Which moderate resort?

[meloneyb21]

We are so unsure of where to stay. Darn Disney for making too many choices! It'll be the 4 of us, me, DH, DD8, and DS3. We love spending time in DTD, and we love a nice pool, especially a kiddie pool for my little boy. I'm also looking for good bus service and good food selections. We've been to CSR and love it so we were just gonna go back there, but we would also love to stay somewhere new. Any advice?

Thanks! :thumbsup:

[sherriepaul]

I would recommend Port Orleans French Quarter!!!! Love it!!!:cloud9:

[AmandaChan]

CBR does have a nice pool for kids, and our experience with the bus service was great in mid June of last year. The food court was like other food courts, with your random selections and a bakery.

[Jim&AngieMarriner]

Well to be fair, we havnet stayed there yet, still have three weeks until we get there. But everything you say you want seems to be at POR. They even have a boat that will take you to DTD. Im sure your kids would love the boat ride.

There are 4 bus stops at POR if I remember the map right.

They have the new Royal rooms open which have the in room fiber optic fireworks. I have heard the kids love them.

Food... Boatwrights and another rest which is escaping my brain at the moment.

The pool on the Old Man Island looks fun and if its to noisy there are several quiet pools scattered around the property.

I know we are extremely excited to get there. I can barely contain myself.

Not sure if this helps or not.

[cajundisneyfreak]

My vote is for Port Orleans French Quarter.We stayed for the first time in June 2011.We absolutely loved it.It has the deluxe feel but at a moderate price of course.lol Your kids will love the pool.There's boat transportation to DTD.We had no problems with the bus transportation to the parks.The food court has a nice variety.I'm sure someone else will come along with the same thoughts and maybe add something I may have forgotten to mention.:mickey:

[disneymomma2010]

Since you love dtd so much I would try Port Orleans French Quarter or Riverside. I prefer Riverside. It is so beautiful and we love it there! There is a kiddie pool by the large pool and a slide and a little playground for him, as with all moderates. The boat ride to dtd is very nice and relaxing. You can look on their website and look at the pictures and see which themeing you would prefer. I probably cant say the website on here but you can google it. Riverside has rooms that he would like, there is a pull down trundle bed in the allegator bayou section with a picture of the gator from Princess and the Frog. And the Royal room are nice if you want to pay a little extra. However he might like the slide at the FQ if he smaller.

[Tygger7]

I would cast another vote for Port Orleans Riverside. The pools are fantastic and the food court is much nicer than French Quarter (IMHO).

We stayed at FQ in 2001 and hated it so much that it actually made me very leery about staying at POR. The FQ rooms were not up to Disney standards of being "clean", and the food court was always packed solid all the time. I guess the whole vibe of the place just turned us off. My daughter (who was 9 at the time) had picked the resort solely because of the "dragon pool". Unfortunately, she was disappointed because the pool was always so crowded. I know a LOT of people LOVE FQ, and that you can have "bad" experiences at any resort. I know we had very high expectations since it was our first trip with our daughter and all the crowds & craziness really made it a stressful experience.

After staying at POR in December, it's definitely my first choice in moderates. The whole vibe of the resort is very peaceful and relaxed. But, I had really LOW expectations going in and was totally blown away by the entire experience. In fact, I'm just wrapping up the details for a Sept. trip for me & my mom...we're staying in one of the new Royal Rooms and couldn't be more excited!

[retiredfigment]

I think you should try them all once to see which you like best:secret:

[Lizzy]

I vote PO-R. I love the pool area. Sometimes it is a bit noisy but there are several quiet pools. Plus you have a boatride to DTD. You can walk over to POFQ for the beignets (sp?) I love them! The restaraunts at POR are good, and the bar is hoppin at night.

[btharvey]

Another vote for Port Orleans French Quarter (Intimate) or Port Orleans Riverside (Best Food Court). Both get you to Downtown Disney easily and both get you to the parks pretty well. Good pools and lots of activities.

[KatrinaJ91]

We absolutely LOVE POR! It is by far our favorite resort. The atmosphere is very relaxing. The food court is really good...try the pasta station! There is alot to see and do...the boat to DD, YeeHaw Bob in the Roost Lounge, great pools, etc

The bus situation is pretty good. It is only used by POR and there are enough stops that it isn't much of a walk. You can walk to FQ and try out their pool and food court...although we didn't care for it much.

Hope you enjoy your trip!

[vicster]

Another vote for Port Orleans French Quarter!

[2Epcot]

I would recommend Port Orleans French Quarter!!!! Love it!!!:cloud9:

My favorite moderate resort as well.

[buzznwoodysmom]

I think you would like Port Orleans French Quarter. With your 3 year old son, I think the pool there would be great for him. There is a very tame slide that is great for the smaller ones. There is also a kiddie pool near the main pool. You are just a boat ride away from DTD. Riverside is another good choice close to DTD, but my family didn't love it. The pool there is a little more exciting than the pool at French Quarter for older kids, but you are allowed to use both pools if your staying at either of the Port Orleans resorts. Sometimes these two resorts share buses, but when they don't share FQ only has one bus stop so it's easy on, easy off. Riverside has 4 bus stops, I think, so it will take a bit more time coming and going since you'll have to stop multiple times. Out of the two I'd pick French Quarter.

CBR is another great option. There is a huge kiddie water play area that I'm sure both your kids would enjoy, as well as a huge zero entry pool complete with two waterslides. There are also two hot tubs in the pool area. Very nice pool area.

[ginny57]

Either Port Orleans resorts should work for you. They are 'sister' resorts and its a lovely walk between the two so you can really enjoy both.

The biggest difference to me was size....R is very large....FQ much smaller. I liked the size of FQ for access to the food court....pool....buses and R is a nice stroll away so your really good either way.

[Butters]

Add another vote for POFQ

[DVC2004]

We liked PO Riverside, but we liked Coronado Springs the best. My kids loved the pool there with the temple, slide and spitting jaguars. I liked that the room had the 2 Queens as opposed to the double beds. Most of the mods are on the larger more spread out side, with POR FQ being the smallest/most intimate.

[MrPeetrie]

We love all the moderates. They all have their own unique appeal. If you like DTD, then the Port Orleans resorts make for a nice option because of the boatride. (It is our favorite mode of transportation.)

The Riverside is an immense resort, while the French Quarter is quaint. There are many more options at Riverside, including a fishing hole, and carriage rides. Plus its swimming pool is nicer.

FQ is more charming. Both are great!

[darthmacho]

I really enjoyed POR in 2010, and if you like spending time at DTD, you can take the boat there. Boatwright's is a very underrated restaurant in my opinion, and Riverside Mill, while sometimes hectic, was a great home base for meals. Also consider taking the horse and buggy ride if you're willing to spend the $$, because it was a nice evening activity at the resort.

[The Hitchhiking Ghost]

Another :thumbsup: for POR.

Besides all that's been mentioned, you have the River Roost lounge with Yeeha Bob for entertainment. Better food court then POFQ in my opinion, but can't go wrong either way.

[A Big Kid]

I would recommend Port Orleans French Quarter!!!! Love it!!!:cloud9:

From what the poster is looking for, I think you are correct.

[Kairi_7378]

I don't think you could go wrong with either of the PO resorts. I think that if you want a complete change, FQ is more different than CSR.

[Mousemates]

just got back from a stay at PO Riverside, by far and away our favorite mod...stayed in a royal guest room in the mansions.

[meloneyb21]

Thanks for all of your advice. We have officially chosen to stay at POR and are super excited. Now the thing is, where is the best section? Should we request a specific area or just choose Preferred?

:thumbsup:

[Tygger7]

If you can afford it, and if it's available, I would pay for a preferred room. The convenience is worth it, to me. I'm taking my mom down in September and there were no preferred rooms available, so we are getting a Royal Room just for the location. It's worth it to make it a little easier on my mom.

[zipadeedoodah]

We have a trip planned for the beginning of September, also staying at POR. I called a few days ago to ask that my reservation be noted of a room preference, and the agent informed me that I need to call 1 week out for that request, and not before. I thought that was odd, as I believe I have requested certain areas of POP to be noted far in advance. Anyone else run into this lately?

[disneynarula]

I like POR and CBR. I like CBR resort mainly for the pool. It is, IMHO the best moderate pool. If you are going to spend a lot of time at the pool CBR is a great choice.

I like the grounds better at POR, as well as the boat ride to DownTown Disney. I also like the trundle bed. My boys have trouble sleeping in the same bed.

CBR is very spread out and it is one of the only places I feel paying the money for a preferred room is worth it. I don't mind having a long walk to the room but I do really enjoy being near the main pool.

Both have nice TS as well as food courts.