Sell Me On Your Favorite Moderate Resort

[santadog]

backstory:
DD and I have gone to either WDW or DLR every year since she was 4.
Every visit to the World so far, we have stayed at Pop. It's a fine resort, and we don't have any real complaints, but I'm just getting to old for that looooong walk to the bus stop (seems the Pop bus stop is always the furthest one away, no matter which park you're at) and the loooong walk to the room (and the loooong walk to the food court, since I didn't want to carry my resort mug with me all day).

Our next trip, October of 2012, we are upgrading to a moderate, but can't decide on which one.
Please mark in the poll which one you like best, and if you could, post a bit telling me why!

(edit: If you have more than one favorite, you can vote for multiples)

 

[brookmey]

CBR is my favorite because I love the theming. When I stay there, I feel completely immersed in the Caribbean. I love how laid back the resort feels, the colors and the steel drum band music playing in the background. I like that you can see Spaceship Earth from there, especially at night when it's all lit up.

We went to Sandals Antigua for our honeymoon and while we were walking around the resort, the music, flowers and foliage kept reminding me of Disney's CBR!

I've stayed at all the moderates and enjoyed my stays there, but none of them connected with me the way CBR did.

 

[Miss Hunnybee]

We've stayed at CSR three times and stayed in all three locations. The Ranchos are the farthest, and they are a bit of a walk, but they are lovely and close to the pool. We don't often take the bus, but did take one from CSR in December to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. We had a short walk to the bus stop from our location, the Casitas. The bus came quickly, was virtually empty, made few stops and had no problem. We LOVE the rooms, queen beds, flat screen TV's, lots of H2O products. We're not shower and sleep people, we do like to lounge in our room for at least one morning and one evening of a nine night stay. Cabanas are fun, on the beach, but didn't use the bus from that location.

The food court was good, but is completely different than any other food court. They seat you and you pay a gratuity. Grab-and-go stations and take-out are fantastic and refillable mug station is easy to get to. It's always clean. Never a complaint. Great pool, pool bar and gift shop. Very quiet. I HIGHLY recommend

Having said that, we also like CBR, but only stayed for a weekend. One bad bus ride, the bus had no air, no lights, broken seats and we waited at DHS for that gem for forty minutes. NOT TYPICAL...But we stick to our car now.

POR is pretty, but I won't stay there again. Nothing wrong with the rooms, the food court, the pools or the buses, we had a TERRIBLE experience with a CM and a Manager and for that reason alone, we will not return.

Haven't stayed at POFQ yet, but REALLY want to!

Have fun choosing!!!

 

[Belle-To-Be]

POFQ! Not a lot of walking as it's small. It's very quaint. Nice play area for smaller kids; hot tub separated from pool; nice counter service restaurant; typically short bus rides; very quiet resort; outdoor movies for the kids; beignets;horsedrawn carriages . . . I could go on and on.

 

[mickeynut1]

We liked CBR . We loved the caribbean theme and we thought the food court was great with alot of variety to choose from. We had a great stay and wouldn't hesitate to stay there again .

 

[KatMark]

We've only stayed at one -- the Coronado (CSR) and we've stayed there nine times. We love everything about it and it is our "home away from home." We have visited all of the other moderates, and if the CSR was not available for our visit, we would pick the POR-Riverside for the theme and food court and pool area. POFQ and CBR are far down the list for various reasons.

Truthfully, I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. It really comes down to size (POFQ being the smallest and the others being larger) and theme.

 

[buzznina]

Based on your post and the major emphasis on not wanting to walk, the only resort that would meet that criteria(without paying extra for a preferred location) is POFQ. At the other 3 there is a chance of getting a room far from the main building or pool, unless you pay for a preferred location. Luckily at 50 I enjoy the walks around the resorts and especially since they all have very nice themes. We like all the Mods but split most of our visits between POFQ, POR and CSR, especially now that once POR finishes their renovations all 3 of them will have queen beds.

 

[jewelmicky]

The theme and grounds are wonderful.

The boat to DTD.

Fishing off the pier.

FQ is a VERY close second.....biegets (sic)

The only thing that would make it better, is if Boatwrights still served a sit down breakfast.

 

[rusty4]

We love POR. It is our favorite resort so far. The boat to DTD is such a big plus. If you go to DTD you know how bad the buses can be no matter which resort you are staying at.

For your wish of less walking I would suggest POFQ or POR in a preferred room that would put you closer to the main building. I personally like be farther from the main building seems quieter back there. I also like being close to a bus stop other than the main one. But I don't mind the walking.

With POR you get 2 resorts in 1, bike or surrey rentals, boat to DTD, Boatwright's for a sit down dinner if you like, a great foodcourt at POR, beignets at POFQ, 2 main pools, several quiet pools at POR, and the horse drawn carriage rides.

Check out www.portorleans.org. I bet you fall in love with one those 2 resorts. Plus they are both newly updated. POR is still in the process while POFQ is already done.

 

[vettegirl]

CSR is our fav. I love the queen size beds, duvet covers and the overall modern feel to the room. The grounds are amazing and the dig site pool is one of the best on property. Also you get the H20 products just like all the deluxe resorts.

 

[MMrules]

CBR is the only moderate I have stayed at so far (4 times, both with and without children). I love the tropical themeing as I am from New England and love the palm trees. I have booked at POFQ and CSR but then switched back to CBR. Someday I want to try POFQ though b/c it looks beautiful.

I think you will like any of them...look at pictures and see which appeals to you the most. Some will say that CBR and CSR are huge, but it is a matter of perspective. I thought the walk to the food court was like 8 minutes from our furthest room but that was with 2 small children walking leisurely.

 

[boundfordisney]

cbr the pool area awesome, food court lots to choose from and it has always had Good food when we have stayed there, the grounds are beautiful, never had any transportation problems, the hot tubs are amazing you can find me there at 6am sooooo peaceful and quiet, which reminds me the quiet pools each village has one and they are great for relaxing never found them to have more then a couple of people using them at the same time, laundry area at the quiet pools so you can take a dip and do laundry at the same time which is a real bonus! Housekeeping has always been very good staff so friendly and helpfull. The music really makes you feel as though you are in the caribbean, you can see the fireworks at night from epcot on the beach, oh yes the hammocks heavenly ! Kids playground for the little ones! pirate or nemo rooms kids love this resort and so do adults very romantic . the little picnic area across the bridge I could go on and on but you should just see for yourself Ive been 4 times and am back again in a couple of weeks, I have also stayed at the yacht club and poly but cbr is really the best value for the money, its my number 2 resort after the yacht club even beats out the poly in my opinion hope this helps!

 

[Disney Crazy Debbie]

We have stayed at CBR and POFQ and POFQ was our favorite so we are booked for next summer and I am taking a boatload of people with me this time! This was also my son's favorite. We liked the theming, the closenss of the everything and the fact that after a long day at the parks my room seemed so close! Next year will be different because we are going with some very young children so we'll be spending more time at the resort.

 

[ChildAtHeart82]

I voted for POFQ, but in fairness it's the only moderate we've ever stayed at. We like it because of the size and theming. The food court is pretty good and the boat to DTD is a nice perk. Plus, you have POR a short walk away for a little variety in food options (CS and TS).