Riverside or FQ?

[darkwing818]

My favorite resort in all Disney is French Quarter. Beautiful, small and with good bus service.

French Quarter hands down... Love the beignets

 

[kmb584]

POFQ! It's my absolute favorite Mod and everyone that I have recommended it to have loved it!

The resort is quaint with great themeing, the grounds are beautiful and all of the on-site ammenities (Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory, Jackson Sqaure giftshop, Alligator Pool, etc) are all within a 5 minute or less walk. We never waited longer than 5-10 minutes for a bus and the huge bonus for me was that POFQ picked up before heading over to POR. As a single mom it was nice to have a seat considering that I also had a toddler, her stroller, her diaper bag and my purse. I cannot imagine what would have happened had I had to stand!

POR is just a quick boatride or walk away and since POFQ is its sister resort you are also entitled to use the amenities over there. Every night after we returned from the parks my (then) 15-month-old would say, "Mama, boat! I go see horsies?" so that was how we spent our evenings.

 

[tinkerbella16]

I love both Riverside and POFQ! French Quarter a little more for its small size and charm. I love the look of the buildings at FQ.

This year we wanted to try the Royal Rooms at Riverside so we booked POR for November. One thing I really love about both is the boat transportation to DTD. I haven't taken a bus to or from DTD since 2007 and I plan on keeping it that way as long as I stay Port Orleans!

I must say that the food court at Riverside is far superior than POFQ. You can only get those yummy beignets at FQ though. Both resorts have newly renovated rooms with queen size beds and they look awesome!

 

[Maleficent Dragon]

I prefer the French Quarter. They are the first to be picked up and dropped off on the bus route and everything is a close walk to everything else.

 

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

I prefer the French Quarter. They are the first to be picked up and dropped off on the bus route and everything is a close walk to everything else.

We were just at POR in April for 2 different stays and we didn't share buses with POFQ at all. If you get a preferred room at POR everything is super close.

 

[darnheather]

We were just at POR in April for 2 different stays and we didn't share buses with POFQ at all. If you get a preferred room at POR everything is super close.

Is this just during busy times? The Unofficial guide says they share a bus and several PP mentioned it too.

 

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

Is this just during busy times? The Unofficial guide says they share a bus and several PP mentioned it too.

April wasn't that busy & each time we left a park & we hit them all, POR had a dedicated bus no matter what time of day. One night we missed the POR bus so we hopped on the POFQ bus & got off there to look around the resort & then caught the boat from POFQ to POR. Loved doing that.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

Go with your first instincts and stay at POFQ. We have stayed at both and enjoyed them both. FQ is definitely easier to get around and I love the theme. The pool area is geared more for smaller children (in my opinion), if the pool is an important part of choosing a resort. On our first stay in PO we were in the FQ and my son was only seven. Our last stay was a year and a half ago and he was 20 and the serpent slide just isn't the same for him any more.

POR is very easy to get to; boat, bus, or a short easy walk which is how we always traveled between the two resort. They are sister resorts so you can partake in everything that Riverside has to offer including the pool.

If you can swing it my wife and I did the evening horse drawn carriage ride at Riverside. We really enjoyed it and the lady CM was very fun to talk to while making our way through Alligator Bayou. We were in the Mansion section and we didn't walk over to AB so it was nice to see that section of the resort.

 

[KristenRB]

Go with your first instincts and stay at POFQ. We have stayed at both and enjoyed them both. FQ is definitely easier to get around and I love the theme. The pool area is geared more for smaller children (in my opinion), if the pool is an important part of choosing a resort. On our first stay in PO we were in the FQ and my son was only seven. Our last stay was a year and a half ago and he was 20 and the serpent slide just isn't the same for him any more.

POR is very easy to get to; boat, bus, or a short easy walk which is how we always traveled between the two resort. They are sister resorts so you can partake in everything that Riverside has to offer including the pool.

If you can swing it my wife and I did the evening horse drawn carriage ride at Riverside. We really enjoyed it and the lady CM was very fun to talk to while making our way through Alligator Bayou. We were in the Mansion section and we didn't walk over to AB so it was nice to see that section of the resort.

Oh that sounds fantastic! A carriage rode through Alligator Bayou?! This is speaking to my Louisiana roots big time! Thanks for suggesting that we would love it.

Pool isn't so much a deal breaker, I live on the beach so I have my fair share of water time

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[Laura's Dad]

We have stayed at both resorts multiple times (we are just PO type people) and loved both of them. Looking to go back next year in the fall. It is still hard for us to figure our which is better. The best room we ever had was in the Magnolia Terrace section of the PO-Riverside mansions. We could look out on the gazebo and gardens from our room. We go to see Bob's show at the River Roost (PO+R) wherever we stay in Orlando. We would like to have seen Elliott Dyson's show at PO-FQ and we hope that they will hire him back after the PO-FQ lobby renovation. Bob was let go after 9/11 forthe same reason and an e-mail campaign that we participated in got him back. I understand that discounts are easier at the Riverside lately, but either place is magical.

 

[Tink51196]

Just returned from our June 7-14 trip at French Quarters. My first choice had been CBR since we stayed there for our honeymoon 17 years ago. But traveling with a 16 and 15 year old we opted for the refurb/queen beds.

What I liked about FQ was our room location. We stayed in Bldg 6, 3rd floor. Our room was facing the courtyard where they show the 9pm nightly movies. We were only in our room once when the movies played and the sound didn't bother us. What I liked about Bldg 6 and 5 facing this courtyard is that our rooms weren't facing another building very close. Like another poster mentioned some of the buildings seem to be so close to another building with only a narrow street in front. I also felt that the trees in front of our "balcony" were not right on top of us. I also liked that bldgs. 4,5,6,7 were on the closest side to the route to Riverside.

I will agree that I wasn't thrilled about the FQ food court and deeply missed the table service dining that FQ had during our honeymoon. But, the bus stop was great. The only times I was annoyed with bus service was on one return from Downtown Disney. Shared and so crowded. And another shared time when we were returning late at night and the driver made all four stops at Riverside before French Quarters. What was worse was that no one got off (or on) at the Riverside stops. I think the drivers should give a quick shoutout asking "anyone for FQ..anyone for Riverside". Other than that, it was so convenient to get to the bus stop from Bldg 6 and so convenient when we got back from the bus, went to our room, then to the food court for a late night hot chocolate or ice cream. After 6 days of continuous walking in the parks, it was nice to have everything so close at FQ. And we could choose to take lengthier walks to Riverside or around all of FQ if we wanted.

I would have loved to have a more private, quiet pool at FQ, although I found the deep section to have less little kids--they were all by the slides. Riverside main pool was very crowded too .. so if quiet pools are important Riverside wins on that. Although you could use any of the Riverside pools too.

We didn't like Boatwrights at Riverside. Too pricey for me and well, I just like a well-rounded menu that offers things like grilled chicken sandwiches or good burgers. I felt like a real cheapskate when we dined here. Afterwards I cancelled the rest of my reservations at Boatwrights and we all enjoyed the restaurants at DTD, like House of Blues and especially quick service at Earl of Sandwhich.

A great source for pictures and building locations is the site portorleans.org

 

[KristenRB]

Just returned from our June 7-14 trip at French Quarters. My first choice had been CBR since we stayed there for our honeymoon 17 years ago. But traveling with a 16 and 15 year old we opted for the refurb/queen beds.

What I liked about FQ was our room location. We stayed in Bldg 6, 3rd floor. Our room was facing the courtyard where they show the 9pm nightly movies. We were only in our room once when the movies played and the sound didn't bother us. What I liked about Bldg 6 and 5 facing this courtyard is that our rooms weren't facing another building very close. Like another poster mentioned some of the buildings seem to be so close to another building with only a narrow street in front. I also felt that the trees in front of our "balcony" were not right on top of us. I also liked that bldgs. 4,5,6,7 were on the closest side to the route to Riverside.

I will agree that I wasn't thrilled about the FQ food court and deeply missed the table service dining that FQ had during our honeymoon. But, the bus stop was great. The only times I was annoyed with bus service was on one return from Downtown Disney. Shared and so crowded. And another shared time when we were returning late at night and the driver made all four stops at Riverside before French Quarters. What was worse was that no one got off (or on) at the Riverside stops. I think the drivers should give a quick shoutout asking "anyone for FQ..anyone for Riverside". Other than that, it was so convenient to get to the bus stop from Bldg 6 and so convenient when we got back from the bus, went to our room, then to the food court for a late night hot chocolate or ice cream. After 6 days of continuous walking in the parks, it was nice to have everything so close at FQ. And we could choose to take lengthier walks to Riverside or around all of FQ if we wanted.

I would have loved to have a more private, quiet pool at FQ, although I found the deep section to have less little kids--they were all by the slides. Riverside main pool was very crowded too .. so if quiet pools are important Riverside wins on that. Although you could use any of the Riverside pools too.

We didn't like Boatwrights at Riverside. Too pricey for me and well, I just like a well-rounded menu that offers things like grilled chicken sandwiches or good burgers. I felt like a real cheapskate when we dined here. Afterwards I cancelled the rest of my reservations at Boatwrights and we all enjoyed the restaurants at DTD, like House of Blues and especially quick service at Earl of Sandwhich.

A great source for pictures and building locations is the site portorleans.org

Thanks so much for sharing! Sounds like y'all really had a great time and enjoyed your stay at POFQ. I'm def staying at FQ for this visit, and thanks so much for adding in preferred room numbers and buildings. For some reason that had neer even crossed my mind for this reservation :/

I know I'll be happy with my decision! But reading everyone's helpful hints and experiences really helped me make the right choice for me and my DBF.

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