CSR vs POR

[isabellea]

Actually Cabana's 8A is the closest section to the main pool. MAP HERE. Thats where we stayed. It was an AMAZING location. As isabellea mentioned, you can get mug refills/drinks and food at the main pool...no need to go to the main building as much! The bus stop is right there...which btw CSR has the best bus service by far. Never waited more than 5 min, and never had to stand (not even after the parks).

True for building but I would say that Rancho is the closest section as a whole. Just a matter of semantics I guess. We stayed in bldg 7B and LOVED it. We're going back to WDW at the end of Feb and chose to try POFQ this time since it's only for 4 nights and the grand-parents will be there to babysit...therefore a boat to DTD makes it very attractive. But if I had booked a full week I would have chosen CSR hands down. I also agree that the bus service was great when we were there. We were the last stop and always had a seat.

 

[GreatLakes]

I've stayed at both and prefer CSR. I like the theme better, think the CS restaurant is better, and like the size. I can also usually find a slightly cheaper rate at CSR then POR.

I like the grounds and fountains in the Casitas area but after staying in the Ranchos area this past trip I liked staying over there better. It was a little quieter and I could still cut through the Casitas section on the way to El Centro if I wanted to.

ETA: Two other things CSR has going for it is they have a health club while POR doesn't (when it isn't being refurbished) and they have the only pool on property with lap lanes which my wife likes for early morning swim workouts.

 

[disneyseniors]

Everyone here has hit the nail on the head, but thought I'd weigh in with my 2 cents worth
We have stayed at both CSR and POR. We much prefer POR and our 4th trip there is coming up soon
Like the OP, we wanted a Spanish/Mexican design resort and chose CSR for that reason. However, for US, it was not "Disney" enough for us. It had too much of a convention hotel feel. It was so huge that we never made it over to the main pool! We are not pool people, but wanted to see it, heard it was awesome! We were in Casitas #3 and had a beautiful, large room with excellent housekeeping. The grounds around the casitas are beautiful and tropical.
That said, that was all we liked. The Pepper Mill was horrible, however that was several years ago. Maybe they fixed the problems by now? We didn't like the food or the confusing paying system. This was all before dining plan, however. The buses were not that crowded and we didn't experience long waits at all.
As for POR: We love the bayou area with their winding tropical paths, bridges, and atmosphere. Their private pools are awesome, just beautiful and, well, quiet!

The rooms are really nice, though not as big as CSR. No problems with housekeeping at all. There is a lot of negative flak about the buses at POR, but in all our visits we have never waited over 10 or 15 minutes. Most waits are under 10 minutes. We absolutely love the food court, great options and food. There is the boat to Disney springs which is always a treat. HeeHaw Bob is in the lounge most nights, fun show. There is so much we love about this resort, it's hard to put it all into words.

It all boils down to which type of resort you want. It's a personal choice and a lot of good arguments for and against here. Hope you have a great time wherever you vacation

 

[goofyintoronto]

True for building but I would say that Rancho is the closest section as a whole.

How? Not trying to be nit-picky, im just genuinely curious.

 

[HopperFan]

True for building but I would say that Rancho is the closest section as a whole. Just a matter of semantics I guess. We stayed in bldg 7B and LOVED it.

I agree with this. The map is not truly in proportion and I think the Ranchos kind of surround the Main Pool. We stayed in 6 B several times and you are literally a minute to the pool. Some 7 B rooms can see the main pool area and even when we stayed in 7 A we were less than a 2 minute walk to the pool.

Some of the Cabana rooms are a jaunt over to the Main Pool, particularly 9 A. But still a better walk than the Casitas. We have also stayed in Cabanas 8 A and will never stay again. The noise from all the folks walking by to buses and the resort carts zooming back and forth late at night and early in the mornings was bothersome.

 

[GreatLakes]

Everyone here has hit the nail on the head, but thought I'd weigh in with my 2 cents worth
We have stayed at both CSR and POR. We much prefer POR and our 4th trip there is coming up soon
Like the OP, we wanted a Spanish/Mexican design resort and chose CSR for that reason. However, for US, it was not "Disney" enough for us. It had too much of a convention hotel feel. It was so huge that we never made it over to the main pool! We are not pool people, but wanted to see it, heard it was awesome! We were in Casitas #3 and had a beautiful, large room with excellent housekeeping. The grounds around the casitas are beautiful and tropical.
That said, that was all we liked. The Pepper Mill was horrible, however that was several years ago. Maybe they fixed the problems by now? We didn't like the food or the confusing paying system. This was all before dining plan, however. The buses were not that crowded and we didn't experience long waits at all.
As for POR: We love the bayou area with their winding tropical paths, bridges, and atmosphere. Their private pools are awesome, just beautiful and, well, quiet!

The rooms are really nice, though not as big as CSR. No problems with housekeeping at all. There is a lot of negative flak about the buses at POR, but in all our visits we have never waited over 10 or 15 minutes. Most waits are under 10 minutes. We absolutely love the food court, great options and food. There is the boat to Disney springs which is always a treat. HeeHaw Bob is in the lounge most nights, fun show. There is so much we love about this resort, it's hard to put it all into words.

It all boils down to which type of resort you want. It's a personal choice and a lot of good arguments for and against here. Hope you have a great time wherever you vacation

To the bolded, the Pepper Market is now a more traditional CS location. There are still stations but you line up and just pay like you do at most other resort CS locations.

 

[nkereina]

To the bolded, the Pepper Market is now a more traditional CS location. There are still stations but you line up and just pay like you do at most other resort CS locations.

True. They have since done away with the hostess, card system for payment, servers, etc. Now, you get whatever you want, pay, then seat yourselves just like any other QS. I will caution, however, that the food is not consistent with other QS locations since Pepper Market is run by a third party. A lot of it is good, but the pizza (for example) was a very thin crust kind that we did not care for at all. Not what we were expecting.

 

[isabellea]

I personally thought that the food at Pepper Market was average (comparable to any food court) but I REALLY liked Maya Grill. We also enjoyed the food at the pool cantina. Perfect food for a day at the pool!

 

[wacowgirl]

Thank you everyone for your input! My other son and I have stayed at POFQ back in 2008 and we visited POR several times. I love the feel of it! With that said, I also want to try something else. DS21 doesn't care where we stay, he's just happy to be going to DW. Maybe a split stay?? This will probably be my last vacation with my son so I want to make it count and be special.