Looking for Comments on POFQ

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

Visit the thread at http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=530340 for pages and pages of information and opinions.

I'll be at POFQ myself, for the 3rd time, 4/25 through 5/5. Thats a pretty good testimonial.

See you there - 4/25-5/1!

 

[Karnak]

We are staying at POFQ for first time in May and wanted to know what others have thought about this resort.

COMMENTS ON PORT ORLEANS, FRENCH QUARTER

I find that Port Orleans has several advantages when compared to the other WDW resorts that I have visited.. One of the major things I like about Port Orleans is the small size of the resort compared to the others. (At both the Boardwalk Inn and the Animal Kingdom Lodge, for example, I was assigned a room so far from the lobby that I considered setting up a base camp for resting while walking back and forth resort lobby and bus stop. The Polynesian was also impressive, but also expensive, and one can end up quite far from the lobby, etc.)

I enjoyed Port Orleans Riverside, but again, the resort is very spread out, and one can end up walking quite a ways to the food court and lobby. These walks are especially bad following a long hot day at one of the parks.


The French Quarter: ADVANTAGES AS I SEE IT:

Small resort, with all buildings a short walk to food court, busses, lobby, pool, etc.
The grounds are well landscaped, and the iron railings do remind one of New Orleans, as do the walkways with names like “Rutabaga.”
Parking is close in for each building, and guest’s autos are easily accessed.
All buildings are three stories, with elevators in each building.
All the rooms I have stayed in have been peaceful, with no noise, and some have a river view of the Sassagoula River.
All rooms were recently remodeled, and include a small refrigerator.
The cast members at the resort have all been excellent during my several stays there, doing their jobs well, and the Magic is evident throughout the resort.
The pool is a favorite with most guests, and has a bar, with pool-side tables.
The lounge, near the lobby, features jazz musician Elliot Dyson three or four nights a week.
The food court is first-rate, with a good selection, and plenty of tables for guests.
The busses stop first at Port Orleans - coming and going.
Boats are on hand throughout the day to take guests to Riverside, or to Downtown Disney.
Port Orleans is a “moderate” resort, with very reasonable rates.

The French Quarter: DISADVANTAGES AS I SEE IT:

There is no table service restaurant. One must walk to Riverside (or take the boat) to visit the nearest restaurant.

Enjoy.

 

[monica31671]

Ahhhhh... I love POFQ.
I'm trying out POR for one night this time. I love the boat to DTD.

 

[briar_rose_59]

“Rutabaga.”

Actually, it's Rue D'Baga lol

 

[ScrappinGran]

My DH and I took our 2 grandchildren (ages 8 & 6 ) there this past September. It was recommended to us by our AAA agent for the close proximity of EVERYTHING to the rooms. We requested a ground floor, corner room, non-smoking. All requests were met. I don't think I would request a corner room again...heard it felt larger with the 2 windows...we weren't in our room enough to enjoy the windows! We DID love being on the ground floor. No elevator to wait for or stairs. We are young grandparents...but let me tell you...at night with the tired little ones,we liked that ground floor! The pool, food court, gift shop, arcade, bus and Magical Express were minutes from our room-5 min. walk max. The best thing of all was that POFQ is picked up and dropped off FIRST. We ALWAYS had a seat.{The exception to the dropped off first was when we took the bus home from Downtown Disney.} We even got a towel animal our first night there! I also liked the privacy curtain that can be pulled to separate the sink/bathroom area from the main part of the room. I am the early riser and utilized that curtain a lot! The grandkids thought the pool was awesome and loved the food court. We plan on staying there again when we take them back in Sept. 08. Hope this helps..we POFQ!

 

[Mousermom]

Returned from POFQ on 3/9. Loved the resort! Quiet, relaxing, great for kids. We had no problem with anything! Stayed in Building 7 (farthest away from everything), but still only a 5 minute walk from pool, lobby, or food court. Small gift shop, but we took a boat ride to Riverside and it was lovely. Food was good at food court. The Beingets were delicious! Pool was wonderfully themed and my DS loved it. Have a good time!

 

[skipperkim]

I love this place. If it had it's own restaurant and was on the monorail you'd need to reserve a room here as far out as CRO's system goes. You can actually hear Illuminations music from the bus stop. (Epcot is literally across the street from POFQ.) It's so quiet and everything is so close, it's never a far walk to anything. Our first visit we stayed in Building 1 with a river view. Last time we were in Building 3. The best advantage of staying here is that POFQ has it's own bus stop at MK in the evening. A huge plus after the park closes. The only time you are on the bus a long time is from DTD, when you are the last off. But going to and from parks you are first off. Well, there was one time when going to MK the bus filled up at POFQ and didn't stop at POR at all. I'm assuming they sent another bus for POR.

 

[LakeAriel]

Love this resort. So much so I am considering renting out my Boardwalk reservation and staying at POFQ with free dining. (It would be basically free) For those saying are you nuts, its the practical vs the ability to walk to Epcot and MGM. I'll have my two grandchildren with me though and they will want to go to Epcot the least and MGM only slightly more..decisions decisions!

 

[Lilolvr]

If it had it's own restaurant and was on the monorail you'd need to reserve a room here as far out as CRO's system goes.

That's a lot of if's. and if they stop sharing buses with POR.

 

[Tink's Pixieduster]

Actually, it's Rue D'Baga lol

Yup, what she said

 

[CTDisneyFan]

Thanks for all the great comments. I can't wait to get there....

 

[hopesmommy]

So can you walk to Epcot or any of the other parks from POFQ?

 

[cdrn1]

LOVE it. I am on a quest to stay at every resort, and I have been stuck on POFQ twice (and maybe three times) in a row! Great size, boat to DTD, good food in the food court, great bus service, friendly CM's, lots of fun to watch the birds attack blondes and redheads...

 

[skipperkim]

So can you walk to Epcot or any of the other parks from POFQ?

Actually, walking to any of the parks from POFQ would be impractical and very dangerous since it would be on very busy road and there is no sidewalk.

 

[skipperkim]

That's a lot of if's. and if they stop sharing buses with POR.

I guess that's why "if" is the shortest word on the English language that can have the most impact upon your life. Also, if it were on the monorail I wouldn't care where it stopped. Course, I really don't care where the bus stop after it picks me up or drops me off.

 

[darlene9947]

We were in 4307 this past August for FREE DINING.
Absolutely loved POFQ.....and this from someone born and raised in N.O.!!

Here is a view of our building (Building 4) from the parking lot.

And our room number.

We had a standard view, overlooking the courtyard and when we stepped out onto the balcony at night, you could see some of the fireworks from Illuminations over at Epcot.

and here is the river, where you catch the boat over to DTD.

 

[Sandi12404]

I'm really glad I foudn this post. We stayed at CBR last year and loved it but decided to try POFQ for our trip next year. I looked at the map in the guidebook and panicked slightly. Only one busstop? For that many rooms? Not to mention that if you're in building one it would take forever to get to the pool, the food court and the busstop. I starting to think I was thinking CBR when I looked at the map. So thank you for easing my mind that it isn't that big. And elevators? I missed that part in my research, what a bonus.

Not the only thing that is bothering me is that post about birds attacking blonds and redheads. Is there an inside joke or as a strawberry blond should I be concerned?

 

[kaysmommie]

LOVE it. I am on a quest to stay at every resort, and I have been stuck on POFQ twice (and maybe three times) in a row! Great size, boat to DTD, good food in the food court, great bus service, friendly CM's, lots of fun to watch the birds attack blondes and redheads...

Are you serious about the birds? I'm blonde and my kids are both reddish blonde. Don't you think thats a bit mean .

 

[missycj96]

Hello - this was my post from last September. We were there in August with free dining:

Hi - we are just back from 10 nights at POFQ with DH and DD. I have stayed at many deluxe resorts (YC, POLY GCV, GF, Contemporary, WL and Dolphin) and POR Riverside, and thought the french quarter was great. We just loved the POFQ and would definately stay again (I am already looking forward to next year). You really get a lot for your vacation money at POFQ.

The room: I requested and got a ground floor room close to the food court and it was perfect. It definately felt smaller than the Contemporary, GF and Poly but truthfully it didn't feel any smaller than WL (I know it was). A nice size with two comfortable beds. The bedspread has lots of fun hidden mickeys. The housekeeping was good and the room was always made up pretty early in the day. Our room was in building 4 facing the gardens near the food court. Love the fridge and the double sinks with the tile area.

The pool was comfortable temperature and never too crowded - but there were lots of people. Best, we were always able to get a nice table with an umbrella and chairs. Across from our room is a nice hot tub that is surrounded by bushes and charming archways - really nice. Not that hot of a spa, but a nice feature.

I especially loved the jazz music playing all day in the main area - it was just so upbeat and happy. I would love to buy the music (I asked they didn't sell it in the gift shop) so if anyone knows where to get it, let me know.

We took evening walks around with the gas lamps on. Also, we saw the horse and carriage clop clop by. We also did some nice walks down to Riverside. Really charming. One day we walked down to Riverside and it was hot so we got some drinks at Muddy Waters - what a nice spot. The rocking chairs were not there, but we got a nice table.
The grounds are beautiful at POFQ.

We also loved the boat ride to downtown disney. We took the boat once to go to dinner, once to shop and once just took the roundtrip to enjoy the ride.

There is also some good entertainment there a few nights a week - I only saw a little each time but it seemed like fun and there were quite a few people sitting at tables enjoying.

Now I know everyone has their opinion, but we much preferred PRFQ to Riverside. The compact size and proximity of our room to the food court made it so convenient. The music, the pool, the walk to POR, the boat ride and the atmosphere give it a true resort feel. If you stay there make sure you give yourself plenty of time to enjoy the resort - we did.

I can't comment on the buses because we rented a car and pretty much drove everywhere. We got a great price on the car rental from Alamo and it made it much easier to go out to dinner on the dining plan.

Food: We had breakfast in the food court most everyday. it is pretty good - we never had a problem getting a nice table. I liked the yogurt parfait that they make fresh for you - there was a choice of fresh berries and granola.

I also liked the mint chocolate chip ice-cream. On my last night I discovered they had sundaes, which was delish. They also made milkshakes that both me and DH loved.

One thing - we got in pretty late (almost 10 pm) and our crib was not ready. It didn't come until 11:30 or so and then it was broken. We called for a new one and finally around 12:30 am I went back to the front desk to beg. They said it could take up to another hour, and I was ready to drop but someone brought it to our room by 1 am and it was fine. So if you need a crib and you are checking in late, make sure that when they bring it you set it up while they are still there to make sure it is ok.

So I really have only good things to say about POFQ. Anyone who chooses it should have a very nice vacation. I will be happy to answer questions.