Value Resorts vs. Deluxe or Moderate

[huskerDG]

I should preface this by saying I'm a huge penny-pincher. I just joined these boards, but have been lurking for awhile. I've seen a ton of posts about people staying in Deluxe resorts. I'm curious as to what makes people choose Deluxe (or Moderate) over the Value Resorts. When staying on property, I've almost always been in a value resort. Growing up, we stayed at all 3 All Star resorts, tried out the Pop a couple of years ago, or stayed off site. There was one occasion in which we stayed at Caribbean Beach, but it wasn't overly memorable for me. I enjoyed all of the value resorts -- the only negative I can think of is they are always at the VERY end of the line of buses (leaving the parks).

When pricing our next Disney trip, I even priced out a Moderate resort. We had a 40% coupon, but even with that the Moderate (POR) was still $400 more than the All Star Sports. I couldn't make myself do it -- like I said, I'm a penny-pincher, and I would rather have that money in my savings, for spending money, or for another vacation (Disney or otherwise). I just priced a week at AKL and a week at AS Sports -- everything else equal, it was about $1,000 difference. Without having stayed in a Deluxe before, I just can't imagine it being worth that much extra money.

So, what makes YOU choose the Deluxe & Moderate resorts over the Value?

 

[karapp75]

We are staying at the POLY and for us it comes down to the monorail convenience. Our kids are 4,3 and 3. We have a double and triple stroller that we are bringing with us and they are easier to transport on the monorail. We are mostly doing MK days b/c of our kids ages and will also be going back to the hotel mid day for a pool break and naps so it also a lot faster to get back to the room than on the bus. When my kids are older we may consider something lower in price. Hope that helps.

 

[SGMCO]

We only stay in MODs because when we get back from the
Parks we want to relax with beautiful natural landscape, peace and quite.
We don't find the large Icons and mostly paved landscape to
be very relaxing (this is our vacation).
I love that the MODs have there own TS restaurants
so if we decide to stay on property all day we could
still go out to eat at a sit down at night without leaving
the resort. The Mods also have Hot Tubs which are nice
after a long day at the parks. Mods include a Fridge in
the room- no extra charge. Mods are in our price range.
I can't afford a Deluxe but would love to be able to stay
at one but for now am content with MODs.

 

[maxiesmom]

If I plan on spending a ton of time at the resort, I choose a Mod over a Value. The Moderate pools are much nicer, with slides and a hot tub. Most moderates also have table service restaurants in addition to food courts. And if you go when it is hot, the Moderates bus stops have cover over them, and the Values do not.

Having said that, I stayed at the All Star Music in May. And I think it is a wonderful resort! The food court was good, the busses came regularly, and the pool was nice and warm. Plus they show movies at the ASMu at night. And during the day they play all sorts of games by the pool. It was very fun!

We booked the bounceback deal during our stay. We are booked at POR (which I love!), but I keep trying to talk the others into going back to ASMu and saving the money.

 

[jonestavern]

Whatever floats your boat!

We do a lot of split stays to avoid chewing up those weekend DVC points.
Many folks prefer the Values for their exubrant theming. We like POP for the way it's laid out & it's wild food court!

I will say we are into landscaping so the Mods & Deluxes are right up our alley.
We usually go at 'off' season so we can take advantage of a rate or wait for a code. We've been doing Bouceback, which saves, too. I actually much prefer POR/POFQ & CBR to SSR.

Since we've been many times to WDW we do appreciate, more & more, a room we can spend some time in relaxing. We like the private balconies, whirlpool tubs, kitchens/kitchenettes the DVCs or Deluxes offer. Entertainment (even at POFQ), & TS & convenience to parks/DTD.
In the case of DVC, the convenience of making a meal (or bar-b-que) rather than a steady diet of restaurant food.
We can get an earlier start preparing breakfast, too.

Love the EMH! The gift drop off. I've had a few times where I neglected to make ADRs/pick up MVMCP/tour tickets & was still found room for even though the event/tour was supposedly sold out. Don't count on it (we didn't) but it's happened for us. Yum! Pixie dust!

A larger room--than the Values-- is also great when family & friends come along.

That said we will be at ASMo for a couple of nights this coming Nov & I'm sure we'll love it, too!


Jean

 

[Lynne M]

WDW is about a lot more than the parks for me. The resort is a key part of the trip, as I spend at least part of each day enjoying the resort's amenities. I want room service, and easy access to better restaurants, and better pools, and a beach. I want a queen size bed, and room entrances off indoor corridors. I don't want my only window to look out onto a concrete and metal walkway, and not be able to open my curtains without feeling like I'm in a fishbowl.

I'm not really a penny pincher, not when it comes to vacations. But I do take advantage of discounts whenever available, and I bought into DVC because I wanted to stay in deluxe-level accommodations without paying deluxe prices.

 

[huskerDG]

Thanks for the great answers! For me, the parks are the main attraction -- I can see where the Mod & Deluxe resorts would be more attractive (inside & out) for those that spend time at the resort.

I also haven't taken children to Disney -- my family took a few trips when my sister and I were little and several trips when we were in our teens & early 20s. The only "kids" my husband & I have so far are our wonderful lab puppies, who unfortunately cant go to Disney with ussad1: ), so I've never really had to think about the logistics of kids, strollers, or diaper bags.

Again, thanks for the great answers!

 

[alldiz]

WELCOME TO THE DIS

For me the resorts is a huge part of the vacation.....so I love the ammenities that the deluxe provide....which is why I love my DVC

The parks are a place to go for a few hours.....it is not my primary destination. Which is why I like to do split stays so It feels like 2 different vacations.
Kerri

 

[eliza61]

I should preface this by saying I'm a huge penny-pincher. I just joined these boards, but have been lurking for awhile. I've seen a ton of posts about people staying in Deluxe resorts. I'm curious as to what makes people choose Deluxe (or Moderate) over the Value Resorts. When staying on property, I've almost always been in a value resort. Growing up, we stayed at all 3 All Star resorts, tried out the Pop a couple of years ago, or stayed off site. There was one occasion in which we stayed at Caribbean Beach, but it wasn't overly memorable for me. I enjoyed all of the value resorts -- the only negative I can think of is they are always at the VERY end of the line of buses (leaving the parks).

When pricing our next Disney trip, I even priced out a Moderate resort. We had a 40% coupon, but even with that the Moderate (POR) was still $400 more than the All Star Sports. I couldn't make myself do it -- like I said, I'm a penny-pincher, and I would rather have that money in my savings, for spending money, or for another vacation (Disney or otherwise). I just priced a week at AKL and a week at AS Sports -- everything else equal, it was about $1,000 difference. Without having stayed in a Deluxe before, I just can't imagine it being worth that much extra money.

So, what makes YOU choose the Deluxe & Moderate resorts over the Value?

The basic problem with "worth" question is that what may be "worthwhile" for you may not be worth much to me.
You can't imagine deluxes being worth the money, I can't begin to imagine spending 10 nights in a small bed and a small room. The balcony alone IMO is worth the money and the ability to walk back from my favorite resort (Epcot) to my room pretty much cinchs the deal.
You pinch pennys, I'm a full out luxury gal on vacation. That's the great thing about Disney, some thing for everyone.

 

[hogwartsdropout]

We choose mods because we don't like the theming of the Values.

 

[mickey2minnie1]

The resort is key for us. We vacation every couple of years and the kids asked for one thing and that was a waterslide. My DH wanted queen beds and worked overtime to stay on the monorail for convenience with the kids. I wanted the tropics. All of this added up to the Poly.

It was hard to go for it at first. We ended up with a DV code and saved 1000.00.

Once we arrived we felt it was worth every penny spent. We are not commandos and therefore enjoy the resort ammenities.

I love that Disney has something for everyone and it is so interesting to learn of others preferences.

 

[winterman]

We only stay in MODs because when we get back from the
Parks we want to relax with beautiful natural landscape, peace and quite.
We don't find the large Icons and mostly paved landscape to
be very relaxing (this is our vacation).

The two times we stayed at POP we were in rooms that faced very quiet, tree filled courtyards. The view was really very much like our views at POFQ and CSR.

The major differences that I see are that frigs are free at mods and most have TS dining. (POFQ does not.). I would not go out of my way to go to any of the mod restaurants, tho, so I don't see that as a reason to stay at a mod.

While I would love to stay in a deluxe, unless we win a large lottery, it will never happen. Its against my nature to spend that kind of money for a hotel room.

 

[DesigningMouse]

The basic problem with "worth" question is that what may be "worthwhile" for you may not be worth much to me.
You can't imagine deluxes being worth the money, I can't begin to imagine spending 10 nights in a small bed and a small room. The balcony alone IMO is worth the money and the ability to walk back from my favorite resort (Epcot) to my room pretty much cinchs the deal.
You pinch pennys, I'm a full out luxury gal on vacation. That's the great thing about Disney, some thing for everyone.

I'm with you Eliza. This year however, DH wanted to try a mod just to see the difference for himself so I agreed to try it this once. But for me we wait all year for our "big" vaca and after having fly w/kids I want a bigger room, concierge, the whole nine yds.

 

[dvc at last !]

WDW is about a lot more than the parks for me. The resort is a key part of the trip, as I spend at least part of each day enjoying the resort's amenities. I want room service, and easy access to better restaurants, and better pools, and a beach. I want a queen size bed, and room entrances off indoor corridors. I don't want my only window to look out onto a concrete and metal walkway, and not be able to open my curtains without feeling like I'm in a fishbowl.

I'm not really a penny pincher, not when it comes to vacations. But I do take advantage of discounts whenever available, and I bought into DVC because I wanted to stay in deluxe-level accommodations without paying deluxe prices.

I love my DVC - just wish I could have purchased sooner !

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

We choose deluxes for a number of reasons (and not necessarily in this order)-less people, bigger rooms, bigger beds, nicer atmosphere (although all Disney hotels are nice), resort location, table service dining as opposed to food court dining at the resort. Those are just off of the top of my head. That said, I would never pay rack rate for the Deluxe's and even with some of the discount codes they are still pricey. DH has his TA license, so we usually score a hefty discount and that makes it very affordable for us and pretty much crazy for us to stay anywhere else. We also have DVC...but there are times we need to supplement with a cash stay. DVC totally rules over the deluxe resorts.

 

[diane358]

We picked POR only for the price. Penny pichers here too.
It's cheaper for us than a value because we are a family of 5.
Only 4 in a value room. POR was cheaper than a family suite but as my kids get older we will get the family suite for more room.

 

[disneyag]

We pick Deluxes for:
interior hallways
queen sized beds
larger rooms
room service
TS restaurants
valet parking

That being said, we usually look for codes, since rack rates are quite high.

 

[clkelley]

\. The only "kids" my husband & I have so far are our wonderful lab puppies, who unfortunately cant go to Disney with ussad1: )

If you get a camper and stay at Ft. Wilderness, then your "kids" could go with you

 

[ihearttink]

We have tried all levels of resorts at Disney and now we only stay deluxe, prefer BC.

For many of the same reasons as others:

1. Balcony - love to have my coffee and read my paper on in the a.m. and just to talk and relax on at night;
2. Indoor corridors;
3. Pools;
4. Less people;
5. Choice of sit down resturants;
6. BC is our favorite for theme and the ability to just walk to Epcot.

 

[minnie61650]

I have stayed at all levels of Disney Resorts. My favorite Disney owned resort is All Star Music.

Here are a few reasons :



1. I can book a preferred room location..( The Calypso buildings are preferred and they are the closest to the main pool ,food court and bus stop. They cost an $10 extra a night and in my opinion they are well worth it.)
The way All Star Music is laid out it "seems" smaller than most of the other Disney resorts. If I stay in a preferred building I only see the Calypso and Jazz builings on the way to and from the main pool and the bus stop and food court. Since I stay in preferred room I know I am going to be close to the food court, bus stop, & main pool.

2. I enjoy the theming at the All Stars. All Star Music is also is usually the quietest and more relaxed of the values. They also have more landscaping
around the main pool and grounds than the other values. I love the rose garden near the Broadway section of ASMu.



3. The bus service at the All Star Music is very good. Since I use an EVC good bus transportation is essential.

4. The entry is angled at the values and Mods and I feel they are much more Handicap friendly to me since I use an EVC.
I am able to get in and out of my All Star room unassisted. This way my husband can go and play a round of golf and know I can leave my room to relax by the pool if I choose.

When I stay in deluxe resort I am not able to open the door unassisted since the room door is at the end of a narrow hallway with the bathroom on one side and the closet on the other side.