Moderate Resorts - opinions

[FenwayGirl]

Looking to book a mod for an upcoming vacation. I have only been to POFQ (which I love) but would like to try something different. Opinions?

[faline]

Other than French Quarter, my favorite moderate would be Coronado Springs. The grounds are beautiful and it has many of the amenities more typically found in the deluxe category rather than the moderate category. In my opinion, the quick service option here is a downside. The other major difference from Port Orleans is that busses are the only mode of transportation from this location.

[FenwayGirl]

How large is it in comparison to FQ?

[SBETigg]

Maybe try the Swan/Dolphin. I prefer it to Disney moderates due to location alone, but I also like the whimsical feel. No dining plan, but you can participate in EMH and they use Disney buses. Walk to Epcot and DHS. Some people prefer to stick with Disney mods, but I love the Swan/Dolphin for about the same price.

[FenwayGirl]

I will check them out.

[faline]

How large is it in comparison to FQ?

Coronado Springs is quite a bit larger and more spread out than French Quarter. For our first couple of stays, we were in the Casitas section which is very close to the main building and I loved this location. the last time we stayed here, it was a last minute switch after a mix-up in our reservations (We were actually slated to stay at French Quarter) and the only availability was in the Ranchos section which is about the furthest away from the main building. That gave me some pause but the walk from our room to the main building really wasn't that far and it meandered through some lovely walkways so that ended up being a non-issue. Plus that location was actually much closer to the main pool than the Casitas section.

[FenwayGirl]

That sounds good as well. We are not taking any kids this trip, so looking for a more grown up location.

[Angelgirl65]

All the other mods are much larger than POFQ. CSR is my favorite moderate and you should take a look at it.

[FenwayGirl]

Have you been to POFQ. Can you compare the rwo

[mom2morgan]

I personally love Riverside, although it is large and spread out. We recently stayed at Carribean Beach and didn't like it at all. Coronado is on my to-do list! :-)

[Quadstriker]

Have stayed at Riverside and Carribean Beach and I would rank Riverside by far the better of the two.

[Pirate Granny]

I've stayed at them all... FQ is my favorite for many reasons, but for an adult trip, I would next Pick CSR...love the theme of CBR, but loads of kids, never cared for POR, although did enjoy the gone with the wind bldg.

[Ms. Mode]

Have stayed at all and like FQ the least! CS is my favorite, just GREAT! CB is a very close second.

[faline]

Have you been to POFQ. Can you compare the rwo

We've stayed at both French Quarter and Coronado Springs. Until we stayed at French Quarter, I would have said that Coronado Springs was our favorite moderate - hands down. I would not be hard pressed to pick one or the other as my favorite.

French Quarter - loved the quaintness, the compactness and the laid back ambiance. Having the boat to Downtown Disney was an extra added bonus. Food court was adequate but now I'll reveal I'm not a fan of the beignets - tried them - over that. Just not my style. Our first stay here was lovely. We were in a room that was close to everything - steps from the quick service and main building - not to mention the pool. We had a king bed room and were very happy. We never actually got a second trip. We planned a second stay here - again, in a king bed room. Along the way, a discount was announced and our room was rebooked Unfortunately, it was rebooked into a room with two double beds which we did not discover until we checked in. Just doesn't work for us. While Disney worked with us, they just did not have another king bed room availabel at French Quarter - the best we could do was to move to a Queen bed room at Coronado Springs - thus we had our third stay at Coronado.

Coronado - much larger and more spread out. There is a spa at this location. Additionally, they have a room service menu that goes beyond pizza delivery - a plus in my book. We are not a fan of the fast service location here so we just avoided it and ate in other locations. They do have a nice lounge area outside. We had a lovely time one evening and ended up with a "dinner" of appetizers while watching an alligator in the water. The grounds are lovely and we greatly enjoyed our walks back (or from) the Ranchos section of this resort.

I would not hesitate to stay at either of these resorts again.

[FenwayGirl]

Thanks for all of your help. I have stayed at POFQ a few times and love that it is smaller, but want to try other venues. The only downside to FQ for me is the fact that they only have one pool. took the leap and I am booking at CS...

[Crow]

Other than French Quarter, my favorite moderate would be Coronado Springs. The grounds are beautiful and it has many of the amenities more typically found in the deluxe category rather than the moderate category. In my opinion, the quick service option here is a downside. The other major difference from Port Orleans is that busses are the only mode of transportation from this location.

agreed. i like POFQ and CSR the best of the mods

[RavsRuleDisney!]

i believe coronado and port orleans are the only 2 mods that offer queen size beds. just sayin.... ;)

[KODABEAR]

:knit::old:We've stayed at all of them multiple times. All have good points. For us it depend on what we want to do during the trip. For our next trip we're at CSR for EPCOT"S Flower and Garden. We like the landscaping and the fact it is usually quiet during the day, do to conventions on site. Also haven't had problems with buses, We use the health club which is for us a plus. But we are blessed in living only 2 1/2 hours away and are retired so can go and enjoy frequently.( Thank you Karen at MJ)

[FenwayGirl]

We will be there for Flower and Garden as well. We have booked at CS and are very exicted to explore a new resort

[beksy]

CS is the only one I haven't tried...I'm not sure if the theming is something we would enjoy or not and the QS here seems like more trouble. Please let us know how you like it...especially the theming since that is mainly how we choose the resort we stay at. :mickey:

[RavsRuleDisney!]

We will be there for Flower and Garden as well. We have booked at CS and are very exicted to explore a new resort

good choice - report back and let us know what u think!

[FenwayGirl]

I will...very exited to see this resort.

[roses]

I recently (Oct) stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort for the first time. I was really nervous due to the poor reviews I found on Trip Advisor, but my trip was wonderful. The grounds are bright, well decorated, and landscaped wonderfully. I loved the pool area, and the lake/beach areas. We watched the Movie Under the Stars and the Epcot fireworks were in the background. We stayed in Martinique building 23, right next to the bus resort and a short walk (depending on which route you went through) to Olde Port Royal. I would highly recommend this resort. The rooms were clean, lovely, and had the Disney touch to them. Enjoy!

[Pirate Granny]

The pool and hot tub at CSR are better than FQ.

[Mickey'sIrishPAl]

I recently (Oct) stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort for the first time. I was really nervous due to the poor reviews I found on Trip Advisor, but my trip was wonderful. The grounds are bright, well decorated, and landscaped wonderfully. I loved the pool area, and the lake/beach areas. We watched the Movie Under the Stars and the Epcot fireworks were in the background. We stayed in Martinique building 23, right next to the bus resort and a short walk (depending on which route you went through) to Olde Port Royal. I would highly recommend this resort. The rooms were clean, lovely, and had the Disney touch to them. Enjoy!
Finally some CBR love. LOL. This is my favorite of the moderates. POR was nice but I really enjoyed CBR for some reason.

[Lacy]

I also recently stayed at CBR and was really impressed. Maybe it was because I wasn't expecting as much because of all the less than great reports I read but my whole family really enjoyed the experience. We've stayed at Riverside many times and that was our favorite but most of us agreed that we actually liked CBR better. OPR was nice and the location is closer to at least Epcot and Studios so the bus rides didn't seem as long.

I really don't think you can go wrong with any of the mods - enjoy Coranado!

[roses]

Finally some CBR love. LOL. This is my favorite of the moderates. POR was nice but I really enjoyed CBR for some reason.

:thumbsup: I like how bright and cheery it is - plus I'm from upstate NY - I like palm trees and bright plants - no more pine trees! :)

[Lindsey310]

We like Port Orleans riverside---especially the newly renovated rooms. That gets my vote! :thumbsup:

[AndrewJackson]

I've stayed in CS, POFQ, and POR. POR is my favorite, by far.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

We've stayed at Coronado Springs and loved it. The foodcourt Pepper Market is unique and you get more upscale choices than you do at the other foodcourts. Also, haven't ever stayed at POR but it looks beautiful.

[Mousemates]

just got back from a five night stay at CSR and loved it...to me the rooms (we were in building three of the casitas) are the nicest of the disney mods. love the resort layout with the central lake and walking trail around the perimeter.

[nqi2]

So far we have stayed at POR, POFQ and CBR. Our favorites listed in this order.

We just stayed at POR. Loved the theming of this one. We stayed in one of the newly renovated rooms, super nice. There was actually a third bed in our room. There was a high back bench under the TV that flipped out to a trundle type bed. Very neat. I didn't not find it as spread out of everyone states. Our room at POFQ last time was one of the furthest from everything and I didn't find our walk from our room to the Mill much different.

However CBR is very large in my opinion. We could not get good use out of the food court/mug refills like we can the other two resorts.