Resort indecision...looking for input

[CaptainHappenstance]

Hi all,

I'm suffering from a bit of resort indecision and was hoping I could solicit some input. I'm trying to decide between Pop Century, Coronado Springs and Port Orleans FQ/Riverside. I was initially leaning toward CS for my family's 5 night Spring Break 2019 trip, but am now overthinking it. For context, we (me, wife, 10 year old son) can stay at Pop for $265 less total or at Port Orleans for $93 more total than the rate I found for CS. I've never stayed at any of these resorts so I'm having trouble figuring out which would be the best bang for our buck. This will be my family's second trip to WDW and we were lucky to stay at Yacht Club last time (which we loved!) thanks to a great deal on the rate. Unfortunately, that and Beach Club are way out of our price range this time around.

I was leaning toward CS because of the main pool, refurbished rooms and relative proximity to Epcot (since we enjoy eating at the different country's restaurants). It also seems reasonably convenient to Disney Springs, where we may visit once or twice to eat.

I'd greatly appreciate any insight. Thanks in advance!

 

[Moliphino]

$265 over 5 nights isn't a huge savings. Since it sounds like you'd be spending time at the resort and using the pool I'd stick with Coronado. For a park commando sort of trip I'd go for Pop. Coronado and Port Orleans are all about even for me, so why not save the $93.

 

[kylenne]

Looking at these resorts, transportation is a consideration. The mods are quite spread out with the exception of POFQ and the internal bus loops get kind of annoying. I’d only stay at Coronado if I had my own transportation or would use Uber/Lyft. If amenities are important to you I would go POFQ, it’s more compact and you still have access to POR things. It is not very far from Epcot either and has the Disney Springs boat. If you are more rope drop to fireworks people save the money and do Pop. I’ve never stayed at the values before but I hear good things about the bus service there and the refurbed rooms seem neat.

 

[Monorail_Man_NJ]

French Quarter <-- Riverside <-- Coronado <--- PoP (that IMHO is best to worst)

If money saving is a priority then I would choose

POP <--- POFQ or POR

Coronado is kinda meh.

 

[siren0119]

POP is definitely a "place for sleeping and showering" kind of stay - it being a value resort there aren't a ton of amenities. We loved it and the fact that it's just over the bridge from AoA means you have other dining and bus options outside of POP. But if you're planning to spend more time at the resort, the Mods are going to be better suited for what you want to get out of them. I would only choose Coronado if the resort was my primary reason for coming, and probably if I didn't have my kids along - many more business travelers there than at the other resorts. POFQ would be my first choice if we were spending any time at the resort and not just using it as a home base

 

[Monorail_Man_NJ]

Looking at these resorts, transportation is a consideration. The mods are quite spread out with the exception of POFQ and the internal bus loops get kind of annoying. I’d only stay at Coronado if I had my own transportation or would use Uber/Lyft. If amenities are important to you I would go POFQ, it’s more compact and you still have access to POR things. It is not very far from Epcot either and has the Disney Springs boat. If you are more rope drop to fireworks people save the money and do Pop. I’ve never stayed at the values before but I hear good things about the bus service there and the refurbed rooms seem neat.

On point.

Never done Value either but had some last minute expenses this year so had to do a few days at POP to keep costs down. Disney at Xmas is hard to swing.
Seems like the best value for sure other than AoA but long walks there I hear.

 

[indoshakespeare]

I found proximity to a park does not matter among the values and moderates as the difference is just a few minutes of bus rides.

 

[SteveH]

I'd spend the extra $93 and stay at either Port O location. I have been a fan of CSR in the past, but with all the construction right now that would not appeal to me, and the one thing I like about all the moderates was the smaller buildings and being spread out with a nice theme but having that huge building at CSR that just don't fit in (to me) is enough to have me look at the other moderates. After following a couple of pod-casters talk about PO Riverside I would really like to stay there, but we also love the Swan/Dolphin so it comes down to price as the location is better IMHO compared to the moderates, and the price is often lower too.

 

[kylenne]

On point.

Never done Value either but had some last minute expenses this year so had to do a few days at POP to keep costs down. Disney at Xmas is hard to swing.
Seems like the best value for sure other than AoA but long walks there I hear.

One of my co-workers recently stayed at AoA in the Little Mermaid rooms and complained about the walk to the bus stop. She said it really wasn’t bad in the AM, but it took its toll at night after long days in the parks and tired/cranky kiddos.

 

[smiths02]

I would avoid CSR due to the construction

 

[kenthanson]

We've stayed at pop many times and tried csr for our trip last winter and liked it but would have rather stayed at pop. Pops bus system is straight forward and I love the theming of the resort but the csr pool is much better.

 

[CaptainHappenstance]

Pops bus system is straight forward and I love the theming of the resort but the csr pool is much better.

Good to know. My son would definitely appreciate a good pool. Stormalong Bar was a huge hit with him.

You (and others) bring up a good point about busses. Being Spring Break, I worry about crowds on busses at CS and POR. Seems like that would be a non-issue at Pop and POFQ.

 

[Moliphino]

You (and others) bring up a good point about busses. Being Spring Break, I worry about crowds on busses at CS and POR. Seems like that would be a non-issue at Pop and POFQ.

Pop actually has more rooms than Coronado, it's just a smaller footprint. So there are more people at Pop to compete with for buses.

 

[siren0119]

Pop actually has more rooms than Coronado, it's just a smaller footprint. So there are more people at Pop to compete with for buses.

But you can use the AoA bus if you don't mind walking through the lobby and over the bridge We did this frequently at our last stay and it got us back to our rooms much faster!

 

[sharadoc]

French Quarter. That pool is terrific, you have the boat to Disney Springs, and it's really close to MK and a good location for HS and Epcot.

 

[unrequited23]

POR & POFQ have the boat to Disney Springs. This is such a nicer way to travel than the bus.

POR & CS have quiet pools in case the main pool gets to be too hectic. My son likes to make new friends when we go to the pool and the main pools just had way too much going on for him to do that at both POR & POFQ.

POFQ & CS both have refreshed rooms.

It's all pretty much a draw. So I would review the resort restaurant menus and see which had food that was more appealing to the family than the other. I'm only mildly ashamed to say that the fact one resort had both grilled cheese and mac & cheese on the CS menu was a selling point.

 

[CaptainHappenstance]

I'm only mildly ashamed to say that the fact one resort had both grilled cheese and mac & cheese on the CS menu was a selling point.

Beignets are high up on my Pro list for POFQ.

 

[ShayBells]

I hate how spread out Coronado is. I’d spend the extra 93 and go POFQ. And I like the pool better. Bus is better. Less walking with a kid is a plus. IMHO.

 

[sbrost13]

Full disclosure- we’ve never stayed at POR or POFQ (strongly dislike their themes). We stayed at CSR in July 2017 and LOVED it! It seems spread out on the map but didn’t seem bad when you actually walked it. We were in Ranchos and the bus stop was SOOOO close to our room (it was the second bus stop to pick up for parks so we had zero issues getting a seat). The main pool is fantastic and only a couple of minutes walk from our room. We also liked the quick service place at the pool and the bar there had delicious adult beverages. We loved Maya Grill and they also reopened a sports bar/restaurant there as well. If you’re worried about construction, there are a lot of videos out there on you tube you can check out.

We’re staying at POP for the first time Christmas week. We’ve stayed at AOA Little Mermaid room (longest walk to the bus stop we’ve ever had) and AS Movies, so we’re familiar with their bus systems. The positive is only one bus stop. The negative to that is that lines can get pretty long.

 

[pixarmom]

We've stayed at all of these resorts and I'd vote for POFQ. While not the same as a deluxe for many reasons, we thought it had a more relaxing vibe than the others on your list. Pool was great, landscaping was well done, everything was close to the entry, food court was less chaotic than most, CMs were fantastic and once in a while, we had our own bus. (When we didn't, the POR bus loop was unfortunate, but we typically went direct to parks during busy times.) And late night beignets were a huge hit with the kids. Part of that trip, I was on my own with our youngest (4 years old at the time) and the proximity of our room to the bus stop was absolutely fantastic!