POR or CSR?

[magchavez]

Help!!! I'm second guessing our resort!!! We stayed at POR last September and LOVED it. My kids (5 and 3) loved the pool and were able to go down the water slide with their life jackets on. The hotel itself was beautiful and had a lot of charm to it. We never had any problems with the buses, in fact our longest wait was about 5 minutes.

I booked CSR for our second trip this August after reading everything on these boards. Now I'm questioning my decision. We loved POR and wouldn't change a thing, why would I try some place else??? I'm sure CSR will be fine but will it live up to our perfect trip last year??? Or do I change my reservation and go back to POR??

Is there anyone out there that has stayed at both resorts? What do you think?

 

[bab31]

I have not stayed at POR. Csr is a beautiful resort- arent they all! My advice is to list your pros and cons for each resort. What is most important to you? For me one of the things was the central air - I hate those wall units- noisey and ugly. and they keep me awake. The busses and pool - less people there because of the convention thing/ The pool is awesome at CSR/ great margaritas pool side. The beds at CSR are pillow top 15 to 17 inch- I slept very well.

Good luck on your decision!

 

[Buzz2001]

I love CSR. Both are very popular resorts. Check out my CSR website below to help with your decision.

 

[lovethattink]

POR is my favorite Disney resort. I've stayed at both POR and CSR many times. Each resort has things I like about it. To me POR feels like the closest to a deluxe resort. I love the boat to DTD and FQ. The pool at CSR is good too. The water slide is comparable to the one at POR. The selection of food choices at the food court is better at CSR. However, their dining area is small and can reach capacity fairly quickly if you are there when a conference gets out for lunch.

 

[jnjlind]

We stayed at CSR before. The resort is beautiful. We didn't really like the food court area. We went in October and it seemed crowded and didn't have a good flow. The lines to check out were long. We also were not impressed by Maya. Actually the food was great but it had extremely poor customer service. At the time we were there, I think there may have been only a few tables filled so we weren't quite sure what the problem was.
We are staying at POR in September. I am confident that our trip will go well.

 

[schwaa]

I did a split stay at CSR first then POR in February. 4 nights at each.

CSR is a beautiful resort. I loved the Ranchos section. (I actually didn't care much for the other two sections, but as a whole the resort is beautiful). I hate the food court. The employees were not friendy. At night (any time of the night), there was a line just to get into the food court. I had a lot of trouble with the chefs there not making my food properly (I'm allergic to tomatoes). There were constantly golf carts whipping through the resort and we had to jump out of the way as they went by and not once did they ask if we wanted a ride somewhere. The resort is huge. Way bigger than POR. It was a long walk from Ranchos to the main building, although we didn't mind since we're young adults, but some may mind. The bell staff were also not that friendly, although not terrible. On the second night I asked my best friend if I should call to see if we can switch over to POR early but we decided to just stick it out.

When it was time to switch to POR we were so excited. Arriving at POR was like arriving home (we had stayed there many times before). Check in was great (it was a zoo at CSR, I forgot to mention that). Bell services were awesome!!!! We had our luggage transferred for us. Someone, I'm not sure who, who wasn't in bell services, went to find our luggage, and then went to find someone to get it for us, cause he wasn't allowed to touch it since he wasn't bell services. The the bell hop got our luggage, took us in a SLOW MOVING golf cart to our our room (and yes he slowed down for the guests walking by) and helped us in. Told us stories on the way. Right away we knew the difference between the two resorts. The employees at POR are soooo friendly.

The ground at POR are much more lush than CSR. I find the food court to be way better at POR (at CSR you have to pay a 10% gratuity because someone gets your soda for you). It's also nicer at POR, you get your food, you pay, and then you sit down and eat and leave when you are done. At CSR, you wait to get in, then you wait for the waitress to get your drinks, then you get your food, then you eat, and then you look at the line to get out and wait there to pay. Also at CSR, there are many business people there at conferences. That changed the feel of the resort. At POR, everybody's on vacation.

I guess most of the problems I have with CSR are with the Main buildings. I remember saying while there "they should put a food court over between the Ranchos and Cabanas".

 

[vikci]

I did a split stay at CSR first then POR in February. 4 nights at each.

CSR is a beautiful resort. I loved the Ranchos section. (I actually didn't care much for the other two sections, but as a whole the resort is beautiful). I hate the food court. The employees were not friendy. At night (any time of the night), there was a line just to get into the food court. I had a lot of trouble with the chefs there not making my food properly (I'm allergic to tomatoes). There were constantly golf carts whipping through the resort and we had to jump out of the way as they went by and not once did they ask if we wanted a ride somewhere. The resort is huge. Way bigger than POR. It was a long walk from Ranchos to the main building, although we didn't mind since we're young adults, but some may mind. The bell staff were also not that friendly, although not terrible. On the second night I asked my best friend if I should call to see if we can switch over to POR early but we decided to just stick it out.

When it was time to switch to POR we were so excited. Arriving at POR was like arriving home (we had stayed there many times before). Check in was great (it was a zoo at CSR, I forgot to mention that). Bell services were awesome!!!! We had our luggage transferred for us. Someone, I'm not sure who, who wasn't in bell services, went to find our luggage, and then went to find someone to get it for us, cause he wasn't allowed to touch it since he wasn't bell services. The the bell hop got our luggage, took us in a SLOW MOVING golf cart to our our room (and yes he slowed down for the guests walking by) and helped us in. Told us stories on the way. Right away we knew the difference between the two resorts. The employees at POR are soooo friendly.

The ground at POR are much more lush than CSR. I find the food court to be way better at POR (at CSR you have to pay a 10% gratuity because someone gets your soda for you). It's also nicer at POR, you get your food, you pay, and then you sit down and eat and leave when you are done. At CSR, you wait to get in, then you wait for the waitress to get your drinks, then you get your food, then you eat, and then you look at the line to get out and wait there to pay. Also at CSR, there are many business people there at conferences. That changed the feel of the resort. At POR, everybody's on vacation.

I guess most of the problems I have with CSR are with the Main buildings. I remember saying while there "they should put a food court over between the Ranchos and Cabanas".

These are the very 2 resorts I'm thinking about for my 2008 trip. Can we stay at either with 5 people (including a 2 yr. old?) What about transp.? How are the busses? Read alot about troubles at POR. The convention thing doesn't bother me. But does it cause crowds in the PM? TIA

 

[adhelove]

We have stayed at both and by far go for Port Orleans. We had a terrible time at Coronado. The buses were the slowest we ever had. Carribean Beach is in second. We are on our 11th trip since 99. We have stayed at different value, moderate and Wilderness Lodge and one of our favorite is Port Orleans. Coronado Springs is too big to easily get to anything without a long walk. If you have kids they don't mind walking to see Mickey but not to get a drink or a snack. The covention brings in people who are not with families so you will hear more unfamily words. We will never stay there again. We have three friends who have stayed there over the past year and they didn't like it either.

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

Thanks for the comparison. We have stayed at POR 2x in 1997 and 2004. We are staying at CSR for the first time in a few weeks.

I love the grounds at POR, but was not happy with the bus service (waited over an hour two days in a row for bus to MK. I feel this resort needs more buses at MK at closing time also - don't they all!). That said, I have nostalgic feelings for POR since it was our first onsite stay (Dixie Landings). The grounds are breathtakingly beautiful.

I love trying out new resorts, so giving CSR a try. I heard the bus service is a bit better than POR. I will find out soon enough. The resort looks beautiful!

You know I have been wondering for some time now how big CSR is compared to POR. I never minded the long walks at POR because it was so beautiful, but I am starting to get scared since schwaa said CSR is way bigger than POR.

tink

 

[schwaa]

These are the very 2 resorts I'm thinking about for my 2008 trip. Can we stay at either with 5 people (including a 2 yr. old?) What about transp.? How are the busses? Read alot about troubles at POR. The convention thing doesn't bother me. But does it cause crowds in the PM? TIA

vikci, you can only stay at POR with 5 assuming they are all 3 or older. The buses seemed about the same at both resorts. Most times people were left behing at CSR due to buses full (we were there President's week so maybe this is not the case all the time). I've never had trouble with buses at POR. The crowds in the PM at CSR were big. Especially in the main building at the food court, the restaurant, the lounge. It seemed to be mostly convention people but there were children too.

Thanks for the comparison. We have stayed at POR 2x in 1997 and 2004. We are staying at CSR for the first time in a few weeks.

I love the grounds at POR, but was not happy with the bus service (waited over an hour two days in a row for bus to MK. I feel this resort needs more buses at MK at closing time also - don't they all!). That said, I have nostalgic feelings for POR since it was our first onsite stay (Dixie Landings). The grounds are breathtakingly beautiful.

I love trying out new resorts, so giving CSR a try. I heard the bus service is a bit better than POR. I will find out soon enough. The resort looks beautiful!

You know I have been wondering for some time now how big CSR is compared to POR. I never minded the long walks at POR because it was so beautiful, but I am starting to get scared since schwaa said CSR is way bigger than POR.

tink

The thing that makes CSR so much bigger and everything so much farther is that the main building is at one end of the resort. So the ranchos and some of the cabanas sections are at the completely opposite side of the resort. At POR, the main building is more centered. So nothing is really that far.

 

[SeeingEars]

I have stayed at them both and like them both. I would try CSR if I had never stayed there, but mostly b/c I love to try out the different resorts.

 

[ToyStory]

We have stayed at POR twice and this trip trying CSR for something different. If our last trip at POR didn't start off that great, but changed once we change our room to the AB section. We did encounter some rude CMs at POR, but that didn't ruin our trip or make us not want to stay there.

My sons are looking forward to the Dig Site. We aren't planning on eating at the Pepper Market much, maybe twice depending on our schedule.

Worst comes to worst we can always change our hotel if we aren't happy there. I however don't see that happening.

 

[jparc]

Before you make a decision - check out poster Buzz2001 - CSR Man!! Threads on CSR. He's the man.

 

[byoung]

POR gets my vote.

 

[Disneymoon678]

I am not a huge fan of POR. I don't think their food choices are very good and the service is the same as you get anywhere else.

My vote is for CSR. I don't mind walking and also don't think it's that far to El Centro or the pool from any of the 3 areas. I think the landscaping is much more aesthetically pleasing than POR, and the pool is better.

As for the Pepper Market food court, I think it is the best of all the moderates with most of the food being freshly prepared to order with a great selection. I had no problem dining there while I was a vegetarian.

I have never encountered bad service at CSR and have never been the victim of attempted golf cart manslaughter.

Just remember that each trip will be inherently different, so don't worry about trying to duplicate the last one. Trying something new could be what makes this trip stand out. Good luck with your choice!

 

[Carol D]

CSR gets my vote too. We stayed there a month ago and loved it. It's a beautiful resort.