I feel this question is very similar to "which is the best four door V6 car?"
The question is 100% subjective. There is no way to objectively answer "which is the BEST moderate WDW resort?"
They are very similar in layout, room size and amenities. There are little things that mean alot to some people and nothing to others.
Some people must have double sinks in their rooms. Some don't care.
Some love POR/POFQ's fishing pond and boat ride to DTD. Some don't care.
Some love CSR's pool, long slide, and Dig Site. Some don't care.
Some love CBR's Parrot Cay island, white sand beaches and hammocks. Some don't care.
It goes on and on. What is important to one family may mean nothing to another.
We have stayed at all three moderates. They all have advantages. I don't feel that any of them have "disadvantages." They're Walt Disney World resorts! They're all wonderful!!!!
I think people should decide if they want to pay a little more than a value for a moderate resort (and a lot less than a luxury) and then pick which "theme" they enjoy the most.
We picked the CBR for our first trip because we had a honeymoon in the Caribbean. We really enjoyed the bright colors and theming.
For our second trip, we picked the CSR because my DW decorated our house in SouthWest design. Deep, dark, rich colors with stone and cactus and that kind of flavor. We loved the CSR's theming too.
For our third moderate trip, we chose POR because we knew it would be similar to the other moderates except for the theming. We loved it too!
But if someone was only going to go to WDW once in their life, they should pick the moderate due to its theming.
And that is very, very subjective.
Enjoy!
