Which Moderate Resort

[anneb9397]

I am planning a trip this spring for myself, my father 66, and my children 9 & 11. I have been to Disney several times but it's been awhile. In the past we have stayed at Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness cabins. This time due to budget we are going to stay at a moderate. The majority of time will be spent in the parks, MK, DS, and EP. We don't want to spend our whole trip on buses. Where would you suggest we stay and why?

Thanks!!

 

[loves to dive]

It might be difficult to find a place for that mixture of people. I'm going to assume you are going to need at least 3 beds. I know some of the moderates have the pull out trundle type bed but I'm not sure an adult would be comfortable on it. The mods don't have the pull out couch like the deluxes do. If you are planning on getting two rooms, I would just look at which one is less for your trip time. The buses are the buses are the buses. You can have good and bad experiences with them at all the resorts. PO French Quarter sometimes shares a bus with PO Riverside but is the smallest of all resorts so if it isn't sharing a bus, it only has one stop, CSR, CBR and POR all have multiple stops. Have you looked into Dolphin/Swan? Sometimes you can get a room there for the same price as a moderate but they are more deluxe type and in the Epcot/HS walking loop. Just keep in mind when looking at prices for them that you have to tack on a resort fee per night when comparing prices.

 

[buzznina]

All Mods have only buses for transportation and again, it does not matter what level of resort you stay at it can be hit or miss. POFQ is the only Mod that does NOT have multiple stops, except for the few times it shares with POR. Even when it does share, POFQ is normally the first to be picked up and dropped off. Unless you are going back and forth to the resort for breaks, we have never found it a big deal with bused and time spent on them. Tip; do not leave the parks after fireworks etc. or else you will have a long wait, but again this is true even taking the monorail or boats. Our "goto" resort is POFQ and it is our families favorite Mod. But you only get 2 queen beds and would have to co-sleep. POR and CBR have the extra murphy bed, if you want the 9 year old to sleep and then only you would have to co-sleep while your dad gets a whole bed to himself

 

[maxiesmom]

I would go with whichever one appeals to you most, and bring an air mattress along. Though I will say out of my stays at 4 of the moderates, POFQ and CSR seem to have the best bus service over-all. But bus services has a lot to do with luck--sometimes you hit it right and a bus comes along one minute after you get to the bus stop. Sometimes you just miss your bus and have to wait 15-20 minutes.

 

[rosiebean]

Both POR and CBR have some rooms with small murphy beds, which would help accommodate your party. You would have to request rooms with those, as not all have them. One note...rooms at CBR are larger overall than those at POR.

It's been too long since I stayed at CBR to speak about their bus service, but I stayed at POR two trips ago and did not feel as though I was spending all my time on buses. Plus, there's a boat from POR to Disney Springs that was very nice to have on hand.

If your kids might want to spend time in the pool, CSR, on the other hand, has a well-regarded pool and slide. But as far as I've seen, no extra murphy bed in rooms. Still, packing a small airbed (I've packed lightweight camping airbeds for my kids often) is a great solution for giving family enough individual space to sleep.

 

[SGMCO]

I would stay at either POR or POFQ--POFQ is smallest of the 2 but POR has the better CS restaurant. Staying at either of these, you can use both Main pools since they are Sister Resorts. To get between each sister resort without walking, there is a boat that goes between them. I've stayed at all of the MOD resorts and never really had problems with using the buses to get to the Parks, better than driving. The buses let you off much closer to the park entrance than if you drove and parked in the parking lots. Plus at the end of the day, it's so nice to get on the bus and let someone else drive when you are tired so you don't have to fight traffic. We have enjoyed our stay at all of the different MODs, they all are very nice and unique in there on way.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

POR because your kids will love the pool activities and Yehaa Bob.

 

[MrsJamesPSullivan]

POFQ because of the size, the theming is fun, you can walk or take a boat to POR if you want, boat to DS. Because they're so close when you're heading back to the resort if the POR bus shows up first you can take it instead of waiting.

 

[roydavid7771]

POFQ. Anything I can do to limit my time on a bus, the better. POFQ only has one bus stop...

 

[anneb9397]

I am planning a trip this spring for myself, my father 66, and my children 9 & 11. I have been to Disney several times but it's been awhile. In the past we have stayed at Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness cabins. This time due to budget we are going to stay at a moderate. The majority of time will be spent in the parks, MK, DS, and EP. We don't want to spend our whole trip on buses. We are fine with two beds as a kids can sleep with each adult. Where would you suggest we stay and why?

Thanks!!

 

[BridgeBuilder]

Not CBR. We loved it when we stayed, but it doesn't sound like a good fit for your situation. Lots of walking and the bus takes a while to cycle through all of the stops within the resort.

 

[DisMommyTX]

Coronado Springs had the least walking for us, and the bus service was the best of all our stays.

 

[Eastern]

I would say POFQ because you are used to WL and they are both smaller resorts. POR is ok if you pay for a preferred room, as sometimes those pathways are never ending. I was thinking about business class CSR for a future trip. Those rooms were nicely discounted if you had an AP, cheaper than some of the other room categories, and you get a preferred location and snacks.

 

[mister morrow]

i say csr, i think the rooms are larger than other moderates.

 

[dansdad]

Actually CBR has the largest rooms of the Moderates.

CBR - 340 sq. ft
CSR, POR, POFQ - 314 sq. ft

 

[mister morrow]

Actually CBR has the largest rooms of the Moderates.

CBR - 340 sq. ft
CSR, POR, POFQ - 314 sq. ft

yeah but the suites at CSR are bigger than a standard room at CBR

 

[dansdad]

yeah but the suites at CSR are bigger than a standard room at CBR

True. But there was no mention of Suites in any other posts.