Port Orleans FQ vs. RS

[diskids2]

Hi All!

We have been to WDW several times staying at CBR all of the time. We are about to make another ressie, but are thinking about Port Orleans. I have read up on the resort, but am looking for the words of wisdom from all of the experts. Here are my questions:

1. We don't know whether to stay at RS or FQ. One of the things that was a plus at CBR was that we always stayed at Martinique. I wouldn't mind a small walk but nothing over 5 min to the main areas. We think we would prefer the mansion buildings vs the alligator, but aren't really sure about that either. I'm alittle concerned about crossing the river each day. Our kids are older now (12 and 9) as well. I've read that FQ is more compact as well, HELP!

2. I've looked at the maps. Where at RS is the boat to DD?

3. Has anyone ever done the carriage ride?

4. How long does it really take to walk between the two resorts?

Thanks!

 

[feenie]

We have never stayed at RS, so I can only tell you about the French Quarter. We really love it. Everything is close, so you won't have to worry about walking to far, it's easy to navigate, so if the kids go off on their own, it's not so easy to get turned around. We loved the pool. And the boats to Downtown Disney are great.
Even when they did have a sit down restraunt on site we never at there, so that is not a big deal for us. And the food court has plenty of choises.
Good luck!!!

 

[Nolcrest]

It's about a 5 min walk to the food court from the Magnolia Mansion. It is a beatiful scenic resot. The bridges are sooo sturdy and safe and wide too. No problem crossing with kids. my kids went at that age and they had no problem getting around. The boat to DD at located right outside the food court. The blke rentals are there too. I assume that would be you would also pick up the carriage rides but I'm not really sure. POR is abolutely beautiful. POFQ is nice too. More compact. But you can easily walk there too for variety or to use their pool.

 

[diskids2]

Thanks. Can't wait to get more opinions too! I feel those planning juices flowing already.

Naturally my family is split 2-2.

 

[BCAMom]

Just got back from POFQ. We loved it. We were in bldg. 3 so we were close to food court, store and pool. The walk to RS isnt' very bad but the boat ride is really nice. We toured RS to see if we would like to stay there next but decided we liked the convience of FQ better. It was nice being so close to food court so we could grab a quick drink, etc. The boat ride to DD was really nice and relaxing. We did the carriage ride, my DH surprised me with it!! It was awesome. It lasted about 35 to 45 minutes. Our rider was so nice. It cost $30 and I highly recommend it. We really enjoyed our stay at FQ and would choose FQ for our next trip.

 

[jaguar9748]

Of these 2, POR is our favorite, hands down.

POR: 2 themes - mansions and bayou. We prefer the bayou because of the trundle bed option, but the mansions are lovely too. I recommend Oak Manor or Magnolia Terrace in the mansion section. In the bayou section I recommend buildings 14, 15, 16, 18 (if you smoke), and 27. 6 pools (5 quiet and 1 main pool). The main building is the center of the resort. Here you find a large shop, Boatwrights - great restaurant. an excellent food court, a lounge, guest services, game room, boats to DD, bicycle rentals and boat rentals. There are 4 bus stops with excellent bus service. The carriage rides are $30 for 30 minutes and leave from Boatwrights. I saw a carriage leaving - beautiful! Fishin' hole. Ducks and bunnies. Depending on walking speed even the farthest room should be no longer than 10 minutes.

POFQ: Smaller and more compact, but Building 1 is still a fair hike and so is Building 7. 1 pool. The main building houses a small shop, food court (no sit down restaurant), nice game room. There is 1 bus stop (again a fair hike from Buildings 1 and 7. There are no bike or boat rentals. There is a nice shuttle boat from POFQ to POR. You can also hop on any bus except Magic Kingdom to get to POR. They also have a van that goes from POR to POFQ for folks dining at Boatwrights. New Orleans theme.

My vote is POR because it has more amenities and because I just love the ambience of the resort!

 

[Mousefanz]

We've stayed in both FQ and RS and much prefer FQ !!
The mansion we stayed in at RS was a 15 minute hike to foodcourt - brutal in the AM for a quick cup of coffee. At FQ (one of the smallest resorts I believe), everything is a reasonable distance away.
You can't go wrong with either though, the staff are friendly and helpful and the views, theming and access to the boats to DTD are unbeatable.
Even though we own DVC now, I sometimes miss being at the old PO!!

 

[princess lovers mom]

We have always stayed at POR (Dixie landings), I never even thought about the walk to the main building, it was so enjoyable to see the ducks swimming, the butterflies, little bunnies...the landscaping is great! We stayed at Magnolia bend last time and there was a bus stop behind our building so we didn't even have to walk up front to get the disney bus, and when we came back late after the fireworks carrying sleeping children it was a very easy walk to the buildings from this back bus stop...

the boat to DD is right behind the main building at a dock there

the main pool is great, lots of little quiet pools all over that very nice too...

our kids loved the food court, easy food choices...they could watch videos and play at a huge lego table while we lingered over our coffee

POR is our favorite

 

[diskids2]

Thanks everyone!

This is the "big" discussion in our house at the moment and your information has been very helpful. Once we decide, I'll let everyone know and once we get home, I'll be sure to post a trip report.