Port Orleans French Quarter Q&A Thread, New for 2012 (thread now FULL and CLOSED)

[LucyBC80]

Does FQ have a hot tub and if it does where is it located?

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[scdak]

Yes POFQ has a hot tub, just across the "street" from the food court and before you get to the pool area.

 

[LucyBC80]

Yes POFQ has a hot tub, just across the "street" from the food court and before you get to the pool area.

Thanks! I'll have to take my bathing suit then!

Posted from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[DMGeurts]

Love the room layout maps Andre! Great job!

Question:

For those of you that have stayed at both POR and POFQ...

Here's the dillema... We LOVE FQ... We stayed there for the first time last March - and fell head over heels in love with it. My dds (14 & 13) have no desire to stay elsewhere, ever. So much so, that they would give up the opportunity to even go to Disney if we aren't staying at FQ... Sigh.

We qualify for the military discount, but it isn't available for our dates.

Upon telling my girls this, I asked if there is anywhere else they would consider staying... And they said "maybe" POR in a mansion room - preferably a Royal Room.... but hopefully not for the whole trip.

Sad, I know, that their FQ love runs so deep - but I would have to agree with them, that they thought of staying elsewhere leaves me feeling a bit deflated too.

So, if anyone has ever stayed at both... Is staying in the Mansions really that much different than FQ??? And are the mansions really that far of a walk from the food court???

It's to the point that I would almost prefer to (gulp!) pay rack rates to stay at FQ...

Thanks to anyone who is willing to help me out here... Oh and a split stay is not out of the question either - so maybe we could get a bit of FQ love...

D~

 

[dlrhine]

Love the room layout maps Andre! Great job!

Question:

For those of you that have stayed at both POR and POFQ...

Here's the dillema... We LOVE FQ... We stayed there for the first time last March - and fell head over heels in love with it. My dds (14 & 13) have no desire to stay elsewhere, ever. So much so, that they would give up the opportunity to even go to Disney if we aren't staying at FQ... Sigh.

We qualify for the military discount, but it isn't available for our dates.

Upon telling my girls this, I asked if there is anywhere else they would consider staying... And they said "maybe" POR in a mansion room - preferably a Royal Room.... but hopefully not for the whole trip.

Sad, I know, that their FQ love runs so deep - but I would have to agree with them, that they thought of staying elsewhere leaves me feeling a bit deflated too.

So, if anyone has ever stayed at both... Is staying in the Mansions really that much different than FQ??? And are the mansions really that far of a walk from the food court???

It's to the point that I would almost prefer to (gulp!) pay rack rates to stay at FQ...

Thanks to anyone who is willing to help me out here... Oh and a split stay is not out of the question either - so maybe we could get a bit of FQ love...

D~

We are in the same boat as a family and didn't take the bigger spring discount just because we all wanted POFQ. It wasn't worth 300 over the corse of a week. The savings between POR and POFQ was 355 or 44 a day.

 

[summerlady]

Love the room layout maps Andre! Great job!

Question:

For those of you that have stayed at both POR and POFQ...

Here's the dillema... We LOVE FQ... We stayed there for the first time last March - and fell head over heels in love with it. My dds (14 & 13) have no desire to stay elsewhere, ever. So much so, that they would give up the opportunity to even go to Disney if we aren't staying at FQ... Sigh.

We qualify for the military discount, but it isn't available for our dates.

Upon telling my girls this, I asked if there is anywhere else they would consider staying... And they said "maybe" POR in a mansion room - preferably a Royal Room.... but hopefully not for the whole trip.

Sad, I know, that their FQ love runs so deep - but I would have to agree with them, that they thought of staying elsewhere leaves me feeling a bit deflated too.

So, if anyone has ever stayed at both... Is staying in the Mansions really that much different than FQ??? And are the mansions really that far of a walk from the food court???

It's to the point that I would almost prefer to (gulp!) pay rack rates to stay at FQ...

Thanks to anyone who is willing to help me out here... Oh and a split stay is not out of the question either - so maybe we could get a bit of FQ love...

D~

We stayed at POR last October in a Royal Room. While it's a beautiful resort, no complaints other than a longer walk to the main buildings, we won't be going back. Our refillable mugs didn't get much use on this trip, the walk to the food court was pretty far just to get a drink. The three of us kept saying that we wished we were at POFQ. The RGR was beautiful, though, and we really enjoyed the quiet pool. But POFQ feels like "home".

 

[DMGeurts]

We are in the same boat as a family and didn't take the bigger spring discount just because we all wanted POFQ. It wasn't worth 300 over the corse of a week. The savings between POR and POFQ was 355 or 44 a day.

That's kind of where I am at too... However, with our plan to stay 11 nights... The difference in price is about $1700 (between rack rate and POR with the military discount)... That's almost another trip... Sigh.

We stayed at POR last October in a Royal Room. While it's a beautiful resort, no complaints other than a longer walk to the main buildings, we won't be going back. Our refillable mugs didn't get much use on this trip, the walk to the food court was pretty far just to get a drink. The three of us kept saying that we wished we were at POFQ. The RGR was beautiful, though, and we really enjoyed the quiet pool. But POFQ feels like "home".

OK - you are not helping me at all! LOL I was hoping to find someone that didn't agree with me. However, I know that if we stayed at POR - we would have the same issues you did.

Gosh... I wonder if there is any way we will ever be able to take a trip again??? Disney should really rethink their "no discounts for FQ" stance...

D~

 

[pwdebbie]

I am adventurous and would love to try other resorts. Dh is not. He likes routine, so we have never stayed anywhere else. Heck, I'm just glad to get him there in the first place, so if it means I will only ever see POFQ, even when I have the chance with a big discount, I'll pass because I want dh to be comfortable where he is. So I guess my answer doesn't help you either!

 

[AppleSister1]

I just have to say.....we are a deluxe family, but we tried POFQ this year for Christmas. And WE LOVED IT!!! LOVED! Intimate, beautiful, quiet, friendly, great transportation. We went over to Riverside and while the food options and lounge seem more inviting, we still preferred POFQ as it was so much more serene. Beautifully themed and yet calm....we even did the bounce back for April and chose to stay there again!!! Thanks for all those on this thread who encouraged us to try it out.

 

[andrewilley]

Wow, Andre! I am impressed! You did a lot of work to accomplish this. Maybe other resort threads will follow your lead. I've tried to find exactly this kind of information for friends and always came up empty. Thank you!

I said I'd try to add some more detail, and this morning I did... So now, if you check www.portorleans.org/room-requests.php you'll find that all of the clickable Port Orleans building floor plans have been magically upgraded with pixie dust and now include all of the room category information too (plus details of the Accessible room locations while I was at it). You can also download the whole lot in PDF format for French Quarter. For example:

I would like to pass on my grateful personal thanks to the manager at the resort who provided me with a spreadsheet detailing all of the category information (all 3,056 lines of it!!) and then gave me permission to use that list to cross-reference that information into my new floor plans.

This whole project has been a lot of work (and I mean a LOT of work!) but I'm really happy with the end results and I hope people will find the information useful.

Please could I ask that people do not bombard the resort with requests for specific room numbers though. This info is better used as a general guide rather than as a "checklist for the perfect vacation". It's still preferable to let them know WHAT you want from your room and WHY, rather than requesting one specific room number (which might not even be available during your stay).

Andre

 

[DMGeurts]

This is just awesome Andre... What an amazing amount of work you put into this (and your entire website)... Thanks so much!

Is there a way you can put your bolded statement on the actual webpage, so that it does't get lost in this thread? I haven't gone looking to see if you've done that already - you probably have.

D~

 

[summerlady]

OK - you are not helping me at all! LOL I was hoping to find someone that didn't agree with me. However, I know that if we stayed at POR - we would have the same issues you did.

Gosh... I wonder if there is any way we will ever be able to take a trip again??? Disney should really rethink their "no discounts for FQ" stance...

D~

I was lucky enough to get a PIN code, actually two of them, in the mail yesterday. But that just really complicates things even more. DH and I talked about changing our plans from November to April or late September (I know, kinda weird) but only if POFQ is included in the discount. It's a postcard with two separate PINs, one for FD up to 3/7/12 and the other is for a 35% room discount, various nights 1/2/13-9/28/13. I've been on hold forever, twice today with Disney reservations trying to get an answer about POFQ but gave up, I don't have any more time to hang around on the phone tonight, I'll try again tomorrow. Ok, I'm rambling way too much now. But anyway! Like I said, if POFQ is included in the room discount, we'll change our plans from November. But if POFQ isn't included, we'll just keep what we've got and hope for another discount later on.

 

[scholastica]

Getting really excited. Only 21 days left to go! This will be our first trip with my two kids. We are staying at Port Orleans French Quarter January 24th-29th.

What does everyone think the weather will be like? I hope in the lower to mid 70s during the day!

We'll be there around the same time, our first time staying there. I'm hoping for mid 70's too! We're coming from Michigan so really anything over 35 is good for me!

 

[Sue M]

Love the room layout maps Andre! Great job!

Question:

For those of you that have stayed at both POR and POFQ...

Here's the dillema... We LOVE FQ... We stayed there for the first time last March - and fell head over heels in love with it. My dds (14 & 13) have no desire to stay elsewhere, ever. So much so, that they would give up the opportunity to even go to Disney if we aren't staying at FQ... Sigh.

We qualify for the military discount, but it isn't available for our dates.

Upon telling my girls this, I asked if there is anywhere else they would consider staying... And they said "maybe" POR in a mansion room - preferably a Royal Room.... but hopefully not for the whole trip.

Sad, I know, that their FQ love runs so deep - but I would have to agree with them, that they thought of staying elsewhere leaves me feeling a bit deflated too.

So, if anyone has ever stayed at both... Is staying in the Mansions really that much different than FQ??? And are the mansions really that far of a walk from the food court???

It's to the point that I would almost prefer to (gulp!) pay rack rates to stay at FQ...

Thanks to anyone who is willing to help me out here... Oh and a split stay is not out of the question either - so maybe we could get a bit of FQ love...

D~

We love POR, have had 3 stays there. Our first stay was in Magnolia Terrace on the side closest to quiet pool, but toward the back. Great location, close to old man island bridge. So close to quiet pool, main pool, food court and bus stop.

Our second stay we were in the far end of Parterre place. Not my fav location, but not really far to the bridge over to lobby.

Last stay was in Acadian House, just after they finished the refurb. Rooms are sooo nice. Again, next to the quiet pool in between Magnolia Terrace and Acadian. And we were close to Old Man Island bridge here too.

Both Magnolia Terrace and Acadian House are great locations, and a quick walk to all amenities.
Oak Manor and Parterre pl are now Royal Rooms. Out of those I'd pick Oak Manor.

I am looking forward to our first stay soon, At FQ.

 

[Disneylover99]

Thanks for room maps Andre!
It's really helpful to see where the standard/garden and water views are actually located.
POFQ is our favourite resort!

 

[Sue M]

I said I'd try to add some more detail, and this morning I did... So now, if you check www.portorleans.org/room-requests.php you'll find that all of the clickable Port Orleans building floor plans have been magically upgraded with pixie dust and now include all of the room category information too (plus details of the Accessible room locations while I was at it). You can also download the whole lot in PDF format for French Quarter. For example:

I would like to pass on my grateful personal thanks to the manager at the resort who provided me with a spreadsheet detailing all of the category information (all 3,056 lines of it!!) and then gave me permission to use that list to cross-reference that information into my new floor plans.

This whole project has been a lot of work (and I mean a LOT of work!) but I'm really happy with the end results and I hope people will find the information useful.

Please could I ask that people do not bombard the resort with requests for specific room numbers though. This info is better used as a general guide rather than as a "checklist for the perfect vacation". It's still preferable to let them know WHAT you want from your room and WHY, rather than requesting one specific room number (which might not even be available during your stay).

Andre

Thanks again Andre!! So in my heart I'm going to hope for room 5x41 . But I won't request room # . I just put down outside corner bldg 4 or 5.

 

[DMGeurts]

Thanks everyone...

I am adventurous and would love to try other resorts. Dh is not. He likes routine, so we have never stayed anywhere else. Heck, I'm just glad to get him there in the first place, so if it means I will only ever see POFQ, even when I have the chance with a big discount, I'll pass because I want dh to be comfortable where he is. So I guess my answer doesn't help you either!

I wish I could get DH back. Sigh... He flat out refuses to go back to Disney. I guess I don't mind staying at other resorts... I just loved the really short walk we had from/to the busses and the food court. It was just so easy.

I was lucky enough to get a PIN code, actually two of them, in the mail yesterday. But that just really complicates things even more. DH and I talked about changing our plans from November to April or late September (I know, kinda weird) but only if POFQ is included in the discount. It's a postcard with two separate PINs, one for FD up to 3/7/12 and the other is for a 35% room discount, various nights 1/2/13-9/28/13. I've been on hold forever, twice today with Disney reservations trying to get an answer about POFQ but gave up, I don't have any more time to hang around on the phone tonight, I'll try again tomorrow. Ok, I'm rambling way too much now. But anyway! Like I said, if POFQ is included in the room discount, we'll change our plans from November. But if POFQ isn't included, we'll just keep what we've got and hope for another discount later on.

Lucky duck! I used to get Pin codes all the time... Then in the beginning of 2010 I stopped getting them completely and haven't received one since. I sure hope your Pin works at FQ for you.

We love POR, have had 3 stays there. Our first stay was in Magnolia Terrace on the side closest to quiet pool, but toward the back. Great location, close to old man island bridge. So close to quiet pool, main pool, food court and bus stop.

Our second stay we were in the far end of Parterre place. Not my fav location, but not really far to the bridge over to lobby.

Last stay was in Acadian House, just after they finished the refurb. Rooms are sooo nice. Again, next to the quiet pool in between Magnolia Terrace and Acadian. And we were close to Old Man Island bridge here too.

Both Magnolia Terrace and Acadian House are great locations, and a quick walk to all amenities.
Oak Manor and Parterre pl are now Royal Rooms. Out of those I'd pick Oak Manor.

I am looking forward to our first stay soon, At FQ.

Thank you Sue! This is exactly what I was looking for. It really looks like any of the mansion buildings would be OK? When I am looking at the map, the closest bus depot to either of the Royal room buildings looks quite far... You either have to go to the bus depot at the main building or to the East depot... Do you have any opinions on this and how far of a walk that seems to be? Thanks so much for your time.

To be honest... My girls really want a Royal room... But I also like the refurbed mansion rooms a lot, they are quite beautiful.

On a side note... I think you will love FQ.

D~

 

[pwdebbie]

Look at the building details, I'm really surprised there are so few king bed rooms. We always book king and didn't realize that they were so limited.

 

[andrewilley]

Look at the building details, I'm really surprised there are so few king bed rooms. We always book king and didn't realize that they were so limited.

There are 59 King Bed rooms at POFQ. I think the number went down slightly when they switched most of the Accessible rooms to contain two queen beds, which removed a few of the King rooms. The current stats are on www.portorleans.org/frenchquarter-info.php.

Also, at POFQ anyway, all of the remaining King Bed rooms are now also on corners, which is another plus. (This mostly applies in Alligator Bayou too, but not so much with the POR mansion buildings).

Andre

 

[pwdebbie]

Also, at POFQ anyway, all of the remaining King Bed rooms are now also on corners, which is another plus. (This mostly applies in Alligator Bayou too, but not so much with the POR mansion buildings).

Andre

I noticed that. We've been in a corner room each time, which is good because dh doesn't like feeling closed in.