Disney Moderate Resort Fun Facts

Last week we focused on fun facts of Disney value resorts. Disney likes to add extra elements of magic throughout the Walt Disney Resort. Today we are going to focus on the moderate resorts.

The differences in a value resort to moderate resort is the more elaborate theme, larger accommodations, an onsite restaurant, a swimming pool with a slide and a bit more on-site recreation.

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort

 

This resort is said to be centrally located to Hollywood Studios. Like many deluxe resorts it offers some very nice outdoor recreation such as renting a boat, and daily fishing. The ambiance of Caribbean Beach is very tranquil and serene.

• Take a close look at the food court as it is designed to look like an outdoor market.
• The two story interior walls in the food court are building facades with balconies, shuttered windows and thatched roofs.
• Pay close attention to the sand on the beach and you might find some concrete alligators and turtles hidden in the sand and on the island.

 Disney’s Coronado Springs

 

This resort boasts an American/Southwest Northern/Mexico theme. There are plazas; rocky areas can be seen throughout the resort. Some feel like the grounds and endless amenities make Coronado Springs similar to a deluxe resort without the hefty price tag.

•  The main pool on the grounds features Hieroglyphics as décor around the area. Take a close look and you may see some hidden Mickey’s scattered about.
• Coronado Springs quiet pools are the first on property to use Bromine rather than Chlorine.

 Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside/French Quarter

 

This resort is the only moderate resort offering rooms for 5 which makes it very popular among the guests. Port Orleans Resorts are made up of two properties that are tucked away on the Sassagoula River. The grounds are said to be the most picturesque of the three moderate resorts on property.

 *A special thank you to Portorleans.org for the fun facts.

 Riverside:

• The grey concrete walkways (which feature wooden plank effects) at Port Orleans Riverside are the main routes from the waterside area through to the parking lots — so if you get lost, just follow one of these.
• The wooden Alligator Bayou guest beds were hand-carved from hickory by a North Carolina woodworker hired by Disney specifically for the resort project.
• Fulton’s General Store is named after real-life steamboat pioneer Robert Fulton who in 1807 built the first commercial steamboat, the North River Steamboat, later known as theClermont.
• A Butterfly Garden was included just behind the Acadian House mansion building, although this feature does not appear to have been maintained in recent years.

 French Quarter:

• The old Bonfamille’s Café restaurant is now used as a test kitchen for developing new culinary ideas for other locations around Walt Disney World, and for occasional resort cast member activities.
• The lush landscaping features palm trees and tropical plants that are reminiscent of those found in New Orleans’ Garden District. Pear trees, oaks, crepe, myrtles and magnolias complete the picture.
• Bonfamille’s Café, the resort’s full-service restaurant which closed its doors on 5th August 2000, was named after Madame Bonfamille from the Disney animated feature The Aristocrats, which is also referenced in the naming of Scat Cat’s Club.