Are we Disney World pros? Yes, we are! Do we still make mistakes in Disney World? Well, to quote The Good Place, “Pobody’s Nerfect.”
Signs at Port Orleans — Riverside
For example, we still trip over the trolley tracks in Magic Kingdom although we’ve walked down Main Street, U.S.A. MILLIONS of times. We also still occasionally forget to bring our rain gear to the park, even on days when we KNOW it’s going to rain. Yes, we even occasionally still wear shoes that we think could be a bad idea (and they usually are) and have achy feet at the end of the day. In other words, we’re human. So we have a story to share with you about us getting lost at a Disney hotel.
We recently stayed at Disney’s Port Orleans Resort — Riverside in Magnolia Bend (each section has its own name, as does each building). We left our room to hit up Riverside Mill Food Court, came back, but then…well…we couldn’t find the building our room was in. Even with the signs at the resort, we wandered past our building in BOTH directions because every single building LOOKS THE SAME. Okay, so that’s frustrating, right?
Magnolia Bend
So we started looking for the quiet pool that we knew we’d walked past to get to the food court, and we found what we thought was the RIGHT quiet pool, but turns out, it wasn’t. So we wandered around the wrong set of buildings in the wrong direction for about 20 minutes. Don’t get us wrong — it’s a beautiful resort to wander around, but at this point, it was getting ridiculous! We’re Disney pros — HOW IS THIS HAPPENING TO US? So yep, we were just aimlessly looking at room numbers, and yep, WE WERE LOST.
Riverside Mill is a pretty resort…
We did get back there eventually, but the next morning, we were running late and were desperately trying to find our car. Guess what? We were looking in the WRONG PARKING LOT. There are SIGNS, but those signs are pretty vague. If you park your car late at night and need to find your room, you might end up a half a mile away from where you parked. So good luck on getting back to it in the morning! Anyway, will our walk of shame never end?
The parking lots look the same, too
So here’s where we really feel like we messed up. When you check into any room at a Disney World hotel, you’re generally given a map by a Cast Member who shows you exactly where your room is (and they usually even circle it on the map), as well as where the closest parking lot is. Did we look at that map? NOOOOO…we’re pros, we don’t need no stinking maps.
Port Orleans — Riverside Directory
Except that we do, apparently. So don’t be like us. Look at that map, carry it with you, take a photo of it, and keep it on your phone. You may need it as these massive Disney World resorts. If all else fails, leave yourself a trail of breadcrumbs when you leave your room because otherwise, you’re just going to lose your way all over again.
Stay tuned to DFB for more.
Disney Isn’t Going To Fix This Hotel Problem Any Time Soon
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We stay in the Bayou rooms. They are generally closer to the main building or on the side of the river where the main building resides. I am disabled, so I do not stay in Magnolia Bend. Cobble stone is bumpy and finding a ramp near a building is almost impossible. The Bayou rooms are more accessible although it is necessary to ask for a first floor room–no elevators. Looking forward to my third stay at Port Orleans Riverside at Christmas.
I had the same experience there this September. Very confusing; a lot of wandering; no map, since I checked in on line and was just given a building/room number. On top of it all, it was pouring rain. As “charming” as it was, it was a once and done for me.
Haha, now I don’t feel so bad! We stayed at Alligator Bayou in August and got lost more than once WITH A MAP! I learned to ignore some of the signs and where to make the correct turns after a couple days, but that place is a maze. It is also very beautiful and I loved it!
This is where having no sense of direction, and therefore never trusting myself without a map, signposts, and whatever landmarks I can find, comes in handy. BUT. It didn’t stop me from (accidentally) leading the fam to the TnTC late one night after MK, only to realize that we kinda literally couldn’t get back to the hotel from there. Luckily, at least back then, there were taxis around for the people like me who made mistakes like that. Maps can’t save you if you’re wrong about where you need to go lol