Port Orleans Riverside or Coronado Springs

[COVCHAI]

We are planning a trip December 2013. It will be my husband and myself, ages 56-60. What are your thoughts on the two resorts. Do you prefer one over the other and why.

[Fangorn]

Welcome to Intercot!

DW and I are in the same age bracket and our personal favorite is Riverside.

Both resorts are wonderful - I don't think you will be disappointed with either - but we enjoy the ambience of Riverside more. We particularly like the Aligator Bayou section of POR. It's just very quiet, and relaxing. The separate buildings there give a more secluded feeling than the Mansions section.

Added pluses for POR are the boat ride to Downtown Disney, the food court (very nice with lots of great choices) and Boatwrights - the table service restaurant. Coronado Springs has a lot of amenities as well, since it is a convention resort, but we just prefer Riverside.

It really comes down to how you feel about the specific themeing - Deep South or Mexico.

Have a great time!

Steve

[Ms. Mode]

We also are close in age, and I just really like CS. We stayed there this New Year's and it was really wonderful. We stayed at POFQ last New Year's and I really didn't care for it, although Riverside does have a slightly different feel to it...and I do enjoy the boat ride to DTD. One thing about that time of year though...it can get really chilly on those boats. :thumbsup:

[Lindsey310]

Welcome to Intercot!!! :pixie: :wave:

We have never stayed at coronado springs but we have friends who have. They said they aren't a fan of the rooms or the food court.

We have stayed at riverside (formally Dixie landings as my family still calls it) and we love it there. In fact, we frequent the food court even when we don't stay there. We love the ambiance of the resort. We stayed in the newly renovated rooms for 2 nights in December and they were great! Smelled so new! My vote is for Port orleans riverside :mickey3: :minnie:

[Melanie]

I've been a big fan of Coronado Springs for years. I love the room decor (lovely blues and browns) and the grounds are gorgeous. Not much to complain about here in my book. Only recently, in the past year, have I become a big Riverside fan as well. We stayed in the Mansions area in a Princess room and I loved it! Gorgeous!

So for me, either is a winner. :thumbsup:

[ginny57]

I have stayed in both....prefer CS

POR - not a fan of the bayou section but do like the mansions. Buses can get packed and, since they share with French Quarter, can pass you by if they are full, Food court is great as is the pool.

CS -very large but that never bothered me. Since it is a convention center has some deluxe-y amenities. Food court gets mixed reviews but it was fine when I tried it.

You didn't mention FQ as a choice....and it is a very popular one. Its small and I like the New Orleans feel.

[IfUHadWings]

CS - enjoyed due to Queen beds if getting a double room. Peaceful, nice food court, really cool pool.

POR - not as unique in design IMO. However, the grounds, sidewalks and Poole area are beautiful.

To me, POR seems more relaxing and CS seems little more like resort. You can't go wrong. :thumbsup:

[Gator]

Slam dunk, Coronado! It has the best themed landscape of all the moderate by far. The pool is best as well. You'll love the food court because of all the great options, and the Maya Grill has some phenomenal dishes. The room decor is classy but themed very well. And the bus service is excellent.

Riverside was my first resort to visit. I expected it to be great. Unfortunately, we got shoved into the Alligator Bayou section, and it was lousy. Looks like old apartment buildings. The mansions look cool, but there's no guarantee you'll get one. And I didn't like the bus service there. Seemed to take forever waiting to go to the parks.

[cruzrmomma]

Love PORS, and like Aligator Bayou, closer to everything. Like the boat ride back from downtown disney. Being from California, we like the southern theming-have enough Mexican stuff here!

[A Big Kid]

Forgive me for being presumptious. But if ya'll are an older couple, the smaller land area of the POFQ might appeal to you.

(Ill take my lashes with a wet noodle now.)

[Mousemates]

we love POR...the mansions in particular(which we have gotten everytime we requested them) ...the grounds at POR are among the nicest at any WDW resort...and the ability to take the boat to downtown disney is a perk that CS does not have.

[darthmacho]

I love both. I can't decide based on just theming since both are great and I love the restaurants. I'll give POR the slight edge because I really liked Riverside Mill, and I've read that Pepper Market has devolved over the years to a shell of its former self.

Awesome to have to choose between two awesome resorts.

[sainter]

We are also big fans of both resorts.
Both now have queen size beds. POR has recently been rehabbed so the rooms would be fresh. Both are beautiful in their own way. We love the shade and meandering paths of Alligator Bayou. POR has the air conditioning units under the window which are rather loud turning off and on all night. CSR is like central air. Definitely like the POR food court better -- love the make-your-own-way pasta, salad and oatmeal especially. Just a little thing, but I missed the jazz music in the background at POR, just prefer it to the music at CSR. Love the door closing off the sink area from the rest of the room at CSR, felt like a private dressing room.

See?! They are both GREAT!!!

[Melanie]

and I've read that Pepper Market has devolved over the years to a shell of its former self.

Awesome to have to choose between two awesome resorts.

I've not found this to be true at all. If you can get past the strange set up (card stamp, wait staff - like it's always been), there are really some good offerings here. Can't wait to stay at CSR again in January!

[Melanie]

Love the door closing off the sink area from the rest of the room at CSR, felt like a private dressing room.

Yes, this is also a big plus for CSR. The sliding WOOD door is superior to the curtains at the other moderates. Much more privacy!

[darthmacho]

I've not found this to be true at all. If you can get past the strange set up (card stamp, wait staff - like it's always been), there are really some good offerings here. Can't wait to stay at CSR again in January!

Glad to hear it. We really enjoyed Pepper Market back in 1999, but that was so long ago, I feared the things I heard might be true.

[disneydeb]

I've not found this to be true at all. If you can get past the strange set up (card stamp, wait staff - like it's always been), there are really some good offerings here. Can't wait to stay at CSR again in January!

When we stayed at POFQ last October we had a wooden sliding door separating the bath from the bedroom area. I don't think CSR holds that feature exclusively.

[Melanie]

When we stayed at POFQ last October we had a wooden sliding door separating the bath from the bedroom area. I don't think CSR holds that feature exclusively.

Oh, didn't realize that. We stayed at FQ in July and did not have a sliding door. We were in building 4.

[disneydeb]

That is so weird! We were also in building 4 on the far side on the first floor.
Did yours have a curtain?
It seems to me that they would all have the same interiors!


I just called POFQ housekeeping, some rooms do have sliding doors and some have curtains. She said the rooms set up for disabled persons have doors. We didn't have a roll in tub, however... So that is the difference! I thought this is a great place to charge my ECV!

[Melanie]

I just called POFQ housekeeping, some rooms do have sliding doors and some have curtains. She said the rooms set up for disabled persons have doors. We didn't have a roll in tub, however... So that is the difference! I thought this is a great place to charge my ECV!

That explains it. :)

[Angelgirl65]

My Dh and I prefer CSR because of the extra amenities that come along with it. We like to visit Rix Lounge, the fitness center and spa and I've even had my hair done at the salon.

And I read that starting next year they will be offering club level rooms. :thumbsup:

[Diznee4Me]

Haven't tried POR bur CSR is fabulous. The DW, DD and I have stayed numerous times and we will be sharing it with another couple in a few days.

Pepper Market was great on our last trip - as was the MAya Grill - the DW loved the spa, and the pool is phenomenal. The updated room decor is lovely (I still kinda like the fiesta look of the old rooms though) and the bus service was great. :thumbsup: all around from me!

[merryc17]

I prefer the POR over Coronado. They were both wonderful, but POR is quainter. The market is cute and so is the mill. I thought it had a nicer feel to it.

What I found about the Coronado was that everything was very far apart. The pools, the food, the bus stops....everything was very spread out. It also had a "business trip" feel to it. You saw a lot of comapnies walking around with brief cases.

Overall, I felt more like I was on vacation when I was at POR.

[dumbodoughboy]

Forgive me for being presumptious. But if ya'll are an older couple, the smaller land area of the POFQ might appeal to you.


I totally agree! We are a couple aged 43/42 and we thought Coronado Springs, while beautifully themed and not lacking in anything we wanted, was too much walking for us...to get anywhere, it seemed, even to the bus stops! We are trying POR this December for the first time, just for something different, but we LOVE POFQ...intimate, charming, relatively quiet, nice pool, and everything is within very reasonable walking distance! You may want to check that one out as well. Good luck with whatever you choose!