Pondering Moderate Resorts.....

[figment1985]

I am planning a trip for 2 this coming September. I have been reading a lot of old threads on here about moderate resorts, pros and cons...etc.. and I really hesitated to ask repetitive questions, but it's coming from slightly a different angle than the ones I could find.

So far I have read that a lot of people love Port Orleans Riverside and French Quarter. But I seem to be liking the themes of Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs. My main turn off for POR and POFQ (and don't shoot me) was the themes....my fiancee and I are 22 and we like beach style of CB and mexican theme of Coronado.

So basically my question is... which has better transportation to the parks (if there is a difference). I can't tell which is closer, isn't CB?

Last but not least, we are thinking about going to Islands of Adventure for literally a half day (can't let it reuin any disney fun) and does anyone know if the ticket prices there change if you are only coming late afternoon-to night?


Thanks for your help!!!

 

[sbkline]

Carribean Beach is considered an "EPCOT Area" resort and Coronado Springs is considered an "Animal Kingdom Lodge area" resort. So CS would be closer to AK than CB resort is, but CB would seem to be closer to everything else. Carribean Beach, if I remember correctly, is withing walking and boat distance to EPCOT and, being closer to MGM and MK than Coronado Springs, it would seem to be a closer bus ride as well, I would guess.

 

[elabron]

Keep in mind that CBR and Coronado are both bigger and more spread out than Port Orleans....meaning the bus will have to make more stops......leaving you waiting longer to board a bus, and longer for you to get off the bus.

Wife and I stayed at CBR 6 yrs ago and HATED it due to the transportation.....waiting for buses in near 100 degree heat is miserable.

 

[mousermerf]

While Carribbean Beach is an Epcot-area resort, you have to understand what the actualy Epcot-area is.

A road runs between Epcot and MGM called Buena Vista Drive. You can actually get into MGM from this road due to its unique parking design, but Epcot is actually a good distance from anything on this road. The road runs along the rear of World Showcase, and all buses enter from the front of the park.

So, getting to Epcot, AK, and MK from an "Epcot-area" resort is really a journey. The actual "Epcot Resorts" in Yacht, Beach, and Boardwalk are connected to Epcot via a special entrance at the International Gateway. CBR has no access to this entrance.

Just down Buena Vista Drive is Coronado Springs. It's closer to AK, which for all intents and purposes is at the "end" of Buena Vista Drive (it's technically another road because you change over at one point just past the All Stars). So getting to Epcot, CBR and Coronado are about the same. Both have to travel to World Drive and then enter Epcot from the front.

Slightly further down World Drive, they'd enter MK's area. So, they're roughly the same distance from there too.

AK is a bit closer to Coronado though. MGM is closer to CBR. The dififferences are really insignifigant unless you get stuck in tons of traffic.

Over at the Port Orleans area, they're off a road that runs from the east side of Epcot (where Test Track is) closer to Downtown Disney (and thus their waterway transportation to DtD).

That road also allows them quicker access to MK then going west to World Drive because it cuts through the woods and pops out by Fort Wilderness.

I have no idea how they get to Epcot (they don't go down Beuna Vista then turn onto World Drive as far as I know - perhaps they hop over to Epcot via the Epcot Center Drive interchange which is nearby), but it's presumably close timewise to CBR and Coronado. They are farther from MGM because of traffic congestion on that side of Epcot/MGM on Buena Vista.

All of the moderate resorts have multiple stops inside the resort itself. It's not unique to any of them. However, the two Port Orleans resorts often share a bus, and that can make the travel time much higher.

 

[wdwmomof3]

I know what you mean. We were there 3 years ago at CBR and hated it because everything was so far away. You had to walk forever to the room, and to the bus stopand the food court was two miles away. When we went this past time, Oct 06, I booked two rooms at All Star Music, close to the food court and it was great. The rooms that we had were just redone and were so nice. They had new furniture, carpet, everything was new. They were cleaner to me than CBR and with two rooms, we had a lot more space for our money. We had the children in one room and my husband and I in another. They also now offer new family suites but I could not use the discount code that I found with a suite. I saved 650.00.
For me, this worked out great. Our car was close by, the food court & pool were close by and we had no problems with noise. I can't wait to go back.

 

[saltmom1]

I LOVE CBR ! Request a room in Aruba or Jamaica. It is an easy walk across a bridge to the food court (meh, IMO) and the main pool. I think the walk is a lot further at POR. The beach theme is great, you are right.
I like POR ( forever Dixie Landings) for the food court, not the 20 minute walk to your room.

 

[Eyekimore]

My two cents......

I personally don't like Coronado Springs. It tends to be a big convention hotel - lots of working vacationers. (As you're adults- you might enjoy the more adult/less family environment.) I also don't like their food court area. You have to tip at every meal. You can't just go up for counter service. This increases the time spent at meals at the hotel. I want to get out and go!

I personally like POR the best- but also like CBR- Martinque. It's right next to the food court-big pool- and has a great small pool.

 

[Blonde Princess]

We have stayed at all of the moderates. We have never had good transportation at CBR. It always seems like you wait forever, especially in the morning for busses and that often, depending in partto which block you are assigned, the busses are full or too many people are waiting. We liked Coronado Springs, and would rank their transportation just above CBR. They are good at moving you to the water parks and AK, but poor in moving you to MK and Epcot early in the morning.

POR and POFQ seem to have the best transportation. POR has a great lobby bar and entertainment (piano player show). Also, both have access to the water transportation to Downtown Disney.

 

[parker kim]

hi we have stayed at both CBR and cor. springs (this past oct.) and like both I love cor. springs thought It was nicer themed and more beautiful than CBR. Only problem we had there was the food Its no good and the layout of the of the hole food area is bad. but loved the room love the pool area It was just beautiful and has a really great feel. MY husband likes CBR alittle better so each there own. :veryconfu but its been a while from the last time we stayed there we are going to try it agian in sept. 07 : The food is better there. Hope this helps. and the buses at cor. springs were great only one time we had to wait more than 10 mins. for a bus.

 

[figment1985]

Wow thanks for all the feedback guys! Now you have made this even more confusing to me! LOL.....

I definitely don't want a longer bus ride.... so going by just this.... I am assuming Port Orleans Riverside is the best choice? But didn't someone say that they share the bus with French Quarter so it's longer??

ahhhhhh :: pulls out hair::::

 

[RiversideBunny]

Port Orleans Riverside shares a bus with Port Orleans French Quarter only during the slow times. Maybe during the day when few people are using the buses they will stop at both places.
In the busy morning and evening times there are buses to each hotel.

I think you would like Port Orleans Riverside, particularly the mansions area.
If, however, beach themeing is what you really want, then go to CBR and maybe pay the extra dollars to have a preferred location room.
Good luck. Have fun.

 

[Eyekimore]

I actually like the themeing at Alligator Bayou (POR) better than the Mansions. Alligator Bayou side is on the same side of the water as the Main building. But again- my two cents.............

 

[Kristia]

We stayed at CB in 1995 and again in 2002. We really liked it there. The first time we stayed in Aruba and had a short walk over the bridge to the food court. The next time we stayed in Trinidad North which was also very close to the food court. Last May we decided to try something different so we went to PO - Riverside. We decide we liked Carribean better and will be returning this August. I liked Riverside, but I felt like the transportation took longer. It was a very busy time around Memorial Day. We always shared a bus with French Quarter. FQ was always picked up first so buses were very crowded by the time they came to POR. FQ is also always the first to be dropped off. I liked the theming better for CB also. Everything seems so bright and cheery. I love the Carribean music in the food court. This year we are paying for a preferred room to be close to everything rather than leave it to luck of the draw. We had been lucky so far though! Usually the walk to a bus stop isn't bad because each section has its own stop. Trinidad South and Barbados are very far from the food court area though. Each section also has its own quiet pool. Main pool is at Old Port Royale which is the food court area.

Hope this helps. It seems everyone has their own opinions about which place is best. It all comes to personal preference and a little luck. When you are in line for the bus at the end of a day at the parks, it always seems as if your hotels bus is the only one that isnt coming often enough!!

 

[Blonde Princess]

I believe the other entry is correct. The busses are shared at POR and POFQ during the low transportation times. Also, as between POR and POFQ you may want to look at whether there will be a food court, lobby bar etc at POFQ when you are going.

 

[CleveRocks]

The OP doesn't prefer the theming of the Port Orleans resorts. You can't argue opinion and likes and dislikes, so I won't even discuss the Port Orleasns resorts at all.

The OP asked which transportation is better, CSR or CBR. I've stayed at CBR twice, CSR never, so I can't say which is better. I can only say that I've only had POSITIVE experiences with CBR's bus system during my 2 separate week-long stays. Sorry, I think the complaint about waiting for buses in the heat is pretty meaningless, as there is no such resort with NO waits for buses and no such resort with indoor air-conditioned bus stops.

At every resort, the target is to have a bus for each separate destination swing by every 15-20 minutes. Disney Transport has some smart cookies working there, they know that the number of stops at a resort or the distance from the resort to a given park affect how long it takes, and they dispatch buses accordingly. For example, a bus leaving CBR will get to MGM in about 4 minutes, but a bus going to AK might take 15 minutes. However, it's not like there are MORE MGM buses coming through CBR because it's a shorter ride. They try to keep everything pretty even everywhere. of course, this doesn't always succeed, but this is the target.

The bottom line, however, is that you can't go wrong. All of Disney's resorts are great places. You may have a tough decision ahead of you, but don't forget that it's a HAPPY decision!:wave:

 

[CleveRocks]

And by the way, both CBR and CSR have ONLY bus transportation, no boats or anything like that. And you CAN'T WALK from either resort to anywhere. You certainly can't walk from CBR to Epcot.

The only moderate resorts than have anything other than bus transportation are POFQ and POR -- they have a boat that goes to Downtown Disney, but buses everywhere else (and they also have a bus that goes to DTD as well).

 

[CleveRocks]

Also, as between POR and POFQ you may want to look at whether there will be a food court, lobby bar etc at POFQ when you are going.

Do you know something we don't??? Is there a rehab scheduled for POFQ's food court and lobby bar that you know about that the rest of us don't??? Please tell ....

 

[Kadee]

I've stayed at Caribbean Beach but not Coronado Springs. The transportation at CB was very good, except for leaving the parks at closing. The line for CB was the longest of any. But they just brought in extra buses. It still took a while, but nothing horribly long. However, we experienced that at POR last July, also. The only problem we had at CB was that we were WAY in the back. We were VERY close to a bus stop, but WAY too far away from the food court. We never ate there that trip. We used POR's food court a lot. But one good thing about being in the back was the quietness of it. It was beautifully landscaped and so peaceful. Every resort has pros and cons. Just consider what is important to you and enjoy!

 

[Blonde Princess]

At present there is no sit down casual dining at POFQ. You are able to go to Boatwright's but that is over at POR which means long walk, boat or bus to get there. Although the food court was redone recently, it is inconsistent. The pool bar is ok but has limited hours. Figment said that she was 22. POR has more entertainment by way of lobby bar, show, and dining that POFQ. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the theming at POFQ better than at POR, which is ok. But, POR has some better options.

 

[Eyekimore]

Come to think of it- I think I remember hearing that POR food court was being refurbished and not much was open. You might want to check and see if the food court would be open when you are planning on going. That would definately be a vote against it.