Disney's PORT ORLEANS FRENCH QUARTER RESORT Information & Questions

[bookgirl]

Tomorrow!!!! Tomorrow I'll be basking in that Cajun/ Creole glow!! Cannot wait for some much needed relaxation. See you tomorrow, Gators! See you tomorrow, Favorite Doorman in the world! See you tomorrow Beignets!

HA HA Have fun!!!!!!!!!

 

[summerlady]

Tomorrow!!!! Tomorrow I'll be basking in that Cajun/ Creole glow!! Cannot wait for some much needed relaxation. See you tomorrow, Gators! See you tomorrow, Favorite Doorman in the world! See you tomorrow Beignets!

Have a great time! I still have over six months to go until I'm back at my POFQ

 

[ForeverDisney6793]

7 days to go until I am back home at POFQ. Can't wait!

 

[andrewilley]

It's been a bit quiet in these threads since the DISboards upgrade, so I thought I'd mention a thread that I've got going over on my site and on Facebook about all the things people miss from the past at the Port Orleans resorts, and what opportunities we'd like to see them take advantage of in the future. I thought it might be a nice idea to get other people's opinions here too, and see what creative concepts are out there regarding our favourite resorts.

So, assuming we are never going to be able to get the original Dixie Landings nomenclature back, here are a few more practical ideas that I came up with off the top of my head:

• Reopen Boatwright’s Dining Hall for breakfast. The Riverside Mill food court is a cattle market between 8am and 10am, so that would take some of the load off it and make more profit into the bargain – overall it’d be a win/win! I can't see much point in opening Boatwright's for lunch though.
• Add Rapid Fill refillable drinks mug dispensers to both of the feature pool areas. This would be a great guest benefit (I get asked about it regularly) but I suspect it might be an overall revenue loser for the pool bars. Selling the mugs at the pool bars would definitely go a long way towards offsetting any loss though.
• Repurpose the empty Bonfamille’s Café area at French Quarter. Now that the WDW test kitchen facility which was located there has apparently been moved off-site, I assume that the area will be investigated for bringing back into guest use. Of course I’d love to see it reopened as a restaurant, as all the infrastructure is still there and French Quarter is currently the only moderate without its own table-service location - maybe it could even be themed as "Tiana's Place" from Princess and the Frog? However if that is not considered viable then perhaps a gym/fitness center might be a good use for that space, providing an extra facility for guests from both Port Orleans resorts. Again, I do get quite a few queries about the availability of fitness facilities at Port Orleans.
• Return of watercraft rentals to the Riverside Marina. This would need third party involvement though, as the service was run by an outside company. Sadly I think it would be too much work to bring them back to POFQ too, as much of the dock infrastructure was taken away when the original service was shut down.
• Return of resort-specific merchandise would have been very high up on my list, so I’m really glad to see it’s starting to come back now. Apparel needs to be added though, and perhaps make the logo designs a bit more ‘interesting’ and themed (the current ‘Port Orleans’ wording looks more like someone’s Word Art attempt at a college football team poster).
• A minor thing, but reduce the volume of the pool party music as it can be quite intrusive and clashes with the theming - although at least it mostly occurs during the middle of the day.
• And finally, and perhaps a bit longer term, I’d love to see a walkable pathway from Port Orleans to Downtown Disney and the new Disney Springs area, in the same way that you can walk from the Epcot Resort area to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. In fact, almost all of the one-mile route is already guest-accessible via the paved footpaths beside the Lake Buena Vista Golf Course next to Old Key West, or alternatively using a longer route via the Treehouse Villas / Saratoga Springs to the east side of the river. So all it would take would be for a very short 130 yard footpath to be built between the southern end of French Quarter and the Disney Vacation Club Way road, and a short section of sidewalk added beside the Old Key West main entrance:
  
  

So, what other ideas have you got?

Andre

 

[fla4fun]

How how how? I have been calling every week to see if any discount is available to me. Not even AAA is available. What is the secret?

It's not really a secret - you just have to be very diligent about checking for discounts. Check right away when a discount comes out to see if it includes POFQ. If it does, jump on it right away because the rooms never last long. Also, check sites like Expedia or Orbitz to see if they are matching the sale rates - sometimes they have a promotion that you can stack on top of Disney's sale rate, making your discount even better. If POFQ isn't included in a Disney promotion, it's still a good idea to check the third party sites to see if you can get a deal. The good discounts typically don't just fall in your lap - you have to look for them. I find online to be better than calling, but since the inventory doesn't always match between the two, it's better to try both.

I don't think AAA is offering Disney resort discounts anymore - I believe that was discontinued the first of the year.

 

[MagentaMulan]

I think having a Princess and the Frog theme table service restaurant would be cool. Tiana's Place like Andre mentioned. Also, maybe a character breakfast buffet at Boatwright's?

 

[Kimi313]

We stayed here years ago when DD24 was 5 and we ate at Bonfamille’s Café. We went back over NYE and fell in love with this resort this time but I just assumed they had changed Bonfamille's Cafe into the food court. Where exactly was Bonfamilles's?

 

[andrewilley]

Where exactly was Bonfamilles's?

To the left of the main entrance lobby just as you walk in - i.e. next to Scat Cat's, immediately opposite the registration hall. The room is still there, they used the facilities as a test kitchen for other WDW food projects for years.

Andre

 

[Disneylover99]

I think it would be really great if there was a walking path to Downtown Disney from POFQ. I'm not sure I would ever use it though. I wonder how long the walk would take?

 

[andrewilley]

I think it would be really great if there was a walking path to Downtown Disney from POFQ. I'm not sure I would ever use it though. I wonder how long the walk would take?

Only about 20 minutes. It's actually just under a mile from the southern end of the POFQ parking lot over to the DTD parking lot area to the north of Cirque du Soleil, following the existing paved pathways and footbridges adjacent to the golf course (except for that missing 130 yard section). It surprised me too!



Andre

 

[Disneylover99]

Only about 20 minutes. It's actually just under a mile from the southern end of the POFQ parking lot over to the DTD parking lot area to the north of Cirque du Soleil, following the existing paved pathways and footbridges adjacent to the golf course (except for that missing 130 yard section). It surprised me too!

Andre

Awesome! Thanks!

 

[pwdebbie]

It's not really a secret - you just have to be very diligent about checking for discounts. Check right away when a discount comes out to see if it includes POFQ. If it does, jump on it right away because the rooms never last long. Also, check sites like Expedia or Orbitz to see if they are matching the sale rates - sometimes they have a promotion that you can stack on top of Disney's sale rate, making your discount even better. If POFQ isn't included in a Disney promotion, it's still a good idea to check the third party sites to see if you can get a deal. The good discounts typically don't just fall in your lap - you have to look for them. I find online to be better than calling, but since the inventory doesn't always match between the two, it's better to try both.

I don't think AAA is offering Disney resort discounts anymore - I believe that was discontinued the first of the year.

My concern with Expedia and Orbitz is that I'very seen people at hotel check-ins (not Disney) having trouble with their reservation and the desk person telling them that they can't fix it for them because they didn't book directly with the hotel. I think there is too much risk with third-party vendors and I'm not sure I want that risk with a trip that costs so much. I guess I like the security of booking directly with Disney.

 

[pwdebbie]

I would like to see the table service restaurant reopened also. And that walking path sure would be a time-saver.

 

[karly05]

Great ideas, Andre. I'll put in another big vote for a "Tiana's" restaurant in the old Bonfamille's space. And a TS breakfast option at Boatwright's would be great, too. I would rather NOT see characters there, but see them do something similar to Captain's Grille at the YC, with a breakfast buffet and menu. And Dear Disney - OK, I understand not having T-shirts for every resort because of the size ranges involved, but for crying out loud, why doesn't POFQ have a CAP!? Riverside has one! (I think the other mods do, too, don't they?) I want me a POFQ cap!

6 weeks from today, I will be checking in!

 

[ncc1701]

I would like to see the table service restaurant reopened also. And that walking path sure would be a time-saver.

Love Andre's ideas. There is usually one morning we aren't rushing to the parks so a TS breakfast at either PO resorts would be great not to mention checkout day . I think the refill station at the main pools would be great. We bring the mugs to the pool stopping at the food court before and if we want a refill we go back to the food court. If we want beer or wine at the pool we go to the pool bars rather than the food court or giftshop. Chances are most of the people buying soda/ice tea etc. at the bars don't have mugs anyway.
P.S. about the music volume at the pool party. Do have to say it was a bit better last year than our prior trips

 

[JanaJohn]

Only about 20 minutes. It's actually just under a mile from the southern end of the POFQ parking lot over to the DTD parking lot area to the north of Cirque du Soleil, following the existing paved pathways and footbridges adjacent to the golf course (except for that missing 130 yard section). It surprised me too!

My concern with your path centers on the golf course section. Part of the 1st section of your path that is actually a cart path made for golf carts. It starts at the tee area and runs on the left side of the hole all the way up to the green. I'm not sure I want to be walking on that path as golfers are teeing off. For that matter I don't want to be around when they're hitting any of their shots from tee to green. Believe it or not most golfers don't always hit the ball in the direction they want. If people on the 'path' are unaware of this they might risk getting hit by a golf ball. I've been hit by a golf ball (from 180 yards away) and it hurt like heck! I'd say for your walkway to DTD to work they'd have to construct another path further away from the golfers.

 

[awalker1015]

I'm reading conflicting reports about which nights Tom Casey performs at Scat Cats. Can anyone confirm which nights it is?

 

[dansdad]

I'm reading conflicting reports about which nights Tom Casey performs at Scat Cats. Can anyone confirm which nights it is?

From Andre's awesome portorleans.org site.

Tom’s performances now take place four days a week on Friday through Monday at 8:30pm, 9:30pm and 10:30pm. There are no performances on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays.

Tom's facebook page stated the same schedule.

 

[andrewilley]

I'm reading conflicting reports about which nights Tom Casey performs at Scat Cats. Can anyone confirm which nights it is?

Last time I checked, his dates were Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday (which is different from Bob Jackson's over at POR, in case that's what was causing the confusion).

Andre

 

[awalker1015]

Last time I checked, his dates were Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday (which is different from Bob Jackson's over at POR, in case that's what was causing the confusion).

Andre

Actually I may have confused them. Thanks for the clarification! Love your site, Andre. Thanks for the time you put into it for us all.