I’m just back from my annual girls trip to the RunDisney Princess Race Weekend down at Walt Disney World!! This year we switched it up a bit and stayed at Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter. I absolutely loved it and it has jumped to my number one moderate!!
The resort is very well themed and has the most “transportative” quality of all the moderates I’ve stayed in. From the moment you arrive, you definitely have the feeling of being somewhere magical and everything about the Mardi Gras and French Quarter theming just screams FUN!
One key difference from the “real” French Quarter is that the resort was extremely quiet and quaint feeling. The landscaping is gorgeous and the jazz music gently piped in is really quite lovely and authentic feeling.
Our room was in building two, which was right next to the pool, lobby, food, shops, boats and busses. In all honesty though, the resort is small and walkable so I wouldn’t worry too too much about location. Our room was well maintained and clean. Four of us lived comfortably for our three day getaway.
I found the options at the Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory Food Court to be somewhat limited but all quite good. Again, this resort is not large and the food court is appropriately sized. That being said, I really enjoyed everything that I had between a lunch, two breakfasts and snacks.
Of course, the beignets are the “can’t miss” option here. They are really yummy and I made a point to have as many as possible. I mean, I WAS in town for a race and carb loading is part of the training, right?! We took our food to the plentiful outdoor tables for all but one meal. It was just SO nice.
In spite of my love for beignets, I can’t go to Disney and not have at least one meal of Mickey waffles. I usually order my breakfast plate off of the kid’s menu and it is plenty of food.
We also enjoyed a happy hour at Scat Cat’s Club. It is right in the lobby area off of the food court. This was the first time I’ve noticed a game cart in a resort lounge. We had a little too much fun with our cocktails, appetizers and Uno. It was pretty empty overall, the service was exceptional and there were a few tables with kids (just FYI in case you are wondering). It’s the once place I take my baby… into a bar. :-) (favorite movie line ever)
We logged two afternoons at the Doubloon Lagoon pool. It’s very well themed for a moderate!! My littles would have LOVED that slide. One thing to note is that, while we had no problem finding 4 chairs together, I thought the number of chairs facing the pool was quite limited. This could pose a problem if trying to lay by the pool and keep an eye on the kids. Might want to check out the pool early, if this is the case. We went both times around 2-3PM, which I find to be prime pool time at Disney.
At night, everything was just as lovely and festive. They were building a REALLY fun looking splash pad during our visit and there is also a hot tub and outdoor dining/bar area at Mardi Grogs.
Another fantastic feature at French Quarter is that there is a boat service to both Port Orleans Riverside and Disney Springs.
We spent one evening over at Yehaa Bob’s show in the River Roost Lounge at Port Orleans Riverside. This was my second time attending and it’s SO much fun!!
We also took the boat to Disney Springs for a little lunch and shopping one afternoon. I had my first Earl of Sandwich (because I’d never wait in that insane line with my family in tow) and enjoyed leisurely perusing the stores without the aforementioned family hustling me along :-)
In addition to all of the things we DID do, there was so much we never even had a chance to explore. Port Orleans French Quarter also offers horse drawn carriage rides (I saw a few!), a Pirate Adventure Cruise (see our Yacht Club adventure here), nightly Cajun Campfire and movies by the pool, Surrey Bike Rentals, a playground and an arcade.
People always want to know about the busses when staying on property. French Quarter is small and has just one bus stop at the lobby. It is dedicated during busy times and makes a stop at Riverside during off hours of the day. It’s extremely convenient and so much better than other moderates (I’m looking at you, Caribbean Beach)!! One thing to note is that French Quarter rooms only sleep up to four people. Riverside rooms have the option of the fifth little pull down bunk that we LOVE even for our family of four. It gives each of the boys their own bed, which is key in getting to sleep at night.
As mentioned at the top of the review, it is a close call but French Quarter has just nudged Riverside out of my #1 moderate resort slot. Both are quite lovely, but the theming here is better. And really, you can’t go wrong with either because they are just a walk or boat ride away from each other.
I know we will be back here!! Much more from our trip coming real soon.
xoxo
Everything Disney | Walt Disney World Resort Reviews
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Yay! So happy to read this as we leave in 6 weeks for French Quarter! °o°
We just stayed at Port Orleans Riverside (Princess room!) in January and loved it! We did get the *ahem* opportunity to walk through the French Quarter one night though when we got off the bus at the French Quarter Lobby instead of Riverside. Needless to say, it was a LONG walk back to our room at Riverside.
Love POFQ! (And POR too.) I had to add one night before our upcoming stay at BC, but sadly, both are full and we had to go with CBR. My kids are looking forward to both pools though, so it will be a win-win. We have never stayed at BC before, so we are super excited about that! The food court at POR is hard to beat, but the POFQ atmosphere is just amazing.
Fabulous recap, full of wonderful information…but I just can’t get over how adorable you are in your Miss Piggy getup! It is great to see you just go with the flow, let your hair down and laugh with your dear friends. :-) So, so cute!