The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

[DiSnEyF@n]

Hello all...

I am curious about the moderate resorts. We've never stayed before and are seriously thinking about staying at one this summer. We love the deluxe resorts, but it's not in our budget this year. HELP!!!!
Where have you stayed? Where would you stay again? Where would you NOT stay again? WHY???
I'm specifically interested in learning more about bus issues and noise levels while in the rooms. (We have a 2 year old that naps in the afternoons)

But, I basically, I want to know the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of all the MODERATE resorts.
Thank you all for your help! I can't wait to learn more about these beautiful resorts.

 

[Kingdom Konsultant]

I will answer you on this. I've stayed at most of the hotels on property with the exception of the All Stars and Caribbean Beach numerous times. As far as the moderates, I've stayed at Coronado Springs approx. 8 times, POR a good 10 and French Quarter 3. I refuse to stay at Caribbean Beach simply because I have had too many client issues with that hotel due to poor housekeeping. A lot of people do love it though, but it is not for me. If I had my choice it would be either CS or POR. I love them both. They are both beautiful resorts and I love their theming. I've never a had an issue with noise at either of them. I do suggest however that you stay on an upper floor.

Pam

 

[Santa Raccoon 77]

POR or FQ have the boat for Disneys springs as an added bonus imo . However CS is just as nice a resort .

 

[matt9112]

well the buses of-course will be a bit off compared to the deluxe {the pure drive time alone} is a bit more especially to the magic kingdom but i find the french quarter and Caribbean beach are both very nice resorts. as long as you dont expect deluxe service you should be just fine. With that said theirs much nicer hotels on the strip than the deluxe resorts that are cheaper too. we stayed at CBR with a two year old our first time and room noise was never an issue. granted we always go during the off season too.

im in the minority here but i really like CBR but the bus loop sucks sometimes but the resort was so gorgeous.

 

[Belle_MTL]

We've stayed at POFQ with our napping 1 year old and had absolutely no noise issues. We actually found the AKL to be much noisier (people in the hallway, housekeeping in the room below, etc). I also had no complaints about the buses at PO, and the little ones love the boat ride to Disney Springs.
If noise is a big issue for you and if it's in your budget, I'd take a look at the cabins at Fort Wilderness. We stay there every year and have never had noise issue. But if not, POFQ is fantastic as well.

 

[KaliSplash]

For me, the moderates are about location. In which case, CBR is the ONLY one for me. Port Orleans feels like the eastern end of the earth and CS feels like the almost western end of the earth, AKL actually being the far corner of the universe.

Having said that, I trust what Pam says. If she's had clients with problems, maybe somewhere else is a better move. Port Orleans gets rave reviews on these boards. CS is geared toward conventions.

 

[jlsHouston]

I've stayed at CSR twice and CBR once. I'm not a fan of CBR. I don't think I would ever stay there again unless maybe it was priced the same as POP. As far as CSR goes, yes I really like that resort and in my mind it is more a downscaled deluxe because of a few added amenities: gym, small spa, food venues...My first stay at CSR was fantastic and I was super impressed, The 2nd stay I had 2 years of deluxe resorts behind me so my eye was a bit more critical and really my biggest complaint was check-in just is not equipped to handle the lines that form when a convention is coming in, and the grounds and building area weren't getting the love like they did before in terms of clean from debris.
If I have as many people in my travel party this Thanksgiving as I think I will, I may stay moderate if I can't swing a deal at SWAN/DOLPHIN like I did last year. I would definitely do CSR again but I might give POFQ a go. I don't think I would like POR simply because the few times we have gone there for the little boat excursion the kiddos like to do it feels very crowded, I think it is suppose to be the most popular mod.
I never had a bus issue one at CSR, they were never full and we never had much of a wait. I don't really remember the buses being a problem at CBR
As far as noise, the only resort I have ever stayed at where I felt like I could hear the people in the other rooms around me was BC..and that is a deluxe resort.

 

[BigRedDad]

If Deluxe is your lifestyle, you will look and find fault in Moderate resorts. The closest thing to Deluxe in a Moderate resort is Coronado Springs. You can also look for people renting DVC. I have found 1BR DVC rooms for the price of Value resorts my last 2 trips. You can also find Better Than Deluxe accommodations offsite for the price of Value resorts.

 

[Buzz2001]

CSR is a great choice. If the budget allows, look into a business class room with access to the lounge. If not, there are many great choices in room location. No shared buses and a central location make for quick rides to all the parks.

 

[bee]

Last July my wife and I stayed at Coronado Springs and LOVED it. We stayed in Cabanas 8B and were very close to a bus stop. We never waited longer than 5-10 minutes and the stopping at multiple stops wasn't bothersome at all. The ride to Epcot was quick (a must for us as it is our favorite park). We were on the top floor and noise wasn't an issue; we spent a decent amount of time at the resort so we were there at different times of day and still didn't have a problem.

As far as other reasons we liked it:

• The food court had unique items in addition to standard Disney food; we didn't eat there often but we did have some nachos and empanadas there and they were really quite good!
• The overall resort just feels quiet and relaxing (except for the food court during busy times, but I challenge you to find a quiet Disney food court during breakfast!). We liked the Rix Lounge for a margarita.
• Even though we could tell there were several conventions going on we were never disturbed by them.
• The main pool is a lot of fun and the quiet pools were indeed quiet.
• All of the CMs we encountered were helpful and friendly. I had an issue with my MagicBand and PIN and had to keep going back to various CMs to get it fixed and no one was annoyed at having to help me. They took care of the issues quickly and without issue.

Okay, now I'm really missing CSR and wanting to go back!!

 

[YozhikRoth]

I just stayed in the CBR, and had no issues in terms of room quality, location, housekeeping or amenities. My only issue was that the bus service was not adequate for the resort crowd. Mornings had between 15-40 minute waits for buses, and in the evenings it was not unusual for 1-2 buses to fill before you got on. I did not understand why Disney didn't task more double buses to the CBR