Caribbean Beach or Port Orleans French Quarter?

[DisneyorBust]

Hi everyone! We are looking to return to WDW in September, we are going to try a Moderate resort for the first time. We would like to have options if one resort is booked.
My questions to you: If you have stayed at both of these resorts, what is your overall opinion?
We have concerns of the very large layout of the CBR, but like the theming. POFQ seems like it would be more manageable.
Any opinions good or bad would be appreciated!

[PirateLover]

Well, I haven't stayed at POFQ before but I have stayed at CBR and I won't be returning anytime soon. I think if I had never stayed at the Polynesian I might've been more impressed with the theming... but it just seemed very lackluster to me in comparison. I see from your sig that you are obviously a huge Poly fan so you might feel the same as me. Yes they have beaches and hammocks that might remind you of the Poly, but then you lay on them and realize that you can't see the Castle, you can't watch the electrical water pageant etc. I had additional issues with the quality of the room, the upkeep of the resort (debris everywhere), the ubiquitous amount of parking lot space and the crowded buses. However there are many people who have had wonderful experiences there and like I said I haven't stayed at French Quarter so I can't give a true comparison, but I wouldn't stay at CBR again.

[ibrowse17]

We stayed at POFQ in Dec, and I would highly recommend it. It is really well themed, and has a much smaller lay out. It is easy to get around, and no long walks to get from point A to B. The only thing about it I did not care for was the shared buses with POR, but even that was not too bad. Have a great time no matter where you decide to stay.:thumbsup:

[SAnderson70769]

I have stayed at CB twice and POFQ 3 or 4 times....I would definitely recommend POFQ out of the two! We love the fact that the resort is small which means walking to food court, pool, parking lot, buses, main building, etc. are all short walks no matter which building you're in. We also love the boat ride to Downtown Disney. The resort is very quiet in my opinion compared to the values! Have a great time!

[BostonChic]

This resort was great :D
awesome pools,good food/service and the DD boat was relaxing.We even went over to Riverside and had dinner ;)
highly recommend this one :thumbsup:

[RoosMomKanga]

Hello Pittsburgh! Just got back from POFQ and we've also stayed at CBR. I would definately chose POFQ over CBR anytime and I'll have to point out that at CBR we were right near the main building/food court/pool so I can't even complain about the size/walking there as that wasn't an issue for us (but I will say that POFQ is tiny in comparison to all the other resorts we've stayed at). Taking the boat to DtD is wonderful. Sharing the boat with POR (which we've also stayed at) was not really an issue for us (read my trip report on Transportation & POFQ "Just Us") especially as the buses always return to POFQ as the first stop. In the mornings, if they're not completely full they will make one stop at POR, but at CBR they also make several stops around the resort so that's about the same. POFQ has SOOOO much better theming and is so much more lush and quaint feeling. You can also use any of the amenities at POR (like if you have kids that want to rent a fishing pole at the hole) so that's a plus. One vote for POFQ!:number1:

[Seasonscraps]

POFQ hands down. It's beautiful and much smaller the CB but shares ammenities with POR so it has the big resort feel.

[vicster]

We usually stay at WL but decided to try a moderate last September - CBR. Never again! The rooms were not that clean and it was the worst check in we've ever had. Our room wasn't ready until about 4:00 - we got there about noon so it was a long wait. We couldn't go to the parks because we had our carry-on bags from the plane and couldn't leave them. We were then told we would have to be in our room when our bags are delivered. I've never had to be in the room before. This September we're trying POFQ - I've heard a lot of good reviews.

[AllDisney]

Have stayed at both resorts. POFQ is romantic and has a lovely New Orleans feel to it. It not a resort you feel rushed at. We really like to pool there as well.

Have not stayed at CBR for some time now but, when we did stay there, we LOVED it. A very beachy feel to the resort was very relaxing. Having read some of the reviews here, we may not be returning to CBR any time soon:(

Have a great time no matter what resort you decide on:mickey:

[alpro2]

I have been to both, and POFQ is my favorite Mod.

[Hull-onian]

We have stayed at CBR and POFQ. POFQ is much better. It is smaller. There aren't as many people waiting for a bus. You get picked up first before going to POR. CBR was too big, bus service, I thought, was a bit slow. I liked the food court at POFQ. The pool was awesome as well. You can't go wrong at POFQ.:thumbsup:

[PetefromRI]

We're staying at the POFQ in May and from what I'm reading,it sounds great.In defense of the CBR,we absolutly love this resort.We stayed at POR and thought it was nice but we really enjoyed the CBR.The rooms were spotless and the foodcourt was good.The grounds were kept very well and the only reason we're not staying in May is because of the pool rehab.I also love the Poly and I like to describe the CBR as the poormans Poly but for the price difference,we love it!

[BronxTigger]

I LOVE CBR. But, based on the comments in your original post as well as you signature, I think POFQ is a better fit for you.

Also, CBR's main pool is undergoing a massive overhaul and it won't be open until I think September. So it may not be open when you are there (although they do have 6 village pools).

POFQ is very compact, the theming is great, and they have beignets!

CBR has 7 bus stops. Depending on where you are going and what village you are in, you could go through all 7 on the way there or on the way back. POFQ has one bus stop and it picks up there and then continues on to pick up at 4 stops at POR. Also, there is a boat to DTD for some transportation variety.

[tundramom]

No contest-POFQ! CBR is huge, if you like long, lush (read steamy) tropical walks then it's for you. The check in at CBR was a disaster, it took us almost 2 hours from the time we arrived! POFQ is small, intimate, beautifully themed, smack in the middle of everything and one word- beignets! It is my absolute favorite mod and everyone of my friends that I've sent there have come home raving about it.

[eyoreswife]

we stayed at pofq also and as mods go it is great, the kids enjoyed the pool there, but it's very hard to downgrade from a deluxe, we are now spoiled rotten, we figuire for the money we're gonna spend we might as well go all the way. :cool:

[garymacd]

Our very first on-site stay at WDW was at CBR. All I really remember is walking miles to everywhere: miles from the car to our room, miles from our room to Port Royale, miles to the bus stop, miles from the bus stop to the main building - mostly in the rain.

Don't get me wrong; CBR is a beautiful resort, and I love walking. I just don't like walking so far for breakfast everyday.

POFQ is more our style; love the size, love the theming, love the jazz music, love the beignets. (Uh-oh, starting to sound like Stacy)

[biodtl]

We couldn't go to the parks because we had our carry-on bags from the plane and couldn't leave them. We were then told we would have to be in our room when our bags are delivered.
This is a decidely un-magical experience! I would have been so mad. I may be wrong, but I thought it was pretty standard to be able to leave your bags if your room wasn't ready. Or be in your room for your bags, for that matter.

Even though it has been a while, I would still write a letter of complaint about this. They made you miss a half day in the parks (that you paid for)

[kakn7294]

Eric - we've stayed at both CBR and POFQ and like both. If I were choosing, I'd choose POFQ again in an instant - I don't think you'll be sorry if you do.

[RoosMomKanga]

Our room wasn't ready until about 4:00 - we got there about noon so it was a long wait. We couldn't go to the parks because we had our carry-on bags from the plane and couldn't leave them. We were then told we would have to be in our room when our bags are delivered. I've never had to be in the room before. This September we're trying POFQ - I've heard a lot of good reviews.There's NO REASON to wait for your room/not store your bags. Last week we checked in at POFQ around 2pm, and our room wasn't ready. We had 2 carry-on bags and 2 on the ME. We simply went back out front to the bell services desk and had them keep our carry-ons and I asked then if they could deliver these to the room as soon as it was ready (we were planning to be back very late), they said OK. We went on to DtD for the evening. When I called to get our room number I asked about getting our carry-ons delivered to the room. They said they wouldn't do this, that you had to be in your room and call for them. I then called bell services directly and got the same answer (it would have been nice if he'd told me the policy to begin with, but it didn't really change anything). We simply stopped by bell services and retrieved our carry-ons on the way back to our room (yes, we tipped) as we didn't want to wait up for them.

[rnin02]

We've stayed at CBR twice and loved it. Yes, its big, but there is an internal resort shuttle. And, really, the walk isn't bad except from Trinidad South...otherwise its all pretty manageable. We've always found it to be a beautiful, clean resort, with friendly CMs, and have never had a problem with check in. The busses at CBR ran much more smoothly than the busses at POR or AKL.

We stayed at POR last year and I don't want to do that again. The resort itself is nice, and very pretty, but the rooms were smaller, and the bus system was just horrible. Every time we left the parks, there was a huge line, frequently we had to wait for a 2nd bus or it was standing room only. Yuck. And this was in September, and we encountered busses like this all different times, not just at park closing. It was extremely discouraging. Check in took the longest at this resort, and the food court was just not as good as AKL and CBR.

[CanadianWDWFan]

First I would like to say that there is really no huge difference between moderate resorts, IMHO. We would gladly stay at anyone of them. Sure we have our favourite resort but this only because we prefer the theming of POFQ.

As for why POFQ is our favourite, is that we like the feel and size of the resort. For our two boys (9 and 4), they prefer the pool. You aren't really far from anywhere on this resort. The one downside to POFQ is that there is no sit down restaurant on site. You can make the short walk to Boatwrights at POR in under 10 minutes. Or better yet take the boat.

The boat to DTD is a real plus as a different way to get around.

Like I said, you can't go wrong at any of the moderates.

[snowblack]

I have stayed at cbr. I was planning to stay there again when we go back next summer. I wanted to try A differnt mod this time and my other choice was pofq. The kids like the arcade at cbr. For all of the people who have stayed at both is the arade the same at pofq?

[vicster]

When I called to get our room number I asked about getting our carry-ons delivered to the room. They said they wouldn't do this, that you had to be in your room and call for them. I then called bell services directly and got the same answer (it would have been nice if he'd told me the policy to begin with, but it didn't really change anything).

I wonder why you don't have to be in your room for ME to deliver your bags. I'm guessing they're not getting tipped when your bags "magically appear" in your room. Obviously we didn't want to leave our carry-ons with bell services - I have heard stories of people getting things stolen and obviously we had things in our carry-ons that we did not want in our checked luggage. I guess this year I'll have to get a lock for my carryon. Every year I think I have things figured out but never seem to get things quite right.