Need expert opinion for picking a Moderate.

[jandjtrop]

Will be taking a family vacation in the middle of September 2008. The budget says moderate, but which one? There will be 2 adults and 2 children (ages 4 & 2 at the time of the trip). I'm trying to factor in location, easiest & shortest transportation to parks, on site things to do, etc. What's the best option?

 

[wdwrich]

We've stayed at two of the moderates, but have visited them all. The only one that didn't hit us as a place we'd like to stay was CBR. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the others.

 

[Buzz2001]

If you want a small resort because of the little ones, I recommend POFQ.

If the size of the resort isn't an issue, I would recommend CSR. You can check out my CSR website below for pics and info.

 

[minnie61650]

Disney's resorts have themes.

I would choose the theme that most appealed to my family and try it out.

CBR has the wonderful beach area.

POFQ has the New Orleans look.

POR has the Ab section and the Mansions with the deep south look.

And CSR has the southwest look.
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Here is my list of the differences-----

Mod vs Mod

'CBR is 340 square feet and the other mods are 314.

They are basically laid out the same but CSR only has 1 sink (the other have 2 sinks.)
CSR does not have a luggage seat.


Here is the layout of POR:

POR room lay out

Room size Comparison:

Pop Century/All Stars-260 Square Feet
CS, POR/POFQ-314 SF
Caribbean Beach-340 SF
Wilderness Lodge-344 SF
AKL-344 SF
Yacht/Beach-381 SF
Boardwalk-385 SF
Polynesian-409 SF
Contemporary-436 SF
Grand Floridian-about 400-440SF
Ft Wilderness Cabins-504 SF
Family suites at All Star Music -520 SF
__________________


POFQ is not as spread out as the other mods or the values.


POR CBR and CSR are very spread out.


The mods have pool slides, a hot tub and a sit down restaurant (POFQ doses not have a sit down restaurant but shares with POR.)

POFQ and POR are concidered sister resorts so they share pools.

When staying at one of these resorts you can use the other resort's pool.
You can also refill your refillable mug at either of the food courts.


Some of the rooms at POR in the AB section have a trundle bed and can sleep 5.

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Transportation.


CBR has 7 bus stops.
CSR has 4 bus stops.
PO has 5 stops. 1st stop POFQ then 4 stops at POR.
POFQ & POR do have a boat to DTD.

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Elevators

CBR does not have elevators

CSR has elevators

POFQ has elevators

POR the AB section does not have elevators
POR the Mansions does have elevators

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Have fun at Disney!

 

[jmpellet]

For the ages of your kids definitely POFQ due to its size and the pool slide will be good for them.

 

[soccer mom]

We are partial to POFQ because of the size of the resort (small/no hike to any of the ammenities and the pool for little ones. POR is our favorite for theming, but would hate to be in the back of the resort with a 20+ minute just to get a soda! Same for the other two. Too big for me.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

We've never stayed in a moderate (family of 5) but if we were I would pick CBR with little ones. We've visited CBR and POR and POFQ and we really liked the tropical, beachy feel of CBR. Plus the rooms are the largest of the moderates.

 

[Magalex]

We stayed at CBR this past June(6/8-6/16). It was wonderful. We had a room in the Jamaica section facing the courtyard near to the bus stop and just over the bridge from the food court/gift shop. CBR was lots of fun. I think it will be my DS's(6 yrs old) all time favorite resort. We are trying POR in 2009.

 

[10drum]

Coronado Srings Resort is a great Moderate.

The bus service is very good.

Best pools of all the moderates.

I like the food court, one meal is large enough to feed 2 adults.

You can reserve a rollaway bed for about $12/nite (room gets a little crowded)

Port Orlean riverside has trundel beds, but we didn't like PORS it as well as CSR.

 

[happybirdsfan]

Coronado Springs Resort.
We stayed their this past June 3 to June 13. It was the great. We had our two boys ages 4 and 5 and there were bus stops all around the resort. Also the bus was not shared with other resorts like all the other mods. We were able to get to any of the parks in minutes.
We are going back to CSR on our next trip.

 

[BillyFeat]

I don't think you could go wrong with any of the moderates, but we have always loved POR and POFQ. POR is our absolute favorite. My family loves the pools, ambience (Southern Charm) and food court. There is also that relaxing boat-ride to DTD.

 

[stemikger]

I have stayed at POFQ and CBR. If you want something smaller, POFQ would be the place. However, I loved CBR. The atmosphere there was just beautiful. I really felt like I was on one of the Islands. I would choose CBR. Having said that I like Pop Century better then the both of them. It is more magical in my opinion and it is in the value category, so it is cheaper.

On my last trip I visited CSR and it looked beautiful, but it seemed more like an adult resort because there were a lot of business people there walking around in suits. They are a big convention resort, so it didn't remind me as much as Disney as the others.

If you want to go for pure Magic, I would go with Pop Century, if you want to go to a mod, that has beautiful grounds go to CBR.

The only place I visited that didn't appeal to me was Dixie Landings. I just didn't care for the ambience.

 

[bab31]

Make a list of the pros and cons of the resorts. I will tell you what swayed me when I did this

1. CSR has central Air- I hate those wall units- they are noisey, take away from the looks of the room and keep me away

2 Busses are not shared with other resorts

3. Location

4 Theming

5 Pillow top mattresses

6 last update

7 CSR is a moderate with some deluxe ammenities - spa. gym, beauty salon

do lots of reading and you will probably change your mind a few times. remember most of the bad post are a drop in the bucket. people love to complain. so take it for what it is worth. I think you will be happy with any of the moderates - mostly it is themeing. I didnt take POR because I didnt like the look of the bayou buildings. and it shared the buses with the french quarter. So there are lots of pros and cons - find out what is important to you and go from there.

 

[skipperkim]

I've stayed at both POFQ and CSR. I didn't like CSR, actually thought it was ugly. I hate the armoire, it looks cheap. We stayed in Casita 3 not close to anything. Halfway between 2 bus stops and miles from the pool and spa. I rarely eat at the resort, so that's not something I have experience with. But to charge someone money to get me a seat and refills is ridiculous. As far as spa and fitness center, I'm on vacation. I can get a facial, my nails and pedicure here. I'm not spending $ to get a massage on vacation at Disney. Seems like a huge waste of money, not to mention time. It has 4 bus stops.

Now POFQ is small, everything is close. It has a boat to DTD. Yes, it's slow. But very relaxing and the drivers are great. It does share buses with POR, but that's only 4 bus stops. (The same as CSR in case you didn't notice.) At POFQ you are first one and off at the parks. Oh, and an amazing thing POFQ has its own bus stop at MK in the evening. A huge plus. I have tried the food court at POFQ for beignets. They're great. There is also entertainment in the Scat Cat lounge, Elliott Dyson. He's great. I love the grounds and furnishings at POFQ. But if you don't stay here, that's okay. That's why there are so many different resorts. One for every taste.

 

[minnie61650]

Make a list of the pros and cons of the resorts. I will tell you what swayed me when I did this

1. CSR has central Air- I hate those wall units- they are noisey, take away from the looks of the room and keep me away.........

Just an FYI

It looks like Disney may be upgrading the air conditions units at Port Orleans.

I hope they put in the new cental air type!

From mouseplanet:

http://mouseplanet.com/articles.php?art=wd070806mg

The Port Orleans Resort will see replacement of 1,780 air conditioning units in the guest rooms. 663 of the units will be installed between August 20 and September 12 with the remaining 1,117 units being installed between January 7 and February 9, 2008.

 

[byoung]

POR is great.

 

[Buzz2001]

POR has 4 plus the one at POFQ equals 5 stops. They shares buses with the exception of MK after 3:00pm. (In case you didn't notice)

 

[Lilolvr]

POFQ is small and has nothing to offer except a boat ride to DtD which is slow. If you want to use a marina or have a dinner at a sit down restaurant, you'll have to walk to POR anyways. My issue came with trying to load my kids and strollers onto the bus when leaving the parks. POFQ shares a queue with POR and its every person for themselves.

 

[work2play]

W did POFQ last year and love how easy it was to get around and it was very fast to the parks even with the stops at POR. All that said, I thought it was a little too small for us, our kids are teens, and there was not much to do, the gift shop is very small, and dining was limited to counter service. This year we are trying CBR, I may regret the size, but am hoping to trade convenience for extra perks not available at POFQ.

 

[jmpellet]

I agree that this will be our last time at POFQ as my kids will outgrow the pool slide (6.5, 5.5, 2.5). We won't have many options once the youngest turns 3 so if we want to stay in the mods we'll have to go with POR. I am not interested in the ASMu suites as I stayed there in Jane (no the suites and without kids for the marathon) and did not like it. If I had two kids I would probably pick CSR for the slide.