Which POR is better?

[DQfreak23]

Do you guys prefer Port Orleans riverside or port Orleans French quarter??

 

[calnmace]

I love both resorts. What's nice is they are right next to each other so when I stay at one I visit the other. Both have the boat rides to Downtown Disney. Riverside has a table service restaurant as well as a quick service food court, French quarter only has the quick service food court. Riverside also has the boat rentals and bike rentals which French quarter doesn't offer but like I said you can use the amenities at both resorts.
What most people like about French quarter is its compact size. No need for a preferred room here, the resort is small and no matter which room you are in you're just a short walk from the main building. Riverside is much larger and more spread out so you may need to walk farther to get to the main building/pool etc.
They are both awesome resorts. Last stay we stayed in a royal room at Riverside, this time were choosing to stay at French quarter this November! Really excited!!

 

[LifeOnCloud8]

Personally, I've stayed at both and have to admit that I vastly prefer Riverside! I found the theming to be more subtle and mature than that of the French Quarter. (My family and I comment all the time that we feel like it should be a deluxe resort - if only it were on the monorail loop!) Besides that, it has counter service and table service food options, along with (to my memory) a much better gift shop!

However, some people really do love French Quarter. Usually, people argue that it's smaller and thus quieter and easier to traverse (though I've never thought Riverside was any worse in these respects).

Both are great resorts - it just comes down (in my opinion) to what experience you prefer. I'll pick plantations and bayous over Mardi Gras and jazz-playing alligators (sorry Louis!), but that's only my personal taste! To each his own! Wherever you stay, I'm sure you'll have an amazing vacation!

 

[everythingALICE]

I do really like POFQ, but I have to go with POR.

I LOVED the theming of the mansions. The grounds/landscaping is absolutely gorgeous, and I love the river and mill building. I never visited the TS restaurant, but the CS at POR is much, much better than the CS at POFQ - many more options.

 

[Tiggr924]

We prefer Riverside. We like the theming and food court better!

 

[nkereina]

We also prefer Riverside. It's more spread out which makes it feel less crowded. Every time we have visited FQ, we found the food court, bus stop and pool to be crowded. Plus I think the city-style theming contributes to the crowded-feeling vibe I get from there.

 

[Elleshoodat]

I prefer French Quarter. As a PP mentioned, it's smaller and feels more intimate. You can't go wrong with either, though.

 

[surferdave]

You can see pretty easily from Google maps how much more spread out Riverside is than French Quarter. We don't spend a lot of time at the resort other than in the rooms and at quick service, so being able to get around the resort quickly means more to me. But if you're going to spend more time at the resort you might like the multiple pools, sit down restaurant and quieter atmosphere at Riverside better.

 

[thehowells]

i have stayed at riverside twice, once in the mansions, once in alligator bayou, loved both, but pofq was awesome to visit, i couldn't believe how small it was

 

[sonofanarchy]

I prefer Riverside.

 

[got2lovedisney]

French Quarter for me. I love the theme plus the compact layout.

 

[pookie10]

I haven't been to either, but we chose POR for our next vacation, because I wanted to stay in the Royal rooms, but after we get back, I'll post my input I do like how they are close to each other though

 

[MiramarQE]

We've stayed at both - love them both - but would go with POR over POFQ for:

Better theme/landscaping (the Mardi Gras theme at FQ can be a little garish after a while)
Better CS food quality and selection (we were there in May, ate ONCE at FQ - then went to RS and everything was better) - and a sit-down restaurant
Multiple pools - if you want a quite pool at FQ you walk to RS, we don't see much difference between the main pools.

The only advantages to FQ is the much small size - a lot less walking. If you ask for the preferred rooms at RS you have the same effect. Oh - and FQ has a slightly shorter boat ride to/from DTD.

The downside to both is the bus transportation - every time we've stayed there the buses were shared between the two resorts - so 5 bus stops (FQ and 4 in RS) to get anywhere - and the buses are frequently crowded.

 

[nkereina]

Oh - and FQ has a slightly shorter boat ride to/from DTD.

The downside to both is the bus transportation - every time we've stayed there the buses were shared between the two resorts - so 5 bus stops (FQ and 4 in RS) to get anywhere - and the buses are frequently crowded.

True on the shorter boat ride to DTD, however the boat loads people at POR first. I have seen people at POFQ have to wait for the next boat because there wasn't enough room on the first one with all the POR people.

The buses only share during slow times. We went in September which is a notoriously slow time of year, and we only shared buses with POFQ during the afternoons when the buses were never crowded anyway. At park opening and closing, we never shared.