Tips and insights for booking your trip at the best Disney World moderate resorts
Choosing your resort at Disney World is a multi-faceted game. You’ve got to factor in that Disney experience, transportation options and price. But you’ve also got to do a little calculus on just how long you plan to be in your hotel. This math equation will help you choose one of the best Disney World moderate resorts for your visit.
Disney incentivizes longer stays with lower ticket prices – meaning if you’re staying seven nights, there’s a lot of value to be found in a six-day or even a seven-day park ticket. So, the question becomes, if you’re going to spend most of your seven days in the park, what is the incentive to double or even triple your resort costs? Convenience? The difference between a value resort and a deluxe resort could easily be $3,000 for the week. That is a significant portion of the travel budget.
The answer? If you’re going to maximize your park time, you might as well save money on the resorts. However, as someone who has traditionally tried to squeeze every ounce of park time out of our Disney vacations, I have seen the light – at least a glimmer of it – in building a hotel day into your itinerary. These are especially useful if you have a late-night special event or access to extended evening hours. Closing the park down at midnight and being up the next morning for rope drop can be draining. And an exhausted family can’t enjoy Disney World the way it’s meant to be enjoyed.
My current recommendation is a five-day ticket on a seven-night stay, taking advantage of the “free” water park day prior to arrival and making sure to get your money’s worth out of your Disney resort stay.
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Why choose a moderate hotel?
Disney has three basic tiers of resorts. They are value, moderate and deluxe. Prices start at about $165 per night on a value, $240 for moderate, and $450 for deluxe but there’s a lot of fluctuation within.
For example? Disney’s Art of Animation Resort is considered a value resort, but its pricing structure is a lot closer to moderate. Also, the Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness are technically a moderate experience, but because they sleep up to 6, they exist kind of in their own little realm.
Why would you choose a moderate resort over the value resorts?
Well, for us, it’s not really a choice. As a five-person family, the regular value resort rooms will not accommodate us.
However, if you’re a family of four the reasons to go moderate include improved pools – the moderate pools are among the best on property – as well as improved dining options. Now, if money isn’t an object, the jump from experience in the moderates to the deluxe is significant in terms of dining and transportation.
Also, each of the four main moderate hotels have – in my opinion – significantly better vibes than the value hotels – specifically the All-Stars where you can get a lot of massive groups which can be fun but also add a certain level of chaos.
The two New Orleans-themed hotels, Disney’s Caribbean Beach, and Coronado Springs, each bring a less hectic vibe than you’d find at the three All-Stars and Pop Century. Disney’s Art of Animation – a value resort in name – exists in its own bubble in my opinion.
Which moderate Disney hotel is best?
No. 1 Disney’s Caribbean Beach
This is not a popular opinion amongst Disney-heads. In fact, you’ll consistently see Caribbean Beach listed amongst the worst Disney resort properties. However, in my opinion, it is the best Disney World moderate resort.
Why? Caribbean Beach does have its disadvantages. It’s massive and can be difficult to navigate. The bus system – there is an in-resort bus loop – can be difficult and in the morning, if you have the wrong section – Caribbean Beach is split into five subsections, Aruba, Jamaica, Barbados, Martinique and Trinidad – you can find getting room on a bus more difficult than you might like.
Also, on the negative side, the dining situation isn’t fantastic, and you’ll frequently hear about the lack of elevators for second-floor rooms.
So, why do I rank it first? Several reasons. First, most of the issues with size and busing can be fixed by picking the right section of the resort. Which section? Jamaica. It has close access to the Caribbean Beach Skyliner stop as well as the pathway across the lake to Port Royale and the excellent Fuentes del Morro Pool. And the bus routes have been adjusted. The Jamaica bus stop is far more convenient than others inside the resort. Also, for the record, none of the other moderate hotel properties are compact in scope. They’re all sizable resorts.
In terms of the dining? Yes, Sebastian’s Bistro isn’t as good as what you’d find in Riverside or at Coronado Springs. However, the fast-casual Centertown Market is fine and offers a lot of variety. You are also within fairly easy access of the Riveria Resort either by Skyliner or simply walking. And, you can take the Skyliner to EPCOT’s International Gateway and access all the dining options at the Disney’s BoardWalk Inn or Beach Club Resorts.
This brings us to the real coup de grâce for the Caribbean Beach. It’s the Skyliner with access to multiple other resort properties, EPCOT, and Hollywood Studios. It’s simply something the others can’t offer. Having Skyliner access to two of the four parks means you only have to worry about busing to the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. It makes it easier to get back and forth to half of Disney World’s theme parks. And, if you don’t think that’s a major advantage, you’re crazy.
No. 2 Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter
There are some who swear by Coronado Springs as the top tier simply because of the Gran Destino Tower experience but we’ll get to that in a moment. French Quarter gets the nod here due to theming – the vibes are immaculate.
With its French Quarter – aka Bourbon Street – architecture, the place really puts you in the right head space to relax before, after or between park days.
Depending on the day, I might tell you the Doubloon Lagoon is the best moderate resort hotel pool. Add in Scat Cat’s Club – you get drinks and live entertainment. It’s a great place for an adult only trip as well as for the kids.
The transportation, however, is less than ideal. Yes, there are pathways to visit Riverside where you can dine at Boatwright’s Dining Hall, and a boat can take you to Disney Springs – Riverside has boat access as well. But if you want to get to the parks, it’s bus or drive your own car. And the bus ride back from – say Magic Kingdom at night – can be rough.
One big plus? The beignets at Scat Cat’s Café may be the best breakfast item on property and are significantly better than the one in Magic Kingdom.
No. 3 Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
Designed with conventions in mind, Coronado Springs leads the moderates in dining options, and its Lost City of Cibola pool is one of the best on the property.
Really, your experience here will hinge on whether you get a room in the Gran Destino Tower or not.
You’ll pay a little more but receive an experience comparable to many of the deluxe level resorts.
The tower offers a more luxurious experience, is centrally located on property and in general carries more of the wow factor.
Downsides of the hotel are that it’s designed for conventions, so it has a little less of the “Disney” feel you might expect. Also, its transportation situation is entirely on the bus network. It’s not terrible, but it’s not perfect.
No. 4 Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside
I want to start by saying that I quite like the Port Orleans – Riverside experience and would happily stay there during any Disney vacation.
The dining situation with the Boatwright’s Dining Hall as well as the food court is quite good – better than Caribbean Beach or French Quarter.
The Ol’ Man River Main pool is fun – probably the lesser of the moderates – but nothing to complain about. The theming is slightly less than at French Quarter but that may be personal preference. Its size is a lot – it’s essentially two resorts combined into one, the Alligator Bayou side and the Magnolia side.
And while the ride on the Sassagoula River to and from Disney Springs is entertaining the first time you do it, it’s not exactly efficient.
We should note that Port Orleans – Riverside began its life as Disney’s Dixie Landings and was designed to reflect the architectural stylings of the antebellum south.
Breaking it all down
Figuring out what’s best for you and your family, ultimately, is your call. The deciding factor may simply come down to which resort comes at the best price. I believe the Skyliner puts the Caribbean Beach ahead of other – even more expensive – hotels, but that’s just me. If you book a vacation that will be light on park days and heavy on resort days, you might weigh factors differently. I honestly don’t think you can go wrong with any of the Disney resorts unless you catch one of the All-Stars on a bad week for large groups. Other than that, I expect you’ll have a great experience no matter which Disney resort you pick.
