Best Disney World Moderate Resorts [Ranking for Families]

Our favorite category of resorts at Walt Disney World are the moderates! After staying at a number of Disney resorts, we love recommending Disney moderate resorts to families that do not need the larger suites available at other resorts and are looking at staying in a standard room. Moderate resorts at Walt Disney World have a few more amenities, a unique bus system, and are accommodating to both a theme park focused experience or a vacation where you plan to spend more time exploring the resort.

Grab your mouse ears and let’s look at our ranking of the Disney World moderate resort hotels!

If you’re still trying to figure out which resort category would fit your family best. Get all the details about what families will enjoy staying at each level of Walt Disney World resorts!

Later in the post we will take an in-depth look at each of the Walt Disney World moderate resorts, but if you’re thinking a different category may be for you, check out one of these guides below:

We have stayed at every category of resort at Walt Disney World with our family of four, and these are our opinions of which resorts work best for families!

Disney World Moderate Resort Overview

Here are some of the highlights of staying at any Disney World moderate resort. Click here to jump down to our rankings for families for each of the moderate resorts.

We are pretty straightforward with our preference for moderate level resorts for families, that have a bit more space in the rooms, slightly more amenities, and great transportation options compared to the value resorts – the moderate level resorts are a step above value resorts in experience and are at a moderate step up in price.

There are four main resorts that fit within the moderate classification at Walt Disney World: Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, Disney’s Port Orleans – Riverside, and Disney’s Port Orleans – French Quarter. Average price per night at a moderate resort is in the $200-$450 range, and our family tends to book these rooms when they are in the low $200s range. Making it a great value… for a moderate! There have even been a few specials that have dropped the price for the Port Orleans resorts into the $180s to $190s, so make sure to check out the specials page for any offers going on during your stay.

Most of the moderate rooms typically accommodate 5 guests with the option of a pull down sleeper bed that is under the TV. Some of the specialty rooms have had this feature removed, and some of the newly renovated rooms at Disney’s Coronado Springs only sleep 4 guests. However there should be plenty of options within the moderate category if you’re looking for a room that sleeps five.

There is one additional resort that is grouped in with moderate resorts many times are the Cabins at Fort Wilderness. This “moderate” option within the grounds of Fort Wilderness (campsites being the value option, cabins being the moderate, and resort being deluxe) really is a different experience from any of the other moderate resorts and typically will appeal to a different demographic than those that would be considering the other four moderate level resorts.

Benefits of staying at the Cabins would be close proximity to Wilderness Lodge and the amenities there, a “different” type of Disney experience, and ability to cook meals in the cabin in the kitchenette area. This experience is well suited for families that are interested in staying in the log style cabins that can accommodate up to 6 guests.

For the sake of this article, I won’t be ranking the Cabins against the other resort options because it is such a different type of stay. However, if you’re looking for a place where you can cook your own meals, have quiet family time, and accommodate up to 6 people, this may just be the perfect Disney vacation spot for you!

Highlights of the Disney Moderate Resorts

Disney’s Port Orleans – Riverside has beautiful, quiet grounds and unique specialty rooms.

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort has access to the Disney Skyliner.

Disney’s Port Orleans – French Quarter is the smallest moderate property (this is a plus, as it is easy to get around!) and only has one bus area.

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort has an awesome pool, but is a big spread out conference oriented resort.

And as you may have guessed it… that is also our order of preference as well! Let’s walk through why we ranked the moderate resorts in that order for families.

Why Families Should Stay at Disney Moderate Resorts

Resorts in the moderate category often are able to easily accommodate 5 guests and have a pull down sleeper bed in many of the rooms. The room sizes are a bit larger than value resort rooms, which give families more space in these accommodations. This category of hotel also has additional amenities like pools, restaurants, and shopping options.

Ranking of Disney World Moderate Resorts for Families

Disney’s Port Orleans – Riverside

Ranked 1st for: Beautiful grounds, additional sleeping space in some rooms, boat transportation, outstanding Disney experience.

Sleeps: Standard View with 5th Sleeper sleeps 4 Adults and 1 Child; Standard Rooms up to 4 Adults (plus infant in crib allowed)

We are kicking off our moderate resort rating with a solid choice of Disney’s Port Orleans – Riverside. This is a large property with a number of different room types and easy access to Disney Springs.

With its laid back vibe and gorgeous grounds, we like staying at Disney’s Port Orleans – Riverside when we are looking for a “chill” vacation with time at the pool and time for enjoying the resort.

Disney’s Port Orleans – Riverside has a few different classifications of “special rooms” like the Royal Guest Room pictured above. The princess rooms feature artwork and decor inspired by your favorite Disney princesses!

Boat service is available here to easily connect to Disney Springs and the theme parks are available through a free complimentary bus service. The big difference between here and the smaller Port Orleans-French Quarter property is that Riverside has multiple bus stops throughout the resort, so you’ll need to find out which stop is closest to your room.

As a larger and more spread out resort, you may also have to do some more walking depending where your room is located, to get to the main building amenities. Where food like Riverside Mill Food Court and Boatwright’s Dining Hall are located.

Also since this resort is larger and more spread out, it does have a number of pools. The main pool is called Ol’ Man Island and has rustic appeal fashioned after an abandoned sawmill. It has a mild waterslide at the main pool and theme elements throughout the pool area.

Additionally, there are five leisure pools spread throughout the Riverside resort property, which probably shows you how large this resort is! With 2048 rooms, Riverside only has fewer rooms than Disney’s Pop Century Resort (2880 rooms) and Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort (2384). You’ll find quiet pools located in both the Alligator Bayou and Magnolia areas, and these are likely to be closer to your room unless you’re staying in a preferred room.

The specialty rooms are also one of the unique opportunities of staying at this resort, we loved our stay in one of the Princess Rooms. They have headboards that light up with fireworks and portraits of different princesses on the wall. This was the perfect room for young girls on a trip to Walt Disney World. Do note that the specialty royal rooms do not have the pull down sleeper bed and accommodate only 4 guests.

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

Ranked 2nd for: Beautiful grounds, well portioned rooms, outstanding Disney experience.

Sleeps: Standard View with 5th Sleeper sleeps 4 Adults and 1 Child; Standard Rooms up to 4 Adults (plus infant in crib allowed)

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort is one of our family favorites to circle back around to, and with the addition of the easy access to the Disney Skyliner it has become even much more so! You can use the Skyliner to get back and forth to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and EPCOT, and buses are available to get to Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

The rooms are a good size, and have the divided bathrooms that are common in the moderate category. We like the additional space to hang up garments next to the sink area. The big hit when staying at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort is who is going to get to sleep on the pull down bed, which also allows the room to sleep 5 people.

We enjoy the theme at this resort and the kids love the double slides available at the pool. There is a quick service grab and go area called Centertown Market that has been renovated in the past few years and serves a great variety of food for all meals – and the table service restaurant Sebastian’s Bistro works great for when you’d like a delicious sit down seafood meal.

One of our favorite parts about Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort is the pool area. It has a good sized pool with a pirate fort theme and pirate ship themed splash pad area. The pool has two water slide that splash down into the pool and because of the shape of the pool, it can fit a good number of people in it before it starts to feel crowded.

Disney’s Port Orleans – French Quarter

Ranked 3rd for: Small property to get around, additional boat transportation, outstanding Disney experience.

Sleeps: Standard Rooms up to 4 Adults (plus infant in crib allowed)

Disney’s Port Orleans – French Quarter is such an easy resort to stay at! We love this resort for families that need to sleep four. The smaller property allows for a leisurely pace when you stay here and the additional transportation options make this a hidden gem of a resort.

Being the smallest moderate resort, no matter where your room is located you can easily get to the main hall where food and shopping are located. Additionally, a perk of staying at this resort with its New Orleans styled theme are the delicious beignets that are available at Scat and Cat, located just off the main lobby at the entrance.

There is only one bus stop at this resort near the lobby, making it easier to catch and time getting on your bus. It also has the convenient boat transportation to go to Disney Springs, which makes for an enjoyable outing when you want some time to relax and shop. The rooms are a good size and the divided bathrooms with sliding doors at the sink area, work well for families trying to get multiple people ready at one time.

The only real “con” at this resort is that its Doubloon Lagoon pool is fairly small compared to the other moderate resort pools. However, seeing as the resort itself is fairly small as well, you’ll never typically find that the pool is overcrowded. It does also have a fun water slide and splash pad area for younger visitors.

This ranking is also based on a family of four! It should also be noted that rooms at this resort do NOT have the pull down bed sleeper to accommodate a fifth guest. So if you are looking to sleep 5 people in your standard room, skip over this recommendation and check out one of the other moderate resorts instead.

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort

Ranked 4th for: Busy property with lots of convention guests. Excellent pool. Beautiful grounds.

Sleeps: Standard Rooms up to 4 Adults (plus infant in crib allowed); Casitas Suites can sleep either 6 Adults or 8 Adults

The final spot on our moderate resort ranking for families goes to Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. This is another large and spread out resort, with one key difference. It’s a convention resort. Additionally, the rooms have been renovated and no longer include the fifth pull down sleeper bed.

Don’t get us wrong, we have actually attended conventions here and they were FABULOUS… however all of the convention traffic tends to bring in a lot of a singular type of activity oriented guests, and just like with Disney’s All-Star Sports in the value category and their hosting of athletic groups for most of the year, convention groups may be comprised of non-family oriented guests that keep different hours, may cause longer lines in food court areas, and more crowded pool spaces.

In fact, on our last Walt Disney World vacation, we actually did a split stay at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort and Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort – and the differences were like night and day. Our stay at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort was laid back, it was all families at the pool, and things didn’t feel crowded around the resort. However when we made our way over to Disney’s Coronado Springs, a number of large conventions were going on. Both the dining and pool areas felt very crowded.

There are suites available at this resort in the Casitas area, that sleep either 6 Adults or 8 Adults, however unless you are traveling with a large party that has a preference for this resort – these large rooms may not be worth the premium price. Additionally this is the only Moderate resort with Club level rooms in the Tower area, which provide additional perks for guests staying Club level.

Again when you get into these speciality rooms you’re comparing less again other moderate resorts and more against rooms in another category of resorts. (Notably All-Star Music, Art of Animation, or DVC resorts for the suites options, and specific Deluxe resorts for the Club level option.)

We would stay again at this resort if the price was right and it worked out the best for the trip, but with no transportation perks like some of the other moderate resorts and the potential of overcrowding issues – all other moderate options would become our preference over Disney’s Coronado Springs when visiting Walt Disney World as a family.

Final Thoughts on Disney Moderate Resorts

All of that being said, we love the moderate category hotels as our “go to” vacation spot when we are visiting Walt Disney World. They offer a very standardized experience where you can reasonably expect your stay will be consistent from time to time.

They have just the right amount of amenities, like slides at the pools and additional restaurant options to keep the whole family entertained during your stay. This is a great level to get a resort with a number of great amenities options, great pools with water slides, and a good range of transportation options.

Moderate level resorts are great for families with a size of 4-5 people, families with tweens and teens, and families that want to spend a bit more time at the resort during their stay.

Best Disney World Moderate Resorts [Ranking for Families]

Disney World Moderate Resort Overview

Highlights of the Disney Moderate Resorts

Why Families Should Stay at Disney Moderate Resorts