I am starting to look into our next Disney trip (SO EXCITED) and I am looking for a moderate level. We stayed at the Contemporary last time, which i LOVED but is out of our price range this time (my MIL took us last time). So i am looking at the moderate level hotel.
We will be spending time there as we have little ones, so we will be doing the pool in the afternoon, then going back to the MK at night - so space and ease of access to the MK is important to us.
any thoughts??
I have stayed at POR and Coronado and I prefer POR I just think the layout is nice and the area is really pretty. Just a preference. I am staying at CBR starting Saturday so we will see if POR is still my favorite. I did like Coronado’s Pool better than POR if that makes a dif
POFQ. It is small and easy to get around. The pool has a great splash area for children. It’s a nice walk up to POR and a fun boat ride to Disney Springs. Also a single bus stop vs POR with multiple bus stops
I always recommend checking out point rentals. You can stay at a Deluxe resort but pay about the same price as a Mod room. That said, POFQ is our top choice of mod.
I’ve only stayed at POFQ but I loved it. Everything is close, only one bus stop, and there is a new splash area for kids.
We have only stayed at Coronado for moderates, have not been able to score a POFQ, but we really liked it. The rooms are big, quiet, and all the beds are Queens - important when my “babies” are now full grown! Also, the pool has a fun water slide and the buses are very convenient. Not real “disney” but none of the moderates are, so…
I agree with @Outer1 suggestion. We are renting points for the first time this fall and are staying at Poly for less than we could have at most mods.
how/where do you do point rentals? is that something you do privately, through an agent, or disney itself?
Start here…
You either rent directly from a member or through a third party agent. The two most reliable are David’s DVC and DVC Rental store. I find the latter to be much more flexible so we prefer to use them.
We rented from dvc-rental.com and everything to this point has been great. I should note we don’t actually arrive until Monday, so haven’t gone completely thru the process yet.
And I spoke with folks at each of the companies @Outer1 mentioned, they were both great. But neither could get us into Poly, so we ultimately rented our points elsewhere.
I was going to say the same but didn’t want to get repetitive as I always promote this option on this board! 
We have rented points at Bay Lake Tower for our last few trips and it has been beyond amazing. It’s connected to the Contemporary - so only a 5/10 min walk to Magic Kingdom and right on the monorail for easy access to other areas of the world.
We booked through DVC Rental Store and the process was so simple - and a huge savings from booking directly through Disney.
Just a thought!
Definitely going to look into this - we stayed at the Contemporary last time, and LOVED it!
So, when you book though DVC Rental Store, do you get the benefits as booking through Disney (or a disney travel agent) - like magical express, fast pass selections 60 days out, extra magic hours, etc?
can the reservation all get linked through my My Disney Experience account?
are there any down-sides to booking through the DVC rental Store?
I see no downsides. Maybe being locked into your dates once you book? I don’t see that as a downside because when I plan a vacation like this, it’s already locked on my calendar 
Yes, you are treated exactly as you would if you had booked through Disney. You can add the dining plan, use Magical Express, magic bands, fast passes, etc. It all links to your My Dis Exp account.
The 2 downsides I’m aware of are:
You can’t Cancel & get your back. We once cancelled a trip as I ended up on crutches & got refunded all our (or most, might have cost us < $100) - with DVC point rental, you’re stuck. Although trip insurance might cover you & would become almost a requirement.
Maid service is different - sounds like it’s far less frequent with DVC - every 4 days IIRC? Certainly not a big deal I’d imagine though.
Oh, that’s right. Maid service is a little different. We didn’t have an issue with that though. We could always get more towels and supplies whenever we wanted. There always seemed to be a maid cart in the hall and they were more than happy to get us what we needed without question. We also had towels from the pool so never ran low!
I will add that you can link your reservation to your MDE, you will get free magic bands, can reserve ADR’s at 180 + 10, FPP at 60 days, just like booking a room directly from Disney:
*You don’t get mousekeeping every day (as mentioned). You get trash and towel service on Day 4, and full cleaning on day 8, though you can pay extra and have those any time you need
*It can’t be booked as a package, so you don’t get any package deals (free dining for instance).
*The DVC owner has to request DDP or ME for you (the company you rent points from will communicate with the DVC owner on your behalf).