Moderate hotels - help!

[Bakerswife]

Hi all,

This is my first post. We are planning a trip to WDW after Thanksgiving this year and need some advice. We have only stayed on the property once at the AKL and LOVED it; however, we did not do any of the parks and used the hotel as our vacation. This time we are going to do the whole thing - all 4 major parks but no water parks. Because of that, we need to save some money and AKL is probably out of our price range. Since we have not stayed anywhere else, I was looking for some advice on which moderate hotel is recommended by you all!

We have two children that will be almost 3 and almost 6 at the time we go. We want to have some fun stuff at the hotel like a good pool. We want convenience in traveling too as we will use the resort transportation.

So, which do you recommend from the following?

CBR
CSR
PO French Quarter
PO Riverside

Also, we are waiting on some Florida resident rates to be released. Anyone know how far in advance they usually do that?

Thanks so much.

BW

 

[cobbler]

I don't know what your budget is but have you looked into the Values? My kids are 4 and 8 and they loved being at the ASSports. Both boys however. The moderates are great too but if you are looking to save on $$ because of being at the parks more you kids may like the large themeing that is at the Values.

Personally though my favorite modearte is the Coronado. I love the slide and the pyramid pool. I haven't been to FQ yet, going there this year but Coronado is my fav moderate. Pepper market has yummy food.

 

[Grumpy92]

I would suggest POFQ. The resort is small, they rehabbed the rooms last summer and the dragon pool is cute. We also enjoy the boat that goes to DTD. We were in bldg 4 last time which was the perfect location for the food court and the bus stop. We never waited long for a bus at all, less then 5 mins.

Disney usually releases the discounts about 2-3 months out. I also wanted to add that you will be going at an excellent time. All the xmas decorations will be up and so will the shows. You might want to take the children to the GF one evening, enjoy the holiday music and treat them to gingerbread cookies from the giant gingerbread house in the lobby. They will also enjoy the tree lighting at MK and the Osbourne lights at MGM.

 

[Destination Disney]

I agree with Grumpy92.
We stayed at the POR and when we took to boat to DTD and passed "Scales" the giant sea monster slide at POFQ, my 2 1/2 yr. old son freaked out. (In good way!) Now I am wishing we would of stayed there.

You can also rent surrey bikes and drive them around both the POR and POFQ. The river is great and you have both Bus and Boat transportation.

 

[Bakerswife]

I have not really taken too much of a look at the Value resorts. One person told me that they were "really decorated Motel 6"! Not sure about that? Thoughts? Also, what is the transportation like going back and forth to the parks.

And BTW, both kids are boys.

BW

 

[cobbler]

Well I was always one of those where I wasn't going to try a value resort. But last year we got a great rate and decided to go value and stay longer than go moderate and stay shorter.

I would say all in all I was quite pleased. The rooms are a touch smaller but nothing major. They are better than a motel 6. They have a fun theme. We were there for 9 nights last year. Me, hubby DS8 and DS3 (at the time). It was fine.

We are going to a value again this year in November for a short 4 night stay as we want to get in another trip before our APs expire and figured value would be the way to go.

We split our stay last year between POP and ASSports. The boys and hubby really liked the sports and it was fun. We honestly weren't in our room that long at all. Just in the evening to unwind and go to sleep (since the park hours are a bit shorter in December).

I wasn't going to go crazy and kill them and we weren't cramped.

The transportation was good. We stayed at POP the first half and they have their own bus and things went well. sports they share a bus with movies and music and most of the time we got our own bus to and from because they were full. The lines waiting to get on the bus after visiting a park I would say was the biggest thing, not bad, but the line can get long quick.

 

[colleen costello]

As you seem to be a family that enjoys some down-time at the resorts, I think a Moderate would suit you best. The extra amenities are great. I would suggest either Port Orleans Riverside or French Quarter. These properties are recently renovated and just beautiful. They have wonderful landscaping, exciting themed pools, and lots of other activites (like fishing and boat rental and even horse-and-carriage rides!) There is a food court at each resort and Riverside has a lounge plus a sit-down restaurant. As they are "sister" resorts, you are allowed to use the pools and amenities at both resorts. Can't go wrong! While I think all the moderates are great, PO-R is my favorite. We have stayed lots of times and never been disappointed.

 

[lulugirl]

My favorite moderate is POR w/ POFQ being a close second. They are both lovely, beautifully landscaped.
Our last trip to WDW we stayed at POFQ and paid $94 a night using a code from Mousesaver.com.

 

[BethC1952]

My 3 1/2 year old granddaughter and 8 year old niece loved PO Riverside, the Alligator Bayou area. Why? Because there were bunnies outside! They both found the animals (bunnies, birds, ducks, etc.) to be the best part of the resort!

My niece also loved the decor. She said it was just like camping, only you didn't have to sleep outside. She also loved the slide at the pool. The adults in the group really enjoyed the hot tub!

Beth

 

[Buzz2001]

CSR. Check out my CSR website below for pics, links and info

 

[Ergens2]

I would go with one of the Port Orleans resorts. POFQ is nice because it is smaller and not so much walking and the serpant slide is great. POR is fun because your boys will feel like they are Tom Sawer with the fishing and ducks and Old Man Pond. Lots of fun to be had at both. The transp. from these sister resorts is very good, IMO. You have bus service to the parks and boat service to DTD. That way if you want to hop over to DTD to visit the lego land you are just a nice quiet boat ride away.

 

[Ergens2]

BTW... Welcome!!!! :thewave:

 

[2MuchOhana]

WELCOME to the DIS!

My vote is for the POFQ! But choose a resort that speaks to you and your family. I personally think CSR looks like it might be nice; but I am violently allergic to bell peppers! LOL. So, no Pepper Market for me!

Jodi

 

[estnh]

We love the moderates, and have stayed at them all. They are all beautiful in their own right, but we like both the Port Orleans resorts, with FQ probably being the favorite.

CBR and CSR are just too large. We found it very inconvenient to get around sometimes. PO Riverside is large, but seems to be laid out better, while POFQ is compact, and easy to get from one place to another. We think that FQ is almost as good as some of the deluxe resorts.