Port Orleans, Caribbean Beach or Coronado Springs?

[CarsFanatic]

Pretty simple here fellow dads, which of these three Moderates would you choose? We like the theming of Port Orleans. We like the size of the rooms and the choices of quick service dining at Caribbean Beach. We have never stayed at Coronado Springs. So which is it? Any advice as we are having a hard time deciding...

[Urugami]

Of the 3, we've only stayed at Caribbean Beach (3 times). We live in New Orleans, so as good as the POR theming is, it probably wouldn't excite us , and I don't think we've even visited Coronado Springs.
However, I'd recommend Caribbean Beach, at the very least for its food court; it has the best resort food options we've seen, and that includes a bunch of the higher end ones. Plus, it's got the beaches, the play area on the island, and the Pirate adventure that DS found out about last time we were there And it's got that whole 'Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes' thing going on, INCLUDING Buffett mixed into the background music.
But if you've stayed there before, you know about all this, so I don't know why I'm telling you this without being able to compare CBR to anything but the All Star Movies.
Have a great trip!

[wasnotafan]

Of the 3 only stayed at PO. Really like it. CS tends to attract conventions and such I think. My brother really liked CB.

[trennr]

I have been to the Coronado Springs twice... mainly because at the time they were the only moderate with all queen beds.

Now the Port Orleans has refurbed to all queens I would consider them as well.

To my knowledge the only Carabbean Beach rooms with queens are the Pirate themed rooms. So... I would not spend my money on a Moderate if my bed was going to be a Double. So for my Pooh sized family...this has yet to be an option.

Coranado's Food court for Breakfast and Lunch are Buffet style... like $15...but you can snag that for a Quick Service Credit if you have a dining plan. Which I think is a great "value". Coranado's gift shop is also pretty good too considering they do cater to the Convention crowd. Also if you are driving... Coranado is probably the most centraly located resort for all 4 parks. If you plan on taking Disney Busses... Coranado does not share buses with any other resort... and since they are catering to business folk they tend to have more buses running.

1a] Coronado Springs
1b] Port Orleans (FQ or RS)
2] Carabbean Beach Pirate themed room.
3] a value resort
4] Carabbean Beach non-Pirate themed room.

[AirGoofy]

Originally Posted by CarsFanatic

Pretty simple here fellow dads, which of these three Moderates would you choose? We like the theming of Port Orleans. We like the size of the rooms and the choices of quick service dining at Caribbean Beach. We have never stayed at Coronado Springs. So which is it? Any advice as we are having a hard time deciding...

Of the three, we've only stayed at CBR. We had a room near Port Royale. It is a large spread out resort with rooms in different "islands" of the Caribbean. Port Royale is right near the main QS and and feature pool and splash area, as well as the quiet pool. We loved the fake beaches and hammocks. And, then, we could see the top of the fireworks of Epcot each night, however, I hear the trees have grown over. Shutters, the TS there, was the worst restaurant we have tried thus far.

We had friends stay at COronado, and they complained about the long bus walks to their room. Th beignets at PO are excellent.

Disclaimer: CBR is what made us decide to buy into DVC. We ad only been Value resort people before, and once we experienced the smaller bus ride lines and other amenities, there was no turning back.

Either one you pick, you'll have a great trip.

[DisneyFed]

We like Riverside

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

We’ve done all of them and can say that no mater which you go with you’ll have a great time. That being said, there are always trade offs and where you stay within the resort has an impact. We rank ‘em like this...

POFQ
Pros: The resort is small and therefore all rooms are close to the dining halls, pools, amenities, and bus stop; we find the CS choices for meals to be most interesting of the group; Buses (shared with POR) pick up here first so you’re more likely to get seating for the ladies and young’ens;

Cons: The pool is the least interesting, bur it’s still plenty fun and a great place to cool off; Buses coming back from the parks tend to be full, but again you get dropped of first.


CBR
Pros: if you can get a room near “Old Port Royal”, then the size of the resort is negated and you’re close to everything, that bus stop picks up second, so there is usually room, the themeing is our favorite and the pool is one of the more interesting. You never have to clime stairs up more then one story, the court yard style of the building layouts helps make the “standard view” rooms seem cooler, quieter and more inviting.

Cons: If you can’t get a spot neat Port Royal, this resort is very large and there can be a rather long hike to get to most of the amenities. I believe that there are still a lot of rooms with double beds here, but I expect that to change in the near future.


POR
Pros: Probably the most beautifully themed and maintained, the food and amenities are good all around; most rooms now have queen beds.

Cons: This place is big and the majority of the room will be a good hike away from the food and drinks (the pool is centrally located so everyone is about equal there); Buses tend to be a bit full unless you catch the first stop near the main entrance.


CSR
Pros: very nice main pool; interesting buffet style food court.

Cons: because of the convention center, every room is a l-o-n-g way form the amenities; buses tend to be a bit more crowded; that interesting buffet style food court doesn’t suit everyone.



This is based on our experience and it also reflects our personality. You just have to decide what kind of things are more important to you. For us, the small size of POFQ has become the main factor and we’ll probably spend most of our “moderate” time here (until I can find a way to afford DVC that is). CBR comes in as a close second for us.

[graueMaus]

Originally Posted by CarsFanatic

Pretty simple here fellow dads, which of these three Moderates would you choose? We like the theming of Port Orleans. We like the size of the rooms and the choices of quick service dining at Caribbean Beach. We have never stayed at Coronado Springs. So which is it? Any advice as we are having a hard time deciding...

Stayed at both CBR(Pirate room) and POR the above summarized pretty well, so I will elaborate here a few more details:

CBR:
PRo: IF you need a zero entry pool this is the moderate for you. Also the Pirate themed pool is the best of all the mods for little ones
Con: We did not like the food court that much

POR (my biased favorite):
PRO: the only mod that will sleep 5 (most important for us); Food Court IMHO is the best of the mods; entertainment in the lounge in the evening( Piano Bob) not to be missed; Best theming of all the mods almost deluxe level theming; can use POFQ food court and pool, Water transport to POFQ and DTD.
CON: No zero entry pool (thats about it)

[theduck619]

Originally Posted by Urugami

Of the 3, we've only stayed at Caribbean Beach (3 times). We live in New Orleans, so as good as the POR theming is, it probably wouldn't excite us , and I don't think we've even visited Coronado Springs.
However, I'd recommend Caribbean Beach, at the very least for its food court; it has the best resort food options we've seen, and that includes a bunch of the higher end ones. Plus, it's got the beaches, the play area on the island, and the Pirate adventure that DS found out about last time we were there And it's got that whole 'Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes' thing going on, INCLUDING Buffett mixed into the background music.
But if you've stayed there before, you know about all this, so I don't know why I'm telling you this without being able to compare CBR to anything but the All Star Movies.
Have a great trip!

I have to agree. The theming at CBR is excellent and it is our favorite resort. The food choices are great, and even their pizza is really good. The quiet pools offer a break from the busy atmosphere of the feature pool if you need it. The landscaping does a great job of transporting you to the Caribbean. For someone ho lives in the Midwest, I truly enjoy being surrounded by the tropical feel of CBR

[JediPirate]

Absolutely love POFQ.... It's small beautiful landscaping, quiet, boat ride to DTD and really close in proximity to MK.

We stayed at CB in June and it was way way way toooo big!!!! Multiple bus stops in resort.... never again... Pirate pool was cool though

[mm1971]

We have never stayed at CS, but here is my take:

CB

Great theming, quiet pools for relaxing in the afternoon or evening. Depending on your location can be a lot of walking. The kids enjoyed the pirate pool.

POR

There were a lot of activities and all of the building were pretty close to the pool. They have a marina where you can rent boats, catch a shuttle boat to DTD, rent bicycles and take fishing trips. The pool is fun and they even have a small little old time fishing spot. The food was decent, entertainment in the lounge was awesome! Very convenient and excellent theming.

POFQ

DD9 favorite. The smallest resort on property means that even when it is busy, it seems a lot less so. The theming was great and the kids enjoyed the pool and water slide. Slide is a little small now that the kids are getting older. Shuttle boat to DTD and all new queen bed rooms. We enjoyed this food court most, but no restaurant.

Our favorite is POR, #2 POFQ, #3 CB (mostly due to the amount of walking and several bus stops).

Good luck!

[DisneyDanielle85]

I've stayed at CBR and CSR both hotels are pretty nice. I'll be staying at POFQ this coming October so I couldn't give an opinion on that yet.

CBR:

Pros: The theme is wonderful and carried out very well, so if you have Pirate fans in your family they will love it. It's fairly easy to get to and it's not (that I can remember) an overly big resort so walking is not too big of an issue and they do have a bus that circles the resort

Cons: The table service food wasn't as good as i was hoping it would be for "Caribbean" food.

CSR:

Pros: They have GREAT food options, quick service, Table Service, a night club like lounge. The grounds are beautiful as are the rooms and they have events at the hotel like marshmellow roasts and movie nights. It was pretty cool. The pools were very relaxing and they have a nice fitness center.

Cons: If there are conventions going on at Disney this is most likely where it will be so it can sometimes be a little tough to "escape" when people are there for work. For me personally (although hopefully not for long because I am marathon training) I thought CSR was a little bit of a big resort and all the walking that had to be done was not fun, especially after a long day at the parks.


Out of the two though my choice would be Coronado. There is a little bit more recreation and the shopping and the food are pretty great!

[rotlex]

Stayed at all of them, we have two kids, currently 4 and 10. We like them all, but CBR is last on our list. Love the pool, theming and resort over all, but cannot deal with the double beds. (All other mods have queens now).

With that said, we really like PO. Riverside or French Quarter. Nice having the boat to DTD, two main pools to choose from, and a decent location for getting around.

Coronado is very nice, the pool is AWESOME, but, as others have said, it seems more of an 'adult" resort to us with the conventions, size, layout etc?

My vote is for either French Quarter or Riverside.

[TheWabbit]

I've stayed at CS and Riverside. I really didn't like the rooms or how CS was laid out. It is also out in the middle of nowhere. Animal Kingdom is my least favorite park.

Riverside is big but the hotel is near downtown Disney and Epcot. The hotel was a lot of fun for my son and the architecture is just more interesting.

[WaltDaddy]

I've heard good things about CBR, never stayed there. We've stayed at POR and CSR. Both are great, but our fav is CSR. We're about to arrive for our third stay there in 4 days...can't wait. Beautiful resort - awesome pool area, great restaurants, fitness room and the jogging trail is top notch.