Which is the best WDW moderate hotel?

[WaT05]

I am planning on going to WDW again next year and initially I was thinking me and my sister would stay at WL for 2 weeks. I went there last year and it was fab!! Unfortunately I don't think my budget will stretch to this next year

So now I am considering staying in one of the moderate hotels, which is where you guys come in What do you consider to be the best resort taking into account:

*Food (quality, availability etc)
*Room quality
*Pools and beach
*Transport (are there long waits for buses, busy etc)
*Amenities at the resorts
*Noise levels (we woud prefer a quieter resort preferably)

Any help gratefully received!!

Hazel

 

[theflowerladee]

We have stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter, Carribean Beach and
what was Dixie Landings, now Port Orleans. Of these three my family
unanimously thinks the French Quarter is the best w/ Dixie as a close second.
It seems to be the smallest of them so feels much more personnal, we love the themeing? and the pool is pretty cool. We like southern food so Dixie Landing has a good restaurant. all three have nice pools, to us
Carribean beach was so big and just seemed unpersonnal. If you don't get
a room close to the main building it can be quite a walk to the food court.
If memory serves me all of the rooms are quite similiar. It has been a while since we stayed at any of these but I don't remember a bad experience at any of them. Have a magical trip.

 

[Goofyish]

I can only comment on POR, as that is the only moderate I've stayed in:

*Food (quality, availability etc)
Food court at POR is very good with a good choice of food. Lines can get a little long at times, but not a real problem as there is plenty of seating. and there is Boatwrights table service restaurant as well.

*Room quality
We stayed in the Aligator Bayou section, building 14 and found the rooms comfortable, clean and perfectly adequate. Especially given the limited amount of time spent there
You get a fridge included in the moderate rooms now too

*Pools and beach
Main pool is large with a slide, hot tub and pool bar.
There are also a number of smaller 'quiet' pools scattered amongst the room building. We found these very quiet and ideal to come back for a relaxing swim in the afternoon.

*Transport (are there long waits for buses, busy etc)
Stayed at POR twice now (October and August) and have never had to wait long for buses. One point to note that the buses are shared with POFQ and there are 4 bus stops at POR. It's best to get the bus at the main bus deepot (near the main lobby building). As the bus then goes round the other 3 stops it does get full before it reaches the last stop at peak times!
Lines for buses coming back at park closure (especially after Wishes/Fantasmic/Illumination etc.) can be long. Best to hang back in the park and wait for the lines to go before heading out to the bus stop

*Amenities at the resorts
There is the pools. Fishing. Surrey bike rental. Boat rental. Gift Shop (basic groceries too). Amusement Arcade. Bar with live music. Pool Bar. Boats to Downtown Disney. Lovely landscaping. Large food court. Boatwrights restaurant.

*Noise levels (we woud prefer a quieter resort preferably)
Even though it's a large resort it never feels busy or crowded - even in August. The landscaping gives you a sense of seclusion.

Any help gratefully received!!

Hazel [/QUOTE]

From a budget point of view - have you looked at getting an Annual Pass? You can then get an AP discount on your accomodation - upto $50 discount per room! Only the person booking needs the AP.

Alternatively you could go for a split resort stay - a few days at a deluxe then the remaining days at a moderate
Transfering resorts is so easy - bell services will transport your bags to your next resort while you have fun in the parks. You then just return to your new resort, check in and arrange for your bags to be brought to your room

 

[janine]

We stayed at Carribbean Beach resort in 2003 and loved it there.
This year my Mum & Dad & other wedding guests stayed there and enoyed it too.
Transport was great. The beach was lovely and peaceful. The food court was good and well stocked, and the rooms were nice. The maid was fabulous making lots of little animals out of flannels.
We stayed at the Yacht Club this time as we were also married there, and though we were spoiled rotten at that place, I would definately go back to CBR again next time.

 

[Kilted_Yank]

We would have to say Coronado Srpings.

Rooms are lovely, as are the grounds. The pool is large, the lagoon is peaceful, and the food court is fab.

 

[paulh]

We have stayed at all the mods and our fav is corando springs resort same reasons as kilted-yank
Paulh

 

[gilld]

I would have to second POFQ. It has a much quieter, more intimate feel to it with beautiful themeing.

 

[mousette]

I would go with French Quarter too. POR is very nice, beautiful grounds, foodcourt was ok but some of the rooms are a long way from the food court and reception and we we went last year the bus service was terrible.

 

[jns]

we have only stayed at Port Orleans River side , but have visited the others

this is still our favourite
and we are going back again in Oct

 

[Lizzybear]

We were torn between CBR and POR or FQ for 2007. In the end it came down to the fact that CBR is nearer to Epcot (my favourite park), it doesn't share buses and we like the theming more. We don't plan on using the food court much if at all but the system at CSR seems a bit complicated and the resort just didn't appeal to us for some reason.