Reviews of Port Orleans French Quarter (Moderate Resort)
Reviewed by gilleska Review Date: 04/26/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We stayed at POFQ April 14-20, 2013. My family and I (me, husband, and 9 year old son) liked it quite a lot!
We stayed in Building 6 in a River View room. We were supposed to be in a garden view room at Riverside, but in order to correct a mistake with our reservation, Disney upgraded us, along with all of the members of our extended family traveling at the same time, to River View rooms at French Quarter for the same discounted price, which was a nice surprise.
The resort itself is lovely, beautifully landscaped and green, with attractive architecture. The room was big enough, and the privacy curtain between the room and the sinks was very handy for getting ready for bed without waking our already-sleeping son. Queen-sized beds were quite comfortable. We had a ground floor river view room right near the area where they hold the nightly campfire at the resort. My husband loved being able to directly exit the room in the morning without having to find stairs or wait for an elevator. Soundproofing of the room was great - I never once heard our upstairs or next-door neighbors through walls or ceiling.
We had no problems with the buses. All but one time, we had a dedicated bus for French Quarter to bring us to the parks and back. One night when we were leaving to go to the park in the early evening, we did have stop at all the stops at Riverside on the way out, which added another 5-10 minutes to the ride. But other than that, buses were fast and reliable.
The cafeteria at FQ was fine, especially for breakfast, though I would have liked more healthy food choices for lunch.
In the past, we have always stayed at a deluxe (VWL, AKL, YC) or at the Dolphin, but I have to say that except for the limited dining options, we really didn't miss any of the deluxe extras.
Pros:
Resort size, landscaping, buses, room layoutCons:
On-site dining optionsReviewed by terryrediger Review Date: 04/24/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
We have stayed at POFR six times now. It is definitely our favorite Disney resort. We have stayed at many of the other resorts including the deluxe, but this is still our favorite. The best part of this resort is the size. It has a nice pool, outdoor bar, and gift shop. Everything at the resort is within a short walk. The bus service at this resort is superb. The food court is good. It is fun to catch the boat ride to Downtown Disney. Also, the walk along the river to Riverside is beautiful. Overall, POFR is our favorite Disney resort and we will go back soon!
Pros:
The size of the resort, the location, the cost, and bus service.Cons:
No negatives.Reviewed by jancaths35 Review Date: 04/17/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
We stayed at French Quarter during Easter break, March 30th thru April 6th. We have 2 teenage daughters, and we were looking for a moderate resort that was comfortable and not too large.
We stayed in building 4 on the first floor. Great location! Minimal walk to pool, cafeteria, store, laundry, pool bar....etc. We couldnt have picked a better resort for the price. The grounds were clean and beautiful. Service was excellent. No problems with the bus service considering the parks were PACKED. What's great is there is only one bus stop that is at the front of the resort, and within minutes of walking from all of the buildings. Once in a while at night we had to stop at the Riverside, but all in all, no problems with the bus service, and we were there at a very busy time. After long, late nights at the parks with teenagers, it was such a relief to get off the bus and be in our room in less than five minutes! If you want to experience long walks, there is a beautiful path that takes you to the Riverside. It is along the river with flowers, and views of the Riverside resort.
Cafeteria was perfect for us--we always had a great breakfast, and some afternoon snacks. The Riverside had more selections, and a short relaxing ride on the boat over was wonderful.
Pool was clean, heated, and there was always a surplus of towels. The lifeguards were always attentive to the swimmers, and the hotel staff had great activities for everyone. Loved the movies on the lawn everynight!!
The room provided great space, loved the separate vanity area with private curtain for early risers. Plenty of room for our luggage. No problems with noise at night and we were on the first floor at the end. We all noticed the considerable size difference compared with the value resort.
This is a perfect resort for a family with older kids. We had stayed at Pop Century when our girls were younger, which was great for younger kids because of all the colors, and life sized characters. French Quarter is decorated with cute streets, beautiful flowers and cute street names.
We would definitely stay there again!!
Pros:
size of resort, walking distanceCons:
occasional bus stops at RiversideReviewed by bmdisney Review Date: 04/15/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
My daughter and I recently stayed for 2 nights. We had a standard room with a view of the parking lot. Check-in was efficient. Our only negative experience came at the concierge desk. One of the clerks ignored me before another helped me with getting a ticket to the park.
With only 2 people in our party, the room had more than enough room. My daughter (8) loved the pool. We took the boat to Downtown Disney and then rode it back to Riverside before walking to French Quarter. On a nice April evening, this was a very pleasant trip.
Bus service was no problem. We waited 10 minutes for a MK bus. During our stay, FQ did not share bus service with Riverside.
We have stayed at a few of the All-Star hotels, Fort wilderness and Art of Animation in the past. French Quarter has a lot to offer. For one, it is a compact resort. It is small (but not too small). We stayed in Building 7, furthest from the lobby and pool and walking was no problem. This would be one resort where the refillable mug may be worth it based on the length of your stay as it is not a long walk to get something to drink.
If there is a negative, it is the limited on-site dining. The ordering area can be congested but with a smaller resort, you would expect less eating area so that is only a small complaint.
I did not know if my daughter would enjoy the resort's theme but she thought the room was beautiful and loved the theme throughout the resort. She loved the pool.
I would definitely return to this resort in the future.
Pros:
easy to walk around, great location, boat transportation to downtown disneyCons:
limited dining optionsReviewed by tomc128 Review Date: 04/14/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
Family of 4 just returned. Excellent trip!! Staff was excellent. Resort was clean. Pool and slide were the perfect size for our 4 year old twins. People at pool were great. Participated in bonfire and movie-both were great. Food Court had decent options..again staff was great. All around good visit!!!
Pros:
Size of resort, staff, cleanlinessCons:
NoneReviewed by geneandcheryl Review Date: 04/10/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
LOVE LOVE LOVE this resort.Just returned from 2nd stay. We were met at the door and as we had done online check-in,a lovely girl by the name of Mariella retrieved our welcome packet and went thru everything with us. Great housekeeper by the name of Norma had our room very spiffy daily! We can't consider staying anywhere else!
Pros:
size,bus stopCons:
noneReviewed by hbk Review Date: 04/04/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
FQ is the best of the moderate resorts, and taking price, size, things to do, etc. into consideration, it may be the best value at Disney.
FQ is not very large (the smallest of the moderate resorts) which is advantageous. Besides some sections of building 1 or 7, you never really feel too far out. All buildings are easy access to food court, pool, bus stop and the boat to Market Place. The grounds are beautiful and the colors are festive.
The pool area is plenty big, with a great slide for the kids. The pool bar is there as well, with great selections.
The food court isn't huge, but still plenty of selection to give you a break from food in the park.
While at FQ, you have easy access to Riverside via the boat or a gorgeous walk along the Sassagoula River. If so inclined, you can mix things up and can eat at their food court (or Boatwrights - table service) or try their pool. The path along the river, thru FQ and Riverside is also great for a jog.
The boat to Marketplace is a tremendous perk. The boat ride is relaxing, scenic and so easy! Really makes it fun to go eat at Marketplace, shop or go for a nice margarita at their dockside bar.
One other note that may not be mentioned is FQ only has 1 bus stop. Which means you are not stopping at multiple stops at the same resort such as Caribbean or Riverside. Once you arrive at FQ, that's it, one stop and everyone gets off. Also, you don't have to wave at already full buses as they pass you up as you are the 3rd stop at the resort and not the first.
As noted, the value just can't be beat and the cost won't make your heart sink when pricing out the Polynesian for example (which is fabulous as well, but significantly more expensive than FQ...).
Pros:
value, size, proximity to Riverside and MarketplaceCons:
wish rooms were just a bit biggerReviewed by strawberry Review Date: 04/03/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We have been at all moderates. Last year we stayed at FQ and plan to stay here next year. Why? Mainly because the 11 and 14 year olds want to stay here again -which surprised me because I thought this was more an adult resort. We had even stayed at a Princess Room at POR a few days last time and the girls liked FQ more! There is one experience they insist on at the POR however, and that is going to the RiverRoost to see Bob again.
I believe that reservations for the FQ aren't always available now and when Disney Springs gets going, the boats from FQ and POR will become even more popular.
Pros:
size, decor, upkeepCons:
—Reviewed by shell65 Review Date: 04/01/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We went to Port Orleans from 3/22 to 3/28 and had a great time. The rooms are beautiful and very clean. The staff was so nice and friendly. The food court people were extremely nice and friendly especially Rod. My daughter needed medicine in the middle of the night and they opened the store for us and got the medicine. At first the desk said they could not help and transferred me to the night doctor. He said ask for the night manager and when I did things went smoothly! We had a lovely time and would stay there again.
Pros:
small resort, lovely clean rooms, staffCons:
busses a little slow from resortsReviewed by mscaseyray Review Date: 03/30/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
My husband and I stayed at POFQ in Dec 2011 after staying at the much larger POR previously. We were pleasantly surprised and I think we'd be more inclined to stay at French Quarter again. The resort is definitely small, but small can be wonderful when you spend most of your day walking around the parks. We stayed in the next to last building there and it took no time to get to the front desk and food court. It's brightly themed and it was beautiful at Christmastime. There is no table service restaurant on site but the food court is very good and we didn't feel we were missing anything by not having a TS restaurant. I highly recommend this moderate resort and highly recommend moderates in general--you get a little bit of both worlds for a great price.
