Moderates

[monte]

Which moderate resort would you choose and why?

 

[HopperFan]

Port Orleans Riverside 0r Dixie Landings as we call it.....

*Great location whether you drive a car or use WDW Transp
*Great boat ride to Downtown Disney
*Well designed food court that makes counter service nice
*Great pool with distinct adult and child parts to it
*While a good size hotel, wrapped around the pool and not a long walk anywhere.
*Alligator Bayou rooms are rustic, private, lush landscape, have trundle beds and family oriented.
*Mansion side is victorian, beautiful gardens and details, graceful and great for adults
*Good size gift shop, marina with amenities and have had 4 great experiences there
*Plenty to do yet never felt crowded

Coronado Springs.....
*Yes it is a convention, but we spent little time near them
*Great big pool with slide and lots of chaises and seating
*Good playground for younger set and pool area had activity
*Ended up enjoying the food court (even though it is set up different) and thought the food was very good
*Very good if you want to do alot of pool time

Port Orleans...
Never stayed and have no desire
Have eaten there and walked around
Kids thought pool was too small and looked boring
Had a very cold feeling to it, saw very few people moving about
Main building not large and food court was just okay

Caribbean Beach...
Stayed there and never again.
Bad customer service at check in, horrible room that was not what I had prepaid for (I paid for water view and got view of parking lot and a stairwell), and they actually did not want to move us. When they did it was the farthest possible room.
It was a 15 minute walk with young ones to pool and food court.
Was a pretty resort to look at but felt it was not as well tended. Beaches are nice but have to tell the kids you can't swim.
Theme Pool way too small for size of hotel and even in the low season it was packed.
Food Court sounded like a school cafeteria and after one breakfast we drove to other hotels to eat in peace.
To us it was their first try at moderate and they have now learned from their mistakes and built some nice ones.

I have sent a number of people to Dixie Landings and they all come back thanking me for their best trip ever! If I had to pick the one I'd do again - it would be there.

 

[safetymom]

We have stayed at all the moderates and our favorite is Caribbean Beach.

We truly feel like we have escaped to the islands when we stay there. The customer service has been outstanding when we stay there. We also have had some pixie dust sprinkled on our room locations.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of them. You might want to visit my web site for photos and the CBR FAQ will tell you all about the resort including trip reports.

 

[halfway there]

Right now I would have to say Coronado Springs. We'll be at POR for the first time in Oct so it might change after that. We never stayed at CBR with kids. I thought it was a long walk everywhere then and that was back when I was young and energetic! Although I liked POFQ a lot, they've taken the sit down restaurant out of there so that brings it down a notch in my estimation.

As for CSR, here's what I like about it:

Since it is a convention resort, I believe less people are using the pools and bus transportation.

Pool, slide, theming and HUGE hot tub.

The different areas to choose from with their own theming and decor. You could have a completely different experience in each one.

The food court had great food and choices although I wasn't crazy about the set up. There's also a sit down restaurant serving breakfast and dinner. We loved the breakfast buffet.

Good location, near parks, BB and mini-golf.

 

[monte]

WOW! Thanks for the quick replies, you guys are great. I'm going to print out all the responses and view pictures of all the moderates before making a final decision. Do any of the moderates have a workout room? Thanks again for your help, I appreciate it.

Don't you just love this site?

 

[safetymom]

CSR has a health club.

 

[litlpixie]

The only moderate I've stayed at was Riverside(always Dixie Landings to me) and each time, they had to drag me outta there when it was time to go home. I especially love the walkway between the 2 resorts and I agree with the opinion that FQ has kind of cold feel to it, and the pool kind of small, but it is kind of neat to have a choice of food courts. Anyway, have a wonderful trip. Riverside was awesome and I would stay there anytime!!

 

[DisneyFan79]

My vote goes for CSR. We stayed there in May and loved it. The atmosphere at this resort is great. I really felt as though I was at a "true" resort. We stayed in Ranchos 7B which is what we requested. We were right by the quiet pool, the bus stop, and the Dig Site.

 

[yecats]

I vote for PORS. It is truly a beautiful resort and I think you will enjoy your stay there for the reasons listed in the first response.

CBR is also very nice and is very large and depending upon which area your room is in, you may have a nice walk to Custom House and main themed pool. A lot of people really don't mind the walk as it is very scenic and pretty; however, after a long day it can also be very tiring.

I have not stayed in Coronado Springs but did tour it when I was last at WDW in Dec. 2002. We did get to view one of the rooms as someone left it open while watching their children playing outside. Although I like this hotel I couldn't stay in one of those rooms as those bright bold colors together give me a migraine and would make me sick. That is the only reason that I wouldn't stay there. The dig pool and main building were very nice.

 

[HopperFan]

http://coronado_springs.tripod.com/

This guy put together a very informative site on Coronado Springs with photos. Check it out.

 

[Schmeck]

We've stayed at two moderates - CBR and POR.

CBR - long check in first time, better service second time. Great Mousekeepers both times, lots of silly poses for the stuffed animals when we got back to our rooms, etc. For such a large resort, it is very quiet. Both times we got standard view, and had nice views of the resort, no sign of a parking lot, etc. We had second floor rooms both times. I love the walk over the bridges/island to get to the food court. Love the quiet pools, expecially at night. Most times we had the whole pool to ourselves!

POR - stayed at the mansions, no special feeling for this place. Decor was very bland, like regular motel chain stuff. Room was on first floor, right next to a condenser unit. Very loud. Place seemed pretty rundown. The veneer on our furniture was chipped and scratched. We were there with 3 other family groups, and couldn't get another room close to them, or I would have changed location. Quiet pools were nice, Mousekeeping was OK, but no animal antics. I did get someone's left behind flowers for a day - that was a sweet surprise! Checked out Alligator Bayou, much better theming, but a bit of a maze to find your room! Loved the boat to DTD, did that almost every night!

If I had to choose, I'd do CBR again - the rooms are bigger, and the feel of the resort is very open. But if I had to stay at POR, I'd pick the Bayou section!

 

[Laura]

CSR because the bus rides are so short to all the parks but MK! I never had to wait long for a bus, too. I remember one morning someone in our party forgot something and went back to the room for it (we were in Casitas 4 -- very close to the stop). She was not gone long at all, but in the meantime 3 buses came and went, including the one for our chosen park. Very soon after, the right bus came along. I was amazed!

The pool is fun and I love the theme. Some don't like the policy of food court tipping, but you can just get it to go and avoid the whole thing. The food's good, anway, and better than most convenience food in hotels.

 

[Buzz2001]

CSR!!! See my website below for reason why