Great Stay June 7-14 2013

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PAmom
Posts: 10
Joined: March 16th, 2011, 10:43 am

Great Stay June 7-14 2013

Unread post by PAmom »

Got back a few weeks ago and am going through withdraw :(
We had a two week trip planned, June 1-6 we visited family in Vero Beach, June 7-14 was our scheduled stay at POFQ. This was our first time back to Disney since our honeymoon 17 years ago; this time with our 16-yo son and 15-yo daughter. I had initially booked for Caribbean Beach (where we stayed the first time), but a day later I had second thoughts because of the full-size beds at CBR and because I figured FQ rooms may be cleaner due to the refurb. When we arrived in FL on June 1, we made a quick stop to FQ to check out the room numbers. I had originally requested a room in bldgs. 4,5, or 6, 3rd floor, corner. So, we walked around and listed about 10 room numbers that we preferred. About 4 days before our arrival at FQ, I faxed our request to the lobby. When we arrived around 8 am on June 7, our room was ready... 3rd floor and one of the rooms we requested in bldg 6. Great location. Some may not have liked the view/noise of the nightly movies in the courtyard outside of our door, but I loved that the trees were more set back and that Bldg 5 seemed farther away from us. No crowded feeling. Our room: very clean, except for a few things. My husband showed me how dirty his socks were from just walking a bit on the carpet; a day before our leave I noticed something icky on the bedskirt; and day before our leave an orange/red spider made us a visit. This really didn't phase me much, or take away from how much we enjoyed our stay. The fridge was small and took awhile to get cold. I did pull it forward a little and made sure the temperature knob was all the way to cold. Our first day at FQ we still had a rental car 1 full day, so we went to a local SuperTarget and purchased bagels, pop tarts cases of water, juices, and granola bars. We also purchased a Styrofoam cooler to keep extra water cold (we kept this in the bathtub at times in case of any leaks). Beds were very comfortable. We had plenty of space for clothing and food. I brought many hangers and hung them on the clothing bar, a lot of clothes fit on the shelf above the clothing rod, and plenty of drawer space, sitting bench, etc. We kept our food on the wall shelf. Also plenty of room on the sink counter, sink top and bottom shelf. I pack and keep all toiletries in gallon-size baggies and it's very easy to store them on the shelves. POOL: first day there it was difficult to find 4 chairs together, and where we sat under some trees had some itchy types of flies/gnats. The next day we used Riversides poolwhich we enjoyed. From thereafter we found an area at FQ where it was less crowded - going to the back area to the left had primarily adults because the lower sections around the pool had families with young children where parents could keep an eye on their kids. In the pool, the area by the slides were also more crowded with young children, so we stayed near the fountain/deeper area and found it more relaxing. I still think for the number of buildings, FQ should put in at least 1 more "quiet pool"BOAT - we used the ferry boat many times and found it to be such a relaxing ride, it was out of operation once due to storms in the area. FOOD COURT: here is where I had the problem. prices were very high and we were really glad we brought many of our own groceries. $17 for a souveneir cup, $17 for a case of mini waters, a few dollars for what felt like a couple of tablespoons of cereal in single servings. I just wish the food prices would've been more reasonable. We did purchase 3 cups. I also think I'm one of the only people that didn't like the beignets.. maybe my stomach just can't take deep fried food. Too much powdered sugar, and my thought was that they'd be better if filled with something like apple filling. We also ordered pizza from Papa Johns, many people don't know that some pizza places will deliver right to FQ lobby. My husband and I really missed the table service restaurant that used to be at FQ, we still remembered what great food they used to have. With the amount of money it costs at any of these resorts, all resorts should have a table service restaurant. BUSES: very minimal waits from the resort. The only times we had a long dropoff was when we came back from DTD, then we shared a bus with Riverside. On one other occasion our driver also stopped at each of the 4 Riverside stops... but no one on the bus was getting off. Other than that, the pickup and drop-offs were very efficient. PARKS: We utilized the site easywdw for park recommendation days. We only had to wait 25 minutes for one ride in Epcot. The biggest tip we followed was to be at the park before it opens. So we were at the FQ bus stop by 7:15 every morning and made it to the front of the park lines every day. It was great to get our FastPasses first and get on the rides before the long waits. We were so efficient with time that it allowed us to get back to the resort by suppertime, go swimming, then go out to eat and enjoy good times in DTD. Overall, we had a wonderful stay at French Quarters. Every building was convenient to the food court, the grounds were peaceful and relaxing. The lobby staff were great, friendly and very accommodating. I would definitely stay here again.
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