Mod. recommendation- CBR,CSR,POR?

[kwdietrich1]

Still trying to decide. Our trip will be Dec 22-28 2004. The budget fairy keeps changing so therefore so does our resort choices. So mods it will be! My MIL will be joining us and cannot walk great distances due to arthritis (will be renting ecv in parks, don't want to deal with chair on buses; bad experience before)
I
have looked at each faq thread and pics for all mods.
First choice: POFQ-because of smallish feel of resort and one bus stop. But in case of limited availability for Christmas, will need back up.

Tie between CBR and CSR: Both appeal to me. My DH and MIL can't decide either. I would like a building close to main building and food court as well as easy access to bus stops. I've read the best building choices, but I still need to decide which resort would feel more like a deluxe in terms of amenities and comfort. I am worried about the resorts being too large for my MIL to handle. My DH and I can handle long distances. I am a Spanish teacher so automatically CSR appeals to me. DH loves to fish, so he would like to be able to fish, catch and release without a boat excursion. MIL loves victorian, so none of the mods fit that criteria.

POR- third choice. Seems nice, but not sure.
So I guess I would rank my preferences as such: Convenience(closeness, bus trans etc) , comfort and atmosphere.

So what would you recommend to me?

Thank you!

 

[DNBois]

DH and I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the CBR and we are heading down this Sept. with my in-laws for our FOURTH STAY!!! However, I decided it was time for a change so we are staying near our in-laws at CBR for 7 nights and switched for our last 3 nights at CSR. I have a lot of info that may help in your decision and you may want to think about splitting your stay - WDW can bring your bags to the new hotel while you are at the parks so it really is not a hassle.
From our experience, we think that Jamaica, Bldg. 44 at CBR is the best; we were luckily upgraded to a corner room with a view (4456) last May and we loved it and are hoping for the same bldg., even the same room this time (wishful thinking). The food court is within 5 minutes of walking (beautiful walk over walkbridge), the bus stop is primarily the first one for pick-up and drop-off, the pool is usually very quiet and the view of the fireworks from the hammocks on the beach is awesome.
We have asked several questions regarding CSR and found that the Casitas Bldg. 4 may be the best for us; since we were already coming from CBR, we didn't want a similar atmosphere so Cabanas was out and Rancheros seemed a little too rustic for us; the pictures I have seen of the Casitas at CSR remind me of old world Spain so we though that would be a welcome change. In addition, we were told that Casitas usually has their p/u and d/o first as well and the food court is within a 7-8 minute walk.
We love CBR and ever single time we try to make ressies at another resort, we always revert back to CBR but this time we decided we should expand our horizons.
For more information, you should check out safetymom's CBR Facts and do a search under buzz2001 for his CSR website - they both provide a lot of useful information in order to make your decision. . .good luck and enjoy!!!

 

[Buzz2001]

CSR is our family favorite. Best pool of all the moderates, terrific location and transportation. Check out my website below for pics, links and info.

 

[kwdietrich1]

Thank you both for your recommendations and links. I asked my MIL to look at the photos for all the mods and she had a hard time choosing too. She ended up ranking CSR as first, then CBR then POFQ, then POR. Now I have to wait til DH gets home from fishing to have him look through the pics and faq sheets etc. I wish we had resort hopped a little more when we were there in June. It would have made the decision at little easier.

Keep coming with your recommendations!

Thanks

 

[Gabrielle]

I've stayed at them all and I'd recommend POR. POR has boat service to Downtown Disney; live, lounge, entertainment; a better pool slide than CBR (but not as good as CSR); and offers carriage rides which might be nice to do in winter. Also, it shares pools with FQ; which is your first choice; i.e., easy to get over there to visit.

 

[hulabird]

We are splitting our stay as well between BWI for 7 nights and CBR for 3 nights. We always stay at CBR too and wanted a change as well, but really love CBR and I am glad we will be there at least a few days.

If you choose CBR you won't be sorry!

 

[kwdietrich1]

Hulabird: Thank you for your recommendation. DH chose POFQ first then CSR. MIL's choices: CSR then CBR. DH did not like the photos of CBR! Now what to do? My first choice is FQ then CSR. I would like to split the stay, but DH doesn't like that choice, and frankly, I like to unpack completely, and don't want to do that twice. I guess My DH and I win I guess! We'll see, I'll probably change my mind tomorrow(CBR does look pretty!) Oh well, I;ll probably change my mind by tomorrow! If our budget was larger, there would be no problem; WL all the way

 

[Nolcrest]

DH made a good choice. If mobility is an issue I would definately choose POFQ. It is a beautiful compact resort that also offers transportation to DTD by boat. My second choice would be CSR. It really seems to have a deluxe feel to it. Plus if you got a room in the Casitas, you'd be close to food court, registratrion and bus stop. I hear transportation there is good. I would not choose CBR. Not my favorite and mobility could be an issue. Check in and Guest Services is in a seperate building from the food court. So, I agree with DH - POFQ and then CSR. FOr the deluxe feel I'd go CSR and POFQ. Good luck deciding.

 

[HopperFan]

Love CSR - a beautiful resort with great amenities. We would go back in a heartbeat. We also have been to POR many times.

What caught my eye about your post was the question of "victorian" - look at some photos of the inside of the Mansion side rooms at POR. These rooms would be close to that description (we've stayed in them twice), and possibly those at POFQ are similar. They also have a fishing hole at POR, I'm not sure you would be allowed to fish in the lake at CSR, but I don't know.

POFQ is truly your smallest resort and will be the easiest to navigate. Being a sister resort to POR, you can use the amenties over there too. And hasn't it just been refurbished....

CBR is our least favorite for many reasons, but one that I think would be a big issue for you is the size and what we felt was poor transportation.

 

[kwdietrich1]

Wow! Nolcrest and Hopperfan. Such convincing recommendations! I think we're definitely eliminating CBR as a choice. What is appealing to DH and I is the high speed internet access at CSR. Nice amenity. I thought I had read that you can also cane pole fish at CSR as well? DH would be happy for that!

I know that AP rates are limited at many resorts and sometimes aren't available at all at some resorts. So that is why I am really fretting about 1st, 2nd and 3rd choices. If there is availability at CSR and FQ I'll probably have to flip a coin!

Now what should I request?

CSR: Casitas (building 1 or 2?) Is there a preferred or waterview location to choose in the Casitas?

FQ- I thought I read that building 4 or 5 were close to the food court?

Thank you for all your help!

 

[DNBois]

I always feel as if I have to defend CBR (don;t mind me; I have no idea why people think that CBR is too large or the transportation is not up to par but we love the resort and since we are going for our FOURTH TIME, there must be something about it that we like.
Your decision will most likely have to come down to theme - CBR is tropical, CSR is southwestern and POFQ seems to be victorian/new orleans style so it just depends on your taste but we have always loved CBR - think that transportation is always great, rooms always clean and very large for a moderate and we always stay within a 5 minute walk to the food court.
I'm sure any one of these resorts will suit you fine - I just had to be in my two cents (again - thanks for listening (or reading

 

[kwdietrich1]

Thank you DNBois I do appreciate your views on CBR. From the pics I think CBR is a pretty resort. Since I am a Spanish teacher and have travelled to many Spanish Speaking countries, I am thinking that CSR might fit into my tastes better. Although, my DH did say that we must visit as many of the resorts as possible this time, so we won't have to go through this each time we are planning a trip. I will truly not know until I see each resort first hand, but I really appreciate everyone's opinions and views. It really does help. If I were to stay at CBR, I think I would choose Martinique, since that is one of the places we visited while on our honeymoon.

If anyone else has any other view, please post them!