All Star Music or Port Orleans French Quarter? (Two adults, no kids)

[erikjscott]

Hi!

My wife and I are planning a Disney trip in August. It will be a 4 night trip. We have no kids. I should note we have stayed at the All Star Music hotel before and didn't really have a problem, but as we now have a little more discretionary income than in the past, we are wondering if the extra money would be worth it for a moderate hotel.

Our friend works in the park so with her cast member discount, we are deciding between All Star Music ($313 for four nights) or POFQ ($639 for four nights).

We are trying to figure out if the money is worth it for POFQ. Here are our concerns:

-Transportation to parks - is there a significant difference in the time it takes to get to the parks from All Star Music vs. POFQ?

-Accessibility to other hotels - if we want to go to the Boardwalk for instance, I remember at All Star we took a bus first to Animal Kingdom? Is this something we can do from POFQ (even if we went to some other park, not necessarily AK) and would we get there in the same amount of time?

-Crowded buses at the end of the night? I know All Stars sometimes share buses, but I know Port Orleans sometimes share buses as well. I would be curious to know the crowd differences at park closing.

I mentioned those three as our main concerns because we do not really care about the pool area - we will not use it - and we do not really care about whether or not the room is bigger or smaller at either hotel.

 

[Disneylover99]

I think transportation, length of time to parks, and crowded buses concerns are negligible issues when comparing the two resorts.

But having stayed at both resorts, I would choose POFQ for the theming, atmosphere and small size.

 

[bookgirl]

ASMusic is my favorite Value and POFQ is my favorite Mod. Honestly I don't find the buses to the parks or other resorts to be all that different.

But, the kicker for POFQ is the boat to Disney Springs. If you plan any time there then POFQ may be your better choice.

All my stays at the PO resorts resulted in me going to DS more as it was easy to catch the boat and grab dinner.

Oh and while its not Cafe Du Monde, the beignets are pretty tasty.

 

[jriveiro724]

I would go with Port Orleans French Quarter since it's a larger room and it offers easier transportation to the parks as it has dedicated bus service and it's a centrally located resort.

 

[ncc1701]

We have always stayed at POFQ. We enjoy the boat to DS, the fact we can walk up to POR and the closeness to MK, Epcot and DHS . The buses are only shared with POR either very early in the AM (7:00) or mid-day (Epcot and AK). Our last 2 trips DHS and MK had seperate buses except for the very early MK bus for pre-openning breakfasts. We no longer spend all day in the parks and like the option of using POR's pool . POFQ has a lounge in the lobby as does POR in addition to the 2 pool bars. Checkout www.portorleans.org for additional info.
To get to the Boardwalk my first suggestion is take a taxi. Otherwise take a bus to Epcot or DHS and then bus to a Broadwalk area resort bus (or in the case of DHS grab the boat or walk)

 

[loves to dive]

I would take the buses out of the equation, the buses are the buses are the buses and you are going to have good and bad experiences at every single resort. I've stayed at all the deluxe and moderate resorts except SS, WL, POFQ. I've also stayed at Pop and ASSp. I'm not a fan of the value resorts and have no plans to stay at the others, they just aren't for me but the buses are not the problem for me. I will stay at the values the bus stops aren't covered, they are at the moderates but at the values there is a real que, there is not a the moderates which can make it a cluster you know what when the bus arrives. I would go for POFQ but, as I said, I'm not a fan of the value resorts and POR is probably my favorite moderate. I'm in no hurry to stay at POFQ because I just don't like the motel type look of the place but given a choice between it and a value or if it were the less expensive of the other moderates I'd stay there.

 

[jriveiro724]

Also, note that Uber works very well throughout WDW and it's a good and inexpensive way of traveling to the other Resort hotels.

 

[mickeymom22]

Are you planning on spending time at the resort, or are you park storming? If you are planning on being in the parks and just need a place to rest your head...I would save the approx. $300. If you are going to take time to go to Disney Springs, relax at the resort (pool/bar), I would stay at POFQ. POFQ is one of my favorite resorts! We have also stayed at ASMu. We enjoyed our stay there, but we also only used it to sleep and grab breakfast in the morning before storming the parks.

Happy Planning!

 

[Peepster]

POFQ is the smallest and, in our opinion, most romantic of the value or moderates. We're DVC owners, but when we run out of points you can find us there. We enjoy hoping on the boat for the peaceful ride to Disney Springs. The coffee and beignets are enjoyable for breakfast and with all the great restaurants at DS now it makes POFW even more appealing to us. I think they still might have the carriage rides around the resort which we enjoyed.
Just our two cents. Bus service was always great, too.

 

[pooksma]

ASMusic is my favorite Value and POFQ is my favorite Mod. Honestly I don't find the buses to the parks or other resorts to be all that different.

But, the kicker for POFQ is the boat to Disney Springs. If you plan any time there then POFQ may be your better choice.

All my stays at the PO resorts resulted in me going to DS more as it was easy to catch the boat and grab dinner.

Oh and while its not Cafe Du Monde, the beignets are pretty tasty.

I completely agree. If DH and I were going on our own, I would book POFQ all the way. Haven't stayed at ASMu but have stayed at POP, ASMo and POFQ. Its by far my fav resort. (Sorry i'm biased )

 

[North of Mouse]

Love POFQ - our favorite! The theming is great! Would take it over any of the values any day - actually over any of the other moderates too.

 

[DanInMN]

Given only the factors you listed, which will be equivalent at any WDW resort, go for the lower cost option.

However there are other important considerations... like

Do you want some sleep? The walls at value resorts can be paper thin, and with lots of young families it can be loud - all night long

Ambiance? The moderates are beautifully manicured resorts, while the values are somewhat gussied up Howard Johnsons motels.

Cost is always a factor! But even a cheapskate like me has moved up to moderates (or off site condos.)