* Saturday Spotlight on Disney's moderate resorts *

[Hilary]

Saturday Spotlight is aimed at helping you get a little bit extra from your trips to Orlando. The tips mentioned here may already be known to you, but perhaps you can contribute some of your own which others might not know.

We’re not trying to rewrite the guide books and web pages dedicated to the nuts and bolts information, but hope we can add a little bit of our own icing on the cake.

Check out the Saturday Spotlight 'sticky' thread at the top of the board where we're collecting all the tips from each week's threads covering the different topics.

Here are this week's starter tips for Disney’s Moderate Resorts,

so please join in and add your own favourite(s)!


There are three moderate resorts in WDW - Port Orleans Resort (French Quarter and Riverside), Caribbean Beach resort and Coronado Springs Resort

Port Orleans
* Riverside Resort has two sections – Magnolia Mansions and Alligator Bayou.

* Check out the musical notes across the registration desk at Disney's Port Orleans Resort-French Quarter. You'd hear the first verse of "When the Saints Go Marching In" if the notes were played.

* The grounds of Port Orleans Riverside house a Butterfly Garden located behind the Acadian House at Riverside's Magnolia Bend section.

* In the Riverside Food Court, make sure you sample a praline!

* There are more than 100,000 flowering trees and bushes between the two Port Orleans Resorts and the grounds have won landscaping awards.

* There are a lot of animals in the Port Orleans grounds, too. You could see ducks and other aquatic birds, an otter and there are rumors of the occasional alligator! There are plenty of rabbits, squirrels, and even a chipmunk or two.

* The boat trip along the Sassagoula River via boat from either Port Orleans Riverside or French Quarter to Downtown Disney is a great way to travel. The ride is particularly magical at night when DD is colourfully lit but the rest of the river is in darkness.

* Take an evening horse and carriage ride (chargeable)

* If you'd rather walk, the carriage path between the French Quarter and Riverside is about a half-mile, or 10 minutes, each way.



Caribbean Beach Resort has five ‘islands’ within the resort – Barbados, Trinidad (North and South), Aruba, Jamaica and Martinique

* Younger guests will enjoy Parrot Cay Island, located in the middle of the lake, where they’ll find a playground complete with a jungle gym.

* There are several types of watercraft that available for rent at Old Port Royale.

* Find a hammock on the beach and imagine you really are in the Caribbean



Coronado Springs Resort has three sections - Casitas, Ranchos, and Cabanas

* There are colorful hibiscus, canna, and other plants alongside the walkways, along the lake's shore and between resort buildings as well as the short Nature Trail that winds behind the Dig Site.

* For a quiet drink or lunch, stop at the umbrella tables near La Marina, behind the resort's main building, El Centro with Mexican music playing.

* Don’t miss the beautiful domed atrium that greets you when you walk into the main entrance of El Centro. Look up.

You can find the DIS main site information about all of the moderate resorts here!

Don’t forget to join us for Sunday Chat at 7pm (BST) when this week we’ll be continuing the theme of Disney’s moderate resorts!

 

[Goofyish]

If your are staying at POR in the Aligator Bayou section one of the best Buildings to ask for is Building 14. It's the closest to the foodcourt, shops, restaurant and reception. It's also the closest building to the main bus deepo (the buses pick up at the main deepo first before picking up at the other 3 stops, so if it's a busy day the bus may be full before it gets round the theother stops!).

 

[Miffy2003]

I've never stayed at one of the Moderates, but I'm interested to see what anyone thinks

 

[Frances999]

I believe I read that some of the rooms at Port Orleans Riverside (in the Alligator Bayou section) sleep five - with the use of a roll-away bed POR is the only moderate with this higher occupancy level.

 

[Miss Mickey Mania]

My first onsite stay was at CBR in 2003. I loved it, although it is very spread out. I was lucky enough to stay in Martinique building 26 (I think) which I found to be a good central position.

There are now preferred locations which include Martinique and I think one other village. They cost about $15 extra per night and I would be willing to pay this extra cost to ensure a more central location.

If you are out in Trinidad South for example, be prepared for a long walk to the food court. It's a quiet area so some may like it for that reason.

Each village has its own bus stop and I found the bus service to be very reliable, and this was in Christmas week - very busy!

Louise

 

[jockey]

We stayed at POFQ in September 2004, it was our first stay in a moderate but we were really impressed!! It is a small resort and the pool foodcourt and bus stops are within 5 minutes walking distance!!! Check out the biegnets at the food court the are yummy!!!

 

[KayleeUK]

We stayed at Caribbean Beach Resorts Martinique section for our Honeymoon. It is a lovely resort. Spending some time on the hammocks on the beach is great.