Port Orleans French Quarter

[DisneyDrama]

Just booked a Thanksgiving stay at POFQ. We typically stay at Pop Century (usually during Christmas) but are trying out POFQ this time. What can we expect? What should we make certain to enjoy at the resort? What should we beware of?

Thanks!

 

[HRHPrincessAriel]

I love it! Favorite resort. It's smaller and I've always had great luck with transportation.

 

[Sassagoula-Rvr]

I love the resort...by far my favorite (besides Poly or Contemporary, which I haven't had the chance to stay at yet)...

It's small...and has it's own transport to downtown disney...and the bus service is awesome. We have never had to wait very long at all. Plus I love the theme.

We just had our first Thanksgiving week Disney trip there...incredible...warning though...some days the boats don't run...not sure if that was due to temp or wind or what...check that before you have to leave for your ADR.

Disney is truly a great place to be that week though...Turkey day got a little crazy...but we went back to the pool/bar after lunch at Liberty Tree.

 

[EricJ]

Especially since they sometimes share buses with PO Riverside, which means that on the route loop, you're often the first one on the bus and the first one off.
There's not much to "do" at the resort compared to Riverside, but it's laid back, cozy and more refined. There's a Mod-sized waterside at the pool, and the boat service back from DD in the evenings, but it's more about the elegant architecture. (The rooms inside are basically similar to the Magnolia Bend rooms at PO Riverside, with a little more Louisiana touch.)

 

[Sassagoula-Rvr]

Especially since they sometimes share buses with PO Riverside, which means that on the route loop, you're often the first one on the bus and the first one off.
There's not much to "do" at the resort compared to Riverside, but it's laid back, cozy and more refined. There's a Mod-sized waterside at the pool, and the boat service back from DD in the evenings, but it's more about the elegant architecture. (The rooms inside are basically similar to the Magnolia Bend rooms at PO Riverside, with a little more Louisiana touch.)

Yep, I think that's the secret to the transportation success I have always had there...We stayed at POR once...and it seemed like every bus was full by the time it got to our station...if a bus fills up decently at POFQ...it bypasses POR and goes straight to park.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I stayed at POFQ in December and loved it, I will definitely stay there again. The landscaping and New Orleans architecture is beautiful. I loved walking around the resort, especially walking along the river. In the morning and the evening I never experienced a shared bus with POR but in the afternoon when it was slower most of the buses were shared with POR, it only has one bus stop area which makes it very convenient and fast.

It's small enough that I'd run to the main building several times a day for breakfast, soda refills, to grab something at the store, etc. I've heard of 15 minutes walks at other resorts but POFQ is so small it only took a minute or 2 to get anywhere. It only has a quick service restaurant but it's pretty decent, it's also one of only a few places where you can get a Bagnette (sp?).

 

[Gabe1]

We are just coming off our trip to the FQ. We flop frequently between FQ and POR and favor POR. The FQ resort is lovely and they are about half way through with painting the resort buildings and re-roofing. Sidewalks are up next. They just finished the pool which looks very fresh and clean. It is easy to get to the bus and are rarely crowded, the ferry to DTD is a lovely trip and much faster than the bus. You can also ferry over to POR in about 5 minutes after 11 am.
The pool is oversized for the amount of rooms that are there and the hot tub area is kinda secluded and I like that.

Downside: I'm not impressed at all with their food court. It is tiny in sq. ft for guests at busy times. Their selection is only a dent in what POR offers. POR has far more staff in the food court to cook, prepare and registers. At busy morning times there were only two registers open. The food court to me is the ugly stepsister to POR venue. Bonus you can hop on the Down Town Disney Bus that stops at POR (their internal shuttle for the sister resorts) and eat your resort meals there. The lounge is much nicer at POR and Bob is appropriate for adults and kids. Helpful and funny.The gift shop at Riverside is dramatically larger as is the arcade at POR and POR has quiet pools where FQ has none. The lobby area of POR is larger and grander, great window seats and porches on both the main building and the pool bar. You can pool hop between the two resorts and the ferry is a great way to do it. Prompt and fast between resorts. When there is a line to go to DTD they will allow you to skip the line if you are exiting at the FQ on your return trip to FQ leaving POR.

We have been staying at both FQ and POR since they opened in 1991 and 1992. I love the resorts and we have stayed at all the moderates.

 

[Tinkerbella16]

I love Port Orleans- both Riverside and FQ. POR has the edge though with more things to do there and the better foodcourt. I love POFQ for its small size... no matter where your room is, you are only a short walk from everything. We love the boats to DTD- it is so relaxing and great to get away from the buses.

The only thing about POFQ, is because it's so small, when discounts come out, POFQ gets the short end of the stick because they have no problem what so ever filling up the rooms there. The foodcourt is definitely lacking compared to Riverside. But other than that I still love the resort.

 

[bebert]

This is our favorite resort, we have stayed there at least once a year since 2004. It is especially nice since they refurbed the rooms, I have never seen tile grout that clean in WDW!
Just a few tips for Thanksgiving week. GIve yourself a few extra minutes if you are taking the bus transportation, they will all be packed. Also, if you can get to the parks early (8-9am) you will have no problems getting things done. My daughter and I made our way to MK on turkey day about 8:30 and the park was really sparce until about 11:30. We managed to do POTC, SM, HM and Big Thunder with our longest wait in line being about 15 minutes. Thanksgiving week is crowded but, if you can get up early you will have no problems getting on rides.

 

[Gabe1]

I love Port Orleans- both Riverside and FQ. POR has the edge though with more things to do there and the better foodcourt. I love POFQ for its small size... no matter where your room is, you are only a short walk from everything. We love the boats to DTD- it is so relaxing and great to get away from the buses.

The only thing about POFQ, is because it's so small, when discounts come out, POFQ gets the short end of the stick because they have no problem what so ever filling up the rooms there. The foodcourt is definitely lacking compared to Riverside. But other than that I still love the resort.

And that is the odd thing of how I wound up at POFQ this time. We were planning on POR. We were traveling on a CM discount and the only resorts we could get the CM discount was at the Coronado or the FQ in the moderate category. 10% more off if we opted for Coronado. Go figure. FQ was incredibly empty the first half of April.

 

[DisneyDrama]

Thanks so much for all the replies so far. Great information. How far is Riverside from FQ? Is it within walking distance? What is the longest it has taken to get to a park using the resort transportation? Thanks again!

 

[Tinkerbella16]

Thanks so much for all the replies so far. Great information. How far is Riverside from FQ? Is it within walking distance? What is the longest it has taken to get to a park using the resort transportation? Thanks again!

They are right next to eachother and within walking distance. There is a walking route, although I have never walked to either, but I heard that its a 10 minute walk.

The buses are a hit or miss here, you will hear good things and bad things. I must have had great luck all 4 times staying at either POFQ and POR because the buses were wonderful! They sometimes share, and when they do FQ will be picked up first and dropped off first (usually).. the rides to the parks were suprisingly shorter than expected with the exception of Animal Kingdom. MK felt like the shortest.

 

[mammaminnie]

We absolutely love FQ!!!! The size of the resort is smaller which is great. The pool is wonderful and has never been crowded for us. Their food court is ok, but we rarely eat statue resort food courts. I also like being able to walk along the river or take a boat ride.

 

[JasonDeyoung]

I walked from POR food court to my room my last stay, building 2 at POFQ and it only took me 8 mins. It's not bad at all. Building 7 is right next to the bridge which is basically the border of the two resorts, the lobby is just a few steps away. I stay at FQ prob a good 5-6 times a year lol needless to say, I love the resort. Never had a issue with it and always lives up to my expectations. I do have to agree about the food court though, selections sre small but I don't usually eat there unless it's a quick lunch maybe but I usually take the boat to dtd for for options. I always book pool view and request building 2. Busses are a breeze minus around parki opening they can get crowded but not to bad at all.

 

[EricJ]

It's a good 10-minute stroll (esp. in the morning) upstream along the river, where there's a bike/running path.
POR is "close" to POFQ in the sense that Contemporary Gardens is "close" to MK, but there are very few places in WDW where you can walk from one thing to another.

 

[CtDisneyGuy33]

Great thread so far. I'm contemplating a POFQ or POR stay in October. So far I've been leaning towards FQ based on it being quiet, smaller and you can take boats around. Sounds like negatives have been the food court for sure.

Important question for my crowd will be: Does FQ have a bar? Does Riverside? And it sounds like FQ has fewer kids potentially, is that everyone's experience? (You can tell what we are looking for = quiet, relaxing drinks after the parks)

 

[MrsG]

Well bit of sore point with us that question. Riverside has a bar and you will be able to get a seat Sunday to Tuesday , no problem. But from Wednesday to Saturday Bob is on and the bar gets packed with mainly the free mug brigade, and those wanting to buy drinks have nowhere to sit. He does have a break about 10:15pm when some people do go and some seats are available if you are quick. We started going to the French Quarter when Bob was on. The bar there is smaller but there was always plenty of seats. They use to have a jazz artist on but I think they finished him and now have no entertainment at French Quarter, but I may be wrong on that score

 

[CtDisneyGuy33]

Well bit of sore point with us that question. Riverside has a bar and you will be able to get a seat Sunday to Tuesday , no problem. But from Wednesday to Saturday Bob is on and the bar gets packed with mainly the free mug brigade, and those wanting to buy drinks have nowhere to sit. He does have a break about 10:15pm when some people do go and some seats are available if you are quick. We started going to the French Quarter when Bob was on. The bar there is smaller but there was always plenty of seats. They use to have a jazz artist on but I think they finished him and now have no entertainment at French Quarter, but I may be wrong on that score

Bob must be a show? I'll have to research it. I think we are leaning at FQ based on quiet and relaxing. This is the first sit back and enjoy everything trip - as opposed to running 100mph and going from 830-12 everyday...

 

[MrsG]

Its a lovely little resort and I am sure you will have a magical time. If you want to see Bob. I would go about 07:00 pm. He comes on about 08:00 and if you have never seen him you may enjoy it. His show though never changes and we have been going to POR for the last 10 years staying up to 17 nights each time. As we live in the UK , this is our main vacation and in all that time is show as never changed. It got that bad that we knew which song was next. He is a very talented man and people come from other resorts just to see him. Type Bob Jackson Port Orleans Riverside on youtube.com to see him.

 

[Tuvalu]

While Elliott Dyson no longer performs his jazz at FQ, there was another entertainer in the bar at the beginning of this month. We did not catch his performance though.

And FYI, there were plenty of kids at FQ during out stay.