Moderates versus Deluxes-what makes you decide?

[iloveeeyore]

DH and I are not exactly petite. Plus our kids are a boy and a girl and to think of them sleeping in the same double bed as they become teenagers just wouldn't seem right. We can't do 2 double beds for a week (and so far, we always go for a week). We love having two queens and a sofa bed, and our next trip we're trying a bunkbed room at WL. Plus the deluxes offer more space BETWEEN the beds.

We also love the "private" balconies or patios and the indoor corridors at the deluxes. They give the resort a more, well, "deluxe" feel. We'd consider ASMu family suites, but still don't like the outside hallway or the no-balcony thing. Just our personal taste.

 

[DAZY3BYZ]

We look at the deluxe resort as one of the rides or attractions.....a spacial event

I think the "deluxe" equals one more attraction

Where-as the "mods" equal a place to sleep at night for those who do the parks till they drop.

To me, Disney was always about the rides & resorts...but then I grew up when Disney only had 3 resorts back in the 1970's- Poly, Contemporary, Fort Wilderness

I'd rather skip every-other- trip, so I can afford to stay deluxe.... we like the "magic" feel and the cast members that make the Deluxe feel like part of the escape from the real world.

This about sums it up for us. Disney makes it hard for a family of five. There aren't many options. We used to do POR when our boys were smaller but had to move up to deluxe as they got bigger. We probably always would have stayed moderate if we didn't have five. However, after trying deluxe we'd never go back. It is a huge part of our vacation experience. Now that we don't have to do "park 'till you drop" anymore" we enjoy all that the deluxe resorts have to offer. That "escape from the real world" that these resorts have to offer truly are as much a part of our vacation as the parks are.

 

[Disneytwinz]

Good question. When we went to Disney World last year with the whole family we were on the go so much that we barely used the resort so we just needed a place to 'hang our ears' and we liked the silliness of the value design for our young family. This year, Dh and I will be vacationing by ourselves and at first I booked ASMu thinking we were taking a quick trip and we'd be in the parks more. But soon decided why not try a deluxe resort... so I called back and switched to AKL with a Savannah view. I think the deciding factor for us was that we want more romance. But we also want to see what a deluxe feels like w/o having to pay for 7 people! lol
I called again to switch to a moderate (Port Orleans FQ) but they talked me into staying deluxe.

 

[MickeyNicki]

Price. If I can get a good price on a deluxe I go for it but if the prices are insane then it is a mod or Swan/Dolphin for us

 

[Hef4545]

If the moderates had queen size beds, I would try them. We are all tall people and the full size is just too small. I also miss the balcony or patio of the delux resorts. I love sitting outside in the quiet morning. It is part of my vacation.

 

[ObsessedwiththeMouse]

For me, it's always about surroundings. I love walking through the Polynesian's doors and I feel like I'm home. For us, we get 50% off through the cast member discount, so our budget is pretty flexible.

I know alot of people just look at the room as that....a room. While for us, it is still "just a room", there are other factors IN the room that I look at...

I love the larger size of the rooms, larger size of the beds, and love being on the monorail with the kids.

Good luck and have a great trip!

 

[MoSoccerMom]

I think the beds are really different between the two. Not only the size (queen vs. double), but also the mattress, sheets and pillow quality. We just returned from 3 nights at the CB and 2 nights at the GF. What a difference! Our backs hurt at the CB, but I did not want to get out of the GF bed. We have found that this is a priority to us, but it may not be for others.

 

[4peaches]

I have to agree with Hef and most of the other posters - the beds and the balcony. We've never been to WDW, our first trip is this summer and it was a hard decision until I found out the beds at Deluxe are queen vs. double everywhere else. We aren't big people, actually we are both small, but DH and I have a king and we love to sprawl out. We have stayed at hotels with a double bed and don't sleep well. If I don't sleep well, I get cranky and if I get cranky the whole family suffers. Who knew that a few inches of mattress would cause me to spend so much more money??

Regarding the balconies, I love them too for my first cup of coffee and a good book in the morning before everyone else is awake. I am just a person who needs her space a little each day.

 

[brergnat]

It's all about the beds for us too. I can't sleep in a double with DH, and there is NO WAY we would sleep with the kids each in a bed on vacation. We need queen beds.

I also prefer the lobbies of the deluxes, the food options, and the transportation options. I hate taking the bus everywhere, which is why I would never stay at AKL, no matter how much praise it gets...

 

[Nicole721]

For us, the main reason is the monorail. Since most of the time, we only care to visit Epcot and MK, it's just so much more convienent.

The other reason, of course, is we just like the experience better on the whole. There's something about the GF that adds an extra something to our experience

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

We like the convenience of the deluxes.

Our favorite is the Beach Club. You can walk to 2 parks, there's not much more convenience than that.

 

[Matt'nMeg'sMom]

We have always stayed Value (All Stars) because
1. Cost: the family of four 7 day inclusive packages were unbeatable.

2. Dining: We prefer the ease and convenience of grab-and-go food courts. Why waste time dining when I could be first in line at the parks?

3. Lack of time at the hotel: We tend to go-go-go from sunrise to sunset. W don't go back to the hotel during the day, so we're only at the room for sleeping. We rarely even see the pool (unless it's the last day and we're killing time before our flight.)

This year we are doing the deluxe resort Animal Kingdom Lodge for the first time, and only because my parents are footing the bill. I am having total sticker shock over the price of the rooms. Even with their gift, we can only afford two nights. I could get a week long vacation package at All Star for what we're paying for the basic two nights at AKL.

Quick question: I occasionally hear people cheering "I got a code!". How do you get a code?

 

[JohnnyB2]

For us it's that we enjoy the Epcot resort area so much that it's the YC BC BW.

 

[mickey2minnie1]

I consider the resort a big imortant part of my vacation. The pool and location is high on the list. We could do 2 mod rooms since we are a family of 5, but we wanted the queen beds and the convenience of the monorail. Nothing IMO can beat Wishes seen from your resort. We save extra until we can stay at a deluxe.

 

[dsquarednz]

I've only stayed in a Deluxe, but my hubby has stayed in several of the Moderates (Coronado is his favorite). We've "resort hopped" to a couple of the Moderates, and while some are breathtaking (POR, CSR), the "motel" feel just puts me off. I like having an inside door/hallway.

I also like having a solid closet to hide our luggage away during our trip (the Moderates just have a curtained area).

We're renting DVC points from a good friend for our upcoming trip, and I feel it may spoil us further! The price difference isn't much more than a Moderate preferred view...

 

[Daisy&Donald]

For us it is about atmosphere. We love the Boardwalk because it is just a continuation of the park.Plus, you can walk to the parks! When I was a kid we stayed in the Contemporary every year for vacation when Disney only had the 2 resorts. So, I guess it was drilled in at a young age the resort is part of the experience of staying at Disney.

 

[carmiedog]

$$$$$

With our family of five, we'd probably be more comfortable in a deluxe. However, after we buy tickets, food, and airfare for all five of us, there's barely enough left for even a mod. If I would have budgeted vacations into our future, I would have stopped at one kid.