POR with an 8 YO?

[Donaldoduck]

Hi all! Is POR a kid friendly hotel? We are leaning no toward CSR because it doesn’t seem to have much of a Disney vibe and seems more like an adult hotel. I’d love your input on POR with a child? Do they have kid friendly activities? Is it as kid friendly as some of the other resorts?

 

[DonaldDuck Family]

Our family loves Riverside and find it to be very kid friendly. We enjoy the pool and the fishing hole (not the guided fishing excursions, Riverside has fishing from a dock with cane poles). They also have a great food court. As a family, we enjoy the horse drawn carriage rides. They also have an arcade, movies under the stars, playground, and bike/surrey rentals. We've also been known to ride the boat to Disney Springs, just because the boat is fun.

 

[Donaldoduck]

Our family loves Riverside and find it to be very kid friendly. We enjoy the pool and the fishing hole (not the guided fishing excursions, Riverside has fishin from a dock with cane poles). They also have a great food court. As a family, we enjoy the horse drawn carriage rides. They also have an arcade, movies under the stars, playground, and bike/surrey rentals. We've also been known to ride the boat to Disney Springs, just because the boat is fun.

Our family loves Riverside and find it to be very kid friendly. We enjoy the pool and the fishing hole (not the guided fishing excursions, Riverside has fishing from a dock with cane poles). They also have a great food court. As a family, we enjoy the horse drawn carriage rides. They also have an arcade, movies under the stars, playground, and bike/surrey rentals. We've also been known to ride the boat to Disney Springs, just because the boat is fun.

Thank you so much for your reply! That’s great to hear! We love how kid friendly Pop is but would like a little bit more space in the room. Do you have any recommendations about where to stay in POR?

 

[UNCgolf]

I think the Royal Guest Rooms are the best rooms because of the location -- they're a pretty short walk to the main lobby/food court, the main swimming pool, and a bus stop, plus they have their own smaller pools too.

They cost more than a standard room though and I personally prefer the look of the regular rooms over the "theming" in the Royal Guest Rooms.

 

[Weather_Lady]

Our kids' first-ever visit to WDW (at ages 4 and 6) was at PORS. We stayed in Alligator Bayou, in what were then brand-newly-refurbished Princess and the Frog rooms with the fold-down Murphy bed. (This was 11 years ago, and those rooms have since been refreshed with another soft goods refub.) Our kids loved the rooms, the food court, and the pool. It was a very family-friendly place to be! The only down side was that it could be difficult to navigate especially at night, due to the many interwoven pathways and far-flung buildings, but that is a down side shared equally with all the other big moderates (Coronado Springs, Caribbean Beach). I'd whole-heartedly recommend PORS for kids of all ages.

 

[LeighM]

Hi all! Is POR a kid friendly hotel? We are leaning no toward CSR because it doesn’t seem to have much of a Disney vibe and seems more like an adult hotel. I’d love your input on POR with a child? Do they have kid friendly activities? Is it as kid friendly as some of the other resorts?

I don't have children but I have stayed at both Riverside and Coronado Springs multiple times. CSR is only slightly more adult oriented than Riverside especially the way the Gran Destino towers are designed (the bathrooms aren't the best for families compared to the other rooms at the resort). But I do think that the pool area at CSR is better than Riverside. The pool is larger, great slide, the arcade is next to the pool, they have a beach volleyball net in that same area, and there's just something much cooler about the pyramid next to the pool LOL. And because it's a convention hotel, the pool isn't as busy as other moderates (unless there's a cheerleading/dance competition!!). I don't think that Riverside has much of a Disney vibe either - it's all understated unless you get one of the Royal Rooms. Both resorts have similar poolside activities, games, and paid arts and crafts. The one thing that DOES set Riverside apart from the other resorts is YeHaa Bob and his show but I don't think he's always there now.

 

[NelleBelle]

I agree that the pool at CSR is. Erger but it can be a HIKE depending on where your room is.

As for POR, my kids stayed there when. They were 4 & 6 and they had a blast! We stayed in alligator bayou and I loved the theme of it. My kids didn’t care that we used the quiet pool by our room but they did use the feature pool. We’ve also stayed at POFQ multiple time when they where young and I think they loved that pool just as much. We didn’t do any of the resort activities because we chose to do water parks, mini golf and focused on theme parks. But they definitely had a lot going on.

We have stayed at CSR when they where 12 and 14. I think for a lot of kids, of the resort has a pool and slide, they’re happy. We found the food much better at POR than CSR, but YMMV.

 

[threvester]

do not see it in the refurb section, but I am staying at French Quarter 3rd week of January and just got an email saying the pool will be closed during my stay, Riverside will be open.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

With an 8 year old and you said you wanted a larger room than POP, I’d suggest a family suite at AoA…IMHO, that and POP are the best themed resorts on property for kids…but again, it also depends on how “Disneyfied” your child is. If they can tolerate inundated with that much Disney, those 2 resorts would be my choice…if you feel that even they need a DTO (Disney Time Out), then one of the other suggestions would probably be better. It also depends on mom and dad’s threshold too.

 

[Donaldoduck]

With an 8 year old and you said you wanted a larger room than POP, I’d suggest a family suite at AoA…IMHO, that and POP are the best themed resorts on property for kids…but again, it also depends on how “Disneyfied” your child is. If they can tolerate inundated with that much Disney, those 2 resorts would be my choice…if you feel that even they need a DTO (Disney Time Out), then one of the other suggestions would probably be better. It also depends on mom and dad’s threshold too.

That’s a good point. I really loved the theming of the rooms at Pop because they were clean, neat, modern and uncarpeted (which is great since my kiddo and husband have pretty bad allergies). I don’t think I could handle staying in any room at AOA. I just can’t relax in a bright, colorful rooms. I think I might be able to convince my little one to stay at POR if I mention the giant arcade across the way at PPFQ. I just want to make sure that the extra cost at POR is worth it (this is a last minute trip so we’d be paying about $420/night at POR).

 

[LeighM]

That’s a good point. I really loved the theming of the rooms at Pop because they were clean, neat, modern and uncarpeted (which is great since my kiddo and husband have pretty bad allergies). I don’t think I could handle staying in any room at AOA. I just can’t relax in a bright, colorful rooms. I think I might be able to convince my little one to stay at POR if I mention the giant arcade across the way at PPFQ. I just want to make sure that the extra cost at POR is worth it (this is a last minute trip so we’d be paying about $420/night at POR).

I don't know the time of the year you are planning to go, but maybe Coronado Springs might be the better choice - or at least watch some good resort tours on YouTube before ruling it out completely. The rooms are CSR are the most calming and updated (the standard rooms not Gran Destino tower). There are 3 room options at Riverside - the alligator bayou themed rooms (much less rustic than they were), the mansion rooms, and the royal rooms in the mansion section. There's a chance you might not find them relaxing. Also, there's a huge arcade at Riverside, as well, which I think is bigger than the one at FQ. The food at Riverside food court is much better than the food court at Coronado and it has the boat ride to Disney Springs. But Coronado has much more dining options to chose from. And everyone's experience varies with this but I have always had better luck with the buses at Coronado. It is a large resort, but the bridges across the lake make the trek to the main pool much quicker than it used to be. But you can try to request certain sections or buildings to be closer to the main pool. I would really look at YouTube videos of both resorts and the rooms to see which one yall will like most. I had a friend who stayed at Riverside because I loved it so much but she hated everything about it. The channels Allears and Framily Travel have done more recent resort tours, I think.

 

[James J]

I don't know the time of the year you are planning to go, but maybe Coronado Springs might be the better choice - or at least watch some good resort tours on YouTube before ruling it out completely. The rooms are CSR are the most calming and updated (the standard rooms not Gran Destino tower). There are 3 room options at Riverside - the alligator bayou themed rooms (much less rustic than they were), the mansion rooms, and the royal rooms in the mansion section. There's a chance you might not find them relaxing. Also, there's a huge arcade at Riverside, as well, which I think is bigger than the one at FQ. The food at Riverside food court is much better than the food court at Coronado and it has the boat ride to Disney Springs. But Coronado has much more dining options to chose from. And everyone's experience varies with this but I have always had better luck with the buses at Coronado. It is a large resort, but the bridges across the lake make the trek to the main pool much quicker than it used to be. But you can try to request certain sections or buildings to be closer to the main pool. I would really look at YouTube videos of both resorts and the rooms to see which one yall will like most. I had a friend who stayed at Riverside because I loved it so much but she hated everything about it. The channels Allears and Framily Travel have done more recent resort tours, I think.

Completely agree with all of this. We did 2 consecutive trips at POR and did enjoy it, but after staying at CSR in 2019 we've been converted and will stay there for the third time next year. We find it such a relaxing resort, and as with you we've never had any bus issues.

In 2019 we requested a room in the Casitas area which was fulfilled, and meant we were right next to the first bus stop and a quiet pool. Last year we didn't get our request and were in Ranchos, but this led to us being much closer to the excellent main pool.

 

[Donaldoduck]

Completely agree with all of this. We did 2 consecutive trips at POR and did enjoy it, but after staying at CSR in 2019 we've been converted and will stay there for the third time next year. We find it such a relaxing resort, and as with you we've never had any bus issues.

In 2019 we requested a room in the Casitas area which was fulfilled, and meant we were right next to the first bus stop and a quiet pool. Last year we didn't get our request and were in Ranchos, but this led to us being much closer to the excellent main pool.

You are all so helpful! Thank you!

Do you think CSR is kid friendly? I am worried about ending up in more of a honeymoon hotel vs. a hotel with kids running around

Also, I’ve heard that both resorts are massive and my hubby is already complaining about the long walks. For those of you who’ve stayed at CSR and POR, what buildings would you recommend for proximity to dining and buses or I guess overall convenience?

 

[Worldlover71]

We just stayed at POR last month with 3 kids (10, 11 & 13) and they had a great time. The preferred rooms (their own price category) are in the Alligator Bayou section and are very close to the main pool, main bus stop, food court, and other amenities. A perk of staying at POR is that you can use all the amenities at French Quarter as well. That gives you two fun and kid-friendly pools with slides. It's a bit of a hike over there, but you can also take a boat if you prefer. Be warned, this is a huge resort and if you you do not get a preferred room, you might be very far from most amenities.

 

[LeighM]

You are all so helpful! Thank you!

Do you think CSR is kid friendly? I am worried about ending up in more of a honeymoon hotel vs. a hotel with kids running around

Also, I’ve heard that both resorts are massive and my hubby is already complaining about the long walks. For those of you who’ve stayed at CSR and POR, what buildings would you recommend for proximity to dining and buses or I guess overall convenience?

My husband and I actually spent our honeymoon at Riverside LOL. Coronado is slightly more upscale and adult oriented with their offerings because it is a convention resort but, honestly, both resorts are very Disney family friendly. A lot of convention goers take their families with them so there are still plenty of children. At Coronado Springs, Casitas buildings 4 & 5 are close to the first bus stop and the path to the feature pool (The Dig Site) but still close to the lobby at Gran Destino tower. I've also stayed in Ranchos 7A, which is closer to the feature pool and the 2nd bus stop. It's furthest from the lobby but I always enjoyed the walk there as it's very pretty and relaxing. I don't think the walk is really as bad as some people say and you can always use the bus to drop you off at other sections of the resort if walking is a problem. The thing to keep in mind is that if there is a dance/cheer competition, the resort tries to put those groups in the Ranchos sections. So if you're going during that season, then Casitas would probably be your best best. I don't know if it came back post covid, but there used to be a direct bus from Coronado Springs to Blizzard Beach. Riverside sections get more complicated because there are so many room categories. My favorite location was Alligator Bayou building 34 because it was closest to the first bus stop and it was really quiet. The walk to the main pool wasn't bad but it was a winding path to the lobby and food options and it was easy to get lost at night (which happened to my husband LOL). My second favorite room location was in mansion building 85, which is close to the bridges to the main pool and the lobby and still close to the East Depot (the 3rd bus stop). My least favorite location was actually the royal room in building 90. Despite it being closest to the lobby and main bus stop, there were often longer waits for buses because most people use that bus stop being so close to the food court and often the last stop on the bus route. That's why I wouldn't stay in a Preferred room - I prefer proximity to the first park bus stop over a short walk to the lobby. Despite my love for Riverside, sometimes it seems like you do more walking around that resort because of how it's laid out and getting lost is easy. But you can still use the amenities at French Quarter, which is a nice walk down the Sassagoula to get their beignets. Both resorts are fantastic, however, the rooms at Coronado are more updated and the showers and beds were better in my opinion.

 

[Doberge]

I think all of Disney's resorts are kid friendly, some more than others. I think both POR and CSR are equally kid friendly. My kids love CSR and my 5 year old calls it the "Three Caballeros Hotel." Both love the pool and play areas. Mom and Dad love the food options.

 

[Weather_Lady]

I think all of Disney's resorts are kid friendly, some more than others. I think both POR and CSR are equally kid friendly. My kids love CSR and my 5 year old calls it the "Three Caballeros Hotel." Both love the pool and play areas. Mom and Dad love the food options.

Chiming in to agree. I think all of the moderates (PORS, POFQ, CSR, CBR) are equally kid-appealing and kid-friendly. You can't go wrong with any of them from that standpoint.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

Its a got a great kid vibe, I especially like the Alligator Bayou section. We saw a hawk there once.

 

[MichRX7]

Our kids loved Riverside at that age, and for us adults we found it very relaxing.

 

[plutofan15]

Just my two cents but I find Riverside more kid friendly than CSR. As someone mentioned, CSR has a convention area which attracts more adult only travelers. We find Riverside more relaxing and the boats to Disney Springs are a big plus. It is a very relaxing ride which opens up many more dining options. In my opinion, while neither are bad, I would stay at Riverside every time over CSR. But to each their own.