Do any of you have any suggestions for Moderate or Value Resorts?

The only one I've stayed at is Pop Century. It is nice, the rooms were comfortable and clean, the food court is very good but if you have kids and they want something from a different counter than the counter you want something from, you will have to wait in line a couple of times and then in line to check out unless everyone is old enough to wait in their own food lines. The buses were pretty awful when we were there. Buses into the parks were good, but getting home was a madhouse at the end of the night... waiting in the longest lines ever... for over an hour. Not fun! There are no hot tubs at the values, and we never used the pools, but they looked nice - oh, no pool slides either if that matters to you.

Here is my 2 cents on Moderates... I have never stayed in a value but we have stayed at all the moderate so here goes....

Coronado Springs Resort - This is a breathtaking resort, very pretty and I think the "most modern" of the moderates. The have a business center so you can access a computer or send packages, etc.. Pretty big so depending on your room you may have a walk to bus and main building. The restuarant here is awesome. The food court is good, but it is a little complicated not to mention if you aren't on the dining plan get ready to add gratuity onto your bill unless you get your order to go. The have an awesome pool and the little courtyards between buildings are neat. We stayed here Dec 06 and Mar 05. Both times were a good experience.

Carribean Resort - I really like this resort but thats because I like the tropical theme. It is a very relaxed and colorful themed resort. IT IS VERY LARGE, you are more likely to be a more than a hope skip and jump from everything. If you don't mind a little walking the beach here is nice ( no swimming , though) There pool is nice, not one of the coolest themes but neat. We stayed here in Aug 04. This is probably my least fav but if you want more of a tropical vacation feel this is the place.

Port Orleans Riverside - This down home type resort is wonderful it has either a back woods feel or a New Orleans mansion type feel for the rooms. The food court is very good and its not too big so you aren't too far from anything. Downfall on buses is they share with French quarter and they pick up there first so if you are at the last stop at riverside you will probably stand on the bus. The Old man Island is really cool for the kids, the swimming pool and cane pool fishing are great. They I believe have one of the biggest arcades and they have a butterfly garden in the mansion rooms area. THe southern charm is really expressed great here. This would be my 2nd fav moderate we have stayed here twice and will stay here a third in three days!!!!!!!!

Port Orleans French Quarter - This is my favorite!!! It is the smallest but thats what I like. THe food court and bar is great. Buses are fantastic. The pool isn't gigantic but its sister to Riverside so you can take the boat over there or walk and enjoy Old man island and there main building. This resort doesn't have TS but there food court is great. I guess it is just a personal preference I really like the New Orleans theme and the smaller size of this resort. I thought it made the buses better and no matter where your room is you are close to every thing. The boat service straight to Downtown, and boardwalk and epcot, or over to Riverside.

So here it is my ratings in order:

1st choice - French Quarter
2nd choice - Riverside
3rd choice - Coronado ( this one and Riverside actually tie)
4th choice - Carribean
Let me know if you want any other particulars and I'll try and help!!

Here is my 2 cents on Moderates... I have never stayed in a value but we have stayed at all the moderate so here goes....

Coronado Springs Resort - This is a breathtaking resort, very pretty and I think the "most modern" of the moderates. The have a business center so you can access a computer or send packages, etc.. Pretty big so depending on your room you may have a walk to bus and main building. The restuarant here is awesome. The food court is good, but it is a little complicated not to mention if you aren't on the dining plan get ready to add gratuity onto your bill unless you get your order to go. The have an awesome pool and the little courtyards between buildings are neat. We stayed here Dec 06 and Mar 05. Both times were a good experience.

Carribean Resort - I really like this resort but thats because I like the tropical theme. It is a very relaxed and colorful themed resort. IT IS VERY LARGE, you are more likely to be a more than a hope skip and jump from everything. If you don't mind a little walking the beach here is nice ( no swimming , though) There pool is nice, not one of the coolest themes but neat. We stayed here in Aug 04. This is probably my least fav but if you want more of a tropical vacation feel this is the place.

Port Orleans Riverside - This down home type resort is wonderful it has either a back woods feel or a New Orleans mansion type feel for the rooms. The food court is very good and its not too big so you aren't too far from anything. Downfall on buses is they share with French quarter and they pick up there first so if you are at the last stop at riverside you will probably stand on the bus. The Old man Island is really cool for the kids, the swimming pool and cane pool fishing are great. They I believe have one of the biggest arcades and they have a butterfly garden in the mansion rooms area. THe southern charm is really expressed great here. This would be my 2nd fav moderate we have stayed here twice and will stay here a third in three days!!!!!!!!

Port Orleans French Quarter - This is my favorite!!! It is the smallest but thats what I like. THe food court and bar is great. Buses are fantastic. The pool isn't gigantic but its sister to Riverside so you can take the boat over there or walk and enjoy Old man island and there main building. This resort doesn't have TS but there food court is great. I guess it is just a personal preference I really like the New Orleans theme and the smaller size of this resort. I thought it made the buses better and no matter where your room is you are close to every thing. The boat service straight to Downtown, and boardwalk and epcot, or over to Riverside.

So here it is my ratings in order:

1st choice - French Quarter
2nd choice - Riverside
3rd choice - Coronado ( this one and Riverside actually tie)
4th choice - Carribean
Let me know if you want any other particulars and I'll try and help!!

I have stayed at value and moderate. I like staying at the moderate much better. They have slides at the pools and hot tubs. If this matters to you at the moderates they have a sitdown restaurant. Port Orleans has a boat to downtown disney which is nice. The rooms are much nicer and seem bigger. If you are going to spend any time at all at your resort I'd go for a moderate but if you plan to spend all your time a the parks you might consider value.

The only moderate I've stayed at is POR, the only value is POP. We really liked POP, and we loved POR.
IMHO if the money isn't too big an issue a moderate is worth the extra amount, if it is an issue a value is just fine. As far as which one to stay at, we chose POP because it seems to be by far the favorite here at MP. We chose POR because of the theming and the trundle bed in AB, but I would LOVE to also try POFQ, CBR and CS. I guess if you're going with a moderate I'd choose whichever theming appeals to you the most.

I would say it all depends on your budget, because no matter what you choose, you'll get the best for what you spend.

Right now, I'm also deciding what moderate to stay in, but also (this is kinda silly), but I'm a teeny bit sad that I'm not going to be staying at POP, (my first WDW visit back in Dec. we stayed at POP and loved it.) The rooms were comfy, mousekeeping left towel animals, people decorate their windows, so it's always fun to walk by the rooms, oh and it was during the holiday and they played really nice music all the time, and it's nice when you wake up in the morning and open your door and you hear holiday music. The foodcourt had some really good choices, and plenty of fridges with snacks, healthy too. I don't know if all hotels do this, but they do the refillable mugs (you buy 1, then refill it your whole stay, they had hot cocoa, slurpees and sodas)

and also to comment on the busses to POP at night, not sure if we were just lucky, might've been the timing, but we never waited more than 10 minutes, but I think it might have something to do with it being the most busiest time, and they'd always send over like, 2 busses at the same time, also we usually went back after EMH, or park closing.

I've stayed at all of the moderates, most of the values, and most of the deluxes (and I'm broke because of it all!). I'm a moderate kinda guy if I can afford it. I've stayed in All Star Sports a couple times, and didn't like it - felt too much like a Motel 6. But I stayed at the Pop for the first time a couple years ago, and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I think Disney learned from their earlier tries, and did much better with the Pop. Nice room, very nice landscaping, decent food court. Overall it has much more of a moderate feel than the All Stars.

I still shoot for the moderates, but it's nice to know that when the budget gets tight I can still stay on property at the Pop.

Well, this is my .02 worth.
I've stayed at all of the value resorts and all of the moderate resorts. Of these resorts, my favorite is POFQ, because of the themeing, the size of the resort, & the transportation. With the cobblestone "streets" & the wrought iron detail on the buildings, you feel like you really could be in the French Quarter. It is the smallest of all the resorts, which means you can get anywhere, within the resort, in a short walk. There is only one bus stop, & IF it goes over to POR, it will stop at POFQ first, both going to the parks & returning to the resorts. 1st on, 1st off. There is also boat transportation to DTD, which IMHO, is a big plus.

My favorite value resort is Pop Century, mainly because of the themeing. And I can hardly wait for them to start working on "The Traditional Years" again. PC does not share its bus with other resorts. And it only has the one stop. So, even though the line may be long, once everybody is on board, you're off to the park.

As mentioned, the moderates have a slide in their pool & a hot tub: the values do not. Except for POFQ, the moderates have a TS restaurant: the values do not. The moderates have a small refrigerator in the room: the values do not. (but you can rent one for a small daily fee.) The rooms in the moderates are slightly larger than the rooms at the values.

I guess it comes down to your budget, & your priorities as to themeing, size of room & resort, pool, & transportaion options.

We did a split stay in May between CBR(moderate) and POP(value).

The theme for POP was fabulous-truly carried out well. Twister, PopJet fountain, icons, pizza delivery in a vw bus, golf cart as a 57 Chevy-and please don't forget twinkie tiramisu and my personal favorite-tie dyed cheesecake, slurpees in refillable mugs. Food court was truly a step above even some deluxes that I peeked at over the week+ we were in WDW. However( and it's a biggie) food court is completely inadequate for the size of the resort-not nearly enough seating for a resort this size. Rooms are well-designed-with adequate storage, the grab bar was appreciated in the shower-but the beds very, very hard and uncomfortable-and the rooms are very, very small for 3 adults(can't even imagine putting 4 adults in here). Also, I heard and felt other guests here-doors opening and closing/showers/toilets flushing, people noise. I very much missed the coffee maker, the curtain between the room and the vanity and the fridge-all standard at moderate. Plus, the pool while cute is, again, wayy too small for a resort this size. Liked that there was only one bus stop-but the bus stop is open to the weather unlke at moderates and deluxes. Good walking/jogging path at POP.

CBR-main pool was always jammed-but quiet pools were a great alternative-usually only one or two other people in them. Also, big pool had slide-and it's getting an upgrade in the first half of '08. Quiet-lots of storage, and loved the fridge and coffee maker. Never "heard" people here-felt almost like we had the resort to ourselves-even though it was booked full. Nice walking and jogging path. Good size rooms-comfy beds. Food court was ok-liked the choices better at POP actually-though we loved eating breakfast outside by the fountain at CBR. Beaches were pretty-walked them several times. Laundry in each village-right by the quiet pool-very handy. Liked that the bar was by the main pool-at POP the bar is next to the food court.

In short(opps,....too late!) if you want "on the go" and won't be in the room much, then a Value is a good alternative but if you want a vacation within your vacation and will use the amenities-the I'd go for a moderate.

We stayed @ Caribbean Beach our last trip to WDW. I thought it was a really nice resort, but very very big. We were in the Trinidad South (or was it North?) building, whichever one was the farthest building from the main area. This made the walk for breakfast or the main pool very long, but in the end the rooms were great and well themed. The grounds were nice, food court nice. There was a dance competition while we were there so it was pretty saturated with teenage girls. I haven't personally stayed at a value resort, but I hear the rooms are very small. I guess it depends on what your tastes, budget and objectives are.

I am a cm at a value resort, they are what they are, "low" cost and few perks but mostly worth the money. All-Star Movies attempts to have some extra recreation, especially for kids.

I would stay at a moderate resort if $ permitted for some of the little extra's