Just back from POFQ

[imadisneyfanatic]

Hey everyone!

Thanks to everyone for all of the great hints and tips on this board. It really helped make our vacation a little more special.

I just got back last weekend from POFQ. All I can say is WOW!

The room was absolutely gorgeous! It felt like a deluxe room to me. I have officially fallen in love with this resort!

All of the buildings turned out to be a good location since it really is compact. I really mean it because my DD (13) has arthritis and it can be really hard to get her back to the room from the bus stop at the end of the day. We were in building 1 room 1143. It looked so far away on the map I begged the CM for a closer room and offered to pay for a king room to get it. The resort was sold out. Turns out we are seriously only a 1 minute walk to food court and 2 min walk to bus stop. After staying in CBR that was amazing being in the farthest building and having a very short stroll through some wonderful landscaping.

My DD loved the arcade and the food court was great (but a little pricey - but hey, it's WDW food prices).

Mousekeeping was great the first day but it seemed like we had a different person on the weekend. Room was OK but little things were forgotten but no big deal.

A little tip for parents of those 12-16 with no driver's liscence. The marina at Downtown Disney rents the little jet boats to 12 and over! They go a max of 5mph (they seemed faster than that though) so that's how they justify it. They have a huge lake area and patrol boats watching them. It was only $24 for 30 min and $34 for an hour. My DD had the BEST time doing that! She said it was the highlight of her trip!

Also for any antenna topper collector maniacs like me, the Christmas shop at Downtown Disney had the best selection instead of getting some here and there. Second best to me was at the Test Track gift shop (car themed stuff there).

Bus transportation was awesome! Yes, we shared a bus with Riverside, but French Quarter got both picked up first and dropped off first! That was awesome. Also, at the Magic Kingdom, they separate the two resorts for the ride back to the resort in the evenings. They have one bus stop/bus for French Quarter only and one bus stop/bus for Riverside only. The bus driver told me that the Magic Kindgom was the only park to do that.

Any questions, please let me know and I will do my best to answer! Thanks again to all you DISers out there!

 

[liznboys]

Glad you enjoyed POFQ! We fell in love with it on our last trip, and will be staying there in Feb. (split stay with AKL). We can't wait to get back there!!! Thanks for the tips!

 

[purplebelle]

Thanks for the report! It's great reading about all the resorts, esp the one I'll be at soon. I'm glad your daughter could get around with ease. I bet she, and you, had a wonderful time!


Should I bother requesting a certain building? Can I request a non-parking lot view??? If so, do I fax...call CRO...or...? Last Dec. we stayed at CBR and had a parking lot view. It actually didn't bother us at all and we were feet away from the bus stop which was a very nice perk. Just wondering if i should go for a pretty view this time (without the extra $15 a night though).

By the way imadiznyfanatic...any Xmas decorations going up yet? Maybe way to soon.

Anyone know when decorations go up?

 

[imadisneyfanatic]

I made the mistake of not making a room request. The CM at CRO said he would only put one request on my reservation and I had to make a non-smoking room a priority due to DD's asthma.

We paid for parking lot view and got courtyard view but I honestly never looked out my window and there are no balconies at the resort so I wouldn't pay for any specific view. Buildings 3 and 5 seemed the absolute closest to everything to me.

There were no Christmas decorations up yet but I was told they were going up very soon. I have been during December and there is nothing like WDW when it's decorated for Christmas!

I plan to make my next trip during December. (Halloween just doesn't have that magic for me. DD's birthday just happens to be the day before)

Have a fantastic trip!

 

[BevS97]

we just got back from French Quarter this morning. We also loved it, we started out in Alligator Bayou which I didn't really like, and so we moved to the FQ and thought it was fabulous. We were in Building 2 and were extremely close to everything - room 2101 was perfect. I wouldn't worry about a parking lot view, there are gardens around all the buildings, so even on a parking lot you would still have a niceish view. We didn't pay for a preffered view (don't even know if there is an option at FQ to be honest) and we had a fabulous room - I couldn't fault it.

We also had towel animals the first night, but none after that, not sure if that is the norm.

The christmas decorations went up Friday morning - they were looking very festive when we left.

Bev

 

[northwds]

Thanks for the great information on POFQ. I picked the resort because it is so compact. I will be staying there for the first time 12/5-12/12. Do they have hairdryers in the rooms? Also, I heard that they have small 4 cup coffee pots in each room. Is this true?
Thanks......

 

[LuvindisCruiser]

Any fridges yet? does anyone know how it is having a first floor room? Do you hear alot of foot traffic going by?

 

[imadisneyfanatic]

Yes, there are hairdryers in the rooms. In fact, they also serve as a night light since they have a built in red bulb sticking out of the side that never went off (I guess I could have unplugged it but it served as a great night light and the red color was not disturbing to sleep or your eyes in the middle of the night)

Also in the room was iron and ironing board.

There was a very nice 4 cup coffee maker, cups, etc. in the room on the dresser next to the TV. I never used it since I don't drink coffee but it looked new and I wouldn't hesitate to use it. I would like one of those bottled water dispenser things in my room!

No refridgerator in the room nor did I request one.

I had a first floor room and it was awesome! I never heard any noises except the toilets flushing from neighboring rooms. Our door opened right up into the courtyard and I couldn't have asked for better. I would request ground floor again. I never heard any foot traffic and couldn't believe the resort was 100% full. Very quiet. (I always heard foot traffic at CBR)

I also had towel animals first day but none after. I tipped and left a thank you note. I really do think the last 2 days of our trip was a different mousekeeper because the room was left very differently and little things were forgotten (shampoo, clean water glasses at the sink). It seemed straightened up in a hurry.

By the way everyone....why can't WDW resorts put FITTED sheets on the beds? Those flat sheets come right off in the middle of the night no matter how hard I try not to toss and turn!
I am packing some next time...it drove me nuts in the middle of the night when my feet kept hitting mattress.

Hope this helps!

 

[BevS97]

we were also on the ground floor, right on the corner in what you would think would be a busy area, but I didn't notice many people passing by. The convenience of a ground floor with a stroller was superb, I wouldn't have wanted to be upstairs (although they do have elevators)

we had a coffee machine, but we didnt' use it as the food court was so close, so we just used our mugs

I totally agree about the sheets, mine came off every night too

 

[LuvindisCruiser]

Thanks for the info. guys. Just what I needed to know about the ground floor and refridgerators!!!! I'm making my reservations this week, and then it will seem more real to me, still 6 more mos. to go !!!

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Originally posted by imadisneyfanatic
I made the mistake of not making a room request. The CM at CRO said he would only put one request on my reservation and I had to make a non-smoking room a priority due to DD's asthma.
:

Ohmygoodness! How awful for you! I've been going to Disney for over 30 yrs, always stay on site and have never had CRO limit my request to one. We also have a guarenteed non-smoking room and will request a location. We try to keep it simple, request a certain building or corner room or view etc.

I am so sorry this happened - should it happen again do call back and and ask that CM to add your request.

Glad it worked out and you so enjoyed POFQ

 

[etyper333]

Hi all!

We just returned as well. There were 3 rooms in our party, all in building three. It was a great location - quick walk to the main building or pool and a beautiful courtyard view. Two of the rooms were on the second floor and had refrigerators, while the first floor room did not!

The refillable mug drink area was open from 6a-midnight while we were there, but the food service didn't really start until 7 a.m.

If anyone has any questions I can try to answer them.

 

[Mom2Ashli]

We are trying to stay at either Port Orleans Riverside or French Quarter in December. Which ones has the Beignets?

 

[TyRy]

Hi All,

We just got back as well from the POFQ. We were in building 3 and it was great - we had 2 connecting w rooms and 1 just kiddie corner to us as well. I had asked about fridges before, by calling, and I kept getting that they would be $10 a nite if we needed them. When we checked in, the CM told us if we did not have them, they would be free. We did have them already so all was well.

This was our second stay and we will be going back again to POFQ - the size simply makes it the easiest to stay at, and you can't beat the charm!

 

[etyper333]

Mom2Ashli -

The French Quarter has the beignets!

 

[Mom2Ashli]

Originally posted by etyper333
Mom2Ashli -

The French Quarter has the beignets!

Thank you that is what I thought. But someone here at work was telling me different. So than I wasn't so sure anymore.

But I knew someone on the DIS could give me the proper answer.

 

[imadisneyfanatic]

I just had to try them. They were OK but too messy for me to enjoy.

Does anyone know how to eat those things without getting powdered sugar all over your shirt and your mouth having a huge powder ring around it?

The other guests in the food court were quite amused at watching us try to eat them and try to be neat at the same time!

 

[cjsmom5]

I really like the beignets but request that they do the powder sugar on the side. That way I dip them and it helps make it not so messy. On the other hand, the rest of my party thinks I'm nuts and just get them normal.

We've always stayed on the first floor at POFQ and never had any problems with hearing foot traffic. We could, though, from time to time, hear toilets flushing but, oh well .... we are looking forward to staying there in a few weeks as the last two trips we had to stay at POR since FQ was closed. We stayed there the first year it opened and every year thereafter ... so we have really missed it.