Moderate? If so, which?

[wdwcarrie]

My husband and I are long-time WDW fans, and have taken many trips. This August, we took our son, then 2, on his first trip. It was the time of his life, and we're looking to go back next summer. We stayed at ASMovies, and DH and I have only stayed at Values (Movies and Pop). We really like them, but we're thinking about a Moderate for the next trip.

Question #1...is it worth the price difference to upgrade to a Moderate?

Question #2...which is the one for us? We are considering Caribbean Beach (the pirate water play area and zero-depth entry pool are really appealing) and Port Orleans--Riverside (the boats are an awesome feature).

Any advice very much appreciated!
Thanks,
Carrie

[Itchy]

I have stayed at Caribbean Beach before there were value resorts. It is a nice resort with a lot of quite pools in each area. The down side is depending on where in the resort you are staying you may have a long walk to the food court.

I really love POR, I have stayed in the Mansions and Alligator Bayou and really like the atmosphere and how quite it is. The walk along the river early in the morning and late evening is really beautiful.

I have heard a lot of good things a Port Orleans French Quarter. It is smaller than Riverside. You may want to consider this one as well.

Happy planning, hope this helps...

[Gator]

1) For us, it's worth the money to upgrade to Moderate. We started at the mods, went to AllStarMovie on our 4th trip, and swore never to go back to values. The bus service is so much better at the mods over the values. You'll see the difference on your first bus trip to the park. Plus the rooms are bigger and the pools have cool waterslides - if your son is at the age he can handle those.

2) Our favorite is Coronado by far. It has great theming, great food, the best pool, and excellent bus service. Carribean Beach is second. Never been to French Quarter, but I'm sure I'll like it better than Riverside. I thought I'd love that place, being originally from the South. But we didn't like it very much. The theming just wasn't to our likeing at the Alligator Bayou section.

[CynBeth]

We stayed at POFQ Thanksgiving Week last year and really liked it. It was very quiet and no matter where you stay it is a short walk to the main building and also to POR. Plus you can get the boat to DTD. I really liked the theming and our room a lot. There was a jester at the door who gave us coins in the Mardis Gras colors to throw into the wishing well near the front door even though we don't have kids. The rest of the staff we encountered were wonderful as well. The bus transportation was great even on the days we shared with Riverside.

[disneydeb]

We love POFQ!

We are staying in the princess rooms at POR this next trip, so I can't tell you about them yet,

Carribean beach is way too large and spread out for my taste and there is no elevator....shlepping our luggage ourselves was not fun! We will not do that again.

Coranado Springs, we have not visited, but it is also way spread out so we are afraid to try it.

[Pirate Granny]

For a three yr old the pool area at cAribbean beach would be best...we love FQ, but no zero entry and style baby pool is a cement circle and no zero entry there either...A of A has a wonderful pool and doesn't share buses.

[Lindsey310]

For us, it's def worth the extra cash to stay at a moderate.
We have stayed at both port Orleans riverside and Caribbean beach. I prefer POR a little more bc we really love the food court there and the bus system is great. We love the atmosphere here also. Guy playing piano at night is a lot of fun to watch.
But I think Caribbean beach has a better pool. We weren't fans of the food court there the last time we stayed here.
Stay in a moderate. Thank us later. My vote would be for POR.

[Melanie]

Definitely, if money isn't an issue, stay at a moderate!

My vote would be for Coronado Springs or Riverside. We like Caribbean as well.

[Quadstriker]

I prefer POR a little more bc we really love the food court there and the bus system is great. We love the atmosphere here also. Guy playing piano at night is a lot of fun to watch.

That would be Bob. He's the man.

[AgentC]

For me and my family, a moderate is always worth the extra money because we do spend time at the resort and enjoy the extra room and amenities such as the pool slide, recreation and table service option. Queen beds are a nice plus too. My children are 4 and 6. We have been going to the parks since they were 10 months. It is very seldom that we do not spend at least part of the day at the resort in the pool. If you spend very little time at the resort, it may not be worth it, but if you do spend time at the resort it is money well spent. My personal preference right now (always subject to change ) is POR, CSR, POFQ, CBR.

I stayed at CBR in July and I did like it. It does havea fantastic water area for young children. My daughter could have spent the day there. On the down side, it does not have enough lounge chairs and very little shade at the pool. Some of the buildings are quite far. If you are staying here and do not have a car, you should book a preferred room. Also this is the only moderate with full size beds.

I love POR. The landscaping is beautiful. It just has a very relaxed feeling to me. There are two areas you can be in the Mansions or Alligator Bayou. The new Royal rooms are in the mansions. POR has a great pool and play ground though it does not have the great water area that CBR does. It has pole fishing which can be really fun for kids. The boat to Downtown Disney is nice too.

Coronado is a great resort. Great play ground. Beautiful scenery. Nice theming in the rooms. Also a very large resort . Great playground. Pool is has a great slide but that might not be a factor for your son. I am enjoying this resort more as my children get older.

POFQ is a great small resort where everything is easy to walk too. Pool is cute and themed more for younger children. Nice small playground by the pool. Small food court. No sit down restaurant. Shares amenities with POR.

I don't really think you can go wrong with any of them.

[HoosierDisneyFan]

We like POFQ for the small size and good bus service. I like to walk to the center building each evening after touring the parks for refill of resort mug. Also boat to DTD is a bonus. This resort is great for us but if you want a TS restuarant you have to walk to POR (which is not far but at at POFQ). Also the gift is fairly small at POFQ (compared to other mods I have been to), not an issue for use since there is plenty of shopping opportunities at WDW.

[teamblackwell]

The build your own pasta bar at POR is Awesome! Boatwrights was nice while on FD, but I wouldn't pay OOP for it.

[TiggeRia]

I definitely prefer a moderate over a value. I have stayed at CBR, POFQ, and CSR. By far POFQ is my favorite. It's quiet and small so easy to walk everywhere and very picturesque. Love the boat to DTD and seeing the horse drawn carriages at night. The other two were nice, but way too large and spread out for my liking.

[azcavalier]

Have stayed at POR and CSR. We have never stayed at CBR, so I cannot speak to that. We have raided the food court at POFQ for beignets, which are delicious.

The POR food court is widely considered the best in-resort food court on Disney property. The Alligator Bayou themeing is very rustic, but we like it. We've never stayed in the mansions, because there are five of us.

If you want to find out more about Port Orleans, just Google "Port Orleans" and there is a page all about it (third party).

[ANG]

We've stayed at all three levels of resorts. IMO it is most definitely worth the price of an upgrade

[ledudes]

We love Port Orleans riverside and French Quarter

[Angelgirl65]

We really enjoy CSR as the top moderate for us. POR would be our second choice.

[beksy]

I've stayed at all but Coronado and my favorites are: 1) POFQ (wonderful, quiet, great doorman during the day--had my pic taken with him , food court is close to the room no matter where you are, bus has always stopped here first when we shared with POR); 2) POR (more spread-out but great food court and enjoyed the theming); and I like the river boats with PO resorts; 3) CBR (very pretty, loved the theming, didn't like how spread out it was so if I stayed again would pay extra for a close room, did't like that the check-in area was seperate building/bus stop, found the bus system/internal bus confusing). My sister won't stay at CBR because its so big so we haven't been there for many years. It was our first trip solo and we were in the parks all the time so didn't try out the food court or pool so can't comment. I'm not crazy about CS decor so haven't tried it. I love POFQ and will stay here any time I can if I am staying moderate (except for a short stay in the princess rooms at POR to channel my inner Belle )

[MNNHFLTX]

Coronado Springs is my favorite moderate resort, hands down. Love the theming, the amenities and the room decor.