Need Help Picking a Moderate

[Steelers5895]

Hello all,

My family is set to go to WDW 8/16-8/25 of this year. We have 2 daughters ages 6 and 2. We went last year the week of 4th of July and stayed at the French Quarters and absolutely loved it. With 2 small girls the small grounds and close proximity to everything on site was very convenient.

So, it was a no brainer to book and stay at the French Quarters again.....

BUT

The discounts came and all the Moderates are giving 25% off and French Quarter is only offering 5%. So, the price difference is significant ($400 or so compared to all the other Moderates) so we are seriously looking to switch but are not sure which one to go to.

HELP!!! We are Disney Beginners and would like your input on how the following are at the other Moderates, especially in late August if anyone knows.

1- Bus waits to park
2- bus waits back
3- inconsiderate people
4- cleanliness
5- waits at food court

We dont mind crowds (unless it effects the bus waits) and we dont mind walking as child #2 will be in a stroller (last year we had a douible stroller and after a long day in the part, pushing 2 kids and our junk 2 feet was exhausting). Not all concerned with food quality as my girls will maybe eat a half of hot dog each and my wife and I will eat anything.

We are leaning toward Carribean Beach but want any feedback on any of the others.

thank you! thank you ! thank you!

The Bellina Family

 

[pamkat1820]

Personally, I would suggest POR in a preferred room. You are close to everything. The bus stop is right outside the main building. Food court is large great food!

 

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

What about Port Orleans Riverside in a preferred room. Alligator Bayou is close to everything and a ground floor room would probably work. Does it have the higher discount? Just a thought.

 

[Disneylover99]

Well, if I had to choose another moderate resort other than POFQ (because I do love it there) I would choose POR. It has a big food court area, always clean and well maintained when I visited. We also love the boat to DTD and used it often.

Also be aware that CBR does not yet have queen beds, if that matters to you.

 

[catheren]

With the ages of your DD's, I recommend POR. Great foodcourt, beautiful grounds.
Our favorite Moderate is CSR, but I would recommend this when your DD's are a bit older.

 

[wdwrich]

I agree with PPs and recommend POR. CBR may look enticing in the photos, but be aware that it is way spread out and the rooms have double size beds as opposed to the queen beds at POR. The food court at POR is the best of any of the Disney moderates IMHO.

 

[scrappinstevie]

1- Bus waits to park
2- bus waits back
3- inconsiderate people
4- cleanliness
5- waits at food court

These can be positive or negative at any resort or anywhere in the park. there will be lines. You will have to be patient and wait. Some people will be rude-some will be very kind. Sometimes your bus will be waiting for you and other times you will have to wait 20 minutes for it. Some people are messy and don't clean up after themselves and it takes awhile for the disney crews to get everything spruced up--but they are constantly working at it.

Disneyworld is HUGE....it takes awhile to get from place to place. The best thing you can do for yourself is relax, make a plan and everything will work out just fine. There is A LOT of walking involved-walking and waiting!

I would offer the advice of choosing the resort theme that most appeals to you and your family....all of the hotels have good and bad but they are all lovely! Have a magical vacation!!

 

[elaw]

Personally, I would suggest POR in a preferred room. You are close to everything. The bus stop is right outside the main building. Food court is large great food!

 

[stitchfriend]

We love CBR. It is a large resort. I found it to be very quiet and never had any issues with busing. Lived the themeing.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I would suggest CBR in a preferred room. You will be close to the food court and main pool. And that main pool is awesome for kids the age of yours. Zero entry, several slides in varying lengths, two hot tubs and a height restricted (no bigger, older kids allowed to spoil the fun) pirate splash area.

Cbr does have double beds but.the rooms are a tad larger than the other mods. Its a very lovely resort with multiple playgrounds, lots of beautiful beaches with lounge chairs and hammocks and views of Illuminations from around the resort.

It has seven total bus stops but our bussing experience has been very good there for both stays.

I also highly recommend POR. A preferred room there is nice (all preferred rooms at POR are in the Alligator Bayou section) . It also has a nice pool but I do think for kids the age of yours, CBR's pool is much better.

You can't go wrong really!

 

[TurkA77]

If buses are a priority for you, I would stay away from CBR. I have stayed at all 3 all stars, pop a couple times and once at CBR. CBR get the lowest bus grade from me. With 7 bus stops internally and your normal bus wait, this to me is the worst resort for buses. Now I'm not saying I disliked it, it's beautiful and large. I definitely enjoyed my stay there, but if buses are a priority, I would stay away. Maybe I'm just spoiled by the pop buses. I'm staying at por in oct, so I can't comment on their buses till then.

 

[Amy&Dan]

If buses are a priority for you, I would stay away from CBR. I have stayed at all 3 all stars, pop a couple times and once at CBR. CBR get the lowest bus grade from me. With 7 bus stops internally and your normal bus wait, this to me is the worst resort for buses. Now I'm not saying I disliked it, it's beautiful and large. I definitely enjoyed my stay there, but if buses are a priority, I would stay away. Maybe I'm just spoiled by the pop buses. I'm staying at por in oct, so I can't comment on their buses till then.

All of the mods have a different bus situation than any of the values. Even POFQ with its one stop since it frequently shares with POR (as in almost always in our numerous Port Orleans' stays.)

Cbr to me even with its seven stops is comparble to the other mods.which have up to five stops.

Actually although its my favorite resort of the many I have stayed at, I would have to rank POR as the lowest on bussing which is not to say the bussing is bad at all! For us, CSR is number one of any resort of any level we have stayed at as far as bussing.

But I still say CBR or POR for the op.

I have had good luck at the mod food courts. And no problems with rude people! Thats really justba luck thing though.

 

[AlyssinWonderland]

I have stayed a POR, POFQ, and CBR. I must say CBR is beloved by my family. The resort is beautiful. Staff is amazing. The food court is great! (The sit down restaurant Shutters should really be renamed SHUDDERS tho... stay away.) The how atmosphere of the place is really nice. They have a bunch of different pools so if you find one too busy it's less than a five minute walk to the next one. I've only had that happen to me on one occasion though. I really cannot recommend this resort highly enough. This resort feels like coming home to me! Also- the pirate themed rooms are a little bit more expensive.. but amazing! Just an idea...

Now that I've gushed I'll try to answer your questions...

1- Bus waits to park- My last trip to the world we stayed at the POR. Our longest wait time was about 20 minutes. I believe the longest I've waited at CBR was about 15 minutes, but I would say it averages under 10 minutes. They have alot of buses at this resort.

2- bus waits back- Honestly not bad. I'd say again about 10-20 minutes. Much less during closing and at peak times.

3- inconsiderate people- No One take offense to this remark please... During one trip to the CBR we were there at the same time as a massive cheerleader conference. The buses were the nosiest I've ever seen in my life. Chatter Chatter Chatter. Bunch of high school kids noisy. The pools were a bit loud during that time as well. Security was out in force and they did a fabulous job of keeping the kids from getting unruly. I was really impressed with the staff at this time. It was most likely a trying time for them all but they did GREAT. I have honestly been greeted at this hotel by the staff enthusiastically every trip I have been on. The resort is lovely, but the staff and whoever manages this property directly does a fabulous job. Even the maid staff is the friendliest I've ever seen.

4- cleanliness - Lovely, Clean. I've never had a single problem.

5- waits at food court - Longest wait here is waiting to pay for your food. I've never waited more than 5 minutes, but carrying a tray that can seem like a long time. Staff there is friendly however. It's unusual to have much of a wait.

Hope I helped!

 

[bluejasmine]

Stayed POR(2x) & CBR & my vote is POR b/c CBR is soooo spread out you actually need to take an internal bus to get to food court & main pool & gift shop, & then check in is also in yet another building down the road.

POR is beautiful, a lovely place to walk around!! You can take a boat to DTD
Visited POfQ & liked it as well it's one of the smallest mods so your walk is minimal & also has a boat to DTD

ASMU/POR Dec 16-22, 2012 & BWI Sept 8-15, 2013