Which Moderate Resort do you recommed?

colleen2997

Member
I am going to Disney World next month and have reservations at Pop Century. I think that I want to upgrade to a Moderate. After tons of research, I still can't make up my mind. I have never been to any of them.
 
It's pretty much in the theming and location...which theming do you think you'd enjoy?

I've stayed at CBR 3x and love the tropical feel. I do want to try POFQ at some point......
 
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Maritimer

New Member
Carribbean Beach gets my vote.

Hi colleen2997, my family stayed at the Carribbean Beach Resort in December 2004. It was our first onsite hotel but it was awesome. The rooms were nice, a good size (much better then the values based on what I read). The pools are great at the moderates also. The main pool has a waterfall and hot tub, very nice. The food was great at the main food area (counter style). I loved the tropical feel of the place also, the white sand beaches, the hammocks, the plants, trees, the colors etc. There was also lots of walkways and bridges for walking and biking (for rent) . You would also be close to both Epcot and MGM. You could watch the fireworks from the beach lying in hammock. We thought the bus service was also great. I would completely recommend this hotel. I would definately go back there on my next trip if I wasn't trying to convince my wife to let us go deluxe on the next trip, either Animal Kingdom Lodge or Wilderness Lodge.

Make the change to Moderate, you won't regret it!!

Hope you have a magical time
 
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dave2822

New Member
Well, first, think about why you picked Pop Century in the first place. If your reasons were

a. not going to be in the room often anyway
b. traveling with children
c. on a tight budget

than stick with your initial decision. Don't let some of the big bad posters on here scare you. Value resorts certainly are not roach infested, dirt on walls, Disney painted Motel 6's. They have great pools, great food courts (especially for kids and picky eaters), and a great larger than life theme. The rooms are spotless, the staff is friendly. However, if you feel that:

a. rooms will be too small (holds 4 people MAX and can be uncomfy at that)
b. remote location (not too too far, but you do need buses for everything)
c. not much selection (in terms of different pools, rooms, food)

than by all means, if they outweigh the original reasons for booking value, go for it. I guess what I'm trying to say is there is no right decision, everybody has a different circumstance.

However, if you do choose to upgrade, PO, CB, Coronado Springs, all great choices. Like jordan said, depends on the theming.

I've had the most experience with CS, and it is a very nice resort, but a journey to walk around to anything (room, lobby, food, pool) The place has like five different bus stops, for gosh sake.
 
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bhg469

Well-Known Member
I always go with coronado springs, stayed at cbr and por loved por too. but cbr was really packed and was laid out really poorly. Coronado is much quieter and the busses run better than most deluxe resorts.
 
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Dayma

Well-Known Member
We LOVE port orleans. We would never go anywhere else now. We went to Old Key West 3 years ago and didnt fell the "magic" there...
 
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Cynderella

Well-Known Member
We have stayed at Dixie I mean Port Orleans Riverside( gosh I hate that name :D ) atleast 15 times. My family loves it. I prefer Wilderness Lodge but thats a bit too expensive for my dad when we have to get 3 rooms. The only slight down fall is having to take the buses to the parks but its usually not that bad. Riverside is so nice tho. The food court I'd say is prolly one of the best Disney has. The pool is ok but if you dont like it you can always go to the french side which is a little better themed I think.
 
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Thunder Kz

Active Member
I'm a big fan of POR--very relaxing and a boat ride away from DTD. I stayed at All Star Music once. It was pleasant, but small and very crowded. Transportation was a real bummer in the morning. Maybe make half your stay at a moderate if you're not sure and cost is the key factor. Just some thoughts, have a good time!
 
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wannabeBelle

Well-Known Member
Hi there Colleen and welcome to the Boards!!!! As everyone else here has said theming is really key to this question. As far as upgrading at all, from what I got in your post you are going in July, Correct? If so then I would seriously advise an upgrade. I think the grounds are nice, the theming more immersive, the pools more elaborate at the moderates as opposed to the Values. I have stayed at all 4 of the Mods and think you cant go wrong with any of them!!! Port Orleans Riverside is themed to the Antebellum South, Coronado Springs is themed to the Southwestern states and Mexico, Port Orleans French Quarter is themed to a very clean New Orleans during Mardi Gras, and Carribean Beach is themed to an Island kind of feel.
Riverside- This one is probably my favorite of the bunch, I stayed there three times alone last year out of six trips They have won awards for great landscaping. The sit down restaurant, Boatwright's has the best ala carte breakfast on property IMHO. Check out this bunch of pictures from one of our members who has given me permission to direct people to them. These pics include Riverside and French Quarter. http://home.comcast.net/~candisfl/wsb/html/view.cgi-photos.html-.html
The front portion is Riverside, the last few are French Quarter.
Coronado Springs genrally tends to be my number 2 pic. It is the most "adult" of the resorts as it is also a convention center, so you may see people dressed in business casual clothing. The Main pool here is astounding. Some websites that show off this resort are:
http://www.wdwmemories.com/csr/
http://coronado_springs.tripod.com/
This resort is one of the "warmer" ones in terms of this is supposed to be kind of deserty similar to Mexico. Again always a great experience at this resort.
Port Orleans French Quarter is nice because it is the smallest of the Moderates topping out at jus slightly over 1000 rooms so everything is pretty close by and not such a long walk to your room after a hard day at the parks. Note this resort is the only one without a full service sit down restaurant, but you can walk to Boatwright's in under 10 minutes along the river that fronts this resort and Riverside, they are connected.
I stayed at Carribean Beach twice and wasnt overly impressed or turned off either time. They have a sit down restaurant that does have dinner now ( Get some brekfast going and Ill stay there more often!!) called ShuttersThe rooms were nice and the quiet pools were nice and relaxing. the Bus stops are laid out well at this resort and the island feel is nice. If anyone has a website for this resort, please post it!!
Hope this helps!! Belle
 
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slappy magoo

Well-Known Member
I'm starting to think there should be a series of sticky threads in this section of the forum for Favorite Value Resort, Favorite Mod Resort, Favorite Deluxe Resort and Favorite Home-Away-From-Home Resort, as these seem to be the most-often asked questions! No sense wasting bandwidth space for a Favorite Off-Site Resort though! :lol:

Anyway, I'll put in my vote for Port Orleans Riverside. Although it's the only mod I've ever stayed at, I've visited the others for various reasons (no, not for THAT, my god, we're talking DISNEY!), and I'm always glad I stayed at PO-R instead.
 
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CaptainMichael

Well-Known Member
Port Orleans French Quarter because you can't beat the location, bus service, boat service (Downtown), price, theming, and it has recently been renovated! Check out my trip report in my signature for pictures!
 
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brich

New Member
My opinion... I love CBR. Have no desire to stay at any other Moderate. No reason for me not to stay at CBR. I do like trying out the Deluxes but can't see spending the money for the whole trip. So, we split it with the CBR. It's all a matter of taste and when it comes to Moderates, I can't see how you can go wrong staying at any of them. Close your eyes, pick one and see how it goes... :lol:
 
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saltmom1

New Member
WE have stayed at POR twice and at CBR once. I would pick CBR anyday over POR. Although both are nice, the landscaping at CBR is incredible. Our walk to the food court was through an area that was like a tropical rainforest. We were situated right near the bus stop ( about 2-3 minute's walk) and a nice 5-7 minute walk to the food court. We stayed in building 44 in Jamaica. When we stayed at POR, we had about a 15-20 minute walk in the hot sun back to our room after we got off the bus. ( Just what we wanted after walking all day in the park. The only thing that was better at POR than at CBR was the boat to DD and the food court and the sit-down restaurant, I think, are better at POR.
 
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murphy

New Member
POR all the way!!! Beautiful landscaping,mansions are refurbed and very nice!! The river is beautiful and the boat ride to DTD is awesome!! The food court and the store and restaurant are very nice!! A very beautiful and relaxing atmoshpere!! The CM,s are very helpful and kind!!! This is my favorite Disney resort!! Enjoy your trip!!
 
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DW1

Active Member
Go with CBR

I have been to WDW many times and have tried most of the hotels. They are all beautiful and you will enjoy any of them. There2 big bonuses I found with CBR over the others though. 1st is that because it is a bigger hotel they have alot of buses running to and from the parks. Our wait times for buses seemed to be alot shorter there. That said, try to ask for Jamica or Martinique when booking your room. CBR is broken down into different sections with island names and these 2 are on good spots for the buses and to the food court. Getting a wrong "island" good fustrate you during your trip. Nothing is worse than waiting for a bus, seeing it finaly pullup and then keep going because it is full. Espically while leaving parks at the end of the night at busy times, they send CBR buses one after another. I have never ( I'm jinxing myself now) had a long wait at CBR. I have stayed at other hotels there, even deluxe ones, and the buses ran much slower.

2nd is the food court. CBR gives you a food court with alot of different options conviently setup. Pizzas, cheeseburgs, deli sandwiches, chicken etc. The food court has an excellent variety. Plus a mini 7-11 type store for snacks and drinks.
 
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dixiegirl

Well-Known Member
I'm, with port orleans riverside as well...we've stayed there every year since our honeymoon in 96 and for being a moderate resort , you really get your moneys worth...this really is a huge resort..to some to big...but i really enjoy it ..there is the southern mansion theamed area or a southern bayou section..(which is my favorite) . great place to eat as well wannabebelle said...love boatwrights , they have a great sit down breakfast( out of this world bannana stuffed french toast)..with not to bad prices ( to me)...they have i think 4 or more pools , a great main pool witha slide...a playground , a nice fishing area where you can rent fishing pole's...there is the boat marina where you can either rent aboat or take the sassagula river boat to downtown disney....very relaxing...there is a great general store if there are little things that you might have forgotten they usually have them...asprin and the such...and also wine , beer ..etc. yes a bit pricey but, your in disney.. and at nite on certain evenings there is bob the piano guy ..he is fantastic..he plays in the lounge and is great for the whole family...ok i guess i went on a bit exteame..but i love this place...like everyone else said ..do your reaseach especilly on this site everyone is so very helpful...and questions ask away..oh

WELCOME TO THE BOARDS!!!!! :sohappy:
 
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