Which resort: PO-FQ or WL?

[Deborah_Mary]

Hello there. My family and I are hoping to book our vacation to DW very soon but we are up in the air about which resort we should stay at (it's between PO-FQ and WL). I was wondering if I could get some advice as to which resort may be best.

A little background info: there are 3 of us (dh, dd who's 4 and me) who will be going. Last July we went and spent 3 nights at the Contemporary and had a wonderful time! We booked a standard room and when we checked in we got bumped up to a tower room (MK side) and were super excited about the upgrade and view - WOW!

Dh & I went and stayed at the Contemporary for our honeymoon (4 nights in August) in 1995. And before that I went with my parents in 1989 (stayed at the Polynesian for a week in July) and 1990 (Disney cruise for 3 nights/Polynesian for 4 nights in June).

So as you can see, I'm very use to staying on the monorail. But now we are talking about staying off the monorail and I'm a bit apprehensive about it. The 2 resorts that are highest on our list are PO-FQ (possibly for 5 nights) and WL (possibly for 4 nights). Dh's concern is mainly about the money, but I'm more concerned about the transportation aspect of it as well as being at a place that would be fun for dd and well, all of us.

We are most likely going to go down in May (June , July and maybe even August are also possibilities but our first choice is May), but that may change if a deal is so good another month that we'll go then.

I was just hoping like I said earlier to get some info on both PO-FQ and WL to help us make the decision a bit easier.

Can anyone help us out??

Thanks in advance!

Deb*

 

[firstmickey]

We just got back from 4 nights at FQ and really liked it.
We thought the transporation was very good.
We liked the boat to DTD (about 15-20 min ride), but there was also a bus (about 5 min ride).

The buses were great.
to Epcot about 10 mins.
to MK about 10 mins.
to MGM about 10-15 mins.
even to AK was about 15 mins.

The buses stop at FQ and then go over to Riverside.
On the way home, they stop at FQ first.
There are about 4 bus stops at Riverside but it did not seem to take long to go through them all, and a couple of times our bus only did the main stop and was on its way.

I think DD will really enjoy the pool with the dragon tongue slide.
You can also rent bikes at FQ and I think boat rental is at Riverside.

The food court had a lot of different choices. There is a boat to Riverside if you would like to use their sit down restaurant, Boatwrights. (we never made it over there)

Finally, the resort is very pretty and very compact so you are able to walk to everything quickly. We stayed in Building 5 in a king bed room on an upper floor. Bldg 5 was very close to the pool, bus stop and food court. (but it didn't seem like any of the buildings would be very far.)

We requested a coffeemaker and an iron at checkin and they were in our room within 20 mins. There is no hairdryer in room but I believe you can request that also.

Mousekeeping was very good. We had two towel animals during our 4 nite stay. Room was clean but you could tell it was an older resort. We did not spend much time in our room.

I'd be happy to answer any questions.
Donna

 

[christinou]

We hav stayed at both, and I really like PO-FQ, Wilderness Lodge is great, but if money is a concern, PO is terrific.
Your son will love the dragon Pool, the resort is really lovely.
The down is:
Double beds at PO-FQ, queen at WL
Boat to MK from WL, bus from PO-FQ
No sit down restaurant at PO-FQ, and very limited room service.

We are leaving for PO-FQ in a week, and I can't wait

 

[Selket]

We stayed at PO-FQ (it was just PO then!) about 3 years ago with DS who was only 2.5 years old and he really enjoyed the resort. That is the only time I've stayed on the property so I cannot compare it to anything else there but I didn't find the bus ride to be bad (except perhaps when we went to downtown disney) - getting to the parks wasn't a hassle. We did drive some of the time however since it seemed just as easy to use the car and probably faster (easier to haul the stroller for us). We were also there in May and the weather was great. The resort is small enough so it is very easy to get around. The things I liked the least: room size seemed small for the price - but it was adequate. And we NEVER seemed to get housekeeping. No matter what time we came to the room to take a nap that's when housekeeping came and we ended up with zero housekeeping - just stuff in a bag on the door. I never even saw housekeeping around so I don't know what was going on. Guess that is something easily fixed however - I just didn't take the time to complain.

We're going back sometime in the next year and hoping to stay at WL, Cont, or some other nice resort (and we now have another child - would like more room!).

Enjoy!
Carol

 

[#1MMFan]

This one's difficult. What you've got to remember is that you've already stayed in Deluxes all your previous times. I have had a similar experience as you will see from my signature.. I stayed in WL once then went back during the summer when it was financially easier to stay at POR (we had already stayed there and enjoyed ourselves immensely). What we found was that we noticed the little subtle differences between the deluxe and the moderate; the interior corridors, the size of the room, the balcony, the general overall friendliness of the CM, the pool area, beach, the boat to MK, the EWP, etc etc. It actually did put a *slight* damper on the holiday (but not *too* much, we were in WDW after all!).

It's just something to consider. I wouldn't worry about transportation at WL. It's usually efficient, the boat ride to MK makes you feel extra special and is more pleasant than perhaps the monorail, although possibly chillier depending on the AC in the monorail. OK the monorail is a novelty, but you are not considering staying at a monorail resort so count it out of the equation. I found buses at POR a little frustrating in the latter stays, albeit that was a wee while ago now. Buses at WL may go to FW, or may pick up people at Poly and GF, but you are first on and first off so it's not bad. It takes a bit longer to get to DD, but I found it amusing/ironic that POR was classed as a DD area resort, but the buses always took ages to get there. The boat is not fast either but more pleasant if you can stand the queue.

I did enjoy POR, (can't speak for POFQ) but I would go with WL personally. You may feel robbed of your deluxe-ness!

#1MMFan

 

[2belles'mom]

I have stayed at WL and at PO Riverside (Dixie Landings, then), where we "visited" the French Quarter.

I would go for WL hands-down!

We spent 8 nights at WL over Christmas, and it was so wonderful. The boats to MK were easy and efficient, and there are also boats to the Contemporary and Fort Wilderness. Since you loved being at the Contemporary, it might be fun to take the boat over there to shop/eat/dink. That is what we did, since I enjoy the Contemporary too.

We also utilized the boats to go to WL for the Hoop Dee Doo, and the campfire (when in season).

But either way, you will have a great time!

 

[lisareneeo]

We have stayed at both. Our first trip was to PO-FQ. We enjoyed ourselves and would stay at this resort again. This December we stayed at WL and LOVED the resort. I am hooked on WL and this would be a hard decision for me. If money is a factor I think you would have a great experience at PO FQ. I didn't think the rooms were any bigger at WL. I also thought the food court was better at PO FQ. We did eat here several times. At the time of our PO FQ trip my children were 2 and 4. They loved the pool. It was perfect for their ages. We had no problems what so ever with the transportation, we actually thought the bus service was great. We did love the WL's theme. The rooms were no bigger. We did enjoy a meal at Whispering Canyons (PO FQ does not have a sit down) and thought the food court had a limited selection compared to moderate resorts ( we also styed at Riverside) The transportation was fine at WL too. You are not on the monorail so in my opinion the transportation isn't that much better than PO FQ. However, it was nice to take the boat to MK. Other than that we took a bus to the other parks or to TTC and switched to the monorail for EPCOT. We did share a bus with Fort Wilderness and even the Grand Floridian on one of our trips ( I think to AK) If money is a factor stay at FQ and stay the extra night. Whatever you decide, have a great trip.

 

[kdibattista]

I have never stayed at the WL so I really can't comment but I am sure it's fabulous. I can speak about the FQ and let me say you will LOVE it!!! It is by far our favorite moderate resort. It's small (nice when carrying around a 4 yo ) the atmosphere is lovely and the food court is great!!!!! If you do stay there, make sure to try the beignets!!!!

Here is a map of FQ:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/portorleans.jpg

Hope this helps!!!

 

[doombuggy]

I loved Port Orleans (now PO/French Quarter)! We had no problems with the busses or the boat to DTD. I loved the quaintness of the resort. I have never stayed to WL, so I can't comment on that resort. I wanted to stay to PO/FQ this coming May, but i could not get a room. I am not sure if it is closed (the time period for our stay is 5/15-5/20), or I just could not get the discounted room rate. i would stay there in a heart beat again, though! and I have stayed at deluxes before.

 

[#1MMFan]

Originally posted by lisareneeo
We did love the WL's theme. The rooms were no bigger. We did enjoy a meal at Whispering Canyons (PO FQ does not have a sit down) and thought the food court had a limited selection compared to moderate resorts ( we also styed at Riverside)

I'm not being argumentative but the rooms are actually differently sized. 314 sq feet as opposed to 340 sq feet. The queen beds at WL take up some of the extra space, but you also have a balcony and more room on either side of the bed. The bathroom / vanity area is also set up in a more sensible way, being away from the view of the balcony or the door. Check out the room plan on the official WDW site. I do agree the food court offers good selections at PO, less so at WL, but they anticipate you'll probably eat at more sit down restaurants I think. In actual fact, we've decided that this IS quite convenient and quick anyway!

Just my opinions anyway!

#1MMFan

 

[kevind65]

I think when people say the rooms are not any bigger, they're actually saying the rooms don't seem to be any bigger. 26 sqft accounts for about 6-8inches more width on a room. It's not significant enough to make a major difference in comfort IMHO. the balcony sounds nice though.

 

[frank & joanne]

We just returned from POFQ on 2/8 and loved it. We were in Bldg 3 across from the fountain. Bus service was very quick, except for the one day the driver for MK took us to Epcot. Once there he just admitted he made a mistake and on to MK we went. The weather was great 50-78 and we didn't even need a fast pass, since our longest wait was only 15 minutes. The room at POFQ was nice, king bed and we walked to Boatwrights every day along the river, about .7 miles. The boat service to DD was prompt. Although we didn't have a balcony everything was perfect.