POR or POFQ

[DonaldsNo1Fan]

We want to know which one people like better, and why!? thanks!

 

[dixiedizfan]

POR ... Beautiful grounds, lush landscaping. Beautifully themed main pool and several large quiet pools. Lovely walking paths around gorgeous scenery. Large, bright and pretty gift shop, large themed food court, delicious sit-down restaurant. POFQ is small and compact, easy to get around, but that was about it. POR is our absolute favorite moderate resort!

 

[bytheblood]

Great buses, pretty landscaping, great management, honest CMs, everything is close and easy to find...this is my favorite.

 

[lynninpa]

Very interested in this poll, too!

 

[briar_rose_59]

French Quarter for me. Haven't stayed at Riverside but after staying at FQ I don't have much desire to lol. I love that FQ is small and compact (nothing is far from the room), get picked up first on the way to the parks and get dropped off first. Pretty grounds and cute little details (my mum and I still talk about Rue De Baga from time to time, sound it out lol).

 

[EthansMom]

Let's see, I've stayed at both, so might be able to take a shot at describing the differences:

POR has the southern mansion theme going on. It's a much larger resort with more than one pool, multiple bus stops, a food court AND decent sit-down restaurant. At POR, you can get a horse-drawn carriage ride, rent a bike, rent watercraft.

POFQ has a New Orleans theme. It's a smaller resort, with only one bus stop and a food court. The buildings are oriented around charming garden courtyards.

Both resorts share a ferry service to Downtown Disney (evenings only), with the ferry picking up at POR first and dropping off at POFQ first. The resorts often share the same busses and when they do, the bus stops at POFQ first. If the bus is filled at POFQ, then it will not stop at POR. My personal experience has been that the wait time for a bus was less at POFQ than POR.

Both resorts are beautiful, well-maintained, and quiet. There are times when POR can get noisier groups (like overflow during Pop Warner week -- early Dec.). The close access to Downtown Disney is a plus with families with children.

There is a lovely paved pathway along the river between the two resorts. If you stay at POFQ and want to go to POR for dinner or entertainment, you can either take the ferry from POFQ to POR (evenings only) or you can walk the distance in 10-15 minutes.

We have two young children. POFQ's colors, jazz music, dragon slide, fountains, and frolicking alligators appeal greatly to both of our children. We love the fact that whereever our room is located, it will only be a 5 minute walk from the bus stop after a long day at the park. And, with the bus stop right next to the lobby/food court, it's really easy to grab a soda/coffee refill as you're leaving for the parks or coming back to the resort.

 

[lucky978]

I've stayed at both and we like the "quaintness" of POFQ much better. POR was just too spread out for us. Perhaps it was the building we were in - but there was a loooonnggg walk back to our room from the bus-stop. Never again.

 

[EthansMom]

I've stayed at both and we like the "quaintness" of POFQ much better. POR was just too spread out for us. Perhaps it was the building we were in - but there was a loooonnggg walk back to our room from the bus-stop. Never again.

During our stay at POR, we had the bus stop close to our room (with some noise), but we were about as far from the lobby/food court/restaurant as possible.

 

[Tiki Room Fan]

Let's see, I've stayed at both, so might be able to take a shot at describing the differences:

POR has the southern mansion theme going on. It's a much larger resort with more than one pool, multiple bus stops, a food court AND decent sit-down restaurant. At POR, you can get a horse-drawn carriage ride, rent a bike, rent watercraft.

POFQ has a New Orleans theme. It's a smaller resort, with only one bus stop and a food court. The buildings are oriented around charming garden courtyards.

Both resorts share a ferry service to Downtown Disney (evenings only), with the ferry picking up at POR first and dropping off at POFQ first. The resorts often share the same busses and when they do, the bus stops at POFQ first. If the bus is filled at POFQ, then it will not stop at POR. My personal experience has been that the wait time for a bus was less at POFQ than POR.

Both resorts are beautiful, well-maintained, and quiet. There are times when POR can get noisier groups (like overflow during Pop Warner week -- early Dec.). The close access to Downtown Disney is a plus with families with children.

There is a lovely paved pathway along the river between the two resorts. If you stay at POFQ and want to go to POR for dinner or entertainment, you can either take the ferry from POFQ to POR (evenings only) or you can walk the distance in 10-15 minutes.

We have two young children. POFQ's colors, jazz music, dragon slide, fountains, and frolicking alligators appeal greatly to both of our children. We love the fact that whereever our room is located, it will only be a 5 minute walk from the bus stop after a long day at the park. And, with the bus stop right next to the lobby/food court, it's really easy to grab a soda/coffee refill as you're leaving for the parks or coming back to the resort.

We were there a few weeks ago and the boat service was running to Downtown starting at 11:15 am. They run about every 30 min during the day and every 15 min at night.

 

[klwdisney]

I chose POR. Mainly because we stayed there before and have not yet stayed at POFQ. I also like having the restaurant on property without having to walk next door to it.

 

[dman11]

I chose POFQ because it is a great small resort. Everything is very convienent at POFQ which is important with a family with some older kids (11,12) and a younger one (3). Plus the transportation is great. POFQ shares buses with POR but is first to be picked up and first to be dropped off.

 

[the Fidge]

We want to know which one people like better, and why!? thanks!

Firstly I picked the POR as that is where we will be going to next.

A few factors to consider though, if you had little ones I would go with the FQ. The pool theming is perfect for theme! The gorunds are smaller and less getting around time and with littleones that is a factor.

DSwill be 11 and loved the FQ but also loved the POR pool and will make use of the fishing hole next time. DH wants some privacy and downtime and will be looking forward to utilzing a quiet pool.

I will enjoy the grounds for a nice quiet mornming stroll. We will also be (keeping finger corssed and wallet shut!) taking a ride in the carriage as well as DH and DS using the boats!

SO it does matter a few things I just will miss the great music from the sning bushes!

THe great thing of staying is that you can utilize both grounds during your stay! Its just a wee boat ride away!

Good luck in your plan ans don't forget to tell which one you picked ans WHY!!!

 

[okapi]

I enjoy both and we usually stay at one or the other.
We love the boat ride to DTD.

Agree with most here: PORFQ if you have small kids.
POR - prefer Magnolia Bend over Alligator Bayou (others will disagree, it's a matter of preference and location - I don't mind walking.)
Ironically our favorite is Acadia House - and that's the one farthest away. We like the quiet, romantic feeling.
We've also stayed at Parterre Place, Oak Manor and Magnolia Terrace and have enjoyed them all (We never bother with water view; IMO not worth it) We do try to get corner rooms however with double windows - caution here too - some double window rooms can face inward to a wall).
Good LUCK!

 

[srgibbs]

We stayed at POR Mansions last Sept. and just got back from POFQ 1 week ago. I thought I really liked Riverside until our stay at POFQ. It was just perfect and would always choose to stay there. There was no line at check-in where the year before we waited 30 minutes. This could just be a timing issue, but I never saw a line the whole week we were there. Food court was a 30 second walk where POR was several minutes. Food court never crowded and kids always given Mardi Gras beads and coins while ordering. Food court at Riverside was always crowded and food cold by the time we got dessert and paid. The Kids LOVED the dragon slide and the grounds were so pretty and only 1 bus stop was nice. 1st on and 1st off in AM and PM. Maybe it was luck but we rarely stopped at more than 1 bus stop at Riverside and always had a seat. Never shared a bus at night. We felt like we were at a Deluxe resort. We ate 2 meals at the Poly and I really thought FQ was prettier. Riverside is very nice, but the smaller resort atmosphere was much better for our family.

 

[D3sdoll]

We really love POR. We will be staying there again in December.
We can't wait! It was great for our family. Great scenery, busses, food court, pool...everything. This will probably our last stay at POR with all 5 of us. That's ok, I suppose. We'll have to stay deluxe from now on.

 

[Karnak]

I have stayed at both Port Orleans resorts, with the French Quarter coming out way ahead in my humble opinion

I find that the French Quarter 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 calling a taxicab to get from my room to the resort lobby and bus stop. The Polynesian was also impressive, but also expensive, and one can end up quite far from the lobby there too.

I enjoyed Port Orleans Riverside too, but again, the resort is very spread out, and one can end up walking quite a ways to the food court and lobby. If I just wanted to walk at bit, I could do it at home and save a bundle.

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 table service restaurant.

Enjoy.

 

[keliblue]

Just returned from our stay at POR and we absolutely loved it, the quite pools are the best... but. If we had not been in building 14,15 or 18 in the Alligator section I would of hated it. The walk to the main hall and bus is very long after a day at the park. We did wander over to FQ and will be staying there on our next trip

 

[Lila95]

I have only stayed at POFQ, but I will tell you what we loved about it. The size was perfect. After busy days walking in the parks, I love the small cozy feeling of POFQ. You can get away from all the hustle and bustle and enjoy the peace and quiet of the resort. All the buildings are conviently located so you only have a 3-10 minute walk where ever you want to go. The pool is so much fun for the kids. The grown ups also enjoyed the pina coladas at the pool side snack bar We all enjoyed the fun themeing of POFQ and every CM we met was great. We can't wait to get back there in a few weeks!

 

[Amyg]

It really depends on what you're looking for.

We stayed at POFQ in July and enjoyed the peacefulness of the resort. Because the resort is very small, it's uncrowded and quiet. Most of the buildings are close to the pool/laundry, restaurant and main lobby areas so it's a really quick walk.

The bus service was very good during the eight days we were there. If you want to go to the table service restaurant or activities that POR offers it's just a nice 10 minute stroll (the walk is so peaceful!)

Good luck!