Disney's PORT ORLEANS FRENCH QUARTER RESORT Information & Questions

[andrewilley]

I am hoping to the painting on the bayou in October. Is there any way to know what the painting is ahead of time?

An image of the painting for each month is currently being included in the Recreation Schedule that is issued at the start of the month, so if they continue doing that you should be able to see it on or around 1st October. Keep an eye on https://www.portorleans.org/recreation-schedules.php for it to be released.

Andre

 

[morganms22]

So I just booked a Christmas trip for my husband and I Dec. 20-24. I booked POFQ, because of the compactness of the resort. Now I’m going back and forth between our reservation and the Grand Floridian. I absolutely love holiday decorations and I know the Grand has a lot, but French Quarter seems like it might be a little less hustle/bustle that time of the year. We have stayed at moderates and deluxes so we know what to expect with the rooms. Which would you choose and why?

 

[L_MD]

So I just booked a Christmas trip for my husband and I Dec. 20-24. I booked POFQ, because of the compactness of the resort. Now I’m going back and forth between our reservation and the Grand Floridian. I absolutely love holiday decorations and I know the Grand has a lot, but French Quarter seems like it might be a little less hustle/bustle that time of the year. We have stayed at moderates and deluxes so we know what to expect with the rooms. Which would you choose and why?

The holiday decorations around POFQ when I went in 2016 were understated but pretty. Let's see what I can find...so not the best picture, but you can see nice flowers, a tree (there were about 3 or 4 in the lobby), and garland going up the poles. The trees were very pretty at night.


As to what I'd choose, my answer is very much POFQ. I have nothing against the Grand, I've never stayed there...but my few trips to their lobby (as gorgeous as it is) have made me feel so out of place and annoyed.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

I’ve stayed at the GF during Christmastime 3 times. The lobby is beyond crowded because of everyone coming to see the beautiful decorations. The monorail is always very full as a result.

If you are staying RPC, you definitely feel more immersed in the Christmas spirit because you can watch all the hustle & bustle below, hear the Christmas music from the band while in the lounge etc. In the outer buildings, you are just fighting through crowds trying to get to your room.

Personally I would pick POFQ simply because of the drastic price difference but only you can decide.

 

[MusicalAstronaut]

So I just booked a Christmas trip for my husband and I Dec. 20-24. I booked POFQ, because of the compactness of the resort. Now I’m going back and forth between our reservation and the Grand Floridian. I absolutely love holiday decorations and I know the Grand has a lot, but French Quarter seems like it might be a little less hustle/bustle that time of the year. We have stayed at moderates and deluxes so we know what to expect with the rooms. Which would you choose and why?

Oh man, that's a really difficult question. At Port Orleans you can do the horse drawn carriage rides which is pretty magical. I do LOVE the GF at Christmas with the decorations & music though. I will say that you can of course always go visit GF & it's something I do every Christmas trip. Going to POR/FQ just to do the carriage ride is a little more out of the way just to do that, whereas if you're doing a monorail tour of the hotels to see Christmas decorations, GF is just one stop on that & you're not "losing time" driving/busing over there. I'm personally booked at POFQ but I can't afford GF. Besides what I've said already, I also think proximity to MK is a factor to consider. POFQ has the boat to Disney Springs which I'm excited about having. Would you use one of those way more than the other (or appreciate it at the time more)?

 

[morganms22]

The holiday decorations around POFQ when I went in 2016 were understated but pretty. Let's see what I can find...so not the best picture, but you can see nice flowers, a tree (there were about 3 or 4 in the lobby), and garland going up the poles. The trees were very pretty at night.
View attachment 335989

As to what I'd choose, my answer is very much POFQ. I have nothing against the Grand, I've never stayed there...but my few trips to their lobby (as gorgeous as it is) have made me feel so out of place and annoyed.

Thanks so much for posting this photo! I’m definitely leaning towards POFQ.

 

[morganms22]

I’ve stayed at the GF during Christmastime 3 times. The lobby is beyond crowded because of everyone coming to see the beautiful decorations. The monorail is always very full as a result.

If you are staying RPC, you definitely feel more immersed in the Christmas spirit because you can watch all the hustle & bustle below, hear the Christmas music from the band while in the lounge etc. In the outer buildings, you are just fighting through crowds trying to get to your room.

Personally I would pick POFQ simply because of the drastic price difference but only you can decide.

Thank you for your input! Yes, that’s I’m concerned about is fighting through crowds to get back to my room there during that time. There will be plenty of that to do at the parks!

 

[ashleymrush]

Since we had a discussion about the new Mickey shaped beignets recently, I thought I'd put this on here too. Scat Cat's Club has also added a beignet feature to the menu. These aren't Mickey shaped, just the standard pillow shape but they come with boozy pipettes to inject alcohol into your beignet! You can choose from Kahlua, Bailey's, or Rumchata. I'm a fan of booze and a fan of beignets but not quite sure if I want them together. If anyone goes and tries them, let us know how they are. Are they worth the $8? Here is a review from DFB on them: http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2018/07/10/boozy-beignets-now-at-disney-world/
Should be interesting!

 

[2manypets]

HA!! I just added the Beignets on my list of things to try. Those sound so good.

 

[MusicalAstronaut]

Since we had a discussion about the new Mickey shaped beignets recently, I thought I'd put this on here too. Scat Cat's Club has also added a beignet feature to the menu. These aren't Mickey shaped, just the standard pillow shape but they come with boozy pipettes to inject alcohol into your beignet! You can choose from Kahlua, Bailey's, or Rumchata. I'm a fan of booze and a fan of beignets but not quite sure if I want them together. If anyone goes and tries them, let us know how they are. Are they worth the $8? Here is a review from DFB on them: http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2018/07/10/boozy-beignets-now-at-disney-world/
Should be interesting!

I'll be there this Saturday to try both the boozy beignets and the new Mickey shaped ones!

 

[k5xs]

So I just booked a Christmas trip for my husband and I Dec. 20-24. I booked POFQ, because of the compactness of the resort. Now I’m going back and forth between our reservation and the Grand Floridian. I absolutely love holiday decorations and I know the Grand has a lot, but French Quarter seems like it might be a little less hustle/bustle that time of the year. We have stayed at moderates and deluxes so we know what to expect with the rooms. Which would you choose and why?

Last year, DW called me at work with the bad news that the only resort she could get us into was POFQ. She thought I'd be bummed and she was right. I am a huge fan of the Contemporary for high end stays, and of Pop or AA for low end stays. I do not care much for the whole mardis gras thing, including the colors purple and green together, LOL. So my expectations were "Sure, I'll stay at POFQ, but I'll use it to sleep in and not much else."

Boy. Was I wrong.

It has seriously become one of our favorite resorts. It's beautifully done, it's compact, it's quiet, the counter service food is awesome, and the gift shop is nice and quiet. The location for MK and Epcot makes getting to those parks via bus really quick. And the boat to Disney Springs is way cool. The live music in the bar area is way cool, too.

I find GF very busy and noisy, which is okay I suppose. But I'd opt for POFQ without a doubt if I had to choose.

 

[bigmac5]

I am beyond please that I got a reservation for Nov 30-Dec. 6...It took some time and downsizing our stay from 7 to 6 nights. Now all we have to do is wait until hubby sees the doctor in Sept. to make sure this trip is a go! I have been to POR a couple times but look forward to staying at POFQ. Thank you for this wonderful forum!

 

[LAS321]

We will be at FQ for the first time at the end of the month. Does anyone know if they sell cases of water in the gift shop. If so, what is the cost?
Thanks!

 

[chocolateMinnie]

So I just booked a Christmas trip for my husband and I Dec. 20-24. I booked POFQ, because of the compactness of the resort. Now I’m going back and forth between our reservation and the Grand Floridian. I absolutely love holiday decorations and I know the Grand has a lot, but French Quarter seems like it might be a little less hustle/bustle that time of the year. We have stayed at moderates and deluxes so we know what to expect with the rooms. Which would you choose and why?

So not exactly a response but ....
Although we haven’t stayed at POFQ we have stayed at the other mods and GF.
When we went in 2007 (beginning of November) they were just building the gingerbread house.
The area smelled beautiful and every night we would return to see today’s work and be offered the off cuts of gingerbread that had been trimmed in construction.
The week before all the resorts had been decorated for Halloween and that week we had stayed at CSR.
Were the decorations better at the deluxe resorts? Yes
But we spent maybe 15-20 minutes each day admiring them and in subsequent years have done a bit of cs resort hopping to do just that.
But I don’t go to WDW to see resorts alone and it was such a tiny part of my trip that imho the $$$ we spent staying at GF were not really worth it.
As an add-on the finest decorations we have ever seen were when visiting Fort Wilderness. Some of those van guests can out Disney Disney.

 

[ashleymrush]

We will be at FQ for the first time at the end of the month. Does anyone know if they sell cases of water in the gift shop. If so, what is the cost?
Thanks!

I’ve never seen cases of water sold in any of the gift shops. You can order a case and have it delivered but there will be a $5 charge. $5 doesn’t cover two dasani waters though so the charge would likely be worth it.

 

[Eighty8Keys]

We will be at FQ for the first time at the end of the month. Does anyone know if they sell cases of water in the gift shop. If so, what is the cost?
Thanks!

We stayed at POFQ in January 2017 and were able to buy a full case of 12 12oz bottles of Dasani water in the gift shop. When we stayed at the Poly in January 2018 we discovered that they switched to smaller packs of 6 or 8 bottles for $3.99. We were able to get a AP merchandise discount which brought the cost down to $3.19.

The bottled water is located in the refrigerated section at the far end of the gift shop closest to the pool.

 

[mum22girlz]

We will be at FQ for the first time at the end of the month. Does anyone know if they sell cases of water in the gift shop. If so, what is the cost?
Thanks!

We stayed at Riverside in January and they had 12 oz. Dasani bottles . . . 8 in a package I think. They were on a bottom shelf, but not in a cooler. I can't remember what the price was exactly, but it definitely was below $5.

 

[morganms22]

So not exactly a response but ....
Although we haven’t stayed at POFQ we have stayed at the other mods and GF.
When we went in 2007 (beginning of November) they were just building the gingerbread house.
The area smelled beautiful and every night we would return to see today’s work and be offered the off cuts of gingerbread that had been trimmed in construction.
The week before all the resorts had been decorated for Halloween and that week we had stayed at CSR.
Were the decorations better at the deluxe resorts? Yes
But we spent maybe 15-20 minutes each day admiring them and in subsequent years have done a bit of cs resort hopping to do just that.
But I don’t go to WDW to see resorts alone and it was such a tiny part of my trip that imho the $$$ we spent staying at GF were not really worth it.
As an add-on the finest decorations we have ever seen were when visiting Fort Wilderness. Some of those van guests can out Disney Disney.

Thank you for reminding me about the decorations at fort wilderness! I read about it before, but had completely forgot. Any advice on seeing them?...

 

[dansdad]

We will be at FQ for the first time at the end of the month. Does anyone know if they sell cases of water in the gift shop. If so, what is the cost?
Thanks!

No full cases. But they do sell 8-paks of 12oz bottles of Dasani for $3.99 each.

 

[chocolateMinnie]

Thank you for reminding me about the decorations at fort wilderness! I read about it before, but had completely forgot. Any advice on seeing them?...

We booked a table at Trails End. Got a bus to the main hub (near the horses) and literally walked the path which from memory took a couple of hours and WOW!
I don’t know the route the horse and carriage takes but that might be easier.
Was a lovely afternoon and we enjoyed a nice meal before heading back on the boat to MK.