Sell me a moderate!

[3DisneyBuggs]

I told DH I want to stay onsite this November. He told me to go all the way and book the Poly!I would love to but the frugalite in me can't do it, at least not this trip. So I think a mod would be fine. We have three kiddos 1 3 and 6 at trip time.We do like to spend a day at the pool so that is important. We're driving down so most likely will drive to the parks also. I have two mods in mind but want to hear opinions!!

 

[msteddom]

With such little ones I think Port Orleans French Quarter is the moderate for you. The resort is very small, so you won't have to hike over the river and through the woods to get from the from desk to your room. The pool has a fun theme and is pefect for smaller children. Check out pictires of the resort at: allearsnet.com


Melissa

 

[nhpooh]

With such little ones I think Port Orleans French Quarter is the moderate for you. The resort is very small, so you won't have to hike over the river and through the woods to get from the from desk to your room. The pool has a fun theme and is pefect for smaller children. Check out pictires of the resort at: allearsnet.com


Melissa

I second this!

 

[clonetothebone]

We loved Coronado Springs when we went the first time. We did find the walk to El Centro to be a bit long at times but they have added internal shuttles now so you don't have to walk. We would be staying there again this time except we waited too long to book our trip and they were sold out of the standard rooms.

Everything I have read on the DISBoards about POFQ makes me believe the other posts that it is great for a family with small kids because of its compact size and my kids (DS8 and DD6) are looking forward to sliding down the serpants tounge into the pool!

 

[Goofybec]

I have never been to any moderates with little ones, but I have stayed at Coronado, POFQ, and Carribean Beach. Without a doubt Coronado is our favorite. The walk is not bad. We always ask to be put in the Cabanas or Casitas, both are not a bad walk to the pool or el centro. The Rancho area is the only one that is quite a hike.
Coronado is absoluelty beautiful. The pool area is awesome and the slide is a blast, all of the kids I've seen have loved is. They also have a kids play area by the pool that is pretty neat. Hope this helps!

 

[MinnieSummer]

Another vote for Coronado -- it's absolutely beautiful. CSR has the best pool of all the mods, with a separate kiddie pool and large jacuzzi for adults. The playground is just off the pool so if one child wants to play and the others swim you don't have to leave the pool area. They also serve food at the pool. The restaurant is great although a little pricey. The Pepper Market (food court) has the most variety of any of the mods offering anything from hamburgers to chinese to mexican to fresh grilled fish. The breakfasts at both places are great. The internal shuttle runs all day continuously -- just wave as one approaches and it will take you where you need to go. There is also a salon/spa and fitness center which you won't find at any other mod or a value. Basically it's a delux hotel with a mod's pricing. I've stayed at all the mods, most of the deluxes and all the values and honestly, this is the one I come back to time and time again.

 

[Suzanne74]

I have stayed at Poly and Coronado and besides for the monorail access and seeing the castle on the beach, Coronado is SO much of a nicer hotel. Not as jam packed and crazy. The Poly pool is WAY too small for the amount of rooms they have and it is constantly packed. Not refreshing by any means. The lounge area in Poly is SO SO loud from people waiting for Ohana's and their bus service to the other parks were the longest we ever waited. I LOVED LOVED LOVED the Coronado and if we didn't have to get 2 rooms this time around, I would be going there again. We are trying our first value since MIL is coming and need 2 rooms. The Coronado's pool area (the Dig site) has a HUGE pool, a water jet area for kids, a huge hot tub (Poly doesn't even have that) a playground, an arcade and an outdoor bar/grill all in one spot. It was SO nice and a ton of fun!! The Pepper Market had wonderful food and the Maya Grill restaurant was my 2nd favorite (next to LeCellier.) The ladies driving the golf carts handed out mickey stickers every morning while taking people to and from. The resort is HUGE but it isn't so compact so it is nice and relaxing. Almost feels like you are on your own island. The bus service was quick and it was never packed.
Can you tell I love this resort???

 

[DisneyMomx7]

With the three kids (I'm assuming one is in a pack and play) I would go for the mod with the largest room CBR. You would also get the tropical feel (cheap version of the Poly). They're all nice but I would go with the room with the most space.

 

[Buzz2001]

CSR is a large resort that does not share services with other resorts and offers some deluxe amenities because it is a convention resort.

CSR offers babysitting/childcare services and valet service cleaning - laundry bags and price lists are found in the closet of each room. Service is available 7 days a week, call Housekeeping for pick up.

CSR also has a salon, spa, and a gym that other moderates do not offer. CSR has full menu room service and offers an internal shuttle system provided by golf carts to assist in getting to and from the main building to the villages.

It is also the only mod to offer suites.

CSR is situated around a 15 acre lake and CBR is situated around a 45 acre lake.

CSR has terrific transportation. It does not share with any other resort (like POR / POFQ) and it only has 4 bus stops within the resort (vs 8 at CBR). And since CSR is centrally located, you'll have a quick ride to all the parks.

And being a convention resort, the buses seem less crowded because guests are busy with their conventions.

CSR is the most central to the 3 parks you mentioned. See the map below.

Photo by Ducky4Disney

CSR has the best pool of the mods and probably the second best on WDW property. Best mod pool. It offers a great slide (123 ft long), an arcade, a sand volleyball court, and a playground at the main pool area.

Review from mousesavers.com!!

Coronado Springs is my Best Value choice in the Moderate category. It has several advantages compared with the other Moderate resorts. It is newer, so there has been less wear-and-tear on everything. Also, Coronado Springs is a convention hotel, so it has a few extra amenities not offered at the other Moderates, including a salon, a health club and a more upscale food court.

The theming is radically different in the three areas of Coronado Springs. You can request a specific area when booking but there is no guarantee you'll get your request.

• The Spanish-style Casitas at Coronado Springs are very peaceful, with courtyards featuring tiled fountains. Casitas Buildings 1, 3 and 2 (in that order) are the closest to the restaurants and services. Casitas Building 4 contains the salon and health club, if those are important to you.
  
• The Cabanas at Coronado Springs have a beachy Caribbean feeling. Cabanas Building 8A is very close to the feature pool, which may be a blessing (convenience) or a curse (noise, light). Cabanas Building 9B is closest to the marina and relatively convenient to the restaurants and services.
  
• The Ranchos at Coronado Springs feel quiet and secluded -- some would say isolated -- and feature desert landscaping and pueblo-style architecture. They look closest to the main pool on a map, but in actuality they are separated from the rest of the property by a swamp, so it can be a fairly long walk from these buildings to the pool, and a very long walk to the restaurants.

 

[Dizneydaz]

We like POFQ the best as far as moderates go. Our 2nd choice is CBR. We are usually just 2 adults and 1 small 6 yr. old so the room size isn't a big issue, but I did enjoy the slightly larger room size at CBR. We stayed there for the first time in January (larger group-2 rooms) My DD6 loves the beaches at CBR, though the bugs did come out at twilite in Jan. If you stay at CBR and location is imporant ask for your choices-I've always been successful in getting the location we wanted (faxed request in). The next time we stay at CBR I won't request Jamaica-it was a little farther of a walk to the food court and main pool than I liked-next time I'll ask for the other side (without crossing the bridge).

The next time we stay at moderate, we'll probably pick CBR-for a couple reasons-DD loves the beaches, room size, and we've stayed at POFQ alot. Negs at CBR-huge resort-could have to walk alot and the spa at CBR seemed to always be overloaded (with kids) especially compared to POFQ. One reason is becuase it's located right next to the main pool.

Enjoy your stay!

 

[3DisneyBuggs]

Thanks! I am now sold on Coronado Springs. I love the theming of the pool and the resort looks beautiful. I think we would be better off being close to to the food court area. We could always shuttle to the pool or walk since we are going in December.My son will love the arcade and slide. I'm excited but my DH may be enrolling in culinary school so this may have to wait until 2007.

 

[Buzz2001]

Good choice, have a great trip!!

 

[Spectro is #1]

I have stayed at all and I don't have kids so I don't think I can be of much help but he is my opinion.

CS is my least favorite. Why? Best food court food but with the auto 10% tip, too costly. Also HATE that it is a convention resort. The conventions tend to spill out into the main area at lunch time so it can become very noisy and crowded, this can be a hassle. Most likely you would not return to the main bar for a drink at the end of the day but there were days that the bar was filled with convention folks all having a great time. We had some trouble finding a seat but when we did we felt like outsiders that inadvertently crashed a party.

I think the problem stems from the fact that the convention space is HUGE!
I saw the main room once with all the breakers out and you could land an aircraft in there.

I like CBR and although it is large, it is quite pleasant to walk through.
they have a nice kid friendly pool and each village has a pool and a playground nearby.

Like others have posted, POFQ is the smallest and will require less walking but the buss pick-up is not always close. But if it is a busy night and you want to take the boat to DTD if it is full from POR it will not stop. The food court area is small and no sit down restaurant.

POR aka DXL is great. A bit larger than POFQ smaller than CB but laid out in a way that is not as efficient as CS.

But the themeing is great and the landscaping top notch. Large food court with no auto fee and a sit down restaurant. Entertainment in the lounge on Wed. Fri. Sat. nights with the wild man Bob Jackson. I think it is the best bet.

But with all that I say STAY AT THE POLY! New rooms with flat screen TVs. The pool is one of the best in WDW. Location is great, right on the monorail loop or a nice cruise across the lake to the MK. Great restaurants and shops. If you can swing it do the deluxe always a good choice!

 

[byoung]

FWC you will love it there.

 

[mello]

spend most of your stay at a moderate and then a couple days at the end at the Poly. We did that in September - 12 nights at the Caribbean Beach Resort, which is beautiful, and 2 nights at the Poly. I would stay again at either one, though the Poly does have an edge.

Here's what we liked about CBR. The CM's went out of their way to get us to our ADR the first night we arrived. The grounds are just gorgeous! The atmosphere is quiet and relaxed, the music and theming at Old Port Royale are fun. Our boys, ages 9 and 12, loved the island - they would go over and "shoot" pirates with the canon - or "be" pirates, who knows? - every morning while we got ready for the day. The room was very pleasant. We got towel animals about every other day. The location is pretty central so it didn't take too long to get anywhere (except MK - a few more minutes to get there). The only thing even remotely not to like is the fact that there's no monorail access.

Here's what we liked about Poly. Our dinner at Ohana; Wishes started just as they brought our dessert - what a finale! The grounds and the pool - the boys loved the waterslide, and the whole thing is just gorgeous. The rooms are huge. The quick monorail ride to MK is a perk beyond price - especially with little kids. The lei greeting. The Kona coffee stand. Watching them make the towel animals in the lobby. Watching the water parade from the beach. The only thing not to like is the price!

Together, the two make a great vacation - you get a tropical feel the whole time, and you can visit the MK via monorail (and even zip over to Epcot) while staying at Poly, and visit the other places conveniently from CBR.

I'm sure you'll have a great time no matter what you do!

 

[MinnieSummer]

CSR in December is decorated as well as if not better than most of the delux resorts. It is absolutely beautiful -- you will love it. A wonderful choice anytime but at Christmas the perfect choice.

 

[kaysmommie]

If your going at Christmas time then I would choose WL. It is extra beautiful at Christmas. We have stayed there twice and we love it. We have 2 little ones and I think a mod would be too squishy for us because we spend time at the resort. WL is alot less $ than Poly, but you still have nice restaurants, Queen beds, and boat ride to MK. There pool area is very nice too. BTW I think CS looks nice too, but I like interior corridors better. I would check out WL and see what you think, it is one of the cheaper deluxes.