POR Riverside vs CSR

[disneyobessed]

our trick with the food courts.. or qs. go right at 11 when they open for lunch. we never have a problem or a wait and can always find a seat.

 

[saskdw]

our trick with the food courts.. or qs. go right at 11 when they open for lunch. we never have a problem or a wait and can always find a seat.

Yeah, either that or go at 2pm after the chaos is over.

 

[kydisneyfans]

Attended a conference at CSR earlier this year, the Pepper Market was never open during our breaks. I like places open all the time, not just a few hours at prime meal time.

Have been to CSR and CBR this year, and honestly were disappointed at both. We disliked CBR so bad we drove to Pop to eat at least twice.

Our fall trip is PORR, if that is disappointing, it's back to the values for us.

 

[Kristine316]

We have stayed at both POR and CSR.

My husband and older son preferred CSR. My husband loved the fact he could sit outside by the lake and have a drink and a cigar and not feel "weird". Its a convention hotel so it has a different kind of a vibe.. there were lots of convention goers sitting outside just kind of relaxing with a drink and my husband felt more comfortable with that kind of a crowd.

Now, at POR he tried to sit out in the smoking section for a cigar and he said he felt very awkward because even in the smoking section people were complaining as they walked by.

My older son loved CSR because he said it was very peaceful and quiet around the grounds in the evenings. He would sit outside and talk to his girlfriend on his cell and I think he appreciated the privacy.. lol The grounds definitely felt less busy and more spacious than POR but, it could also be that WDW in general was less busy during that trip.
He also loved the pool and I also thought the pool was impressive.

I did have issue with CSR though. For one thing we were upstairs and we had very loud neighbors who would come back every night after midnight. Fine, they are night owls and have that right but, when they would walk up and down the stairs and walk ways it was VERY loud. They were in and out of their room all night long and it started to become a real issue when we couldn't sleep at all. We also heard them laughing and talking loudly during the night. We are rope drop people and we were sleeping by 11pm every night and it felt like right when we got to sleep, here came the neighbors. Not really the hotels fault but, when I did mention it to the front desk one morning, they were like.. "oh"... and that was it. I was hoping to get moved to the first floor but, maybe they just couldn't do it but, at least they could have had a better response than "oh".
It did seem that the walls were paper thin.

The other issue I had with CSR was Mousekeeping... not a big deal but, I called to ask for thin pillows because I have neck issues. I called the front desk first and they told me it wouldn't be an issue at all to request a couple of thin pillows but, when I contacted Mousekeeping the woman was quite rude about it and acted like I was asking for a pint of blood or something.

Now at POR we were on the first floor and our room was back by the parking lot and wow what a difference!! It was so quiet at POR in the room... I mean we barely heard anything at night. We always have our car at Disney so we request a room close to the parking lot.. just because it works well for us... it isn't for everyone but, it sure was quiet there.
I loved POR food court as well.

I did have a major issue at POR, an issue I feel was the most serious I have had at Disney. I had something stolen from our room. Oddly enough I had shampoo taken from the bathroom counter. It wasn't just any shampoo but, a 32 oz bottle of Wen, which was quite expensive for shampoo. The only explanation I think makes sense is that the maid must have taken it. I was told by Mousekeeping that it was probably an accident.. that she more than likely threw it away by mistake. I didn't really buy that because the thing was heavy and large.. it would be difficult to throw it away and not realize it. POR did give me a credit on our bill for the shampoo so, I felt satisfied with their response.

I wrote about this several months ago on DIS and I actually had people try to make it my fault for being a victim of theft.. they said I should have put my shampoo in the safe.. I had to laugh at that.

 

[Astylla]

I found the one of the best ways to compare resorts we were considering was watching youtube videos by many different people..it gives more than a quick glance at photos and you get a more real "feel" imo.

Hope you figure out what works best for you

 

[msjprincess]

Attended a conference at CSR earlier this year, the Pepper Market was never open during our breaks. I like places open all the time, not just a few hours at prime meal time.

Have been to CSR and CBR this year, and honestly were disappointed at both. We disliked CBR so bad we drove to Pop to eat at least twice.

Our fall trip is PORR, if that is disappointing, it's back to the values for us.

When did they start doing that? The two times I stayed at CSR they were opened all day until around 11pm.

 

[momofboyz3]

Attended a conference at CSR earlier this year, the Pepper Market was never open during our breaks. I like places open all the time, not just a few hours at prime meal time.

Have been to CSR and CBR this year, and honestly were disappointed at both. We disliked CBR so bad we drove to Pop to eat at least twice.

Our fall trip is PORR, if that is disappointing, it's back to the values for us.

Thanks for sharing! One of my boys faves of POR was the foodcourt. We ate their a few times at off hours and it was not busy at all. We also loved the food I'm sure your family will love it as we did. Thanks for sharing your opinion of CSR!

 

[momofboyz3]

We have stayed at both POR and CSR.

My husband and older son preferred CSR. My husband loved the fact he could sit outside by the lake and have a drink and a cigar and not feel "weird". Its a convention hotel so it has a different kind of a vibe.. there were lots of convention goers sitting outside just kind of relaxing with a drink and my husband felt more comfortable with that kind of a crowd.

Now, at POR he tried to sit out in the smoking section for a cigar and he said he felt very awkward because even in the smoking section people were complaining as they walked by.

My older son loved CSR because he said it was very peaceful and quiet around the grounds in the evenings. He would sit outside and talk to his girlfriend on his cell and I think he appreciated the privacy.. lol The grounds definitely felt less busy and more spacious than POR but, it could also be that WDW in general was less busy during that trip.
He also loved the pool and I also thought the pool was impressive.

I did have issue with CSR though. For one thing we were upstairs and we had very loud neighbors who would come back every night after midnight. Fine, they are night owls and have that right but, when they would walk up and down the stairs and walk ways it was VERY loud. They were in and out of their room all night long and it started to become a real issue when we couldn't sleep at all. We also heard them laughing and talking loudly during the night. We are rope drop people and we were sleeping by 11pm every night and it felt like right when we got to sleep, here came the neighbors. Not really the hotels fault but, when I did mention it to the front desk one morning, they were like.. "oh"... and that was it. I was hoping to get moved to the first floor but, maybe they just couldn't do it but, at least they could have had a better response than "oh".
It did seem that the walls were paper thin.

The other issue I had with CSR was Mousekeeping... not a big deal but, I called to ask for thin pillows because I have neck issues. I called the front desk first and they told me it wouldn't be an issue at all to request a couple of thin pillows but, when I contacted Mousekeeping the woman was quite rude about it and acted like I was asking for a pint of blood or something.

Now at POR we were on the first floor and our room was back by the parking lot and wow what a difference!! It was so quiet at POR in the room... I mean we barely heard anything at night. We always have our car at Disney so we request a room close to the parking lot.. just because it works well for us... it isn't for everyone but, it sure was quiet there.
I loved POR food court as well.

I did have a major issue at POR, an issue I feel was the most serious I have had at Disney. I had something stolen from our room. Oddly enough I had shampoo taken from the bathroom counter. It wasn't just any shampoo but, a 32 oz bottle of Wen, which was quite expensive for shampoo. The only explanation I think makes sense is that the maid must have taken it. I was told by Mousekeeping that it was probably an accident.. that she more than likely threw it away by mistake. I didn't really buy that because the thing was heavy and large.. it would be difficult to throw it away and not realize it. POR did give me a credit on our bill for the shampoo so, I felt satisfied with their response.

I wrote about this several months ago on DIS and I actually had people try to make it my fault for being a victim of theft.. they said I should have put my shampoo in the safe.. I had to laugh at that.

ThankYou for taking the time to write this. First off of course it's not your fault, your shampoo was taken (whether accident or purpose) you were the victim!
POR was silent and we were there over Memorial Day week. I felt bad when my boys would slam the door. I loved that about the resort.
I'm a bit like your husband (minus the cigar, although I do like that cigar smell) I enjoy the convention vibe. I like an upscale feel.
I don't know what to do!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[momofboyz3]

I found the one of the best ways to compare resorts we were considering was watching youtube videos by many different people..it gives more than a quick glance at photos and you get a more real "feel" imo.

Hope you figure out what works best for you

Great idea! ThankYou!

 

[saskdw]

Thanks for sharing! One of my boys faves of POR was the foodcourt. We ate their a few times at off hours and it was not busy at all. We also loved the food I'm sure your family will love it as we did. Thanks for sharing your opinion of CSR!

They close now from 2:30pm- 4:30pm and then open again from 4:30pm-11pm for supper. It is a little annoying, but it only affected us once last trip and we got something from Cafe Rix. You can also eat at the Dig site as well. They also close from 11am-11:30am to switch over from breakfast to lunch.

On days when we found ourselves at the resort at that time we liked to go to Pepper Market at 1:30pm or so and it was always dead. So service was quick.

 

[firstwdw]

Well we recently stayed at POR for the first time and absolutely LOVED it! I am in the same boat for our next trip-to stay at POR or try something new? I like the looks of the Dig Site Pool at CSR but I feel the amenities at POR are much more family friendly such as boat and bike rentals, horse and buggy(although we didn't do this it added to the feel and we liked seeing them!), fishing, boat to DTD, Yehaw Bob in the lounge, double sinks in the rooms, table and chairs vs desk with one desk chair, and we LOVED the food court at POR!
For me and my family (DS is 7 going on 8) those things were more important than a fitness center, spa, salon and a sit down food court type place. The boat and bike rentals and food court alone would sell me on POR again I think!

 

[momofboyz3]

Well we recently stayed at POR for the first time and absolutely LOVED it! I am in the same boat for our next trip-to stay at POR or try something new? I like the looks of the Dig Site Pool at CSR but I feel the amenities at POR are much more family friendly such as boat and bike rentals, horse and buggy(although we didn't do this it added to the feel and we liked seeing them!), fishing, boat to DTD, Yehaw Bob in the lounge, double sinks in the rooms, table and chairs vs desk with one desk chair, and we LOVED the food court at POR!
For me and my family (DS is 7 going on 8) those things were more important than a fitness center, spa, salon and a sit down food court type place. The boat and bike rentals and food court alone would sell me on POR again I think!

Hmmmmmm I know... I know! This is a tough decision!!!! We were so happy with POR for the same reasons that you and yours enjoyed it. Just don't know if we should try CSR decisions, decisions

 

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

If' you're still undecided and haven't checked out this website, you should: www.portorleans.org. It's a great website with alot of information about POR and POFQ. DH & I have stayed at both CSR & POR and didn't like the overall feel of CSR. We love POR & recently stayed in a preferred room AB section twice in April. The overall vibe of the resort is great. There's alot to do right at the resort & I surprised DH with a carriage ride for his birthday that was so relaxing. We love the boat to DTD & we really enjoyed the quiet pool that was by our room & also relaxing at the Muddy Rivers Pool bar and people watching.

Whatever you choose.........you'll be at Disney so enjoy the magic!!

 

[momofboyz3]

If' you're still undecided and haven't checked out this website, you should: www.portorleans.org. It's a great website with alot of information about POR and POFQ. DH & I have stayed at both CSR & POR and didn't like the overall feel of CSR. We love POR & recently stayed in a preferred room AB section twice in April. The overall vibe of the resort is great. There's alot to do right at the resort & I surprised DH with a carriage ride for his birthday that was so relaxing. We love the boat to DTD & we really enjoyed the quiet pool that was by our room & also relaxing at the Muddy Rivers Pool bar and people watching.

Whatever you choose.........you'll be at Disney so enjoy the magic!!

Thanks for the response! Actually we stayed at POR and it was amazing!!! It is CSR that I'm not sure about but thinking to just try this resort for 2014

 

[E&As Mom]

Honestly, CSR is our favorite resort for many of the reasons others have stated... it "feels" a little more upscale to us. However, in our eyes, POR comes in a very close second.

We stayed @ POR in September 2008. This was our first on site stay and we found the resort to be absolutely beautiful! I can't really speak to the ease of the food court, only because we didn't use it. Check in was quick, CMs were courteous, Mousekeeping was good, and we enjoyed having the boat to take us to DTD. Not a bad thing to say about our stay, aside from very busy/packed buses the whole time. We stayed in the Magnolia Bend (I think that's what it's called) section, by request, and close to the last bus stop. We didn't use the main pool, but it did seem crowded every time we walked by. Enjoyed the use of the quiet pool, though.

Stayed @ CBR in September 2010. Nothing extraordinary about our stay here... nice resort, nice theming, full sized beds (instead of queen). Probably wouldn't stay here again, but not for any real issue.

Skip ahead to September 2011. We wanted to try another moderate, but POFQ just doesn't appeal to use for some reason. We booked a week long stay @ CSR and actually requested the Ranchos section (not a popular choice, since it's the furthest from El Centro). We fell in LOVE with the resort! Yes, it's a big resort, although we personally didn't feel that it was any larger than POR. We were placed in a lovely corner room in Ranchos 7B with a view of the quiet pool (not by choice... don't know if getting this was an upgrade!). We were close to 2 bus stops, and had about a 20 minute round trip walk to El Centro. It was also a quick walk (2-3 minutes) to the Dig Site/Main pool. They had a campfire with the ability to make smores every evening, and also showed a Disney movie poolside each night of our stay. Our girls loved the Jaguar slide at the main pool and I have to say that DH and I did too! We found the bus service to be exceptional (honestly never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus to or from the resort...maybe it was just luck!). We used the Pepper Market twice, and also stopped by Cafe Rix to grab gelato a couple of times. Panchitos (the general store) had everything we needed as well.

We are headed back to CSR in September and can't wait to get there!

Best of luck in making your decision. I really don't think you can go wrong with either resort!

 

[momofboyz3]

Honestly, CSR is our favorite resort for many of the reasons others have stated... it "feels" a little more upscale to us. However, in our eyes, POR comes in a very close second.

We stayed @ POR in September 2008. This was our first on site stay and we found the resort to be absolutely beautiful! I can't really speak to the ease of the food court, only because we didn't use it. Check in was quick, CMs were courteous, Mousekeeping was good, and we enjoyed having the boat to take us to DTD. Not a bad thing to say about our stay, aside from very busy/packed buses the whole time. We stayed in the Magnolia Bend (I think that's what it's called) section, by request, and close to the last bus stop. We didn't use the main pool, but it did seem crowded every time we walked by. Enjoyed the use of the quiet pool, though.

Stayed @ CBR in September 2010. Nothing extraordinary about our stay here... nice resort, nice theming, full sized beds (instead of queen). Probably wouldn't stay here again, but not for any real issue.

Skip ahead to September 2011. We wanted to try another moderate, but POFQ just doesn't appeal to use for some reason. We booked a week long stay @ CSR and actually requested the Ranchos section (not a popular choice, since it's the furthest from El Centro). We fell in LOVE with the resort! Yes, it's a big resort, although we personally didn't feel that it was any larger than POR. We were placed in a lovely corner room in Ranchos 7B with a view of the quiet pool (not by choice... don't know if getting this was an upgrade!). We were close to 2 bus stops, and had about a 20 minute round trip walk to El Centro. It was also a quick walk (2-3 minutes) to the Dig Site/Main pool. They had a campfire with the ability to make smores every evening, and also showed a Disney movie poolside each night of our stay. Our girls loved the Jaguar slide at the main pool and I have to say that DH and I did too! We found the bus service to be exceptional (honestly never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus to or from the resort...maybe it was just luck!). We used the Pepper Market twice, and also stopped by Cafe Rix to grab gelato a couple of times. Panchitos (the general store) had everything we needed as well.

We are headed back to CSR in September and can't wait to get there!

Best of luck in making your decision. I really don't think you can go wrong with either resort!

I want to thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my thread. I think your reply is my deciding factor. I'm going to put a down payment on CSR ~ I was worried about Ranchos. But, we are walkers & enjoy it. I love what you had to say so thank you for your honest opinion!