Moderate / value alternative to POFQ?

[DisneyAuntie12]

I love Port Orleans French Quarter but the pool is going to be closed in the spring when we’re planning a big family reunion style trip. I haven’t stayed at many other resorts. For those who love the vibe of POFQ, is there another moderate or value that you feel has a similar charm? I absolutely love the walkability of FQ for families - everyone heads down to the pool after the parks, the store and cafeteria are right there - and the beautiful grounds. If POFQ speaks to you, what moderate / value has a similar charm? My first thought is Riverside but I’m worried it’s too spread out.

 

[Nicnicnic.nic]

Following

 

[Miffy]

Riverside is indeed very spread out and also has a lot of internal bus stops.

POFQ is my fave, so I might consider staying there and using the POR pool.

There's another thread discussing this: https://www.disboards.com/threads/should-i-switch-pofq-pool-down-for-maintenance.3932571/

I'm personally not a fan of CSR, which also has multiple bus stops and a QS I'm not in love with, so even the tower doesn't interest me. I've never stayed at CBR.

In my experience, there's no Value that compares to a Mod. But I'm sure other posters will disagree!

 

[Mle8308]

All of the remaining values and moderates are as spread out or more so than POR, I agree with @Miffy. Stay at POFQ and use the pools at Riverside. I love the quiet pools by the mansions and it's not a long walk from POFQ. I think I read somewhere they would offer a bus to take guests over to the POR pool, but I may be wrong. The only value that might be kind of close would be Pop, and more for the Skyliner. But it is still pretty spread out, you'll either be close to the Skyliner or the main building - or in the middle and then a walk to both. I have stayed there a night before another reservation and I didn't think it was too large, but it's not POFQ, either.

 

[disneyseniors]

Yes, you can stay at POFQ and use Riversides pool. But, we love POR and have stayed there many times. We always stay in the Bayou section and it is closest to the main buildings and good bus stops. If you stay in the Mansion area, it might seem very spread out to get to the main building. I'm not a pool person and have never been to the one in POR but others seem to like it fine.
The atmosphere at POR is exactly what we want in a vacation - relaxing, laid back, tropical (AB section).
I would not hesitate staying at POR; it is a beautiful resort.

We have stayed at CS and found it to be very spread out, but a nice resort. However, once we found POR, we never went back.

 

[stinkpickle]

I would either stay at POR or stay at POFQ and use the pools at POR.

 

[DisneyAuntie12]

Thank you for the responses, I will check out the other thread as well!

 

[DizneyFamof4]

No there really is not another resort quite like POFQ. The 3 options that I would suggest is:
1) Stay at POFQ and request building 7 which is the closest to walk over to POR
2) Switch to POR and you can still visit POFQ if you want too.
3) Switch to POP and enjoy the Skyliner. It is not as spread out as POR.

 

[Skippyboo]

You could do a Preferred room at Pop to be closer to the main building with the store/food court. There is only one bus stop and you can use Skyliner for Epcot and HS.

I like the 50s section with the bowling pin pool. It’s a little quieter than the Hippie Dippy main pool.

 

[DisneyAuntie12]

No there really is not another resort quite like POFQ. The 3 options that I would suggest is:
1) Stay at POFQ and request building 7 which is the closest to walk over to POR
2) Switch to POR and you can still visit POFQ if you want too.
3) Switch to POP and enjoy the Skyliner. It is not as spread out as POR.

I’ve read in other threads that room requests are often not granted - have you found that to be the case?

 

[DizneyFamof4]

Yes, you can stay at POFQ and use Riversides pool. But, we love POR and have stayed there many times. We always stay in the Bayou section and it is closest to the main buildings and good bus stops. If you stay in the Mansion area, it might seem very spread out to get to the main building. I'm not a pool person and have never been to the one in POR but others seem to like it fine.
The atmosphere at POR is exactly what we want in a vacation - relaxing, laid back, tropical (AB section).
I would not hesitate staying at POR; it is a beautiful resort.

We have stayed at CS and found it to be very spread out, but a nice resort. However, once we found POR, we never went back.

Only the preferred AB buildings are close to the main building. The buildings in the back, 36 or 37, are definitely farther away then most of the mansion rooms. We have stayed in both sections and my family slightly prefer the mansions, especially Oak. Oak is very convenient to the lobby and we enjoy having to take the bridge over the river

I’ve read in other threads that room requests are often not granted - have you found that to be the case?

Correct, requests are not guaranteed, but for us, we have had very good luck with our requests and it never hurts to try. Plus, the majority requests will be for he buildings close to the lobby and FC, like #4. I doubt there will be a lot of requests for building 7. LOL

 

[stinkpickle]

I know it's purely anecdotal, but we've had the most luck with room requests at POR and POFQ (like down to the specific room number) over every other Disney resort we've visited. CSR was the worst about it.

 

[disneyseniors]

Only the preferred AB buildings are close to the main building. The buildings in the back, 36 or 37, are definitely farther away then most of the mansion rooms. We have stayed in both sections and my family slightly prefer the mansions, especially Oak. Oak is very convenient to the lobby and we enjoy having to take the bridge over the river

Correct, requests are not guaranteed, but for us, we have had very good luck with our requests and it never hurts to try. Plus, the majority requests will be for he buildings close to the lobby and FC, like #4. I doubt there will be a lot of requests for building 7. LOL

We stayed in the AB section when it was not preferred apparently. Only a few buildings very close were preferred. I think the last one we stayed in was 27 and it was by a very wooded area. That's too bad that disney has done that to all that area.
We haven't stayed at POR for many years and have switched to POFQ due to mobility reasons, so thanks for the update.

 

[coolbrook]

We love the tower rooms at Coronado Springs! The bus stop is right in front of the building, there is a quiet pool right next to it and the main pool across the water using a bridge. Three Bridges is a delicious outdoor restaurant in the middle of the lake. The rooms are beautiful with interior hallways and room doors. The views from many rooms are great. If you stay in the tower you are in the building with check-in, a coffee shop, a couple lounges, (one with a rooftop view) a table service restaurant and a gorgeous lobby. It feels so lovely and fresh. Take a look at some pics. The old main building where you will find the quick service restaurant and the gift shop and two other table service restaurants is an indoor walk from the Tower building. We come to Disney World about three times a year and one stay is almost always at a Tower room in CSR.

 

[Sunshine11]

We dig FQ too for all the reasons you mentioned. With a group the center hub (pool, pool bar, food court and courtyard area) work for meeting up and no room is too far! I would be worried the pool construction would put a damper on that trip. I would agree with pp's that mentioned the Tower at CS or preferred pool view at Pop. Obviously Pop is a value resort but pool preferred will land you central to all and the skyliner is solid. The tower at CS is convenient and a nice alternative for a moderate resort that offers, more amenities than a value resort.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Stay at POR. It's our favorite Moderate and the pool is maybe my favorite in WDW. The multiple bus stops are not a big deal. Next choice for me would be AoA or POP. The pools do not have slides there and we found them to be really crowded, but the food courts and the grounds are very nice and you'd have access to the Skyliner. We were not impressed with CBR - that one really is too spread out and the internal bus is a real pain.

 

[DisneyAuntie12]

We were not impressed with CBR - that one really is too spread out and the internal bus is a real pain.

It looks like the pools at CBR will likely be closed as well, so unfortunately that resort is definitely out. I did like the idea of the Skyliner but a pool is a must for all the kids.

 

[Gabby01]

I’m going to throw ASMu out there. There is a courtyard between the buildings in the middle of the resort that has trees, a fountain and old-fashioned street lamps that give me POFQ vibes. I loved walking through that area so much that the walk from my room to the lobby always seemed short! People say it’s a longer walk than ASMo but it never felt that way to me.

 

[ahutton]

I would look at the Swan or Dolphin as you might find the price similar with a great pool and proximity to parks!

 

[Tink3815]

Does anyone know if there is a particular room catagory that will guarantee a room in the mansions at POR. We would need 2 queen beds only.