should we switch from POR to CSR

[dminnie]

We have ressies at POR in March. We've been there once before, but never had time to do the boat to DTD. We liked the decor(stayed in mansions), pool, food court. We've never been to CSR and DS14 would like to try it. Should we switch? Is the pool nicer at CSR? How are their running trails and workout room? How are the rooms for a family of 4(2 teens)?

Also, if we do switch, do they charge a change fee? It's a bit more to go with CSR, but we definitely won't do it if there's also a change fee.

 

[Shaden]

We have ressies at POR in March. We've been there once before, but never had time to do the boat to DTD. We liked the decor(stayed in mansions), pool, food court. We've never been to CSR and DS14 would like to try it. Should we switch? Is the pool nicer at CSR? How are their running trails and workout room? How are the rooms for a family of 4(2 teens)?

Also, if we do switch, do they charge a change fee? It's a bit more to go with CSR, but we definitely won't do it if there's also a change fee.

Funny, we are doing the opposite, staying at POR (hoping for the mansions, have a request in and a King room booked).

We LOVED CSR, loved. Were in the Casitas, the mini lakes with the white sand around them are beautiful. There are several quiet pools for the different sections of the resort, but the central pool with the Mayan Temple with waterslide is just AMAZING !!! Several friends who were with us and have done disney a few times say its the best pool, and by looking online at pictures of the others (and visitin the Poly and the GF) I would agree, its the best pool !

I am an avid runner as well (I run 5-8 miles 6 days a week) and running at CSR is fricken awesome ! The resort itself is very large, which makes a single loop actually take up some time, and its beautiful, running around the lakes in the morning, or at evening with the lights reflecting off them, awesome.

Can't wait to give POR a try, but even with all the hype about it and the many positive posts we are worried it wont live up to CSR.

 

[I Love Pluto]

POR will NOT disappoint you! I promise!

Try the Pasta Your Way in the food court!

Walk around. It is beautiful!

 

[Shaden]

POR will NOT disappoint you! I promise!

Try the Pasta Your Way in the food court!

Walk around. It is beautiful!

Thank you

 

[softballmom3]

Loved POR when we stayed there but this time we are going to add two days at WDW and staying CSR mainly for the pool area. My girls really like the looks of it .

 

[dminnie]

Maybe I'm just over thinking this.
Would a split stay (2 nights each at POR and CSR) be enjoyable, or a hassle? Time spent moving/packing up better spent on something else? If we did first 2 at POR and last 2 at CSR, both kids would get their resort pick.

I like it that CSR has a place to work out and we'd experience a resort we haven't been to. On the other hand, the pictures of the rooms look kind of like a typical hotel we always stay in...desk and kind of businessy. Do they have two sinks at CSR? Also, is the pool really better at CSR? Is the slide larger than POR? Do the conventions take away from the Disney feel at CSR?

 

[lady_hlh]

The main pool is better at CSR because the slide is huge plus it has a big hot tub and volleyball court, I think it is the best mod pool. So if you plan to spend lots of time at the pool then you might really like staying at CSR. We really liked the pool but we didn't like the decor/atmosphere or the food court. We stayed at POR this year and preferred it over CSR but our 11 year old DD no longer wants to spend time at the pool, she is all about the parks now. The conventions at CSR didn't bother us and the buses were less crowded than POR. I think a split stay between those resorts wouldn't be worth all the effort to move between the resorts.

 

[dminnie]

Thanks for your thoughts on this! So, we decided to switch to CSR! I called to change it and it took about 5 minutes. Now we'll satisfy our curiosity about whether we like it as much as the other mods! DS14 is glad we listened to what he wanted.

Any suggestions on what to request for a room? We probably won't eat there much since we spend most time in the parks. I'm thinking about Cabanas 8A or 8B. We'd like to use the pool a few times and might take a dip in a quiet pool too. We might want to use the fitness center, but no big deal if it's a walk for that. DD16 is interested in relaxing on a hammock. Are the sandy beaches by the cabanas or spread throughout the resort?

Also, I think I read somewhere that most of the conventioneers are put in the Casitas. Anyone know if that's true. The conventions are the biggest reason I'm a bit worried about this choice for a resort. I just want a "vacation" feel to things.

DH doesn't like the extra charges to eat at the Pepper Market. I think I read somewhere that you can get it "to go" and not have the 10% fee. Anyone try that? Are there any outdoor areas you could bring the food to eat? Also is the 10% the tip, or do you also need to tip on top of that? We usually just want CS for the meals we do eat at the resort, so we don't want to add to the cost too much when we do eat there. (We don't eat much, so no dining plan for us)

Thanks!

 

[dminnie]

Also, the Cabanas are just 2 story right? That would be nice so we don't have to wait around for elevators.

And...the room decor...are all the rooms like the ones on Disney's site? Dark headboard, white bedcover? Just wondering. POR has such different styles depending on where you go and we would not like something rustic like AB at POR.

Ok, I'll try to stop obsessing now. We're not buying the place!

 

[lady_hlh]

Thanks for your thoughts on this! So, we decided to switch to CSR! I called to change it and it took about 5 minutes. Now we'll satisfy our curiosity about whether we like it as much as the other mods! DS14 is glad we listened to what he wanted.

Any suggestions on what to request for a room? We probably won't eat there much since we spend most time in the parks. I'm thinking about Cabanas 8A or 8B. We'd like to use the pool a few times and might take a dip in a quiet pool too. We might want to use the fitness center, but no big deal if it's a walk for that. DD16 is interested in relaxing on a hammock. Are the sandy beaches by the cabanas or spread throughout the resort?

Also, I think I read somewhere that most of the conventioneers are put in the Casitas. Anyone know if that's true. The conventions are the biggest reason I'm a bit worried about this choice for a resort. I just want a "vacation" feel to things.

DH doesn't like the extra charges to eat at the Pepper Market. I think I read somewhere that you can get it "to go" and not have the 10% fee. Anyone try that? Are there any outdoor areas you could bring the food to eat? Also is the 10% the tip, or do you also need to tip on top of that? We usually just want CS for the meals we do eat at the resort, so we don't want to add to the cost too much when we do eat there. (We don't eat much, so no dining plan for us)

Thanks!

I only remember seeing the hammocks and beach over by the cabanas as we were walking to the main building from Ranchos. I didn't like Ranchos and would have preferred to be in the cabanas. I never saw the fitness center so I'm assuming it must have been in Casitas because we never went over that way. I really didn't notice the convention people very much, I know they were there because I saw suits but it didn't bother us.

You can also eat at the main pool for lunch or dinner, they had standard burgers, salads plus nachos. We never bothered to eat at Pepper Market just at the pool or Rix Cafe which was another smaller CS option in the main building. I think the 10% at Pepper Market is waived if you get take-out and there were some tables outside by a bar so you could eat it out there. Definitely spend time at the main pool if your kids love pools, my DD was very impressed by it when she was still a water bug.

 

[nkereina]

I see you already made your change but I was just going to advise not to do the split stay on a short trip like this. It would waste valuable time on a short stay.

We have stayed at POR twice and even though we love it, we have decided to give CSR a try this year too

 

[dminnie]

I see you already made your change but I was just going to advise not to do the split stay on a short trip like this. It would waste valuable time on a short stay.

I came to my senses on the split stay idea! We'll just be at CSR!

 

[rutgers1]

I love trying new resorts. After this trip, I think we will have stayed in all of the DVC resorts in Disney. The only mod that we have stayed in was POR, and we didn't experience any others because we loved that one so much. In hindsight, I wish I would have at least checked the others out for a day or two as part of a longer stay.

 

[twinboysmom]

Thanks for your thoughts on this! So, we decided to switch to CSR! I called to change it and it took about 5 minutes. Now we'll satisfy our curiosity about whether we like it as much as the other mods! DS14 is glad we listened to what he wanted.

Any suggestions on what to request for a room? We probably won't eat there much since we spend most time in the parks. I'm thinking about Cabanas 8A or 8B. We'd like to use the pool a few times and might take a dip in a quiet pool too. We might want to use the fitness center, but no big deal if it's a walk for that. DD16 is interested in relaxing on a hammock. Are the sandy beaches by the cabanas or spread throughout the resort?

Also, I think I read somewhere that most of the conventioneers are put in the Casitas. Anyone know if that's true. The conventions are the biggest reason I'm a bit worried about this choice for a resort. I just want a "vacation" feel to things.

DH doesn't like the extra charges to eat at the Pepper Market. I think I read somewhere that you can get it "to go" and not have the 10% fee. Anyone try that? Are there any outdoor areas you could bring the food to eat? Also is the 10% the tip, or do you also need to tip on top of that? We usually just want CS for the meals we do eat at the resort, so we don't want to add to the cost too much when we do eat there. (We don't eat much, so no dining plan for us)

Thanks!

We didn't tip any on top of the 10% but to me, it was worth the 10%. We had great servers. They lead you too a table so when it's busy there is no walking around looking for a table. They kept our drinks full, brought high chairs for our boys, brought extra napkins, etc. Also, the good thing about the pepper market is that you pay AFTER eating so no cold food after waiting in those long food court lines. To our family, it is the best food court experience and food we have encountered in all of our WDW stays.

 

[KristiKat]

I switched my reservation from CSR to POR. We have been to POR before and at first I thought to try something new. After making the reservations I saw that CSR has only one sink. That was a deal breaker for me. We need the double sinks. Makes it easier to get ready in the mornings. I don't think I saw in your post if those 2 teens were boys or girls but if girls you may want those double sinks, lol. The pool at CSR does look awesome though.

 

[dminnie]

I switched my reservation from CSR to POR. We have been to POR before and at first I thought to try something new. After making the reservations I saw that CSR has only one sink. That was a deal breaker for me. We need the double sinks. Makes it easier to get ready in the mornings. I don't think I saw in your post if those 2 teens were boys or girls but if girls you may want those double sinks, lol. The pool at CSR does look awesome though.

I actually thought about the one sink! I think it will be OK though, since it looks like there is plenty of counter space.

 

[mickey2minnie1]

I was deciding between the two resorts as well. the pool and slide are the most important thing to my three kids. They have only stayed at the Poly. Cannot swing entire stay there this time.

I picked CSR finally. The pool won out. I also liked the duvet covers and the overall feel of the resort.

Have fun!

 

[rsleleux]

While the pool at CSR is nice, it is entirely too far from the parks! I stayed at CSR twice and CBR 2x and this time we are at POR because we need a room that acomidates 5 people. I love the look of CSR but unless you are going to AK, everything is far! Lots of time spent on bus, and we only went to pool one afternoon out of 5 days the rest of the week we were traveling on buses! I think you made the right decision. Our trip to Boma at AKL took us over an hour to get home! They are right by each other but we had to go all the way to DTD from AKL to get on bus to CSR, too much time wasted, if you are in a rental car it is not so bad but if you are only using Disney transportation, I do not recommend it!

 

[princessallegra]

While the pool at CSR is nice, it is entirely too far from the parks! I stayed at CSR twice and CBR 2x and this time we are at POR because we need a room that acomidates 5 people. I love the look of CSR but unless you are going to AK, everything is far! Lots of time spent on bus, and we only went to pool one afternoon out of 5 days the rest of the week we were traveling on buses! I think you made the right decision. Our trip to Boma at AKL took us over an hour to get home! They are right by each other but we had to go all the way to DTD from AKL to get on bus to CSR, too much time wasted, if you are in a rental car it is not so bad but if you are only using Disney transportation, I do not recommend it!

We drive and we love the location! I can see how depending solely on the buses can take longer for sure. We stay in casitas and when we go out the side exit we are literally 2 mins from BB! It became our own pool!

 

[jhryb]

My favourite Mod Resort is CSR so I agree with your decision. I love the foodcourt especially if you are on one of the DDP's. Both resorts have beautiful grounds but I tend to prefer the CSR.