This large, moderately priced resort is located along the banks of the Sassagoula River, north of Disney Springs. Port Orleans is popular with young couples, families, and children, both for its value and for its fun atmosphere. In 2001, sister resorts Port Orleans and Dixie Landings merged into one resort known as Port Orleans.

AMBIENCE AT DISNEY'S PORT ORLEANS RESORT

The romance of the Old South awaits you at Port Orleans. The resort is divided into two separate districts: the French Quarter (the smaller district and the original Port Orleans) and Riverside (the former Dixie Landings). The French Quarter recaptures the feeling and flavors of historic New Orleans as it prepares for Mardi Gras. The Mint is your first stop in the French Quarter, a large building with wrought ironwork details and a soaring glass atrium that safeguards the district’s front desk, Lobby Concierge, and shop. A step outside reveals narrow cobblestone lanes, complete with “gas” lamps, wrought-iron benches, and grand magnolia trees. A leisurely 10-minute walk along the Sassagoula River takes you over to Riverside. Banjo music and Southern hospitality greet you as you enter Riverside’s Sassagoula Steamboat Company, a replica of an old riverboat depot. The depot is the crossroads of this quaint settlement, housing the district’s front desk and services. Venture out along meandering paths and wooden bridges to antebellum mansions in one direction or the quaint bayou dwellings in the other.

RESORT LAYOUT AT DISNEY'S PORT ORLEANS RESORT

The resort’s 3,056 guest rooms are scattered among the two districts, with 1,008 in the French Quarter and 2,048 in Riverside. Rooms in the French Quarter are housed in seven large buildings (see map on page 89), each designed to resemble rows of townhouses with differing architectural styles, varying rooflines, and facades bricked or painted in shades of blue, cream, or peach. Most buildings have their own yards and gardens in front, which are charmingly fenced with wrought iron. Up the Sassagoula in Riverside you’ll find 1,024 rooms gracing “Gone With the Wind,” plantation-style mansions in an area called Magnolia Bend. These three-storied, elegant buildings are situated majestically along the Sassagoula River. An equal number of rooms are housed within crackerbox-style dwellings in the Alligator Bayou section. These two-storied, rough-hewn, elevator-less dwellings peek through the trees, with quaint paths winding through the “bayous.” Alligator Bayou has a more intimate feel to it than its neighbor, Magnolia Bend.