Moderate Advice Needed...

[shburks]

Considering a mommy/son trip some time over the next 9 months or so with my ds (7) while my husband is deployed. Ideally, I'd love to stay at Contemporary or Poly for convenience sake BUT right now, the couple of dates I'm looking at do not have good room options (i.e. only club level available at CR, for example) and may not be able to stomach the costs of Poly or CR!!

We've never stayed at a moderate...is there one that is small (compact) and more centrally located to Epcot and MK?

I have some foot issues so I'd like to minimize the walking at the resort since there is so much park walking and also minimize EITHER the commute to MK or Epcot.

 

[emcclay]

I would highly suggest CSR. Reserve a preferred room and you are guaranteed a room in Casitas 1, 2, or 3. Close to the main building and Casitas quiet pool. CSR is centrally located- the bus rides are short! I have yet to have any problems there with buses, food, laundry, noise, etc. My mom has Fibromyalgia and cannot walk long distances- she had no problems at CSR. Hope I helped!

 

[reindeer]

Considering a mommy/son trip some time over the next 9 months or so with my ds (7) while my husband is deployed. Ideally, I'd love to stay at Contemporary or Poly for convenience sake BUT right now, the couple of dates I'm looking at do not have good room options (i.e. only club level available at CR, for example) and may not be able to stomach the costs of Poly or CR!!

We've never stayed at a moderate...is there one that is small (compact) and more centrally located to Epcot and MK?

I have some foot issues so I'd like to minimize the walking at the resort since there is so much park walking and also minimize EITHER the commute to MK or Epcot.

Have you considered the Swan or Dolphin?

 

[minnie mum]

POFQ is the standard answer to the request for minimal walking and a compact resort. However I don't think it has the best pool and play area for a young son. Any of the larger mod resorts can be easily handled if you pay for a preferred room which would put you closest to the main food building. At CBR this would also put you close to the main pool.

CBR is closest to DHS. POR and POFQ are closest to Epcot and are probably the most centrally located on property. CSR is probably closest to AKL, but is not far from DHS.

 

[jen42002]

We stayed at POFQ when our kids were 7. They loved the pool and the resort. The boat to Downtown Disney is also a plus. We stayed at POR this year and while it is beautiful, the resort is so large we felt a bit lost. Definitely missed POFQ.

The furthest room out at POFQ is less than a 5 minute walk. It actually took us less time to get to the buses and main building at POFQ then when I have stayed at WL, Contemporary, Poly and AKL.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[shburks]

HA! Mixed opinions here, but I appreciate the thoughts!

 

[shburks]

Have you considered the Swan or Dolphin?

No, I really haven't. We're a military family, so our last four trips have been offset by using the military discount on resort rooms which isn't applicable to Dolphin/Swan. I know there are some similarities to the WDW resorts but I'm not sure what they are...Magical Express and WDW bus transport are an absolute must for the trip. Are these available via Dolphin/Swan?

The furthest room out at POFQ is less than a 5 minute walk. It actually took us less time to get to the buses and main building at POFQ then when I have stayed at WL, Contemporary, Poly and AKL.

Thanks! This is exactly the kind of information I was looking for! I've read several times that this is a nice, compact resort.

POFQ is the standard answer to the request for minimal walking and a compact resort. However I don't think it has the best pool and play area for a young son. Any of the larger mod resorts can be easily handled if you pay for a preferred room which would put you closest to the main food building. At CBR this would also put you close to the main pool.

CBR is closest to DHS. POR and POFQ are closest to Epcot and are probably the most centrally located on property. CSR is probably closest to AKL, but is not far from DHS.

We typically don't spend a TON of time at the resort and stay at Value resorts just as often as Deluxes, so we're pretty flexible with pools! Quite possibly we'll be there at a time where we won't utilize pools anyway. My only experience with CBR was that it was HUGE and spread out with all those bus stops around the resort...felt like it would take forever just to pick up everyone at the resort before leaving for a park! We will spend more of our time at EPCOT and MK (only one day at DHS) and probbably not at DTD at all (or very minimally) so CBR might not be the best option for us.

I would highly suggest CSR. Reserve a preferred room and you are guaranteed a room in Casitas 1, 2, or 3. Close to the main building and Casitas quiet pool. CSR is centrally located- the bus rides are short! I have yet to have any problems there with buses, food, laundry, noise, etc. My mom has Fibromyalgia and cannot walk long distances- she had no problems at CSR. Hope I helped!

Thanks for this information. I briefly looked at CSR one time before choosing WL instead. I'll take a good look at it.

 

[mamamary]

I would rec. POFQ. It's a small, compact resort - very little walking which is a huge plus with kids. At that age he will def. enjoy the pool. I felt there was alot of walking at CBR and CSR even with pref. rooms.

 

[buzznina]

If resort size and walking are the main issue then;
POFQ very small and close to everything
POR preferred area close to main bldg and main pool
CSR Request Cabana section, located between main pool and main bldg. The preferred bldgs (Casitas 1-3) are close to main bldg but it is a bit of a walk to the main pool. But cannot guarantee getting the cabana section since it is just a request.
CBR Preferred area is close to main pool and main bldg.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

POFQ is my favorite moderate, mostly due to its smaller size. So I'd definitely recommend that on the moderate level.

But if you were looking at the CR or Poly due to the proximity to the MK, have you considered the Wilderness Lodge? They have the boat transportation to the MK. It's all one building and I didn't feel it was too spread out. Plus, along with AKL, it's the least expensive of the Disney deluxe hotels. I've stayed at both the Poly and the WL, and consider those two hotels my favorites of all the WDW resorts.

 

[DJFan88]

My 7 year old was afraid of the big masks at the food court when we checked it out and so when I booked this trip he said not there. So I booked POR instead. Just a thought.

If you can swing it the WL idea sounds great, and boat to MK.

 

[Terkina]

You can't use DME to Dolphin/Swan

 

[shburks]

POFQ is my favorite moderate, mostly due to its smaller size. So I'd definitely recommend that on the moderate level.

But if you were looking at the CR or Poly due to the proximity to the MK, have you considered the Wilderness Lodge? They have the boat transportation to the MK. It's all one building and I didn't feel it was too spread out. Plus, along with AKL, it's the least expensive of the Disney deluxe hotels. I've stayed at both the Poly and the WL, and consider those two hotels my favorites of all the WDW resorts.

We've stayed at WL twice and love it! I certainly have not ruled it out...just trying to price out some options and looking for my best moderate option.

 

[shburks]

You can't use DME to Dolphin/Swan

That's what I thought. We'd be flying in from PHL or BWI so def need ME.

 

[brandyc]

I took my mom, and she had problems walking and POR was a great small place to stay on proberty!! Loved it!