Need some Port Orleans help

[ShaggyB]

My wife and I are in the early stages of planning our 5 year anniversary (2014). I will need to book in advance so we have begun to debate the where to stay aspect of the vacation planning process.

We want to stay in a moderate resort as we loved our deluxe resort (Animal Kingdom Lodge) but we feel we spend more of our time out of the room and at the parks than in the resort, so we feel the best bang for the buck is spend more in the parks than on the resort. We've both been looking at Port Orleans due to liking its theme. However we keep flipping on which one we like best. River Side vs French Quarter.

So my question is, to those who have stayed at either or both, which should we go to and why? Is one better than the other?

Also-
Ive discovered that they offer a boat ride to Downtown Disney.... is that just at riverside? do they offer a bus if you don't like boat rides?

thanks in advance.

 

[Missytara]

There is an official POR thread that goes into the advantages and disadvantages of each.

There is a water taxi to DTD that rotates POR/POFQ/DTD/POFQ/POR. They run from 11:00 am to 4:00 every twenty minutes and every ten minutes with 11:00 pm the last pick-up at DTD.

It is a great way to get back from the resorts, if you opt to eat there after a day at the parks.

The buses run from 9:00 am to 1:00 am, with the last pick-up at DTD. They go from Marketplace to West Side and then to the resort (I think its in that order). The Marketplace stop is just behind Rainforest Cafe; I have never used the West side stop, so I am not exactly sure where it is, but you can look up a map of DTD to see it.

 

[ShaggyB]

There is an official POR thread that goes into the advantages and disadvantages of each.

There is a water taxi to DTD that rotates POR/POFQ/DTD/POFQ/POR. They run from 11:00 am to 4:00 every twenty minutes and every ten minutes with 11:00 pm the last pick-up at DTD.

It is a great way to get back from the resorts, if you opt to eat there after a day at the parks.

The buses run from 9:00 am to 1:00 am, with the last pick-up at DTD. They go from Marketplace to West Side and then to the resort (I think its in that order). The Marketplace stop is just behind Rainforest Cafe; I have never used the West side stop, so I am not exactly sure where it is, but you can look up a map of DTD to see it.

thanks for the boat bus info. Good to know they do both. And I wasnt aware of the official thread. Ill see if i cant find it via the search tool.

(If a mod wants to move/merge this feel free.)

 

[Gorechick]

I've stayed at both and have a trip going back to POR for the Royal Rooms with my kids this summer. POFQ is quaint and pretty but POR has southern charm, especially the mansion section. Also check out portorleans.org and allears.net for resort overviews, pics, and videos.

 

[mb187143]

Hi, OP - I've stayed at both resorts, and personally, my and my fiance's preference is POFQ. We prefer the smaller, more compact feel to the resort, and we like the ambiance better. When we stayed at POR, it was very large, crowded, and the bus situation was frustrating at times. I don't mind a large resort with several stops (such as CBR, which we enjoyed thoroughly), but I didn't like the set up at POR - sometimes the buses stopped at POFQ first and then went through 4 stops at POR, and sometimes it didn't - either way, we went to POR during free dining and the resort was full. At night leaving the MK, the lines for POR's bus went through 2 full bus queues and all the way up the center of the waiting area - so we frequently went to the POFQ line and walked back to our room. It added another 25 minutes of walking at the end of a long day, but it was that or wait at least an hour for a bus to POR, and since our room was not close to any bus stops, it was still a 10-12 minute walk from the closest one.

The pool at POR was ok, i wasn't really into the deep south theme of the pool, and the hot tub was always packed with families.

When we stayed at POFQ, we really didn't encounter a lot of crowding, and we never felt overrun by a lot of families in the hot tub.

** My one disclaimer to the crowding was the food court - because we only went to the food court at either resort in the morning, and like all of the food courts on property, they're ALWAYS crowded**

If you want to take the boat to DTD, it stops at POR first, but doesnt fill up so there's room for people to board at POFQ, and then stops there. It was a nice ride, it just took a long time the day we went. The buses aren't any better though, so that's pretty much a draw for us.

The resorts are beautiful, and you can use the amenities at either. For us, our preference was not POR. It was too big, and unlike CBR and CSR, we didn't find it enjoyable to walk around the resort to get where we wanted to go, just to get to the main pool from our room at POR was a hike, and it really didn't make us want to go back there.

 

[evilqueenmindy]

Stayed at both, I prefer Riverside, I like the theme better, the food court is bigger, themed better (I like FQ, but I hate the food court, I hate the warehouse feel, I hate the masks, feels cramped) and because the resort is larger, it tends to feel quieter and less crowded. Also the pool bar is awesome, and the lounge is great.

FQ is smaller, so there's less walking, the buildings look cool and the bus stops there first.

 

[ShaggyB]

thanks everyone.

to mb187143: What month of the year were you staying at Riverside when it was packed?

 

[catra121]

I really LOVED my stay at Riverside and when my boyfriend and I stayed there I chose it primarily because of the theme and the fact that it seemed to fit my boyfriend's style more than the other moderate resorts. The size didn't bother us and we really enjoyed just walking around the resort at night when we would come back from the parks. We stayed in a King bed room which made the room feel VERY spacious.

I personally think that it's very important to pick a theme that appeals to you when staying at a moderate (or any resort really). Most offer very similar ammenities with POFQ having the major difference of being smaller and more compact (with only one bus stop).

 

[mb187143]

thanks everyone.

to mb187143: What month of the year were you staying at Riverside when it was packed?

September. My fiance and I went in September 2010 and stayed at AKL and LOVED it, and went to POFQ in December 2010, POLY in February 2011, POR in September 2011, and CBR in December 2011.

It has nothing to do with it being a moderate vs deluxe thing, as some are prone to suggest, i have stayed at every level of resort and have never really had a bad experience, other than that one, which i wound't categorize as "bad", just frustrating. It's a large resort. It's the most affordable mod for families of 5. So it was going to be crowded anyway, but that coupled with the bus issues we had, and the room feeling absolutely drab and run down and impossibly small (we did not have a re-furbed room). Our experience at POR was such that by the end, not only did we decide not to stay there again, we also removed it from the room block for our November 2012 Wedding at WDW, and offered our guests a different moderate choice.

With a different set of circumstances, this could be the perfect resort for you, we just preferred the POFQ atmosphere and compact feel of the resort.

 

[ShaggyB]

September. My fiance and I went in September 2010 and stayed at AKL and LOVED it, and went to POFQ in December 2010, POLY in February 2011, POR in September 2011, and CBR in December 2011.

It has nothing to do with it being a moderate vs deluxe thing, as some are prone to suggest, i have stayed at every level of resort and have never really had a bad experience, other than that one, which i wound't categorize as "bad", just frustrating. It's a large resort. It's the most affordable mod for families of 5. So it was going to be crowded anyway, but that coupled with the bus issues we had, and the room feeling absolutely drab and run down and impossibly small (we did not have a re-furbed room). Our experience at POR was such that by the end, not only did we decide not to stay there again, we also removed it from the room block for our November 2012 Wedding at WDW, and offered our guests a different moderate choice.

With a different set of circumstances, this could be the perfect resort for you, we just preferred the POFQ atmosphere and compact feel of the resort.

cool, thanks for the reply (The wife and I also stayed at AKL.... amazing resort. This time we just felt the 2k difference would be better spent on stuff in the parks.) As to moderate vs deluxe thing. Same boat as you.

We do prefer less crowds but we also understand its Disney... thats just part of it.

Lot to think about now. lol

 

[janiejake]

I'd vote for POR. Have stayed there quite a few times, always in the mansions. Never a far walk to the main pool or buildings from a Mansion building. The mansions have lovely landscaping and theming. It's just more romantic than being at POFQ. (we've never stayed there, but have walked over to check it out~no thanks). Plus, at POR, there are quiet pools scattered throughout the resort, that are available for your use 24/7. We actually prefer these to the theme pool on the island. Consider booking a carriage ride at night. Twinkling lights on the river, the soft clip-clop of the horse's hooves...) Ah, yes. The next two weeks can't fly by fast enough for us!

 

[Tink3815]

Does anyone one know what nights they have the live entertainment at the French Quarter and Riverside.
thanks

 

[FamO'5disnuts]

We stay at POR each year we go now as we are family of 5 so it is very appealing to us that we can stay in one room. I find the rooms to be fine in size to fit five of us as we spend most of our time at the parks or pools. I love the fact that there are "quite" pools through out the grounds so pretty much regardless of where you are a pool is close by of a prebed swim. As we have been 3 times we understand the bus system well so we do not have an issue, granted there is always a long line at park close to get on a bus due to the size of the resort. We have been over to POFQ and it is a beautiful place a well, smaller, one bus stop, one pool. You could not wrong with either.

 

[eeyorepixie]

We love POR this is our 4th trip and I have stayed at BC and POLY, but the price tag at Deluxes are just ridiculous to me. I could stay at a Deluxe for 5-7 Days or POR for 14 days. POR always wins POR's grounds are beautiful, lots of quiet pools here. You can pool hop over to POFQ (this is allowed among these 2 sister resorts. My family has stayed here, the rooms are pretty but I get that apartment complex feeling at POFQ. However, I loooooooooooove the POFQ hot tub very scenic and pretty.

The boat goes to both resorts they are just a few minutes from each other. Sometimes on the way to the pool we would see the boat and just jump on to pool hop because it was just to convenient. POR is lovely at night, you can take a horse and carriage ride or the boat to DTD. There is fishing if that is something you are up to and the grounds are just as beautiful here as any deluxe and IMHO even prettier than some Deluxes. There seems to be an abundance of nature around you, we have seen huge turtles, cranes, a gray horned owl and this gorgeous bright blue slamander at this resort. The food court is better at POR too. There is a great piano guy for families and it is free entertainment. There is also a table service restaurant Boatwrights.

 

[ARAITHEL]

I just booked POR for September. We like the resort and didn't have any problem with busses, but it may have just been our luck to not stay too late at the resorts (we generally leave before the fireworks,etc). Yes, you do have to stop at POFQ sometimes when on the bus, but it's a short stop. We stayed in a preferred room when we were there and always got off at the main building, which was nice. I look forward to staying there again. We did go over to POFQ to look at the resort. I was glad I booked POR. I like the theme better. I would recommend staying in a preferred room if you book POR, however. It's worth the extra $$ to not have to walk a ways to get to your room after a long day at the parks.

 

[cherrytreeln]

My mom and I just returned from staying at POR for the first time. We weren't overly impressed. Not that we didn't like it, but we would have been just as happy staying at a value. The buses were ALWAYS packed too. The lines for the buses to POFQ were always shorter and would have been tempting to just take those back but our feet already hurt from walking around the parks all day.

 

[Rlv]

I have stayed at both POR and POFQ. They are both nice for what they cost. POR has beautiful grounds to walk so everything's a little farther away, while POFQ is more tight and urban .....so nice view of river but not like POR.. also POR now has some refurb rooms which might make it
He better choice.:confused

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

We stayed at both, just got back from POR January 6. I prefer the POFQ, I like how small it is and the theming better. POR is a very easy walk along the river from the FQ as well as getting there by boat or bus. I wish the POFQ had there own table service. If you choose POR you can't go wrong, it is a very pretty resort; I would never discourage anyone from staying there.

 

[ShaggyB]

Thanks again everyone. Its a tough decision that my wife and I are likely to flip flop on given the amount of time between planning and actual booking. Thus far Im gathering people find Riverside to be a better option. We have been leaning that way based on theme, so I do appreciate every bit of help you guys have given. Thanks very much.

edit-

Then again... lol todays post seem to be favoring French Quarter. lol so tough to choose

 

[magicbob]

POR has southern charm, especially the mansion section.

We stayed at POR Mansions and absolutely LOVED the atmosphere! It's one of our favorite resorts.