Moderates: I just can't decide

[winelover82]

Type A me has read the reviews, scanned the board and just winds up more confused!

Traveling in February. Myself, husband, daughter (7) and son (5). We stayed at Pop last time. Kids loved it. Looking at a moderate this time around.

Love the idea of boat transportation to Disney Springs from POR/POFQ.

Love the pool/slide at CSR.

The theming at CBR looks nice.

We're looking for a place with decent food including a table service restaurant (mostly not picky eaters, minus the youngest), a nice pool (kids are swimmers), and somewhat easy transportation to the parks. We're not opposed to using a cab or Uber to get to/from the parks if the buses are too crowded with long waits but would prefer the buses. The size of CBR spooks me a bit but we'd be willing to pay for a preferred room to be closer to the main entrance/dining. We will be spending a decent amount of time at the resort as all day in the parks would be a bit too much for the kiddos, so something with kid activities would be nice.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[disneyseniors]

We have stayed at Coronado Springs and POR. Coronado Springs is beautiful, but spread out. We asked for a preferred close to main bldg., and got the casitas #3. It was a beautiful building with fountains, etc. But as far as it being close to the main area, we felt that it was still quite a walk from Casitas. That was supposed to be the closest building to the main bldg. Check it out online. We never made it over the bridge to the pool area, but we aren't swimmers, and really didn't want to make the trek. They have the Pepper Market for QS and the Maya grill for sit down. Honestly, I don't remember much about the meals as it was several years ago.
We stayed at POR and call it our home resort. We love the AB section and everything about it. Apparently it is supposed to be as big as CS, but it doesn't seem like it. We stay as close to the Mill as we can, but there are sections that are way out, plus the mansions are over the bridge.
I think it depends on what YOU want out of a resort. If the Mexican type décor is what you want, then CS might be for you. I understand their pool is spectacular. POR's main pool is found to be small and lacking by some others. Each resort has a sit down and QS restaurant.
POR has 2 areas: the alligator bayou section and the Mansions. The mansions are more elegant and orderly with manicured lawns and fountains. We like the secluded, tropical feel of the AB area. The quiet pools are nice, and there are winding pathways over little bridges. It is easy to get lost in the AB area with their pathways, but we prefer it.
I guess it depends on what you want. They are both comparable andvery nice. We've never stayed at CB, but hear it is very nice and tropical too.
Hope this helps somewhat. Wherever you stay, you will have a ball.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Type A me has read the reviews, scanned the board and just winds up more confused!

Traveling in February. Myself, husband, daughter (7) and son (5). We stayed at Pop last time. Kids loved it. Looking at a moderate this time around.

Love the idea of boat transportation to Disney Springs from POR/POFQ.

Love the pool/slide at CSR.

The theming at CBR looks nice.

We're looking for a place with decent food including a table service restaurant (mostly not picky eaters, minus the youngest), a nice pool (kids are swimmers), and somewhat easy transportation to the parks. We're not opposed to using a cab or Uber to get to/from the parks if the buses are too crowded with long waits but would prefer the buses. The size of CBR spooks me a bit but we'd be willing to pay for a preferred room to be closer to the main entrance/dining. We will be spending a decent amount of time at the resort as all day in the parks would be a bit too much for the kiddos, so something with kid activities would be nice.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help.

I would go with Riverside or Coronado based on your main priorities. I'd lean towards Riverside preferred if you wanted to be near the main building with the restaurants since Riverside is also quite large, although it does have extensive pathways from all areas of the resort to the main pool and building.

French Quarter does not have its own table service place; you'd need to go over to Riverside for that. However, POFQ only has one bus stop for the compact resort, so it wins in that area. French Quarter and Riverside are considered sister resorts, so you could stay at FQ and use the pool and TS at Riverside.

Caribbean Beach had 7 internal bus stops; I'm not sure what the current and future situation is because their construction is extensive. POR and CSR both have 4 stops, which is more manageable while riding yet still allows for close access to a stop from rooms around the resort.

Based on your comment about how CBR seems so large, you may want to reconsider CSR. It's also huge. The fantastic pool is in the area (Ranchos) that are farthest from the main building housing the restaurants, and there's no short bridge across the lake like at CBR. (There's a bridge, but it's not across the middle of the lake - it's much closer to the Cabanas section.)

 

[AllieBoo]

We've stayed at all the mods and out of all of them, POFQ is our favorite. It's a smaller resort, bus service was always great, good food court, and the pool is nice (plus you can use the pool at POR). CSR is also very nice and has a great pool. CBR was our least favorite. We had terrible bus service and just did not like how spread out the resort was.

 

[megs1313]

You can throw out the idea of CBR. Just throw it away.

I think the cafeteria at POR is the best on property and if you book preferred, you'll be right near everything. That's my advice.

 

[amccu18007]

I think that I would rate them in this order based on your comments.
1. CSR~resort seems most deluxe like, pool is nice, option of both a great food court area and a table service.
2 POFQ~ you have all of the POR amenities but everything is much easier to get to within the resort. Boat to DS is so lovely.
3.POR~ Great pool, nice food court. I am not a fan of the table service here or how long it seems to take to get everywhere. Resort itself is very pretty.
4. CBR~ It is under construction and will be for sometime so I would scratch this one off of your list.

 

[AntJulie]

CBR is our least favorite. Their main pool is nice, but bus service and food choices not so much. Would stay at CSR again. Bus service was great. Nice resort and pool. Staying at POR this trip...stayed there many years ago when it was Dixie Landings!

 

[HopperFan]

We're looking for a place with decent food including a table service restaurant (mostly not picky eaters, minus the youngest), a nice pool (kids are swimmers), and somewhat easy transportation to the parks. We're not opposed to using a cab or Uber to get to/from the parks if the buses are too crowded with long waits but would prefer the buses. The size of CBR spooks me a bit but we'd be willing to pay for a preferred room to be closer to the main entrance/dining. We will be spending a decent amount of time at the resort as all day in the parks would be a bit too much for the kiddos, so something with kid activities would be nice.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help.

All resorts have comparable kid activities with very like schedules so based on bold .... CSR.

- CSR has more dining options than any other moderate and most other resorts, including some quick serve at pool.
- CSR has one of the best pools on property, one of best slides on property, biggest hot tub and great for swimmers.
- CSR is one of the most centrally located resorts to all and very good transportation.

The pool area is one of the best planned where you only have to walk a few steps to pool, hot tub, slide, bar, quick service, refillable mug, bathrooms, arcade, awesome play area (with giant game board), sun, shade, lots of lounges and tables. We can spend all day there without having to go anywhere because it is so self contained.

Beautiful resort, stunning at night .... we find ourselves wandering looking at landscape, flowers, critters in water and great main building. One of our very favorites to spend time at.

 

[twoplustwins]

We've stayed at all the moderates except for POFQ.

CSR - our favorite. Kids loved the pool (really LOVED it!!!) and we had great transportation. We liked the onsite restaurants. Our room was updated and so nice. The grounds were really pretty. The CMs were great as well.

POR - beautiful, lush grounds. We thought the restaurants were okay. We didn't have good transportation. Didn't have a chance to use the pool. The rooms felt very dated to us. CMs were nice.

CBR - our least favorite. It was before the change to queen beds, so at least that is better now. We did not like the restaurants. We had awful transportation. Pool was nice.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I've stayed in all except CBR. The size of it is just too scary.

POFQ is the most compact and that is a big plus. However, while the pool is very nice, it's only the one unless you venture to Riverside, and the slide is really boring for older kids. If your children are swimmers over the age of 8, they won't be happy with it.

POR was really nice in every way except for the buses. They were always packed and took different routes randomly. The order of drop-off could be different every time, and I found that frustrating. Pools are very nice, slide is decent, and you have Yee Haw Bob entertaining in the lounge. My kids liked the arcade there, and even the gift shop was very nice.

CSR is my favorite. Loved the Pepper Market. It feels almost like a TS restaurant with real dishes and silverware. We stayed in Cabanas 8A both times we were there. It's close to the pool (which is fabulous) and the walk to the main building is manageable. Buses all flow in the same direction and generally were not packed. Some say that because it's a Convention hotel, less people use the buses than at other resorts. IDK, but buses were plentiful both our stays there.

Good luck with wherever you decide.

 

[masylimed]

Of the three moderates, we have only stayed at POR. It is one of my favorite resorts. Love the food court and the overall atmosphere. We've never dined at their sit-down restaurant though. From the moment you walk into the main building, I think that the resort has a relaxing atmosphere about it that is a welcome change from the hustle-bustle of vacation days. The buses to the parks are the down side to this resort as they are often very slow and crowded.

One possible plus to this resort would be the murphy bed in the AB portion of the rooms. Although you are a family of 4, this bed could give you a 3rd sleeping option if the kids don't want to sleep with mom/dad or each other. I've stayed on both the AB and Mansion side of the resort. Each side has a different feel. Depending upon where your room is on the AB side, it can feel that it takes a long time to get to the food court as the pathways are a bit twisty. The mansion are laid out with straight walkways that seem more direct even though you have to cross the river. But either have never bothered me as I have always felt this helped with the theming of each side.

 

[trouttigger]

We've stayed at all 3. PO is by far my favorite. Boating to Disney Springs just can't be beat. Everything there is very nice. DH and I stayed off property in June but drove to POFQ on our way out of town to have beignets. Oh, just thinking about it makes me want to go!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

With the construction going on at CBR and CSR I would go with POR and POFQ.

I've done CBR twice and loved it. I want to try CSR. I love the look of it and the pool looks amazing. But I won't until construction is done.

 

[Dis703]

While CBR in my opinion has the better pool of the mods, their TS restaurant is currently closed and I don't believe it will be open by February for your trip. So if TS matters that may take it out of the running.

 

[loves to dive]

I've stayed at all except POFQ and each has something to offer. I guess if I had to choose a favorite I'd say POR is mine but given your desire, CSR would probably be a better fit. They have more than one table service restaurant, a great pool and even at the farthest point nothing is really that far away.

As others have mentioned CBR is under heavy construction, which wouldn't bother me but given you want to eat at the resort and they have their restaurants closed, I don't think that would work for you.

CSR does have some construction going on but they haven't closed anything, we were there in March and right across from where they were tearing down a building and weren't disturbed in the least.

POR is a beautiful resort and does have the boat to DS. It has two distinctly different sides, I prefer the mansion side because I'm not really into rustic but both sides are beautifully landscaped. It has a great pool and beautiful quiet pools as well. It does have a sit down restaurant that gets mixed reviews.

As far as bus service, it is what it is and you are going to have good and bad bus service no matter where you stay, trust me I've stayed at all levels. CSR is pretty centrally located, none of the moderates are close to MK but then again, none of the resorts except the monorail resorts and WL are close to MK.

 

[Disneylover99]

I'd skip CBR until construction is done.

CSR also has construction, but restaurants/shops/pools are not affected. CSR also has newly refurbished rooms which look really nice.

POFQ/POR are my favourites for theming.

 

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

We have stayed at all four mods & our favorite by far is POR - we always book preferred so we are always in AB although we tried the mansions side one time & really didn't like the rooms. There's a quiet pool in the pod of rooms in the preferred section which we love, but the rooms are super close to the main pool. If you want tons of information on POR & POFQ check out www.portorleans.org. We have never had any issues whatsoever with the buses & we stay there at least 4x a year. We also love the boat ride to Disney Springs. Lots to do there. We've also done the carriage ride for our anniversary at POR. We love the food court, but have never tried the sit down restaurant as I'm super picky & can't find anything on the menu I'll eat.

 

[Eastern]

I've stayed at POR and POFQ. I prefer POFQ for the size, and the buses are convenient, too. People say they sometimes share with POR but that has not been my experience over several trips. The CS place has a decent amount of seating and if you want TS just walk over to Boatwright's. The food is good and you can almost always get a last minute ADR. You can use either pool. I also like the boat to Disney Springs. The pool at POFQ is smallish, but your kids are still young enough to be happy with it. I know they have some kids' activities like movies outside at night (I think they provide towels to sit on) but my kids are grown so I didn't really pay attention. They also have these bike/carriage things you can rent to ride around the resort, iirc.

Look at its size on a map, I love the convenience. No room is in a bad location and the grounds are very pretty. Your son will be chasing after little lizards all week, along the paths.

 

[Frankie Nova]

While CBR in my opinion has the better pool of the mods, their TS restaurant is currently closed and I don't believe it will be open by February for your trip. So if TS matters that may take it out of the running.

been there twice but POR this time around

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

We've stayed at CSR a number of times and love it there. The pool is terrific, slide is fun (even for us adults!), and we've always had good food at the Pepper Market, although we haven't tried any of the TS places. I've heard Maya Grill is good, though.

However, we were up for a change of scenery so we're trying POFQ on our upcoming trip in just a few days. My husband and I stayed there for an anniversary trip without our kids and we liked it, but it was 9 years ago. I'm interested to see what the kids think about it - I am pretty sure they'll be disappointed by the pool but it'll do for quick afternoon swims to cool off. I plan for us to spend at least part of our rest day over at POR to check out their pool and food court, so if I think of it I'll update in a couple of weeks with my kids' impressions of POFQ and POR.

One thing I've always liked about CSR is the totally immersive theming, and how I really feel like we're in the desert southwest. Being Floridians, we have a lot of the Caribbean-type architecture in our area, as well as the old Florida/Southern style. Lots of oak and magnolia trees, and POR just seems like it would feel like being at home. While the Casitas at CSR are considered "preferred" due to their proximity to the convention area on that side of the main building and adjacent to Casitas 1, we've always preferred the Cabanas area. It's not too far from the main building, and the bridge goes right across to the pool area. The Ranchos building that is next to the quiet pool is a good location, too. It's only about a 12-minute walk to the main building (walking with children), and 3 minutes to the main pool. If you can spring for the Business Class rooms in Cabanas 9B, they're very close to the main building, and are a club-level-light with drinks and snacks available.

Good luck with whatever you choose!