Moderate Resort Experts: Help this Deluxe fan choose a moderate!

[goofy4prez]

What better place to ask for advice than from all of you on the DIS. I have looked over the pics, read the resort links, and I even walked some of the property at CSR back in 2010. With that said, I am at an absolute standstill between CSR, POR, POFQ. The problem is I like all three of them.

We will be heading back to WDW after a long 3 year hiatus from "home." Over the past couple of years it's been a long recovery from an serious auto accident for me, the selling of my long time business, a daughter entering high school, future college costs, my mother fighting cancer and a younger brother unexpectantly (45) passing away. Thru it all though, I can still say I am blessed. With all of that said, we are going to have to cut a few corners on this trip. Normally we would just head for our favorite resort, WL, especially during the holiday season.

We will be heading back November 28, 2013 till December 5, 2013. For this trip it will be just my DW and Myself. My DD will be heading down with her high school marching band and staying elsewhere and we would love to see her march in the parade. She would still be in WDW with her friends away from her parents, and mom and dad can have a little time together alone as well.

Alright, I have rambled on long enough; my fellow DIS'ers help me out here. Which moderate should I choose? I want to hear about all the ins and outs. Why you like them and why you would recommend or not recommend it. What locations and rooms would you recommend? Is getting a water or river view worth it? Would you pay to have a preferred location and etc? Even if Disney ends up releasing a promo discount later next year for when we are booked we are still staying moderate this year.

 

[portocall]

I would pick either of the Port Orleans resorts. FQ is smaller, easier to get around and I don't know how the recovery is going as far as aches and pains. Por is so relaxing however which of a large reason we continue to go there but does have some long walks that are no fun where you are hurting. That is just my opinion. Sorry for your your rough couple of years.

 

[Tink415]

CSR and POR have the edge for me. Both have lounges, better food options, and more pools than POFQ. I also think the Christmas decorations are more outstanding at CSR and POR. On the other hand, POFQ is small and beautiful, I just don't like the food court or pool for adults at POFQ.

At POR my favorite room locations are the preferred blds or the mansions. I haven't stayed at POR yet since the rooms were redone and princess rooms added, but I'm sure they are only nicer now. At CSR, we've stayed at Cabanas and Ranchos sections, and while I didn't like Ranchos section at first, I really like it now after a few stays, but prefer to have a rental car when staying there.

Water views at the moderates can be hit or miss. We've had beautiful water views at CSR and POR and others that I wished I hadn't wasted the money on. POFQ (and CBR) we've had only beautiful water views.

Honestly, I choose by the price of what's available when I make a ressie, and if I plan to have a rental car, as I like all of the moderates! Have a great trip!

 

[Disneygirl NY]

I've never stayed at CSR, but I've stayed at all the others and most recently we stayed POFQ last Dec. POFQ is my favorite, it is small and quiet, only one bus stop (unless you get stuck on a bus from Downtown Disney that goes through POR's 5 stops first!). Our room was very close to the dining hall, pool, bus stop and ferry. They showed outdoor movies on the lawn just outside our room as well, though we didn't really have too much time to enjoy that. I just found it more intimate than the others, but not everyone likes that.

 

[baldy6060]

I'm hoping to try CSR this year but we've stayed at POFQ and visited POR. They are beautiful and romantic! I think any of them would be nice for the 2 of you. I'm glad you told us your story about going while your daughter is with the band. Our band goes to WDW about every other year and I just broke the news to my kids that we would do the same thing you are. They weren't happy.

 

[reiella]

I've never stayed at CSR, but I've stayed at all the others and most recently we stayed POFQ last Dec. POFQ is my favorite, it is small and quiet, only one bus stop (unless you get stuck on a bus from Downtown Disney that goes through POR's 5 stops first!). Our room was very close to the dining hall, pool, bus stop and ferry. They showed outdoor movies on the lawn just outside our room as well, though we didn't really have too much time to enjoy that. I just found it more intimate than the others, but not everyone likes that.

Just to clarify, POFQ and POR share bus stops at other times as well, it mostly depends on the projected traffic if a given bus is sharing or not.

However, POFQ and POR have the advantage of a boat ride to DTD to avoid the dreaded bad DTD buses.

 

[mtfarlin]

Love POR for a moderate resort!!!! Beautiful grounds and surroundings and the rooms are very nice. Nice food court with good menu selections and as mentioned before you always have the boat to take to DTD....

 

[twinboysmom]

To me, csr is the closest moderate to deluxe. The rooms are beautiful, the grounds are relaxing and tranquil, and I really like the food options. There is a lounge and gym if you are interested in those options. I would not pay for water view. We were upgraded to one that was a free upgrade and also a preferred room here. The water view is nice if you spend a lot of one in your room and leave the curtain open. Nobody really does that do I would pass. As for preferred, wouldn't do it either. If you wish to be in a location close to the themed pool preferred is not what you want. Preferred puts you close to the food options. I think a good request is casitas 4 or 5.

 

[DarthMama]

We just got back from a stay at CSR and loved it. We really liked having 2 queen beds in the room; our kids are "active" sleepers and it helps to have the extra space in the bed when there seem to be kid feet everywhere. We also loved the food at Pepper Market. The pool was nice and kids loved the slide. We were in 7B -- not our first choice, but we were happy since we were close to a bus stop and the walk to El Centro was better than we expected.

 

[tofubeast]

I've stayed at POFQ and CSR (2x). I wasn't really in love with POFQ. We had to share buses with POR which took some time and the food court was just okay to me. I guess it comes down to theme'ing as well.

I have loved CSR the two times we have stayed there. The queen beds are nice and the rooms have a more deluxe look in their decor. Largest hot tub on property and the pool is pretty darn awesome. The buses have been awesome each time we were there. I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again.

I would like to try POR in the future!

 

[amzking]

WL is also my favorite resort (if they just dumped Stormalong Bay there we would never stay anywhere else.) But if I had to go with a mod, I would choose POFQ. Lovely theming, small size like WL, not much walking, boat to DTD. The pool is not great IMO but you can always pool hop to POR, it's "sister" resort. You can also hop to the activities and dining over there too. I would choose the side of the resort closest to POR for that reason. POFQ also has a lounge with very good entertainment but I have not experienced that yet.

I liked CBR, the pool was great, but it was too big for my tastes, and I would only stay there again if I paid extra for a preferred room. I prefer the theming of POFQ over CBR, but I live in Florida with it's overabundance of palm trees, so that could be just me. I hated just about every part of CSR, would not stay there again. Not into Southwest theming, hated the Pepper Market, was unimpressed with the pool, didn't like all the walking.

So there's my 2 cents. Hope it helps!

 

[nkereina]

With your dates, one thing to keep in mind is Pop Warner which is a football tournament with hundreds of pre-teens running rampant throughout the resort. This year, the mods they are staying at are CBR and CSR. They used to stay at POR before it was renovated. Typically, Pop Warner is held the first week of December which would coincide with your dates. HOWEVER, with Thanksgiving being so late in 2013, many people have speculated Pop Warner will be held the second week of December - in which case, it would not affect you. Unfortunately, we won't know until next Fall when the dates come out.

If I were you, not knowing for sure when Pop Warner will fall, I would avoid CSR. Chances are high that CSR and CBR will be the mods available to them again next year. I can't see them going back to POR since it will still be newly renovated, and POFQ is much too small to place them at due to their volume. I've also heard rumors that the staff at POR hates them since they've had to deal with their antics over the last several years. Unless CSR has plans for refurbishments over the next few months that will be done by December, I would safely assume they'll be at CSR next year too.

So, I'd go with either of the Port Orleans. Personally, I prefer POR. It's a larger resort so it never feels crowded to us, and there are also multiple quiet pools which I prefer. The food court is a great size with unique offerings, and the multiple bus stops avoid the mad dash for buses.

 

[Sue M]

Our fav Moderate is POR, and we go happily back and forth between Deluxe and POR all the time.

We prefer the mansion section, either Magnolia Terrace or Acadian House. I request a location close to Old Man Island bridge.
Central location close to everything.
I feel POR has a little extra to offer with a boat to DTD, fun evening entertainment in the Lounge, Bob Jackson puts on a great show. Good food court, the make your own Pasta is a hit with us.
Also they have horse & carriage rides, and a fishing hole!
The landscaping is beautiful, we love to stroll around the river paths.

And POR has been recently refurbed and all rooms have queen beds. The rooms look very nice, total update, and they look pretty upscale.

 

[pigletto]

Another vote for POR here. I love the theming and the landscaping. I know.. who cares about the landscaping you ask? It's so green and lush and shady. It makes coming back from the parks instantly relaxing. I love all of the little meandering pathways. The food court is excellent (size and choices put the Deluxe food courts to shame). However, the food court can be a bit mobbed at times. It shouldn't be an issue during your dates however.
Another bonus is the boat to Downtown Disney.

The pool area is great. I vastly prefer it to the WL pool area.
My favourite section is AB, but we have never stayed in the Mansions and if we're put there in February when we go I'll be fine to try something new.

My second choice, and it's a pretty close second is Coronado Springs. The Casitas section is beautiful at night. I like but do not love the theme and landscaping at CSR quite as much as POR, but all in all they are both a solid choice.

 

[Collette]

If you had asked this a couple of months ago, I would have said POFQ hands down. Smaller, charming, quiet, etc. But that was before our October trip and my very first stay at POR. I fell in love with POR and agree with every positive thing others have already said!!!

We ended up in the new princess rooms in Parterre Place. Not sure if it was river view or water view because our rooms were in the area by the elevators so the river was in the distance. I'm thinking the river view rooms would be closer to the river than that. Whatever it was, it was lovely!! Not sure if I would spend the money for river view, but the rooms right along the river in PP and Oak Manor looked like great options! It would be especially nice to be near the bridge. It's a tough call to decide if it's worth it. I never thought I cared about view, but I loved this so much that now I think I do!

At POR, I believe the preferred location category is for a few buildings in the Alligator Bayou section. If I was going to stay in AB, I'm thinking I would reserve preferred. We really like the mansions in Magnolia Bend. I thought Magnolia Terrace looked like a good location. Oak Manor is, too, but that would be royal room pricing.

Have fun choosing and planning!! I'm glad you are getting to go on this trip!!

 

[goofy4prez]

Wow, the response has been impressive in support of the POR!! I am glad I asked about this resort for two reasons: The first, I failed to realize Thanksgiving was so late next year as noted by a post; no big deal but we will leave the next day instead of that Thursday. The second, I didn't realize Pop Warner uses the CSR as one of their resorts and would be a real turn off. We are still going to head down to WDW for that week, however with it now being the week of Thanksgiving I won't count on Disney releasing any discount promo's for the week.

 

[lovethattink]

I've stayed at CSR and POR many, many times. I've only stayed at POFQ once, last year. Going on my personal preferences, I'd rate my choices in this order...

1. CSR
2. POFQ
3. POR

CSR IS my home away from home. I love how different the resort looks from day to night. I love the theming. I think the Casitas are just so beautiful at night with the lights and the fountains. The Dig Site pool is amazing. I enjoy the lunch buffet at the Pepper Market. The quiet pools are all very nice too. I really like that you get separate shampoo and conditioner, body gel and body lotion in the room.

POFQ is very charming and compact. I don't like that there is only 1 choice for swimming, unless you want to go to POR to swim and we found the food court very loud. The shampoo is a combo of shampoo and conditioner and they do not give you body lotion or shower gel. There wasn't as much storage space as CSR. But those are the only "bad" things I have to say about POFQ. It's so nice to have the boat to DTD! We booked a carriage ride around the resort. Everything is very close to your room. It's just a short walk to the pool, boat dock, food court and bus stop.

POR is spread out like CSR. I'd love to try a princess room sometime! At one time, this was my favorite resort.

 

[nkereina]

Wow, the response has been impressive in support of the POR!! I am glad I asked about this resort for two reasons: The first, I failed to realize Thanksgiving was so late next year as noted by a post; no big deal but we will leave the next day instead of that Thursday. The second, I didn't realize Pop Warner uses the CSR as one of their resorts and would be a real turn off. We are still going to head down to WDW for that week, however with it now being the week of Thanksgiving I won't count on Disney releasing any discount promo's for the week.

I believe promos start the Saturday after Thanksgiving. They usually offer the free dining for the week after Thanksgiving, and then no discounts for Pop Warner week. Leaving the day after Thanksgiving, you may not be able to get a discount but if you can keep your dates flexible, you may be able to get a discount if you can push your arrival date out a few days.

 

[goofy4prez]

I believe promos start the Saturday after Thanksgiving. They usually offer the free dining for the week after Thanksgiving, and then no discounts for Pop Warner week. Leaving the day after Thanksgiving, you may not be able to get a discount but if you can keep your dates flexible, you may be able to get a discount if you can push your arrival date out a few days.

Unfortunately we will not be able to be very flexable with the dates. By leaving on Friday instead of Thursday we will end up staying for 6 nights instead of 7. As for getting the discount; I'm guessing it would be possible to book the first night as room only and then on Saturday begin a 5 night stay that would include free dining if offered.

 

[turftoega]

I've stayed at all of the properties listed. Because my choices and preferences are probably not the same, I was wondering -

will you be using the buses to get around or to supplement your transportation?
how often do you expect to eat a meal at the resort rather than eating at a park?
you mentioned your rehab - do you want/like to take long walks?
As it is just the two of you, will you be thinking about a King room?

We're just back from CSR. Really enjoyed it. But I would suggest POR for you based on the Pop Warner football issue. If walking is not what you want, POFQ gets the bump. You really should not have a "bad" choice here as all properties (including the not listed CBR) are wonderful places to stay during a visit to WDW.