Resort buyers remorse, anyone??

[minniemom92]

Been lurking for awhile and felt compelled to start posting. I hope you don't mind. I can be very friendly.

We stayed 10 nights at the Polynesian last month and had a great time. It is one of our favorite resorts. We had a great discounted rate for deluxe and felt good about the price. POR would have been $1,500.00 less for the 10 nights and we were aware of the differences in resorts as we have stayed at both. We chose the Polynesian for all of the reasons most people choose Deluxe on the monorail and the Polynesian. It felt worth it at the time. The vacation is paid in full. Now, I am wondering if POR would have been fine. It would have been nice not to have spent that $1,500.00 in hindsight. But the vacation was so nice!! But POR is not that bad either. I know I sound very wishy, washy. Does anyone else go through this? I am already planning my next vacation and I don't know where I am going to stay. Driving my husband crazy!

 

[SusanWasHere]

I had never stayed on property until buying into DVC four years ago. My first place to stay was the Beach Club and I thought that would ruin me for every other place. But as you can see from signature, I've stayed in a lot of different places in the different categories. And to be honest - I've never had a bad stay! I LOVE POFQ and would stay there 10000 times without ever thinking "oh I'm not at Beach Club". I think every resort has such great things and are all unique. To me - I'd stay in a cardboard box if that box was in Disney! Beach Club is still my favorite bc of the pool and the closeness to Epcot.... but I really had as much fun on my last trip at the All-Stars! And I had money to spend on Disney jewelry!!!!

 

[4HppyCamprs]

Yes. I think to really justify the cost difference you need to either be really picky about the atmosphere of the hotel or absolutely take advantage of every amenity that is offered by the most expensive hotel. If the hotel is just a room to sleep and as a traveler spend most of the time at the parks then the 1500 is probably going to haunt you. We upgraded from AsMu to POR and I am the type to only spend time sleeping in the room (as is my whole family) so I am hoping the upgrade is "worth" it. For me that means bigger rooms (hopefully) better customer service and more amenities. We will see if I have remorse after the trip.

ETA: I am also the type who does not like to pay extra for intangibles or anything disposable. I like to reserve my money for long lasting pleasures LOL

 

[minniemom92]

I had never stayed on property until buying into DVC four years ago. My first place to stay was the Beach Club and I thought that would ruin me for every other place. But as you can see from signature, I've stayed in a lot of different places in the different categories. And to be honest - I've never had a bad stay! I LOVE POFQ and would stay there 10000 times without ever thinking "oh I'm not at Beach Club". I think every resort has such great things and are all unique. To me - I'd stay in a cardboard box if that box was in Disney! Beach Club is still my favorite bc of the pool and the closeness to Epcot.... but I really had as much fun on my last trip at the All-Stars! And I had money to spend on Disney jewelry!!!!

I love your attitude. Makes a lot of sense. We chose the Polynesian for the amenities such as the beach, monorail, larger rooms, volcano pool and proximity to Magic Kingdom. We enjoyed our balcony as well. It was as nice as we had remembered. We love that resort! But $1,500.00 is $1,500.00. POR also had a nice pool. We used the POFQ pool as it was shared. POR seemed closer to Water Parks, Downtown Disney, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. I need to rethink my priorities as I like to vacation often. And as you said, it's all about being at Disney.

 

[princessmom29]

We seriously considered WL this year, but in the end i just couldn't justify over $1000 more for it. We don't typically spend tons of time at the hotel, and we have loved CSR both times we were there. CSR has queen beds, so that was not a motivation. There is a lot of great stuff we can do in the parks with $1000 extra to spend.

 

[overthemoon4mickey]

My husband and I actually wish we had spent the extra money on our last trip. We have in the past stayed at mods and one deluxe. Last time we thought that since we are only in the room at night and don't spend more than one hour at the pool the entire trip we'd try a value. Big mistake for us. Don't get me wrong the values are nice and the rooms are similar to mods. It's just that the atmosphere was so frenetic. The food court was crazy! The one single bus stop was out in the full sun, no benches, and a line you had to wait in. It was like being at the park while at the resort...and not in a good way. When we are at the mods we feel a little more relaxed at the food court (esp. the coronado!) and the bus stops are relaxing and is usually where we plot out our day before the bus arrives. We just felt that when we "came home" at the end of the day the mods were relaxing, quite, and peaceful. The kids enjoy the nice walk back to the rooms or stopping to swing in a hammock and discuss the day with a cold drink. We sort of felt that at the value you were smack dab in the middle of a crowd the whole time.

This is just one family's opinion...Please no flames. For us we will continue to visit Disney in off seasons and stay at a Moderate

 

[KatMark]

Been lurking for awhile and felt compelled to start posting. I hope you don't mind. I can be very friendly.

We stayed 10 nights at the Polynesian last month and had a great time. It is one of our favorite resorts. We had a great discounted rate for deluxe and felt good about the price. POR would have been $1,500.00 less for the 10 nights and we were aware of the differences in resorts as we have stayed at both. We chose the Polynesian for all of the reasons most people choose Deluxe on the monorail and the Polynesian. It felt worth it at the time. The vacation is paid in full. Now, I am wondering if POR would have been fine. It would have been nice not to have spent that $1,500.00 in hindsight. But the vacation was so nice!! But POR is not that bad either. I know I sound very wishy, washy. Does anyone else go through this? I am already planning my next vacation and I don't know where I am going to stay. Driving my husband crazy!

We used to stay deluxes all the time. And the last couple of years we did it, I wondered "Why am I spending all this money when I'm hardly at the resort?" Then DH and I started traveling alone as the boys got involved in sports and were going to camps or clinics or traveling to National tournaments and with the additional cost of that, we decided to stay at a moderate. We've never looked back...especially now that those boys are in college (we did try value for three nights, hated it, and left after three days; we will skiip a trip before we will stay at a value; a lot of people, however, love the values). I just can't justify an extra $1000 for a room. Our moderate has queen beds, a beach area with hammocks, quiet pools, hot tub, fitness center, etc. The monorail is overrated to us and we drive to all of the parks anyway. It really is a matter of personal taste/preference, likes and dislikes.

***And now the CSR and the POR will be offering preferred rooms (like the CBR) so that they are closer to the food/registration.

 

[sndral]

To be honest, once my package is paid for, I don't even remember what I paid. You could ask me @ check in and I couldn't tell you what I paid.
Plus Disney's pricing is so, well, crazy - which season, do weekends cost more, which room category/view, how many days passes, w/wout hoppers, w/wout waterpark, w/wout 3 different dinning plans, fantasmic, special events, special tours, rental strollers/scooters, pin codes, 4 + 3 free, kids free, dinning free. You could pay rack rate @ a value and full price for all the extras and end up paying more than someone who used a great deal on a deluxe.
I do focus on the future and hunt for the best deal that I can find for my next vacation.

 

[luvthemouse71]

I think for me, the fact that my vacation is all paid for before I get there helps...I'm not getting credit card statements months after. I think too that we spend more time at the resorts now. To me enjoying the Poly is a huge part of the vacation.

 

[minniemom92]

My husband and I actually wish we had spent the extra money on our last trip. We have in the past stayed at mods and one deluxe. Last time we thought that since we are only in the room at night and don't spend more than one hour at the pool the entire trip we'd try a value. Big mistake for us. Don't get me wrong the values are nice and the rooms are similar to mods. It's just that the atmosphere was so frenetic. The food court was crazy! The one single bus stop was out in the full sun, no benches, and a line you had to wait in. It was like being at the park while at the resort...and not in a good way. When we are at the mods we feel a little more relaxed at the food court (esp. the coronado!) and the bus stops are relaxing and is usually where we plot out our day before the bus arrives. We just felt that when we "came home" at the end of the day the mods were relaxing, quite, and peaceful. The kids enjoy the nice walk back to the rooms or stopping to swing in a hammock and discuss the day with a cold drink. We sort of felt that at the value you were smack dab in the middle of a crowd the whole time.

This is just one family's opinion...Please no flames. For us we will continue to visit Disney in off seasons and stay at a Moderate

No flames here. I have only done Moderate and Deluxe for the reasons you described. You do get more of a resort feel at those levels. Also, moderates can be a great value with the promotions being offered. I have friends that have stayed at the Values and they look like fun. It seems that you can get a nice "Resort" vacation at Disney without paying the extra $1500.00 for Deluxe like I have and did. I think I am becoming a Moderate resort advocate! We will see what happens when I book my vacation, but it is refreshing to see that others feel the same.

 

[katieandemismom]

I'm just not a fan of the moderates. We LOVE deluxe (and our DVC now), but we really liked our trip at Pop, too. The one time we were at CSR, I spent the trip wishing we had either saved the $ and stayed at Pop or shelled out a little more and gone deluxe.

I'm a big believer that you cannot second guess the past. Decide if it's worth it to do it again for your next trip, but do not regret the trip you just had. Who knows what might have happened if you had stayed at PO. It could have been a disaster!

 

[mom2val]

I had buyers remorse in 2008 when we stayed at AKL. I guess I'm just a cheapskate at heart. We are booked for WL for our December trip and I "hate" the fact that we are spending $1100 more than if we stayed at POP. I told dh next year we are at POFQ.

 

[4HppyCamprs]

Well I am glad to see that most of you feel that the "Mods" are worth it

 

[minniemom92]

I'm just not a fan of the moderates. We LOVE deluxe (and our DVC now), but we really liked our trip at Pop, too. The one time we were at CSR, I spent the trip wishing we had either saved the $ and stayed at Pop or shelled out a little more and gone deluxe.

I'm a big believer that you cannot second guess the past. Decide if it's worth it to do it again for your next trip, but do not regret the trip you just had. Who knows what might have happened if you had stayed at PO. It could have been a disaster!

I am loving everyone's opinions. Thank you. I agree with not regretting. I don't regret our trip. We have wonderful memories. I just would like to have a more consistent way with spending money. We feel blessed to take our yearly vacations to WDW and live a comfortable life. When I read the boards and and people are happy whether they go to Value or Moderate, it always makes me feel guilty that I wasn't content staying at a level other than Deluxe (and paying a lot more for it!) Just because I can afford something doesn't mean I have to spend the money for it. I guess I am just trying to be less excessive and more content.

 

[WDWBW09]

My wife and I leave for our 5th anniversary WDW-DCL-WDW trip in two days. Many of the disers make valid points. We'll side with it's all what you want. We spend more time at the resorts than at the parks that's how we justify deluxe and at times club level.

POFQ was our honeymoon resort. We really do love it. However we stayed BWI IKC last year and SSR in December with the kids and were hooked.

I'll admit I'm a decisive person and my wife tends to be remorseful. All resolved by me telling her that she can stress over the planning. She declines and states you deal with it I'll enjoy the vacation!

So don't regret your decision you made a great choice!

 

[mdsd8700]

The beauty of Disney is there is something for everyone! For us the hotel is part of the vacation. We have been going to Disney since 1993 and have always stayed Deluxe, never considered anything else. It just wouldn't be enjoyable for us without the resort experience. However everyone is different and if you have buyers remorse then you definately should stay where you feel you are getting the best and most enjoyable vacation for you. In the end the only thing that matters is being in Disney!

 

[catne]

no buyers remorse, here. We stay mod for long trips (POFQ) and different deluxes for our very short trips (one or two nights) That way we get to see what a deluxe is like, but no mega $$$ spent (have APs, so we're booking deluxe at the big AP discounts during off-season.)

Only time we felt any buyer's remorse was the week we spent at POP...thought the decor/theme was fun there were too many things we didn't like there that I doubt we'll ever go value again. Glad we tried it though, just so we know.

 

[mickey2000]

I have done ALL the Deluxe and Moderates years ago as you can see below.
It was to us an experience and fun. However we are past all that and now do just Value (POP) and are having great times. Gosh with the extra money I am even going on extra trips.
For 2010 :
1. May/ June 1 week cruise to Bermuda Celebrity
2. Sept / Oct 10 day WDW
3. Nov 12 night cruise Southern Caribbean RCCL
4. Dec 9 day WDW

Were having a great time with All the extra $$$$

 

[lustergirl]

We used to stay deluxes all the time. And the last couple of years we did it, I wondered "Why am I spending all this money when I'm hardly at the resort?" Then DH and I started traveling alone as the boys got involved in sports and were going to camps or clinics or traveling to National tournaments and with the additional cost of that, we decided to stay at a moderate. We've never looked back...especially now that those boys are in college (we did try value for three nights, hated it, and left after three days; we will skiip a trip before we will stay at a value; a lot of people, however, love the values). I just can't justify an extra $1000 for a room. Our moderate has queen beds, a beach area with hammocks, quiet pools, hot tub, fitness center, etc. The monorail is overrated to us and we drive to all of the parks anyway. It really is a matter of personal taste/preference, likes and dislikes.

***And now the CSR and the POR will be offering preferred rooms (like the CBR) so that they are closer to the food/registration.

Thanks Kathy, I didnt know about the preferred rooms being offered at CSR. This would be a bonus for as I have enjoyed my stays there but always got stuck in the boonies- in Ranchos. Booking a preferred room may be something on the near horizon.

 

[rentayenta]

Been lurking for awhile and felt compelled to start posting. I hope you don't mind. I can be very friendly.

We stayed 10 nights at the Polynesian last month and had a great time. It is one of our favorite resorts. We had a great discounted rate for deluxe and felt good about the price. POR would have been $1,500.00 less for the 10 nights and we were aware of the differences in resorts as we have stayed at both. We chose the Polynesian for all of the reasons most people choose Deluxe on the monorail and the Polynesian. It felt worth it at the time. The vacation is paid in full. Now, I am wondering if POR would have been fine. It would have been nice not to have spent that $1,500.00 in hindsight. But the vacation was so nice!! But POR is not that bad either. I know I sound very wishy, washy. Does anyone else go through this? I am already planning my next vacation and I don't know where I am going to stay. Driving my husband crazy!

I am going through something a little similar. We own DVC and I am debating between staying in a 1 br vs a 2 br for our next 10 night stay. A 2 br will cost 87 more points total which I know is not terrible considering the time of the year: December. My issue is spending the extra points when we fit in a 1 br just fine, we just will have to use the living room pull out sofa for sleeping and I really like to have the living room area a sleep free zone so there's no tip-toeing in the morning and remaking that darn sofa bed everyday.