Which moderate?

[DisneyGal24]

We are considering adding a few days to our June trip and were thinking of staying at a moderate. This would be a resort only day for us. We would swim and probably have a table service reservation at the resort. Which would you choose and why? Thanks!

 

[goofyintoronto]

We are considering adding a few days to our June trip and were thinking of staying at a moderate. This would be a resort only day for us. We would swim and probably have a table service reservation at the resort. Which would you choose and why? Thanks!

if you want helpful responses, you might wanna share with us the age group of your party. Any kids?

If you have small kids, i'd suggest CBR. They have a zero entry pool. I like the pool here better than POR/POFQ. Plus theyre currently refurbishing their rooms. I stayed in Jamaica 45, right by the bridge. Gorgeous room, and great location too!

For older kids, POR might be better (food court here is better PLUS I like the boat to DTD). I find POR prettier than POFQ.

 

[RustManFan]

I'd have to agree....small kids CBR and older kids POR. I have stayed at both, enjoyed both a lot, and my kids were small at CBR and older at POR. We only used the quiet pools and not the main pool at either.

Ate at Boatwrights' at POR and food was very good. Only used food court at CBR since kids were young and that is what they wanted

 

[DisneyGal24]

Sorry, our kids are 5 and 8!

 

[OurLaughingPlace]

While we are a POFQ family, I would recommend PORS for your family. Great pool and waterslide, plus a table service restaurant (Boatwrights). The grounds here are beautiful. If you are going to spend a resort day here, you could also rent bikes and / or take a horse and carriage ride at night. There is also hair wrapping.
Have fun!

 

[buzznina]

I would look at the 2 PO resorts, this way you could take the boat to DTD for lot more selection of restaurants for diner.

 

[emldrl]

If it's just for resort time, I would choose by theme. They all have their pros and cons, but you'll be happiest being at the resort you're excited about. Do you like the beachy themes, or the deep south, bayou theme? How about the French Quarter, or the American SW, or Mexico? My favorite city by far is New Orleans, so my choice would be POFQ. My vote is to pick the theme and pool you like best, and go from there. Good luck!!

 

[DisneyGal24]

If it's just for resort time, I would choose by theme. They all have their pros and cons, but you'll be happiest being at the resort you're excited about. Do you like the beachy themes, or the deep south, bayou theme? How about the French Quarter, or the American SW, or Mexico? My favorite city by far is New Orleans, so my choice would be POFQ. My vote is to pick the theme and pool you like best, and go from there. Good luck!!

I am intrigued by CBRs pool. I think the kids would love it. I know it has the pirate ship. How's the water slide?

 

[emldrl]

I am intrigued by CBRs pool. I think the kids would love it. I know it has the pirate ship. How's the water slide?

I don't know first hand, sorry. If you check out the CBR thread, it has a lot of great pictures, of the pools, the old rooms and the new ones, and the resort in general. I think it looks awesome. We were planning to stay there, but our plans changed. Good luck!!

 

[SarahKate]

We just got back from CBR a few weeks ago. It's a beautiful resort and the rooms just got remodeled and are very nice. But unless you're in a closer building, the resort is absolutely huge! We didn't go to the main building or main pool very often because it was such a jaunt. And we weren't even the furthest from it!

We have stayed at POR twice and absolutely LOVE this resort. Even though I would normally go for a more tropical feel, this resort is just lovely. Every part of it....well except the food court in the morning but that's every resort!

The pool is amazing and so is the waterslide. There are hammocks and a hot tub. There is a MASSIVE hundreds of years old tree in the middle of the island where the pool is located. Magnolia trees everywhere and beautifully landscaped. This is a perfect resort to just have a "resort day."

They have pole fishing (fairly inexpensive), movies on the lawn, campfire s'mores in the evening.....

There is also the boat ride to DTD, which is a great way to see a different side of WDW.

Very much recommend POR!

 

[wendybeth75]

We just got back from CBR a few weeks ago. It's a beautiful resort and the rooms just got remodeled and are very nice. But unless you're in a closer building, the resort is absolutely huge! We didn't go to the main building or main pool very often because it was such a jaunt. And we weren't even the furthest from it!

We have stayed at POR twice and absolutely LOVE this resort. Even though I would normally go for a more tropical feel, this resort is just lovely. Every part of it....well except the food court in the morning but that's every resort!

The pool is amazing and so is the waterslide. There are hammocks and a hot tub. There is a MASSIVE hundreds of years old tree in the middle of the island where the pool is located. Magnolia trees everywhere and beautifully landscaped. This is a perfect resort to just have a "resort day."

They have pole fishing (fairly inexpensive), movies on the lawn, campfire s'mores in the evening.....

There is also the boat ride to DTD, which is a great way to see a different side of WDW.

Very much recommend POR!

Yes! I agree with POR for these reasons. The boat ride to DTD is great!

 

[Grumpy92]

I would suggest POR or POFQ. FQ has a wonderful serpent pool or you can use the pools at either resort. Boatwrights is not a bad location and you cant beat Bob Jackson at River Roost. He is fun for the whole family.

The other option is to take the wonderful boat to DTD and have dinner there.

 

[mickeynut1]

Sorry, our kids are 5 and 8!

Out of the moderates, we've only stayed at CBR and we loved it. The grounds were beautiful, the food court was great and had a lot of variety, and our boys loved the pirate themed pool (they were 7 & 9 at the time). POR looks like a beautiful resort, but we wouldn't hesitate to return to CBR.

 

[LovesTimone]

Really the only one I would not suggest is CSR, this is a convention resort, and really does not that Disney feeling to me.

At either POR or POFQ, you have the benefit of using both pools, and food courts and taking the boat to DTD, which I highly recommend. For a QS option, Earl of sandwich had really yummy sandwiches, and the price is great, then maybe some ice cream later on. For sit down, either Rainforest or T Rex, would be a fun way to finish off a relaxing day. Planet Hollywood, is another option, I do suggest asking to sit on the upper levels, as the bottom level is to crowded and way to loud we almost had to scream at our server so she could hear us, and our order was still wrong, I really think that she could not hear what we were saying.

CBR - has a great pirate themed pool and the grounds are so beautiful, the food court is great, but we normally get a bus and head to DTD or the Boardwalk for dinner. The sit down here just doesn't do it for us.

 

[nkereina]

Lots of varying opinions on here, but I think CSR has the best feature pool out of all 4 moderates. It also probably has the best TS restaurants if you're staying at your resort for that too - Maya Grill, and also the new Las Ventanas. Since it is a convention resort, is has more amenities and dining options than the other mods.

If you intend to go to DTD at all, I'd recommend POR. We don't care for their feature pool but the boat to DTD is a great perk.

Fort Wilderness is another moderate. Not sure how pricing compares, but they do have Hoop De Doo Revue and Trail's End, which are both pretty popular.

 

[nkereina]

I am intrigued by CBRs pool. I think the kids would love it. I know it has the pirate ship. How's the water slide?

Waterslide was cute but the one at CSR is longer and better themed IMO. CBR's pool is second to CSR's for us. We felt the pool area at CBR was choppy with the way it was laid out - a lot of the lounge chairs were secluded or segregated from the main pool area and considering the size of the resort, there weren't many chairs around. We also didn't like that the bar was outside of the pool area.

 

[HopperFan]

We are considering adding a few days to our June trip and were thinking of staying at a moderate. This would be a resort only day for us. We would swim and probably have a table service reservation at the resort. Which would you choose and why? Thanks!

You didn't say where you were staying otherwise or for how long (ticket length/cost) but if you are staying at a value with hopper tickets - I would look at staying at my value resort to avoid the move and then adding the "water park fun & more option." Head to a water park for the day - Blizzard Beach has a Ski Patrol area they may love, awesome family raft ride, lazy river and plenty of slides they will enjoy. Then I would head to DTD for dinner.

If your kids are adventurous and enjoy water slides then CSR has the best one, it's long and great fun for all ages.

 

[DisneyGal24]

You didn't say where you were staying otherwise or for how long (ticket length/cost) but if you are staying at a value with hopper tickets - I would look at staying at my value resort to avoid the move and then adding the "water park fun & more option." Head to a water park for the day - Blizzard Beach has a Ski Patrol area they may love, awesome family raft ride, lazy river and plenty of slides they will enjoy. Then I would head to DTD for dinner. If your kids are adventurous and enjoy water slides then CSR has the best one, it's long and great fun for all ages.

We are DVC members and will be staying at BLT and SSR for 12 nights. We have PAPs. We were just tossing around the idea of adding a day at the beginning of the trip and paying cash for a mod. We usually don't do the park on arrival day because we leave at about 2 am and arrive by lunch. After that drive DH and I just want to relax a bit before hitting the parks.

 

[emldrl]

We are DVC members and will be staying at BLT and SSR for 12 nights. We have PAPs. We were just tossing around the idea of adding a day at the beginning of the trip and paying cash for a mod. We usually don't do the park on arrival day because we leave at about 2 am and arrive by lunch. After that drive DH and I just want to relax a bit before hitting the parks.

Since you will be there for a while (jealous!), and you will be close to DTD at SSR, I wouldn't think the boat to DTD would be a major consideration. So, I stand by what I originally posted. Pick a theme you really like, and go with that. For one night, transportation is kind of a moot point, and they all look really nice. Good luck!

 

[kellody1113]

We just stayed at POR last month. There were so many activities at the resort that were great for my oldest daughter. They had pool activities, marshmallow roasting, and an evening movie under the stars on the big lawn. My kids loved the playground there, too.
The food court there was fabulous! Lots of options and very tasty.
We walked over to POFQ a couple times too since it was so close. Their pool was better.
If you're looking for the best pool though, I would go for CBR or CSR.