Sell me on a Deluxe Resort

[PlutoTheDog89]

More specifically - Boardwalk, Beach, or Yacht Club.

The past few years, we've stayed at POFQ. We visit every year for Christmas and will most likely be returning next year. Before POFQ, we stayed at Coronado and really enjoyed it. However, this year POFQ just didn't cut it for us. It was dirty and dated and the transportation was a mess. I understand any hotel could be dirty. We could stay at the GF and it could be dirty, but we decided that next year we'd like to spend a little extra money and stay at a deluxe resort and be in walking or a quick boat ride to most of the parks.

My sister and I did Swan and Dolphin for Food and Wine and loved that we could simply walk over to EPCOT or hop on the boat if we were tired. Swan & Dolphin is certainly an option, but we'd prefer to stay on property as we use the meal plan.

We'd prefer Beach or Yacht Club. We ate there a few times this past trip and really loved it. Boardwalk just didn't do it for us, although we have friends who are DVC members at Boardwalk and rave about it.

The thing is... while we can certainly afford the trip, 9-10k is A LOT of money for a vacation. We'd arrive on 12/24 and stay until 1/1. Between the room, the meal plan, the park tickets and hopper, you're talking a little over 10k. Is it really that worth it?

My mom has a bad leg and my dad couldn't bear the heat this year (it was crazy hot!) I know it was an anomaly, but with it being our 7th Christmas vacation and umpteenth time at Disney, we'd like to take it slower and have a new experience. Maybe hang out at the hotel more often and then walk or take the boat to EPCOT or DHS for 3 hours at night. I'd probably frequent the resort's gym.

Can anyone sell me on my family spending so much on a vacation?

EDIT: We've also considered a split stay. Maybe a moderate from 12/24-12/28, then deluxe from 12/28-1/1 for new year's. Basically, we'd like the flexibility of heading to the park late if we really want to or leaving EPCOT at 1am and simply walking back to our resort.

 

[Disneylover99]

Sorry. I can't sell you on a Deluxe resort that time of year.

Assuming that there is no discount, you would be paying $350 more per night than a moderate and $450 more per night than a value. That's an extra $2450 - $3150 for the week. While I enjoyed the BC this summer, I found relying on the boats to get to HS a pain, and the lines for the boats seem even longer over Christmas. If your mom has a bad leg, and the boat lines are long, is she going to want to walk to HS? I actually find the buses at values much more efficient that time of year.

Maybe consider a Value. You could even get two rooms for not much more then a moderate. Just a thought.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I can't help but think if you need to be "sold" on a Deluxe, it's not a great decision.

The money you save NOT at a Disney Deluxe (say, at Swan or Dolphin) buys a LOT of food. The Disney Dining Plan is generally about convenience, not savings.

 

[craigkerstiens]

Not sure how you were looking at booking the deluxe resort, but if you were able to rent points for the reservation then it may not be quite as costly as you thought. Depending on the size of your party if you're able to get a studio, it's be ~ 150 pts for standard view * $13 per point, so just shy of $2,000. While still costly, it's probably not that big of a difference compared to a moderate resort.

As for selling you, it mostly sounds like you've sold yourself. Swan and Dolphin has the convenience you're looking for as well, but without as much Disney flavor throughout. Personally we love boardwalk for the various activities along the boardwalk at night, though you could wander from the YC or BCV over that way if you're inclined as well.

 

[mickeygirl78]

We did a split stay in September, 1 week at POR and 1 week at the Yacht Club. I loved the Yacht Club, it was amazing. Walking to Epcot was so easy. We took the boat to HS. It was also nice to walk over and enjoy the boardwalk. The room we had was very nice but it was in need of some love (wallpaper was peeling, just needed general TLC). I did miss having a full food court. At Yacht you need to walk over to Beach Club to use the marketplace, which is very small. I would stay here again if Disney upgraded me, but I don't think I could justify the cost to stay deluxe.

 

[LisaCM614]

I can't encourage you to spend more money than you feel comfortable spending. I can encourage you into looking into renting points. The cost of our 4th of July trip staying in a Poly Studio and a BWV 1 bedroom is about $10 less total than staying at POFQ for the same time period. I can tell you staying in the Epcot resort area is our favorite. We love walking into International Gateway at Rope Drop, we love using it in the evening to return for dinner in World Showcase, and the atmosphere of strolling the Boardwalk at night shopping and eating just can't be beat. good luck!

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

I can't encourage you to spend more money than you feel comfortable spending. I can encourage you into looking into renting points. The cost of our 4th of July trip staying in a Poly Studio and a BWV 1 bedroom is about $10 less total than staying at POFQ for the same time period. I can tell you staying in the Epcot resort area is our favorite. We love walking into International Gateway at Rope Drop, we love using it in the evening to return for dinner in World Showcase, and the atmosphere of strolling the Boardwalk at night shopping and eating just can't be beat. good luck!

Our only concern with renting points is if we need to cancel our vacation. Albeit, we were hit by Sandy in 2013 and didn't cancel! But - life happens and we'd be losing our money if we cancel (from the sounds of it)

 

[TJA]

Spending the extra money for a deluxe is worth it to our family, but only if we get a good deal. We are staying at GF this Easter and the deal isn't great so we've opted to split the stay -- POR first 3 days then GF the next 5 days. This way, the total cost of the trip is more within what we care to spend.

We love staying at BC for the reasons you noted...walking distance to Epcot and walking/boating to HS. Those perks are just so hard to beat. Plus the entire atmosphere of strolling around the boardwalk, the pool at BC, and it's so easy to walk through the international gateway to Epcot for night time dining.

 

[LisaCM614]

Our only concern with renting points is if we need to cancel our vacation. Albeit, we were hit by Sandy in 2013 and didn't cancel! But - life happens and we'd be losing our money if we cancel (from the sounds of it)

One of the well known agencies does have a vacation cancellation program that will allow you to get your money back or at least part of it

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

One of the well known agencies does have a vacation cancellation program that will allow you to get your money back or at least part of it

Without saying it, I think I know who you're talking to.. A protection plan, correct? I'd need to do some research - in particular, how comfortable those pull-out beds are. We're 4 adults and if we're gonna spring for that much money, may as well be comfortable.

 

[gonemousin']

If you have the ability to absorb the higher cost of staying Deluxe, I would highly recommend the Beach Club. We've stayed there twice and both times have been fantastic. We have teens who love being able to walk to Epcot and HS. If you go over Christmas, I can see this being a real bonus - being able to avoid Disney transportation for two of the parks is a treat on the days the bus or monorail lines are crazy long. We prefer Beach Club over Boardwalk because of the secret doorway/path that we always use at the Beach Club. It's a far longer walk to enter the Boardwalk building because they don't have a side door. But if BC wasn't available, I'd stay there happily.

 

[LisaCM614]

Without saying it, I think I know who you're talking to.. A protection plan, correct? I'd need to do some research - in particular, how comfortable those pull-out beds are. We're 4 adults and if we're gonna spring for that much money, may as well be comfortable.

Yup the protection plan. I don't know how comfortable I'd be sleeping on a pull out for the week either.

 

[Babsy]

Deluxe is a nice way to get a larger, more comfortable room in a resort with more amenities and situated in a more convenient location. How much that is worth is purely personal choice.

We prefer to book deluxe over renting DVC. We need the flexibility to cancel, need two queen beds, do NOT want two bathrooms (unless there are two toilets as well) and generally prefer the location of the hotel rooms in the resort over the location of the DVC property.

As long as the budget allows, I like to stay in accommodations that I enjoy. We do spend a lot of time at the resort, however. We go into the theme parks for 3 - 6 hours per day. the rest of the time is at the resort, so amenities matter to us.

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

We love the Contemporary, our first night after watching the fireworks from our very own balcony (in our pjs, sipping a drink) DH and I looked at each other and said "worth every penny" That was 6 CR trips ago and we will never stay anywhere else (we tried GF once and regretted it). We also love the convenience of stepping off the monorail and just taking the elevator upstairs to our room. The only Deluxe where you don't have to walk outside to your room (love not having to walk in the rain to get a drink or go shopping or get a bite to eat). We also appreciate being able to walk to MK anytime with a short minute stroll. We love the food choices, shops, arcade, pool and other amenities. We love club level as well. Last year we had a light breakfast any morning we didn't have a character breakfast booked. We also loved heading to the lounge for a bedtime snack after the fireworks each night. For me, seeing the castle lit up every night as I fall asleep is that little bit of extra Disney magic that is icing on the vacation cake.

If you can afford it, we love CR and it's worth it for our family but it's really an individual choice. I had wanted to stay at the CR since I was a little girl so now that I'm a big girl and can afford it, my family feels it is money well spent Can't wait till our next trip in March

 

[brinkley07]

We love staying in deluxe, but more importantly we love AKL. Would I do it if I had to pay the highest pricing tier, well I don't know. I think you need to decide what is more important to you in your trip planning. For us deluxe ends up being worth it every time.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

To be honest, renting points for the Beach Club isn't something I would do if I'm already cost shy. Not until they finish their refurb. The Villas are a bit worn down.

Point rental in December is tough. You'd need to do it right at 11 months to get what you'd want.

 

[Aurora0427]

Between Yacht & Beach, choose Beach. The rooms were all refurbished in 2015- the hotel NOT the Villas. Villas are in bad shape. YC looks tired to me.

We've stayed at POFQ, and hated it. We are deluxe people. But man, you sure did pick the most expensive week of the year to stay deluxe.... Ouch!

 

[Nancyg56]

I agree that if you have to be sold, you probably will have buyers remorse. YOu are traveling at one of the most expensive times of year so the discounts may not be enough to make a difference, so you have to ask yourself what will you be using the resort for. My family usues it as part of the vacation, and not just a plce to shower and sleep, so we consider location and amenities each trip. Then I look at the difference in cost per room and decide how much any additional amenities and convenience are worth. Right now I am looking at $1500 difference between the BC and POR for my next trip and am evaluating that money.

I think that instead of looking at total cost, break down the difference in lodging and look at it as a separate entity, and then decide if that money will be worth it to spend on a room. I was sick over the cost of our GF trip last August, and my Dh broke the room cost down, between POFQ and GF. That difference was not as much as I had thought it was, and Poof! Buyers remorse gone! I was looking at total cost and blaming the resort, not that we had 9 of us going.

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

I agree that if you have to be sold, you probably will have buyers remorse. YOu are traveling at one of the most expensive times of year so the discounts may not be enough to make a difference, so you have to ask yourself what will you be using the resort for. My family usues it as part of the vacation, and not just a plce to shower and sleep, so we consider location and amenities each trip. Then I look at the difference in cost per room and decide how much any additional amenities and convenience are worth. Right now I am looking at $1500 difference between the BC and POR for my next trip and am evaluating that money.

I think that instead of looking at total cost, break down the difference in lodging and look at it as a separate entity, and then decide if that money will be worth it to spend on a room. I was sick over the cost of our GF trip last August, and my Dh broke the room cost down, between POFQ and GF. That difference was not as much as I had thought it was, and Poof! Buyers remorse gone! I was looking at total cost and blaming the resort, not that we had 9 of us going.

Exactly. We even looked at a split stay and it was only a difference of 500-600 bucks! We'd rather avoid the stress and just stay in one place.

 

[Amy&Dan]

That is a very expensive week to test out a deluxe stay lol.

Years ago we were set to stay at CBR. My mom had just passed away and my husband wanted to do something very special, so he changed our CBR reservation to the Poly. The cost was around $280 a night more (this was in 2008 when the difference was not as much). We were only doing three nights before a two week OKW stay. I was very excited!

Long story short that is when we learned that for us, deluxe was not worth the price difference. The pool was ice cold, we didn't receive maid service one day and the next they didn't get there until almost 4:00. The balcony was nice but our next door neighbor was out there all the time, on his phone talking very loud and smoking which made it less than pleasant. Loved having the monorail to MK but hated sharing a bus to DHS and AK.

We loved having a character meal right in our resort. The room was beautiful and so spacious. Seeing fireworks so close was great.

But in the end, all those negatives, that could happen at any resort felt more negative due to the price we were paying. My expectations were high but for what we were paying I felt like those expectations should be met. We have not stayed deluxe level since and I highly doubt we ever will. We've had 20+ trips of value and moderate stays that have all been so enjoyable and positive that for us, jt doesn't feel worth it. Several times we've even booked deluxe, only to realize we just can't justify the cost and switched back to a moderate.

Renting points is a great way to get a deluxe at a much lower price, however the sofa bed issue that all DVC's but an OKW studio offer doesn't suit us and we dislike not having daily housekeeping. Both of these were enough to make us quite ok with selling off our DVC contract several years ago. I have toyed with renting points when both my now adult kids come along but we'd need a two bedroom and going with two value rooms fit the bill for way less. Renting is a great deal but when you go up from a studio, it gets very expensive. And again, for us the added expense is not worth it.

Everyone is different. I have a good friend who flat out told me he wouldn't go at all to WDW if he can't stay deluxe. To me that's crazy but only for me. For him and the way he likes to vacation it makes perfect sense! You just have to really weigh out the pros and cons.