The Solo Scale:

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If you’re headed to Disney solo, you’ve got a lot of decisions ahead of you. There’s the parks you want to visit, the restaurants to eat at, and you’ll have to decide if you want to do any of the extras. Before you do any of that, though, you need to decide which hotel you want to stay at.

There’s two initial choices here. Either you can stay off-site to reap the rewards of the value and use that money on your vacation. Or you can stay on-site and take advantage of the Disney bubble and Disney transportation. I’ve done both these options, but as a solo traveller, I do prefer to be on-site. It just removes one additional variable to think about. In general, reserving your hotel early for Disney World is something you should consider if you want to stay on property. They can sell out of the type of room you might want pretty quickly. Plus, you just have to put a deposit down (either $200 or a single hotel night). It’s safe too, because if you decide to cancel, you get the money back. Even better, if a discount appears, you can switch to that pricing and benefit from that as well.

So let’s say you’re going to stay on-site. Now, you have to decide which hotel you want to stay at. Seeing as you’ll be paying for the whole of the room, price is a pretty important variable. Unless there’s a fantastic deal in play, that typically rules out the deluxe resorts. That’s when the moderates & values come back into play.

Personally, I’ve heard a lot of horror stories about the values being group booking destinations. Given that I’m pretty sensitive when it comes to sleep, I really value the peace and quiet. That means I gravitate towards the moderates. Right at the bottom end of the price lists for that are the Port Orleans resorts.

I’ve stayed at both and prefer French Quarter for four key reasons:

1. The size of the resort is perfect. It’s not too big that you’re exhausted at the end of the day when it comes to getting back to the room.
   
2. Because it’s a smaller resort, there’s no bus loop. There’s a singular bus station and because the resort isn’t too big, I’ve never run into an issue of having the bus be too full that I had to wait.
   
3. This is where you can get the beignets in a quick walk in the morning without too much effort
   
4. There’s a boat that takes you to Disney Springs, which adds a great perk that isn’t a bus. With a nice cool breeze, it’s one of the best ways to get in and out of Disney Springs. That said, the boats have limited capacity, so you might end up waiting.

The grounds for Port Orleans French Quarter are great to walk around and the buildings are modest and small. It limits the noise, but doesn’t trade in on entertainment. There’s still a pool with activities for the kids to enjoy, you can take a horse-drawn carriage around the property, and they do movies at night. There’s a food court for quick service options that you can mobile order ahead of time. Given that there’s only one bus stop and the resort is smaller, it’s a great way to pick up food on the way back to your room. In the past, I’ve placed orders on my way back from the parks and picked it up. This is also a great resort if you get the refillable mug. After all, you’re never that far to reach the food court and get a refill.

Speaking of food, there’s the incomparable Scat Cat Lounge on property to enjoy at night.

In terms of the rooms, this is a moderate resort. That means that there’s tons of room, especially if you’re there solo. There’s two beds, two sinks in the bathroom, and more storage than you probably will ever need. Because it’s a moderate, you get housekeeping every other day. The Port Orleans rooms were recently renovated, which means that they’re beautifully refreshed. It does also mean that a lot of the air conditioning systems are now motion based, which can be a problem if you don’t move around much when you sleep. The bathrooms here have the shower / bathtub combo with the toilet behind a separate door.

If you find yourself in need of a few items or maybe want a souvenir or Magic Band, there is an on-site gift shop where you have a small selection of merchandise. Like with all the Disney hotels, there’s a small selection of resort-specific merchandise to choose from. The gift shops have a few toiletry items as well, if you find the front desk can’t assist.

Overall, I’ve come to think of French Quarter as my solo home resort, especially when I’m doing a lot of venturing to Disney Springs for meals, shopping, or experiences. The boat is such a peaceful excursion and the knowledge that your aching feet won’t be exacerbated by walking at the resort is such a good peace of mind. Plus, there’s nothing quite like the sounds of New Orleans style jazz on the buses as they round their way toward the resort and bring you to your temporary Disney home.

For more details about the resort or to check prices for your stay, check out the website here for more information.

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