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A Taste of America in Every Bite
One of the best parts about staying at Port Orleans Riverside are the dining experiences. While it doesn’t have the variety of the BoardWalk or the exotic flavors of the Animal Kingdom Lodge, Port Orleans Riverside has something homey and familiar that makes it special.
With one signature dining option, one quick service location, one lounge, and a pool bar, you’ll find Riverside has the cozy atmosphere of a small town. However, much like a small town, you don’t want to dismiss Riverside’s dining just because the choices are few. You’ll find that this is distinctly a quality over quantity situation, guaranteed.
Port Orleans – Riverside’s cuisine includes the following:
- Disney’s In-Room Dining
- Muddy Rivers Pool Bar
- River Roost Lounge
- Riverside Mill Food Court
- Boatwright’s Dining Hall
Pizza, Anyone? Disney’s In-Room Dining Service
A many of the value and moderate Disney resorts, you can order an entire family meal straight to your room! Whether you’re in the mood for pizza, salad, chicken strips, or other family favorites, you won’t have to worry about the crowds at Riverside Mill. Just press the “In-Room Dining” button on your room phone and place your order.
Not only can you get these delicious meals, but they come in sharable family-size portions. That’s right, not just a personal pan pizza for each kid, but a whole pie for the family to share. You’ll feel right at home sharing your pizza, watching TV, all in the relaxing comfort of your resort room.
This is an excellent option for a few reasons. First, let’s face it, a Disney vacation can be exhausting. We wouldn’t blame you for wanting to lounge around your resort room. This way, the food comes to you, bringing the familiarity of a family pizza night on your vacation. Second, if you have little ones that are ready to pass out, it’s convenient to do dinner, straight to bath, and then bed. Even if you have to enjoy the rest of your pizza by the light of the TV, those of us who have lived through the overtired toddler phase will be grateful for the easy put down. Finally, Port Orleans – Riverside does not have in-room food preparation options. If you’re used to the amenities of a villa or a studio, this might change what you typically do on a more relaxed evening. Being able to order pizza or chicken tenders brings a hot meal to you without any further worry.
Muddy Rivers Pool Bar
This option is less about “dining” and more about enjoying a cool beverage poolside. Unlike some other Disney pool bars, Muddy Rivers doesn’t offer food options. Even though that is the case, don’t dismiss it! You’ll love the array of cocktails and other beverages you’ll be able to find here.
Muddy Rivers features some Disney bar favorites, like the Sunshine Margarita and a delicious Frosé, frozen rosé and vodka mixture. However, the real reason to hit this bar is for the signature drinks.
First, there’s the Gata-Melon Juice, vodka, melon liqueur, pineapple juice and apple all blended with flavors of coconut and pineapple. Next, get the taste of summer with a Front Porch Freeze made with rum, pineapple juice and orange juice all with together with a mango purée. Finally, get your Mardi Gras on with the Nola Cola, spiced rum thrown together with pineapple juice, desert pear, and raspberry purée. Each of these incredible creations comes in a souvenir Hurricane Glass sporting the resort logo.
Not enough for you? Then you should try the All That Jazz, a layered concoction of all three of these delicious delights contained in one fantastic beverage!
River Roost Lounge
Live music, refreshing beverages, and delicious food all make this lounge feel like an old-town watering hole where everyone knows your name.
From the moment you walk from the lobby in the River Roost, you’ll think you walked back in time. A mix of dark woods at the bar and lighter woods at the table create a vintage ambiance, with rusty red and light green carpet rounding out the homey atmosphere. Antique suitcases and a boat schedule fit the steamboat motif of the resort, giving the sense that you’re waiting to catch your boat while spending time in the lounge. After all, it wouldn’t be Disney without the theming!
A fully equipped bar, the River Roost can meet your all your beverages tastes. However, if you’re going to stop in, you should try one of the signature drinks. River Roost has three – the Sazerac, a Rum-a-Rita, and the Southern Hurricane. Our favorite is the Southern Hurricane, a rich dark rum combined with a lighter silver rum, all mixed with tropical juices topped with a float of Southern Comfort.
For the food, you can find all of your favorite bar munchies with a bayou upgrade. Loaded potato puffs with delicious pulled pork and beer cheese, Mardi Gras fitters with pimento cheese and pepper jelly, and incredible Bayou Wings served with fried pickles are perfect for small plate options. Looking for something more substantial? Go for the fish and chips or bourbon cheeseburger, each served with Cajun seasoned fries.
Finish your dining experience with one of three outstanding desserts – Mississippi Mud Crème Brȗleé, Pecan Pie Cheesecake, and the Hummingbird Cake. While both the crème brȗleé and cheesecake are excellent, if you want the real Port Orleans – Riverside experience you have to go for the Hummingbird Cake. River Roost’s signature dessert, this version of the Southern classic is a pineapple-banana cake soaked with the house spiced rum, topped with roasted pecans and cream cheese frosting.
Riverside Mill Food Court
Riverside Mill is the quick service location for Port Orleans – Riverside, and while it is the only choice, we promise you will love what it has to offer! Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you’ll be able to find a meal here at any point during daytime hours.
Be even thinking about the food, one aspect that makes this grub spot is its size. With plenty of comfortable seating, you’ll be able to seat your party no matter the size, and you’ll always be able to find a place to sit. Additionally, there’s four different drink fill stations, making it easy to get that refill mug full and get you on the go!
Breakfast
Plenty of hot food options make Riverside Mill the ideal place to grab a filling breakfast to fuel you up before your park day. Try a delicious omelet with breakfast potatoes, a giant stack of fluffy pancakes with sweet toppings, or our favorite Mickey waffles. If you want to grab your grub and head back to your room, the croissant sandwich is the ideal option. Made with bacon, eggs, cheese, and served with tater tots, this is a great way to have a hot meal on the go.
For the kids, they can get smaller versions of many of the adult choices, including Mickey waffles and a chicken tomato omelet. If you have older kiddos, you might want to get an adult meal to keep them going through an active morning, or have two kids split the larger meal. Since the choices are largely the same, it makes sense to save a few dollars, whether it’s on a snack later or two kids meals.
A full bakery provides plenty of other quick options as well, or great snack items to buy now and eat later. The bakery is also a great option if you want to buy an item the day before and have it for a speedy breakfast before a park day or on your departure day.
Lunch and Dinner
For lunch and dinner, Riverside Mill is divided into three different sections – pizza and pasta, burgers and chicken, and sandwiches and salads. Select your station, order there, and pick up your food before paying with the Cast Member.
Pizza and Pasta
Grab a slice of pepperoni or cheese pizza, or get an entire pie with salad and breadsticks to feed the whole family. Two lasagna dishes feature “bayou” flavors of Stracciatella cheese and Cajun Bolognese sauce, one made with shrimp the other without. If you want something a little more familiar, go for a chicken Alfredo or the pasta primavera.
Burgers and Chicken
You’ll feel right at home with these American classics! A massive cheeseburger or bacon cheeseburger will make your day, topped with lettuce, tomato, and garlic-ranch sauce all on a toasted brioche bun served with steak fries on the side. A delicious French dip sandwich or Cajun chicken sandwich bring that New Orleans feel, or you can go for chicken fingers if you just need something plain.
Sandwiches and Salads
A wide variety to meet the needs of any palate, Riverside Mill has everything from a pimento cheese BLT sandwich and barbeque pork meal to Greek and Caesar salads. These are great options if you need something light or that you can wrap up and take with you. Get a sandwich when you’re in for breakfast, pack it your bag, and you’ll lunch in the park! You’ll want to come prepared with your own container for said sandwich, but this is a great option for the planners in your life.
Kid’s Meals
Specifically for your kiddos, you can find corn dog nuggets, mac and cheese, and Uncrustable sandwiches. There’s also smaller versions of the adult meals, like cheese pizza and a cheeseburger, as well as a fish sandwich. All these meals come with fruit and a choice between milk and a small water bottle.
Desserts
What would a Disney meal be without a dessert? Snag a Mickey Oreo cupcake or a magic cookie bar for the chocolate lovers in your group, or a warm apple blossom a la mode for a delectable old school favorite.
If you need something on the go, choose from the daily cookie selection or the bakery offerings. We recommend the brownie or cinnamon roll!
Boatwright’s Dining Hall
One of the most underrated restaurants on Disney property, Boatwright’s Dining Hall has all your comfort food favorites with a touch of New Orleans flair. Trust us, you can’t go wrong with this incredible signature dining offering!
Appetizers
To begin, you can find spectacular down-home cooking among the appetizers in the form of French onion soup and fried green tomatoes. If you really want authentic New Orleans food, go for the Crawfish Bisque, a traditional blend of seafood and spices, or the Mardi Gras fritters, made of house made pimento cheese and served with pepper jelly.
Entrées
No matter your tastes, you’ll find something perfectly suited to you in the entrées. Meat enthusiasts will love the New York strip, the General Fulton’s Prime Rib, or the barbequed ribs. Each comes with an array of delicious sides, from buttery mashed potatoes and Cajun seasoned fries to flavorful seasonal vegetables. Plenty of Southern favorites are here as well, like jambalaya, shrimp and grits, and Nashville-style hot fried chicken. You can even get the jambalaya in a veggies-only version, perfect if you have vegetarians in your group.
Particularly hungry? Can’t decide what to order? Boatwright’s has a solution to both problems! Order the All-You-Care-To-Enjoy Chef’s Platter, which comes with ribs, Nashville hot chicken, smoked sausage, barbecued beef brisket. Not enough? This massive platter comes with sides of mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, street corn, and green beans. Even though the meal is $33, if you want to try a bit of everything this is actually the most economical way to go about it!
Desserts
For dessert, once again there is something for all tastes. Chocolate lovers will go straight for the Mississippi Mud crème brȗleé, chocolate in both the filling and in the shortbread crust. A pecan pie cheesecake will finish off a traditional Southern meal nicely, as will a lemon bar that will take you right back to your grandma’s kitchen. However, we highly recommend the bread pudding. A house-made bread pudding is the final word in comfort food, coming with vanilla ice cream and topped with a bourbon-salted caramel.
Children’s Menu
Choices are a bit tamer on the children’s menu, which may be a good thing if you have picky eaters. Kids build their combinations, choosing one entrée and two side items. Entrée choices include staples like pizza, a cheeseburger, and mac and cheese, as well as more adventurous options like grilled Mahi Mahi or steak kabobs. The sides have a combination of savory and sweet, which means that your kiddos can get a dessert with their meal if you choose.
Let’s Never Leave!
With such homey and delicious dining options, you can see why people only leave this resort to go to the parks. Whatever you choose, we know you’ll have an amazing meal at Port Orleans –Riverside!
Written by Grace Hoyos, Staff Writer
Grace is a life-long lover of all things Disney, particularly the parks at Walt Disney World. She is also an avid Disney Cruise Line enthusiast who regularly dreams of the white sands of Castaway Cay. Grace loves the fact that her Disney trips give her time to spend with her family, enjoy incredible food, and try new experiences.