Disney World Resort Spotlight: Port Orleans French Quarter

On my recent trip to Disney World to do the runDisney Dopey Challenge, I stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter resort. This is one of the resorts I had never stayed in until this visit. We’ve stayed at Port Orleans Riverside as a family and all thought it was a once and done, but I imagine I’ll be returning to French Quarter! Read on to see what is so great about this resort…

The theming is amazing as it is in other Disney resorts. It’s a beautiful resort based on a New Orleans theme. Lots of jazz references and Mardi Gras colors!! But what sets this one apart from Port Orleans Riverside is the size.

There are 4 resorts in Disney World that are considered to be in the “Moderate” category - Port Orleans French Quarter, Port Orleans Riverside, Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs. French Quarter is the smallest resort by far.

Number of rooms per resort:

  • French Quarter - 1008

  • Caribbean Beach - 1536

  • Riverside - 2048

  • Coronado - 2384

There are several benefits of a smaller resort…. Less people at the food court, the gift shop, the pool and the buses. But the biggest benefit for me was a smaller footprint. No matter which room you are in, you have at most a 5 minute walk to the main building and transportation. This was HUGE during Marathon weekend. I know the point of my trip was to run 48.6 miles over the course of 4 days, but something about the walks to/from the bus and my room seemed extra difficult. I literally was within a 30 second walk of the bus stop and I don’t know if I could have taken a step further.

We’ve been at amazing resorts like Animal Kingdom Lodge and had about a half mile walk (not really exaggerating here) from the bus to our room. That is a bit overwhelming when you’re exhausted, pushing a stroller, dragging luggage or heading to/from the pool.

I’ve also never done the Resort Refillable Mug (free drinks over the course of your trip!) since it’s always such a hike to the food court. Even with my tired feet and legs, I feel like I cost Disney some money in Diet Coke over the course of my stay. It was so quick, I sometimes headed back over just to fill up my cup again.

The only downside to French Quarter is that to get to the parks, your only transportation is by bus. I do love the Skyliner from Caribbean Beach. But honestly, the buses come so often and are so close to the rooms that I feel like I didn’t miss the Skyliner that much. (I did have to hop between Epcot and Hollywood Studios a couple of times just to ride the Skyliner as it’s a lot of fun, though)! If you’re a big Disney Springs fan, there is a boat there that is a fun and relaxing ride down the Sassagoula river!

Love the boats to Disney Springs along the Sassagoula!

The other moderates all have multiple internal bus stops and French Quarter just has one. I love that I know if a bus comes, it won’t already be full and my next stop is the park. At the other resorts, you sometimes have to stop at 3 other stops prior to getting to yours and I’m just too impatient for that!

The pool is amazing!! It has a fun slide and even has a great splash pad area for smaller kids. Another benefit of Port Orleans resorts is that you can pool hop between French Quarter and Riverside. Most other resorts require you to be a guest at that resort to use the pool. But if you’re staying at either of these, you are free to use both pools!

The food is great although if you know me, I tend to eat kids’ meals and am not too adventurous so I’m not the best food critic. But all that I had was really good.

The best food there, by far, is at Scat Cat Cafe - beignets!!! These things are huge and made fresh when you order them. I have a feeling they are used to seeing it there, so they didn’t call the DEA on me, but it did look a bit suspicious since I had powdered sugar all over my room!

Mickey Beignets!!! An order of 3 comes with a dipping sauce. SO GOOD!!

The rooms were refurbished in 2018 so have the new style of wood floors and flat-panel TVs mounted on the wall which gives a bit more counter space in the room. They also have the beds that are open underneath so that you can store suitcases there instead of wasting floor space elsewhere.

Overall, I can’t say enough great things about this resort. If you’re thinking about heading to Disney World, give me a call. I’d love to talk about your needs for a resort and see if this is as great a fit for you as it was for me!! And remember, it doesn’t cost you a penny more to book through me than it does to book directly through Disney - and you’ll get my expertise and love of Disney to help guide you!!

That Time I Went to Magic Kingdom WITH ZERO CROWDS!!!

A couple of trips ago, I missed out on the opportunity to go to a Magic Kingdom After Hours event and have been kicking myself ever since. Thankfully on my most recent trip, the timing worked out and I was there on a night they were doing the After Hours party. Let me tell you, I can’t recommend this enough!! For those of you that love the attractions but hate the crowds, THIS IS FOR YOU!!!

Take a look at the blog post I did originally on the party details by clicking here. There are just a couple of updates from that post. Obviously those dates are in the past so be sure and ask me for the new ones (they are currently only scheduled through Jan 2020). The prices for After Hours at Magic Kingdom are currently $129 per ticket . Animal Kingdom also does an After Hours event for the same price, but honestly I don’t think you’d get nearly as much bang for your buck there. Not as many attractions are open and the animals are mostly asleep!

Check out these photos from my night at Magic Kingdom. I’m not even joking when I say that I really felt alone a good portion of the night. I rarely ran into other Guests. I saw many more Cast Members than Guests throughout the park.

Disney doesn’t publish the number of tickets available for these events, but they are extremely limited and often sell out. You’ll also pay a few dollars more if you purchase the tickets at the gate if they still have any available. So be sure to let me know if you’re interested in this and I’ll get your tickets in advance and attach them to your MyDisneyExperience account.

I just have one word of warning if you’re doing this party - don’t overdo it on the free ice cream/popcorn/soft drinks! I ate a bit too much and felt pretty queasy after the third time in a row on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Totally worth the queasiness but I might spread out the snacks a bit more next time!

Don’t have a trip planned to Disney at the moment? Let’s change that! Give me a call and I’ll plan and book your trip with no hassle and NO FEES! It’s always free to use my trip planning services to any Disney or Universal destination.

The Kiss Goodnight - A Magic Kingdom Magical Moment

If you’re any kind of Disney World fan, you’ve probably seen or at least heard of the Kiss Goodnight. If you haven’t, then enjoy today’s blog post about one of the most Magical moments you can experience at the Magic Kingdom.

Being my favorite park by far, I can find tons of Magical moments in the Kingdom. But the Kiss Goodnight is the top of the list. It’s Disney’s way of saying goodnight to the guests that remain in the park after closing. It’s around 2 minutes long and usually happens every half hour starting 30 minutes after the park officially closes. I saw it twice one night but have heard others that saw it 3 times so if you miss it, try to hang around another half hour and catch the next one. Sadly, they will eventually kick you out (in a very kind Disney way), so try to make a point to catch the first one.

You’ll know it’s starting when Cinderella Castle starts to twinkle as the music from When You Wish Upon a Star begins to play.

It may surprise you to find out that this trip was my first time to see the Kiss Goodnight in person. Since you can get in line for any ride you’d like mere minutes before closing, I usually try to get one last ride on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train or Peter Pan’s Flight. That’s great but timing has never worked out and it’s usually more than 30 minutes before I get back over to the Castle.

This time I made a point of getting back over there and sacrificed my last ride (it helps that it wasn’t my last night in the parks). There’s something about being there after the park closes. There are also very few people who stay to watch this (someone explain that to me) and it feels like you have the Castle to yourself.

Just in case you’ve never seen it, take a look at my video here! Just don’t blame me if you get tears in your eyes…

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Let’s get you to Magic Kingdom as it’s SO much better in person! Give me a call! Remember there are no fees for my services and I can’t wait to help you upgrade the Magic!

How I Got This Sweatshirt at Disney World for FREE!!

On my last trip to Disney, I planned to not buy any souvenirs as this was a work trip and I already felt a little guilty for not taking my kids. But I still came home with this super cute sweatshirt! And it didn’t even cost me anything. How did I do it?

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First of all, even though you can do online checkin weeks in advance at your Disney resort, always go by the front desk when you arrive. It’s never guaranteed but you might get a Cast Member looking for the next awesome family to upgrade. And I always go and reset my PIN for my MagicBand so that I can charge on it.

But even better, you can ask about forgoing Mousekeeping (Disney-speak for housekeeping) while you’re there. I did just that and got a $30 Disney gift card for opting out! (This isn’t a guaranteed perk, but so far everyone that I know that has asked about it has received it)!

Before you go telling me you can’t stay in a dirty hotel room for a week, I bet you can! As much as I try, I don’t get around to cleaning our bathrooms at home more than every 2 weeks so a few days isn’t anything new for us.

Plus you can call the front desk at any time and ask for more towels or linens. They will happily take your dirty ones away also.

The other reason I used to love Mousekeeping is that they brought fresh toiletries and the little bottles of Disney shampoo/conditioner/soap were the best. But now, in an effort to reduce plastic waste, the resorts don’t have the individual bottles anymore. Most of the resorts (if not all at this point) have bottles attached to the wall that you just pump out. At first I was sad to see those little bottles go, but then I remembered my stash of them at home that’s at least 5 years old and I never use them. I’m either a hoarder or just so nostalgic that I can’t stand the thought of not having them, that has caused me not to use them up. (Let’s go with nostalgic).

There was also something nice about knowing that no one would be coming in the room. I always feel like I have to “pick-up” a bit so Mousekeeping doesn’t know what a slob I truly am.

Of course, I wasn’t lucky enough to find this sweatshirt for $30 (I was at Disney World after all), but I had my Disney Visa reward money to make up the difference. Be sure and take advantage of that program too!!

Want more tips about how to save for Disney or earn perks? Please contact me! I’m happy to share my secrets when I plan and book your trip. And guess what… My services are FREE also!

Click this link to contact me and let’s get started on your trip!!

5 Crazy Facts about Disney World's Trash!

Disney World has an average annual attendance of 52 MILLION visitors! So of course, that means a lot of trash is generated. Here are some amazing facts about all of that trash…

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1 - AVACS - You’ve probably heard that a lot of the behind-the-scenes work at Magic Kingdom takes place below the park itself. It’s built on top of a series of utility corridors or “utilidors” that house many of the operations that keep the park running smoothly.

The AVAC system — Automated Vacuum Assisted Collection System — was imported from Sweden. It’s basically a series of large tubes that hang from the ceiling of the utilidor. It moves trash around the park through pneumatic tubes at 60 miles per hour to a central collection point located behind Splash Mountain where it is processed, compressed or recycled. There are access points all over the park and the garbage is actually “sucked” into the tubes. The vacuum is created by two motors and exhausts and the tubes themselves are 20″ in diameter.

2 - AMOUNT OF WASTE - An average of more than 80,000 pounds of garbage run through the AVACS every day. And that’s just at the Magic Kingdom! According to a report from the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which oversees Disney World operations, more than 110,000 TONS of solid waste were discarded in 2017.

3 - GARBAGE TRUCKS - Who is taking care of all this trash? That falls on the Reedy Creek Improvement District’s 35 solid waste transfer vehicles. In 2017, these vehicles made an average of 191 pick-ups per day. Keep in mind these are full-size garbage trucks that would be full each pick-up. That’s a pick-up every 7.5 minutes on average!

4 - CUSTOM TRASH CANS - Walt Disney World trash cans have become such a crucial part of the Disney experience, that they even sell merchandise designed around them.

Walt himself wanted to make sure the park was clean and tidy. Typical trash cans at the time were simple round, open receptacles that led to foul odor and trash spilling out - far from clean and tidy.

Trash can inspired salt/pepper shakers!

Trash can inspired salt/pepper shakers!

Walt came up with a solution - the covered bin with a swinging lid. This would contain the trash out of sight, and control the smell. Disneyland was the first place to use these trash cans, but Walt never patented the idea because other manufacturers told him they were useless.

The trash cans are themed appropriately to the area of the park they are in. They are part of the decor and actually FUN to look at. This makes you more likely to walk up to a trash can and use it.

5 - PERFECT PLACEMENT - Besides the perfect designs for trash cans, Walt knew they had to be perfectly placed in order for people to use them. He decided to station a trash can every 30 feet.

There are a few different versions of the story of how Walt came up with this exact measurement. The first is that it’s how long it took him to finish his hot dog as he walked from the stand. When he was done, he needed a trash can to dispose of the wrapper. The second is that Walt and his team removed all of the trash cans on Main Street and then handed out candy and snacks to people as they entered the park. They then watched and counted how long people would carry the wrappers and paper before giving up and dropping them, and it was around 30 feet.

Who knew that trash could be so interesting?? Remember that I will plan and book your Disney trip for free and leave you with time on your hands to read about things like garbage!

Winter Snow Storm Predicted to Hit Disney World This Week!

Wait, what?? Snow at Disney World? I might be a little confused - although it’s supposed to snow in Oklahoma tomorrow, none is predicted for Orlando. According to rumors, it’s only actually ever snowed at Disney World twice - once in the late 70s and once in the late 80s but not enough to stick either time.

So if you want snow, Orlando is probably not the best option for you. However, with the possibility of snow here, I’m dreaming of Disney World and the warmth of it all - along with a warm hug from Olaf!

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Not everyone wants to be quite as toasty warm as I do, though. So if you’re one of the people looking to stay cool on a Disney World trip, here are a few tips for you.

First off - go during cooler weather!! October/November are beautiful and have fewer crowds. January, February and early March (avoiding Marathon weekends and Spring Break) also have fewer crowds but you’ll run into a bit more rain then. Still, that helps keep it cooler.

If you do happen to go in the hotter months, there are plenty of ways to cool off. When we were there a few years ago, they had a Frozen themed “snow” playground. It’s not there anymore but you never know when something like this will pop up!

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Of course, there of tons of refreshing treats (DOLE WHIP, ANYONE??) to help you beat the heat. And don’t forget about Club Cool in Epcot where you can drink all you want of the complimentary sodas from around the world!

Look for water areas to help your kids cool off. There are misters scattered around and plenty of fountains to run through. And sometimes just the “feeling” of being cold is all you really need - it’s a frame of mind!

I love how almost all of the queues for attractions are indoors or in the shade. Stick to the rides that will keep you out of the sun. A great spot for this is in Norway at Epcot. Even in the summer, you feel like you are in the snowy mountains. Be sure to visit the Frozen Singalong at Hollywood Studios for an indoor snow storm! Or take a trip to visit the Yeti on Mt. Everest! I tend to black out on that ride but based on the shakes I get, I think it cools me off…

You may not always get perfect weather on your trip, but with some advanced planning we can make sure you have the best time possible. Please give me a call if you are thinking about a Disney (or Universal!) trip. I can’t wait to help you have a Magical time!!