Port Orleans Riverside or Caribbean Beach?

[traveladdiction]

There are 4 of us... DH, me, DD5 and DD2 (who will hopefully sleep in a pack n play as she is still in her crib at home). We will have a double (side by side!) stroller and all the junk that families w/ kids normally have w/ them.

Currently our reservation is at PO Riverside as the theming appeals to me and the reservation agent we got seemed to think that being close to DTD would be fun for us... but while we do enjoy shopping there, we really don't plan to do any of ADRs there.

Two things are making me consider switching to the Caribbean Beach Resort... size of the standard rooms and proximity to Epcot.

I plan to make our ADRs at Akershus, Coral Reef, LeCellier & Tutto Italia (all Epcot) and Cape May Cafe (Beach Club Villas, which I understand is close to Epcot). The other 3 ADRs we want are Boma, Kona Cafe and Ohanas... but we can schedule those on days we visit MK and AK.

So, do you think that the promiximity of CBR to Epcot is enough of a reason to switch my reservation from POR? Also are the rooms at CBR that much bigger than POR?

 

[bpdigsvb8]

CBR has room sizes of 340 sq ft while POR and the rest of the moderates are 314 sq ft. CBR's main pool is closed for renovations January 7 – September 15, 2008 so you might want to take that into consideration if you are traveling during that time.

 

[Minniemouse07]

We stayed at POR in December and ADORED it! It was dh and I along w/ dd (6.5yo) and ds(2yo). We skipped the pack n play and had ds sleep on the trundle bed (requested an Alligator Bayou room)...and that worked out great! We had a single stroller and stored dd's car seat in the "closet" area next to the sinks. We had more than enough room for all of us to hang comfortably when we were in the room.

I would definitely go w/ POR for the following:

- Boat to DTD...after a week of riding on buses, using the boat is a great treat!!
- Theming and lushness of the resort
- Excellent pool (dd loved the slide)
- Boatwrights
- Piano Bar
- Kid's Pirate Cruise (okay they have one of those at CB too!)
- Excellent food court

HTH!

 

[traveladdiction]

thanks for your replies! The POR sounds wonderful. Has anyone stayed at CBR and is it really quick on the bus to Epcot?

 

[MickeyNicki]

We have stayed at both 3 times each and I think the rooms are the same size. I prefer the POR, beautiful grounds but DH prefers the CBR...he likes the themeing better.

Both have the same food court, IMHO, the food tastes exactly the same and I really didnt think there was a huge difference in menus.

Buses are the same, no quicker or slower. The POR has a much bigger gift shop and a nice lobby area.

 

[HopperFan]

While CBR looks to be just below EPCOT you have to go all the way around to the front of EPCOT to enter.......POR is just across a double roadway from EPCOT and with a couple turns your bus should be there.

 

[mickeybrat]

My family and I have stayed at both! POR. Hands down, one of the best resorts on property!

 

[traveladdiction]

well if it really is the same distance, then I'm keeping my reservation for the POR! I'm so excited. Thanks you guys- you ROCK!

 

[tejasranger]

We just got back from POR Feb 2nd . It was very beautiful and quiet. I cannot say about car. beach since we did not stay there. I know we enjoyed POR. THe beautiful mansions looked like the old south.

 

[ols386]

We've stayed at both. We preferred POR. We've stayed at 3 moderate resorts, 2 deluxe resorts, and 1 value.....POR is our favorite of all. The grounds are beautiful, with a winding river going through the resort, fantastic food court, not too far from MGM and Epcot, and a bit further to MK, not far from Downtown Disney....so for us it seems fairly centrally located. We were a ways from the food court and lobby area, but as stated earlier, the grounds are so beautiful, we loved the walk back and forth. We were in Alligator Bayou which is very lush and has lovely trees and landscaping.
Caribbean Beach Resort was nice also, but definately has more of a beach feel to it....not nearly as pretty as POR, in our opinion. I don't recall the rooms at CBR feeling any larger than the rooms at POR....but maybe they are, I just didn't notice it. When we go back to Disney we will without a doubt stay at POR. (We walked over to POFQ, and it seemed nice, but not anything compared to POR.) (We requested a "corner" room at POR, which is nice, because the corner rooms have two windows, rather than just the one window, letting much more light into the room.)

 

[minnie my my]

I have stayed at all of the Disney resorts - value, moderate, and deluxe. POR is the most like a deluxe to me. I loved it there and so did the rest of my family. I have only stayed at it and CBR once each but from what I remember it was more convenient to get to Epcot and the MK from POR.

 

[YesMickey]

I have never stayed at CBR but have stayed at POR twice in '06 and POFQ the first Weekend in Feb. My kids are currently DD7 & DS4 so I can relate. We stayed at POFQ this time because I fits our needs better than POR. 1. smaller resort. Very short walks to front lobby and boat launch. CBR has a lake in the middle which could call for very long walks, and POR has a river you have to walk over if you stay in the mansions. Also POFQ is the first stop for the busses as it sometimes shares with POR and it's 4 other stops. It also is the last stop going to DTD and the First Stop back from DTD. Also, we never brought strollers with us because they can be cumbersome when getting on resort buses. If you plan on driving to the parks this is not a prob. We rented the double stroller at the parks and they are great, and the kids would sleep in them.

 

[abline]

Just so you know the food court at POR was renovated last year. We stayed there during the renovation and we still enjoyed it. It's everything mentioned above and more. It's actually very close to the MK you just turn right out of the hotel entrance and take that road to the end the make a left and that takes you past Fort Wilderness and then you make a right turn near the general parking area.

 

[skipperkim]

I'd have to vote for POR as well. This way if your 2yo wants to sleep in a bed it will be one that is close to the floor. Be sure to request AB section.

 

[Em&Bec'sMom]

We've stayed at both POR and CBR.
I can't recall any difference in the size of the room. We stayed in the ALligator Bayou section and had the trundle bed, even though we didn't use it (one of the DD's spent the night in the grandparents room most of the time). This may seem very minor, but at CBR, there is tons of shelving below the sinks to hold toiletries, while at POR, there were these tiny glass shelves above the sinks. It was impossible to unpack all of the "stuff" for four people.
I preferred the food court at POR better, but I will throw in the caveat that this was before the renovation. I haven't seen it since to see if they changed anything major. CBR's felt a little more crowded to me and harder to negotiate multiple lines (at POR, I could put DD8 in a separate line for her order and be able to keep an eye on her the entire time - not possible at CBR). I also liked that POR's felt a little more separated from the lobby, gift shop, etc. Plus I loved the turning mill at POR.
As for the buses, there probably wasn't much of a time difference, but it felt longer at CBR. We would come back to the resort and make multiple stops all around until we finally got to ours (#6 of 7). For POR, there was first a stop at POFQ, then next stop was the main one at POR (the one we used). Now if we had used one of the other stops at POR, it prob. would have felt longer.
If I had to pick between the two....... POR. Although the next moderate we visit will probably be POFQ, just to try something new!

 

[Lillabelle0]

Hi All,

We have just returned from a trip to the world. We stayed at CBR again and still loved it. We found it to be very centrally located. Our longest bus ride was to AK and MK which averaged about 8 minutes. HS is right around the corner as is Epcot. As I understand it, CBR is one of the oldest places, but has been since updated. Ditto about the food..we found it to be the same food (in the food court) that is found all over Disney property. We found it to be very quiet despite that there were lots of cheerleaders and dancers staying onsite and practicing. We just love the feel of it. We have never stayed at either of the PO probably because we are from Louisiana and want to get away from the New Orleans feel..Anyway, that is my take. Oh and check in was very efficient. We stood in line for barely one minute. I am not sure that we will ever stay at a moderate other than CBR.

I want to go back. Getting home is never any fun..

 

[Kat913]

Another vote for POR. I have stayed at both and although CB is nice, POR 's theming is just wonderfuL! There is also a lot to do at this resort-carriage rides, surrey bikes, dtd boat ride, fishing. The grounds are gorgeous and bob the piano man at the bar is so funny (like having an extra attraction). The pool is fantastic-my kids enjoyed it more than carribean beach and POFQ. Another poster did say that the pool at caribbean was closed for renovations. I would definitely look into this before you go-that would be a deal breaker for us if we were planning on some swimming. I thought the bus time was pretty close time wise. We didn't have an issue at either place. The rooms at carribbean beach are a little bit bigger,but we didn't seem to notice this much. You'll have a great time no matter where you choose.