We are first time WDW visitors this coming January. We booked at CBR and just learned the feature pool will be closed when we are there. There are rooms available at POR and we are considering moving. CBR came to us as highly recommended for the pool and and Skyliner. Both sounds like great options but is the pool and features of POR outweigh the Skyliner access at CBR with the main pool closed?
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Why do you want the pool? For us - it would be a dealbreaker and I’d probably either book pop or POFQ/POR - and likely one of the Port Orleans because we love water slides and Pop doesn’t have them.
If you just want to splash in a pool without water slides or hot tub, CBR has 4 (maybe 5?) “quiet” pools in each area. They were not busy when we were there before the main pool opened - it was usually just us and one or two other families.
But - if you didn’t want the water slide, I’d definitely look at Pop to save some $$$ but still have SL access
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And also - welcome!! TP members have a wealth of knowledge and experience - so any question is on the table.
How exciting to be planning your first trip! We had our first on-property trip in January 2023 and stayed at CBR. It is beautiful.
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Pools in January can be tricky — sometimes it’s warm enough to enjoy them and sometimes not! (They are heated, but the getting in and out part is no fun if it’s freezing.) So I’m not sure I would make a decision solely based on pool availability.
I love Port Orleans but I have only stayed at the French Quarter side. The Riverside area is too sprawling for my liking. The pool at FQ is great and has a fun little water slide.
The Skyliner is awesome but there again, if there is high wind or lightning, it could get shut down. So I wouldn’t make a decision solely based on Skyliner access, though January is more reliable than July.
In the end, if you have a good attitude, you will enjoy either option — you can’t lose! I would pick the one that appeals to you most looking at all factors.
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That’s true. We went from January 28 - February 4. We had great weather for 6 days - swam, no thunderstorms, no rain, almost too hot. We had 2 days with cold, rain, wind and definitely not swimming weather - we had layers on with sweatshirts and rain coats.
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First off I and my wife very seldom use the pools, so that would be a big difference between your stay and ours. They are right when they say January can be cold and though heated pools, you freeze getting out. So the big difference for us is the Skyliner and price. We used to stay at POR most often but once the Skyliner went into operation between POP Century and Epcot and of Hollywood Studios, we switched to Pop. The price difference is substantial. We mainly just sleep at the resort so why pay more? It is true that in bad weather they shut the Skyway down and you must then take a bus. That being said we try to no longer ride the buses at night as they pack you in like sardines. We will even tae the Monorail from MK to Epcot and walk to the Skyliner to go to Pop on park closing.
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People need to know that you can only do that if you have park hopper tickets since you have to walk through Epcot to get to the skyliner.
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And Epcot has to still be open — can’t do it at the end of the day. 
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Ah the regional differences! My kid’s are going in the WDW pools by hook or by crook no matter the weather. DS4 and I were alone in the BLT pool while the poor lifeguards had parkas on and I think I might have seen hand warmers. I would 100% change hotels if the feature pool wasn’t open! We did exactly that when the Boardwalk slide was under construction in 2020.
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Yes, you are right there. Would need Park Hopper to do this. As I and my wife have AP’s it is not a issue
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It goes without saying that the parks must be open to go through them. Epcot is open generally until 9pm. Mk is the iffy one especially on MNSSHP. nights. We generally are on our way out before the fireworks. If you stay till after the firework the line for the Skyliner will be long though you won’t be stuffed and standing in a bus at the end of the night.
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This has been so helpful. Thank you everyone who replied. We have two kids (13 & 9) and they love to swim. We are coming from MN so we’re confident it will be warmer than what we are used to and the kids will want to do some swimming. We decided to move to POR and the cost was basically a wash. Thanks again for the insight!
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The pools are heated AND my kids (ages 4 & 8) loved the hot tub. I probably would have made the same choice 
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The pool in January is definitely iffy. Another thing to note is usually the skyliner does down for maintenance in late January. I would choose whatever hotel theme most appeals to you.
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Good choice. The Kids can use the fancy pool just down the walk to POF. BTW My wife and I are from Fargo ND and we know all about winter getaways. One coming Aug 20 for two weeks and on coming in Feb to March for three.
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Ohhh good point - it was closed from January 22-29 last year and it did not open a second sooner.
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Yeah… I like the skyliner, but it’s just too iffy for me to be worth the price premium.
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FYI - the POFQ pool is scheduled to be closed January thru April 2024. I don’t see exact dates, but I would presume the French Quarter will not be an option for a January trip unfortunately.
The POFQ is one of my favorite pools on property though when open…
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Just to weigh in… my two boys - 12 and 11 - are here at POFQ currently and though they are enjoying the pool (I think it’s a good pool) the waterslide isn’t as big a draw for them as it was 4 years ago… it’s a bit slow now they’re bigger. Still think POFQ is a great resort though 
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