Help! Wilderness Lodge or Port Orleans French Quarter?!

M1ckeyM0use

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jan 7, 2017
Help! We are currently planning our vacation for next year. We are booked right now late Feb to March at POFQ. But looking at prices we can afford Wilderness Lodge too. Wilderness Lodge would be our first Deluxe resort (we've stayed CBR this past Feb and PORS about 7 years ago).

We aren't sure where to stay. If we should keep POFQ or move to Wilderness Lodge. What we like about both is multiple transportation options (bus or boat). What we like about POFQ is that the resort is small and close to food no matter what building. And what we like about Wilderness Lodge is the closeness to MK.

So for those who have stayed at either, what do you like? Dislike? Reviews? Food options? We want to know everything before we make a decision!

Thanks in advance!
 
Do you have kids? We loved being able to go out on the balcony at WL after the kids were in bed for the night.

The food at lounge and roaring forks and from room service at WL are fantastic. The new geyser point looks like a wonderful place to relax, too.

I'm sure the boat to Disney springs is nice, and if you like that, you will love coming back to WL from magic kingdom by boat. It's a wonderful and peaceful way to end that park day.

Good luck!
 
That's not even a close vote for me. I would pick WL hands down. Don't get me wrong, POFQ is lovely, but WL is off the charts gorgeous. Better amenities, boat to MK and everything is under one roof (except the new grill which is out by the lovely pool!)
 


WL no question. While POFQ is fine WL is just on another level because it's a deluxe.
 
I'm an oddball who absolutely hated WL, but I loved POFQ. We had a pool view at WL and it was ridiculously loud. Roaring Fork is TINY, which I also hated. I was used to a values-sized food court so it was a bit of a shock. We also had terrible bus service and often shared with Fort Wilderness, which may have been an anomaly. The staff at WL weren't rude, but most were not very warm and welcoming.

POFQ is just so quaint and adorable. My mom and I had a great time on the dragon slide (we stood in line with all the 5 year olds haha!) and my dad and husband loved the pool bar. The evening entertainment at Scat Cat's was great too! Sassagoula Floatworks was under refurb when we were there, so can't comment on that. We had excellent bus service the entire trip. I don't think we ever waited more than 10 minutes, except the night when DS opened after Hurricane Matthew, but that was an exceptional situation!

I will say the rooms are nicer at WL. POFQ seems about due for a room refurb. My bed definitely had a dip in it, which wasn't great. Overall though, I vote POFQ!
 
Have stayed at both. I prefer Wilderness Lodge but I love POFQ as well. To me, WL is ultimate relaxation. It has more food options. It is super close to my favorite park - MK. Pool is nicer. POFQ is small and I do like that. The boat to DS is nice. I love the beignets.
 


WL is my favorite resort; the lobby is fantastic I love the theme. Lots of places to explore and relax, my favorite is next to the pool with a drink. Boat ride to MK is a fun perk, liked Whispering Canyon Cafe and if you have a special occasion to celebrate and you can swing it I highly recommend Artist Point.

POFQ was the first Disney resort we stayed at back in 1999, our son was seven years old. It's a great resort for families with young kids or if someone in your party has a hard time getting around because of its small size.
POR is a fun resort and the only one we have stayed at more than once. It's a short walk between the two resorts and you can take a boat from one to the other if you prefer. And it's a nice boat ride to Disney Springs. Can rent surrey bikes or take a horse drawn carriage ride through the resort in the evening. If you want to do the carriage ride I suggest reserving a time at Guest Services. And can't forget to mention Yehaa Bob when talking about POR. If you want to guarantee a seat to watch him; get there early because the lounge fills up to capacity when he performs.
 
I have never stayed at WL but my brother and his family did. We lived in FL at the time and came down to spend a day with him. We had an incredible time at the resort and it's been on our list to stay at since just hasn't happened for us.
 
WL is our favorite - very nice interior rooms with lovely lobby and huge fireplace (and they had the fire going when we were there in March)..great pool, watercraft to MK and to Contemporary (where you can hop on the monorail) and to Ft. Wilderness (fun to walk around)...Geyser Point is a great food addition plus Roaring Forks should be re-opened by the time you are there. POR is our favorite moderate and we always enjoy staying there but WL ranks at the top for us!
 
WL, POFQ is nice, but I wouldn't choose to stay there over WL, the lodge is really gorgeous, close to MK, and has much better food/drink options.
 
We have stayed at both multiple times and love them both. It really depends what you are going to do. If you want ease of access to Disney Springs, go with POFQ. If you want ease of access to MK, go with Wilderness Lodge. If you do go POFQ, spend a little more and get a river view room. It's a lot quieter that anything facing the pool area.
 
We have stayed at both multiple times and love them both. It really depends what you are going to do. If you want ease of access to Disney Springs, go with POFQ. If you want ease of access to MK, go with Wilderness Lodge. If you do go POFQ, spend a little more and get a river view room. It's a lot quieter that anything facing the pool area.

Oh right now we have a garden view. Does garden view face the pool do you know?
 
Wilderness lodge... right in the middle of things can take a boat to the MK and all the hotels around there...Love that place
 
If it were me, I'd probably choose POFQ (or pay a bit more for another deluxe...I'm just not a fan at all of WL's theme). But that's me.

If I were you, I'd stay at WL simply because you've never been to a deluxe and you can do so at a similar cost as a moderate. The vast majority of people who stay at WL love love LOVE it, and you probably will too! I'm just quirky :tilt: and have stayed at enough deluxes to not mind staying at a moderate over a deluxe I just don't like very much. So go for it and have fun!
 
This is so easy! WL is a great deluxe resort, POFQ is our least favourite of all the moderates. WL is no larger/spread out than POFQ - everything is close and under one roof at WL! At POFQ you bus everywhere except DS. At WL you bus everywhere except the MK! Where will you spend more time? at the MK or DS? Dining options at POFQ is the food court or walk to POR for Boatwright's or their food court. At WL you have Artist Point, Whispering Canyon and Roaring forks! Yes you can boat to DS for more dining from POFQ, but from the WL you can also walk to FW for Trail's End or the Hoop Dee Doo or you can boat to the CR for all the options there. Plus the grounds at the WL are gorgeous!! The rooms are bigger and also have a balcony at the WL.

No contest, IMO.

POFQ is nice, but not in the same league as WL.

Good luck choosing!
 
We've stayed at both and for me the winner is WL! We had a great room, lagoon/pool view on the 6th floor and it was beautiful!
 
Oh right now we have a garden view. Does garden view face the pool do you know?
There is only one pool at POFQ and there maybe some garden view rooms in that area but most of them face the various courtyards in the 7 buildings. We stay at POFQ since we enjoy going to DS when we don't have an ADR at a park or another resort. We also like heading up to POR to eat there, hang at the lounge or use the pool.Also the bus times to the parks is usually 15 minutes once you are on the bus. If we did do deluxe it would be YC, BC to walk to Epcot and their pool
 

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