Port Orleans French Quarter Q&A Thread, New for 2012 (Read first posts for FAQs)

[consumermonkey]

Hiya Y'all,

Small question.

Does anyone have a picture of the panel with connections to the TV? Ideally I would like to see if I can connect my HDMI cabled phone/camera/playbook up to the room TV.

I have seen photos of them around, but cannot find one at the moment.

TIA.

[andrewilley]

Originally Posted by alicia080979

Thanks Andre! Have you ever done it? I guess I am just nervous about making sure they have it waiting for me since it will be my toiletries that aren't cheap to replace.

Yes, I have had stuff shipped to me most trips, including two Amazon items two weeks ago. Disney have things very well organised. Postal items go to a central PO Box for all WDW resorts and are sorted out to the individual hotels from there, couriered items generally go direct to the hotel.

I've actually visited the backstage sorting room and spoken with the cast member who supervises it all, and the POR room had dozens (hundreds?) of items in it at that time, all waiting for guests. They also have a separate 'longer term' area holding items for guests who are not due to check in for a number of weeks (to avoid clogging up the main fast-turnover area). Perishable/food deliveries go to Bell Services as they have facilities to refrigerate goods if requested.

In short, don't worry!

Originally Posted by consumermonkey

Does anyone have a picture of the panel with connections to the TV? Ideally I would like to see if I can connect my HDMI cabled phone/camera/playbook up to the room TV.

It works fine, I played back some HD camcorder footage via the HDMI socket. I needed to select the appropriate input by doing several presses on the INPUT button on the side of the TV (as I didn't have CEC-control enabled on my camcorder at the time) and I found it was connected to HDMI #2. The TV auto-selects back to normal TV mode when you switch it off and back on.

Andre

[Robin K]

Just wanted to let everyone know: this time tomorrow I will be on the plane on my way to FQ!
This will be our first stay at FQ.... and I can not wait...WOOO HOOO

[darrengs]

We stayed at POFQ from 8/24/2012-9/2/2012, here is a quick review.
Me, DW, DD(9),DS(14)

Room A-: I faxed a request 4 days in advance for a corner room in building 3,4,5 or 2. Due to our arrival on 8/24 and Free Dining starting on 8/25 we actually had a 1 night room only followed by our 8 night package. We did not need to change rooms which made it easier for us. We were given Room number 4234, which is obviously on the 2nd floor of the building 4. It was in fact a corner room but it was an inside corner with only 1 set of windows, so it was exactly what we asked for. Although we were forced to pay for a garden view to get the free dining, our view was of a tree. This was no problem as a view at a moderate is no big deal and the location was prime. We were in the building right next to the food court, which was convenient for refilling our mugs, especially while it was raining.
The room was very good, it was our fourth stay here but our first since the refurb. We loved the queen beds and there was plenty of room for the 4 of us. The only misses were the toilet dripping, and the fact that our Travel Agent Dreams Unlimited requested VIP cleaning due to my sons dust/mold allergy and either it was not performed or it was not done very well. My son doubled up on his medication and for the most part was okay.

Mousekeeping A: Beds were made, towels, toilet paper and toiletries replaced as needed. We tipped $5/day and although my daughter commented that there were no towel animals, the room was always ready for us.

Transportation A: This time we never used the boat to DTD, but the bus service was the best we ever experienced. I would give the bus service back to the resort an A++, we never waited more than a few minutes for a bus, even at park closing or after the fireworks. After a full bus left another would roll up shortly thereafter. Unfortunately some buses shared with POR and those did take a while to get to Epcot/DHS.

[utkscvol1]

We have typically stayed at cbr. When leaving the parks- is the stop for pofq closer or further than cbr?

[spacemountainmom]

Originally Posted by alicia080979

I know this info is probably somewhere I have seen it but I can't seem to find it. Does anyone have the address to ship a box of stuff to for our check in? Has anyone done it before? Was your box readily available? I would like to ship down a box with our toiletries so I don't have to worry about checking them or putting them all into little tiny containers for the airline. Any info would be much appreciated.

We arrive in 11 days...I can't wait!!!

We ship everything FedEx Ground when we stay POFQ. We use big totes to ship instead of boxes. We generally ship in on Monday for a Saturday arrival. It usually gets there on Wednesday or Thursday and they hold it for us.

We pre-pay to ship home at the same time. I bring the return shipping labels with and a roll of tape. We pack everything back in the totes, remove the POFQ shipping labels and replace it with the labels to send them home. We leave the totes with the concierge and the next time FedEx is at the resort, they get picked up.

I will never travel to WDW with checked luggage ever again.

[minnie mum]

Originally Posted by utkscvol1

We have typically stayed at cbr. When leaving the parks- is the stop for pofq closer or further than cbr?

Resort bus stops are in different places at different parks. Not only that but they aren't always in the same spot at the same park- they can and do shuffle them around.

[peanmunch]

HI..we will be at pofq november 30-December 4th We are DVC members and will be going on our DVC long trip in April. Jet Blue will start flying out of our airport in november and i couldn't resist the 75.00 fares the first week they are flying out....sooooooo..all that to say this is a short surprise for the kids trip. I was wondering if the hairdyers are still the old stuck on the wall ones or if they have switched them out since the refurb like they did at BWV's.

Thanks
Lori

[scjo68]

Originally Posted by peanmunch

HI..we will be at pofq november 30-December 4th We are DVC members and will be going on our DVC long trip in April. Jet Blue will start flying out of our airport in november and i couldn't resist the 75.00 fares the first week they are flying out....sooooooo..all that to say this is a short surprise for the kids trip. I was wondering if the hairdyers are still the old stuck on the wall ones or if they have switched them out since the refurb like they did at BWV's.

Thanks
Lori

THey are stuck on the wall and tend to "burn out " quickly. I had to keep resetting it.

[peanmunch]

Originally Posted by scjo68

THey are stuck on the wall and tend to "burn out " quickly. I had to keep resetting it.

Thanks...and YUCK ..those kind don't work well on my hair..thought maybe they switched them like they did at BWV! Looks like one more thing on my packing list...lol

Lori

[lttlmc3]

Originally Posted by darrengs

We stayed at POFQ from 8/24/2012-9/2/2012, here is a quick review.
Me, DW, DD(9),DS(14)

Room A-: I faxed a request 4 days in advance for a corner room in building 3,4,5 or 2. Due to our arrival on 8/24 and Free Dining starting on 8/25 we actually had a 1 night room only followed by our 8 night package. We did not need to change rooms which made it easier for us. We were given Room number 4234, which is obviously on the 2nd floor of the building 4. It was in fact a corner room but it was an inside corner with only 1 set of windows, so it was exactly what we asked for. Although we were forced to pay for a garden view to get the free dining, our view was of a tree. This was no problem as a view at a moderate is no big deal and the location was prime. We were in the building right next to the food court, which was convenient for refilling our mugs, especially while it was raining.
The room was very good, it was our fourth stay here but our first since the refurb. We loved the queen beds and there was plenty of room for the 4 of us. The only misses were the toilet dripping, and the fact that our Travel Agent Dreams Unlimited requested VIP cleaning due to my sons dust/mold allergy and either it was not performed or it was not done very well. My son doubled up on his medication and for the most part was okay.

Mousekeeping A: Beds were made, towels, toilet paper and toiletries replaced as needed. We tipped $5/day and although my daughter commented that there were no towel animals, the room was always ready for us.

Transportation A: This time we never used the boat to DTD, but the bus service was the best we ever experienced. I would give the bus service back to the resort an A++, we never waited more than a few minutes for a bus, even at park closing or after the fireworks. After a full bus left another would roll up shortly thereafter. Unfortunately some buses shared with POR and those did take a while to get to Epcot/DHS.

Thanks for all the info. I've been seriously wondering about the bus service.

[Danascraps]

Hi everyone! Just got back last night from DisneyWorld... back to the real world. We had a wonderful time, and LOVED POFQ, would definitely stay there again. Here are a few thoughts.

Hotel is lovely. Grounds are beautifully maintained and so clean.

Pool was great. Perfect size and never too crowded (we went to the Riverside pool once and it was packed!).

Room was terrific. Really clean and plenty of space for the 4 of us. Mousekeeping did a great job. I left a tip in an envelope every day, a few times with a note on the envelope for special requests... which were always fulfilled. Great service.

CMs at gift shop, food service and desk were super friendly.

Bus service was wonderful! After hearing all the complaints I was worried. We only waited more than 10 minutes one time for a bus (from Downtown Disney, around 20 mins.) Only shared the bus with Riverside twice, coming home from TL and DTD. Busses were mostly full, but the waits were short. Magical Express was on time and super easy to deal with.

Food at FQ was fine. Breakfast was very good, lunch was fine. We prefered to eat elsewhere.

We love Disney, but boy are we tired!!

[alicia080979]

Originally Posted by spacemountainmom

We ship everything FedEx Ground when we stay POFQ. We use big totes to ship instead of boxes. We generally ship in on Monday for a Saturday arrival. It usually gets there on Wednesday or Thursday and they hold it for us.

We pre-pay to ship home at the same time. I bring the return shipping labels with and a roll of tape. We pack everything back in the totes, remove the POFQ shipping labels and replace it with the labels to send them home. We leave the totes with the concierge and the next time FedEx is at the resort, they get picked up.

I will never travel to WDW with checked luggage ever again.

Thank you so much for this info. That is tempting to just ship our clothes, extra shoes, toiletries, etc. down ahead of time and not even worry about checking a bag. I never even thought about not using a box. How big/what kind of totes do you use? Do you know about how much it cost to do each way? I would have to get everything ready and in the mail by the end of this week I think since we arrive next Thursday. Just trying to figure out what is going to be best.

[Queila]

We just got back from 9 days at Disney yesterday and we already got the Disney blues. Why does time have to pass so fast when we are having fun?!?

This was our first stay at POFQ and we L-O-V-E-D it.

My husband and I were saying that we have found our match. We have stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge and Pop Century before but POFQ seemed to be the perfect match for our family.

I have always said that I would like to experience every Disney hotel at least once but it will be hard not to stay at POFQ else from now on...

I think what I liked the most is the fact that the resort is comparatively very small and easy to manage. Even though our room was on building 1 (by the river) we never felt we were too far from anything. Specially when we figured we could make our way to the pool through the path by the river.

We walked to Riverside once for a meal at Boatwright's (which is amazing BTW) and took the boat back to FQ. We were planning to use the boat once again to go to DTD but ended up using the bus instead.

The bus system was good. I had heard rumors that it was supposed to be a nightmare but it was seamless. We shared it once or twice with Riverside but it wasn't a big deal. We never had to wait long for it, 10 minutes tops.

One night when we were getting back from MK after Wishes we got to the bus stop and there were tons of guests waiting. It looked like they had been waiting for quite a while. So the first bus came, filled up and left. We had to stay behind and wait for the next one. Wouldn't you know they sent a Magical Express coach to pick us up. Everybody got to sit down and watch cartoons on the way to the hotel. The bus driver called it a "magical moment".

The rooms are beautiful and spacious and mousekeeping was A1. The wifi in our room was not the best though. It can get frustrating after a while.

We also ate at Sassagoula Floatworks a couple of times (shrimp po boy, creole burger, fish with collard greens, gumbo, jambalaya and a ridiculous amount of beignets). Everything was delicious and made fresh.

The staff was friendly and kept a smile on their faces even on the Monday (Aug.27) when we felt the effects of Isaac and most people stayed at the resort because of the heavy rain. Sassagoula Floatworks was extremely busy the whole morning but it never got chaotic.

We also loved the swimming pool and my daughter who is 4 years old couldn't get enough of that slide. The pool never felt too crowded and we never had trouble finding chairs. We also got to enjoy some games by the pool one afternoon and the CM's were very good with the kids.

On the Saturday night we got to go to sit at the Scat Cat's and listen to Elliot Dyson play for a while. We ordered a gyn tonic at the bar which totally hit the spot.

All in all it was a wonderful vacation and POFQ played a huge part in it. If you are reading this because you are still trying to figure out where to stay on your next Disney vacation I would highly recommend giving POFQ some serious thought.

Q

[dansdad]

Originally Posted by darrengs

We stayed at POFQ from 8/24/2012-9/2/2012, here is a quick review.
Me, DW, DD(9),DS(14)

Room A-: I faxed a request 4 days in advance for a corner room in building 3,4,5 or 2. Due to our arrival on 8/24 and Free Dining starting on 8/25 we actually had a 1 night room only followed by our 8 night package. We did not need to change rooms which made it easier for us. We were given Room number 4234, which is obviously on the 2nd floor of the building 4. It was in fact a corner room but it was an inside corner with only 1 set of windows, so it was exactly what we asked for.

You sure got lucky. Faxed room requests now end up in the garbage without being looked at. The best way to inform WDW of a room request is to call the main reservations line and have the requests added to your reservation.

I just want to save somebody else from faxing their requests.