Hi Joanne!
Welcome to the Disney Parks Moms Panel.
I am always happy to help my fellow guests from the UK! You are correct - when staying at
Disney's Port Orleans Riverside, you will always find towels poolside, and also bins into which you can put all your wet towels when you have finished with them and are ready to head back to your room. You can, of course, take any towels back to your room - I leave them in the bath or shower the next morning for housekeeping to take away. When visiting the water parks, towels are also provided for all Guests who are staying at a Disney Resort hotel. You can collect them from
Singapore Sal's (at
Disney's Typhoon Lagoon) or
Beach Haus (at
Disney's Blizzard Beach) and you will need to scan your MagicBand. The good news is that MagicBands are waterproof so you can continue wearing them while you are swimming, and visiting a water park. I love this, as it means I don't have to carry extra cash with me for any food/drink or other purchases as I can simply charge everything back to my room account, using my MagicBand. Lockers are available for rent (from these same locations) so you can store all your valuables safely while you are enjoying all the attractions.
It's worth noting that if you arrive at either water park around 20 minutes before park opening, you will have enough time to collect your towels, rent a locker, get changed into your swimwear and be ready for rope drop. This gives you the best chance of getting a good place in line at the most popular attractions, or to secure beach chairs in a preferred place. There is no charge for beach chairs, you can just put your beach bag/towels on as many as you need, and it is literally first come/first served. Here is an interactive park map of
Disney's Typhoon Lagoon and
Disney's Blizzard Beach, so you can see where everything is located.
There will be a regular Disney bus service from your Disney Resort hotel to both water parks, beginning 45 minutes prior to park opening, and a return service up until 75 minutes after park closing. You can see the opening hours for the dates of your visit on this
calendar. If you are driving, parking is free to all Guests at the Disney water parks.
Please come back and visit us if you have any further questions. We will be happy to help you plan your magical holiday to Walt Disney World Resort.
Sue