- Average night
- $337
- Standard room sleeps
- 5
- Quickest park
- EPCOT, by bus
- Pools
- 5 / 10
The short answer
Riverside solves a really common problem: five people in one room without paying Deluxe prices. The Alligator Bayou 5th Sleeper rooms add a kid-size pull-down bed, which makes this one of very few Moderates that fits a family of five, at about $337 a night.
It scores 7 for under-fours, far better than French Quarter next door, on a quiet, green site with a real sit-down restaurant. The pool is the weak spot, well below average, and every park is a bus. Riverside is a comfortable home base, not a destination.
Sold as the other half of the same resort, and priced within about $4.
Read the Port Orleans Resort - French Quarter review →Port Orleans Riverside sold out for your dates? Set a room alert and we will email you when a room opens.
Your ages, budget and parks re-rank all 32. Free, about a minute.Which room to ask for
Rooms open to the outside rather than onto an internal corridor. This is a spread-out resort. Rooms are in separate sections away from the main dining and the main pool, far enough that an internal bus exists, so which section you land in changes the stay more than the room does. A request costs nothing and is never guaranteed, so make it at booking and again a day or two before you arrive.
Every measure, against the other 30
Disney does not set a height minimum on its resort waterslides, unlike the water parks. Riders go down one at a time and land in water deep enough to swim in, so the question is whether your child swims on their own, not how tall they are.
| Scored category | This resort | Average of all 32 | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pools | 5 / 10 | 7.1 | 27th of 32 |
| Splash pads and slides | 6 / 10 | 7.6 | 23rd of 32 |
| Everything close together | 3 / 10 | 6.0 | 26th of 32 |
| Things to do on site | 6 / 10 | 7.2 | 24th of 32 |
| Suits under 4s | 7 / 10 | 7.8 | 24th of 32 |
| Suits ages 4 to 6 | 8 / 10 | 7.8 | 14th of 32 |
| Suits ages 7 to 13 | 7 / 10 | 6.2 | 8th of 32 |
| Suits adults | 5 / 10 | 5.5 | 21st of 32 |
| Getting to Magic Kingdom · bus | 4 / 10 | 5.5 | – |
| Getting to EPCOT · bus | 5 / 10 | 5.5 | – |
| Getting to Hollywood Studios · bus | 4 / 10 | 4.5 | – |
| Getting to Animal Kingdom · bus | 3 / 10 | 4.0 | – |
Rank is out of all 32 Disney resorts on that one measure. The park rows show the fastest route Disney actually runs, so a bus and a monorail are not scored the same even when the map says they are the same distance.
Where it wins
Where it loses
Riverside or French Quarter?
Port Orleans Resort - French Quarter
What it costs
About $337 a night on average, Moderate pricing and about $4 less than French Quarter. For a family of five, that's roughly half what a Deluxe villa costs for the same number of beds.
Across 53 check-in weeks, a night here ranged from $302 to $429, a swing of 42%. The cheapest week checked in on January 4, 2027 and the priciest on December 28, 2026.
Room only, before tax, for a four night midweek stay for two adults, read from Disney on September 27, 2026.
What Riverside is really like
Alligator Bayou and Magnolia Bend are basically two different resorts on one booking. Bayou is woodsy and has the 5th Sleeper rooms, and Magnolia Bend is mansion-style and sleeps four.
The internal boat between sections is really handy and stops running earlier than you'd expect, which turns a 5-minute trip into a 20-minute walk.
The site is dark at night in a way that suits the theming, and makes the long walks feel even longer with a tired kid.
Horse-drawn carriage rides run along the Sassagoula from the Riverside Levee Marina, about 25 minutes, roughly $65 a carriage, usually 5:30pm to 9:30pm. Book in the app up to 60 days out, because there are only a few slots a night.
Your family will rank this differently
Ages, budget, room size and which parks you are doing all change the answer. Resortings scores all 32 resorts against what your family actually needs, and tells you when not to spend the money.
Port Orleans Riverside sold out for your dates? Set a room alert and we will email you when a room opens.
Common questions
Who is Port Orleans Riverside best for?
Families of five who want space and quiet at a Moderate price. It sleeps five in a standard room, which few Moderates do, and it scores much better for under-fours than French Quarter next door.
Does Port Orleans Riverside sleep five?
Yes, in the Alligator Bayou rooms Disney sells as 5th Sleeper: two queen beds and a kid-size pull-down bed. Disney rates them for four adults, so the fifth has to be a child. Magnolia Bend rooms sleep four, so book the 5th Sleeper room type by name.
Riverside or French Quarter?
Riverside wins on little kids and beds: it scores 7 for under-fours against French Quarter's 4, and it sleeps five. French Quarter wins on the pool and on being small enough to walk across. They cost within about $4 of each other.
Is the pool good at Port Orleans Riverside?
No, it's one of the weaker pools on property, below the property average. Ol' Man Island has a slide and a hot tub, but it isn't a reason to pick this resort.
How do you get to the parks from Riverside?
By bus to all four, and by boat to Disney Springs. Magic Kingdom scores 4 out of 10, EPCOT 5, Hollywood Studios 4 and Animal Kingdom 3.