Why not CSR instead of POR? Are the pictures misleading? Help me please!

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

Just an FYI about CSR. Keep this in mind when deciding. CSR has motion sensors on the a/c units and when there is no movement in the rooms (like when you are sleeping) the air cuts off. Someone suggested you can call maintenance every 2 days and have them come to your room and do some kind of bypass on the motion sensors but I would not want to deal with that every 2 days for my whole trip. That is what changed my mind about CSR. We need a/c when we sleep.

 

["Cinder" Ella's Mom]

IMHO, CSR is the best Mod. It is also the newest, which is nice. Pool is nice, grounds beautiful, food offerings great. It is spread out, but we had no problem with a little exercise!

 

[saskdw]

Just an FYI about CSR. Keep this in mind when deciding. CSR has motion sensors on the a/c units and when there is no movement in the rooms (like when you are sleeping) the air cuts off. Someone suggested you can call maintenance every 2 days and have them come to your room and do some kind of bypass on the motion sensors but I would not want to deal with that every 2 days for my whole trip. That is what changed my mind about CSR. We need a/c when we sleep.

There are instructions on Buzz's site on how to overide the sensor yourself. It's simple and takes 10 secs. The central A/C at CSR is much nicer than the individual units at the other Mods.

 

[saskdw]

The fact that CSR is "big" and "spreadout" is one of the things I like about it. We've spent two Christmas's there when the resort is full (2100 rooms worth of people) and never had a problem finding a quiet place to relax. Really the only time it seems busy is if you go to the main pool or food court at the wrong time. Quiet pool was always quiet and always a place to sit. We love walking around the resort and enjoying the view. I guess we have an athletic family so maybe the walking doesn't bother us as much as some. Heck, somedays we would goto the parks, than I would workout at the fitness center including a run on the tread mill and than go for a walk around the resort later with the wife. Each to their own, but to us CSR is a great value. I'm not saying its better than the Deluxes, but for the price difference great value.

 

[Kim1964]

We've stayed at POR, POFQ, and CSR. CSR is my favorite moderate. I like the room decor and the pool is the best outside of SAB that I've experienced at WDW.

 

[dminnie]

I had those instructions for the AC with me just in case and didn't need to use them...we were there in March, so maybe it wasn't so hot.

We've stayed at CBR, POR and CSR. I think I liked CSR the best, except for how spread out it is. The lake is beautiful, but there aren't the walkways across it like at CBR and POR. Also the main pool area there is not by the main food areas, although there is food available at the pool. I definitely thought CSR had a more deluxe feel to it: nicer toiletries, sliding doors for the bathroom area, health club, more food options. The pool was great: longest slide of all the mods., largest hot tub. We got a room near the health club and really enjoyed that and the quiet pool by the health club. It seemed like we had better luck with the bus there. I think I liked the general feel of CSR better.

POR is a close second. We got the mansions area though. I don't like the decor of the bayou area rooms. CBR was good too, but they still have just full sized beds.

If I had to rank them, it would be : CSR, POR, CBR.

 

[bookgirl]

Can't remember if it's CBR or CSR but one of them is the only Mod to still have Full sized beds instead of Queen.

I liked the look of these, but in the end did not choose either because of the size of the resort. (I had a rental but I didn't want to have to drive within my own resort to eat or catch a bus)

I ended up at POFQ and loved it. I would choose it everytime I was staying MOD, but if I had to choose another resort on the MOD level, the dealbreaker for me ould be a Full bed. I'd stay at a Value and save the money if I had to give up a queen size.

 

[NoSoup4U]

Can't remember if it's CBR or CSR but one of them is the only Mod to still have Full sized beds instead of Queen.

Actually all moderates have queen size beds now, except for CBR.

I've stayed at both and love both a lot. But I do prefer POR because I find it prettier and I love the food court and boat to DTD. As well as the bike rentals.

But CSR has the best bus service on property. And I love that there's CS by the pool. It is a gorgeous resort as well.

Id go with whatever appeals to you most. Theyre both great! Cant go wrong either way.

 

[princessallegra]

We have stayed at POFQ, POR and CSR (3x at CSR, once each at the other two). We love CSR! It truly has deluxe amenities at a moderate price. The theming is gorgeous, there is a 24 fitness facility, spa and hair salon, great pools, a jog trail around the lake, beach volleyball by the main pool, hammocks. We like to stay in Casitas and love the location to the bus/our car, as well as the room setup. The beds are the most comfy beds ever! We rent a car but this past trip we used the buses from csr (in addition to the car) and we were impressed. This was during the Princess half marathon and leftover presidents day crowds ad the buses were great.

We like POR as well but the amenities aren't as good, imho. I do like POR food options better. The resort food options don't matter as much to us since we drive a lot we can go anywhere for meals easily. I love the gym and jog trail and the theming more at CSR. POFQ was not for us. Don't care for the theming, and although many people rave about the small size, we like a bigger resort. The food court, pool, lobby, and overall areas were packed at pofq due to the small size of the resort.

 

[Gibbygirl]

DIS board has a very strong POR following. I call them the POR army! They invade every thread on the board.
The POR Army will be along shortly to refute everything I've just said!!

 

[Gibbygirl]

Haven't stayed at POR or POFQ--the themes do absolutely nothing for me/us. I belive they are beautiful, wonderful, fabulous resorts, but just not our taste. Have stayed at CBR (2011) & CSR (2012) and LOVED both of them. The tropical feel, the beaches, the over all atmosphere & themes, etc, etc. CSR felt more relaxed & "adult" to us (although our kids also loved it.) CBR felt like we really were on a tropical vacation and seemed a little more "family friendly." We rented a boat twice which was great fun. CSR has a marina but no longer does any rentals (at least they weren't last summer.) I could go on & on about the reasons we would go back to either one, but it really comes down to personal preference. I know when I looked at pictures of CBR and CSR, those were the resorts for us. When I look at POR or POFQ...meh.

 

[11point5]

You have no way of knowing if you'll get to be in the mansion rooms & we were put into the bayou rooms on 2 trips.

Isn't this something that could be requested on your reservation? (I know it's just a "request", but the CMs have always seemed to do their best with room requests in my experience) I'm considering POR for my trip next year but the theming of the bayou rooms is just not for me either. The mansions look fabulous though

 

[pamkat1820]

Ok here is my 2 cents. POR is a beautiful resort. so is CSR I have never stayed there. My SIL travels to disney every year and they Swear by CSR. She will not stay anywhere else. I think it is because it is the closest you can get to staying deluxe for the $$ of a moderate. they cater to business class travelers.

POR has a great following because of the fact that a family of 5 can stay there but not at a value or any of the other mods in a regular standard room.

CBR - has double beds.....personally if I wouldn't stat there only because of that fact alone. I would save the extra $$ and stay value if I had to sleep in a double bed.

That being said. Everyone has a favorite you have to way all your options to what suits your family the best. I like smaller resorts with larger rooms because of the stroller and different option other than bus transportation. so it deluxe for us. When my kids are older we will try a moderate resort again.

 

[kris4360]

Isn't this something that could be requested on your reservation? (I know it's just a "request", but the CMs have always seemed to do their best with room requests in my experience) I'm considering POR for my trip next year but the theming of the bayou rooms is just not for me either. The mansions look fabulous though

I have always gotten what I requested, so far.

 

[GetGlowing]

Does CSR still offer massages at the resort? Many years ago I was the lounging wife whilst DH attended meetings there. But I don't see/hear many things about the spa options there now it seems. Love the new decor and i would consider another stay there.

I think if/when CBR finally upgrades to queen beds it will see a surge in popularity.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using DISBoards

 

[ArmyVet80]

We have stayed at both CSR and POFQ. We liked both of them equally. While at CSR we were stayed in Casitas #5.

Here is what we liked about CSR: (Stayed Sept. 2012)
1. It was a large resort but it wasn't a bad walk for food or the pool/hot tub.
2. At night from our room we could see the fireworks from Fantasmic and Illuminations.
3. There was a quiet pool about a 2 minute walk from us and the Dig Site pool was a 5 minute walk from us. Both came in handy as there was a convention going on while we were there.
4. The hammocks around the lake. We got a bottle of wine from the German pavilion and relaxed one night under the stars swaying in the breeze. Romantic and relaxing.
5. Transportation was good. Casitas is the first bus stop of four to get to the parks. Heading back to the resort it is the first stop to drop off.
6. The theme was pretty cool. I lived in the southwest during my time in the Army and it was similar minus all the grass and trees. Still a good time.

What we didn't like about CSR:
1. The convention people. They seemed to party pretty hard. We didn't always hear them but when we did hear them they were loud. Couldn't hear them while in our room but we didn't go to WDW to stay in our room all night after a day at the parks.
2. The lines to fill up your refillable mugs were always busy. I picked random times to go get something to drink and always ran into a line of people. Not sure if they were convention people or regular guests but it always seemed busy.


What we liked about POFQ: (Stayed in June 2009)
1. It's where we spent our honeymoon/disneymoon. Sentimental value.
2. Smaller so easy to get around.
3. More romantic/secluded. Didn't seem like there was anyone around even though it was a smaller resort.
4. The DtD boat. We make it our goal to ride as many modes of transportation at WDW. We took the boat to DtD, bus to Epcot and Monorail to MK to get our fix.
5. The hot tub. It's a staple of our trips. We tend to soak for an hour every night after a long day at the parks. CSR has a very large (holds 15-20 people) hot tub. POFQ's is smaller and kind of surrounded by shrubs.
6. The decor.. We liked the Madi Gras theme. All of the colors were awesome.

What we didn't like about POFQ:
1. We had to leave.. lol
2. The Brazilian Travel groups. We didn't see them often but when we did they took over everything. Almost as if they owned the place.
3. Bus transportation. It wasn't horrible but we did stop by POR a few times to pick up guests. While we knew this could happen we weren't sure why we were stopping when the bus was fully loaded with people.



All in all they are both nice resorts. We have not stayed at POR so I can not give a review on it. We are excited to stay at POFQ again this year for the W&D Half Marathon. Only 209 more days until we arrive.

 

[jmskinner]

I saw this and had to chime in. I'm one of the POR Army, but find great benefits to all the moderates, they are my favorite.

I've tried to figure out if POR is our favorite since it was the resort we stayed at our first time at WDW. But I think it is more because of all of the landscaping there. Love the river through the resort and all of the greenery.

CBR is nice if you love the beach or tropical feel. If you have kids, the pool is great, especially the play area for the little ones. My only issues was the food court. Just didn't seem to be set up well and less tables to eat at compared to POR for the size of the resort. And the area where you order and pay was too congested.

We stayed at CSR this past October. If you like a "southwest" feel it is nice. I actually like the area on the other side of the lake from the lobby and convention center. Loved looking at all the greenery over there and the pool looked really great. If you like going to a spa and using a gym, specially if only adults going, I would highly recommend this resort.

I think you said this is your first trip, I wouldn't recommend changing resorts during your trip then. We did back in August, only to switch to value to save some money and it just seemed to be a hassle for us. But, those days we were going to a convention in Orlando, so didn't see the need to spend the extra money on a moderate. Plus, I wanted the DH to see POP!

I say if CSR really appeals to you, stay there. When we first did our research, POR was the one that caught our eye. Hopefully you will make more trips and get to try out the other resorts. And you could always take a day and wander those other resorts.

Have a magical trip!

 

[Disneylover99]

The POR Army will be along shortly to refute everything I've just said!!

I'm actually part of the subsidiary branch of this army, POFQ.

I would actually love to to try CSR, but we fly down and never rent a car, so we find the size of CSR and the multiple bus stops overwhelming. We love POFQ because of its size, one bus stop and boat to DTD.

Since the op has a car, I would say definitely give CSR a try!

 

[averysmom]

We've stayed at CSR and we love the resort... Our last 4 family trips have been there. I love th duvets in the rooms, the pool is amazing, and we have always gotten good rooms, so the walk has never been too bad. We are staying at POR this summer because what we really dislike about CSR is the restaurants/ food areas. Pepper Market was great 5 years ago... And we have noticed it get worse and worse every time we went. Out last meal (chicken fajitas!) was inedible... And I eat anything! At Rix cafe, items have a different price than at the rest of Disney. Everything is a dollar or so more, so you can't use your snack credits. And we found many ( but not all) of the food service employees to be rude- especially the workers in Pepper Market. The food service at the hotel isn't owned/run by Disney, but rather another company does it.. And you can tell. We love CSR, and am very sad about not staying there this summer, but with the food options being so poor ( for us) we just can't do it.

 

[Andrea817]

I have never stayed at POR, but I can say that I am having the exact same dilemma for our trip for F&W fest! We stayed in CSR last month and fell in love, it so peaceful and we had an amazing time. We were in Ranchos B and explored the grounds often and never did we find anything to be that lengthy of a trek, even after long park days. My favorite part of the day was the morning walk to El Centro for breakfast, it's so calm and all you hear are birds chirping. It really was such a peaceful resort! We loved it and joked how we wished to just move in and never go back home to reality

Now, we will be going next month before our SP's black out for summer (we are FL residents) and will be staying at POP to lower costs as we were just in the world last month. We plan to return in late September and now I'm torn with CSR again or POR!! I LOVED CSR but since it was my first on property stay, I really wanted to try some others for fun/experience! I also don't want to be disappointed and wishing we had just went with CSR, either I read in this post you can take a ferry from DTD to POR, can anyone do this (even if not staying at the resort)? We will be in DTD on the day we arrive and I would love to see the resort in person to help make my decision, is this allowed??