Value versus Moderate

[Bekah21]

I have only been to disney once. We stayed at CBR and loved it. We are going again in 109 days (not that I'm counting) and staying at POR. My friend is a DVC owner and swears that I should NEVER stay at a value. However, with budget reasons...our next trips in 2012 and 2013 may need to be at values. I've been reading how people love them. Currently our kids are 6 and 4. What is the REAL deal and difference between the two other than price?????

 

[ars0525]

I have only stayed at All Star Music (3 times, 2 adults). It suits our needs perfectly.

Place to sleep, shower, put our things. Good price & all the Disney perks. Busses are fine. Food court on-site is handy. The pool area is fun, perhaps not as fancy as others cause it's pretty basic, but the CMs keep it hopping with activities. We are not resort people (we are there for the parks), but we enjoy it when we are there. We have never had the issues or problems I see some people have, but I suppose we are realistic too (we aren't expecting the GF ).

I suppose it really depends how into being at the resort you are. If you want a fancy resort with all the bells & whistles, then you will never be happy with a value. It's a basic Disney themed hotel.

What you may find different is the size of the rooms & the pool area is pretty basic. I know ASMu has no slides or anything fancy at the pool. It's got a big fun pool (I haven't been to the smaller one towards the back) & is themed. I see lots of kids having a good time. And there is no on-site restaurant (there is a food court you can eat at, take to your room, by the pool, etc...).

 

[C&G'sMama]

We Love the value resorts. We have stayed at all of them. We stayed at CBR once. It wasn't for us. It's a nice resort but it didn't seem worth it for us. That being said I know many people love CBR.

Okay so the values. We prefer All Stars. We stayed at POP and it was nice but we drive and I didn't like the parking when I had to schlep my stuff to the room and back. But lots of people love POP.

We will be staying at the Values for the 11th time since 1996. We love them. No you don't have the beach as you do at CBR but we like the pools. AS Music has movies by the pool and any AS guest can go to them.

We will be staying at Movies this time, though Music is our favorite. We are staying at Movies because my mom is coming with us and we like the themeing.

We just think it's a great value.

 

[Bekah21]

We really didn't do the beach at CBR. The kids played on the playground a couple of times and walked through the sand once or twice. We spend the money traveling from Colorado to Florida to be in the parks. We swam only 3 times as we went back for mid day naps last year when they were 5 and 3. We would love to try a new resort every time just to see all the ones we can afford. I really just need a nice and clean place to leave my stuff and sleep. A pool is nice too for the kids or a kids splash area and playground. Sounds like a value would cover those needs. I've just been told they are loud and crowded and the bus system isn't the best. However, this friend also told me CBR would be too big to walk around. We did tons of walking around it and it wasn't bad. I mean you spend ALL day walking at the parks, what's another 5 minutes to the food court right???

 

[C&G'sMama]

You will be fine. If you are flying, I would go with POP. Like I said my only complaint was packing and unpacking my car which won't be an issue for you since I assume your flying from Colorado.

When I get home tonight I'll try to remember to post some pictures of the POP from our December 2009 trip.

On the other hand the All Star resorts are smaller. I also prefer them because we've been there so many times we know them like the back of our hands.

Because POP is bigger it has 3 pools (one main and 2 quiet). The All Stars each have 2 pools (one main, one quiet) All have a playground.

There are 4 of us and we are not small people and we are just fine in the AS rooms.

 

[Bekah21]

Thanks I would love to see pics. I will look more tonight for other pics on the resorts threads. It's hard to tell things on the disney pics on their website. The new Value looks like it will be a neat place to try next year!!

 

[catne]

You asked for the "real" difference between mods & values...there's a lot of differences. The mods have better theming, far better pools, hot tubs, better restaurants, nicer grounds/landscaping. The mod rooms are bigger (those extra sq. ft make more difference than you'd think) The bathrooms have double sinks...more storage space. Two of the mods (CSR and POFQ) now have queen sized beds instead of full size...I believe I read they will be switching over CBR and POR to the queen beds next.

We've stayed deluxe 4 times, mods 5 times, value 3 times...the value resort was always packed, long lines in the food court, the gift shop, the bus lines... even during incredibly slow times of the year (like mid-January, non-holiday week.) We never encounter the same kind of crowds/lines at the deluxe & mods.

Our preference would always be POFQ or deluxe...but not always in the budget. That said, though, as long as you know what you're getting and lower expectation, if the only way your budget will work is to stay value, then go! It's all Disney...all good.

 

[Bekah21]

Thanks catne, I love the "real" difference. So far we loved CBR and think we will love POR this year. it's good to know that values will work for us if needed next year. However, I'd love to try CSR and POFQ. I would love to do deluxe, but could only afford those with 40% off pin which we NEVER get pins!!

 

[Cherinva]

We've stayed at AS Movies, AS Music, POP, and the Poly. While I LOVED the Poly, for the amount of time we were there, it was pricey. From now on, I will stick to the Values. POP was cool, but if you are in one of the far buildings, it is a long walk to the food court, and buses. I love the decor of the Movies, and the food court is better than the Music...IMHO....however, I really like the family suites at AS Music. We've never taken a day just to hang around the resort...to enjoy it...for that reason, the Values are a better fit for us.

The service has always been great...yes, the food courts do get real busy at times, but not unreasonalble....and for the most part, the food is good.

 

[Bekah21]

We've stayed at AS Movies, AS Music, POP, and the Poly. While I LOVED the Poly, for the amount of time we were there, it was pricey. From now on, I will stick to the Values. POP was cool, but if you are in one of the far buildings, it is a long walk to the food court, and buses. I love the decor of the Movies, and the food court is better than the Music...IMHO....however, I really like the family suites at AS Music. We've never taken a day just to hang around the resort...to enjoy it...for that reason, the Values are a better fit for us.

The service has always been great...yes, the food courts do get real busy at times, but not unreasonalble....and for the most part, the food is good.

Not too worried about the crowds with the food court as we wouldn't be there much. We do character dinners every night and usually grab CS at the park. So only hit the food courts at resort on arrival and departure day and maybe for a quick breakfast or snacks in the evenings.

 

[kaffinito]

For the money I'd rather stay in a value.

I'm not in the hot tub that often, last trip I didn't even go in.

The room size at the value is fine for us, even with an air mattress.

I like a good food court, and really liked the ones at POP and at AsSpo.

The bus service was about the same at the value and at the mod.

Honestly, the only advantage I can see in the mods over the values is more themeing.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

Thanks catne, I love the "real" difference. So far we loved CBR and think we will love POR this year. it's good to know that values will work for us if needed next year. However, I'd love to try CSR and POFQ. I would love to do deluxe, but could only afford those with 40% off pin which we NEVER get pins!!

We have stayed at all level of resorts at WDW and DL and really, at this point in our lives with 4 young kids we love the value resorts. All-Star Movies is the best, in my opinion, especially if you have young children. The theming is so fun and the pools are awesome. We always get two connecting rooms at a value resort and we love it. Like you stated earlier, we go to WDW to be in the parks, not soaking up the atmosphere at the resort. You will be absolutely fine at any of the WDW value resorts.

 

[KatMark]

Some people love the values, some do not.

Personally, we would skip a trip to Disney rather than stay in a value. We did it once when our kids were 10 and 12, and we hated it and moved after three days to a moderate.

We found the values too crowded, too busy and too noisy. We like a more spread out resort where you can find a place to sit and relax without nonstop motion going on all around you. And our kids and even DH and I enjoy having a slide at our pool and we are both big hot tub people.

That being said, with your kids being younger, you might very well enjoy it. I'm sure you'll have a great time no matter where you stay.

 

[MickeyNicki]

Our first few stays were at values and we loved them until we started staying mod and deluxe. Now there is no way we could go back because the rooms are small, the noise level is ridiculous, do not like the mob scenes at the food court or the bus stops.

Check and see if you can get a discount at the mods, it will make such a difference in your vacation.

 

[PrincessTiffany]

OP, honestly, we have stayed at a WDW value resort at least 8 times and I have never noticed any "noise" issues.

 

[crazygoalie39]

We stayed at values our first 2 trips and had no problems at all. Great transportation (especially at Pop), great theming, decent food, and the rooms are nice. The rooms are a bit small, but if you're mostly at the parks it doesn't matter that much anyways.

 

[harpinjean]

We have stayed at all three levels of resort and think values are fine. We don't use the hot tubs at the mod or deluxe resorts (have one at home). We don't spend a lot of time at the pools because we are park people. I think the food courts at the values have decent food. DH and I had spaghetti there one night and it was better than the spaghetti at one of the TS in MK. Our rooms have always been clean and it is very easy to get around the resorts. Values are a clean, comfortable place to stay after a day at the parks.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

I've stayed at all levels of Disney resorts (well, except for the campground), and the values and mods generally are fine. The big differences I noticed that haven't been mentioned yet are the towels are thinner, the toiletries aren't as nice, and the toilet paper is a lower ply at the values. If I'm by myself, that's not enough of a difference. When there are 3 of us, we need a mod. We need the fridge, we need the space, we need the queen bed to share, and we really like having a bar for the grown-ups to relax in. But, my ds is bigger than I am, when he was small a value would have been perfectly roomy!

I actually prefer the values for theming with little kids. The larger than life icons are just more fun!

Maria

 

[hauntedcity]

I may be crazy, but I'd rather do value or deluxe before moderates. I like the fun theming and affordable price of the values. Even though I love the themes of the Port Orleans resorts, I really don't think the extra price is worth it. If I'm going to pay more money than a value, I like to save up and splurge for one of the "deluxe moderate" resorts, Wilderness Lodge or Animal Kingdom Lodge. I think you get much more of a bang for you buck there.

 

[Dizznee Freak]

We have stayed at all Deluxes,Moderates and Values and in my opinion we love the Values more.We are in the park all day and even eat there so the food court may just be a breakfast or late snack thing. We can easily afford the Deluxes but much more look to the fun and magic of the Values.