Help me choose a Moderate!

[PennyDalmatian]

Hello, all! This is one of my first posts here after a long time spent lurking, and I'm hoping you all would be so generous as to offer a bit of advice. My parents and I are making our first trip back to WDW next February after thirteen years, so things have changed a bit since we were there, as have some of our tastes (I was ten last time). I've been appointed to make the travel plans again, and I could use some help choosing a resort. We stayed at the CBR last time; the landscaping was really lovely, and we had a great experience overall, but I'm torn on whether we should go back or try something new.

Here are our primary considerations:

• Our budget runs to a Moderate but not any higher.
• Our favorite parks are MK and Epcot.
• My dad does not like long commutes or waiting endlessly to get on a bus.
• We'd like to be able to not feel like there are people on top of us all the time (as much as is possible at a top vacation destination!).
• We probably won't be spending a lot of time on the recreation offered at the resort. Last time, we really only walked around CBR and swam in the quiet pools in the evenings. Never made it to the feature pool.

Thank you in advance for any advice you might offer!

 

[Mazz519]

Port Orleans is a great resort. you have the boat service that will take you to Downtown Disney and the bus service is great.. Coronado is real nice also but we prefer Port Orleans

 

[ChasingLeslie]

I'd recommend CSR, primarily for the bus service. Because of the convention guests, CSR is tends to seem quieter than the other resorts...and the buses and pools are not as crowded.

 

[addiln]

I agree with Mazz that Port Orleans is a great resort and gives you a couple different options for transportation. I also really enjoyed CBR as well. It seemed more spacious but the waits for the bus seemed longer then others. My favorite part of CBR is the quietness and room that we had at the little pools. We went to the main pool once and never went back. We enjoyed the other pools much more. I don't think you can go wrong with either resort.

 

[CerysG]

We have stayed at POR and CBR. We found POR ok but it did not Wow us. On the other hand we love CBR and found it quiet and relaxing. It is a big resort but we had rooms in Jamaica so just walked across the bridge to the main building. Also the bus stop was close and we had no issues with the service. I would definitely stay here again especially since they have renovated recently so all the rooms are nice.

 

[wdwrule]

CSR would be my vote. Beautiful, friendly and great bus service. For a minimal fee, you could request their business class building which is central to everything and includes continental bfast and then in the evenings snacks, beer, wine, sangria. This was perfect for us because we spend all day at the parks.

 

[Cinderella2004]

I'd say Port Orleans Riverside...we were there last month when they only had 5 rooms available (I know this because we had some slight trouble with ours-worked out just fine though) Even at capacity, it felt as though we were the only ones there. It is beautiful to walk around, too! The bus was always good for us, we only used it about 20% of the time though...there is a short cut to the MK the bus takes once you are on the bus I'd say it takes less than 10 minutes to get there. I've stayed at all the mod's, whichever your choice, I'm sure you'll be happy!!

 

[DrBanner]

POR would be my choice.. We love staying there it is so peaceful and relaxing.

 

[IndyRnRfan]

You can't go wrong with any of them at that time of year. I'd stay away from csr in July and early August. Csr is farther away from mk but closer to Epcot. You are only talking a few minutes difference though to any park from either csr or por. Can't speak for cbr as its been over a decade since my wife stayed there.

 

[MarieLightning]

If you're concerned about bus service, Port Orleans French Quarter is the best. It has one bus stop versus the 4/5 and such that the other Moderates resorts will have. It's still a quick, consistent service so you never wait long periods of time for it. We've stayed there twice, and we've always had very easy times of getting on buses in a timely fashion. It's a very short ride over to Epcot and Hollywood studios, medium ride to Magic Kingdom (can be up to 10 minutes or so if it's busy time) and maybe just a tad longer for Animal Kingdom, but not by much.

It may happen once in a blue moon that it'll swing by Riverside to pick up people if the bus is empty, but it's happened to us maybe twice over a total of 14 days staying there during two different trips.

It is also the smallest resort on property. Any time we've stayed there, it was less than a 5 minutes walk from the lobby/bus stop to our room. It's small, with such a homey feel.

It has the same advantage as Riverside with boat service to Downtown Disney. It's also about a 10 minutes walk over to Riverside, who have slightly different food offerings than FQ, so you can try out both food courts if you wish.

Honestly, it's such an underrated, wonderful resort. It's our favorite - our bucket list involves staying at every Disney resort, but even walking inside the Grand Floridian doesn't give me the feeling of being at home quite like the French Quarter does.

 

[Rosebud123]

The only moderate I've stayed in is FW Cabins, but I've always wanted to try POFQ. I think that looks like such a pretty resort, plus I love the fact that it's small.

 

[CynBeth]

If you're concerned about bus service, Port Orleans French Quarter is the best. It has one bus stop versus the 4/5 and such that the other Moderates resorts will have. It's still a quick, consistent service so you never wait long periods of time for it. We've stayed there twice, and we've always had very easy times of getting on buses in a timely fashion. It's a very short ride over to Epcot and Hollywood studios, medium ride to Magic Kingdom (can be up to 10 minutes or so if it's busy time) and maybe just a tad longer for Animal Kingdom, but not by much.

It may happen once in a blue moon that it'll swing by Riverside to pick up people if the bus is empty, but it's happened to us maybe twice over a total of 14 days staying there during two different trips.

It is also the smallest resort on property. Any time we've stayed there, it was less than a 5 minutes walk from the lobby/bus stop to our room. It's small, with such a homey feel.

It has the same advantage as Riverside with boat service to Downtown Disney. It's also about a 10 minutes walk over to Riverside, who have slightly different food offerings than FQ, so you can try out both food courts if you wish.

Honestly, it's such an underrated, wonderful resort. It's our favorite - our bucket list involves staying at every Disney resort, but even walking inside the Grand Floridian doesn't give me the feeling of being at home quite like the French Quarter does.

We love POFQ. We stayed there 4 years ago during Thanksgiving Week and if it was crowded we had no clue as we found it very quiet. We loved the bus system and the boat to DTD. We were in one of the furthest buildings away from the food court but it was a short walk and also not long to Riverside where we had breakfast one morning. The theme is Mardis Gras which we like and got the special coin to make a wish in the well. I hope they still do that.

 

[Babsy]

Trying something new is fun! You have already been to my first choice, CBR, so I would suggest either POFQ or CSR.

POFQ has only one bus stop, is a very small resort and is compact so that no room is very far from everything. The rooms are lovely and the river views are awesome. You can also walk to POR and take advantage of the facilities there. Finally, there is the boat service to Downtown Disney which is very nice.

However, POFQ has only one pool (that is our least favourite of any WDW resort) and only has the one food court and no TS restaurant. Plus, it has a Mardi Gras theme that we weren't fond of. (large heads having from the ceiling in the food court).

CSR is a gorgeous resort with three different themed areas. We like the cabanas section with the business class best, and then we like the preferred buildings in the Casitas. If you are booking standard, we find that casitas 4 works well for us, but all the Cabanas are convenient as well. Ranchos rooms are the most remote but have the most interesting theming and are closest to the main pool. We love the many dining options at CSR. the main pool and slide are awesome plus the hot tub is huge! Walking around CSR at night is truly beautiful! The bus service has always been quick and efficient, in our experience, and never crowded.

CSR does have 4 bus stops at the resort which bothers some people. We found it to be convenient to have a bus stop so near our room despite the size of the resort. Once on the bus, it didn't matter to us if we stopped a couple of more times before heading out to the parks. YMMV, however. CSR does have some additional amenities such as the fitness centre and salon, but if you don't take advantage of amenities at the resort this won't matter much to you.

Because of the pools and the overall atmosphere of the resorts, I tend to suggest POFQ for families with young children and CSR for families with older (teens) children or people travelling without kids.

Any of the moderates are great, so you won't go wrong with whichever one you choose.

Good luck!

 

[Olaf63]

CSR would be my choice. Love the business class rooms with lounge access

 

[Carolrita]

POR is, by far, my favorite resort. Beautiful grounds and 6 pools...what more can one ask for? (Also, love stopping by to see Bob Jackson...always fun)

 

[Guittech]

My research had led me to choose POFQ for our trip next year, sadly they probably won't be doing the free dining promo, so I am up in the air, but if that wasn't an issue, Port Orleans looks awesome! But I like to chill and relax.

 

[Nsmith022]

CSR is very nice but is later out to be one of the biggest resorts due to the conventions it does. I've always wanted to try POFQ or POR but they haven't been available during the FD promo. Can't go wrong with any of these choices.

 

[DizDaD7]

Hello, all! This is one of my first posts here after a long time spent lurking, and I'm hoping you all would be so generous as to offer a bit of advice. My parents and I are making our first trip back to WDW next February after thirteen years, so things have changed a bit since we were there, as have some of our tastes (I was ten last time). I've been appointed to make the travel plans again, and I could use some help choosing a resort. We stayed at the CBR last time; the landscaping was really lovely, and we had a great experience overall, but I'm torn on whether we should go back or try something new.

Here are our primary considerations:

• Our budget runs to a Moderate but not any higher.
• Our favorite parks are MK and Epcot.
• My dad does not like long commutes or waiting endlessly to get on a bus.
• We'd like to be able to not feel like there are people on top of us all the time (as much as is possible at a top vacation destination!).
• We probably won't be spending a lot of time on the recreation offered at the resort. Last time, we really only walked around CBR and swam in the quiet pools in the evenings. Never made it to the feature pool.

Thank you in advance for any advice you might offer!

1st off to the disboards..

2ndly: I'm not a huge fan of CBR, so being that you loved that trip, if you pick a different one I'm sure you'll have an awesome time

2 that come to mind are CSR & POR.....Very close to being a tie, but the bus service is far superior at CSR.

• If your budget is limited to a mod. , then CSR fits the bill for getting more fore less...Sort of like a Deluxe-Lite.
• Time wise between the 2 parks you chose, & the 2 resorts I chose, really isn't that significant. I'm sure you'll visit HS & AK though.
• Unless you're @ a monorail resort , commutes are inevitable. But with CSR, (as I stated b4) has IMHO, the best bus service out of ANY resort, including value & deluxes too. POR was OK, but just very bad returning from HS, especially after F!.
• Once again both resorts I chose, are rather large, and you'll never get that feeling of being ontop of each other ( like some of the VALUES ) CSR is a lil less stuffy, but that's because it's considered a convention resort..This also is 1 of the reasons why the bus service is always good here. And don't worry about conventioneers, being rowdy & obnoxious n stuff...We found that we didn't even realize they were there...
• We stayed in the Casitas section of CSR . Bldg #3. Which was ideal. The only drawback was a 9 minute or so walk to the main Pool ( which is Awesome). Everything else was relatively very close. The main bldg. 4 minutes, the quiet pool 2 or 3 minutes. Also right there is the laundry/spa/gym, and maybe a 5 minute walk to Casitas bus stop...It picks up & drops off 1st there.

Either route you go I'm sure you'll have a great time..Enjoy!

 

[Fizban]

Port Orleans Riverside has a nice relaxed feel to it and it is gorgeous. The second resort for your parents I would suggest CSR (if it were just a couple the second would be POFQ). You can get a preferred room at either but if you stay in the mansion rooms ask for the Arcadia or Magnolia building (they are directly across the bridge to the lobby/pool).

 

[DizDaD7]

True, like Fizban stated...Magnolia Bend we stayed at in POR, & it was Perfeccct!!!