Port Orleans Riverside - Family of 5

[Shawn_hoffman1]

Hi.
We are in a standard room that fits 5. We are concerned that it is too small a room for us. Its only like 320 square feet. 2 adults and kids 10,8 and 4. What do you all think? Anyone stay there wth 3 kids? We thought about Art ofAnimation for suite but the hot tub and waterslide are amentities my kids will love at POR. Plus the boatride to DS makes it fun. Please help me out.
Thanks!! Shawn

 

[disneyseniors]

Hi Shawn: My family always stay at PoR, love that resort. We always stayed in the Alligator Bayou section that sleeps 5. I think it will be plenty of room, IMO, for you and your 3 kids. The murphy bed would be perfect for the 4 y/o. I hope the other 2 don't mind sleeping in the same bed? We have done it many times and it worked out. If you had teenagers, then it would be crowded, I think. My daughter and family tried it with 2 teenagers and an 11 y/o. They were squished in there and didn't like it at all, but they were a lot older.
So, for kids you kids age, I think it would work.
You will love POR. The grounds are beautiful. There are private pools at each building section which are quiet and fun to use, if you don't want to walk to the main pool. Our grandkids actually preferred them to the main pool. The boatride is a lot of fun too. There is a large arcade if you want that. The Mill food court is the best in WDW, IMO with lots of selections.
I can't see how you can go wrong at POR? AOA sounds great too, but we have never felt the need to move from POR. Hope this helped.

 

[rdaky]

We haven't stayed in those rooms, but we have stayed in Caribbean Beach with the Murphy bed as a family of 5 (my kids are 12, 8, and 2) We have considered the AOA suites because of space, but the beds are queens in the Moderates (vs doubles in AOA) and then yes, you have the hot tubs and waterslides at moderates. It's really not too bad. We kept the Murphy bed folded up when not in use and I always do a quick 5 minute pick up of the room before we head out for the day so that it doesn't feel like we are living out of a hoarder's room. You can't spread out like you can in a suite, but the overall vibe at a moderate is much quieter and everything is a step up from a Value, such as transportation, the food court, layout of the resort, activities at the resort.

 

[nkereina]

I think its doable but the key is to keep your room organized and clutter-free to make it feel larger. A lot of people recommend the over the door shoe holders to use as toiletry organizers, and some will bring the collapsible hampers and folding shelves to hang on the closet rod in the bathroom, since storage is limited. I think these things help when space will be tight.

Another option is look at renting DVC points. There's a separate forum here that can detail the pros and cons, and it requires some research, but it can give you a villa for not much more than what a moderate costs.

 

[RangerPooh]

We've stayed at POR and CBR in the past and the rooms were fine. What we found made them crowded was not the use of the murphy bed or trundle, was having a large double stroller added to the mix. POR is our favorite resort so you can;t go wrong with it.

 

[Jaime4004]

We've stayed at POR and CBR with a family of 5 - 2 adults, and kids 13, 11 and 9. No problems with space for us because we're really not in the room much. One bathroom but usually 1/2 shower at night and 1/2 in the morning so that's not really an issue either.

 

[unrequited23]

You will have enough room--we stayed at POR alligator bayou last May with our 2 kids. We were able to leave our sit and Stand stroller up the whole time. Bring a pop up hamper. Plan on unpacking and using the drawers (we keep everything in packing cubes.) Plan on folding down the stroller overnight and folding up the murphy bed every morning. Do not bring the over the door shoe hanger to POR AB because it doesn't fit. If you have foldable hanging shelves bring them. Put smaller suitcases into larger suitcase.

 

[nkereina]

Do not bring the over the door shoe hanger to POR AB because it doesn't fit.

We were able to hang ours from the closet rod in the bathroom at POR in the past. Just depends on what kind you get, but if you get one that hangs and is wide enough, it will fit. We've since purchased hanging toiletry bags from eBags that just unzip and hang from wherever. No need to unpack everything.

 

[dansdad]

We've done both CBR and POR with 3 teens. CBR was easier as the rooms are bigger (340 sq. ft. vs 314), but both were great.

 

[gluestickgirl]

we have stayed at POR several times - the last time our kids were 16, 14 and almost 10. just stay organized and it's fine! we bring a popup hamper, designate a spot for shoes and backpacks, and bring those shelves you can hand from the curtain rod. we split showers between nights and mornings, and don't spend much time in the room, so it works well for us!

 

[lillyshula]

We love Port Orleans Riverside and have had no problems with there being enough room for all five of us. The last time we went, our girls were 10, 9, & 5. It was our 9 year old that slept on the pull down bed and she loved having her own personal space. We always find that we are out of the room far more than in it, so the space has never been an issue. The drawer space was enough for the girls and my husband and I were able to hang up our things.

 

[unrequited23]

We were able to hang ours from the closet rod in the bathroom at POR in the past. Just depends on what kind you get, but if you get one that hangs and is wide enough, it will fit. We've since purchased hanging toiletry bags from eBags that just unzip and hang from wherever. No need to unpack everything.

Genius idea to use the bar in the closet for the over the door shoe rack. I was too frustrated to even think about using it differently. Thank you.

 

[mickeymomof3girls]

We just stayed at CBR in December with 5. Our daughters are 14/14/16. We found the room to be plenty big for us. We do spend most of our time at the parks anyways. We brought a hanging organizer and put all our pants in that and extra hangers to hang most of our shirts. We utilized all the drawers for the rest of our clothes. We then stacked all the suit cases on the top rack of the closet and under the shirts in the closet. We also brought a collapsible hamper which was great. Our teens do not like sharing a bed so one slept on the murphy bed she is about 5'2". And we brought a twin size air mattress for one. It fit tightly beside the bed closest to the door. During the day we just picked it up and it stood against the adjoining room door. We have stayed at Pop/All Star music with 2 rooms in the past and it was nice having 2 bathrooms but this saved us a lot of money and it worked out just fine. The rooms feel MUCH bigger than the value rooms. I really think the key to having a family of 5 in this room is to stay organized. Have a great trip!!

 

[HeatherMac603]

We stayed at POR Alligator Bayou for a week during Christmas with 3 kids: DD 9, DD 7, and DS 1. As long as two of the kids are fine with sharing a bed (or you and DH each share with a kid), then it will be fine. We had all of our regular clothes and suitcases, a small Christmas tree, 3 stockings, a few gifts, snacks, toys for the baby, and at least 6 princess dresses, and still were fine with space in the room. Next trip, we are renting DVC points and staying at the Poly (we've always wanted to stay there), but would have no issues staying at POR again.

 

[krysenchips]

Me, my sisters, BIL, and niece all stayed in a POR room in the Alligator Bayou in June, while it was tight, (mainly due to over packing on my sisters' parts) it worked out fine. Getting all 5 of us ready for dinner or the parks in the morning could be a hassle, but we made it work.

 

[alex9179]

We were in AB last May/June with kids aged 14,13, 9. It's a little tight when everyone is trying to get ready but I don't have any lingering regrets about the room. My 9 yr old thought it was small when we walked in, though! More room is nice but we were just fine. My kids even napped most afternoons, so that they could get through to the evening shows.

We used hanging storage on the closet rod in the bathroom area. Kids & DH showered in the afternoon/evening depending on plans. I kept our clothes in the suitcases until needed and we were able to keep them out of the way. Whatever we needed for the next day was decided and at the ready, which really helps take the frustration out of the morning rush to get to the parks or an ADR.

The tip to use gallon ziplock for outfits is a big timesaver. I did that for our first few trips but didn't this last one and, regretted it. Clothes were in disarray after they pawed through them that first day. Also, we should have brought two hampers instead of one. The rainy days generated twice as much laundry!