POR vs Carribean Beach?

[tanyaandallie]

I'm planning a trip for early to mid 2011 and pondering these 2 resorts. We stayed at POR on our last trip and really enjoyed it. The grounds were beautiful and peaceful, the pool was great. The pirate themed room at Carribean Beach really has me intrigued, though.

Has anyone stayed at both? Which did you prefer?

 

[Sofia's Dad]

I have stayed at both. I much preferred the POR. I recently got back from CBR. It was the first time I was there. Its my opinion and I'm not trashing those who like it. But for me its (CBR) my least favorite resort I had stayed at Disney. It wasn't because its the largest as we had the preferred rooms. It wasn't the pool even though its rather small for a resort that size. it wasn't the food, even though POR had better and a cleaner eating area's. It just didn't do anything for me. Nothing memorable. To me CBR is like a bridge from value to moderate. Yet there are people who love it and I'm glad they do. Who wants to go to Disney and not like there rooms. The resort reviews for the moderates here pretty much Say's it all. The best is POFQ with POR a very close second.Than CS and CBR last. You have to make your own decision. I still had a great time in Disney, and I'm sure you will even though you may not find your resort as what you were hoping it to be. If you want a change from POR as you want to search for that certain place I would go Deluxe. I also read someone stayed at the Poly and liked the CBR better. So I guess everybody has there own opinions as to what they like better.

 

[rn448698]

I have stayed at both. I much preferred the POR. I recently got back from CBR. It was the first time I was there. Its my opinion and I'm not trashing those who like it. But for me its (CBR) my least favorite resort I had stayed at Disney. It wasn't because its the largest as we had the preferred rooms. It wasn't the pool even though its rather small for a resort that size. it wasn't the food, even though POR had better and a cleaner eating area's. It just didn't do anything for me. Nothing memorable. To me CBR is like a bridge from value to moderate. Yet there are people who love it and I'm glad they do. Who wants to go to Disney and not like there rooms. The resort reviews for the moderates here pretty much Say's it all. The best is POFQ with POR a very close second.Than CS and CBR last. You have to make your own decision. I still had a great time in Disney, and I'm sure you will even though you may not find your resort as what you were hoping it to be. If you want a change from POR as you want to search for that certain place I would go Deluxe. I also read someone stayed at the Poly and liked the CBR better. So I guess everybody has there own opinions as to what they like better.

I've stayed at both, and I'm in complete agreement with this opinion.

 

[petrymom]

POR hands down. We have stayed at CBR, POR and AKL. Of the 3 AKL is the best, but POR was phenomonal. I didn't get the same feel from CBR. I felt so removed from everything and it didn't seem to have the feel that POR had. I am sure you will have fun no matter where you stay. Good Luck!!!

 

[tanyaandallie]

Thanks so much! I appreciate your opinion!

 

[anicholson75]

Just posted this on the main CBR thread:
We just got back last week (10/5-10/12) and I thought CBR was just ok. I had made a bldg request of Jamaica 45 or Aruba 51, as many others have done, and we got Barbados 12. Not even close! I asked and the not-very-friendly check in guy said that "nothing on that side of the resort was available because they had convention overflow from another resort." Uh huh. Turns out Barbados was ok, we were right next to the quiet pool and fairly close to the bus stop (which was ALWAYS the last stop on the way back from the parks every day.) Old Port Royale was about a ten minute walk, so that was a bummer. People were smoking everywhere outside, not in the designated areas. Our room was nice and clean, no complaints. Our mousekeeper was just so-so, even though I tipped almost every day. No towel animals, sheets were changed once in the 8 days we were there. She didn't refill the coffee supplies or replacement cups every day, so that was hit or miss. I walked in on her cleaning our room and asked how she was doing and her reply was "not good." What do you say to that? I just said "oh, I'm sorry, hope it gets better!"

Overall, it was just ok. The rooms were sufficient and clean, although my parent's room next door reeked of mildew the whole week. Gross. The food at OPR was ok, comparable to the mall food court. Not sure I'd stay there again, I liked PO Riverside (Alligator Bayou) much better. The kids did love the beach areas at CBR though!

 

[princessbride6205]

OP - the pirate rooms look really cool, but I've heard negative things about the bed comfort. If it's a short trip and/or you're traveling with kids who are extremely into pirates, you'll probably enjoy the room. We just returned from a stay at CBR in a regular room and were underwhelmed. More comments below...

I have stayed at both. I much preferred the POR. I recently got back from CBR. It was the first time I was there. Its my opinion and I'm not trashing those who like it. But for me its (CBR) my least favorite resort I had stayed at Disney. It wasn't because its the largest as we had the preferred rooms. It wasn't the pool even though its rather small for a resort that size. it wasn't the food, even though POR had better and a cleaner eating area's. It just didn't do anything for me. Nothing memorable. To me CBR is like a bridge from value to moderate. Yet there are people who love it and I'm glad they do. Who wants to go to Disney and not like there rooms. The resort reviews for the moderates here pretty much Say's it all. The best is POFQ with POR a very close second.Than CS and CBR last. You have to make your own decision. I still had a great time in Disney, and I'm sure you will even though you may not find your resort as what you were hoping it to be. If you want a change from POR as you want to search for that certain place I would go Deluxe. I also read someone stayed at the Poly and liked the CBR better. So I guess everybody has there own opinions as to what they like better.

I've stayed at POFQ twice (1995 & 2005) and just returned from a stay at CBR. Agree with the above post, especially the bolded part. DH felt like CBR wasn't a big enough improvement on a value resort to justify the cost increase. I really enjoyed POFQ both times and would stay there again, so that's my recommendation. I'm not as familiar with POR, but I've visited and eaten at the food court. I would pick POFQ first, then POR, with CBR only if I was really set on trying the pirate rooms.

anicholson75 - How funny! We didn't make any requests, and got Jamaica Bldg 45, checking in on Oct. 8th. (Sorry you didn't get your requests though.)

 

[disnut1149]

Hi
I just got back from two trips. One was to POR and the other was CBR. I like POR better overall, but they both have the good and bad points. POR's food court was so much better than CBR's. A lot more variety. POR has the boat to DTD which was fun and relaxing. POR's grounds are just beautiful.
POR's rooms are really in need of an update. Our bed was not very comfortable. It was sinking down on one side, there was a hill in the middle. We were in the Parteree building, which was just a short walk over to the food court and busses. Also, the busses at POR were horrible. We had really long waits for the busses, both going to the parks and back from the parks, My son actually took a bus to Saratoga Springs, then a taxi back to POR, since the line for the bus was so long.
We were in Martinique in CBR, bldg. 25, which is pretty close to the pool and food court. We didn't swim the the POR pool, not enough time, but we did swim in CBR, and the pool and slide were awesome, really a lot of fun. The grounds were really pretty, and the rooms have been renovated. My DGD loved the Nemo theme, and the beds were so much more comfortable than POR's. And CBR's busses were so much better. More of them and not as long a wait.
The main reason I wouldn't stay at CBR is because of the Customs house where you check in, is in a different building than the food court and pool area. On our last day, we had a late flight, and we wanted to swim, so we had to take a bus to take our luggage to ME, at the Custom House, then get the internal bus back to the pool area, then get a bus again to take us to the Custom House to get the ME bus. It was too time consuming. I like everything in one building. I hope that helps you make a decision. I'm sure you'll have a great time, no matter where you stay!!!