Disney for Christmas - which resort? moderate or value?

[dipin]

Hello everyone,
My wife and I need some help in deciding where to stay in our next trip to disney. Here's a little background: my wife and I are from another country, and this is going to be the first time we wont be able to go home for the holidays. Also, we dont have family in the US. We decided to go to WDW so we dont get stuck at home by ourselves during christmas. We are planning on staying a week there, and right now we got a good deal on either a moderate or a value resort (30-50 dollars a day difference).
Last time we went there, we stayed on Pop century.We liked pop century, but in our opinion the main problem with it was that buses were normally late and very crowded: the lines for the buses for POP were longer than for other resorts, and so we were hoping that that would not be the case with the moderate resorts. How different are the value and moderate resorts?
are the moderates worth the difference in cost? We are a childless couple and we probably wont spend much time in the resort, so our main concern is really transportation, room comfort, and convenience (in other words, which resort has the better pools or activities dont really matter). Which resorts are the most crowded?
Which are closer to parks? With the buses, does it even make a difference (in travel time, waiting time)?
So far, these have been our impressions (feel free to correct us if you think its wrong):
We are currently considering the POFQ, POR and CBR since they seem to be closer to the parks. The problem with CBR seems to be that it is too big, and with POR and POFQ that they share buses. We are willing to go to POP again, if there isnt such a big difference.
I am sorry if I seem too be rambling on, but it is hard (but pleasurable) to make such a decision on what seems to be minor differences.

 

[safetymom]

How about a trip to the islands? CBR is very nice and you feel like you have escaped to the islands. We love it there at Christmas time.

 

[currycook]

If I were you staying for that long I would stay at a moderate for sure. I think its actually a better value for what you get.

 

[disneyfanz04]

I stayed at CBR in February, and also at Pop in Feb. If I had to do it over again, I never would have switched to CBR!!!!! Save your money and do a couple character dinners instead...you won't regret it. Chef Mickey is an awesome one, as is Hoop De Doo Revue. Whatever you choose you know you'll be with your disney "family"!!!

 

[F1Julie]

I'd save the cash and stay at a value resort since you said you won't be spending much time there. As far as transportation goes, I wouldn't let that be a factor. Sometimes I hear people saying how great the buses were at one resort and then someone else says they were terrible. Since you have already stayed at Pop, maybe try an All Star this time. We stayed at ASSp and enjoyed it. It is the first to be picked up and dropped off on the bus system. With the All Stars, sometimes they share buses with each other and sometimes they don't.

 

[dipin]

Wow, thank you for so many replies.
Did anyone who stayed at both a moderate and a value resort notice any difference in terms of transportation?
Also, I think right now our first choice is POFQ (although the posters here are doing a good job of selling a value resort!, a few more posts like those and I will end up going to a value again). Can anyone tell me anything about the boat ride through the river (and if the river surroundings are nice)? If I remember correctly, I think I took that boat once, when I stayed in the Treehouse Villas (which dont exist anymore) as a teenager with my parents...

as a separate question: how crowded is WDW during christmas? If it is not so crowded, then transportation wont matter as much...

 

[Winnie Pooh Fan]

Originally posted by dipin
Can anyone tell me anything about the boat ride through the river (and if the river surroundings are nice)? If I remember correctly, I think I took that boat once, when I stayed in the Treehouse Villas (which dont exist anymore) as a teenager with my parents...

as a separate question: how crowded is WDW during christmas? If it is not so crowded, then transportation wont matter as much...

First of all from what I understand WDW is at its absolute busiest at Christmas. They have gone to upper levels of shutdown at the parks because it is so crowded.

Transporation will therefore be a major issue. The great thing about POFQ is that the bus stops at POFQ to load and drop and will even skip POR if the bus is full so you don't have to worry about not having a seat leaving the resort.

While I have never taken the boat from POFQ I have from CR and WL. This was a great relaxing ride for tired feet and I'm looking forward to trying the boat to DTD.

Also due to the crowds, you need to have PS at the restaurants of your choice. As you are under 90 days, you really need to make them ASAP, otherwise be prepared to be turned away from restaurants or settle for counter service.

Have a great trip to WDW, just make sure you have a plan.

 

[dipin]

Originally posted by Winnie Pooh Fan
First of all from what I understand WDW is at its absolute busiest at Christmas. They have gone to upper levels of shutdown at the parks because it is so crowded.

Transporation will therefore be a major issue. The great thing about POFQ is that the bus stops at POFQ to load and drop and will even skip POR if the bus is full so you don't have to worry about not having a seat leaving the resort.

While I have never taken the boat from POFQ I have from CR and WL. This was a great relaxing ride for tired feet and I'm looking forward to trying the boat to DTD.

Also due to the crowds, you need to have PS at the restaurants of your choice. As you are under 90 days, you really need to make them ASAP, otherwise be prepared to be turned away from restaurants or settle for counter service.

Have a great trip to WDW, just make sure you have a plan.

Thank you. I think you just convinced me to stay at the POFQ...