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Disney's Port Orleans Resort French Quarter and Disney's Port Orleans Resort Riverside are a pair of resort hotels located at the Walt Disney World Resort. The two hotels are themed to look like New Orleans or the Old South. Both resorts are located in the Downtown Disney area.
Disney's Port Orleans Resort French Quarter was designed to reflect the style and architecture of New Orleans' French Quarter. The resort opened May 17, 1991 as Disney's Port Orleans Resort with 432 guest rooms in three guest buildings and expanded to its current 1,008 rooms in seven 3-story guest buildings containing 144 rooms each.
Disney's Port Orleans Resort Riverside was designed to reflect antebellum south along the Mississippi River. The resort opened February 2, 1992 as Disney's Dixie Landings Resort, initially with rooms located in its Alligator Bayou section, and shortly afterward the remaining Magnolia Bend section was opened. Alligator Bayou consists of 1,024 guest rooms over 16 buildings styled as rustic, weathered lodges with 64 rooms per lodge. Magnolia Bend consists of 1,024 guest rooms over four buildings styled as southern plantation grand manor homes with 256 rooms per mansion.[1]
The two resorts are connected to each other and Downtown Disney via the Sassagoula River.
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Merger
Beginning March 1, 2001 road signage and other theming began to change reflecting the Disney's Port Orleans Resort and Disney's Dixie Landings Resort properties becoming "regions" of a united Disney's Port Orleans Resort. As of April 1, 2001, the regions became French Quarter and Riverside, respectively. Changes leading up to and after this period would include the French Quarter region losing Bonfamille's Cafe table-service restaurant, bike rentals, and boat rentals. French Quarter region guests would have to use the larger facilities in the Riverside region. Bonfamille's Cafe's is now only used occasionally as a meeting space for food and beverage management, and a training facility. Bonfamille's Cafe's kitchen is Disney World's test kitchen.[citation needed] Other theme changes took place such as Colonel's Cotton Mill food court becoming Riverside Mill.
Dining
Both resorts share a 208-seat table service restaurant, Boatwright's Dining Hall which is located in the Riverside region and features American Southern cuisine. It is themed after a wooden shipbuilding yard and is adorned with vintage shipbuilding tools. As from February 22, 2009, Boatwright's Dining Hall no longer serves breakfast and is open for dinner from 5pm to 10pm.
Boatwright's Dining Hall is flanked by River Roost lounge featuring a lively sing-along ragtime piano comedy show on select nights. Up the hall is the Riverside Mill Food Court featuring a working cotton press. There is also a pool bar called Muddy Rivers on Ol' Man Island that sells alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
The French Quarter region contains another food court called Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory. The region also includes Scat Cat's Club, another lounge featuring live jazz entertainment on select nights. The pool bar is called Mardi Grogs.
Recreation
Disney's Port Orleans Resort Riverside has a 3 1/2 acre recreation area called Ol' Man Island featuring the resort's 158,000 gallon feature swimming pool with a large rustic saw-mill themed water slide and a hot tub. The island also contains a children's playground and the Fishin' Hole, where guests can rent cane fishing poles and bait for a small fee.
There are also five smaller 'quiet' swimming pools at Disney's Port Orleans Resort Riverside, three located within the Alligator Bayou section and two in the Magnolia Bend area. Riverside also has a marina where guests can rent personal water craft, bicycles or surrey bikes. Horse-drawn carriage rides are available in the evening.
Disney's Port Orleans Resort French Quarter features the Doubloon Lagoon 225,000 gallon swimming pool which has a sea-serpent themed water slide named Scales that is jockeyed by King Neptune. This area also includes a hot tub and a children's playground.
Both regions have cashless video game arcades where guests purchase point-cards for gameplay.
External links
French Quarter
- Official Disney site
- Unofficial Guide site for further background information
- Coordinates: 28°22′50″N 81°32′11″W / 28.380541°N 81.536423°W
Riverside
- Official Disney site
- Unofficial Guide site for further background information
- Coordinates: 28°23′14″N 81°32′10″W / 28.387355°N 81.536152°W
References
- ^ "Magnolia Bend". WDWHistory.com. http://wdwhistory.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Magnolia_Bend. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
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