We'll be staying for the 4th time at POR next month and we stayed at CBR once....because that was the only mod available with a discount for me one year. I wanted to like CBR, but I just didn't. It felt big and awkward to get around. POR is big also, but the layout seems to work better.....or maybe it's just in my head.
Here's MHO of the positives. For overall theme I think CBR is nicer. While they are both pretty resorts, I personally preferred the theme and the landscaping of CBR. The beach feel vs. old south was just more my liking. The beaches are nice and I liked the sitting courtyards with plenty of shade at each building group. The pool is larger and better themed. That said....my family prefers to stay at POR.
For me, while both resorts are large, the layout of POR works better for me. While CBR is a circle, POR is laid out more like a fan, with the main building at the bottom and the rooms spread out over the top. While the pathways are not exactly straight...I felt more like I was walking from point A to point B at POR and not so much at CBR where I felt like I was walking around more due to the lake. While the landscaping of CBR is very pretty...the tree lined paths of POR felt more relaxing to walk and in the summer months, shaded and cooler. The trek to the food court from CBR, even using the bridge and in the mornings just felt long and hot.
I also prefer that the main building is all one at POR and not spread into 2 locations as it is at CBR. I did need to go to the desk a couple times during our stay at CBR and there really isn't a great way to walk there unless you are in the island right next to it....so had to wait for the bus. It also is nicer IMHO to make 1 trip to the lobby and grab some coffee at the same time. I also didn't understand that you needed to call and book a ride to the lobby for your check out, and we were too late arriving there to use RAC so we had to take our luggage with us. My own fault....but still, inconvenient when we were used to just walking to the lobby at other resorts, I didn't know how it worked there.
We only use the food courts a few times on our stays, CBR was perfectly fine, but I liked POR better. As far as bus service...like others have said we had the good and the bad during every stay no matter where. Both resorts have multiple stops and while CBR has more...sometimes at POR you also share with POFQ. My only complaint sometimes is the loading area at the parks. On our stay at CBR it seemed like we always had the very last one.
regards
They are hit or miss no matter what resort you stay at. POR also has a main pool as well as quite pools. They are also about the same in resort size, a lot of folks like to reserve preferred rooms at both of these resorts to make sure there is no chance of getting a room that may be a 10 minute walk to the main area. We liked the pirate themed pool with the zero entry better than POR, but we just seem to like POR better for everything else. From the FC, the boat to DS, having the carriage ride option and being able to use POFQ amenities or buses. For our family we would not hesitate to stay at any of the 4 Mod resorts.
