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ljgirl
12-18-2009, 11:47 PM
I am booking a trip to WDW for March 2010...Spring Break. I will be traveling with my DH, DD(10) and DS (7). I am trying to decide between the POR and the POFQ. The main deciding factors will be the food court and the pool. Here are my questions...

1) Does the POFQ food court offer much variety? We are not spicy food eaters so I was wondering if the food there would have a cajun theme...meaning lots of spice!

2) Which resort has the better pool? Normally we get up and go to the parks in the morning and then come back and swim for the afternoon and return to the parks at dinnertime.

We have stayed at both resorts but it was long ago. The thing I like about the POFQ is the size of the grounds. It seems like everything is pretty close. Our visit there was 10+ years ago so I don't remember much! The last time we stayed at the POR we walked forever to get to the food court.

Any insight would be appreciated!!!!!!!!

ibelieveindisneymagic
12-19-2009, 08:20 AM
:welcome: to INTERCOT!

We love both POFQ and POR, but have made POFQ our "home" at Disney.

The big factor for us is the small size of the resort. I love having everything close by! My DH loves wandering the "streets" and the whole atmosphere.

The food court is good. I hate spicey food too, and have never had a problem finding something to eat. It can be a little slow, since some items are made to order, but we ate a number of times there during our last trip and it was always hot and tasty. We also find the food court much cleaner and much less crowded than at POR.

Our DD, age 11 loves the pool at POFQ for the first couple of days, then she gets bored with the slide. But, the great thing about the two resorts is that you can use either pool. So, we do a couple of days at POFQ's pool, then over to POR's pool for a day or two, then back to POFQ's pool (usually when we need to do laundry). It is a short walk, or a super-short drive to the main POR building from POFQ. On previous trips, we've spent the whole "pool time" at POFQ, and she's managed just fine.

I would choose POFQ over POR anyday, but we also had a super trip at POR, so you can't really go wrong with either.

tadshome
12-19-2009, 09:04 AM
Whilst both resorts are beautiful we regard POFQ as our "home" as well.

They both have great feature pools and RS also has a couple of quiet pools.

The foodcourt does not have that many choices but it is ok and I do not remember the food being spicy.

Which ever one you choose you will have a great time :thumbsup:

#1donaldfan
12-19-2009, 10:40 AM
Riverside has a much larger / better selection of food in the court....the gift shop is bigger as well, not saying the FQ is bad, we tend to go over at least once a week and get the beginets and meatball sub...
...Riverside has 5 quiet pools and one signature pool.....

..both resorts are wonderful and whichever you choose, you can certainly use the other resort via a nice boat ride, or a short to moderate walk..:thumbsup:

Gaz10
12-19-2009, 10:45 AM
I prefer POR, stayed a few times here and never fancied POFQ when we have walked round , I just dont like the 3 story buildings.We have stayed in both the Mansions and Alligator Bayou areas,both are nice but I would chose the Mansions if I stayed again.POR also has quit a few smaller pools so if the main one is packed you can always find somewhere for a dip.:diver:.The food court is basic fair , but thats what our kids want so it was fine.Which ever you choose hope you have a great time:mickey:

mom2morgan
12-19-2009, 05:55 PM
Since your kids are a little older, I'd suggest POR. The pool areas is fantastic, and there are several "quiet" pools so you could swim without having to walk much beyond your own back door if you wish (and I like that there is a little laundry area at each quiet pool so I can swim and just pop out to change clothes over). The food court is much larger and has more variety. I know I'm biased, but the only good reason for staying at POFQ that I can see is if you have really little kids and want to be super close to everything. I never found the walks at POR to be a really big deal.

SuzieN
12-21-2009, 03:29 PM
You can't go wrong with either of them!!!:thumbsup: BUT, if size is a huge concern for you (we don't mind walking), POFQ is definitely your better bet!!! Enjoy!!!:mickey:

Duck Daisy Duck
12-26-2009, 12:10 AM
We love the feel of POR, we like POFQ too but the whole theme seems a bit busy. POR is so relaxing and the pool is nice too.

Jenemmy
12-26-2009, 08:31 AM
We stayed at POFQ 2 years ago. I thought it was quaint and charming. I really liked the grounds, but the rooms were not my favorite (they were clean, just the decor wasn't my thing). I thought POR looked beautiful, the only concern that jumped to my mind was the bus situation. The busses stopped at POFQ first and then made the trip to the 4 or so stops around POR. Every time we skipped a the last couple stops because the bus was full. Now, Disney may be aware and have a remedy for that -- I am not educated on it. I just hoped the poor folks waiting at POR stops 3 and 4 eventually got their own bus!!

gueli
12-26-2009, 11:00 AM
Just stayed in POFQ for the 1st time, just after thanksgiving.

To answer your primary questions about Frech Quarter:
1) the food court is OK. Some spicey, but mostly not. A decent selection, Breakfast was OK. Desert station is good. You can find basics- like burgers, ham or turkey hoagies, chix nuggets, a taco salad (which was quite big), chix and rib dinners to name a few. Most of the food service is slow, as they make up each selection when you order. But that aside, the food was decent.

2) the pool area- very nice, good sized pool. The slide is fun. The pool also has some flowing water "waterfalls" (comes out of like a giant clam shell). There is a hot tub pool about 50 feet from the main pool - it is on the other side of the building that has the guest laundry.

Now on to some other points-
resort size- the FQ is much smaller. I liked the buildings & the theming. I liked not having to hike to get to anything, it was all convienient. I reccomend taking the boat to DTD if you head there.
There is only 1 bus stop at FQ, I believe there is 3 or 4 at riverside. Some guests at riverside occasionaly got confused at which bus stop to get off at.
The Buses start at FQ. which means you will probably get a seat. The bus to Magic Kingdom does not go to Riverside, Only FQ- it is the only bus that does this. Traveling to all the stops at riverside can add a bit to the travel time, but it was not bad.
The gift shop at FQ is small, and has an OK selection. The arcade is good sized. The front desk and concierge services were nice & very helpful. The cleaning staff at building 4 (where we stayed) were fantastic.

Truth is I think both resorts are good. I know for our family, FQ is likely where we will stay again, unless we can afford a deluxe- than its back to the monorail.
:mickey:

mom2morgan
12-26-2009, 11:30 AM
The bus to Magic Kingdom does not go to Riverside, Only FQ- it is the only bus that does this.


What do you mean by this ? It sounds like you are saying you can't get directly from POR to the Magic Kingdom, which is definitely not true. Or am I misunderstanding?

ljgirl
12-26-2009, 12:08 PM
Thanks for the feedback! We have decided on POFQ!

As for the buses, I think what the poster meant was that there is a bus for the MK at POFQ and POR. For the other parks, they are on the same bus route. Meaning the bus stops at POFQ and then goes on to POR to pick up more people. I am thinking that the bus to the MK fills up at POFQ so Disney doesn't goe to POR with that specific bus. They send a different bus.

gueli
12-26-2009, 02:54 PM
What do you mean by this ? It sounds like you are saying you can't get directly from POR to the Magic Kingdom, which is definitely not true. Or am I misunderstanding?

sorry I did not explain this clearly-
the magic kingdom buses - there is 1 for FQ- It only runs between FQ & MK.
There is a seperate bus for riverside that stops at MK and riverside.
all the other busses (epcot, AK,etc) will stop at BOTH resorts, and when going to the park will pick up from both resorts (on the same bus).
Sorry for the confusion.
:blush:

mom2morgan
12-27-2009, 11:49 AM
sorry I did not explain this clearly-
the magic kingdom buses - there is 1 for FQ- It only runs between FQ & MK.
There is a seperate bus for riverside that stops at MK and riverside.
all the other busses (epcot, AK,etc) will stop at BOTH resorts, and when going to the park will pick up from both resorts (on the same bus).
Sorry for the confusion.
:blush:
Got it - sorry! Too much Christmas merry-making seems to have slowed my processing speed ;-)

LudwigVonDrake
12-28-2009, 04:21 PM
POFQ. Much smaller and more manageable. When buses are shared with POR it's the first to be picked up and the last to be dropped off.

LuvAllPrincesses
12-29-2009, 02:41 PM
We just had our first stay at POR the week after Thanksgiving and I, too, had a difficult time deciding on POR or POFQ. I didn't understand how so many peope could say, "You will enjoy either" and now I know why. They are both wonderful! We stayed in a mansion, per DD8's request and it was very nice to have the separator curtain between the room and the vanity area to be able to have lights on/get ready in the morning while DS2 got a little extra sleep. But we will prbobably do POFQ next time...because they are equally unique and enjoyable. One selling point for us is the fact that POFQ has those beignets that are a snack credit (what wonderful memories of our trip watching the Princess and the Frog!) and also chocolate chip pancakes, whereas POR did not. Also - the main pools at POFQ and POR are about the same size, but it was always less crowded at POFQ since there are so many fewer guestrooms there. POR pool was always very busy and loud, although DD8 did like the slide at POR better. If we stay in the moderate range, we will definitely continue to use POR and POFQ...we prefer it over CBR by a great deal.

magicgal
12-29-2009, 07:55 PM
WE have stayed at both resorts, and POFQ is our choice between the two. I think the resort itself is nicer, the size of the property is smaller, but you still get a quaint and relaxed atmosphere. We do like the pool area a little bit better at POFQ as well. We really do not eat in food courts often, but while the food court at POR is larger, and does have a better selection, the food court at POFQ is just fine. There is a selection of different foods to choose from. The best thing is the buses pick up at FQ first, and that really made a huge difference for us between our stays at the two resorts.