French Quarters or Riverside

[JENNYMAY]

Hellp!! I am so confused! We are traveling in June and was going to try French Quarters because we already went to Riverside. When reading about French Quarters realized there isn't a quiet pool or restaurant other then food court.
We loved having a quiet pool to go to when the big pool was crowded!
But we are still hearing how great French Quarter is and that it doesn't matter that there isn't a quiet pool.

What do you think we should do French Quarters or Riverside???

 

[Buzz2001]

Hellp!! I am so confused! We are traveling in June and was going to try French Quarters because we already went to Riverside. When reading about French Quarters realized there isn't a quiet pool or restaurant other then food court.
We loved having a quiet pool to go to when the big pool was crowded!
But we are still hearing how great French Quarter is and that it doesn't matter that there isn't a quiet pool.

What do you think we should do French Quarters or Riverside???

You can use the facilities at POR even though you are staying at POFQ. Stick with your plans.

 

[rkmassa]

Depends on what you are looking for. What are your main reasons for choosing FQ over POR? POFQ is smaller and easier to walk around, but for us that didn't make it a place to stay. We loved having the main pool and the quiet pool outside our building for swimming at POR. Loved the food court at POR, but POFQ's food court was good too. We did eat at Boatwright's for breakfast at POR, but not any other meals. The restaurant is nice, but it didn't influence our decision about choosing POR. You definitely needed an ADR to get in, which we had. People walking up were waiting a long time to eat. The playground was sooo much bigger at POR, and our kids loved that. After having seen both, our family chooses POR.

 

[jenrose66]

I like POFQ because it is smaller. I actually preferred their foodcourt because it was easier to navigate and less crowded than POR's. If you want to eat at Boatwright's it's just a 10 minute walk from POFQ. Also, I travel to Disney in July and never found the POFQ pool to be terribly busy.

 

[Nancy]

I liked the Riverside when we stayed there. We had the quiet pool right by our room and it was so nice having the whole pool to ourself. I do have to say though that I never stayed at FQ so I can't do a comparison for you. I guess you ahve to look at why you chose Riverside in the first place.

 

[ter-moo]

You could easily get over to POR for a meal at the restaurant or to use their quiet pool if you want.

The nice part about POFQ is the themeing and the intimacy of the resort because of its small size. You can get around with a lot less walking.

Also, the buses stop at FQ first when picking up, which means you'll almost always get a seat! Then they drop off there first when you're coming back.

The boat to DD is really nice, too.

 

[PixiePop]

I really like POFQ when we stayed there. I liked the smaller size and the theming. I also believe that you are first to be picked up by the buses.

 

[chigirl]

Before I went this October, I'd read all of these posts about POFQ vs. Riverside and to me, the posters made it sound like they were far apart or the walk was this huge thing...

we stayed at POFQ and LOVED it! We also visited Riverside, too and found it to be nice. The walk from the lobby of POFQ to the lobby of Riverside took us 12 minutes exactly, and we are not the world's fastest walkers. They are super close together and the walk along the river is lovely.

POFQ has a better lounge, with the super-hep Eliott Dyson playing there Wed-Saturday nights. He rocks! The food court is nice and very clean. I like the theme of POFQ better than Riverside, but that is my opinion. I also like that it is small. The pool is nice, but there is just one...but I can swim at home anytime, so pools are no big deal breaker for me.

Riverside had the bike and sea racer rentals and carriage rides, they had Boatrights, a full-service restaurant versus just a food court at POFQ, they are bigger and more spread out overall than POFQ, plus too many bus stops for my liking. The food court seemed louder and was way less clean than the one at POFQ and the lobby area was not as pretty IMHO as the one at POFQ, and I didn't like the Old man fishing hole/bayou theme at all at Riverside, but that is just me.

Seriously, you can use/do whatever you want at Riverside and it is a short walk, but that is just what I saw as the differences.

 

[jgates]

Do we need priority seating to eat at Boatrights? And if so, would we probably be o.k. calling the same day if we decided to eat there?

 

[FeeFeeWhite]

Is it easy to go between POR and POFQ?

 

[chessclubmom]

I would choose POFQ ove POR. As others have said: its smaller, the theming is better, the food court is better, first stop on bus route and it has benets (sp?). The only draw back is the lack of a quiet pool. Although the pool was never very crowded when we were there it was always difficult to find a chair to lounge in.

 

[Chester's Mum]

We stayed at FQ in 2004. Although I think the mansions at Riverside are beautiful, we really liked FQ.

A couple of advantages (IMHO):

First on and first off the buses.

Small size, not far to walk for your coffee in the morning.

Beignets (you have to try the beignets)

Whatever you decide, have a magical time.

 

[Flyerfan]

Do we need priority seating to eat at Boatrights? And if so, would we probably be o.k. calling the same day if we decided to eat there?

We made a reservation in the morning for that evening.

 

[Flyerfan]

Is it easy to go between POR and POFQ?

It's a very nice 10 minute walk.

 

[rkmassa]

Do we need priority seating to eat at Boatrights? And if so, would we probably be o.k. calling the same day if we decided to eat there?

Yes. We had two reservations during our 10 day stay, and I am glad we did. Each morning we ate there the wait was close to an hour with no ADR. The food is good, but not worth an hour wait. I just made my ADR's for days I knew we would be sleeping in due to late EMH's the night before or our one "rest" day.

 

[mjkaferle5]

A lot of people compare the theming between POFQ and POR, but actually both resorts are under the same theme. The entire Port Orleans resort are is actually a "Louisiana - Mississippi River Theme." I read this somewhere (can't remember where!), but I thought it was pretty cool.

Here's the deal:

The Sassagoula River actually represents the Mississippi River. Sassagoula is an Indian word for Mississippi - or maybe it was what the local Indians called the river - something like that!!

As you come up the river, you pass Port Orleans - French Quarter, which represents New Orleans. Then you reach the mansion section of Port Orleans - Riverside, Magnolia Bend, this represents the homes of the "wealthier" folks of the times. Then farther along is the more rural area which is POR's Alligator Bayou.

Back to the OP's question - We have stayed at both POR and POFQ. I like them both but I would probably nod toward POR because of the quiet pools.

 

[mickeyholic]

Definitely Riverside

 

[JoJo's Mom]

This thread is interesting to me too as we are planning to go next Oct. PO is where we are thinking of going but not sure if we will book at POR or POFQ. All this is info is helpful

What about if you have kids? In our group we will have a 11yr old, 4 yr old and a 2 yr old. Would one of them be better for children over the other???

 

[chigirl]

One is really not better than the other...it all depends on what you like.
POFQ is much more quiet and has less guests than Riverside, just based on the size. Riverside has more amenities, but it is just a short, pretty walk from POFQ to get to those amenities.

The mansion buildings at Riverside are pretty, but IMO the Bayou section is not. POFQ buildings are all pretty.

Bot POFQ have boats that run between them as well as to Downtown Disney. This boat ride was great! Very relaxing!

If you like to swim, you will be happier at Riverside because they have more pools, versus POFQ which has one large pool, a hot tub, and a pool bar.

If you like to walk short distances to bus stops and get a seat, pick POFQ. If you don't mind a longer walk to bus stops, stay at Riverside.

Both are great!!!!

 

[stemikger]

When I stayed at the FQ many years ago when it was called Port Orleans I biked to POR every day. The resorts are a short bike ride away. I loved FQ and have great memories of this place. There is no quiet pool, but the pool they do have is great.