Every resort at Walt Disney World has selling points that you can’t find from their real world counterparts–from location to atmosphere to themed design to ‘distinctly Disney’ decor. This post takes a look at what we believe to be the guest rooms that are unique and most magical accommodations.
One thing to note here is that we’re lumping together best-themed and best-decorated rooms, which is something most fans seem to do anyway. Themed design is transportive. It attempts to make you suspend disbelief, taking you to another time and place, whether that be turn-of-the-century National Park lodges in the Pacific Northwest or a bygone era of Atlantic City boardwalks.
Decorated design is exactly what the name suggests. The All Star Resorts, for example, have motifs–sports, music, movies–and are regular boxy motel buildings embellished with larger than life cartoon icons from fan-favorite Disney movies that fit those visual motifs. They are Disney through and through, even if their style might be deemed garish by some. Not us, to be clear–we love Disney cheesiness and completely get why it appeals to families with small children.
While decorated and themed resorts may seem at odds with one another based on the above descriptions, they actually have more in common than they do differences. At their best, both the best-themed and best-decorated resorts and fun and whimsical, evoking an “only at Walt Disney World” reaction. Each approach appeals to different fans, but they both are compelling in their own ways.
This is in contrast to a lot of newer designs. Walt Disney World fans are quick to criticize new concept art and reimaginings, often complaining about projects being bland, generic, sterile, or too much like ‘real world’ designs. Comb through the comments of pretty much any of our articles about resort room reimaginings. You won’t find a single one where the fan response is unanimously positive. In many cases, even the consensus is negative. You’ll find unfavorable comparisons to hospitals and cafeterias, and fans bemoaning a loss of charm.
With that in mind, allow us to introduce (or reintroduce?) you to what we believe are at least some of the best-themed rooms at Walt Disney World…
We’re talking about the Royal Rooms at Port Orleans Riverside. These are the only princess-themed guest rooms at Walt Disney World, featuring characters from animated films including Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, Little Mermaid, and The Princess and the Frog. We recently had the chance to revisit Riverside for the first time in a while with our daughter, and fell in love with the resort all over again.
It was a bit of a full circle moment for us, as we stayed at Port Orleans Riverside on several of our early trips together once we could afford to start splurging on Moderate Resorts, including when I proposed to Sarah (spoiler: she said yes). So it was fun to be back at a place that held so many special memories. And we do think Riverside is a great resort, especially from a thematic perspective, where it feels almost like a Deluxe thanks to its beautiful grounds and atmosphere.
For years, Port Orleans Riverside was our favorite Moderate Resort for this very reason. That hasn’t been true for ~5 years, and if I’m being honest with myself, I love the idea of Port Orleans Riverside more than the actual resort. We still love to visit and spend time at this thematic exemplar, but when push comes to shove and we’re actually doing a stay for practical purposes, Riverside is somewhat low on our List Ranking All of the Best & Worst Resorts at Walt Disney World.
Point being, Port Orleans Riverside has great design and attention to detail in the common areas (which are immersively-themed in the traditional sense of the word) and in the guest rooms, with both the regular rooms and Royal Rooms being options. This post is going to focus solely on the later; if you’re interested in the amenities and thoughts on the resort as a whole, read our Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside Review. That covers pools, transportation, amenities, regular rooms, dining, and much more.
Turning to the Royal Rooms themselves, one thing that makes them special is the ‘era’ in which they were completed. The Royal Rooms debuted back in 2012, at a time when Walt Disney World was trying its hand at more character-centric rooms. Art of Animation debuted that same year, the Pirate Rooms had already debuted, and a variety of other test rooms were rumored (including Haunted Mansion ones–really sad those never came to fruition). It was a golden age for WDW room designs, coming after a look that felt inspired by your grandma’s house and before an overcorrection that resulted in bland and boring looks.
For the most part, the Royal Rooms are unchanged since they debuted over a decade ago. Port Orleans Riverside had been in the midst of a resort-wide soft goods refurbishment in 2019 and 2020, with the Royal Rooms next up to go under the knife in March 2020. The closure came, and that mostly did not happen. Some of the Royal Rooms did end up replacing the carpet with new laminate floors and other light refreshes, but that’s it. Most of them are materially unchanged since 2012–save for the bed runners, which were long gone even pre-closure.
Their age might have you worried, but we found the Royal Rooms at Port Orleans Riverside to be in shockingly good shape. These rooms were clearly built to last with durable materials, as I’ve seen rooms that are less than a year old in worse condition. Given that they’re over a decade old and still look this good, I’m also going to guess that they’ve seen some maintenance and refreshes over the years. The minimal amount of wear and tear is just remarkable, regardless.
Port Orleans Riverside is one of the most spread-out resorts at Walt Disney World, but the Royal Rooms have a great location. These are the equivalent of Preferred Rooms in terms of distance from the lobby and food court. All of the Royal Rooms are located in Magnolia Bend, and even the most remote rooms should be about a 10-minute walk from the restaurants and everything else. Even the Ol’ Man Island feature pool area isn’t that much farther, and there’s a quiet pool between the Royal Room buildings.
The Royal Rooms are sub-divided into Woods/River View rooms and Standard View rooms, with the former having premium pricing most nights. The view is immaterial. Moderates have exterior hallways and no balconies, so it’s not as if you can enjoy that view, anyway.
What might matter is location, as the rooms with a view are also going to be slightly closer to the bridge leading to the lobby. In most cases, the distance is going to be negligible, but it might matter to you. I wouldn’t pay anything for the slight location difference. Normally, we also wouldn’t pay a premium for a preferred location (and instead would make a strategic room request)–but Riverside is one exception to that. It’s just so sprawling.
You can get a great location at Riverside without splurging on a Royal Room, so the biggest selling point is obviously going to be the decor. Thankfully, it’s lovely and really well-done. Rather than simply have a bunch of pink and sparkly stuff along with princess pictures plastered on the walls, the Royal Rooms truly feel regal. They are shockingly stately and almost elegant. Well, at least to the extent a small-ish Moderate Resort room with exterior hallways can feel that way.
Seriously, though. There’s a staggering amount of attention to detail in these rooms. They are far and away the most elaborately-done Moderate Resort rooms, and nothing has been dumbed down or removed over the years for the sake of easier maintenance, cleaning, etc. They’re every bit as immersive today as back in 2012. (Well, unless you get one with the faux wood floor, which means no magic carpet carpet.)
For rooms that highlight princesses, Imagineering did a really great job at making the Royal Rooms ‘neutral’ for the princess-averse people in your party. More importantly, effort was made to the finishing and detail of the rooms. Lots of woods, rich texture, and finishing make the rooms have an unexpected depth. Hence the name Royal Rooms instead of Princess Rooms.
Our daughter is too young for princesses and stereotypically girly stuff. Her top interest is stuffed animals, which she enjoys for the colors, textures and ‘taste’ of the long tags. I do think she has an innate attraction to actual princesses, but that’s not the same as pictures on the wall or regal decor.
One thing I know she loved is the light-up headboards in the Royal Rooms at Riverside. These were a huge hit. She became absolutely enraptured when the fiber optic fireworks started lighting up, bouncing herself on the bed, laughing, and getting all wound up. These fireworks rank right up there with fake fart sounds in terms of the level of amusement offered. I only wish there were an “always on” mode so I didn’t have to press that button every ~30 seconds.
We’d assume that these headboards would likewise appeal to any kid, and that there’s enough here for any girl or boy to enjoy. If your youngster is obsessed with cars, there might be a more obvious pick, but if you have one princess lover and one kid who is indifferent to all of that, the Royal Rooms should still be fine. They tread that line nicely. Aside from the princess portraits, the Royal Rooms are not so over the top that they’ll be eyeroll-inducing to anyone over age 8.
At the time they were designed, The Princess and the Frog was one of the most recent movies by Walt Disney Animation Studios and it fit the theme of Port Orleans Resort quite well, so Princess Tiana is highlighted throughout the room. To the best of my recollection, this was the first time she made a permanent (non-meet & greet) appearance at Walt Disney World. Obviously, that has changed since.
That’s far from the only film with a presence in the Royal Rooms. After that, I’d say that Aladdin is the most prominent, thanks to the magic carpet on the floor (if you have carpet), faucet, and character portraits of Jasmine and Aladdin. Princess-wise, you’ve also got Rapunzel, Snow White, Aurora, Belle, Cinderella, and Ariel.
The princes are also repped. Interestingly, Beast’s character is referred to as “Prince Adam” in the room, which is a source of controversy among Disney fans. (No, I’m not kidding.)
In terms of amenities to expect from the rooms, you’ve got the standard Moderate Resort amenities, such as mini-fridge and coffee maker. One downside is that the rooms sleep 4, as opposed to the 5 of Alligator Bayou rooms thanks to the pull-down bed in those rooms.
Another downside resulting from the lack of refurbishment is that the rooms are stuck in 2012 from a technological perspective. Because there’s a custom frame around the television, this means an older and smaller flatscreen with clunkier interface and features. It also means no USB ports (although if our recent stays at other resorts are any indication, it’s about 50/50 as to whether those will work–and they’re really slow, regardless).
The bigger deal is arguably the little quality of life features that are missing, such as elevated beds for suitcase storage, bedside phone stands, and other space-saving design elements. On the plus side, they did add the ‘Hey, Disney’ units. Small victory, I guess? I also appreciate the table and chairs, which has disappeared from some recent room redesigns.
All Royal Rooms at Port Orleans Riverside feature two queen-size beds. There are no king bed rooms in this section, nor is there any space for extra roll-away sleepers. On the plus side, the mattresses have definitely been upgraded at some point since 2012. I’m a huge fan of the Beautyrest Plush Top bedding, and the pillows are also exactly to my tastes.
We had a crib for our most recent stay in the Royal Rooms with Megatron, and it was very, ahem, cozy. As much as we love the themed design and seeing her mesmerized by the headboard, this actually made the Royal Rooms a non-starter for us on future stays. If we’re going to do the smaller Moderate rooms, we need to do a king bed to free up more floor space.
Here’s a video of the Royal Rooms at Port Orleans Riverside Resort to show how they look in 2024:
In the end, the only reason why there’s a question mark in the title is because I’m not quite sure the Royal Rooms at Port Orleans Riverside surpass the Cars, Lion King, and Finding Nemo Family Suites at Art of Animation. When it comes to this style of decorated kid-centric guest rooms, those are the only real competition. In particular, the Cars Family Suites do a great job with both bringing to life the animated film world and being themed (there’s automotive and mid-century modern design on display).
On the themed front, I’m partial to the lodges. The redone rooms at Animal Kingdom Lodge are awesome, and although the hotel side of Wilderness Lodge is a bit more mixed, the Boulder Ridge side are my absolute favorite rooms at Walt Disney World. I also really like the reimagined rooms at the Grand Floridian, which are a night-and-day improvement over what was there before. Generally speaking, most redesigned rooms at Walt Disney World are trending in the right direction. Hopefully that bodes well for the future of the Royal Rooms, but I’m more skeptical here.
To that point, I’ll admit that there’s a bit of selfishness in sharing this to spread “awareness” about the Royal Rooms and potentially increase interest in them. I’m really partial to highly-themed rooms and, if the current hard goods refurbishment at Port Orleans French is any indication, the Royal Rooms will be up for a top-to-bottom overhaul by 2026 or 2027. One way or another, this version of the Royal Room will be gone.
What remains to be seen is whether Imagineering revisits the concept with a modernized take or goes in a different direction completely. Our hope is for the former, so our daughter can enjoy them again if/when she enters her princess phase. I’ll take that a step further and hope that Imagineering doubles-down on this type of room, adding themed categories like this to resorts all across Walt Disney World. This type of concept has been a huge hit at the international resorts and it seems like Walt Disney World guests would go crazy for something similar!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Do you like the Royal Rooms at Port Orleans Riverside? Is this degree of themed or decorative design to your tastes, or do you prefer more subtle styles? Would you consider staying in the Royal Rooms for the sake of your kids? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment of the Royal Rooms at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
