Port Orleans French Quarter Beignet Dash

Hi there and happy Wednesday! I'm interrupting my Royal Caribbean Alaska recaps for something near and dear to my heart - running at Disney!

My husband, son, and I recently spent the weekend at Walt Disney World where we jam packed as many "new to us" experiences in the weekend as possible. We stayed at Old Key West (new to us), had breakfast at Trattoria al Forno with the characters (also new to us), we saw Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy and the newly re-imagined Disney Jr Show at Hollywood Studios (all new to us), and I ran the Port Orleans French Quarter Beignet Dash for the first time.

Did you know that several of the Disney resorts host fun runs during the week? These runs are usually around a 3K distance and cost a small fee. After the run, participants are given a reward of some kind - such as a pin, medal, food item, etc. Oh yes, and walkers are welcome, too! (Please note, these runs are not available during runDisney race weekends.)

Ever since these runs began, I've been carrying around a list with a list of the race names and days of the week they take place, cause I knew I wanted to run one eventually. When we initially planned this trip, my first thought went to which days of the week we would be on property and which races would be available. Much to my delight, the Beignet Dash at Port Orleans French Quarter is held every Sunday morning and it just so happened to fit into our schedule!

At first I was hesitant to run this race as I am currently injured and going through physical therapy, but my PT encouraged me to run it (slowly) to see if I've made any progress. I also realize I haven't given any updates here on my PT progress, so I'll plan to give that update sometime next week!

Even though we were staying at the resort next door, we still had to take a Lyft to French Quarter as there is no walking path between the two resorts. Our driver picked us up at our building (instead of us having to take the 10 minute walking path to the front of Old Key West) and brought us directly to the front of French Quarter!

The race was set to begin at 8 a.m. and we arrived around 7:20 a.m. or so. Registration was set up to the side of the pool area, near the Disney Springs boat dock. During the registration process, a cast member told us that there were approximately 100 runners that morning!

According to the map, we would be running out of French Quarter and through Riverside! I was super excited to see this as Riverside is one of my favorite resorts on property!

My little cheerleaders were out to cheer me on!

At exactly 8 a.m.,  the race began. I scooted towards the middle of the pack as I didn't want to take off too fast and not be able to keep up running the whole time. I also didn't want to anger my hamstring any more.

This race was really nice and I enjoyed it a lot! My one complaint was the heat and humidity - and yes, I'm from Louisiana but I'm in the AC all day and not out in this craziness!

One thing I definitely appreciated about this race was the signage and cast members located throughout the course to cheer runners on. If you aren't familiar with the Riverside property, you wouldn't have a problem running this race as there's a ton of signage!

This race was approximately 1.4 to 1.5 miles per the runkeeper app on my phone and it really was a great way to start the day! My hamstring didn't give me much trouble during my run which was nice. The pain has gotten significantly better since starting PT! (More on that next week.)

I loved that the French Quarter greeter was out there to congratulate runners at the finish line as well!

After the run, we received our medals and a bottle of water (which was much needed)! We also had a chance to take pictures with a few of the signs that were provided.

Kimberly and her mom ran this race, too! It was so great to see them again and catch up!

At the bottom of our bib was a tear away tag which was good for 1 order of 3 Mickey beignets, which runners could pick up inside the French Quarter food court.

This little guy had Mickey waffles while I enjoyed my beignets!

These beignets were delicious and definitely comparable to those at Cafe DuMonde! They are also Mickey shaped, so how can you go wrong with that? I greatly enjoyed them and they were the perfect treat after having run 1.5 humid summer miles!

If you're interested in more Disney resorts fun runs, check out this post over at The Mouse For Less for a more comprehensive look at other fun runs that are available!

Port Orleans French Quarter Resort Review

When you talk about favorite resorts at Disney, there's no denying that Port Orleans Riverside is one of my favorite moderates. I love the theming, the atmosphere, and the overall feel of the resort.

Last August though, my husband and I had the chance to stay on property for an evening before our Disney Cruise, and we decided to stray up the beaten path to Port Orleans French Quarter. Little did I know, this quaint little resort would quickly earn a place in my heart!

With its down home southern feel and New Orleans atmosphere, this resort is a must stay in my opinion!

A few fun facts about Port Orleans French Quarter:

• Moderate category
• New Orleans style theming
• Walking distance to Port Orleans Riverside
• Additional transportation option by way of boat to Disney Springs

Upon arrival, we were immediately greeted with that sweet, southern hospitality you come to expect in the south. Our room wasn't ready yet, but the resort was not full and the cast member was able to find a spot for us which was super nice of him!

Port Orleans French Quarter has a quick service location which serves a wide variety of food, along with a few southern favorites.

I also seriously loved the Float Works dining hall overhaul! Disney removed the giant Mardi Gras parade heads and replaced them with a sleeker, more modern design.

There's even a few "hidden" Disney touches - check out the cards below!

Remember when I mentioned traditional southern favorites?

Beignets, anyone? :)

I can honestly attest this "new recipe" (as of late summer 2018) is perfect and tastes just like Cafe du Monde. The old recipe? Well, let's just say I'm glad they overhauled that one! If you haven't tried the beignets here in a while, you definitely need to do so again!

Another touch to the southern way of living are the alligator statues located along the property. No, I don't have them in my actual backyard, but I don't have to travel far to find them!

The architectural design on this property is on point!

Our favorite part about this resort is the size. No matter which building you're staying in, you won't have a long walk to get to the dining hall which is super nice! This resort is also super quiet and we loved that!

The rooms were recently remodeled which meant no more carpet!

Our room contained a king bed, fridge, iron with table, hair dryer, and built-in soap dispensers on the wall. (Since that's super important to know!)

Mardi Gras beads were also waiting for us with the traditional hidden Mickey on the table of our room.

The bathroom was super spacious and had plenty of room to move around. The only difference with this room was the lack of separate potty/shower from the sink. If one person was in the restroom, you didn't have access to anything else. I'm not sure if this is how all of the rooms on property are, but that's how ours was for sure.

Although we didn't have time to explore the pool area, this slide looked like a lot of fun. The laundry facilities are also located alongside the pool.

Taking a boat to Disney Springs is also super convenient and very peaceful. You also have a chance spot the Treehouse Villas along the way.

The New Balance Running Trail is available at this resort as well. I've run this entire route and it's a good one!

This is subject to change, but several of the Disney resorts are offering fun runs on property on certain days of the week. Sadly, we were missing this one by one day. Whomp Whomp.

If you'd like to venture a walk over to Port Orleans Riverside, you can do that as well! It's not far and only requires crossing one waterway! :)

Also noteworthy - there is no workout facility on property which is why the running/walking paths definitely come in handy!

The street signs and cross ways were also designed perfectly, along with these guys (below) which you'll find all throughout the streets of downtown New Orleans.

 

As if we thought this resort coulnd't get any more perfect, it did. Once the sun sets at night, the streetlamps kick on and wow. It's breathtaking!

So, should you stay here? Yes, yes you should. Living in Louisiana, I've been to New Orleans more times than I can count and always shied away from staying at this resort. Now, I'm sad I didn't get a chance to experience it sooner, I'll definitely stay here again and hope you will consider it as well! 

Want to read up on other resort reviews here on the blog? Check them out below! The list is ever growing!

• Disney's Coronado Springs Resort
• Disney's Port Orleans Riverside Resort  
• Disney's Wilderness Lodge Resort 

Thanks for stopping by! Have a magical day!

Day 1: Port Orleans French Quarter & Disney Springs

We've returned home from another amazing Disney Cruise Line vacation and I can't wait to share all of the fun details with all of you!

Our cruise vacation began a day early with an overnight stay at Port Orleans French Quarter, which was a resort we'd never stayed at in the past and quickly fell in love with it! Riverside is a huge favorite of mine and I assumed that French Quarter wouldn't live up for me but it DID!

I'm getting ahead of myself, though. Let's go back to where it began...the airport!

For this trip, Jason and I used the TSA Precheck that we purchased for the first time this summer.

It. Was. Worth. Every. Penny.  I honestly can't believe we hadn't done this sooner! Y'all...I can't talk it up enough!

After a super smooth flight from New Orleans, we landed in Orlando without any issues.  Thankfully, we used Magical Express so all of our bags were taken care of!

When we arrived at French Quarter, we stopped at the front desk to ask a question and the super kind cast member was very helpful and found a room for us that was cleaned and ready to go! (1 point for French Quarter!)

Inside our room was this super fun hidden mickey made with Mardi Gras beads! So cute!

After getting settled in our room, the bottom literally fell out of the sky and continued to pour for the next 45 minutes or so. Instead of letting the rain get us down, Jason and I took a nap while waiting on it to subside.

Our plans for the afternoon included a stop at Disney Springs for lunch and a little exploring. We also had ADR's at The Edison and we were really looking forward to it!

Since we didn't have a lot of time between "lunch" and our dinner ADR's, we split an order of Poutine! It was actually quite tasty!

Our first purchase of the trip was in the Pandora store where Jason surprised me with a Pandora charm of Walt and Mickey! It's one of my favorites for sure!

After a little shopping, we made our way over to The Edison for dinner.

This is seriously the coolest restaurant! We loved the decor!!

I ordered the fish and chips because they sounded tasty...

...and Jason ordered the Edison burger! By the way, do y'all like his shirt?! I bought it for him for his birthday last year!

Once we finished with dinner, we hopped on a boat and made our way back to French Quarter to meet up with our friend Randy!

It was so great to visit with him and see him again!

Our final stop for the evening was over at Riverside to see the Yeeha Bob show. I've been wanting to see it for a long time and just never made it over there. I arrived about 20 minutes before his show and the place was PACKED. Sadly, my seat wasn't the best and it was kind of hard to hear what he had to say. He was funny, though! Hopefully next time I'll be able to snag a closer seat.

On Saturday morning, we had a breakfast of Mickey beignets in the Sassagoula Float Works and Food Factory. They were actually quite delicious and tasted much closer to the beignets I'm so familiar with back home. The old recipe from several years back was just...ok. Thank you to whomever decided to change this!

For this trip, we decided on Disney transportation and didn't have a pickup time until 12:10 p.m. which is later than we've ever been picked up before. We were kind of bummed about it and even though we knew that DCL resort pickups are later in the morning, we discussed taking a town car for our next trip.

As  I mentioned earlier, we LOVED Port Orleans French Quarter and all this cute, quaint, and adorable resort had to offer! I can't wait to stay there again! 

Up next: Our first day on board the Disney Fantasy! Stay tuned! :)