Por Orleans French Quarter Vs Caribbean Beach?

[Sundancer UK]

It looks like I can't get the dates I wanted for POFQ next year, so I'm shopping around. I need to make a decision fast though as free dining runs out for me soon.

We are a family of seven, with 2 adults and 5 children ranging from 12 years down to 22 months when we go.

We want to go May 13-27th 2014. We will need connecting rooms (I know this can't be guaranteed, but I at least want it to be a likely option IYKWIM).

We are on a tight budget - this is probably our biggest factor. The free dining at POFQ made it less expensive than staying at an ASMu family suite as we did last time.

We don't drive, so will be relying on Disney transport to get around - is there much difference in bus service between the two? And how long it takes to get to the parks?

We spend most of our days in the parks, returning to the hotel room to nap. Eating is planned mostly for at the parks, so the food courts aren't a major issue.

I think my children will love the idea of having a beach at CBR (so will I to be honest!), but I love that POFQ is so small. I feel like I will be able to give my older children some more freedom at POFQ because of its size.

Pricing it up, CBR seems to be coming up much less than I had thought it would - is there something I'm missing?! I'm wondering if it's awful there for some reason, I never seem to see much about it, but then maybe that's because I'm not looking for it...

By the way, we were very happy with ASMu and we would be happy to go back there if cost wasn't an issue. We were in a building close to the entrance and buses though - I'm not sure if I'd feel the same if we were at the back end of the resort - I'm not sure we realised how big it was!

On that note - does anyone know how CBR compares to ASMu in size? Maps make it look MUCH bigger, is that because it's split in to sections?

One last thing - if another resort fits the bill, feel free to add that in to the mix - I can't get any more confused, right?

Thanks for any help, your thoughts will be very much appreciated! I'm feeling so stuck and I just want to get on with it and hit that 'book' button!

 

[HopperFan]

CBR is a very large spread out resort, much more spread out than ASMu, and you weren't even at the back of ASMu.

My main question is that you are excited about the beach. Wanted to make sure you knew that you could NOT swim in the water by the beach. It's sand play only. No swimming is permitted in Disney lakes. Just in case that is what you were thinking didn't want you making a choice based on that.

 

[Sundancer UK]

Thanks for that! We wouldn't be swimming but they might have wanted to paddle their feet in the water so it's good to know.

As CBR is much more spread out - does it compare better to the All Stars bunched together? If you see what I mean?

 

[HopperFan]

I understand what you are asking. From end to end, meaning the first building you get to at Sports to the last at Movies - CBR would be bigger going from the first to last building there. It really depends on which building they put you in at CBR. You can pay extra for preferred to be close to the main hub to be safe.

I wouldn't have them get in the water at all. There is the obvious, that there are gators in Florida that get into waters they are not welcome in but the biggest issue is there is a bacteria in FL lakes that thrives in the shallow warm waters (by the beach) that is very dangerous.

 

[Disneygirl NY]

Having stayed at both, I would personally recommend POFQ. We stayed at CBR on our honeymoon 15 years ago and it was great, but it is very big and there are a lot of bus stops. We were mostly in the parks and didn't do many activities at the resort, but we had no kids with us at that time. We stayed at POFQ in 2011 with our 6 and 9 year old boys and we liked it very much. It is a nice small size. We were right next to the food court and bus stop. We only shared a bus stop with POR when returning from Downtown Disney, from the parks, we were the only stop. They showed movies on the lawn right outside our room, again, the boys were a little too tired to enjoy it, but we watched from out window a few times. Either will be great, I just like the idea of one bus stop.

 

[deakam]

I have never stayed a CBR but we have driven through it on a bus that we picked up one night at DTD. For some reason we did the stops at CBR before returning to POP. It is very big and from the bus stops I did not see any buildings so I am thinking that it is a walk to your room from the stops, at least 4 stops, maybe 5.

Have you considered Riverside. It is right next door to French Quarter. It is smaller than CBR and French Quarter is only a ten minute walk. The pool is really nice and Boatwrights has really good food.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

I have stayed at both, and really like both. I enjoyed the beach vibe and theming at CBR. My boys loved the pirate pool, but it is sooooo spread out, and we were not even in one of the outer buildings. It was a long walk to get coffee in the morning before making RD each day.

POFQ is quaint and MUCH smaller. IMO, the pool is not nearly as good as CBR. I do like the boat ride to DTD, though.

If I had to choose, I would give the edge to POFQ.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[Shaden]

Hey again Sundancer I know you are booking a package deal through the UK site, I imagine you are just getting a lower rate for CBR, because POFQ is so small, they don't ever discount the rooms, at least by much. Where as the larger resorts do.

I think someone else mentioned PO Riverside here, have you looked in that at all ?

Although you mentioned that POFQ is small, and thus you would feel better about the kids being there, remember though its small relatively speaking, its still fairly sizeable, and its connected to PO Riverside (they are basically different sections of the same resort). So you kids could, in theory, run way off into Riverside as well.

There is a very easy solution though, if you want to be close to the food court/pool etc in ANY of the resorts, CBR, POR, etc, just book a preferred room, or a pool view room. You could likely get a pref or pool view at CBR or CSR or POR for less then a standard at POFQ if you are getting a discounted room rate.

 

[Sundancer UK]

Thanks again, everyone This really does help me.

I hope I don't frustrate you as much as I do my poor husband - but now I've thrown Coronado Springs in to the mix!
It looks lovely, is about the same price as CBR and looks a lot more centrally close to the parks... It also doesn't seem to be quite as big, though this could just be the map fooling me?

Argh - help?!

 

[maxiesmom]

Thanks again, everyone This really does help me.

I hope I don't frustrate you as much as I do my poor husband - but now I've thrown Coronado Springs in to the mix!
It looks lovely, is about the same price as CBR and looks a lot more centrally close to the parks... It also doesn't seem to be quite as big, though this could just be the map fooling me?

Argh - help?!

I've stayed at all of the moderates, and CBR is the only one I am not in a hurry to go back to.

If you want the smallest resort with the easiest bus service, go with POFQ. It is by far the smallest moderate, and only has one bus stop. By comparison CSR and POR have 4 stops and CBR has 7. For me that was the biggest negative at CBR--it seemed like we were on the bus forever before heading out to the parks.

Also, CBR is the only moderate that hasn't been redone lately, which is why it is usually a bit cheaper than the others. It still has double beds too, instead of the queens they have put into the rest of the moderates.

 

[mirage0306]

If i were to choose a moderate, it would be POFQ because of the compact size. We stayed at CBR last year and while it was certainly nice, it was absolutely enormous and that was a real downer for us. Now, we did not have a preferred room; if you do decide to stay at CBR, I would recommend you pay that little extra and get one. It would have made a world of difference to be closer to everything.

 

[Mousemom]

We have stayed at both, CBR 2 times and POFQ probably 5-6 times. I would choose POFQ over CBR easily. We won't be staying at CBR anymore. It was too big for us and I really don't like the layout. I think the grounds are beautiful and the pool is fun for kids though. I like the smaller size of POFQ. It is a short walk to the pool, food court, parking or bus, and front desk. I also like the boat to DD and that you can walk over to POR to use their pool, restaurant, and pool. It is a quiet resort with so many extras. Last time we stayed my son loved watching movies in the court yard in the evening. I think that this is a hidden jewel when it comes to moderate resorts.

 

[Disneylover99]

Love POFQ!
All the other Disney resorts seem so big and overwhelming.
But not POFQ. Maybe it does cost a bit more than other moderates. But at any other moderate I would pay the extra $15 per night for a preferred room. There are no preferred rooms at POFQ because no room is too far away from the bus or food court.

 

[HopperFan]

We call CSR the "deluxe of the moderates". It was the last one built (CBR was first) and it has so many extras. The pool area is the only one we have never had trouble getting seating or a table to eat. Stunning at night.

CSR is not as spread out as CBR.
CBR is 2100 rooms spread around an oblong 45 acre lake.
CSR is 1900 rooms spread around a round 22 acre lake.

We have stayed in even the farther rooms as CSR and it is an easy walk to the main hub, very pretty as well or we have hopped on a bus and gotten off at the front entrance.

 

[Babsy]

If you can't get your dates for POFQ and like a smaller moderate rsort, pay ther little bit extra for a preferred location. The size of the resort doesn't matter if you are in the prime location near everything (as you learned in ASMu, which has some distant rooms).

All moderates are nice if you are in the preferred rooms. I would go with the theme I like best. Just be aware that most people prefer either POR or CSR over CBR. The one thing that CBR has going for it is the rooms are 340 sq ft instead of 314 sq ft in all the others, but that is minor especially since you will have 2 rooms.

Something to consider is that at POR you can get rooms that sleep 5 ( 5th person in a trundle bed) which might be nice if you have any picky sleepers. The total beds would be 4 queens and a trundle and potentially 2 pack n plays. LOTS of beds for a nice large family like yours.
POR is beautiful with a great pool and the boat to DD. POR is big but Alligator Bayou buildings 14 and 18 (I think) are preferred and are very close to everything.

My opinion - I would go POR if I managed the dates. Otherwise I would let theming be my guide and go with POR or CSR in preferred location rooms. Both are great resorts. CBR is nice, but just not quite as nice as the others.

BTW, connecting rooms are not guaranteed, but Disney will try to get you them for you, especially when children are involved.

It is so tough to choose. I have stayed in them all and I still have trouble deciding!