Best Disney World resort?

Question

I am planning a trip there in December. I have stayed at Pop Century before (liked it). I am considering going with one of the moderate resorts this time. Any info would be helpful.

Thanks!

Please include some of the reasons for choosing that particular resort.

Answer 1

Pop is a great hotel, but I think you will really like the moderates. Since you are only wanting moderates, I will stick to those in my recommendations.

Port Orleans and Caribbean Beach are the most popular of the moderates. Personally, my favorite is Coronado.

Port Orleans French Quarter and Riverside- They are really nice resorts, have a smaller property, so you can get around a little easier. The pools are really nice, and probably the most popular for the moderate category. The main difference between the two would be the theming, French Quarter seems to be a favorite out of the two. If you have a party of five, with at least one small child, Riverside is probably the best option because of price, you would only need one room. To me, the biggest advantage of these two over the other moderates is the boat transportation. It is about a half-hour ride right to Downtown Disney. The boat ride is a lot of fun and really relaxing and enjoying, plus, the better drivers give tons of little tips/info while you take the ride. So it is just a little perk and a lot of fun.

Caribbean Beach: The grounds are beautiful, the pool is also pretty nice. Basically, it offers the same benefits as the other moderates, but in my opinion, not quite as much as the other two. The biggest problem here is how large it is, you definitely want to go with a preferred room if you want to cut down on some walking. This way, you are close to the main building and it will cut down some walking. Even if you don't think that you need it now, you like walking, etc. consider how much you will be walking the parks and such, that is when the preferred location becomes so nice.

Coronado: Again, this is my favorite option. You still have the same benefits of the other moderates, to me there is one major benefit. This is a popular resort for conferences, so you will find a lot of business people there. So, during the day when the conferences take place, it is really quiet, not too many people around, pools are sometimes nearly empty, etc. It is nice because you have fewer kids and it is a little more quiet than some of the other moderates.

These are just my personal feelings. If I had to choose, it would probably be Coronado or Riverside. But, the best thing to do is decide which theme is your favorite and also which resort offers the most to you. Generally, the major differences are going to be when you go from value to moderate or deluxe. When you are staying within the same category, they are pretty much the same. The deluxe resorts are the ones that have the main differences between them.

I hope this helps!

Answer 2

I like Port Orleans or Riverside, Saratoga Springs, Coronado, The Boardwalk Yacht Club, ...

Any resort you stay at in Disney is going to be nice. All of the resorts have free transportation to and from the parks!

The Boardwalk is walking distance to EPCOT, very nice if you want to do drinks at all of the countries! And there are a lot of restaurants to choose from there.

Port Orleans has a really cool swimming pool, so does Coronado Springs (although you may not be swimming in December). Fewer restaurant choices, but you can get a boat over to downtown Disney from there if you want to eat somewhere neat!

The Coronado is very cool. They have this great market area where you can get all kinds of different foods. They have an arcade for kids (some of the other resorts do as well.) The complex is beautiful... lots of fountains and pretty lights at night! It is very nice!

If you want to stick with the value resorts, I'd go with something like Music or Sports. The buses at these resorts are less crowded than the Pop Century buses!

I am sure you will be pleased with whichever resort you choose!

Answer 3

it really depends upon your individual desires - We just came back from Caribbean Beach - the rooms are beautiful - however, many of them are also very far from the food court. Request a room in Martinique - close to the food court and main pool.

Port Orleans is a better choice because they are not as spread out. If, however, you enjoy the romatic walk - and being secluded, Caribbean beach is a great choice.

AVOID THE PIZZA! Several people got sick eating it - (including 2 of 4 of my family)

The buses are frequent, however, it is full at night - maybe not so bad when you are there in December.

Whoever put down Grand Floridian doesn't know the Disney parks - that is not a moderate rate resort. It is the most expensive. As for the Wilderness area - don't do it unless you are in the Wilderness resort - you're on vacation - you don't want to be in a tent when it rains!!!

I spent my 40th birthday 8/5 at Grand Floridian in the 1900 Park CAFE - with Prince Charming and Cincerella! (She had acne) LOL Enjoy the afterhours stuff - we were in the park till 2:00 a.m.!!! Walked right on all the rides! Also - try Haunted Mansion after hours - it's a whole new ride experience!!!

Answer 4

As far as the moderate resorts go, I think my favorite is Port Orleans - Riverside. Of the resorts I have stayed at, it's probably the most relaxing. Riverside is designed with a sort of Plantation-Era Souther architecture. Most of the buildings have a courtyard with gazeebos or walkways that are designed in this fashion. Inside the rooms are very comfortable, but something about the outside of the building makes you feel like you're at home. The "river" runs through the resort property, with a bridges connecting the resort buildings to the main lobby/restaurants building.

Another nice feature about about Port Orleans Riverside is the amenities that they feature. As mentioned before, there are shuttle buses that will take you to all the parks and attractions. There is also a shuttle boat that will take you to Downtown Disney, which is great if you just want a night out rather than at the parks. It's a very scenic trip and worth looking into. As far as recreation, there is also fishing, swimming pools, bike rentals and a horse drawn carriage available, at the resort.

My fiance and I are spending our honeymoon there because it is such a quiet and peaceful resort and we know we'll be able to relax and enjoy our time there.

Answer 5

The only way to go is stay at Fort Wilderness Campground. Get away from the TV's and air conditioning and really go experience a vacation with your family. You can take the ferry across the lake every morning to the parks. When you come back at night the campground has a bonfire every night with marshmallow roasting and a disney movie on a drive-in type screen. They have fishing, horseback riding, canoeing, spotless shower/bathrooms, etc. Deer and peacock roam the campground and you will save a fortune. The last time I was there was 1999 and it was about $30.00 a night per site, no matter how many people you have. And you can still go to the other resorts if you want spa treatments or nice restaurants. With all the money you save you'll be able to do that all you want.
Best vacation we ever had.

Answer 6

I've been to Port Orleans-French Quarter the last two times I was in Disney. The rooms are very nice and my favorite part was the dock for the ferry to Pleasure Island was right outside my resort room. It's sister resort, Port Orleans-Riverside is nice as well. I enjoyed the Mardi Gras and Southern feel to the resort.

Answer 7

Go to allearsnet.com . We are going to Disney in September and chose to stay at Coronado Springs. It sounds like the best moderate level resort. Anyway, the website has ratings of every resort at disney and customer reviews. Plus it has tons of other information about Disney. I absolutely love this site.

Answer 8

Port Orleans- French Quarter is the best moderate.

Answer 9

Grand Floridian

Answer 10

I really enjoy staying at Port Orleans, Riverside. It's very nice.