PO French Quarters or Riverside?

[Grandmaof2]

Can some one tell me the Pros and Cons of these two resorts and which your prefer. Thanks.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Easy, Riverside is huge, 4 bus stops encompass the property and being on the outer edges of the resort could result in a long walk to food, lounge and buses.... Nice resort but to large for us...

POFQ, very compact, no really bad location on property, one bus stop and picks up here first when shared with Riverside...sister resort to POR, access to their pool is allowed and vice versa....

We're fans of POFQ, just on resort size.... not needing an extra long walk after walking the parks all day a blessing... We visit the lounge and food court plus the pool many times a day and its alot easier at FQ.....

 

[Grandmaof2]

Thanks!!! I hate making these decsions. I have stayed at POP and thinking of going to a moderate resort this time.

Easy, Riverside is huge, 4 bus stops encompass the property and being on the outer edges of the resort could result in a long walk to food, lounge and buses.... Nice resort but to large for us...

POFQ, very compact, no really bad location on property, one bus stop and picks up here first when shared with Riverside...sister resort to POR, access to their pool is allowed and vice versa....

We're fans of POFQ, just on resort size.... not needing an extra long walk after walking the parks all day a blessing... We visit the lounge and food court plus the pool many times a day and its alot easier at FQ.....

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

I prefer POFQ for two reasons -compact size and beignets.

DW likes the mansion section of POR over the other PO options because of the architecture and "feel" of the buildings.

While POR is bigger, having stayed there twice we have experienced good bus service both times. FWIW, we were stranded at DHS one time for 45 minutes waiting on a bus when we stayed at POFQ.

 

[joshiesdad]

I love the size of POFQ. It's small and quaint and easy to get to everything from anywhere at the resort. Being able to share everything with POR and it being such a quick walk or boat ride between the two I would much prefer staying in the smaller resort. You have the best of both worlds.

 

[nkereina]

For us, we prefer POR over POFQ. We found that with POR being more spread out, it felt less crowded to us. The food court and bus stop at POFQ were packed when we were there which was a turn off. We also didn't appreciate the city-style atmospher at POFQ, being a replica of Bourbon St. We much preferred the laidback type landscape at POR. We also think POR has the best food court on property.

 

[mm1971]

Can some one tell me the Pros and Cons of these two resorts and which your prefer. Thanks.

Both have the boat to DTD, queen beds and nice rooms. Movies on the lawn and pool activities.

POR

1) Marina with boat rentals, bike rentals.
2) sit down restaurant on premises.
3) More pools. Central and then quiet pools between buildings.
4) Royal rooms if you so desire.
Negatives are the size of the resort if you are not near the center island. If taking the bus, there are 4 stops vs. 1 at POFQ. In our opinion, POFQ has a few food items in the food court we prefer that are not at POR.

POFQ

1) small and compact so you can get around the resort without a lot of walking.
2) We love the food court here. Not sure how to explain it, but we stayed at POR in August and headed over to POFQ for breakfast a few times. Just love the place.
3) The theming is much more fun in our opinion.


We prefer POFQ. We have stayed at both more than once and to be honest, both are nice. We like the fact that POR has the smaller pools and the slide is bigger, but we just like the atmosphere and the feel of POFQ better. We will be staying there in August 2014 and can't wait. We even considered staying deluxe this time, but everyone agreed that the $$ difference made no sense since we prefer POFQ anyway.

 

[Headed4Fun]

Can some one tell me the Pros and Cons of these two resorts and which your prefer. Thanks.

We prefer POFQ. Stayed at both last year and POFQ was our favorite because of the smaller size. Both resorts have a few similarities such as the room sizes, boat to DTD, and the food court items were comparable. But, POFQ was smaller and we liked the compact feel. Very short walk to the food court, bus stops, boat launch.

We loved the POFQ bus stop because once we were on the bus, straight shot to the parks. Others have mentioned that they sometimes share buses but for us, we always had a dedicated bus to our resort. The buses for POR were always crowded. In fact on a couple of occasions while staying at POR, we took the POFQ bus and walked back to our room. Beat the POR bus every time! POR does have a sit-down restaurant but we ate elsewhere so I can't comment on that.

Either way, you'll have a great stay, but for us, POFQ is a winner each time.

 

[SGMCO]

I've stayed at both and recommend Riverside. I was so disappointed with POFQ food court, I went over to Riverside a few times to eat. Food court food quality was so much better at Riverside. We had first stayed at Riverside one year and then at POFQ the next and wished we had stayed at Riverside again. One thing that is nice that no matter which one you stay at you can use either main pool. I thought when we stayed at POFQ that being the 1st one to be let off the bus after a day at the parks would be wonderful, but it was hard to get off of the bus, we had to make our way through everyone from Riverside, some people didn't want to move. Also there was only one Bus stop at POFQ and there was always a long line to get on, and we were there in slow season. If you do choose to stay at POFQ request the building closest to the Riverside area and you can walk to either one.

 

[KimmiP]

I am also trying to make this decision between the two for our June 2014 vacation. I picked POR mainly because I know they have the Magicbands and by then the kinks will be worked out (at least for that resort). But in my heart I would probably prefer POFQ (just like the theming better). I have decided on a preferred room at Riverside.

Can you tell me how close that is to the bus stop and if it's the first stop or the fourth? I'm thinking of maybe renting a car just to get to the parks quicker. Any suggestions whether I should or not?

 

[ParrotBill]

If you chose POR just because of MagicBands you can rethink that.. all resorts will be up by then. POFQ was just added for testing late October.

As for getting a car, that's a big expense to save a few minutes. Long debated here (especially on the Transportation board), there are many who swear by it and many (including me) who say it saves barely a minute or two. Many people react to one or two long bus waits by wanting a car. But $200-500 is a steep price to pay!

The central pool at POR is no worse a walk than you will find at many of WDW's resorts and there are a few smaller pools that are in each building group. Sure, the bus has a few stops but it's a simple loop which goes quickly. POFQ is compact and easy to get around and many prefer that.

I happen to love the ambiance of the POR bayous... I don't like having the hustle and bustle of POFQ outside my window.

 

[Day-Day]

I am also trying to make this decision between the two for our June 2014 vacation. I picked POR mainly because I know they have the Magicbands and by then the kinks will be worked out (at least for that resort). But in my heart I would probably prefer POFQ (just like the theming better). I have decided on a preferred room at Riverside.

Can you tell me how close that is to the bus stop and if it's the first stop or the fourth? I'm thinking of maybe renting a car just to get to the parks quicker. Any suggestions whether I should or not?

We always have our own car or rent one if we fly. We visit the grocery store and also eat a few meals outside of the parks. Depending on the size of the family, this alone pays for the price of the rental car. It is much better for going to most parks (and sometimes even the MK depdending on the time of day) and for visiting Downtown Disney. Saves time from Disney Magical Express as well. We usually get a car for around $125 to $150 for a week.

I have not stayed at POFQ but visited it while staying at POR. I think the food court and the quiet pools at POR are enough for me to continue to choose POR. We went to POFQ for the beignets and they were not very good and the food court seemed tight.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

If you have small children I would go with FQ, smaller, quiet, nice pool for little ones. Now that we no longer have a young son I prefer RS, it's where all the action is and it's a very easy walk or bus ride to between the two if you want to visit the other which ever you choose. The whole walking thing was never an issue for us because we are big time into camping with plenty of hiking when we go.