Where to Stay - The Easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit 2015 - page 59

All transport to theme parks and water parks is via bus. Downtown Disney is accessible
by both boat and bus. POR is labeled as a Downtown Disney Area Resort in Disney's way-
finding material, but is more centrally located than that implies. Before the Animal King-
dom and Blizzard Beach opened, the two Port Orleans Resorts were in fact the most cent-
rally located moderates, and the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Disney's Hollywood Studi-
os are still all close—at least after the buses finally get out of the resort. The resort itself
is massive, and some rooms are a hike from the main services, and others from the main
pool…some from both.
There's no special kid appeal at POR compared to that at Caribbean Beach, and no spe-
cial adult appeal compared to that at Coronado Springs and POFQ. But even so, POR is
likely the best-loved, most frequently recommended, and most loyally defended of all the
moderate resorts.
There are three very different room types at POR. All are about the same size as those
at the other traditional moderates, about 314 square feet, and all come with a table and two
chairs, a dresser/TV/mini-fridge combo, coffee-maker, hair-dryer, and a divided, family-
friendly bath. In the bath, the two sinks and closet/dressing area are shielded from the sleep-
ing part of the room by a curtain, and the tub and toilet have their own room. The two story
buildings in Alligator Bayou have no elevators, but the taller Magnolia Bend buildings do.
No rooms have balconies. All rooms are accessed from exterior corridors.
The Alligator Bayou section of POR is one of only two areas at Disney World with tra-
ditional moderate rooms that sleep five—two each in two queens, and the fifth in a small
murphy bed (about 66 inches long by 31 inches wide, and meant for a kid ten or younger)
that folds down beneath the TV. (Caribbean Beach is the other.)
Rooms in half the Magnolia Bend section have “Royal” theming, and are more expens-
ive. These rooms sleep 4 in two queens, and have much prince and (especially) princess de-
tail, including a lovely headboard light show based on the Princess and the Frog triggered
by an easy-to-miss button on the side.
Rooms in the other half of Magnolia Bend also sleep 4 in two queens, but do not have
the special royal theming—nor its extra cost. They are also largely more convenient than
the Royal Rooms, and, if you don't need the fifth sleeping spot, more livable than the Al-
ligator Bend rooms.
Dining is at Sassagoula Steamship Company, with a food court that's average among the
moderates and a table service restaurant, Boatwright's Dining Hall, that's also average. The
food court is too small for the crowds it faces, and has little special on its standard menu to
reflect the theming other than grits at breakfast and a Cajun chicken sandwich. The indoor
bar, the River Roost Lounge, has a widely loved family-friendly show from “Ye Haa” Bob
Jackson most Wednesday through Saturday evenings. There's also a bar at the main pool.
There are no character meals.
Amenities available at the resort include nightly movies, campfires, bike rental, fishing,
jogging trails, playgrounds, and an arcade (watercraft rental closed in March 2014. (Some
nights, movies are at Riverside or POFQ, but not both.) The main pool is far too small for
the resort, and can't fit everyone who would like to be there.
At POR you can pay more for preferred locations that are a closer walk to the Sassagoula
Steamship Company, for the Royal rooms, for king beds, for garden views, and for water
views. Standard view, non-preferred rooms are $204/night on weekdays and $226/night on