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was then known as Port Orleans Resort, and is now POFQ, and then renaming both resorts
as Port Orleans—indicating to guests that these amenities weren't really missing, but just
more distant, at Port Orleans Riverside, part of the same resort now…
Disney does not much bother with this distinction any more—other than making it clear
to guests that they are welcome to partake in everything offered at both. It turns out that
despite the missing amenities at Port Orleans French Quarter, it is the most highly valued
of the Disney moderates—which is why alone among the moderates it is almost never in-
cluded in Disney's discounts and other special offers.
POFQ has as its theme New Orleans and Mardi Gras, combining lacy wrought iron,
lovely gardens, and cobblestoned streets. You'll also find Mardi Gras figures and decora-
tions scattered about, especially in the food court and near the main pool. POFQ has half
as many rooms as the other traditional moderates, and has—with no lake or river in the
middle—a much more compact footprint for those rooms. As a result, it is, by far, the
easiest moderate to get around. It has no real separate areas for its seven accommodations
buildings, although you'll see North Quarter and South Quarter signage meant to help you
find your building. Near the entrance at the center you'll find dining, shops, and guest ser-
vices in the Port Orleans Mint building. The only pool, the Mardi-Gras themed Doubloon
Lagoon, is just steps away, and the sole bus stop is right out front. One pool may seem like
not enough, but the main pool area at POFQ has 65% of the area that Port Orleans River-
side's main pool has, but only half as many rooms, and the pool volume at POFQ is almost
40% larger. Most times of the year POFQ shares buses (except to the Magic Kingdom) with
Riverside, but the single bus stop on the Magic Kingdom route makes it overall the most
convenient of the moderates.
All transport to theme parks and water parks is via buses. Downtown Disney is access-
ible by both boat and bus. POFQ, like Riverside, is labeled as a Downtown Disney Area
Resort in Disney's way-finding material, but is more centrally located than that implies.
The Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Disney's Hollywood Studios are all close.
There's no special kid appeal at POFQ, and in fact the Mardi Gras theming—including,
for example, an enormous depiction of a dragon/snake at the pool—wigs some kids out.
But POFQ is the loveliest and most romantic of the moderates, and that, when combined
with the ease of getting around and to the parks, makes it a great favorite of adults among
the moderates.
Rooms at POFQ are typical of those at the traditional moderates. They sleep four on two
queens in about 314 square feet, and all come with a table and two chairs, a dresser/mini-
fridge, coffee-maker, hair-dryer, and a divided, family-friendly bath. In the bath, the two
sinks and closet/dressing area are shielded from the sleeping part of the room by a curtain,
and the tub and toilet have their own room. All buildings have elevators. No rooms have
balconies. All rooms are accessed from exterior corridors.
The only dining at POFQ is at the food court Sassagoula Floatworks Food Company,
which is well above average among the moderates, and has a nice sprinkling of themed
offerings—for example, beignets, Po Boys, jambalaya, and BBQ ribs served with collard
greens. (You can, of course, walk to the table service Boatwright's at Riverside.) The indoor
bar, the Scat Cats Lounge, is not as rollicking as the River Roost Lounge at Riverside, but
one should always have the option to not rollick. There are no character meals.
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