Coronado Springs or Port Orleans

[CtDisneyGuy33]

Hello Everyone-

As I'm sure someone on here will know, I will post the question.

We are already starting to think about a WDW October trip, staying at either Coronado Springs or Port Orleans. We have never stayed at these so I figured I'd ask here:

Should we look into one type of room more so than another? Example, in All stars, we have gotten the "preferred" room as it was closer to the Main Desk / Buses/etc. Should we be looking at a certain room at these hotels for that type?

Any thoughts on Garden vs River View would also be appreciated.

Thank you in advance!!

 

[got2lovedisney]

You didn't specify if you're looking at PO French Quarter or Riverside. If French Quarter, to me, it's all good as it's a smaller more compact resort. (It's my fav). If Riverside or Coronado...the only advice I can give it to "request" the section that the buses stop at first! At Riverside, I think it's Alligator Bayou and at Coronado it's Casitas. We've been at the Cabanas at Coronado and had to wait quite a long time for a bus as they were getting filled up at the stops before ours. That was very frustrating.

 

[CtDisneyGuy33]

You didn't specify if you're looking at PO French Quarter or Riverside. If French Quarter, to me, it's all good as it's a smaller more compact resort. (It's my fav). If Riverside or Coronado...the only advice I can give it to "request" the section that the buses stop at first! At Riverside, I think it's Alligator Bayou and at Coronado it's Casitas. We've been at the Cabanas at Coronado and had to wait quite a long time for a bus as they were getting filled up at the stops before ours. That was very frustrating.

Ok, I will keep that in mind. My friends were considering the all inclusive package through Expedia, so I will check out the options. I have never been to any but sounds like French Quarter might be nice too as its a smaller place. Clearly I need to do a bit more research..

Thank you for your advice!

 

[Ariel484]

Agreed with the PP - Riverside vs. French Quarter makes a big difference.

I've stayed at all 3. Personally, I liked Coronado's rooms the best. They were really beautifully decorated, almost similar to the deluxe resorts. Coronado is a conference resort, so that's something to keep in mind...make sure there aren't any conferences going on when you're there. On the flipside they have a large lounge area that's pretty cool to appeal to the conference folks.

Overall I think my pick would be French Quarter. All 3 resorts are in a decent location, and with either of the Port Orleans resorts you have the boat to Downtown Disney, which is nice. But the thing I like most about French Quarter is that it is small enough to only have one bus stop, and while the bus sometimes shares with Riverside, that's not always the case. We thought the bus service at French Quarter was pretty good in November. At Riverside and Coronado you'll definitely want to request a room closer to the lobby - when I was at Coronado our room was on the opposite side of the lake from the lobby area, and it was quite a hike to get up front!

 

[Ember]

I had a hard time deciding between the two on our last trip so we did a split stay. We liked Coronado, but LOVED Port Orleans. You can see pics and info in my trip report. We stayed in Riverside, but visited French Quarter and it is also very nice

 

[slappy magoo]

We've been at the Cabanas at Coronado and had to wait quite a long time for a bus as they were getting filled up at the stops before ours. That was very frustrating.

But on the flip side, if you're at one of the first stops, and you get on the bus, you're all excited that you're about to go to your theme park du jour, only to have to endure more stops. "When are we leaving the gol darn parking lot and driving to Epcot already?"

The one good thing about being amongst the first stops is that people in your party are more likely to not have to stand if the bus gets busy.

 

[CtDisneyGuy33]

I had a hard time deciding between the two on our last trip so we did a split stay. We liked Coronado, but LOVED Port Orleans. You can see pics and info in my trip report. We stayed in Riverside, but visited French Quarter and it is also very nice

Wow, great pics! Did you specify where in the resort you wished to stay? Was it a long walk for buses, restaurants, etc? I forsee my friends and I and luggage walking to our room and hearing the complaints would drive me nuts..lol.

 

[Betsyboo]

Check out portorleans.org it's a great website with LOTS of information.

 

[Ember]

Wow, great pics! Did you specify where in the resort you wished to stay? Was it a long walk for buses, restaurants, etc? I forsee my friends and I and luggage walking to our room and hearing the complaints would drive me nuts..lol.

Thanks! We asked for the closest building, but there were three conventions going on when we were there so casitas 5 was as close as they could get us and it was a HIKE getting everywhere. I think the biggest difference between CS and PORS was that even though we had a bit of a walk at PORS it's shady and you walk along the river so it's very pleasant, but at CS it's all open and the sun is beating right down on you which makes the walks seem even longer We stayed in the Royal room at PORS which is in the mansion section and closer to the main buildings. I'm not sure what the experience would have been like if we had stayed at the back of Alligator Bayou. When we walked around French Quarter everything is in close proximity to the main buildings.

 

[G8rchamps]

We end up letting the room rate decide for us. Hitting Coronado next month, but love FQ. Wrong room at Coronado can be a hike to the lobby.

 

[CtDisneyGuy33]

Thanks! We asked for the closest building, but there were three conventions going on when we were there so casitas 5 was as close as they could get us and it was a HIKE getting everywhere. I think the biggest difference between CS and PORS was that even though we had a bit of a walk at PORS it's shady and you walk along the river so it's very pleasant, but at CS it's all open and the sun is beating right down on you which makes the walks seem even longer We stayed in the Royal room at PORS which is in the mansion section and closer to the main buildings. I'm not sure what the experience would have been like if we had stayed at the back of Alligator Bayou. When we walked around French Quarter everything is in close proximity to the main buildings.

Thanks again for your advice. Your Pics and trip report were great, I think they convinced me Port Orleans is a better choice for us. Thanks again!

 

[CtDisneyGuy33]

We end up letting the room rate decide for us. Hitting Coronado next month, but love FQ. Wrong room at Coronado can be a hike to the lobby.

We end up letting the room rate decide for us. Hitting Coronado next month, but love FQ. Wrong room at Coronado can be a hike to the lobby.

For October so far, they are pretty close to the same price. I can already hear the complaining about walking to our rooms, so I think the FQ is where we will try this trip. Thanks for the tip

 

[Ember]

Thanks again for your advice. Your Pics and trip report were great, I think they convinced me Port Orleans is a better choice for us. Thanks again!

You're welcome! Glad I could help

 

[DanStat]

I had really bad service with multiple CMs at Coronado. Enough to where I will never go back. However, Port Orleans (both sides) were fantastic. It's such a shame because the rooms at Coronado were huge! I wouldn't recommend paying for a specific room at the Moderates. I paid for a preferred room at Coronado and based on the walking we did, you would have never known.

 

[Buzz2001]

Hello fellow Nutmegger.

I've stayed at both and would recommend CSR in a heartbeat! Besides having a great main pool area, CSR also offers many deluxe amenities at a mod price. They also offer business club level rooms now with lounge access.

CSR has queen beds, a sliding wooden door separating the sink area from the room (can be good for little ones napping in a pack n play) but only one sink.

Amenities include a fitness center, spa, free wi-fi, tanning beds, a sauna, salon, full menu room service and a night/dance club.

The resort offers the same toiletries as the deluxes (except GF). CSR has separate shampoo and conditioner instead of the shampoo/conditioner combo at the other mods and values (a small thing, I know, but it means I don't have to pack shampoo and conditioner).

CSR has the largest hot tub of the mods and one of the longest pool slides on Disney property. The pool, slide and playground area is great and all located in one area at the main pool.

Bus service is terrific and is not shared with another resort.

 

[CtDisneyGuy33]

I had really bad service with multiple CMs at Coronado. Enough to where I will never go back. However, Port Orleans (both sides) were fantastic. It's such a shame because the rooms at Coronado were huge! I wouldn't recommend paying for a specific room at the Moderates. I paid for a preferred room at Coronado and based on the walking we did, you would have never known.

I think between your experience and a couple above, Port Orleans is where we will try and stay. There are so many difft types of rooms, I was confused, so again I appreciate your insight. We have stayed at the Values and if it wasn't for preferred, I swear we would have walked for another 20 mins after getting off the bus. Thanks

 

[CtDisneyGuy33]

Hello fellow Nutmegger.

I've stayed at both and would recommend CSR in a heartbeat! Besides having a great main pool area, CSR also offers many deluxe amenities at a mod price. They also offer business club level rooms now with lounge access.

CSR has queen beds, a sliding wooden door separating the sink area from the room (can be good for little ones napping in a pack n play) but only one sink.

Amenities include a fitness center, spa, free wi-fi, tanning beds, a sauna, salon, full menu room service and a night/dance club.

The resort offers the same toiletries as the deluxes (except GF). CSR has separate shampoo and conditioner instead of the shampoo/conditioner combo at the other mods and values (a small thing, I know, but it means I don't have to pack shampoo and conditioner).

CSR has the largest hot tub of the mods and one of the longest pool slides on Disney property. The pool, slide and playground area is great and all located in one area at the main pool.

Bus service is terrific and is not shared with another resort.

Thanks for the insight and I checked out your site. Gives us something to think about for sure.

Great to see another CT person on here - I knew I couldnt be the only person sitting in the cold and wishing we were at Disney by looking at this site!

 

[Tink0102]

Thanks for the insight and I checked out your site. Gives us something to think about for sure.

Great to see another CT person on here - I knew I couldnt be the only person sitting in the cold and wishing we were at Disney by looking at this site!

You are definitely not the only one. Eastern NC here....23 degrees and 5 inches of snow. I know that's not a lot to a CT person but for us that is a blizzard! Sitting here in my wool socks and pjs dreaming of a warm WDW vacation!
Thanks for posting this thread. We are currently booked for October in a Royal Room at PORS, but I was showing my husband just this morning the map and how far apart everything looked and we decided to look at some of the other mods. CS was one that was mentioned. I think we will take another look at POFQ

 

[Ember]

You are definitely not the only one. Eastern NC here....23 degrees and 5 inches of snow. I know that's not a lot to a CT person but for us that is a blizzard! Sitting here in my wool socks and pjs dreaming of a warm WDW vacation!
Thanks for posting this thread. We are currently booked for October in a Royal Room at PORS, but I was showing my husband just this morning the map and how far apart everything looked and we decided to look at some of the other mods. CS was one that was mentioned. I think we will take another look at POFQ

The Royal Rooms are amazing so I highly recommend keeping your reservation! They are close to the main buildings, much closer than you could possible get at CS unless you book a preferred or concierge club room. If you do change because of proximity I would go with POFQ as you would be close to the main buildings and pool no matter what room you get.

 

[Tink0102]

The Royal Rooms are amazing so I highly recommend keeping your reservation! They are close to the main buildings, much closer than you could possible get at CS unless you book a preferred or concierge club room. If you do change because of proximity I would go with POFQ as you would be close to the main buildings and pool no matter what room you get.

How close are they to the main pool? They look really far