The Old Man & The Island

The feature pool area at Disney's Port Orleans Riverside Resort is known as Ol' Man Island, and like so many other things, it tells a story.

The island was settled in 1835 by a young man who found solitude here, making his home in the bayou country. As the nearby town of Riverside was settled and grew, children from the town would steal away to spend the afternoon splashing in the then-old man's swimmin' hole. The man's gone now, but the island and some of the things he left behind are still being enjoyed by Riverside's residents to this day.

A little bit of everything is scattered about, even the kitchen sink. Follow the path down from the swimmin' hole, and you'll even discover the remains of the old man's cabin. Today, it's a bait shop, where modern islanders can get whatever they need to do a little fishing in the Sassagoula and spend a peaceful afternoon by the river, just like the old man used to do.