Most Recent Reviews
Reviewed by Ninja Mom Review Date: 06/24/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
We enjoyed an early June stay at this resort. Our check in was quick and efficient and all of our requests were met cheerfully. We took a cab to the nearest Walmart for a grocery run ($20 one way)and Bell services helped us take our groceries to our room.
We enjoyed a performance of Yee Ha Bob Jackson in the River Roost lounge. We had appetizers and drinks during his performance and everything was wonderful, especially Bob, the food and the service.
Our room was comfortable and extremely clean. Our housekeeper was very attentive to all of our requests, which we left on a written note next to her daily tip. We also were able to request the time (early morning) at which we were to have her come to the room and service it. We accomplished this by calling the housekeeping number on the in room phone by 7:30 am. After that time the housekeepers are out and about at the resort and they may not get the message.
The grounds of the resort are beautiful and well maintained. Both the quiet pool and the main pool were very enjoyable but the main pool will be noisy during the time the recreation staff is playing games with the children that are at the pool. The one thing that definitely needed attention at the pool was the bathroom area. The showers located in this pool bathroom were awkwardly situated and one of the shower heads was non-functional. If you were planning on having the family shower and get changed in this bathroom on check out day it would probably take you a while because of the one working shower and lack of private dressing stalls.
The laundry rooms were in good working order and were not too crowded the 2 times we used them during our 6 day stay.
My one concern prior to staying at this resort was the bus service. I was wondering how such a large resort would handle sharing a bus with Port Orleans French Quarter. As it turned out the buses were NOT always shared and almost every time we were able to get seats on the bus to the parks. The problem with Disney Bus Transportation continues to be the afternoon buses back to the resort, as longer than expected wait times were always experienced. This however is true for just about any Disney resort and not limited to Port Orleans Riverside.
I have also stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter this year so I was happy to learn that my concerns about staying in this larger resort were unfounded and either resort is a great choice when staying at a Disney moderate hotel. I would not hesitate to stay here again.
Pros:
room cleanliness, bus serviceCons:
Food court chaotic at times, Pool bathrooms lacking functionality for showeringReviewed by cjsljs624 Review Date: 06/24/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
This was our first time to stay at Port Orleans and a moderate resort. We have always stayed at a deluxe. I am so glad we took the chance and stayed here. I love the size of the resort and the staff was wonderful. The food court was much better than Captain Cooks at the Poly. We ate there several times. For the price we will never stay anywhere again. This resort seems very centrally located. The only real downside was that we had to track down bell services when we checked in. Even if this is a moderate resort, they should be there when you unload at the curb with all your bags.
The buses were usually quick but one night when we had a dining reservation in Epcot the bus didn't arrive for 40 minutes then stopped at Riverside even though it was full. Needless to say, we were late to our dining reservation.
Pros:
Location, price, food courtCons:
buses and bell servicesReviewed by JohnD29710 Review Date: 06/24/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
First let me begin by saying that I am extremely biased about this hotel. My family and I have been vacationing at this property since it first opened, and we just keep coming back. The resort is set along the waterway and truly helps you escape the outside world. There is something incredibly relaxing about strolling along the waterway as boats and ferries motor by. In all respects, the resort transports you to another time and place, and I have found this to be the most relaxing of the Moderate properties. Buildings are designed after bayou dwellings or Southern-style mansions. The food court is spacious and offers a varied menu (as food courts go). It may just be an illusion, but this feels like the largest and most comfortable food court on property (we always sit near the water wheel). The table service restaurant is a bit pricey, but offers a nice selection of Southern-style favorites. The marina offers various watercraft for rent and the pool is large and loads of fun, with a nice waterslide that even the adults can enjoy. Quiet pools are spinkled throughout the property as well. One of the main benefits of staying at this property is the water taxi service to Downtown Disney. It is wonderful not to have to fight parking to get down there, plus the leisurely 20-minute boat ride is an attraction unto itself. Finally, plan your stay arund the weekly Bob Jackson Show in the River Roost. Great family, sing-a-long fun at the best price possible: FREE. Bob Jackson is one of the great hidden treasures of WDW. Look him up on YouTube and you'll see why. I have never had a bad stay at this resort and would recommend it to anyone planning a WDW vacation.
Pros:
Quickly Transports Guests to another Time & PlaceCons:
—Reviewed by mimmy Review Date: 06/24/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
What a pleasant surprise!! We stayed in a royal themed room in Parterre Place for five nights in April. The Magnolia Bend section of the resort is very stately looking - formal gardens, fountains, meandering paths along a beautiful river. Although the rooms are motel style, the inside of the royal rooms have some very luxurious touches. (Queen beds, quality linens, nice window treatments,double marble sinks, small fridge for drinks.) Our room faced the back parking lot, but we were very close to a lovely and decent sized quiet pool located between Parterre and Oak Manor. The resort is spread out, but nothing too crazy. The grounds are so beautiful that a five minute walk isn't really a big deal. The hub of the resort is where you'll find a full service restaraunt (good), food court (excellent), lobby, resort store (fantastic), bike and boat rental, horse and carriage ride (fun). The main pool is cute with a fun water slide for the kids. There are plenty of lounge chairs and towels - lots of trees for shade and even a few hammocks. Even if you're not planning on going to Downtown Disney, the boat ride is a really nice diversion. We took the boat one evening to the French Quarter for beignets at their food court. (You can also use the pool at FQ.)The staff at the resort work hard to please their guests - as all cast members we've encountered over the years do.
Finally, the resort is in the moderate category. With that said, buses transport guests to all the parks. For the most part, the wait time for buses is minimal in this resort. They do have a lot of buses up and running during the crunch times. However, if you're part of the mass exodus leaving Epcot after Illuminations or MK after the parade, you're obviously going to wait a while. One night the kids were so tired after Illuminations and none of us had the energy to trek all the way back through future world to the buses, we ended up taking the boat to Boardwalk and catching a cab back to POR. It was the best $10 we ever spent.
Bottom Line: This is a beautiful resort and a really nice escape from the parks. It is by far the best of the moderate resorts in terms of food, atmosphere and amenities, and it will not break the bank either.
Pros:
renovated rooms, tranquil setting, resort activites, boat to downtownCons:
exterior rooms, no balconies, buses to all parksReview of Theme Park Photo Pass
Reviewed by peytonshea02 Review Date: 06/24/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
We pre-paid for the Photo Pass Plus. LOVED it! Worth every penny we paid! Lots of Magic Shots - balloons at the Magic Kingdom, Stich coming out of the ground at AK and DHS, My DD holding Chip at MK,and our kids holding Simba at AK. These were worth the price alone! Add all the great complete family shots in all the Parks, all the ride photos and our pictures from our Tusker House breakfast. My absolute favorite pictures were from a great Photo Pass photographer near Crystal Palace. He had a huge frame as a prop and we got some fabulous pictures of all us with the Castle in the background. I will absolutely get this each and every time we go to the World!
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—Review of Blizzard Beach
Reviewed by peytonshea02 Review Date: 06/23/2013
Rating: (7) Recommended
We had our very first waterpark adventure in May. I added the Water Parks & more option to our tickets so we could have some new experiences. We arrived at the Park before it opened. We grabbed a great set of chairs near the zip line thingy. Then we were off...
The good ~ We had a blast on many of the rides/slides. My kids had a laugh and a half at my expense when they told me Slush Gusher was the water rollercoaster. (WRONG ride and WRONG Park!) - Imagine my surprise when they sent me flying down a ginourmous slide - which, by the way, looks much more innocent when you are standing at the top of the hill in shock that your are not on the ride you thought you were on. The Teamboat Springs was a blast! - We did a few other and had fun.
The bad ~ GOOD LORD you do some serious stair climbing! One particular ride had 3 different slides..which required us to climb 18 flights of stairs each time...in the heat..while carrying our tubes! I swear I am not in that bad of shape and I honestly didn't think I was going to make it all the way up!
Cross Country Creek was far from relaxing...It was a sea of people...and I had strangers feet in my face while I got sprayed by ice cold water on more than one occasion. :/
We had an average lunch, then called it a day. We were exhausted and by that time it was just wall to wall people.
We are glad we experienced BB - but we were so done in by it, we couldn't even muster the strength to try Typhoon Lagoon later in the week. Not sure if that would have been a better fit for us?
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—Review of Art of Animation Resort (Value Resort)
Reviewed by mimmy Review Date: 06/23/2013
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
We booked five nights in the Little Mermaid section of AOA, but lasted only one. The rooms are ridiculously small for two adults and two children, ages 8 and 6. The room is very,very basic and cheap with a few whimsical accessories/touches that make it even more depressing. The resort itself felt very sterile from the lobby to the grounds - a lot of concrete. The oversized plastic characters are just that, nothing special. The next morning we moved to Port Orleans Riverside. For only a few dollars more a night, we stayed in one of the royal rooms w/ 2 queen beds, double sinks and upscale touches. Even if you are just using the room to sleep and shower, I would spend the extra $10 a night to come back to a resort that actually feels like a resort. AOA does not have a resort like feel at all and none of the "magic" that one should expect from a WDW vacation. We honestly couldn't wait to leave. The vacation started once we switched resorts. (See my review for POR.)
We did eat breakfast in the food court, landscape of flavors, and that was fine. The little interaction we had with the staff was fine as well.
Pros:
food court, friendly staffCons:
basic rooms, sterile atmosphere, zero resort like feelReview of 1900 Park Fare Character Dinner
Reviewed by elkhunter1 Review Date: 06/23/2013
Rating: (2) Not Recommended
In two trips to WDW this was by far our worst dining experience.The cast members were non-Disney-like in both attitude and demeaner,the food wasn't very good in quality(the strawberry soup was very good though.),and unless you like all kinds of salads,the selection was minimal.What really upset me though was after I had told the cast members,when I checked in for our reservation,that it was our 13th wedding anniversary ,we were seated in the "hallway"and not acknowleged in any way-while out in the main room several large groups had birthday's celebrated(come to find out they had bought the picture packages and we hadn't!).We also observed management walking around in the main room talking to the tables but no one came out to our area.Our server was responsible for almost all the tables in our area-water being refilled was an experience!-felt bad for her-she was frustrated and it showed.We would have left but our 10-year old daughter really wanted to see the characters and I'm glad we did.She got to meet all of them-they were all wonderful but the step-sisters and stepmother were great in staying in character and just fun to meet.We weren't the only one's who had a less than Disney time-talked to a family on the monorail back to Magic Kingdom who felt almost the same as us, and we will definitely not come here again.VERY DISAPPOINTED!
'
Pros:
Character interactionCons:
NON-DISNEY ATMOSPHEREReview of Pop Century Resort (Value Resort)
Reviewed by Missymouse18 Review Date: 06/23/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
This year we stayed at POP and I am hooked! i loved it so much that I am almost tempted to stop rotating through the Values each year and becoming an exclusive Pop visitor. BUT... I do love All Star Movies for sentimental reasons and am planning to stay at AoA in 2014.
Let me just say, our experience here was really grand. First of all... the smell. There is a distinct smell when you enter the gift shop that makes you just want to close your eyes and say "ahhh." We stayed in the 60's section, ground level, on the corner, so the pool was to our right and the lake to our left and just a football field away from the lobby. Our rooms were very clean and the tie-dyed cheesecake was so good we got a slice to bring home. If it were not for my sentimental ties to ASMovies, this would definitely rank as my fave 🙂
Pros:
clean, fun, great gift shop/food courtCons:
noneReview of Art of Animation Resort (Value Resort)
Reviewed by Missymouse18 Review Date: 06/23/2013
Rating: (0) Recommended
We stayed at PoP Century this year and strolled across the bridge to peak at AoA. We LOVED it! We are hoping to stay there for our 2014 WDW trip. It was amazingly Disney-fied and so "showy." Can't wait to stay so that I can write a real review!
