Resort Face Off: Port Orleans French Quarter vs. Riverside

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Kristen K.'s picture
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Resort Face Off: Port Orleans French Quarter vs. Riverside

Okay - I know that these are technically the same resort, but since they didn't start out that way they have two very distinct feels. Port Orleans is a super popular resort with our forum members, but which side do you prefer to stay in at this expansive property, and why is that your choice? Have you had the chance to stay in one of the Royal Guest Rooms?

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Just grabbed my bowl of popcorn. This should be good! biggrin

Kris1971's picture
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FQ all the way for me. I find it more quaint than Riverside, and it only has one bus stop!!! But my favorite part is the atmosphere...beautiful and romantic!!! Oh and let's not forget the beignets...heavenly!

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angels444's picture
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Everyone already knows my preference. French Quarter all day every day.

We love how small it is. Not a long walk to get to the lobby, the food court or the boat. One bus stop not 4. Only very early in the morning do you have to worry about bus being full to get to a park. Riverside sometimes has to pass up stops because it is too full to take on other passengers. At the end of the night all the bus lines for all the resorts are long and crowded and the FQ is much shorter. We have never had to wait for more then one bus to get back to the resort. (meaning the bus before us may have been full once we got to the bus, but we always made the next bus)

The mardi gras beads, the coins for the wishing well and beignet make it unique. I could go on and on, but I will leave it to the others to brag about our resort.

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angels444's picture
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Kris1971 wrote:
FQ all the way for me. I find it more quaint than Riverside, and it only has one bus stop!!! But my favorite part is the atmosphere...beautiful and romantic!!! Oh and let's not forget the beignets...heavenly!

Kris got to many of my points before i did. Stupid phone call. lol I second all of Kris' points.

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angels444 wrote:
Kris1971 wrote:
FQ all the way for me. I find it more quaint than Riverside, and it only has one bus stop!!! But my favorite part is the atmosphere...beautiful and romantic!!! Oh and let's not forget the beignets...heavenly!

Kris got to many of my points before i did. Stupid phone call. lol I second all of Kris' points.

Count me in the FQ club for all the reasons listed above!

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I haven't stayed at FQ but have stayed at POR & I have to vote FQ. My problems with POR are the poorly lit the paths & signage is & the almost total lack of signs telling you where things are. I spent most of the time I was staying at POR getting lost. In fact the day I left I got so lost that I had to ask a CM how to get to the main building so I could check out.

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revral wrote:
I haven't stayed at FQ but have stayed at POR & I have to vote FQ. My problems with POR are the poorly lit the paths & signage is & the almost total lack of signs telling you where things are. I spent most of the time I was staying at POR getting lost. In fact the day I left I got so lost that I had to ask a CM how to get to the main building so I could check out.

I agree with you Revral. I felt that POR was too big and poorly lit. I will be staying at POFQ in a month and am really looking forward to it.

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I vote for Riverside!
I love the tranquility of it. I have stayed in Alligator Bayou a couple of times and the Mansion houses lots of times. I think I prefer the Mansions but we never request a building as part of the fun for us is checking in and finding out where we will be located. Although I have stayed in FQ once and love to visit there, Riverside feels like coming home. Magnolia's have a special significance to us, by chance we were allocated a room in Magnolia Manor for our wedding, we saw that as a good omen! We have also taken some lovely photos in the gardens by the Mansions. We have never had any problems with the buses. I miss the table service breakfast at Boatwrights though!

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Hmmmm....I LOVE FQ. It's so small and quaint, you almost forget your at a WDW resort. And the beignets really make it, plus I love the bright colors of the costumes for the greeters (and the mardi gras beads!!). I don't mean to sound like a lush, but I also really enjoy the fact that they serve Abita brewery beer, which is not a standard draught found everywhere!!

BUT I'm staying at POR in 35 days. We walked over that way during our last trip and I love the antebellum feel and I think the food court is better. It has a lot to live up to, so we'll see how it goes!!

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Another FQ fan here, i love the size and the bus service and my dds loved getting the beads and coins all the time. We collected quite a few over the 2 weeks! It's where we have booked for our next trip and i'm going to request a building nearer to POR so we can easily walk to the food court over there which has more choices. awesome

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mickey We've never stayed at POFQ, but when we stayed at POR we did go over and take a look at it. I def vote for Riverside! POFQ reminded me too much of the value resorts as far as the way it was set up. We liked the expanse of Riverside... the property is so beautiful. We also liked the pool area much better, we liked the 4 bus stops, the restaurant (Boatwright's) was one of our favorites and the Royal Guestrooms were beautiful! We stayed in the Royal Guestrooms for our honeymoon and we loved them, however while I don't regret spending the extra money to stay in them for our honeymoon, its not something I'd find worth the extra money to do every trip. Good luck planning - let us know where you decide to stay!

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I love Riverside because I feel like I've stepped back to a time where things were more slow paced and gracious. The magnolia trees and azelea bushes are gorgeous. I adore the Mansion section. The antebelum architecture is breathtakingly beautiful. My hubby's fave place is French Quarter. He loves the cobblestone pathways and wrought iron gates. Can't wait.......we will be there in 9 days!

Magic Mirror's picture
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FQ FQ FQ FQ .....did I mention my votes for FQ!

For all the wonderful reasons stated above muchlove

Eeyore's picture
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As a kid, I've stayed at both, but the only thing I remember is the water slide that looks like the dragon/alligator? I remember it being awesome..lol

My parents said they did not like the one that resembles New Orleans...whichever that is. Being from Pensacola, we frequented New Orleans and it does not do much for them. The last time I was there it was really dirty...not quaint like everyone thinks!

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Eeyore wrote:
The last time I was there it was really dirty...not quaint like everyone thinks!

So it was French Quarter authentic.... that's not dirt, that's "atmosphere."

rolling rolling rolling

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Well, before Saturday I would have voted for Riverside, but now I think I'm a resort snob as I do enjoy the deluxe side of things. It will be hard to not come back to the Boardwalk after staying here for a week! wink

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Kristen K. wrote:
Eeyore wrote:
The last time I was there it was really dirty...not quaint like everyone thinks!

So it was French Quarter authentic.... that's not dirt, that's "atmosphere."

rolling rolling rolling

laugh

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We stayed at FQ in May and loved it. I like that it is small and romantic. For it being just us as a couple, there weren't a lot of kids and the pool was like an adults only resort. We also like to have a drink in the Jazz bar after the parks! We also liked the red beans and rice!!

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Kristen K.'s picture
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JanJ wrote:
I'm a resort snob as I do enjoy the deluxe side of things.

Welcome to the club Jan! We enjoy cocktails in the lounge every Thursday wink

JoAnn C's picture
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I have only stayed at POR and loved it. This will change in July when I stay at POFQ for my cousin's wedding. I'll give my vote this summer.

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We have stayed at both. We are FQ coverts now after staying several times and for all the reasons stated above!Smile