The Only Place In Disney World to Get Fireworks INSIDE Your Hotel Room

What comes to mind when you think of the Walt Disney World Resort?

For many, it’s the chance to meet favorite Disney characters like Mickey Mouse and Cinderella across the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme parks. For others, it’s the incredible themed attractions like Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean or the deliciously unique food found at Disney Springs and other Disney dining locations.

For some Guests, though, it’s the magical nighttime spectaculars that make Cinderella Castle sparkle every night at the Magic Kingdom. And at one special Disney Resort Hotel in Lake Buena Vista, Guests can actually see these fireworks inside their hotel room!

Guests currently visiting Walt Disney World can catch the magic of Disney Enchantment, the new fireworks show at Magic Kingdom celebrating the Central Florida Resort’s 50th anniversary.

The comparisons to classic fireworks spectaculars like Happily Ever After and Wishes: A Magical Gathering of Disney Dreams have plagued Disney Enchantment. The show features projection mapping across Cinderella Castle and Main Street, U.S.A., lasers, and searchlights, in addition to traditional pyrotechnics, but reviews have been lukewarm. Happily Ever After was permanently retired on September 29, 2021, and was succeeded by the new nighttime spectacular Disney Enchantment for Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary on October 1, 2021.

For Guests leaving Magic Kingdom and wanting a little extra fireworks magic in their theme park day, Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside is surprisingly the place to stay. There, fireworks can actually be found in the hotel room, placing families in the middle of Disney stories and bringing them to life.

We were fortunate to stay there recently, and wow, were we pleasantly surprised by the magical theming and attention to detail. Best of all? The fireworks headboard, of course!

Back in 2011, Disney Parks transformed about a quarter of the 2,000 rooms in the Riverside section of Disney’s Port Orleans Moderate Resort into the “Royal Guest Rooms.” All located within the Magnolia Bend district of Port Orleans Riverside, two three-story mansion buildings — Oak Manor and Parterre Place — are comprised of these special rooms. The Royal Rooms are offered in three category options: Standard (parking lot views), Woods View, and River View. There are no King Bed rooms or Preferred Location rooms in the Royal buildings.

Each Royal Room at Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort is fit for royalty! Guests can expect wonderful touches and surprises in the bedroom, including ornate furnishings, Princess cameos, and even a luggage bench in the shape of Sultan, the dog who was turned into a bench in Beauty and the Beast (1991).

As Disney’s animated movie The Princess and the Frog (2009) is set in New Orleans, the Port Orleans Resort is a natural fit for these story-themed rooms. Guests will find special mementos left by Tiana’s royal friends from classic Disney animated films such as Aladdin (1992), Cinderella (1950), The Little Mermaid (1989), Tangled (2010), and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). There are Prince and Princess portraits on the walls, sidekicks in the wallpapers, a Magic Carpet on the floor, and even bathroom faucets in the shape of the genie’s lamp from Aladdin!

But enough of the rest of the magic bedroom – let’s get to those fireworks headboards! Themed based on Tiana’s New Orleans movie, the beautifully painted headboard is a sight to behold. The ornately decorated Queen beds have gold and crystal accents, all completed with the magical fireworks headboard.

At the touch of a button, the headboard above where you sleep glitters with fiber-optic lights, creating your own personal “fireworks” display. The “show” lasts for some time and allows for a sparkling journey to the land of nod. Thanks to the “magic” of fiber optics, you can watch fireworks from your bed!

Remember the dazzling floor over in EPCOT? Well, that’s what these headboards reminded us of. Suppose you have been lucky enough to stay at the Disneyland Hotel over at the Anaheim Disneyland Resort. In that case, these headboards are also very similar, except the California version sings “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” from Cinderella.

With a short walk across the bridge to the French Quarter’s famous beignets, the Oak Manor and Parterre Place Royal Rooms provide a fantastic place to stay on a Disney vacation. Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside and Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter Resort have the beautiful Sassagoula River sweeping through them, and these rooms are only a short stroll away from the dock.

The waterway offers a charming twenty-minute boat ride through many Disney World sites that winds its way through trees, Disney Resorts, and gorgeous views of iconic Walt Disney World sites – all the way to Disney Springs. Forget the Disney buses, Monorail, or Minnie taxis – the Sassagoula River and its glorious New Orleans ambiance are a Disney World marvel. The Sassagoula River Cruise is a free service that ferries Guests from their Resorts all the way down the river to Disney Springs. Guests can board the boats at the following Disney hotel docks:

• Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort
• Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter Resort
• Disney’s Saratoga Springs DVC Resort & Spa
• Disney’s Treehouse Villas
• Disney’s Old Key West Disney Vacation Club Resort

And that’s not all. Princess Tiana also leaves a lovely welcome note for every Disney World Guest at Port Orleans Riverside’s Royal Rooms, which reads:

Welcome All, We are so excited to have you stay with us. My friends and I have shared so many wonderful moments here that this has become a very special place in our hearts. As you make yourself at home, you’ll discover some treasured mementos my friends have given me over the years. Enjoy making magical memories with your friends and family in my Royal Guest Room. Your Friend, Princess Tiana

There are 512 Royal-themed rooms in total at Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside, all providing special Disney Princess touches and storybook accents. Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside is split into four sections, including the Riverside Levee Marina, where you will find the Lobby, gift shop, restaurants inside of Riverside Mill, and boat landing; Ol’ Man Island, featuring the pool, fishing hole, playground, and pool bar; Alligator Bayou, with its cottage Guest rooms; and Magnolia Bend, where these Royal Guest Rooms sit in stately mansions.

Of course, you can watch Disney Enchantment from your DVC Theme Park View room at the Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, but nothing beats a headboard that illuminates above your head.

After our stay in this gorgeous Royal Room at Magnolia Bend, Port Orleans Riverside has become a real favorite hotel for us at the Walt Disney World Resort. It’s truly a Moderate Disney Resort with Deluxe Resort features and has enough charm, activities, and unique qualities to make any Guest feel like they’re on a trip down the bayou to New Orleans with Tiana and Naveen!