POFQ, POR, or CS Help I cant decide!!!!

[Ilovethatmouse]

This is my first post. I am so glad that I found this site, I am just about to book for Nov 27th-Dec 4th, 2005 and I am getting conflicting opinions from the woman at Roomfinders and friends of mine.

We are not sure which would be best. We are traveling with 5 kids ranging in age from 1-14 yrs. Would love to stay at a resort that is convenient. Want to be close to the food court, pool and transportation and with these particular hotels you cannot pay for preferred room option, only water view or standard view. So I am afraid if I get there we will be far from the things we want to be near. The POFQ looks so nice but the woman at Roomfinders was telling me she preferred CS because of the pools. While reading around I got interested in POR because it looks like it has more things to do at the resort than the others. PLease HELP!!!!!!!!! Which hotel do you think would be best and which part of the hotel is nearest to these things...I really value the opinions on this board, any info would be great. Also, I have seen people taling about room requests..WHAT IS THIS and How do I do it...???????Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[lainie25]

We haven't stayed at CSR yet this year will be our first time, but from what I read the guest rooms are not too close to everything. We put in a request for 9b because of what we read, but that doesn't mean we will get it. You can just call 407-wdisney and put in a request but they say that it is not a guarantee. You can argue with them when you get there if you want to fight for the room you want.
We stayed at POR last year and loved it. If you do end up there put in a request for Alligator Bayou building 14 because that seems to be the most centrally located from what I saw. In my opinion with having children with you I would chose a hotel that has everything reasonably close.
good luck
you will have a blast no matter what

 

[Goofy4WDW1964]

We prefer POR of all the moderates. All the moderates, except for POFQ, are spread out about equally. They all have a main pool and private pools, except POFQ. POFQ has one main pool. But, this resort is also smaller and less spread out. We have stayed in Oak Manor at POR and we loved this location. Very easy walk to bus stop or main building. And, we thought that POR has the best food court of the moderates. We didn't really care for Coronado Springs, but some people love it. We did love the main pool. But, we really did not care for the food court there. Also, the conventioners were at the bar, right outside of the food court, quite a bit and it would get very loud, as well as, not very kid friendly language once the drinks took affect. We would stay there again, but only if the other three moderates were not available.

Were you end up in each of the resorts depends on a lot of factors. You can make requests when you make your reservation, but you do have to remember that they are requests. Disney does everything they can to make sure that you get what you want. It also depends on the reason for your request. My wife has a bad hip and when I made our reservations for CBR, I explained to them that since they didn't have elevators, I would need a ground floor room. I made sure that I explained to them about my wifes hip and we were given a ground floor.

Another thing that affects where you are at is whether you request a smoking room or not. At POR, Oak Manor is the only mansion that has smoking rooms. I don't know which building in the Alligator Bayou section is smoking. At CBR, building 51 in Aruba is the only building with smoking rooms. I don't know what buildings have smoking rooms in CS or POFQ.

Also, if you are going need connecting rooms, make sure that you let them know that you need connecting and not adjoining rooms. There is a big difference.

 

[clutter]

With a December trip, I wouldn't decide based on pools. While you may get some use out of them, it's not like the summer.

You're right, there's a lot of other activities at POR, easily accessible from POFQ. Personally, I prefer POR over POFQ, although I think I'm in the minority. I liked the food court better, and I preferred the layout. I liked the meandering paths in such a wonderfully landscaped atmosphere. I didn't like the closer buildings, with the "streets" throughout POFQ. But that's simply a matter of taste. (But of all the mods, CBR is my fave. Stay at Aruba or Jamaica, which is not preferre, and it's wonderful.) Another consideration: will someoen want a trundle bed?

 

[indigoxtreme]

Why don't you try POR or POFQ, the Riverside Alligator Bayou has trundle beds so it can sleep 5. They have refrigerators as well included. They have several small quiet pools and the one large Old Man Island. Playgrounds etc. and since POFQ is a Sister resort you are free to go over to the pool there with the Dragon theme slide. POR and FQ also have bike rental and the boat to DTD. Hope this helps and you have a great time.

 

[Buzz2001]

CSR PROS AND CONS

THE PROS
No sharing bus service with other resorts
Centrally located with short rides to the parks
Largest hot tub on WDW property
Awesome main pool area with bar, snack bar, playground and kiddie pool
3 quiet pools
New shuttle service eliminates long walks to any of the villages
High speed internet service
WiFi available too
Free use of the gym
Spa
Fridge in the room
Coffeemaker in the room
Iron and ironing board
full room service menu
2 arcades
beautifully landscaped
central air, not a noisey wall unit

THE CONS
Full size beds (kings size beds are available)
one sink

IN THE MIDDLE
The Pepper Market is either a love it or hate it place. We love it but some folks just don't care for it.

Convention resort - some guests don't like seeing other guests at work. Doesn't bother us and helps keep the buses empty. GF, Cont, BW, Y & B Club are also convention resorts.

Check out my website below

 

[HopperFan]

and we visited POFQ......

Neither CSR or POR are as spread out as CBR, which has a large lake and is oblong in it's footprint.

POR is a smaller footprint built in a circular pattern around the river. We like staying in AB more than Mansion only because the kids do. We have stayed Bldg 16 water view (pool) and liked that. Only a couple minutes to main area without being right there by the pizza delivery guy etc. Quiet pool right out our door. POR is a beautiful resort with southern charm, lots to do, fairly centrally located and has the boat to DTD. See map http://www.wdisneyw.co.uk/pofqrmap.html

CSR is the newer moderate with some extra amenities such as upscale food court. It is a larger resort built around a lake, although it was no where near the walking we had to do at CBR. It has the best pool area that your kids will love, but again weather can be unpredictable. We have gone twice the 1st of Jan, once was freezing (gloves) and last year 80's and swimming. Good transportation and a beautiful resort. See map http://www.wdisneyw.co.uk/csmap.html

POFQ is a smaller resort. Sister resort with POR so you can go there for the extras like sit down eating etc. I don't believe it has quiet pools. Has lots of fans there, but too quiet for our family. We are not loud, but enjoy the hotel activity.

I would be happy with either POR or CSR and be sure to check out Buzz's website !

 

[_Mark]

We've just come back from POR and loved it - the bonus is sharing with POFQ and there was lots to do. Posted pictures:
http://www.zincweb.co.uk/florida2/

Take a boat to DTD. Hire a boat. Walk to FQ. See piano man 'Bob' (used to play at Blazing Pianos). Try the pools. Take a decent sit down meal (but book in advance). Feed the bunnies and ducks. Sit on a bench overlooking the River. Do a spot of fishing. Relax away from the parks.

P.S. The smoking building in AB is 18 (there may be more)

 

[deejohn]

We stayed in POR for our 2003 trip and would stay there everytime going forward, however, we are now a family of 6 and no longer fit in one room. We stayed in the Bayou Rm 1214 and were close to everything. It was large enough for all 5 of us. Our room was centrally located for everythingool, food, bus, playground, boat launch, ect. Plus there was fishing, carrage rides, and a pool bar. The grounds are not as large as CSR or CBR so everything is pretty close. We did not request any particular room, but just lucked into it. Good luck.