POR or POFQ...the classic question

[officialtom]

So we're planning our 6th trip home in March/April 2015 (or February if it's substantially cheaper), and our favourite resort is definitely POR. We've also stayed at CB and CS, but didn't like either of them nearly as much.

That said, we've heard very good things about POFQ. The only negative thing we've heard is that they don't have a table service restaurant since theirs closed a while back, but we're not too concerned about that. We love Boatwright's at POR, and if we decide to eat there again, we can just walk down.

Questions, for any of you who have stayed at POFQ (or both, preferably!):
1. What's the QS like?
2. How does the overall "feeling" compare to POR? We love how laid back POR feels, with the southern charm, lazy river, long and quiet winding paths... We stayed in Magnolia Bend last year and loved how quiet and "apart" it felt from the busier parts of the resort.
3. What about the service? I know POFQ is a lot smaller, so is it staffed appropriately?
4. Are the rooms similar? Recently renovated?

Not sure what else to ask at this point, but please do weigh in with anything and everything you can think of!

 

[englanddg]

1) The QS food is excellent at both (though, I like POFQ's offerings a bit more). The food court at POFQ can get crowded and hectic quickly, though, due to it's small size.

2) The feeling is similar to POR. It's very quiet and feels isolated.

3) Yes. Service was fine.

4) Not recently renovated (that I am aware of), and I had a few issues with my room when I stayed last year. My room was comfortable and clean, but it did feel a tad beat up and worn down (like my room at Pop was).

Full breakdown of my experience at POFQ is in my trip report for 2013 with pictures. Link is in my signature.

 

[JohnD]

I'll be both as of next week (staying at POR).

 

[officialtom]

I'll be both as of next week (staying at POR).

Let me know what you think!

 

[JohnD]

Let me know what you think!

Will do! Reverse question: Anything I should know about POR? I looked at both areas of it and decided Alligator Bayou is more my style. I assume Buildings 14, 15, or 18, would be the best choices to be close to transportation and the central building and foot court?

 

[officialtom]

Will do! Reverse question: Anything I should know about POR? I looked at both areas of it and decided Alligator Bayou is more my style. I assume Buildings 14, 15, or 18, would be the best choices to be close to transportation and the central building and foot court?

Yes, they're for sure the best if you want to be closest to the bus and food court, but they're also always the most requested. 16, 17, 28, and 26 are all well-situated too. We've stayed in the Bayou twice and it's a great spot. I'd call it a bit more family-friendly than Magnolia Bend. Honestly, as massive as the resort looks on a map, everything is within reasonable walking distance of a bus stop and even the farthest buildings from the food court really aren't very far at all, as long as you're not in a big rush all the time. Take your time and enjoy the walk. Relaxing is the closest word to describe POR, but still doesn't quite do it justice.

 

[Tinkerbella16]

So we're planning our 6th trip home in March/April 2015 (or February if it's substantially cheaper), and our favourite resort is definitely POR. We've also stayed at CB and CS, but didn't like either of them nearly as much.

That said, we've heard very good things about POFQ. The only negative thing we've heard is that they don't have a table service restaurant since theirs closed a while back, but we're not too concerned about that. We love Boatwright's at POR, and if we decide to eat there again, we can just walk down.

Questions, for any of you who have stayed at POFQ (or both, preferably!):
1. What's the QS like?
2. How does the overall "feeling" compare to POR? We love how laid back POR feels, with the southern charm, lazy river, long and quiet winding paths... We stayed in Magnolia Bend last year and loved how quiet and "apart" it felt from the busier parts of the resort.
3. What about the service? I know POFQ is a lot smaller, so is it staffed appropriately?
4. Are the rooms similar? Recently renovated?

Not sure what else to ask at this point, but please do weigh in with anything and everything you can think of!

I am a lover of both Port Orleans! Just got back from POFQ. Last year was Riverside and the 2 years before that it was POFQ. I like switching them up trip by trip. I just love both for their own reasons.

I will say Riverside has the better food court IMO. They have more options and the create your own pasta station is just awesome and is something I wish FQ would add to theirs.

FQ gives me the same feeling that Riverside gives me when I'm there. It is that feeling of peacefulness and relaxation. I feel at home! It is quiet. When we checked in on the 12th, we were told that the resort was booked at 100% capacity... you would have never known it all week! It was so quiet. The theme at FQ is more of the mardi gras theme and busier in decor. I love the pastel colors everywhere. Riverside is more rustic. The grounds at FQ are much much smaller. The furthest room is only a 5-7 minute walk to the main building and bus stop so that is one great thing about this resort.

All amenities are at POR and I like the convenience of that. The staff is so friendly and mousekeeping was wonderful last week. The rooms were renovated in 2010 or 2011 I think. Could be off with that but when I stayed in 2012 they were done. They have queen beds. They are only one theme to the rooms unlike Riverside where you have Alligator bayou and the Mansions. I stayed in Oak Manor bldg 90 last year and loved it!

You can't go wrong at either. My sisters first time at FQ was this trip and she said she didn't really get that feeling that she got at Riverside last year. So everyone is different. I am booking Riverside royal room for next November. I like switching it up each trip!

 

[MissingDisney]

See portorleans.org. Anything and everything you need to know about both, including photos. POFQ has been updated/refurbed recently....that's in there too. Happy reading. BTW, POFQ is our " home".

 

[DizneyPryncess]

Having stayed at both FQ & Riverside, my family preferred the smaller size & quietness of the FQ. Service & rooms were both the same for us, no real problems (We had a Royal Room at riverside, standard room at FQ). I think the "feel" of the charm is similar as well. I like the food court at FQ better, mainly because we had beignets there that we got for dessert in the evenings. And because the walk from our room to the food court was less than a minute so we could pop in quickly to fill our mugs or grab or snack. I would stay at both at again, and have booked for FQ for next year. You can't go wrong either way, it's really just a matter of preference.

 

[officialtom]

I am a lover of both Port Orleans! Just got back from POFQ. Last year was Riverside and the 2 years before that it was POFQ. I like switching them up trip by trip. I just love both for their own reasons.

I will say Riverside has the better food court IMO. They have more options and the create your own pasta station is just awesome and is something I wish FQ would add to theirs.

FQ gives me the same feeling that Riverside gives me when I'm there. It is that feeling of peacefulness and relaxation. I feel at home! It is quiet. When we checked in on the 12th, we were told that the resort was booked at 100% capacity... you would have never known it all week! It was so quiet. The theme at FQ is more of the mardi gras theme and busier in decor. I love the pastel colors everywhere. Riverside is more rustic. The grounds at FQ are much much smaller. The furthest room is only a 5-7 minute walk to the main building and bus stop so that is one great thing about this resort.

All amenities are at POR and I like the convenience of that. The staff is so friendly and mousekeeping was wonderful last week. The rooms were renovated in 2010 or 2011 I think. Could be off with that but when I stayed in 2012 they were done. They have queen beds. They are only one theme to the rooms unlike Riverside where you have Alligator bayou and the Mansions. I stayed in Oak Manor bldg 90 last year and loved it!

You can't go wrong at either. My sisters first time at FQ was this trip and she said she didn't really get that feeling that she got at Riverside last year. So everyone is different. I am booking Riverside royal room for next November. I like switching it up each trip!

Awesome, thanks for the detail!! We'll likely go with whichever is a better deal. It seems that one week, POFQ will be a bit cheaper, and POR the next. I'm sure we'll be happy either way from the sounds of it.

 

[officialtom]

Having stayed at both FQ & Riverside, my family preferred the smaller size & quietness of the FQ. Service & rooms were both the same for us, no real problems (We had a Royal Room at riverside, standard room at FQ). I think the "feel" of the charm is similar as well. I like the food court at FQ better, mainly because we had beignets there that we got for dessert in the evenings. And because the walk from our room to the food court was less than a minute so we could pop in quickly to fill our mugs or grab or snack. I would stay at both at again, and have booked for FQ for next year. You can't go wrong either way, it's really just a matter of preference.

Thanks!! Honestly, as much as we absolutely love POR, it sounds like POFQ might be even more our taste since it's less busy and apparently a bit quieter. Also intrigued by the different food court selections. Absolutely cannot wait for our trip next spring!!!

 

[MissingDisney]

We prefer FQ because of the smaller size, easier pace, one bus stop, convenience, it just fits us. Our kids actually prefer it over other more active resorts. I think they like to get way from the craziness while at the resort too. We love sitting poolside and being riverside at the same time, watching the boats go by, just relaxing. Yes the food court is considerably smaller however if you want a larger selection or a table service restaurant, Riverside is a short boat ride or walk away. We have passed on room discounts at other resorts to stay at French quarter. That's how much we prefer it. However, I completely understand that as much as we love French Quarter, there are others who feel the exact same way about their resorts of preference. To each their own. Enjoy!

 

[JasonDeyoung]

I stay at FQ probably once about every month and I have not one bad thing to say about it. Could the food court be better, probably but I still like it. Ruverside is a very nice resort as well, food court is pretty big and has a restaurant. It's only about a 5-10 minute walk between resorts so good isn't a issue. My opinion I'll pick FQ everytime but honestly you won't go wrong with either

 

[englanddg]

FQ busses do have the advantage of one stop, but in my experience, that doesn't mean dedicated busses (all the time). Often, for departure busses, they would share the route with POR. But, I couldn't ever quite gauge when that was going to happen. It made it rather hard to guess bus times.

POFQ was a great little resort, but in my experience, had the WORST bus service I've ever had at Disney (Pop/AoA had the best).

 

[Seanual757]

FQ for sure this is our preferred resort. We like the smaller size, one bus stop, and ease of access to Riverside and Disney Springs by boat.

We have stayed at FQ 7-8 times (3 this year) and booked A week at the end of March 2015.

 

[TB4244]

We stayed at PORS but frequented FQ and to be honest we really liked both, I'd happily stay at either. We did actually find that the queues for the buses at the parks were a lot shorter for FQ than RS, so we took advantage of that and to the pleasant walk back to RS. Whichever resort you choose you won't be disappointed, PO is definitely my destination of choice for our next trip.

 

[wishiwere@wdw]

For me, Riverside - mostly due to being able to catch Bob Jackson at the River Roost!

 

[durangojim]

Have stayed at both. Really like POFQ due to it's smaller size and better bus service. Didn't care for Riverside because the buses were really crowded and often couldn't get on one and the large size of the resort.

 

[JohnD]

I definitely liked POR. Because there are only four depots and POR is pretty compact, you get around the depots pretty quickly.