Port Orleans French
Quarter
At A Glance |
A small quiet (1,008 rooms)
resort, with a New Orleans French Quarter theme in a peaceful
setting. Close to Disney West Side complex (reachable by boat).
Nice themed pool, poolside bar, shop, food court and full
service restaurant, lounge, and laundry facilities. |
[ French Quarter Map
]
Overview
Disney's Port Orleans French Quarter Resort, themed
along the lines of the New Orleans French Quarter, is nestled
along side the Sassagoula River and is the sister resort of the
Port Orleans Riverside resort, both of which are located in the
"Downtown Disney" area.
Port Orleans Riverside (formerly Dixie Landings)
is supposed to be a riverboat landing up the mighty Sassagoula
river. whereas Port Orleans French Quarter is the down river destination
of the paddle wheel river boats that ply the waters of the river.
With 1,008 rooms, French Quarter is significantly
smaller than Riverside at 2,048 and Caribbean Beach. at 2,112.
As a result, it often fills up faster than the other two resorts.
Keep that in mind if this is the place you want to stay....make
your plans and reservations early.
The name change from Port Orleans to Port Orleans
French Quarter, and Dixie Landings to Port Orleans Riverside took
place on 1st April 2001.
Rooms
The rooms are located in seven three-story buildings,
with streets running in a grid pattern between them. The buildings
are painted cream, pink, blue, purple and yellow, and are designed
to look like they contain several row houses. Mismatching, but
coordinating, iron work decorates the buildings for onlookers.
The streets in between the buildings are named in keeping with
the resort theming, such as "Pontchartrain", "Bourbon",
and the like.
Around half of the rooms have connecting doors leading
to adjoining rooms, they can be requested, but aren't guaranteed.
They are a little smaller than the standard rooms at more expensive
hotels, but would be a comfortable if not luxurious size for an
average family of four. The rooms are decorated with photographs
donated by Disney employees, each of which features a caption
explaining it's history (generally they are photographs of older
relatives of the cast member concerned).
All rooms are approximately 314 square feet in size
and contain a pair of double beds, a small table with two chairs,
A Television, housed in a wardrobe/cabinet with four pull-out
drawers. A small bedside cabinet with a phone and radio alarm
clock. Small in-room key operated safe, clothes hanging area,
Ice Bucket, waste bin and separate recycle bin for glass and plastic
containers. Two pedestal sinks are at the end of each room. The
bathroom contains a toilet and a bath with integrated shower head.
Some rooms are available with a king size bed, and
some of these are handicap accessible with a wheelchair-accessible
shower in place of a tub.
All rooms have a fire detector and an in-room sprinkler,
and all are air-conditioned. There are also a couple of spare
power-outlets in each room if required, though no phone socket
other than the one the phone is connected into.
The majority of the rooms are designated as Non
smoking rooms, If you plan on smoking you need to make sure you
request a room in Buildings 2 or 4, or on the top two floors of
building 6.
For a quiet riverview room, ask for Buildings 1
or 6.
Food
and Drink
Bonfamilles is a full (table) service restaurant
which provided a quiet place for nice sit down meals closed in
August 2000, with guests now having to visit Riverside for a table
service meal. (The name of the restaurant incidentally was derived
from the Disney Aristocats movie).
Bonfamille's served both a breakfast and dinner
menu, with the dinner menu including Steaks, seafood, and Creole
cuisine specialities.
Vegetarian options were very limited (there weren't
any), however dishes could be altered or tailored to individual
requests so there was some scope.
The Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory is a
food court with a 300-seat dining area. A variety of foods are
available, including spit-roasted chicken with red beans and rice
(gumbo), fresh beignets, and other Creole dishes. Burgers, pizza,
ice cream and baked goods are also serverd.
The Sassagoula Pizza Express can deliver pizza direct
to the room from 16:00PM until midnight.
As would be expected, the New-Orleans theming of
the resort also extends to the resorts main drinking emporiums.
Mardi Grogs is a poolside bar serving speciality drinks along
with popcorn, hot dogs and ice cream during pool operating hours.
The Scat Cat's Club is a traditional bar and lounge
area featuring light snacks and evening entertainment.
Activities and Recreation
The themed pool area, like the food court, is based
on New Orleans Mardi Gras festival, and is often cited as a favorite
for kids (probably second only to the Yacht and Beach Club's "Stormalong
Bay".) It is built around a sea serpent, which legend has
it, is still around lingering underground. It's tail can be seen
jutting out of the ground at various locations around the walkways,
and the pool's slide is the serpent's tongue.
The shower at the pool features an alligator's head,
while a large clam-shell complete with an alligator band serves
as the fountain's centerpiece. There is also a whirlpool located
nearby.
French Quarter residents may also swim at the nearby
Riverside Ol' Man Island pool.
French Quarter also has boat rentals available in
the form of Pedal Boats, canoes, rowboats, canopy boats and pontoon
boats, all of which are available from the French QuarterLanding.
A small play area with slides is just across from
the food court to keep the kids occupied, whilst bicycles can
be rented at the resort from the French Quarter Landing.
The South Quarter Games is a video arcade located
at Port Orleans French Quarter Square, featuring state of the
art video and arcade games.
Shopping
Jackson Square Gifts and Desires is the main store
at the French Quarter Resort, featuring Disney character merchandise,
clothing bearing the French Quarter logo, and other assorted sundries.
Despite Jackson Square Gifts stocking a good range
of merchandise it is a relatively small store, and guests may
prefer to visit the store at Riverside instead which is much larger
and sells a wider range of goods (though not French Quarter specific
merchandise).
Riverside can be reached from French Quarter by
walking along the riverside path keeping the river to the right.
It's a 5-10 minute walk depending on how energetic you feel.
Checkin/Checkout
Express check-out is available providing a credit-card
imprint has been left with the check-in desk.
Guest Services
Disney Transportation
Like Riverside and Old Key West, transportation
relies quite heavily on the Disney Buses, with buses travelling
to the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, The Animal Kingdom The Disney MGM
Studios, Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach, and Downtown Disney (French
Quarter and Riverside both share the same bus service).
One item of note, only two bus stops located together
service the entire resort, the first going to Epcot, Downtown
Disney, Animal Kingdom and adjacent areas, with the other going
to The Magic Kingdom and the Disney MGM Studios and associated
areas.
Buildings four and seven, for the record, are the
two closest ones to the bus stop -- while buildings two and three
are the closest to the themed pool area. Having said that though
the resort is small enough for distance to be of little concern
to most guests.
The Sassagoula River Cruise is also available to
and from those other resorts and the Downtown Disney area (a nice
change of pace if you want to cruise down the river for dinner).
The boat transportation to Downtown Disney runs every 20 minutes
or so from 10:00, and every 10 minutes after 16:00, and docks
next to the Rainforest Cafe in the Downtown Disney area.
Note the buses from French Quarter leave the resort,
and then visit each of the four bus-stops at Riverside before
passing back through the main French Quarter entrance and heading
off to the required destination. Similarly, return buses visit
French Quarter first, and then head to the Riverside stops.
Directions to the Resort
Tel: (407) 934-5000
From the I-4, take junction 26 heading for the downtown
disney area. The off-ramp will go under the Walt Disney World
entrance sign, and crosses over the top of the I-4. Take the second
road on the right about 100 - 200 yds after crossing the I-4 (not
the road immediately after the I-4 bridge. At the end of the slip-road
turn left at the lights onto Bonnet Creek and the Port Orleans
French Quarter Resort is located on the right.
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