Sassagoula Floatworks & Food Factory Review
My mom and I stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter when we went to Disney in January. While we spent a majority of our time visiting and eating in the parks, we did visit the food court at our hotel a few times. The formal name is Sassagoula Floatworks & Food Factory, but I will be referring to it as Sassagoula or the food court, ha!
The food court is located on the left as soon as you walk inside of the resort from the front. We did visit it multiple times. Once just to explore when we first arrived. Second for beignets one evening, and third on our departure day for both breakfast and beignets. So this review will cover all three of those visits.
There are electronic menu boards as you walk into the actual food court area. They show both the menu that is currently being served and the menu that is coming up later.
The actual food court contains multiple stations. I think there were 5-6 stations. Aside from the bakery, the other stations varied throughout the day on what they served. The bakery served the same menu throughout the day. A few of the stations are featured below.
In the center and throughout the food court, you can find some grab and go items.
There are multiple cashier stations where you can purchase the items you pick up. That is where you will find the Mickey straws above. That is also where you can pick up a cup for the Coke Freestyle machine. One of the things that is really nice here is that you can find real silverware at the cashier stations. They also have plastic silverware you can find near the condiments.
The condiment area is found in the center of all of the seating. There are 8 Coke Freestyle machines, a few coffee machines, hot chocolate, etc. You can also find various condiments, napkins, straws, microwaves, coke carriers, to-go boxes, and many more items you may need. I was surprised that I never noticed any lines at the Coke Freestyle machines. I fully expected to see one at some point throughout our visits. We were there during breakfast and lunch, and then we returned after the parks closed. And in none of our visits was there a single line. I just expected there to be since they can be confusing for some people, and they take a little bit of time to operate in general.
Seating was never an issue during our three visits to the food court. They offer plenty, and if you can't find any be sure and look on both sides of the condiment stand. And if you still can't find any, you can usually find some either outside or even in the lobby of the hotel. I noticed various tables and chairs there. I can't imagine really not being able to find seating however. The only time I would see it being an issue is in the middle of summer during peak dining times.
Away from the main entrance to the food court, you will find an area more focused to children. They have numerous highchairs and booster seats. There is also a TV playing Disney movies and TV shows. You can find kid-sized tables along with crayons and coloring books in this location as well.
The decor was very subtle but still very French Quarter themed. While this is my first time to visit here, I have seen photos of the decor before the remodel. Before the remodel, I felt like it was too much. It was super colorful, but also semi-tacky in my personal opinion. I feel like the decor now is very clean, but you can still see the Mardi Gras style that they are trying to portray.
Now let's discuss the food. I will start with breakfast. On our departure morning, we opted to hang out at the resort after sleeping in. We made it to the food court around 9:30 am. There weren't really any lines to the stations, and checking out with our food once we decided what to get was a breeze. I wanted to try something different and something unique to this food court. On most trips I get some form of bounty platter or a Mickey waffle for breakfast. This time I opted for the croissant breakfast sandwich. Mom ordered the same thing. This is a pre-made sandwich that you walk up and grab at one of the stations. We also got the tater tots. The breakfast sandwich contained ham (carved not thin), cheese, eggs, and maple bacon jam. I have never seen this on another menu at other resorts, so I wanted to give it a try.
To start, the tater tots were ordinary. They were just tater tots, but they were still good, and they were a dependable option. Since we were already venturing out with the sandwich, we didn't want to venture out with our side too! The sandwich was pretty good. The worst part for me was the croissant. I expected a traditional croissant, but it was a multi-grain croissant. It didn't have an amazing flavor in my opinion. The eggs and cheese were ordinary, but the flavor from the jam made up for that. My only knock on the jam is that there wasn't more. I have read where some people request more, but I didn't do that. The ham was pretty good too. I am not the biggest fan of carved ham, but I was able to pick it apart and pull some of the fattier pieces off to make it work. I really like the uniqueness of this sandwich, and the flavors all seem to work really well together. When we stay here again, I will try this sandwich on the English Muffin if they still serve it. It is identical except for the bread.
Next up was our bakery experience. One night after visiting the parks, we came back and decided to have beignets for dessert. Mom and I decided to each get something. Mom got the three beignets, and I opted to get the beignets sundae. I also took a few pictures of the other bakery items.
My mom and I also went back for beignets as a snack the afternoon of our departure. In both instances, the beignets were made to order. In the evening, we were given our beignets and beignet sundae in to-go containers. The afternoon we visited, we received the beignets on a plate. As far as the beignets went, they were very good. I always love beignets. They are not quite as airy as the ones you will get in New Orleans, but they were still very good.
The beignet sundae I had made with vanilla ice cream and topped with caramel. My only complaint is that most of the ice cream was melted by the time I could sit down. Next time I will ask for the ice cream on the side to prevent it from melting since the beignets are so hot.
Overall, the food court at French Quarter is better than most we have visited. I love that they have such unique food that you can't find anywhere else on Disney property. All of the food was really good, and this was the least busy food court we have experienced at a moderate or value resort.
