Staying at The Port Orleans Resort, French Quarter.

For the Princess Half weekend, we decided to stay on property the night before the race for the convenience factor. Since we made this decision the week before our options were slim. In the end, we decided on Port Orleans- French Quarter. I heard rave reviews of this resort, so I was eager to decide for myself. The Princess Half was the same weekend of the Rock-n-Roll New Orleans and I was sad I was missing it. For a homesick girl, this was probably the next best thing. The hotel was the best portrayal of elements from my hometown I've ever seen.

The buildings were very Pontalba apartment-esque. (Those are the buildings that surround the St. Louis Cathedral. Once upon a time, I wanted to live in them.) The walkways around the resort were similar to the streets found throughout New Orleans (you know, without the trash and smell ;).

They even named the streets with New Orleans-esque names. It was funny hearing B try to pronounce Pontchartrain. Could you imagine if there was a Tchoupitoulas (hint: the T is silent)? 

The quick service restaurant, Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory, was themed after the warehouses where they keep Mardi Gras floats. There was actual float memorabilia hanging from the ceiling. Being that Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World (where all the official Mardi Gras floats are housed year round) was a staple field trip throughout my childhood, it was a nice touch. 

The food options were a big difference from other resort quick service options. Lots of fried food (obviously) that was made to order, including beignets and po-boys. I didn't get to indulge as much as I wanted, but what I did sample from B's plate was delicious. The dough and the sugar on the beignets and the bread on the poboy weren't quite right, but it definitely did the trick.

I was even ok with the alligators all around the pool.

B said this guy looked sad all alone, so I decided to join his band.

The resort backs up to Sassagoula River, which is beautiful and very swamp/ bayou like. There are boats that will take you from the resort to Downtown Disney. This was definitely a convenient perk. I had never ridden it before and it was a nice new adventure. We took a ride after dinner the night before the race to check out what was at The Team Disney store, then came back. 

Another of my favorite features of this resort is that the nightly movie is held in the big grassy area between the buildings. At other resorts, this is normally held by the pool, where it gets loud and distracting. It looked like it was nice to watch the movie without the background noise of screaming children.

The other side of the resort is called Riverside and it's themeing is more Bayou/Plantation and less New Orleans Proper. The royal guest rooms (special new headboards) are located in this part. I've never stayed there, so I can't give much feedback about it.  I noticed, the Disney transportation buses go to French Quarter first as well as the race transportation. I heard a ton of people had problems on race morning getting there on time because the buses would fill up and never have a chance to get to Riverside. 

Not gonna lie, I'm not normally a fan of imitation New Orleans. I cringe if you say my hometown's name wrong. I won't order Jambalaya at a restaurant in NOLA, much less somewhere else (my dad's is the best). So, I was nervous about staying there. But I will say, Disney did a good job. I'd definitely consider staying there again and can see why it's such a favorite among guests.

What's your favorite resort?