1st time trying a Moderate- FQ- tell me everything-good and bad.

disneyandme

DIS Veteran
Joined
Nov 26, 2001
Tell me all about the French Quarter resort. We have only stayed at DVC or Deluxe resorts in the past, but really liked the feel of the FQ when we went there to eat at their food court.
The biggest concerns for me are the exterior doors (noise), smoking near the doors (kids have bad asthma) and the pet policy.
 
No pets at FQ. We have never noticed smoke and I am quite sensitive to it. And noise has never been an issue either. We have stayed 3 times, twice we booked river view and the third we booked king and got a river view again. People have said the noise from the boat is an issue but we never even noticed it. If we had noticed it, I don’t think it would have bothered us because it’s just a Disney sound :). It’s a very small very charming resort, the theming is just so good. We stayed at WL a few times before switching to FQ and had no regrets. Our last FQ trip we bought into DVC and I admit, part of me regretted we likely wouldn’t be back to FQ again. I know that’s wrong now, we will probably have cash visits and will likely be back to FQ. It just calls me back!
 
Tell me all about the French Quarter resort. We have only stayed at DVC or Deluxe resorts in the past, but really liked the feel of the FQ when we went there to eat at their food court.
The biggest concerns for me are the exterior doors (noise), smoking near the doors (kids have bad asthma) and the pet policy.

French Quarter is lovely! It is a beautiful setting, the small size means everything is a short walk away, it has only one bus stop, the cast members are some of the best around, and the quick-service restaurant is delicious. To us, it seems quieter and more peaceful than other resorts. We’ve never had a problem with noise, smoking, pets or unruly guests. I think you will love it!
 
We love POFQ, but have only been able to stay there once due to availability. My favorite thing about staying there is the short walk to everything, especially the food court and filling our mugs.

As far as your concerns, pets aren’t allowed, but support animals are. I just wrote on another thread about our DD being transported to Celebration hospital last week due to asthma. We had a newly refurbished CSR room with wood floors, so it wasn’t the room. We did ride in a couple Lyfts, which made me wonder, but she started suffering the most at Epcot in WS.

Funny our experience with loud noises have always been at deluxe resorts, and people are going to break the smoking rules everywhere.

I’d give POFQ a try. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised :goodvibes
 


We love POFQ and have never had issues with smoking near the room or pool or anywhere and I would have noticed! Seeing the carriage rides at night, boat to DS and the overall feel of this resort is imho one of the best on property especially for a moderate.
 
We've never noticed any smoke either.
There's lots to love at FQ. Besides the size and ease of getting around. It's also very quiet and very peaceful.
If it's a nice day, the walk along the river is relaxing and beautiful. You could even walk over to Riverside and you'll have full use of their amenities as well!
 
I have nothing bad to say about FQ, it is my absolute favorite WDW resort! It's very peaceful. Our last stay, we were upgraded to a pool view room on the third floor. I was worried because during the day they have parties out at the pool. We came back for our nap, and I couldn't hear anything going on outside. I even opened the door to see if the pool was closed, but the party was still going on.
I love that there's only one bus stop, and no matter where your room is, you're not far from the main building. I love the jazz music playing throughout the resort, and I love the overall theme. It's home to me.
 


We stayed for the first at POFQ last March. We were pleasantly surprised how much we liked it (though we both like POR more)
We were on the first floor of bldg. 2 and never smelled smoke or saw anyone smoking. There is smoking allowed in parts of some of the courtyards. We had no trouble at all with noise, even from above us. The pet issue is at POR, and that is why we tried POFQ. Never saw a service animal at all.
I think you will like it, if you don't constantly compare it to a deluxe:)
 
Tell me all about the French Quarter resort. We have only stayed at DVC or Deluxe resorts in the past, but really liked the feel of the FQ when we went there to eat at their food court.
The biggest concerns for me are the exterior doors (noise), smoking near the doors (kids have bad asthma) and the pet policy.
I love Port Orleans and I stay at Port Orleans Riverside every year. Last year the guest in the room next door would go outside on our second floor covered open air balcony-like walkway to all the rooms and smoke. I saw him there three different times, although he would make a hasty exit when I opened my door to leave. Super annoying. I’m sure the same thing happens at French quarter. There are designated smoking areas, but many guests smoke outside these areas, and some of these smoking areas are situated in unavoidable locations, anyway.
 
I love POFQ and I had stayed at BC (x2) and Poly before trying it. I stayed 4 trips in a row at POFQ until I went with Pop to save $. Liked Pop fine, but POFQ is still my fave.

YMMV, but I never had any issues with noise or smoke at POFQ. I had more of an issue with hallway noise on my first BC trip. I think the exterior entry doors are heavier than the interior-hallway room doors. I've stayed on all 3 floors at POFQ and been happy each time. I think most noise issues are (bad) luck of the draw if you get a noisy neighbor and can happen anywhere.

Again, this is only my experience, but in 8 WDW trips I've never noticed any smoke outside the designated smoking areas. I don't have specific medical issues with it (such as asthma), but I'm a non-smoker so I think I'd notice. (ETA: not saying this doesn't happen, just that I haven't experienced it.)
 
We stayed at FQ years ago before the renovation and loved it! We had a River View and did not notice noise or smoking and we were there during a Thanksgiving Week. We are trying Riverside in a little over a month.
 
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DH and I have stayed at FQ many times and we love it. When our children were growing up we stayed at a deluxe resort on our yearly trips. Now that it is just the 2 of us, we no longer need the space or the cost. FQ has a great theme, it is a very quiet resort, 1 bus stop, the boat to DS is great, never had a problem with smokers, nice walk over to POR, wonderful cast members, rooms have just been re-done, and the food court is very nice. It is very beautiful to walk along the river in the evening or take a carriage ride for a special Disney memory.
 
We have stayed 3 times at FQ and really love it.
* It is smaller than other moderate resorts, this is a plus
* Rooms have recently been refurbished and the beds are very comfortable
* The food court is decent
* We found it quiet and so easy to walk all around it
* The boats to DS are very convenient
* The bus transportation is great, dedicated bus just for FQ except when going to AK, we did share with Riverside
* We have stayed in building 3 and loved it, close to the lobby, food, and bus.
* The New Orleans atmosphere is really nice, lobby and pool area decorated very nicely
 
When we stayed at POFQ, I woke up very early one morning and decided to go for a walk. I walked over to PORS and it was so beautiful and peaceful. I saw very few people and the boats weren't running yet so it was quiet. I love to walk around resorts and POFQ is definitely one of the best for that.
 
It's super small, so even if you're on the fringes of the resort you're not that far from everything. Granted my stay was in an unrefurbed room, but I didn't hear ANYTHING (we even had connecting rooms with my in laws).

I went with a 20 month old, and it was soooo toddler friendly (especially for an "independent" toddler who wants to walk everywhere). I'm sure we'll stay here again, but we also want to stay new places, so the next on the bucket list is hopefully AKL.
 
It is our favorite resort hands down! Over the years we have around 15 stays there and have never been disappointed. Others have pointed out all the advantages of buses and small size. The other plus is the boat service to DS. You can also use the POR pool, and they have fishing poles for rent at POR if you are looking for something extra to do. Overall a quiet resort with a nice pool. If we were not going as often we would stay here everytime, but since the AP and more frequent visits we have been opting for budget (PoP) but love POFQ.
 
Just back from a 3 week stay at POFQ - this is now our favourite resort and have already planned to return there on our next visit.

Not once in our 3 week stay did we have any problems with noise anywhere in the resort and certainly not in our room. The rooms have just been renovated and are very comfortable with good facilities. The beds have been raised to allow for suitcase storage underneath and this gives a whole new meaning to "climbing into bed" :rotfl:

The smoking areas are well away from the populated parts - we were in Block 1 and the smoking area was in a seated area with a fountain between this block and block 2. For a couple of days this area was being used by a film crew so the smoking was temporarily moved to a seat beside the river and again it was well away from the accommodation.

With regard to animals we only saw a couple of service dogs - however we were surprised to see that a family with one actually took it into the food serving area at breakfast - seemed totally unnecessary as all seemed to be fit and well and only a few yards way from their table.

One person came into the lobby area with a regular dog but a CM from reception quickly had a word with them and they left.

The pool is really nice with a water slide suitable for all ages! The one feature that seems to be lacking in the other resort pools is a shady area out of the sun when in the pool but here there is an arch formed by the sea serpent/slide that provides just that - great feature!

Only complaint was the laundry - these are run by an outside contractor so you have to take cash or a debit/credit card with you to get washing supplies and to run the machines. This comes as a surprise to first time users as everything else works with your Magic Band. During our first week they were having a lot of problems. First of all the washing supplies vending machine was rejecting credit cards - just displaying a card denied message. Luckily somebody told us that it was a fault and that supplies were being issued free of charge in reception. We later saw a lady with a baby in her arms frantically phoning her husband to tell him that all her cards were being denied! We told her of the problem much to her relief. Disney fell down here by not posting a simple message on the machine. Later all of the machines stopped working and those of us there at the time were transported to the facility at Riverside and given a number to call to get a ride back to the FQ. Luckily they got it sorted and we had no further problems there during our last two weeks.

During our stay we visited most of the deluxe resorts as we were thinking of trying one on our next trip with Animal Kingdom Lodge being top of our list. After spending some time in them we felt that they were all large and impersonal - sitting in the lounge area at AKL felt like sitting in a railway station. We loved the compactness and the atmosphere at POFQ.

This was our first stay at a moderate resort and as I said at the start this has become our firm favourite.

Hope this helps.
 
Our favorite place to stay is Yacht Club, club level. However when we add days before our trip to Yacht Club we have stayed at POFQ twice and loved it. in fact we loved it so much that although our long trip in December we are at Yacht Club and Poly, in January after a conference in Orlando we booked POFQ for three days.

It is a charming resort, very quiet, never has groups of any kind there. The only place that I noticed smoking was in the dedicated smoking areas.

The rooms are decent sized and the beds are very comfortable. Transportation is great--quick walk to the bus stop no matter where your room is and dedicated bus service for the resort.

I think you will love it!
 
We have stayed at POFQ twice over the years and I thought it was a lovely resort. We stayed in building 4, in a room facing the rose garden (total coincidence, we had the same room two years in a row). It was a fantastic - just a quick walk to the main building and a quick walk to the bus stops.

If you are using the buses during "Prime time" (early morning or late evening), they do not share with Riverside and that is really nice. If you are coming or going at an off time, you will most likely share, so just note that the ride may take a little longer.
 

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