Man Island Playground here for kids ages 2-12.
It even has something that looks like a water wheel.
We are starting the timed portion of the walk again, heading toward Alligator Bayou.
First, we will be seeing the Muddy Rivers pool bar.
Muddy Rivers was not yet open.
Chairs near the bar, overlooking the pool.
Women’s room sign.
Back on the path toward Alligator Bayou.
Guests can rent fishing equipment for catch and release on the left side.
Keep reading on page 2!