Help Me Decide Which Moderate Resort

[Lumpy1106]

I prefer POR, but of the 3 you listed, POFQ. The pool is better at POR.

 

[MartyParty]

Our next WDW trip is going to be NYE 2024 (12/27/24 - 01/01/25).

My DH wants to stay at Caribbean Beach.
My DD19 wants to stay at POFQ
I want to stay at Coronado Springs (tower)

Please tell me which one do you think is best. We have never stayed at any of them - we’ve stayed mostly at the monorail resorts. Now that my DD is older (she’ll be 21 next trip), we spend very little time in our room and at the resort, so we want to spend less $$ this trip.

Thanks for your vote in the poll and your opinions - both positive and negative

Tough choices. You asked for opinions (all which are wrong) so here's mine.

1 Coronado Springs - Approaching Disney Deluxe feel. Also feels like new Disney hotel in a good way.
2 POFQ - Moderate feel. Feels like original WDW hotel themes focusing on New Orleans. Beautiful grounds.
3 Caribbean Beach - Have not stayed here but have walked through. Big, sprawling, and not nearly as updated as Coronado or POFQ. Nice resort but I'd pick 1 or 2 over this one.

I vote you and your daughter form an alliance and go for one of your choices! : )

Good luck.

 

[Olaf63]

Love CSR. Its our favorite for so many reasons. Has much more to offer than POFQ

 

[slo]

Wow….POFQ and CSR are neck & neck.
Thanks for all your votes

 

[slo]

Tough choices. You asked for opinions (all which are wrong) so here's mine.

1 Coronado Springs - Approaching Disney Deluxe feel. Also feels like new Disney hotel in a good way.
2 POFQ - Moderate feel. Feels like original WDW hotel themes focusing on New Orleans. Beautiful grounds.
3 Caribbean Beach - Have not stayed here but have walked through. Big, sprawling, and not nearly as updated as Coronado or POFQ. Nice resort but I'd pick 1 or 2 over this one.

I vote you and your daughter form an alliance and go for one of your choices! : )

Good luck.

LOL!
By the way the poll is going, it’ll be easy to show him that his choice may not happen (I will show him this poll). In the end, he’ll be happy anywhere because he didn’t go with DD19 and I a few months ago. We took a girls only trip and told him he wasn’t going that time. He said he was ok with it, but I know he was bummed to not go.

 

[WDWEPCOT]

I stayed at the Caribbean beach for Christmas and I will never do it again it’s bad enough getting a bus there during regular times Christmas is a nightmare let alone the fact that I swear to God those walls are made of paper I have stayed at the Caribbean beach probably 10 times and that particular trip was my last time I could tell you every conversation and everything that went on in all the rooms around me because I felt like I was in the room with them I got absolutely zero sleep - let alone the fact I could hear the bus is running nonstop - if I can’t stay DVC I will pick the Pop century and get a room way in the back parking lot view it’s much quieter
I’ve stayed at Port Orleans and found it to be a beautiful resort I enjoyed it tremendously I like the fact that you had boats or buses
I can’t comment on Coronado as I have not stayed there and that it does look like a really nice resort I’ve known some people that have stayed there and they enjoyed it tremendously
I don’t believe you could go wrong with either Port Orleans or Coronado I take the one you get the best deal on

 

[Skywalker3]

I was about to say CBR for the skyliner. We LOVE ease of getting to/from Epcot/Hs, the 2 parks we go to more often than the other. but I've not personally stayed there. (have stayed at CS-not in the tower, and POR FQ.) CS we found too spread out, but some of that had to do with getting to the bus stops.
However, just read that transportation is not a concern, that you'll drive everywhere. (We rarely drive while in the bubble.) In that case, would likely vote for POR. it's such a beautiful resort, and we loved staying there. I keep saying every time we go to WDW, I want to make a trip out to POR, get some beignets, maybe do some fishing, etc.
Happy planning. all such wonderful resorts!

 

[Miffy]

I voted for POFQ. We are two adults, no kids, and we love the atmosphere, the small footprint, the beautiful grounds, the boat to DS, the lovely riverside walking path, the beignets, the great location, and usually the bus is not shared.

I say usually because sometimes, after maybe 11:30 a.m. or so, the bus might stop at POR after FQ. But FQ is always the first stop and, coming back, FQ is always the first stop to drop off.

Someone upthread mentioned noise, which I have never experienced there, and we stayed at a room facing the playground in December. We heard zero. I think the toilet-flush noise is present in every WDW resort I've stayed in.

We've stayed in GDT and although I love the walk-in shower and the beautiful lobby, we don't intend to stay there again. Part of the reason for this is personal--I'm vegan and there's pretty much nothing for me to eat in the CSR QS restaurant, which, btw, is quite a walk from the tower elevators.

But also, be aware that GDT shares buses with the rest of the resort. I think it's the last stop on the loop. Not ideal. And the rooms, although spiffy and modern, seem to me like "nice hotel in Anywhere, USA" and not "WDW."

I've never stayed at CBR, so no opinion there, except to note that the resort is quite spread out. I've also never stayed at POR, but it is also quite spread out and also has multiple bus stops.

Last thought: POFQ is well located, with a short bus ride to both DHS and Epcot (about 10 minutes), and the usual non-monorail-hotel bus ride to MK. DAK is a bit of a bus ride from anywhere but AKL, maybe 15 to 20 minutes.

 

[monsterkitty]

My vote is POFQ because I love being able to take the boat to DS.

My second choice would be CBR because the rooms are a bit bigger than the other moderates.

I am not a fan of CS because it doesn't feel like a Disney resort to me, but a convention hotel. I have not stayed there since they opened GDT so my opinion may not hold much weight because of this.

 

[Obi-J Kenobi]

Our next WDW trip is going to be NYE 2024 (12/27/24 - 01/01/25).

My DH wants to stay at Caribbean Beach.
My DD19 wants to stay at POFQ
I want to stay at Coronado Springs (tower)

Please tell me which one do you think is best. We have never stayed at any of them - we’ve stayed mostly at the monorail resorts. Now that my DD is older (she’ll be 21 next trip), we spend very little time in our room and at the resort, so we want to spend less $$ this trip.

Thanks for your vote in the poll and your opinions - both positive and negative

My DW and I stayed at POFQ. We really loved our experience. The centralized bus stop (and when we went it was a dedicated bus stop and not shared with POR and I don't know if that remains true) was a major plus. The boat to DS was nice. And, the grounds seemed small for a Moderate.

My only negative is the lack of restaurant options. There is a nice bar, but not a restaurant where I would say "Wow! Great place." But, again, you can take a boat to DS and there are plenty of food options at DS.

 

[SnowWhitee]

I have stayed at CSR and POFQ, but not CBR. My vote goes to POFQ - here's why:

1. Of the 3, POFQ is the smallest and easiest to navigate. It is also pretty and quaint, with nice holiday decor.

2. NYE is going to be busy. We never had issues with busses at POFQ. Sometimes we had long waits for CSR busses, and that was before the tower was built. I have a real concern with the amount of people the tower has added to that property and whether the bus system, pool and dining venues can absorb the volume gracefully. While we loved staying there in the past, that makes me avoid booking there in the future. While I haven't stayed at CBR, I feel like some of the same arguments regarding the volume of people could relate to it as well. I imagine food court lines will be busy, and possibly transportation too.

I feel like you could find decent food at any of the 3 you've mentioned. The pool theming at POFQ isn't as cool as CSR or CBR, but it sounds like you aren't concerned with a lot of resort time anyway.

 

[slo]

A big continued thank you to everyone replying - it is VERY appreciated

 

[Pyxie]

I vote for POFQ. It's my favorite resort on property. On my last trip we did a split stay between it and the Poly, and believe it or not, I preferred it over Poly.

Full disclosure, I love New Orleans. It's my 2nd favorite place to vacation after Disney lol, but I also love the small size of the resort and how easy it is to get around. The food court is great and of course.. MICKEY BEIGNETS!

I have stayed at CBR, but the only thing I really liked about it was the Skyliner. The rooms were outdated, but of course they are in the process of renovating them right now. If you were to get a renovated room, it would probably be nice, but the resort is SO spread out.

I've never stayed at CSR so I can't really comment on that one. The tower does look nice for a moderate.

 

[Bird003]

Port is much smaller and so much easier to navigate. Only one bus stop which is a plus. CBR is huge and you could do a lot of walking. CBR also does not have the tvs which can cast from your phone if that is important to you

 

[take36]

CSR Tower is most similar to the deluxes you are use to so much less of a "shock." But I usually go with what my kids want as well they are my kids! so POFQ it is!

 

[DJFan88]

Caribbean- best to keep the hubby happy so he keeps wanting to come back with you!

 

[slo]

Caribbean- best to keep the hubby happy so he keeps wanting to come back with you!

LOL!
Poor guy got the boot for the June 2023 trip - it was a girls only trip.
He said he didn’t care, but down deep he wanted to come

 

[slo]

We booked our trip this morning and choose Port Orleans French Quarter - Garden View.

We put a lot of thought into this decision and CS Tower lost not only on this poll, but also with me, because the toilet is with the sink and not the shower. I like to have the sink accessible when someone needs to use the toilet.

CBR is just too darn spread out.

We thought about PORiverside, and again, to spread out.

I am not a lazy person, but I do like to take a walk to the main building to fill up the refillable mugs in the morning with coffee and soda and then bring them back to the room - the shorter the trip the better for that.

ResortTV1 was at POFQ and showed a jazz band playing and I love that - it’d be great to chill out and listen to them while eating some beignets. I need fried dough like a hole in the head, but they are awesome and we love them (we have stopped at POFQ in the past for beignets).

Thanks again for all your posts and voting - your suggestions helped a lot

 

[Hisgirl]

If you have only stayed in the deluxe monorail resorts then be prepared for an eye opening experience. We booked at port orleans after having stayed at the Grand Floridian or Animal Kingdom lodge for the most part over the past 12 years. When we walked into our room, we were both shocked at how cheap it looked, how small, how there wasn't even a dresser. It felt like the cheapest cinder block motel 8 from the late 70s. Not even kidding. I laid in bed that night, trying to figure out how to undo this decision and we got up and checked out the next morning as soon as we could.

I share this to say, there was a huge difference and my expectations weren't prepared. Look at a lof of room photos. The size, the layout...everything. If you are set on a moderate, then def go with something newer. There was a lot of walking at Port Orleans also, and most was done at night in the rain. Never again.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

Yay! So happy you picked POFQ!

I haven’t stayed there but it’s on our list to try. Everyone I know that has stayed there has loved it!!!!

When traveling together, my nephew and his family always head over there for beignets to share with our family

Looking forward to hearing all about your trip in 2025!