Moderate Resorts

[italia218]

Hi Everyone!!

This is my first post to the DISboards! My little brother is a very active member (captinhookedondisney) and we both share the same love for Disney, so I am actually really surprised I have not done this earlier. Anyways, I have been to Disney World more times that I actually know, my guess would be somewhere around 15? My family has timeshare at the Marriott World Center and just recently (in the past 7 years or so) has stayed on Disney property. I love both experiences; don't get me wrong the vacations' itinerary always revolved around getting to Disney, but being off propery and staying on property are two totally different experiences.

My boyfriend and I have gone twice. We stayed at the Pop Century both times. The first time we went we got the regular dining plan and then the second time we went we purchased the deluxe dining plan. We booked both vacations during the free dining promotion which was great. The thing I did not love about Pop was the distance we had to travel to get around. We had a few scheduling mishaps purely because we didn't know how much travel time to allot.
Two years ago my brother, sister, and I stayed a night at Port Orleans French Quarters and had a pretty good time, but I wasn't there long enough to really get the full experience. I did like to boats and traveling seemed to be a little easier.

So my question to you, fellow Disney lovers, what is your favorite moderate resort? I really want to book a trip for the Wine and Food Festival in the Fall and am torn about where to stay...

Thanks guys! Have a Magical Day!!

 

[Hopefully]

My favorite Moderate resort is Port Oleans French Quarter. I love the themeing and it is a small resort. Everything is close by. We have stayed in Building 5 and been near the pool, the Food Court, the Bus Stop and the parking lot.
I did not like CBR at all. It just wasn't for me.
I have not stayed at CSR although it is beautiful.
Good Luck in your decision

 

[Missytara]

I would definately check out each of the official threads for each resort and decide what theme works for you.

I love POR. It is my home away from home ('nuf said).

 

[I Love Pluto]

You will get 4 different answers to this question. There are 4 mods, so each person will pick their own favorite for you.

If you like Pop, you'll love CBR. All of the workers are extremely pleasant, and will go out of their way to help you - just like at Pop.

Have a great vacation!

 

[elaw]

I love POR.

It's my favorite moderate too

 

[ZebraDomeCrazy]

This is tough, as there are pros and cons to each. Here are some things that come to mind to me. All of the moderates offer more than Pop. Only CSR has queen size beds. CSR also has a few more ammenities, such as a fitness center, larger lounge, plus an extra outdoor bar with nice table seating, in addition to the pool bar. POR and FQ have the wonderful plus of the boats to Downtown, which is really nice for evenings out. POR and FQ are close enough to walk between. My DH prefers the smallness of FQ, where I prefer the food court, lounge and pool area at Riverside. I only stayed at CBR once and it was many years ago, so I cannot really give an opinion of that one.

Not sure what ammenities are important to you. If you list a few, I can respond again to more specific questions about these resorts. They are all really great. We always have a tough time choosing between the moderates. If you will be going to DTD alot, then you really should be at POR or FQ. Jane

 

[Backstage_Gal]

This is tough, as there are pros and cons to each. Here are some things that come to mind to me. All of the moderates offer more than Pop. Only CSR has queen size beds.

This is not true anymore. All of FQ was refurbished in 2011 with queen beds. 2 buildings in POR Mansions are refurbished with queens, as are 4 buildings at Alligator Bayou section. All of POR will have queen beds by the end of summer.

 

[captinhookedondisney]

 

[captinhookedondisney]

And DS (Disney Sister) you made me sound like I was 10

 

[skater]

POR is my favorite by far, but you should probably choose the one with the most appealing theme (to you).

I like POR for the beautiful main pool area, the great food court (one of the best on property, IMO), and the boat to DTD (the only way to get there that's not totally frustrating).

 

[goofyintoronto]

POR is my favorite by far, but you should probably choose the one with the most appealing theme (to you).

I like POR for the beautiful main pool area, the great food court (one of the best on property, IMO), and the boat to DTD (the only way to get there that's not totally frustrating).

Yup my fave too! I found it way nicer than POFQ to be honest. Food court is better (make your own pasta!), grounds are prettier and more lush in my opinion. You have bike/surrey bike & boat rentals at POR....its just amazing. The refurbed rooms also give you two queen beds.

 

[DizDaD7]

This is tough. But like PP stated yuo'll get pros and cons from all different people.

You said you were going during Food and Wine. You may want to check out some of the Epcot resorts for the ease of travel to and from epcot. Swan and doplhin may be closer to the price range of the Mods.

Here goes my take on the Mods.

Like yourself. I did the Values, and loved tem. Still do. My thing was We were park junkies all day, everyday, b-4 we had the kids and for the 1st 3 times with them. Resort then = Clean place to recoup and regenerat for next day.
It's alil spread out too, but not too bad.

Anyhow. 1st off CBR. To me gave me the feel of the values. This resort is reall spread out. Main check in bldg. no where near the rooms either. Pool is a + though. Very nice. Rooms Updated ones are nice. Bus service haven't used so I can't comment on it.

2nd POR Just stayed there for 9 nights in Nov. I was skeptical going into it but was pleasntly surprised and happy that we were there.
Got into main bldg. politely asked if there were any bldgs avail. in the mansions. To my surprise they put us up in the refurbed rooms at the Magnolia. Beautiful bldg & very close to everything. Pool Was awesome. Theming was perfect , nice water slide , and real close to everything. Bus Service This was just ok at best. 4 stops coming home from parks is good , and in the morning there are lots of people ,but enough buses to keep you in ck. I did stand a few of the times , but not a big issue. Food Court Reminded me a lot of the values. Way way packed w/ people. The food was delish tough. Make your own pasta bowls , and salads. Just Way crowded.

3rd POFQ Theming to me is ok at best. It is a nice quaint smaller size, and if you don't like to walk much. this is for you. It just was too close for comfort for me. Kinda claustraphobic. Pool Although nice , the dragon and loads of lil kids made it on the ehh side. Plus no trees, so no where to hide from the SUN. Opposite of POR. Bus service and Food Pretty much the same as POR. Although 1 nice feature is the Boats to DTD, from both, that I forgot to mention.

4th CSR Last but not least.Big resort, spread out like the other 2, but the theming here is definetely nice. grounds are pretty too. Pool Although they have a really nice main pool, it's just a decent walk from your room if you are staying close to the main bldg. Food[/B Pepper Market to me was the best out of all of the mods. I don't mind being seated 1st. It takes literally 10 seconds, then you go up n get your food. The different choices are ample as well. a small tip at best is the only difference, but they do seat you and bring your beverages. Bus ride BEST YET!!! on Disney property...Hands down. 4 stops to all the areas. But Never, I say NEVER did we stand to or from any park or DTD. The fact that it's a convention resort helps that. Also Not as crowded near the main pool too. So if this appeals to you then go for it.

My order would be.

Close between POR n CSR for 1st
POFQ for 3rd choice
CBR last. Sry. Just not my thing here. that's all.

Lets face it any choice you make Disney will make it feel like it's the best place to be. Happy Hunting, and have fun.

 

[boscov]

Stayed at almost every mod, visited every resort in Disney, POR is my favorite mod by far.

 

[Julie711]

We have only stayed 2 CBR ( 4times) before and really enjoy it. We love the caribbean feel, music, beaches with hammocks, landscaping, nice gift shop and the main pool area is awesome! Each island has its own private pool and laundry rooms. The food court is average. Bus transportation is good never any problems, id say most we ever waited was 15 minutes. MK is the futherest park which is about a 15 min ride, all other parks within 5-10 minutes. Customer service has always been nice and helpful. Rooms have always been clean and kept clean and stocked each day.

Have a good trip

 

[DancingMinnie]

My boyfriend and I stayed at CSR in January 09 and it was his second time ever to WDW. He loooved it! I love it as well- have stayed there many many times.

We had an updated room right near the pool and the pool is amazing! And although our room was near the pool, we never could hear the pool noisiness in our room.

Although the resort is really spread out, you can request certain buildings to be in. I can't remember what building we were in anymore but we were near the pool, near a bus stop, and about 10 minutes from the main bldg and the Pepper Market.

PM is good- many choices and you can get in and out pretty quickly.

The buses were also great! We never waited more than 10 mins and we never had a bus that was full.

I would definitely recommend it! We are going back again (finally!) this November for the end of the F&W Festival but we are going to try the Beach Club this year!

 

[cmhguy]

As far as the distance to travel and time it takes to get around, you will essentially have the same scenarios at all value and moderate resorts. This can be one of the learning curves on a first WDW visit.

I've stayed at both, and if I plan to be at the parks for the majority of the day and eve, then Pop is great with me. For 2 people, the differences in what you are using between Pop and POR is minimal.

The one thing I LOVED about POP were the buses. Only 1 stop - everyone gets on and off, versus the moderates having to journey around the entire resort to every stop - and sometimes at POR you have to go to POFQ too. I felt like I got to the parks faster from Pop - and it felt more central in travel time to all 4 parks vs. POR. It felt like we would never get to AK from POR. The buses at both resorts were typically standing room only at peak times, so I found no difference in crowd levels or wait times between them.

As the other posters have pointed out, there are marginal differences, but for 2 people - is it worth it? To me, only if you are spending a lot of down-time at your resort - to use the quiet pools, the landscaping and TS dinning options.

 

[aubriee]

I go to WDW several times a year and have stayed at three of the Values, four of the Deluxes, and all four of the moderates. I've pretty much settled on the moderates as my resorts of choice and have stayed at all four more than once. I'd rank them:

#1. CSR
#2. POFQ (really a tie with CSR)
#3. PORS
#4. CBR

My opinions on each one:
1. CSR-best bus service on property, longest pool slide of the moderates, biggest hot tub on property, a lounge that is adults only after certain hours, most comfortable beds, loved their food court (until they turned breakfast and lunch into a buffet CS--great deal if on the DDP, but not so much if you are paying OOP), doesn't feel as large as PORS and CBR, but still large, love the white sand beaches and hammocks in the Cabana section and the lovely fountains in the Casitas section.

2. POFQ smallest resort on property so no room is very far from the food court or bus stop, first stop and drop off when sharing buses with PORS, love the boat to DTD, love Elliott Dyson's show in the lounge. The only thing we don't like is that POFQ is the only mod to not have a TS restaurant, but it's an easy walk or boat ride over to PORS and the boat to DTD opens up alot of dining options.

3. PORS is big resort but very pretty and peaceful. We love the boat to DTD, but are not fond of the bus service. The bus stops first at POFQ, so at least when we've been there, alot of the buses are full by the second stop at PORS.They have one of the best food courts on property though and we love Ye Ha Bob's show in the lounge.

4. CBR is our least favorite mod. Housekeeping has been pretty bad every time we've stayed there and so has the bus service. There are like seven stops just to get out of the resort and it seemed to take forever and the buses just seemed alot more crowded than at the other moderates. We also did not care for their food court or TS restaraunt either. They are also the only moderate that will not have queen size beds (after PORS finished their refurb that is). Our other problem with the resort is that the main pool and hot tubs seemed to always be packed. It is a very pretty resort though with it's tropical feel. For some reason it feels larger than the other moderates too (maybe because their lake is bigger than the one at CSR and of course POFQ and PORS don't have a lake). One thing we do like about CBR is their nice central location.

 

[cruisingkat]

We love Pop for a value, but don't like CBR. It is too large and spread out - seems to make Pop seem intimate. Our favorite moderates (well it's a tie) is POFQ and CS. We like POFQ for the same reasons as the previous poster and especially love the entertainment (Elliot Dyson) in the Scat Cat club on Wed. thru Sat evenings (even when we stay at other resorts, we still go to see him in the evening). We also love the hot tub at POFQ especially after a long day at the parks, though small it is very secluded and intimate with greenery all around - it makes you feel like you are in your own private spa.
POR is also very big - and some buildings do not have elevators. Even though they are only two stories, walking up stairs at the end of a long day of walking through parks can be a killer. If you stay at POFQ, you can use the food court, pools, bike rentals, etc. at Riverside.

 

[momjkm]

This is exactly the thread I was looking for... I stayed at POR when it was Dixie Landings... Have stayed at WL x3 and Pop once... But my travel companion this summer will be my 18 yr dd. (Our 1st trip was to Dixie Landings when she was 5-mon & daughter )

Anyway, I love WL but a main perk was the boat to MK. Now that doesn't matter as much. Would rather invest money in the DDP.... now that I don't have to order off the kids menu and can have dinner after 7pm...

I have 2 questions though: Do the moderates have refridges? ANd does POFQ (which attracts me due to its size) have a quiet pool?

Thanks all Jill

 

[cmhguy]

Yes, the moderates have fridges, and no POFQ does not have a quiet pool. You are permitted to use the POR pools, though.