Port Orleans Riverside OR Caribbean Beach for a family of 5??

[familyof5]

I'm planning my family's second trip to Disney. Our first visit was is December 2010; we stayed at POR Alligator Bayou and loved it! All 3 of our kids are now teenagers, and I see that Caribbean Beach also can accommodate 5 "adults". I've searched some of the threads, but most posts comparing the two resorts were written before renovations....
For those who have stayed recently and have bigger families with older kids, what pros & cons can you give for POR & CBR and why?

[mickeys1stluv]

We are going in Aug. I had a tough time deciding too. But we went with POR. Most all travel sites give it a higher rating than CBR. You also mentioned u have teenagers, so do I. As far as the decor & the fact u can move easily between Riverside & the French Quarter I believe it will be more age appropriate. I wish u the best either way u go. :thumbsup:

[manutd1]

POR. We have stayed there a few times...5th person not an issue. At all. I love POR. (alligator bayou) our fav.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

I love POR, but it might be tight with 3 teenagers. The "extra" bed is quite small, so unless one of the teenagers is young, they might not be so comfortable.

The resort is lovely, with a decent pool, and you can slip over to French Quarter for a bit of a change if desired.

[buzznwoodysmom]

We have stayed at both and would pick CBR over POR any given time. We just did not like Riverside. CBR is our favorite mod. We love the tropical feel, and how quiet and empty the resort always feels.

Since you already know you like POR what you should decide for yourself is do you want to stick with what you know and like, or do you want to try something new.

Also, the CBR rooms are a smidge larger than POR. That, and the fact that the rooms are all newly renovated, would be a good reason to try something new.;)

[familyof5]

Thanks for the great feedback, everyone! Our youngest just turned 13 and she is very tiny for her age, so the pull out bed would be perfect for her. Now to just convince my two teenage boys (15 & 17)to share a bed ;)
For those who've stayed at CBR, how is the transportation? Are the bus stops close to the buildings?

[markyv]

There are 6 bus stops if I am remembering correctly. Buses come and go regularly, and I believe you are on the bus for less time due to CBR's more central loaction.

[Scallywag]

CBR for us. Love the tropical theme and the food court. New rooms a plus. I would also say the main pool at CBR is better.

[The Hitchhiking Ghost]

Depending on how much freedom you give your teenage boys, I'd think POR would hands down be the better option. Pool is nicer and the boys, if allowed, could take the boat to DTD if they were going to go to DisneyQuest or something like that. I think there would be better food court options too at POR (although its been a while since we stayed at CBR). You also have the nightly show on certain nights with YeeHaw Bob at the Riverroost that I see kids there enjoy all the time.

For the older kids, I think POR simply gives you more options.

[familyof5]

Thanks again for all of your replies! This is helping me out a ton :)

[magicofdisney]

We've done both with the most recent being CBR. POR also did room updates fairly recently. Granted it was wonderful having a freshly updated room at CBR, but was nearly identical to the new 5-person room at POR. After having stayed at CBR, we've decided it's not for us and we'll return to POR in the future.

CBR is NOT a bad resort, however it is large. Another feature we didn't care for is that check-in is not in the same building as the food court and gift shop. There's nothing wrong with that, except we've always enjoyed the convenience of having those three offerings in the same building. For example, I can stand in line for check-in (or get straight to the desk on a good day) while my kids explore the gift shop or food court. I simply do not enjoy the separation at CBR.

CBR does offer an internal bus system to take you to the food court building, but those busses were few and far between during our trip. It was as easy to jump on any park-bound bus and get off at the food court building.

[azcavalier]

We are trying CBR on our next trip in Sept. just because we've never done it. We do love POR. It has a great pool, the best food court of any Disney resort, Yee Hah Bob, a great gift shop, and the boat to DTD is relaxing and convenient.

But, we're trying to stay at every Disney resort (except Shades of Green, as we're not military). And we have got to knock this off our list! But the pictures look fantastic. Looking forward to the trip.