Opinion on Moderates

[I Run Long]

Hands down for us - POFQ. No where else do you get beignets - that alone makes it worth staying there. Oh and what everyone else has already mentioned.

 

[maxbuffmelvin]

Since I typically have a car, the location of the parks doesn't matter. Therefore, I pick based on theming, and POR wins. I prefer POR-theming to some of the deluxe resorts as well.

 

[Olaf63]

CSR has the most to offer of the mods.

 

[bnf0522]

Love the relaxing vibes at POR and POFQ, plus the boats to Disney Springs are a real plus for us!

 

[bakerworld]

My BIL loves POR/FQ. They are taking their grandson's there in May for the kids first taste of WDW. Our sentimental favorite is CBR but we haven't stayed there in 10 years. We enjoyed Rix Sports Bar last December and now we'd like to stay at CSR. At CSR there is a need to be specific about where to book the room unless you like to do lots of walking.

 

[stinkpickle]

I like 'em all. I stay at the one that offers me the best deal.

 

[gottalovepluto]

What’s available? The first half of Nov can be shockingly busy between Jersey Week, F&W Marathon & Veterans Day…

 

[wdw&sonny]

We prefer mods to deluxe. We just like the spread out resorts for walking around, scenery, greenery, water, etc.
We prefer the CBR b/c of the Skyliner and a fun way to get to HS and EP. Second is POR then POFQ then CS. We love the boat from PO to DS. For us, it's splitting hairs though. We always have a car so I just look at which one I can get for the best price, or what we feel like for this trip. We never stay at Value (anymore) and I only book deluxe through DVC rental.

 

[2kids1dog4me]

Hi all,

For our next stay we are thinking of staying at a moderate - any opinions on which one to stay at? Probably will just be me and my wife on this trip. Driving down most likely in November of this year or next.

Thx - Tom

My favorite was CSR until I stayed at POFQ last time. We're returning to POFQ next month. I do love CSR though. I did like PORS and CBR was our least favorite.

 

[loves to dive]

I have CSR booked for an upcoming trip in Dec. and it will be my fourth time staying there. I've stayed once in all the others. I'm not staying in the Tower and have no interest in doing so. With my AP discount it was totally doable but really just not worth the extra money for me since the rooms aren't that much different than the other rooms. It's the last bus stop and I just had no interest in dealing with that. Easy enough to walk over there and enjoy the restaurants and I don't find any of the other buildings that far away to make the extra money worth it.

I'm o.k. with the other moderates, POR being my second favorite and CB being my least favorite.

 

[megs1313]

Hi all,

For our next stay we are thinking of staying at a moderate - any opinions on which one to stay at? Probably will just be me and my wife on this trip. Driving down most likely in November of this year or next.

Thx - Tom

Coronado is my favorite moderate, but it's a well-kept secret I'd like to keep as a secret....the room refurb they did a few years ago was excellent. the grounds are drop-dead gorgeous, and the food options are great. the main drawback is that buses are your only transport option and I think the feature pool is kind of lackluster if you have kids.

Port Orleans Riverside would probably be my next pick. The biggest positive there, IMO, is Yeehaw Bob, especially for an adults-only trip. I also like their QS restaurant pretty well and the pool is nice. The main downside, IMO, is that I find the resort hard to navigate at night.

I hate CBR passionately because I think the rooms are trash. The big upside is the Skyliner. Without it, I would NEVER recommend it. I only recommend it if you don't care about the room as a park warrior. In that case, the pool is nice, the QS is nice, and its proximity to Riviera allows for a quick trip over there for food.

 

[snikki]

CSR has the best amenities. We recently stayed there in a regular room. Good food options, excellent pool and the grounds are gorgeous.

I don’t think we will stay at a skyliner resort so CBR is out for us due to its unpredictability. We saw and heard it go down and people very upset at Epcot trying to scramble to the front of the park to get a bus. We had to great stays at CBR in the early 2000s. It is a pretty resort also.

We stayed at POFQ for 2 nights a few years ago and enjoyed ourselves. We loved the food choices and small size of the resort.

We’ve never stayed at POR.

 

[ilovebassets]

Just got back from CBR. Rooms are currently being upgraded, so the older ones are a bit dated but beds are comfortable. LOVED the Skyliner. It's a game changer and would make me stay there again (and we almost always drive as well so usually have our car). FWIW, you don't have to walk form the Int'l Gateway back to the front of the park if the Skyliner is down. They have buses from right next to the Skyliner. And LOVED being in the Aruba section building 52 which put us 5 minutes from the CBR main amenities and 5 minutes from Riviera amenities. Sebastian's Bistro was also an excellent table service restaurant.

We've stayed at POR a couple of times. Beautiful resort--more than CBR in many ways. You can take a boat to Disney Springs but otherwise it's buses or you're driving to the parks. Great food court. Boatwrights not so much.

We didn't like CSR--didn't have a very Disney feel to us and the dining options, while there are a lot of them, aren't very different.

 

[Olaf63]

Love CSR! Its a beautiful resort with many options for restaurants and lounges.

Didn't care for POR or CBR. Never have stayed at POFQ but there doesn't seem like much available there.

 

[Ensusieasm]

Hi all,

For our next stay we are thinking of staying at a moderate - any opinions on which one to stay at? Probably will just be me and my wife on this trip. Driving down most likely in November of this year or next.

Thx - Tom

You will receive many recommendations for Port Orleans French Quarter, but there is no quiet pool and there is no table service restaurant there.

 

[kylenne]

FWIW, you don't have to walk form the Int'l Gateway back to the front of the park if the Skyliner is down. They have buses from right next to the Skyliner.

Sometimes. And that's the problem. Disney has never had a consistent contingency plan in place for Skyliner outages. It's why I would never stay at a Skyliner resort.

Love CSR! Its a beautiful resort with many options for restaurants and lounges.

Didn't care for POR or CBR. Never have stayed at POFQ but there doesn't seem like much available there.

You will receive many recommendations for Port Orleans French Quarter, but there is no quiet pool and there is no table service restaurant there.

I've stayed at POFQ and CSR and it's apples to oranges. POFQ has a lot of fans but I'm not one of them, I know a lot of people like the compact size but I stayed there for my first solo trip and found it a little claustrophobic. The food very limited and just okay. (I don't understand the beignet obsession tbh.) All they have is that little food court and it's a madhouse at certain hours. You do have access to everything at POR but...I am not a fan of the theming at POR and I'll leave it at that. The boat to DS is probably the best thing it has, but it's pretty much necessary if you want a decent meal. I was often frustrated that I had to go to DS if I wanted to eat something besides food court.

Meanwhile CSR has deluxe level amenities at mod pricing because it caters to a convention crowd. Tons of really nice food options on site and it's centrally located on property. I've not stayed in the casitas but I adore the tower. The only reason I'm not staying there for my Labor Day weekend solo trip is because we're doing CL there next year before and after our cruise. Swolphin also came out cheaper with their AP discount and my Bonvoy Chase offer so I'm at the Dolphin instead.

That's the only criticism I have of GDT but tbf it applies to the mods as a whole. A lot of times Swolphin comes out comparable or sometimes cheaper even when you add resort fees, and they offer deluxe benefits (EEH), friendship boats, proximity to all the dining and entertainment on the Boardwalk and walking to 2 parks. Maybe the parking fees make it a wash but we never have a car so they don't factor in for me.

 

[Lumpy1106]

POR was our go-to before we bought DVC. It has something that is HIGHLY under-rated in WDW - QUIET! Love the little trails and walkways throughout the grounds - so peaceful. The pool is the best of the mods. POFQ is also really nice. Both have something that is sorely missing at the DVC/Deluxe resorts - a decent QS. We really miss that.

We did not care for CBR but we are dedicated Disney Transportation users. The internal buses at CBR drove us crazy - so much so that we switched to AoA mid-trip.

 

[HopperFan]

Stay at them all multiple times .....

#1 CSR
Have stayed in all villages, next up tower.
Deluxe of the moderates, more dining options, more bars, more adult, largest best pool, the new tower and it's amenities really make it feel like a deluxe resort. Nice peaceful quiet pools. Centrally located and never had issues with buses and arriving quickly to parks. Our favorite village is Ranchos, so creative, close to pool, bus stop and quiet pool. Cabanas is beachy, but Casitas feels like a FL Condo. When flowering the landscape is beautiful, lovely walks. We also enjoy the wildlife around the lagoon.

#2 POR
First Disney resort I've stayed in and have been in every variation of room.
Beautifully landscaped, a favorite to wander through along the river, see the boats and carriages. Decent pool with lots of shade, very nice quiet pools. Southern charm throughout. YeeHa Bob in the Lounge, Boatrights has always been good. While food court has become pretty standard it is still large with plenty of seating. We always find out where the first bus stop is and we go there. HUGE perk is the boat to Disney Springs (if the weather is good).

#3 CBR
Wasn't a favorite of mine and didn't have the best stays there BUT they've made lots of changes that I would consider again. I like that the pool has been upgraded with something for everyone, love that they moved check-in to the actual main hub with a complete renovation that is upscale. Sebastian's Bistro is TOP quality dining. SkyLiner is not close to most rooms so that is problematic and it does go down. There are still some rooms that are a jaunt away from the main hub but is the upgrade in the hub worth it? But the quiet pools allow for a quiet swim if you don't want to go to main pool area. Resort feels less crowded since they removed buildings for Riviera.

#4 POFQ
This is the value of the moderates because it does not have full level of amenities. YET you are paying the price you would pay for those amenities.
I love NOLA and find the buildings are a wonderful nod but that is where it ends. It is a quiet resort after 9 pm but it is full of young families with young children. The pool is 100% built for very young children. Even my kids at age 9 called it a baby pool due to the small slide. They also have the splash pad area so a big draw. Hot tub is not much bigger than mine at home. No quiet pools. The food court is small and if you have been to NOLA there is no food there that impresses. The "beignets" are powdered donuts that taste nothing like a NOLA beignet. The resort is over priced with not much special to draw us back again. HUGE perk is the boat to Disney Springs (if the weather is good). BUS ..... if you are close you are close but some rooms are just as far a walk as any other moderate resort or more. We have shared with POR.