Port Orleans, Coronado or Shades of Green?

[DisneyLynne]

Trying to decide among these three. What would you choose and why? Thanks!

 

[wdwrich]

What is your family/group made up of (how many, ages)? That, along with your family's like/dislikes will have lot to do with your decision.

 

[lwake]

Good Morning: Not sure how many are in your party but here are my thoughts:

Shades of Green: Probably will get a decent price and can generally get park ticket deals too. However, it is a little further distance and you are not eligible for free dining deals if they are available during your trip. I personally think that you lose the Disney appeal of staying at the park resorts if you stay here.

Coronado Springs: We (DH, me, DD, DS) have stayed here. Rooms are nice. Lends itself to conference attendees. A bit further for bus rides to parks. Food court is a little bizarre. Although it is quick service they have wait staff who expect a tip.

Port Orleans: We've stayed here, too. This is our first pick for moderate resorts. Rooms are nice. Food court offers a good variety and moves quickly. Buses or boats can be used to get around. Resort property is nice, too. We will be staying here (PORS) again in September

Hope that this is helpful in helping you make your decision. Whatever it is, you'll be at Disney, so it will be wonderful.

 

[NavaRa]

Hi!!!

We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside from 07/25/2013 to 07/30/2013 and I'd like to share some of our experiences with you...

PROS-

Beautiful landscaping and theme (I mean beautiful)
Welcoming lobby
Adequate dinning choices
General store on site
Scheduled activities throughout the day (usually by the pool areas)
Nightly entertainment by Bob Jackson "Ye Haa"
-It seemed that many people knew his songs, but we didn't
Boat ride to and from Downtown Disney (relied on it once, it was nice)
-We also rode it to neighboring French Quarters
Ability to go to FQ to enjoy its amenities
Two pools (a main one and a smaller one)
Lots of water bodies

CONS-

The SIZE of the resort and the logic of the pathways.
-We weren't able to master the art of getting around the resort
-We got lost several times trying to get to and from the lobby area
Lots of water bodies (contributed to even more mugginess?)

Other than that, we really enjoyed it. Well probably stay at the FQ next time (just to try a new place). Im sure you could look up pictures and more information about Riverside.

ENJOY J

 

[momofboyz3]

Hi!!! Don't know much about Shades Of Green (sorry) Never stayed at CSR (but planning that for our July 2014 trip) stayed at POR & loved it here is why: Beautiful Resort, surprise RR upgrade & it was lovely, really liked the main bldg for some reason even just to sit in while my boys were playing video games, my boys loved the pole fishing & bike rentals, QS food was excellent (I loved the pasta, ds13 loved the burgers, ds 13 pizza, ds9 burgers), POR was just a relaxing place the vibe was laid back & really liked walking over the bridge in the morning, loved the quiet pool being open 24hrs (ds9 & I would go for a swim every night after the park... One night we were there after midnight & it was always pretty empty)
It's been a rough decision for me changing to CSR but my boys thought it would be fun to do something different. Goodluck with ur decision!

 

[goofyredraider]

We have stayed at POR a few times and love it, but we are trying SOG in December. I have not stayed at CSR.

Several things that helped make my decision:

*even with the military discount, our rate at SOG is cheaper.
*Rooms at POR are 314sq ft, SOG 480sq ft. We have 3 kids, so this is important.
*Location - SOG is a short walk to the Poly; basically a monorail resort without being one, if that makes sense.
*As for the dining plan, we are not planning on it this trip. We have always had it, but I am realizing just how much food and how much it is wasted. I think we will do better without it.

POR is beautiful, but SOG is also...I saw some AMAZING pictures of the grounds recently and that helped sell me on it.

 

[wdwrich]

Still not sure of the number of people in the OP's family, but since we have stayed at all 3 resorts in question, I'll give some of our thoughts.

Shades of Green - Since the renovation and expansion in the early 2000's, the rooms and grounds are very nice. Standard rooms are among the largest on property and sleep 5 in two queens and a day bed. We didn't feel like we missed the Disney feel during our stay. As mentioned above, an easy walk to the Poly gets you to the monorail and several great restaurants. The restaurants at SOG have room for improvement.

POR - Probably our favorite Disney moderate. Love the grounds and the décor. The boat to DTD is a nice perk. POR has one of the best, if not the best food court on property. For a family of 5 people, room space would be tight.

CSR - Even though it is a moderate, it has somewhat of a deluxe feel. The only moderate with a fitness center. Grounds are beautiful, especially at night. We probably give POR the nod because we live in the southwest, so the décor at CSR isn't very different/exotic to us.

 

[abolanwoski]

Shades of Green wins for us every time.

I love the deluxes and if the prices were equal, I would stay at either GF or BC. But since they aren't, we stay at SOG.

THe rooms are huge which is really important to us. I can't do tiny rooms or double beds and we really like having the balcony. In addition, the location is great, as we have younger kids and love the monorail and MK. Also the people there are really great. While you are not subject to a military feel, people are generally polite and seem to be on top of thier kids better than average. Men stand for women on the bus, people hold the doors for you, etc.

disclaimer: I haven't stayed at a MOD so I can't speak to the individual ones listed.

 

[jcjen519]

personally, i would stay at any Disney resort and most offsite before ever staying at the sog again.

my grandfather is retired navy and wanted to check it out so he took us all down. we only stayed once. our stay was after the room renovation but still several years ago. while the rooms are fairly large that is the only positive thing i could say.

we found it to be dirty, the pool disgusting, the food awful. we left early. i realize this view is not the majority view around here but wanted to share another side.

 

[goofyredraider]

Also, SOG is finishing up a full pool re-vamp of one of the pools...it is supposed to be finished by fall.

 

[jeepwreck]

is you are looking at PO i would look at the FQ over RS

i have stayed at both but prefer FQ way better due to the size of the resort

 

[NavaRa]

jeepwreck,

We visited FQ one afternoon and that would be the resort for our next trip.

Though we enjoyed the beautiful scenery of RS, we didn't care too much for the size. FQ just seemed like a little city... which we thought that was cool.

 

[Mrsjvb]

Trying to decide among these three. What would you choose and why? Thanks!

if on site (decent) food options are important to you; NOT SoG.

 

[DisneyLynne]

Thanks for all the advice. We have 2 families in our group - one of 6 and one of 3. (We are both military families.) We are still mulling this over!!! Love having the BX on site but would like to experience a Disney resort as well. With the current military discount Port Orleans and SOG are exactly the same price. I appreciate all your comments very much!

 

[kandb]

We love POR and am getting a preferred room for our next trip (Sept). The resort just has such a nice, happy, relaxing feel to it. We love it.

 

[Robbi]

If there are more than 2 of you, I'd choose SOG because the rooms are large.

Next choice would be CSR. It's deluxe lite.
Limited room service
Fantastic food court
Great pool and play area
The rooms feel more like a deluxe. There is a set of beautiful sliding doors to separate the dressing are from the bedroom area.
Bus only serves CSR
There are 3 themed areas which are very pretty. We like to walk around the lake to see the landscape.

 

[goofyredraider]

Thanks for all the advice. We have 2 families in our group - one of 6 and one of 3. (We are both military families.) We are still mulling this over!!! Love having the BX on site but would like to experience a Disney resort as well. With the current military discount Port Orleans and SOG are exactly the same price. I appreciate all your comments very much!

A word of caution if you didn't call already to check -
Often with the military discount, you may find that the only rooms at POR available are the Royal Rooms. Sometimes that can be a tad more when you are doing your cost analysis. We had lucked out twice and got regular, garden view rooms, but other times I've called all they have is the Royal rooms.

 

[DisneyLynne]

Well, I'm back from our trip and can now post my opinion on this question. We stayed at POFQ and thought it was mediocre - housekeeping was really dismal and the room was pretty dirty. The beds made this awful, loud sound every time we twitched. In comparison SOG was luxury, huge and clean. But the 60 days out for FP+ at POFQ allowed me to get 2 FP for Mine Train and 1 for Anna/Elsa. That was pretty cool.
Next time, I think I'll choose SOG and hope for some Fastpasses.

 

[grammaHBSR4]

Well, I'm back from our trip and can now post my opinion on this question. We stayed at POFQ and thought it was mediocre - housekeeping was really dismal and the room was pretty dirty. The beds made this awful, loud sound every time we twitched. In comparison SOG was luxury, huge and clean. But the 60 days out for FP+ at POFQ allowed me to get 2 FP for Mine Train and 1 for Anna/Elsa. That was pretty cool. Next time, I think I'll choose SOG and hope for some Fastpasses.

I really think Disney needs to do something about housekeeping! Stayed at Polynesian last fall & and it was not clean! Had an awful time getting coffee cups & pods - housekeeping came in & made beds and swiped bathroom - couple times did not leave toilet paper!! After day at parks went to front desk late at night but they could't give us any - it was delivered about 2AM!