Ranking Disney World Moderate Resorts

A Ranking Disney Moderate Hotels

How do the Disney World Moderates Rank?

Ranking Disney World Moderate resorts can be tough. All of the properties have great theming, amenities, and service. While you can’t go wrong with any of the choices, many people have their favorites.

For my rankings I am taking in consideration transportation, theming, rooms, amenities, and more. What is most important to my family may not be important to your family. Keep this in mind as you read. Remember all these resorts are a great choice.

What is a Disney Moderate Resort?

Disney World has 4 resorts that it classifies as “moderate”. These resorts all fall somewhere in the middle when it comes to amenities, room size, and price. They can be a great bang for your buck if you want an upgrade from “value” accommodations but without the “deluxe” price tag.

The four Resorts are

• Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
• Disney’ Coronado Springs Resort
• Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside
• Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter

We could talk about these resorts for days, but for now we will just hit a few key points of each resort.

Wait! What About Ft. Wilderness?

Yes, Disney does list the Cabins at Ft. Wilderness in their moderate category. While these are great accommodations, I don’t feel they are in the same category and can be compared when ranking Disney World moderate resorts.

Ft. Wilderness is a unique resort with campgrounds, RV sites, and full cabins. Both the set up of the cabins and the resort itself is in a category of it’s own. This makes it hard to rank along the other resort’s traditional hotel style accommodations. For that reason I won’t be including Ft. Wilderness is this ranking of Disney World moderate resorts.

Why are We Ranking Disney World Moderate Resorts?

Just for fun. If you are planning your first trip to a moderate resort, or Disney World in general, don’t worry. ALL the Disney resorts are magical and you will have a great time at any of them.

If you want so help planning you trip, check out our guide on How NOT to be Overwhelmed with Disney World Planning.

Time to Rank the Resorts

Again these are just my personal opinions. Keep in mind these are all amazing resorts and you will have a great stay at any of them!

4. Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort is a beautiful Mexican/American Southwest themed resort. This is the only moderate resort with a convention center which makes it unique among the 4 resorts. While it has some amenities the others do not, some people feel that being a convention hotel slightly changes the feel of the resort.

Coronado Springs consists of 2 different types of rooms. Some are located in smaller 2- 3 story buildings, while others are located in the large Grand Destino Tower. The rooms have either 2 queen beds or one king, and the max room capacity is 4 adults plus one baby under 3 in a crib.

When it comes to pools and other amenities, Coronado Springs does not disappoint. There are 3 smaller “quiet” pools plus a large feature pool that sits at the bottom of a replica Mayan Pyramid. The pool also contains a large waterslide and a kids play area.

It is also important to note that it is the only moderate resort with an on site Fitness Center.

Transportation from the resort is limited to busses. There are 4 stops throughout the resort. This allows most rooms to be close to a stop, but also adds time to he transportation as it may be 5-10 minutes of travel time just to get through the resort.

Overall Coronado Springs is a great resort, but with stiff competition it ranks 4th on our list.

3. Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter

Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter is a resort themed to the French Quarter of New Orleans. What makes this resort unique is that it has the smallest footprint of all Disney Resorts. This means that after a long day at theme parks there is less walking and more relaxing. This is a sister resort to Port Orleans Riverside, which means that you can walk between the two resorts which doubles your dining and recreation options.

The recently refurbished rooms are all located within the 7 tri-story buildings which make up the resort. As with Coronado Springs, the room capacity is 4 adults and 1 child under the age of 3.

The trade off of enjoying a more compact resort is that there is only 1 pool. The pool area known as Dabloon Lagoon contains a family friendly waterslide and a kids water playground.

A really cool perk is the boat transportation to and from Disney Springs. You can relax and enjoy the scenic ride on the Sassagoula boats.

Transportation to all theme parks is by bus only, but the singular bus stop provides more convenience than the multi stop resorts.

* At certain times the 2 Port Orleans resorts can share bus transportation so multiple stops could be a possibility. This usually happens during slower times of the day.

The small size of the resort and the single bus stop place this resort at the top of many lists. Since this site focuses mainly on family trips, I will place it just under the two great resorts that follow.

2. Disney’s Port Orleans – Riverside

Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside is a large, beautifully landscaped resort themes to the Louisiana Bayou. It is the perfect rural counterpart to Port Orleans French Quarter.

The resort is divided into 2 main sections, the stately mansion style buildings of Magnolia Bend and the rustic style Alligator Bayou.

Magnolia Bend’s is made up of 4 three story buildings. The room capacity is 4, with most rooms having 2 queen beds. A special feature of this section is the option of booking a “Royal Room” which is full of princess themed touches. These rooms are booked as a separate category, and of course come with a larger price tag (usually around $80 more per night).

Alligator Bayou is composed of 16 smaller 2 story buildings, with many rooms sleeping 5 guests. These rooms contain 2 queen beds and a small murphy bed that is perfect for a child or petite adult. I love these rooms not only because they sleep families of 5, but because it provides additional space if you have only 2 kids that prefer not to share a bed.

The main pool here is called Ol’ Man Island and is features theming of an old abandoned swimming hole. It includes a waterslide and kiddie pool. Throughout the resort you will find other “quiet” pools so regardless of your location a pool is nearby.

Transportation options are the same as Port Orleans French Quarter, with bus service to parks and boat service to Disney Springs. One important difference is that there are 4 bus stops at this resort. This will add around 15 minutes to your transportation time, depending on which stop you are entering or exiting the bus.

Again, there is definitely an argument to place Port Orleans Riverside at the top of the list but, with only bus service provided to all four theme parks, I’m placing it at number 2.

1. Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

If you would have told me 4 years ago that Caribbean Beach Resort would have been at the top of my list I wouldn’t have believed you. However there were 2 big changes that changed my mind about this resort, and once I stayed there, I was hooked.

The first change was the introduction of the Disney Skyliner in 2019. This is a gondola system that connects several Disney resorts directly to both Hollywood Studios and EPCOT. Caribbean Beach is the only moderate resort to be connected to the Skyliner. In fact the main station is located at the resort. This allows you to take a direct line to the parks.

The second change was the addition of a new DVC Resort, Disney’s Riviera Resort, located just steps from Caribbean Beach Resort. This has expanded the dining and shopping options for guests. The food at the Riviera resort is some of the best on property and really adds value to staying at the resort.

Caribbean Beach Resort is a colorful, sprawling resort themed to the Islands of the Caribbean. With 5 sections containing over 20 buildings, it is very important to request a specific area depending on where you want to be located. Some buildings are near the feature pool and dining, near the Skyliner station, or other amenities.

The rooms here are very similar to those of Port Orleans Riverside, just with a different theme. Keep in mind that the rooms that sleep 5 are a separate bookable category so plan accordingly when making your reservation.

The main pool is themed to an old Caribbean fort and has a waterslide a kids play area. There are also multiple “quiet” pools scattered throughout the resort so that every room has a pool just a short walk away.

Transportation to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom is by bus only and there are 5 stops throughout the resort. You can also use the busses to travel internally through the resort as it is very large. You can also use the bus to reach the Skyliner station for Hollywood Studios and EPCOT if your building is too far of a walk.

The size of this resort can be a drawback, but if you plan ahead and request either a building near the Skyliner or Riviera Resort you will save a lot of internal travel time.

What YOU had to say about Ranking Disney Moderate Resorts

I reached out to readers through our e-mail list and Instagram about ranking Disney moderate resorts and here is what they had to say.

*by the way if you haven’t already, make sure to follow on instagram @magicforfive and sign up HERE for our e-mail list to get your FREE vacation countdown.

We absolutely love love love Port Orleans Resorts! We have stayed there so many times that they feel like home to us.

-Staci

The only moderate we have stayed at was the Caribbean Beach Resort. My kids loved it and can’t wait to go back.

-Heather

We stayed at Disney French Quarter and loved the size of the hotel…..and the beignets!

-Nina

How will you be Ranking Disney World Moderate Resorts?

Let me know below!

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This post is a personal ranking Disney moderate resorts.