Resort feedback please!

[tnhl]

Hello...We have stayed at the Wilderness lodge 3 times, and would like to stay somewhere less expensive. Wondering if anyone has any feedback regarding the moderate and value resorts. We typically venture out most of the day, and don't spend much time at the resort, outside of sleeping and the occasional swim. We would appreciate any thoughts comparing the deluxe vs moderate vs value resorts, transportation issues, service, etc. Thank you!!!

 

[nathanyell]

Personally I love Wilderness Lodge. If you like the compactness of the lodge, I would try POFQ. I have not stayed there personally, but have heard good things.

I have stayed at CSR and loved it. I missed the balcony, but the room had a door between the sink area and the sleeping area, which was really nice since I was there for work and needed to get up before everyone else. I also found the bus service to be pretty good, was there for 9 days in late march and never had to stand on a bus. The pool area is probably the best for a moderate. The pepper market was confusing and quite pricey though.

I've also stayed at POR and found it quite nice. It seems to be smaller than CSR or CBR. The food court was really good and the main pool was themed well. POR does share buses with POFQ, so be aware of that fact. The boat to downtown Disney is great!

Hope this helps,

Brian

 

[Disneyhenry]

We missed the balcony but that was just about it. Yes the toiletries are not as nice, but we use our own anyway. Other then the balcony I didn't miss much. If you drink coffee I would choose a mod resort,

 

[3floridarays]

We love the WL, but on our last 2 trips we didn't want to spend much, so we stayed at ASMo in October and ASSp in December. ASSp was a bit too noisy for us so we probably would not stay there again. However, we would not hesitate to stay at ASSMo again. The rooms are basic, but they have just been refurbed and everything is new. The room was very clean and served our needs. We ate at the food court several times and, considering we stayed in the Dalmations section, it was much faster to get to for coffee or hot chocalate that it has been for us to get to the QS at WL when we've stayed there. We drove our own car to the parks, so I don't have anything to share regarding the bus service, but there always seemed to be a bunch of them coming and going. We also stopped by the McDonald's by the AS resorts for breakfast each morning - much less crowded and less expensive than the food court.

 

[mommy2twinprincesses]

We will never stay at a value again...much too noisy for my family. We loved CSR last time and plan to stay there again. It was the right mix of quiet at night and had a great pool for the kids.

 

[twinboysmom]

We usually stay dvc but when we run out of points we stay values. In October we stayed at ASMo and really enjoyed it. The rooms are all recur Ed and we found everything clean and I thought the grounds were lovely. We stayed in ASMu in Devember and while the rooms are not quite as recently renovated, they were clean and well maintained. I found all CM's to be helpful and friendly at both. Both had transportation that was adequate. The resorts only shared bus transportation during the non peak times (say 1pm) and we had our own buses during peak times. We have stayed in sports and pop but it had been a while. They were fine as well.

I do love WL as well and hope to stay there again soon with dvc. But for cash stays, it's value or S/D (we get good nurse discounts) for us.

 

[nkereina]

We stayed at POR in September which is low crowds. They only shared buses with POFQ during off-peak times. During the morning and at park closing, each resort had their own buses. I think during the week, we only shared with POFQ once or twice.

We did venture over to POFQ one morning for breakfast. Their food court was very small and crowded, and we had to eat in the lounge with our food. We also found the bus stop to be crowded since there is only one. One thing we liked about POR was the size and multiple bus stops - it seemd to disperse the crowds, and it never felt crowded. We also liked the multiple quiet pools at POR and the food court. We never had trouble getting a seat in the food court, and it had a great selection.

 

[disdream]

I really like CBR. I've stayed there twice and have had great experiences both times. We're staying there again soon and can't wait. It is true that it's a very large and spread out resort but we always get a Preferred Room which is close to the bus stops and the food court.

The food court has a good variety of food as does the sit down resturant. I had my best steak of the week at Shutters. The resort seems very layed back and quiet. We never heard any neighbors or had any problems. Mouse keeping was also good. I asked for extra towels and wash cloths my first day and they kept us very well stocked the entire week.

Good luck making your choice. It's a difficult decision.

 

[polkadotminnie]

We have stayed value, mod and deluxe. When we want a great value for the price we book CSR. It is a great balance between keeping a budget and a bit of deluxe relaxation.

 

[chekhovgirl]

Hello...We have stayed at the Wilderness lodge 3 times, and would like to stay somewhere less expensive. Wondering if anyone has any feedback regarding the moderate and value resorts. We typically venture out most of the day, and don't spend much time at the resort, outside of sleeping and the occasional swim. We would appreciate any thoughts comparing the deluxe vs moderate vs value resorts, transportation issues, service, etc. Thank you!!!

We just stayed at POFQ and loved it- didn't find the food court crowded in the morning, but we didn't care for the food that much. The quality is going to be the same at the other resorts, so I wouldn't really take that into consideration.

We walked to POR one night for dinner and I liked that a lot, too. I'd try it there when the kids are older since it is more spread out and looks more southern plantation like whereas POFQ is more compact and looks more, well, French Quarter and fun, but tranquil. People say the values are noisy, POFQ was soooo quiet. Almost too quiet at times, actually!

At POFQ we only shared a bus with Riverside twice and both of those time we were picked up and dropped off first.

 

[imacoug]

We are a family of six and tour the parks commando style. We get up and leave. We get back and go to bed.
We have stayed at all of the value resorts, PORS and CSR. Cheaper seems to be the best option for our touring style and family size (two rooms). But, I absolutely HATE the double beds in the value resorts.
We have stayed at POP three times only because it has a slightly better food court.
We usually rent a minivan because I can't stand waiting two hours to get
"home" after closing down a park.
Although it is has been hit-and-miss (noise), we try and get rooms on the top floor as far away from the bus stop and food court as possible, but adjacent to a parking lot for easy access.

 

[Blackbeltdisneygirl]

We've stayed at POR twice and CSR once. We loved both, but prefer POR b/c the food court is so much easier. CSR is massive. It has more of a lazy feel I would say, which is nice. I just think I preferred POR over CSR. Now with the refurbs and the beds becoming queens at POR, you won't be able to beat it! We are trying out POFQ this time, and have heard wonderful things. I am a bit nervous about the smallness of the eatery, but i guess we can go to POR if we really feel the need to go elsewhere. CSR was hard for us to figure out, and I guess my hubby finally did, but we only ate there twice in 7 days b/c it was a hassle. I loved the pool and hot tub there though. You can't beat a 22 person hot tub. I am perfectly happy at POR though, and will absolutely go back.

 

[tnhl]

Is there a guide to all the acronyms? I feel dumb asking, since we've been to Disney 3x, but I'm getting confused :=) Thank you!!!

 

[3floridarays]

Is there a guide to all the acronyms? I feel dumb asking, since we've been to Disney 3x, but I'm getting confused :=) Thank you!!!

I think there is a list somewhere, but not sure where. Maybe someone else will know? But for quick reference, here are some of the ones used in this thread:

POR = Port Orleans Riverside
POFQ = Port Orleans French Quarter
CSR = Coronado Springs Resort
CBR = Caribbean Beach Resort
WL = Wilderness Lodge
ASSp = All-Star Sports
ASMu = All-Star Music
ASMo = All-Star Movies
POP = Pop Century Resort
S/D = Swan and Dolphin Resorts
QS = Quick Service Eatery (Counter Service)
CM = Cast Member

 

[MMrules]

I have never stayed at a value so I have no comment on them but depending on when you want to go there will be a new one called the Art of Animation which will be clean and new .

I have stayed at CBR (Caribbean Beach) 4 times, with and without children. Coming from New England I just love the beachy, tropical feel (however I do love the WL feel too). It is a big, spread out resort, but there are buildings that are closer than others (I assume that CSR is about the same size). I have always had good food at the food court and the swimming pool is great. If you have little ones they have an amazing kiddie pool/slide area which my boys wanted to go in while we were swimming at the Beach Club's amazing pool. I have always had good service at CBR, but you will read differently on the boards.

If you are looking for a smaller size resort I would try POFQ...it is the smallest of the moderates. I have never stayed at it though but I would like to try it one day.

 

[GrammyJudy]

We have stayed at all the values. I prefer All Stars because they are smaller. We alsways pay for preferred rooms to be close to pool, foodcourt and bus. I think we may try mods again next time but I am happy with all the values. Foodcourts are great for breakfast. Buses are fine though POP always had the last bus stop at the parks. We did not share for AS except in the middle of the day. Rooms are adequate for the amount of time we spend in them. Kids love the theming. Can't go wrong at Disney. Someday I may splurge for the Poly but I am ok with any.We would rather go often and spend money on food and the grandkids.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Hello...We have stayed at the Wilderness lodge 3 times, and would like to stay somewhere less expensive. Wondering if anyone has any feedback regarding the moderate and value resorts. We typically venture out most of the day, and don't spend much time at the resort, outside of sleeping and the occasional swim. We would appreciate any thoughts comparing the deluxe vs moderate vs value resorts, transportation issues, service, etc. Thank you!!!

I prefer the moderates to the values because I personally find the amenities offered at the moderates are worth the price difference. I do like to spend some time enjoying the resort on trips that are long enough to do so.

Moderates include the following things that values do not:
-coffee pot in the room
-fridge in the room
-a table service restaurant on site (not POFQ) in addition to the counter service place
-ceiling fans in the rooms
-a pool slide at the main pool
-a hot tub
-covered bus stops (with benches!)
-slightly larger rooms (314 vs 260 sf)
-CSR, POFQ, and POR (refurbished rooms) have queen beds (vs. double at values)
-the theming is more immersive vs large icons to convey the theme
-2 sinks in the vanity area (1 at CSR)
-POR has standard rooms that can accommodate families of 5 (Alligator Bayou section with a trundle or Murphy bed)
-POR & POFQ share a boat to Downtown Disney
-Some of the moderates offer recreation like the little boat rentals, bike rentals, carriage rides (for fees).

As for transportation, the values each only have one bus stop. Sometimes the All Stars share and you will have 3 stops, but they often don't share. This is nice since you go direct to the parks once you're on the bus. The moderates are more spread out and have between 4 and 7 stops at the resort. CSR has 4 and CBR has 7. POFQ only has 1 but often shares with the 4 at POR. This means you usually don't have to walk far to a bus stop, but you have more stops to make before going off to the parks or when coming "home" for the day.

Almost all the deluxes have alternate forms of transportation to get to the parks and they have locations very close to at least one park. The values and mods only offer bus transit to each park. Many of them are pretty centrally located on WDW property and the distance to each park is about the same (vs like at WL you are close to the MK but far from AK). Most deluxes also have interior corridors and balconies for each room; you won't get that at values or moderates.

Hope this helps!

 

[PlaidPixie]

We will never stay at a value again...much too noisy for my family. We loved CSR last time and plan to stay there again. It was the right mix of quiet at night and had a great pool for the kids.

This, exactly. I can't handle the Values - too hectic, too chaotic, too loud. We really like CSR, but POR is also great as Moderates go. If you're not spending much time at the resort, I think it's far wiser to save and go Moderate.