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Disney's Moderate Resorts at Walt Disney World

simpleprocedures1 | Dec 22, 2010 |

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Walt Disney World, located in Orlando, Florida, not only offers guests a myraid of choices for entertainment, such as theme parks, water parks, world class golf courses, live shows, like Cirque du Soleil, fine dining, and much more. They also offer guests some of the finest hotel accommodations in Florida. Walt Disney World has 3 tiers for their hotels (Value, Moderate, and Deluxe), so that guests can choose a price that is comfortable and manageable for them.

Do not mistake the tiers as a scrimp on accommodations or service, as that is not the case, but rather Disney recognized the need to offer several price ranges that would allow any guest(s), no matter their financial standing, the ability and opportunity to stay on Disney property while on their trip.

For those looking to stay on Disney property, whether alone, as a couple, a family, or as a group, and are not wanting to spend a whole lot on hotel accommodations, yet still be in the middle of all that Walt Disney World has to offer, from location, price, and service, then Disney's Moderate Resorts just might be the perfect choice.

Disney's Moderate Resorts offer guests nearly all of the same amenities as the Deluxe Resorts, but without the price. By the meaning of nearly all the same amenities as the Deluxe Resorts, is that the Moderate Resorts offer casual (sit down and served food and a food court), whereas the Deluxe Resorts offer casual sit down and upscale dining, heated pools, large rooms, centrally located resorts (that means closer to the theme parks and water parks and other activities), and nicer exteriors and interiors of the hotel (theming is more upscale as opposed to just a standard hotel look and feel as the Value Resorts have).

There is plenty of room for everyone, as well as plenty of activities to keep guests entertained and happy during their stay at Disney. Do not be mislead into thinking that the Moderate Resorts are not a good choice; quite the opposite, as the Moderate resorts offer guests the same exceptional Disney service, but at a much cheaper entry fee than that of the Deluxe Resorts, and more on-site amenities than the Value Resorts.

There are currently four Moderate Resorts located at Walt Disney World, the Caribbean Beach Resort, the Coronado Springs Resort, the Fort Wilderness Resort, and the Port Orleans Resort. Here is a quick breakdown of the four Moderate Resorts currently at Walt Disney World, and what you can expect when staying at one of these fine cabins, campsites, and hotels.

CARIBBEAN BEACH RESORT

Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort is a 2,100 plus room resort and is located near the Epcot theme park, Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Water Park, as well as Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park, and the resort is set against a 45 acre lake, called Barefoot Bay.

Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort is the largest of all the moderate resorts at Walt Disney World and is themed after the look and feel of a Caribbean beachside resort sitting on over 200 tropical landscaped acres set among 6 villages surrounding the pristine white sand beaches of Barefoot Bay. The villages consist of small 2 story pastel colored buildings and the names of the villages are named after an island in the Caribbean, such as Aruba, Barbados, Jamaica, Martinique, Trinidad North and Trinidad South. Each village has its own heated swimming pool for a guests ease of accessibility and use.

The Caribbean Beach Resort offers guests nicely appointed rooms with bright welcoming colors and prints that are in the spirit of the laid back Caribbean life, and there are different theming motifs for the rooms in each village that are sure to please adults and children alike, from a Pirate theme to a Caribbean theme, and even a Finding Nemo theme. The resorts main lobby, called the Custom House, is designed in the form of a tropical pavillion, and includes registration and guest services for the entire resort, is situated apart from the resorts villages, and is accessible by either car, resort shuttle service, or by walking (only if you are close enoughto the Custom House, other than that, use the resorts shuttle service as most rooms are a distance from the Custom House and Old Port Royale, the location of dining and shopping).

CORONADO SPRINGS RESORT

Disney's Coronado Springs Resort is a 1,900 plus room resort, and is centrally located between two theme parks, Disney's Animal Kingdom and Disney's Hollywood Studios, and the entire resort encircles the beautiful 20 plus acre man-made lake, Lago Dorado. The resort allows guests to revel in the time when Don Francisco de Coronado searched for the Seven Cities of Gold, hence the name for the resort, Coronado Springs.

Disney's Coronado Springs Resort is a Southwestern themed style resort that infuses Mexican and American cultural elements to create a unique resort sitting on over 100 plus acres, and is unlike any other resort at Walt Disney World. As soon as you enter the resort you are immediately in awe at the wonderful re-creation of the Southwest brought to Central Florida, that only the people at Disney seem to be able to do, with the beautiful and calming spring fed "Fountain of the Doves" water fountain in the center of the lobby, to the warm and friendly Disney staff. The main building includes registration, shopping, access to the convention center, and restaurants (dining).

The resort consists of 3 villages with a total of 13+ 2-4 story buildings with fountains and courtyards reminiscent of Mexico and the Southwest of America. The rooms are not only nicely appointed, as with all Disney resorts, but each guest room comes with a bright and eclectic Spanish style motif that are styled and themed after one of the 3 villages in which the rooms are located. The villages are the Casitas, a terra-cotta like paradise, the Ranchos, a rustic, but charming approach to the Southwestern type Pueblos, and the Cabanas, a Southwestern inspired beachfront type retreat, where most rooms in the village have some form of a water view and access to hammocks to relax on.

FORT WILDERNESS RESORT

Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort is not just your typical resort, as this resort comes with a twist, since it is actually 2 resorts in 1. You do not have the typical large resort hotel layout, but rather a mix of cabins and campsites strewn about on over 750 acres of heavily wooded wilderness, yet guests are right in the heart of it all at Walt Disney World.

Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort is themed after a rugged outdoors type of vacationing, with log cabins for the cabins section, and campsites where guests can place tents on, or if they have a recreational vehicle (RV), they can can park their RV on the paved parking, as it is made for those that really like to rough it out. So to speak. All is set among tree-lined roads throughout the resort.

The Cabins at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort consist of over 400 log cabins that are approximately 500 square feet each, with paved parking in front of the cabin for convenient self parking of a vehicle. Each cabin comes with a deck and picnic table, or a patio and picnic table, plus all come with a charcoal grill for outdoor cooking fun. The interior theming of the cabins is one of a rustic style, and yet feature all of the comforts of home, such as wood inlayed interiors, beemed cielings, a lantern like light over the kitchen table, couch, kitchen, a wall hide-a-bed, and each cabin has 1 bedroom and 1 bath, with the 1 bedroom consisting of a queen size bed and a set of bunk beds.

The Campsites at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort offer guests a choice of four campsites in which to choose from, from tents only campsites to full-size RV's and trailers campsites. There are also Comfort Stations located throughout the campsites area that have private showers and toilets. So guests are not actually roughing it out completely.

PORT ORLEANS RESORT

Disney's Port Orleans Resort is a 3,000 plus room resort, and is centrally located near Downtown Disney, Epcot theme park, Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park, Disney's Boardwalk, and is beautifully situated along the Sassagoula River.

Disney's Port Orleans Resort is actually two resorts merged into one. The first is the Disney's Port Orleans Resort-French Quarter, inspired by the look and feel of the historic French Quarter in New Orleans, featuring jazz music being played over delicately placed speakers throughout the resort, along with the architectural styling so famous of New Orleans, incorporated into the design of this section of the resort. The second is Disney's Port Orleans Resort-Riverside, inspired by the look and feel consistent of old Louisiana nestled along the Mississippi River, featuring magnolia tree lined walkways, as well as along the river, with southern antebellum type mansions (plantations) and cottages (lodges).

The Port Orleans Resort consists of tastefully appointed rooms, where each room incorporates a Southern Louisiana flair of simple and warm colors. All rooms are family friendly and feature 2 queen size beds with classy pedestal sinks, and more than enough room for 2 adults and 2 children to spread out in. Since the resort is split into two sections, one being the French Quarter, and the other being Riverside, both sections have their own check-in lobby's (French Quarter-The Mint, Riverside-Colonel's Cotton Mill), dining, shopping, parking, pools, and bus stops available to all guests. Riverside is split into two themed sections, with one being Magnolia Bend, themed after the large plantations of the south, and Alligator Bayou, themed after lodges sprawled along the famous Mississippi River. French Quarter is themed after the beauty, romance, and tranquillity of the famous French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana.

AMENITIES

All rooms at the Moderate Resorts have high speed internet access (for a fee), flat screen television with satellite t.v., in room safe, hairdryer, iron with ironing board, and more.

There are several other amenities at the resort that include laundry facilities, a concierge desk, babysitting services, self parking, and plenty of accommodations for individuals with disabilities, from handicap parking spaces to wheelchair accessible rooms and bathrooms.

RECREATIONAL AMENITIES

If you are not wanting to venture out into the theme parks, or any of the other myriad of fun things to do at Walt Disney World, and/or just wanting to relax at the resort and find some activities to do there; then the Moderate Resorts more than have you covered with a huge assortment of family friendly recreational activities from which to choose from, such as bike rentals, jogging trails, arcades, playgrounds, pools (all pools at the Moderate Resorts have a wonderful theme and are must to see and visit), as well as specialty cruises available for charter (the specialty cruises are available at select resorts).

DINING

When you get hungry, the Moderate Resorts have a nice choice of casual dining and giant themed food courts (Fort Wilderness Resort does not have a food court), and each offers guests a plethora of food choices from which to choose from, especially since most people have different cravings and tastes. The casual dining restaurants offer American cusine that is infused with Carribean (Carribean Beach Resort), Southern (Port Orleans Resort), and Southwestern (Cornonado Springs Resort) flavors. The food courts offer American cuisine, such as breakfast items, burgers and fries, chicken, pasta, pizza, and more, as well as drinks and desserts. The food courts also sell the re-fillable mugs (only to be used at the resort you are staying at, and are also available at the resorts stores as well), and is a great choice for those looking to save even more money, as guests pay a one-time fee for the mug and can re-fill at any one of the drink stations in the food court, as many times as they want during their stay.

Guests who feel like eating off of the resort property, while still staying within the Walt Disney World resort, can travel by car, by bus, or by boat (select resorts) to Downtown Disney, where a multitude of dining options to fit any budget await.

SHOPPING

All Moderate Resorts have quick shopping available, and are mainly located next to the main lobby and registration, and offers guests basically everything that they could need and/or want, from Disney merchandise, such as collectables and shirts, to basic vacation necessities, such as toothpaste and snacks, and much, much more.

PARKING

As with all Disney resorts, and the Moderate Resorts being no exception, they offer plenty of self-parking, as well as plenty of parking for those with disabilities.

TRANSPORTATION

The Moderate Resorts offer bus service (bus stops are located throughout the resorts, not just the front), and free to all guests staying on the property, to all that Walt Disney World has to offer. All the buses and stops are clearly marked and run usually every 10-20 minutes (depending upon the season) to their respective destinations, and are the best and fastest way to get around the Walt Disney World Resort. Some resorts offer boat service as well, such as the Port Orleans offers water taxi service to Downtown Disney, and the Fort Wilderness Resort offers water taxi service to resorts along Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon (Wilderness Lodge, Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, The Contemporary Resort, and The Polynesian Resort), as well as to the Magic Kingdom theme park.

Disney's Moderate Resorts offer guests wonderful accommodations, plenty of recreational activities, extremely budget friendly pricing, great locations, along with an assortment of amenities that will satisfy any guest, and the best part is, it is all inside of the Walt Disney World Resort, and all at a great value for those wanting the best that Disney has to offer, from location, price, and of course, the famous Disney service.