Which Moderate Resort?

[Eyore4Ever149]

Okay, I thought I had my mind made up- Port Orleans FQ. I thought it was a little smaller, and a little quieter and I liked the idea of a boat ride to DTD (as long as its not too slow)

Now, after reading the "Unofficial Guide" I have some reservations. They said its large and confusing layout, extremely long walks to dining fac and busses. (sp?)

We stayed at CBR in Jamaica- walk to bus was short-but to Old Port Royale and pools was long and confusing.

I also notice PO FQ only has 1 big pool. They both have a similar amount of rooms.

Bussing system at CBR was so-so I thought. We had to stop at all these other stops before we even left the resort property.I hated that I had to get on a bus to eat anything more than fast food (we were there a week- I had no idea there was a full service restaurant there- Where is it??? (Shutters)

Id consider other moderates. I would LOVE to stay at CR or GF, but I know we just dont have the $$ to spend there unless a great discount comes up.

I basically want it all. I dont want to walk too far when at my resort- I have to do that all day at the parks. I also would like a good paced bus system. I dont want screaming kids, and I want to be able to enjoy a pool at the end of the day a couple times.

I am not a DVC'r and I am not a military person, or nurse or anything. Im just your regular Jane looking for a good place.

Please help me decide!!! What moderate (I would consider the others I didn't mention- I just dont know enough about them)

 

[Grumpy92]

The guide is referring to the PO resort as a whole that is POR and POFQ. POFQ is very nice and small, you can easily walk to the main building in a minute from anywhere there. We found the buses better there compared to CBR.

You might want to request a bldg on your resv. I would suggest 3, 4 or 6. Loved 3 and last time stayed in six and like it even better. It was not on top of the main bldg, so no constant pedestrians by the room, but oh so close.
Here is a map: http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/portorleans.jpg

As for the pool they only have the one. So here is my suggestion, grab a towel from the POFQ pool and take the short stroll along the river to POR(3-4 mins). Between the first two mansions on your right is a nice quiet pool. Officially the wdw statement is you cant use other resort pools. But we have done this many times at POR and no one has ever questioned us.

I have stayed at CBR and PO and prefer the PO resorts far above CBR. I think you will really enjoy it.

 

[litlpixie]

Hi. Just wanted to plug POR for you. We love it there, and it's not a confusing layout/very easy to find your way to the food court/main pool/quiet pool, even my 2 young boys could always find their way to and from the arcade/ it was never a problem. I read that too in the Guidebook, and I never could understand why they would state it had a confusing layout. The only time we were a tad confused was when we were trying to find our building for the first time we were ever there. Just follow the walkway and they have signs posted everywhere. Happy planning, and as you can see from my counter, the "confusing layout" has not stopped us from considering POR to be 1 of our Favorites.

 

[Buzz2001]

You can visit my CSR website for pics and info

 

[z28wiz]

CBR IS BY FAR IN MY BOOK THE BEST MOD

 

[EmmasGrammy]

My choice is Coronado Springs. It also looks spread out on a map but the truth is you never have to walk more than 8 mni. to get to the furtherest point. Also the path ways are straight shots, not all the curvy pathways like at the Poly or PO. We stayed at the PORS back when it was Dixie Landings and we got lost everything single day trying to find our room. I hated that!!

Another good point is that each section has a bus stop, and the wait for the bus was never more than 10 min.

 

[Buzz2001]

you never have to walk more than 8 mi.

should be .8 miles but it really isn't that bad. Sometimes the distances get exxagerated.

Walking Distances
From El Centro moving clockwise around the lake path to:
Casitas 3 = .16 miles
Casitas 4 = .24 miles
Casitas 5 = .27 miles
Ranchos = .46 miles

From El Centro to the Dig Site, via the bridge near the Cabanas
= .35 miles

From El Centro moving counterclockwise around the lake to:
Cabanas 9B = .16 miles
Cabanas 9A/8B = .22 miles
Cabanas 8A = .31 miles

OR

Take the bus instead of walking
Theme park buses go:
2 - Casitas
3 - Ranchos
4 - Cabanas
1 - El Centro

Downtown Disney buses, as well as Park Exit buses go:
1 - El Centro
2 - Casitas
3 - Ranchos
4 - Cabanas

CSR buses go in this order so that guests can hop on board a theme park bus and take it to the main building. They can then hop on a DTD bus to get back to their rooms.

 

[amymouse]

If walking time to and from the food court and bus stop is your main worry, than POFQ will probably suit you the best. It's a small and charming resort.

If you're concerned about having only one pool, Grumpy92 was right about being able to use the pools at POR, too.

As for the buses: the bus will stop at the one POFQ stop first and will then stop at the four POR stops before heading to the park. But, at busier times of the day (opening/closing/just before nightime events) you will be pleasantly surpised that often the bus will only stop at POFQ and then head to your destination.

I love ALL the moderates, but think you might enjoy the convenience of POFQ the most.

 

[Stiff]

they must be talking about POR or just PO as a whole

FQ is quite small

 

[cruisnfamily]

Originally posted by Buzz2001
You can visit my CSR website for pics and info

So far we've stayed at All Star Sports, Coronado Springs, and Carribbean Beach Resort. Of the three I must say that my hands down favorite is CSR! We absolutely love it!

That said, we're trying to try all the resorts eventually so we're trying a new place each time. This trip we'll be staying at POFQ and I'm really looking forward to it. The smallness, the renovations, etc sound very appealing to me.