Join us in welcoming guest author Catie Hiltz with a review of the food court at Port Orleans Resort French Quarter in Disney World! Yep — this is where you can get those one-of-a-kind beignets!! But Catie’s got some other treats in mind…start your morning with one of these yummy eats!
My husband and I loved staying at Port Orleans French Quarter, and found Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory (the resort’s counter-service food court) to be a great place to grab a bite to eat before or after spending some time at the parks. They carry all the standards for breakfast, from the always delicious Mickey waffles, to omelets, platters, and pancakes.
Atmosphere
The resort itself is New Orleans themed, and has a relaxed, romantic feeling. The Food Factory fits right in with the theme — it’s large and open, and even during the breakfast rush, it’s loud but not deafening. It didn’t feel crowded at all.
Exterior Entrance
Interior Entrance
With its mismatched chairs and tables — and the oversize Mardi Gras float decor — the Food Factory really makes you feel like you’re hanging out in the Big Easy!
Seating and Decor
Plus, since it was holiday season when we were there, the music was jazzy Christmas tunes, which just added to the experience!
The décor is big, and fun!
Eats
Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory is broken into several dining stations. There were three main areas from which to order hot food.
Omelet Station Menu - click image for larger version
The Carb Menu and French Toast - click image for larger version
More Breakfast Choices!
They also have a self-serve bakery counter and areas where you can grab fruit salad and pieces of fruit as well as a beverage case with juice and other options.
Self-Serve bagels, desserts, muffins and other goodies.
Fresh Fruit and Chips
Fruit salad/grapes/yogurts/parfaits and even beer and wine!
Assorted juices/sodas/milks etc.
After weighing all the options, we decided to try the bacon, egg, and cheese croissant; the Bounty Platter; and a cinnamon roll.
Our yummy choices!
I chose the Bounty Platter, and honestly my only complaint is there was too much Bounty for me! I couldn’t finish all the delicious items on my plate and had to solicit some help from my husband!
We both really enjoyed all the items though; the sausage had enough spice and the casing was nice and crispy, and the bacon was perfect — not too crispy and not too soggy. The potatoes were a bit oily, but were crisp on the outside and soft and hot inside, which made up for it. The scrambled eggs were good, nothing special but definitely edible and tasty; and the Mickey waffle had a crunchy exterior and soft fluffy light interior.
I personally am a sucker for biscuits and this one did not disappoint — it had a buttery taste, was soft and warm, and overall was my favorite part of the platter for sure.
The Bounty Platter – you definitely get your money’s worth with this one!
My husband chose the cinnamon roll (which unfortunately was not included in the Disney Dining Plan, but the cashier let him use it as a snack credit so we didn’t have to pay out of pocket, which was nice!) and the bacon egg and cheese croissant.
He said the croissant was easily the best part; it was flaky and buttery and not too dry, but that the sandwich portion was decent as well. Crisp bacon, well-cooked eggs, and melty American cheese made this sandwich a winner (so much so that he was very reluctant to share it with me at all!).
The Croissant breakfast sandwich
The cinnamon roll was different from others at Disney. It was flaky and light (similar to a croissant), and had a strong cinnamon flavor. The icing was more of a royal icing and was hard and dry on the roll.
Overall we liked this, but definitely prefer the softer more gooey version found at the Main Street Bakery.
Cinnamon Roll
Cinnamon Roll Cross-Section
We used the Disney Dining Plan to pay for our breakfasts (1 counter service credit will get you an entrée and a drink at breakfast time). But if you plan to pay out of pocket, you can expect to pay $6-$9 for most breakfast entrees, and around $3 per beverage.
Not a bad deal considering the Bounty Platter, at $8.29, can easily feed 2 adults.
Overall
We really enjoyed our breakfast at Port Orleans French Quarter and would definitely eat there again on our next trip. In the past 15 years or so, the Resort food courts at Disney World have gotten so much better, and I am so glad to have a place where we can grab delicious food away from the hustle and bustle of the Theme Parks.
The food here is high quality, the Cast Members are polite and efficient, and it was overall a positive experience that will keep us coming back to the Resort, and the Food Factory.
What do you think of Port Orleans French Quarter and its Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory? Let us know below in the comments section!
Catie has been a Disney fanatic ever since her first ride on Space Mountain at age 4. She is the author of Living in a Grown Up World, and she is a huge fan of food, Minnie Mouse, and all things Disney!
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We usually stay at the riverside location of this resort, which is about a half mile up river from the French Quarter. One of the best things to do in the morning is to take a leisurely walk along the riverbank to have breakfast (maybe beignets and coffee) and then walk off the calories on the stroll back. The French Quarter food court always seems, at least to us, a little quieter than the Riverside court.
I think Caties excellent review make a great point in that the quality of the food court’s fare is better than it was in the past. If you are in a hurry to get out to the parks, this is a quicker way to eat than a sit down breakfast.
When we stayed at POFQ last March, we ate at the food court alot. Mainly because we were stuck in the hotel, with a super nasty storm going on, for over a day. Everyday, though, I made sure to get some beignets–breakfast or dessert–it didn’t matter when!
Everything we tried was excellent–with the exception of the cajun burger (I think is what it was called). It had shrimp on it, and they were a bit off, and my husband felt a bit ill after eating it.
The giant heads, though–those I could live without!
You can not eat any meal here with out getting an order of beignets! They are always a must 🙂
We are staying there in three weeks and cannot wait!! Thank you for the breakfast preview… I also am looking forward to the beignets…
Stayed at POFQ last October and had breakfast at the Sassagoula Floatworks several times.
* I like the food court at POR better, but with the small size of POFQ, you can scurry back to your room with a tray of breakfast food before it goes too cold if it’s not that chilly and your room’s not too far. (We were in building 6.)
* Because there isn’t any table service restaurant at POFQ, the cashiers accepted my Tables in Wonderland card for the discount. It adds up if you’re eating breakfast there every day of your visit.
We love POFQ and can’t stop going back. We are also more than happy with the quality of the food there. We have ordered plenty Bounty Platters there “with a twist” … we don’t eat meat and I don’t like eggs so when I split it with my daughter we always ask for them to leave the meat and eggs off and they are always happy to put some fruit, extra potatoes (yum!) and a pancake on there for us.
We find the food is of a consistently good standard and have honestly never had a problem there in the 40-something nights we have stayed at this resort in total.
I’ve had the bacon, egg, and cheese croissant here and it was delicious, just as described. I’ve found that you really can’t go wrong anywhere if you order a breakfast sandwich on a croissant.
We only ordered the beignets once – got a bad batch and both were sick the rest of the day =(
Over many trips to WDW, it’s been the only food caused illness I’ve ever experienced. Interesting that someone else had an issue with shrimp there.
Alan – I haven’t tried the food over at POR, but the concensus seems to be that POFQ is overall a little smaller/quieter and so is the food court apparantly – which is a big bonus in my opinion 🙂
Jen – I agree that beignets are an amazing choice any time of day (theres nothing wrong in eating a ‘dessert’ for breakfast, esp since this one is essentially like a donut ha!), and that is horrible about the shrimp fiasco – I didn’t try any of the shrimp, and am kind of glad I didn’t – although I am sure yours was an (unfortunate) but isolated incident
Lee – Thanks for the info about substituting the breakfast meat – my husband loves bacon too much ha but I know others will find that helpful (I know I do!)
Niki – it must have been the oil or something, I know I have gotten sick from fried foods before and that was the only logical explanation…hopefully next time you try them they are delicious!
Seems like we can all agree that POFQ is a great place to stay as well as eat – I know I will be back again as soon as I can…next time we go (in April) we are staying at POP Century for the first time and I am excited for that too, have heard good things about their food as well – but POFQ is def my fave WDW Resort 🙂
Just got back from a stay at POFQ and we loved the food court. We only ate 1 breakfast there but had several dinners and (except for the large pizza pie – we are pizza snobs) everything was great. The Beef Po Boy and Cajun burgers were great. My husband loved the ribs. We never had trouble finding a table and all of the staff was very helpful (in deciphering the dining plan and how to use remaining credits at the end of the trip).
Oh yeah – can’t forget the beignets — VERY YUMMY!!!
My family has stayed at PORQ several times and it is by far our favorite! The food court has never disappointed and in fact even when we have stayed at other resorts we always make sure to stop by here and at the very least grab some beignets! 🙂
Stayed at POR and although the food court was big with a lot of choice it was very noisy so spent most of our time over at POFQ one. Very charming 🙂
Dinner at POFQ is also very good. For those of you who love southern style cooking and have been let down at other locations, POFQ is sure to please. They have the best collard greens on Disney property. Think I’m kidding? Let me know and I will send you the recipe complete on POFQ stationary!
Jill – I found the staff to be very helpful and pleasant as well, and the lunch (po boys etc) was great there too, I agree 🙂
Becci – good to know I am not alone in wanting to grab some beignets even though I won’t be staying at POFQ….they are worth the long bus trip over lol (or a boat ride from Downtown Disney – another benefit of staying at POFQ/POR!)
I love the quietness and charm of POFQ most of all – its quaint and romantic and even though its only a Moderate, it sure feels Deluxe to me!!
Larry: agreed! The collards are great.
Love port Orleans
I would love to stay at POFQ. One of these days. I always get the Bounty Platter at Pop. The only difference is they have french toast sticks instead of the Mickey waffle.
Now, who can I talk to at Pop about switching the french toast sticks with a Mickey waffle?
My family stayed at Port Orleans in Dec. 2010. We found the food to be decent with good sized portions. Those huge heads were seriously creepy!! Oh, my daughter made us stop eating there, they weirded her out too much! LOL So the last couple days, my husband got carryout for breakfast. We were all thoroughly disappointed in the beignets. We’d never had them before and we tried them twice. They are fairly flavorless fried dough covered in excessive sugar. Not at all living up to the hype. All in all, I’d eat there again, just not with my daughter and I’ll skip the beignets.
Larry: please share the collard green recipe with us all.