So far we have stayed at CBR and POFQ and would gladly return to either. Both are perfectly themed and transport you to another place.
POFQ is themed after the 'Quarter' or the heart of New Orleans/Mardi Gras. When we arrived there was a lovely gentleman CM to greet us by opening the doors for us and giving us Mardi Gras beads and coins.
The food court is meant to be like a warehouse storing/selling things for the Mardi Gras floats. Hence the decor that some consider over the top/scary. We found it cute. I did love the beignets. I used snack credits for them frequently. However, other food selection is limited compared to CBR/other mods. If you only plan to eat breakfast there, you'll be fine. Plenty of bagel, fruit, muffing type items available as well as the standard Disney breakfasts.
The grounds are lovely. Each building has it's own garden area with fountains and benches. Cute cobblestone pathways link the buildings. There is no where on the resort grounds that you can't walk to in under 5 minutes. There is absolutely no bad room location. Even the buildings on the river are mere minutes from the main building.
The gift shop is on the smaller side, but the CMs staffing it are superb. They knew Maddie by name by the 2nd day of our visit. When we inquired about them selling Jibitz for Maddie's
Crocs, they took it upon themselves to call ever nearby store/gift shop to see who sold them (POR at the time). The gift shop has a very small selection of milk/snacks/alcohol compared to CBR though.
Our room was in good condition. It too was French Quarter themed. No special character touches other than the standard Hidden Mickey in the bed spread.
The best part is the bus stop. There is only one, and it was never crowded. In fact we never found anywhere at the resort that we considered crowded besides the food court at high noon. Buses came quickly, never filled up and we only shared with Riverside once (in the afternoon-non peak bus time) and that was in early August.
There is boat transportation to DTD which is really nice since the buses to and from there can be horrible. The boat ride takes a while, but you won't wait long for one. I didn't find the drivers to be nearly as friendly and chatty as the ones who drive the Epcot/DHS route or the ones who drive the MK/GF,Poly route, but that's really not that big of a deal.
The pool is fairly underwhelming (a very small slide is the only excitement), but depending on who you're travelling with that may not matter much.
We would gladly stay there again and again. I adored New Orleans and love the whole feel and vibe of the city, so I felt perfectly at home there.
CBR was fabulous as well, but very different. The tropical theme is also just right for me
I adored the bright bold colors of the buildings, and the grounds are lush and gorgeous.
We were lucky to get our room request of Aruba 51 so we didn't have horrible walks, but if you stay anywhere but that building or one in Jamaica (unless you plan to pay for a preferred location) you may have quite a hike to Old Port Royal.
You check in at a building that's pretty removed from the rest of the resort, and to me waiting for the internal shuttle to take us to our building was torture! Once I'm there I want to get moving!
As I said we stayed in Aruba 51 (water view). I chose it based on it's proximity to the bridge that runs across the center of the resort. We were mere steps from that bridge. The landscaping along that path is stunning. Very island tropical.
The walk from our room to OPR was probably only 5 minutes, but seemed like less because the paths were so lovely.
OPR has many, many choices for lunch and dinner, and a huge grab and go selection. You'll not go hungry there. The gift shops are also in OPR, and they're quite large. We spent a great deal of time in them.
The pirate pool is huge, and was always crowded (in March). I never tried the slide, but it didn't seem much more exciting than the one at POFQ to me. Each 'island' has it's own pool and beach as well. We didn't get the chance to try our quiet pool (cheerleaders) but we did enjoy wiggling our toes in the sand. I'm sure that an hour or two in one of the hammocks would have been heavenly.
Buses can be tricky depending on what time of year you visit. The Aruba bus stop actually seemed further away than the OPR one to us (could be that you walk through a parking lot vs. the gorgeous grounds that made it seem longer though). We used the OPR stop exclusively and never had to stand on a bus. We carried our resort mugs in a back pack at the park, and filled our mugs on the way to and from the buses.
There was really something special about looking out at the lighthouse and the 'islands' in the morning. I was transported to the islands each and every time. It was such a relaxing way to begin and end our long days.
So yeah, I'd totally stay there again too. They're very different resorts-one small and quaint, one huge and bustling. But neither was bad.
Having written a novel, I have to say that I'm sure that we'll love staying at POR too. I too am quite certain that I too have some Scarlett O'hara in me, the mansion buildings should be a perfect fit.
I feel so special when I get one too!! I like to think I'm being awarded for something... I just haven't figured out what yet.
Sorry you missed meeting Frontier Donald but I'm glad you got to ride Peter Pan. Love that ride!
Basically, if I was going in the summer and wanted a "vacationy" feel, I'd stay at Caribbean Beach. If I wanted a relaxed, easy going trip, I'd stay at Port Orleans. If I was going with just adults planning on a more sophisticated trip, I'd go with Coronoda Springs. 
) and had a good time. 
) I really appreciate your thorough comments, more than I can say! That being said, I wanted to apologize upfront because my comments are going to pale in comparison! But just... thank you very much!!
