Disney's PORT ORLEANS FRENCH QUARTER RESORT Information & Questions

[WDWAurora]

We are staying at POR this May. I’ve stayed many times before, but never with a baby. I’ve also never walked through POFQ so I’m wondering how appropriate the splash pad area would be for an almost 10 month old? I know there is a height limit but would we be able to go through with him? We live in the northeast so he won’t have a lot of pool experience at this point (or at least anything meaningful).

You’ll do better off with him in the pool. While you can take him in and let him play in the fountains, it really isn’t designed for a baby.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Please forgive me if this has been asked 5 million times. I don't see any room request options for the online check in. Is this some sort of glitch or are there actually no request options?

 

[dansdad]

Please forgive me if this has been asked 5 million times. I don't see any room request options for the online check in. Is this some sort of glitch or are there actually no request options?

That section has been broken for a while now. Your best bet is to call the Main reservation line and add any room requests to your reservation.

 

[dancin Disney style]

That section has been broken for a while now. Your best bet is to call the Main reservation line and add any room requests to your reservation.

Thanks!

 

[EpcotBill]

That section has been broken for a while now.

Understatement of the week.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

We are staying at POR this May. I’ve stayed many times before, but never with a baby. I’ve also never walked through POFQ so I’m wondering how appropriate the splash pad area would be for an almost 10 month old? I know there is a height limit but would we be able to go through with him? We live in the northeast so he won’t have a lot of pool experience at this point (or at least anything meaningful).

You won't be allowed onto the play structures nor can you go down the teeny-weeny little water slide with him. But you can splash in the spraying things... although I would say the water pressure is too strong for a little baby. When the water splashes down from the top every 90 seconds or so, it is a LOT of splash and powerful water coming down... splash at the edges of the play area... well, the lifeguards will tell you what they feel comfortable with you doing or not doing...

 

[dledger]

You’ll do better off with him in the pool. While you can take him in and let him play in the fountains, it really isn’t designed for a baby.

You won't be allowed onto the play structures nor can you go down the teeny-weeny little water slide with him. But you can splash in the spraying things... although I would say the water pressure is too strong for a little baby. When the water splashes down from the top every 90 seconds or so, it is a LOT of splash and powerful water coming down... splash at the edges of the play area... well, the lifeguards will tell you what they feel comfortable with you doing or not doing...

Thank you both! Like I said I haven’t seen the area so I wasn’t sure if it was worth the trip to POFQ from POR. We will probably just stick to the quiet pools for this trip! Appreciate the feedback

 

[yesdnil]

Hey all, heading to POFQ for the first time in only 37 days. So excited!! It's a really last minute trip, so I've been rushing the last couple weeks to set up our itinerary and get a few things booked. I've never experienced booking ADRs and fastpasses this late, so that's been crazy!

Anyway, like I mentioned, it's our first trip to POFQ, and I'm wondering a few things.

How is bus transportation compared to other resorts? We usually stay Epcot area, so I'm used to being able to walk in to at least one park without a wait. We've had some long waits for buses at those resorts in the recent past, so I'm nervous about taking bus transportation everywhere. Also, when do the busses from Disney springs to the resorts start running? We have a couple days where we want to resort hop and figured taking the boat to the springs was a good option.

How is the pool for a very active 1yo?

Are the carriage rides worth it?

Any issues navigating the resort in a wheelchair?

Where is the laundry room?

Any other tips for a first timer?

 

[StageTek]

The bus transportation is quite good. You'll have some long waits at peak times but nearly empty buses during off peak times.

I can't answer the Disney Springs bus question because we always too the boat there. They start at 10AM.

The pool is terrific for an active 1 year old.

Yes, the carriage ride is worth it.

All of WDW is very wheelchair accessible - they do a wonderful job at French Quarter.

The laundry room is next to the pool. Very easy to get to.

 

[Mouseketeers4]

Of course. Be sure to check third party sites. Sometimes you can find a resort on orbitz that’s not available on Disney World . Com. If you’re staying seven nights, experiment with finding availability for 4 days and then three days, for example.

It's possible, just keep checking. We originally booked CBR for this september as POFQ wasn't available when we booked it Semptember last year. I just kept checking and one day I found a room for our entire trip.

Thank you! I kept checking and was able to get the rest of my dates.

 

[GirlDreamer]

Thank you! I kept checking and was able to get the rest of my dates.

That's awesome

 

[diddldonna]

Can I ask about the scat cat bar area I believe its called, how big is this? Is it a good sociable area in the evening to meet people? x

 

[RCID]

Room checks -- wouldn't have even known they had them if it weren't for this forum. It was so transparent to our visit.

Each day we made it to the parks for rope drop, and returned to the room about 3pm.
We had about an hour in the pool before a major thunderstorm, or lighting shutdown the pool and never saw housekeeping or security.

Only knock at the door was a request for extra towels.

 

[RCID]

The bus transportation is quite good. You'll have some long waits at peak times but nearly empty buses during off peak times.

I can't answer the Disney Springs bus question because we always too the boat there. They start at 10AM.

The pool is terrific for an active 1 year old.

Yes, the carriage ride is worth it.

All of WDW is very wheelchair accessible - they do a wonderful job at French Quarter.

The laundry room is next to the pool. Very easy to get to.

Personally, I think POFQ is one of the better pools for the under-5 set, thanks to their splash pad with sprayers, slides and a massive water dump.

It's tremendous fun, and an incredible addition to the pool area. I'm really shocked other Disney Resorts don't have equal or better under-5 pool play areas.

Best part is, it's fenced off and separate from the main pool allowing parents to keep a great eye on their very young one.

 

[Dug720]

Quick question if I may...

I am seriously considering changing to POFQ tomorrow morning (went through a TA - bless her soul for putting up with me and my changes!!), but am unsure due to my late arrival. Last week, I changed to CSR largely because I am not getting in until after midnight and was able to book Preferred there which meant no walking across the resort that late. It's roughly the same price a River view room would be at POFQ. The pool at CSR being down didn't bother me. But now I'm learning - from multiple sites, just not Disney - that their Food Court is down in stages and has a limited menu. I am gluten-free due to a wheat allergy, and "limited menu" makes me really nervous - if I was comfortable with it, I'd have gone with my beloved CBR and their food tent.

So... I'm back to seriously considering POFQ. But again, I'm scheduled in at MCO around midnight, so we're looking at probably 1am. How far are the River view rooms and is the way well-lit? Or a pool view would be $4 more per night. Would that be closer and would there be a difference in lighting?

Thanks so much!!

 

[Mome Rath]

Quick question if I may...

I am seriously considering changing to POFQ tomorrow morning (went through a TA - bless her soul for putting up with me and my changes!!), but am unsure due to my late arrival. Last week, I changed to CSR largely because I am not getting in until after midnight and was able to book Preferred there which meant no walking across the resort that late. It's roughly the same price a River view room would be at POFQ. The pool at CSR being down didn't bother me. But now I'm learning - from multiple sites, just not Disney - that their Food Court is down in stages and has a limited menu. I am gluten-free due to a wheat allergy, and "limited menu" makes me really nervous - if I was comfortable with it, I'd have gone with my beloved CBR and their food tent.

So... I'm back to seriously considering POFQ. But again, I'm scheduled in at MCO around midnight, so we're looking at probably 1am. How far are the River view rooms and is the way well-lit? Or a pool view would be $4 more per night. Would that be closer and would there be a difference in lighting?

Thanks so much!!

POFQ is the smallest resort, so there's not a long walk anywhere really and everything is lit the same. If you want close to the lobby (or food court) I would get whatever room category you want and then request "close to Lobby." Some of the garden view rooms are right across from lobby/food court. Riverview is the "farthest" from lobby/food court (but again, that doesn't mean the same as at other hotels, it's still "close"), the pool view would probably a bit closer, and some garden view rooms are closest of all.

 

[Dug720]

POFQ is the smallest resort, so there's not a long walk anywhere really and everything is lit the same. If you want close to the lobby (or food court) I would get whatever room category you want and then request "close to Lobby." Some of the garden view rooms are right across from lobby/food court. Riverview is the "farthest" from lobby/food court (but again, that doesn't mean the same as at other hotels, it's still "close"), the pool view would probably a bit closer, and some garden view rooms are closest of all.

Thanks! Only River and Pool are available with the Passholder Discount. I went ahead and emailed my TA and requested River as it was slightly less. I decided I'd rather have a little bit of a walk late at night and know that the food court is fully operational than be closer but not necessarily be able to eat at the food court due to a limited menu.

 

[Mome Rath]

Thanks! Only River and Pool are available with the Passholder Discount. I went ahead and emailed my TA and requested River as it was slightly less. I decided I'd rather have a little bit of a walk late at night and know that the food court is fully operational than be closer but not necessarily be able to eat at the food court due to a limited menu.

The walk will be fine (I've also stayed here a lone female, and felt perfectly safe), and the riverview rooms are fantastic with their view. Really it is amazing how small FQ is compared to the other resorts (even compared to it's sister Riverside), I don't think a Disney traveler can really imagine it until they've been there. Also, the layout is really straightforward without twisting and turning paths, as it's laid out like city squares. I would go ahead and add your request to be close to the lobby or request a particular building, they may get you more on the "main street" perhaps (click link for one of Andre's great overview pages) building 5 or 2. Hope you have a great trip!

 

[Dug720]

The walk will be fine (I've also stayed here a lone female, and felt perfectly safe), and the riverview rooms are fantastic with their view. Really it is amazing how small FQ is compared to the other resorts (even compared to it's sister Riverside), I don't think a Disney traveler can really imagine it until they've been there. Also, the layout is really straightforward without twisting and turning paths, as it's laid out like city squares. I would go ahead and add your request to be close to the lobby or request a particular building, they may get you more on the "main street" perhaps (click link for one of Andrea's great overview pages) building 5 or 2. Hope you have a great trip!

Thank you so much!!

 

[RCID]

Do they force you to go to checkin? Or would online checkin and MagicBands allow you to be driven right to your room building?