bytheblood
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2004
- Messages
- 17,343
**Please note...this is more written for those who are first time planners to WDW, therefore providing a little more information to the uninformed reader.
Visit Dates 6/2 - 6/9
I visited this resort in December of 2002 and in June of 2005, the resort renovation has made a nice difference. This resort is Mardi Gras themed, but not too over the top. Its sister property Riverside is more laid back and woodsy. The French Quarter side is very small and everything is within close walking distance.
PROPERTY
The grounds were very nice, just as my last visit. Very clean, peaceful and not too Disney. We spotted rabbits, squirrels, birds, lizards and other creatures on the property; none seemed to be afraid of the guests. The flowers were bloomed, trees were green and courtyards were mowed.
LOBBY
We arrived and checked-in at about 10:45 AM. When you first walk in the doors, there is a pretty fountain in front of you and the lobby is to the right. The lobby was quiet and very clean. There were a few other guests waiting in line and others waiting by the TV on the sofas, it was still quiet. Check-in took all of 10 minutes, including the wait in line. It was great. The CMs were kind and efficient. The CM that checked us in was new to POFQ, but still wonderful and efficient. There were 5 people in our party and we needed two rooms he provided us with our cards and off we go to our rooms.
ROOMS
I was very pleased when we arrived to our rooms. I faxed a list of requests to the resort a week before we left. My requests for non-smoking for my asthma (which is the only guaranteed request), building five, third floor and one corner room. When we check in, we were told that we would be in building 5. We went to our rooms which were 5347 and 5348 and both rooms were on the third floor and one was a corner room. I could not have been more thrilled.
The rooms were very clean and the refurbished décor was so much nicer than it was during my 2002 visit. Our room had two full beds, a table with two chairs, a small refrigerator, night stand, dresser with enough drawers for a family of 3 for a week, closet space, two separate sinks, a bathroom with a toilet (of course) and a shower/bath. Per my review in 2002, the bathrooms smelled terrible, like a truck-stop ..well, some things never change. The bathrooms smelled like they are never cleaned. I felt dirty after getting out of the shower, just like last time. I was hoping with the newly renovated rooms, the bathrooms would not be so nasty; no such luck.
STAFF
The CMs here are wonderful. I had nothing but good experiences. The mousekeeping was good. They cleaned our room daily and filled any of the requests we had. We did not get towel surprises each day, but the two times we did, it was nice.
I had an experience which could have been very misfortunate, but thank you to the honest CMs at POFQ, it turned out to be quite magical. After checking into our rooms, we went to the gift shop to redeem our vouchers for the pin and lanyard. When the CM took my vouchers, he also took my two envelopes of Disney Dollars, which was $150.00. I did not realize this at the time because my daughter was asking me if I could buy her everything in the store, I was trying to get her an autograph book and I was anxious to get to EPCOT. He must have set my envelopes on the counter when he asked me to sign the vouchers. I filled them out and when he handed me the lanyard and pins, I did not realize I was without my envelopes.
We got to EPCOT and I then realized I had 150 Disney Dollars that I could not find. We got off the bus, I called the resort and asked for the gift shop. The man who gave me the lanyard and pins answered the phone and he told me that he took my envelopes to the safe and that I could come and get them anytime. He then told me that he was so glad that he noticed it before a customer did. It is so hard to find honest people these days and for the CM to be honest meant a lot. There is a reason we always go back to POFQ.
RESTAURANT
The French Quarter does not have a full-service sit-down restaurant, but it does have a nice little food court. It is called Sassagoula Floatworks. The food is the same as what you can find everywhere else in the world. Hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken strips, fries, etc. For breakfast, they have waffles, pancakes, French toast, eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes and pastries. Two recommendations that I make are the pizza. It may seem pricey, like everything else in Disney, but it is good. The toppings are hearty and they are not selfish with them. I also suggest the beignets. They are delicious.
Also, I highly suggest getting the refillable mug. It is worth the $11.99 we paid for it. You have a choice of tea, coffee, hot chocolate, coke, diet coke, vanilla coke, cherry coke, root beer, sprite and a few minute maid drinks. We certainly got our moneys worth in 8 days.
POOL
We did not use the pool this visit, but the pool at the French Quarter is very cool. It is called the Dabloon Lagoon. There is a huge dragon slide, the pool is a decent size, there is décor all around it and the area is very clean. There is also a hot tub. The French Quarter only has one pool, but you can use the pools at Riverside if you wish.
BUSSES/BUS STOPS
The bus stops were very efficient. Port Orleans French Quarter is picked up first and then the bus heads to Riverside. POFQ has one stop, Riverside has four. Upon returning from the parks, POFQ was always dropped off first and then the bus went to Riverside. Several times, POFQ had their own bus. We never waited for more than 10 minutes for a bus to go from resort to park. Going from park to resort was usually about the same. I think we had to wait on 3 busses one night going from MGM to the resort after closing. Not too bad when the line for the AllStars went back 5 bus stops after filling up their queue line.
COST
We were fortunate enough to receive a discount code from Disney for $79 a night. With that being said, it was more than worth the money. Rack rate during value season is roughly $140. I would have paid that price to stay at POFQ.
OVERALL
The resort is nice, clean and the staff is great. The rooms are clean, the mousekeeping does a nice job and everything is conveniently located. If you are interested in a moderate resort, I highly recommend Disneys Port Orleans French Quarter.
Visit Dates 6/2 - 6/9
I visited this resort in December of 2002 and in June of 2005, the resort renovation has made a nice difference. This resort is Mardi Gras themed, but not too over the top. Its sister property Riverside is more laid back and woodsy. The French Quarter side is very small and everything is within close walking distance.
PROPERTY
The grounds were very nice, just as my last visit. Very clean, peaceful and not too Disney. We spotted rabbits, squirrels, birds, lizards and other creatures on the property; none seemed to be afraid of the guests. The flowers were bloomed, trees were green and courtyards were mowed.
LOBBY
We arrived and checked-in at about 10:45 AM. When you first walk in the doors, there is a pretty fountain in front of you and the lobby is to the right. The lobby was quiet and very clean. There were a few other guests waiting in line and others waiting by the TV on the sofas, it was still quiet. Check-in took all of 10 minutes, including the wait in line. It was great. The CMs were kind and efficient. The CM that checked us in was new to POFQ, but still wonderful and efficient. There were 5 people in our party and we needed two rooms he provided us with our cards and off we go to our rooms.
ROOMS
I was very pleased when we arrived to our rooms. I faxed a list of requests to the resort a week before we left. My requests for non-smoking for my asthma (which is the only guaranteed request), building five, third floor and one corner room. When we check in, we were told that we would be in building 5. We went to our rooms which were 5347 and 5348 and both rooms were on the third floor and one was a corner room. I could not have been more thrilled.
The rooms were very clean and the refurbished décor was so much nicer than it was during my 2002 visit. Our room had two full beds, a table with two chairs, a small refrigerator, night stand, dresser with enough drawers for a family of 3 for a week, closet space, two separate sinks, a bathroom with a toilet (of course) and a shower/bath. Per my review in 2002, the bathrooms smelled terrible, like a truck-stop ..well, some things never change. The bathrooms smelled like they are never cleaned. I felt dirty after getting out of the shower, just like last time. I was hoping with the newly renovated rooms, the bathrooms would not be so nasty; no such luck.
STAFF
The CMs here are wonderful. I had nothing but good experiences. The mousekeeping was good. They cleaned our room daily and filled any of the requests we had. We did not get towel surprises each day, but the two times we did, it was nice.
I had an experience which could have been very misfortunate, but thank you to the honest CMs at POFQ, it turned out to be quite magical. After checking into our rooms, we went to the gift shop to redeem our vouchers for the pin and lanyard. When the CM took my vouchers, he also took my two envelopes of Disney Dollars, which was $150.00. I did not realize this at the time because my daughter was asking me if I could buy her everything in the store, I was trying to get her an autograph book and I was anxious to get to EPCOT. He must have set my envelopes on the counter when he asked me to sign the vouchers. I filled them out and when he handed me the lanyard and pins, I did not realize I was without my envelopes.
We got to EPCOT and I then realized I had 150 Disney Dollars that I could not find. We got off the bus, I called the resort and asked for the gift shop. The man who gave me the lanyard and pins answered the phone and he told me that he took my envelopes to the safe and that I could come and get them anytime. He then told me that he was so glad that he noticed it before a customer did. It is so hard to find honest people these days and for the CM to be honest meant a lot. There is a reason we always go back to POFQ.
RESTAURANT
The French Quarter does not have a full-service sit-down restaurant, but it does have a nice little food court. It is called Sassagoula Floatworks. The food is the same as what you can find everywhere else in the world. Hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken strips, fries, etc. For breakfast, they have waffles, pancakes, French toast, eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes and pastries. Two recommendations that I make are the pizza. It may seem pricey, like everything else in Disney, but it is good. The toppings are hearty and they are not selfish with them. I also suggest the beignets. They are delicious.
Also, I highly suggest getting the refillable mug. It is worth the $11.99 we paid for it. You have a choice of tea, coffee, hot chocolate, coke, diet coke, vanilla coke, cherry coke, root beer, sprite and a few minute maid drinks. We certainly got our moneys worth in 8 days.
POOL
We did not use the pool this visit, but the pool at the French Quarter is very cool. It is called the Dabloon Lagoon. There is a huge dragon slide, the pool is a decent size, there is décor all around it and the area is very clean. There is also a hot tub. The French Quarter only has one pool, but you can use the pools at Riverside if you wish.
BUSSES/BUS STOPS
The bus stops were very efficient. Port Orleans French Quarter is picked up first and then the bus heads to Riverside. POFQ has one stop, Riverside has four. Upon returning from the parks, POFQ was always dropped off first and then the bus went to Riverside. Several times, POFQ had their own bus. We never waited for more than 10 minutes for a bus to go from resort to park. Going from park to resort was usually about the same. I think we had to wait on 3 busses one night going from MGM to the resort after closing. Not too bad when the line for the AllStars went back 5 bus stops after filling up their queue line.
COST
We were fortunate enough to receive a discount code from Disney for $79 a night. With that being said, it was more than worth the money. Rack rate during value season is roughly $140. I would have paid that price to stay at POFQ.
OVERALL
The resort is nice, clean and the staff is great. The rooms are clean, the mousekeeping does a nice job and everything is conveniently located. If you are interested in a moderate resort, I highly recommend Disneys Port Orleans French Quarter.
