Value vs. Moderate

[turnerx6]

Okay, we are STILL trying to decide which hotel to get!! It seems as though we will never ever make a decision!

Our dd's are little bitty (basically)...they will be 5, 2 and 11 months at the time of our trip.

We can't decide between the Value resorts or the Moderate resorts. Of course, from my own personal stand point...a moderate one would be better - but don't know that it is absolutely worth it. It's quite a jump in price between the two!

Are there any huge differences between value vs moderate?

Those of you who have stayed at value - did you regret staying there? Thanks SO much!


P.S. we are paying for my parents to go with us on our trip to Disney - so we have to factor their room into the prices too - which is why we certainly couldn't do AKL or something like that!

 

[kimmylaj]

i am definitely curious to see what kind of answers you get because we are in the same boat, my kids will be 7 and 4. we have done a lot of timeshares offsite and the contemporary. we are trying to be budget conscious. ds wants caribbean beach pirate room and i am leaning towards pop .

 

[maxiesmom]

Here are some of the things you get at a Moderate resort that you don't get at a Value:

Shaded bus stops
Hot tub
Pool slide
in room fridge
Sit down restaurant (POFQ doesn't have one though)
Bike or boat rentals

The Moderate rooms are a bit larger, but it does not make a huge difference. In fact, my 9yr old niece thought the rooms at Port Orleans Riverside seemed smaller than those at the All Star Sports.

If you plan on spending a lot of time at the resort, then I would go with a Moderate.

 

[mommyaof2]

We have stayed at a moderate and a value. As far as room size, there is not much difference. In a moderate, you get a fridge and a coffee maker, but we did not miss the fridge and I brought my own coffee maker. I also did not miss having a sit down restaurant at the value. I loved the food court at ASMU actually. The main difference to me, between our stay was the noise level. The value was much louder, because there were groups of high school marching bands there for half of our trip. I remember POFQ being very quiet. When we stayed at the moderate, we didn't really use all of the extras. The buses were fine at both places, if I had to compare that. When we go back to Disney, we will stay where our budget can afford. If it had not been for the groups that we encountered at the value, it would have been just fine. If you do choose a value, I would just ask to not be put next to any groups if that is possible. Good luck in your choice!

 

[expatcat]

We stayed at POR with a 3yo and 3 month old. We really used the fridge alot to keep milk and snacks in, and the boat to DTD was fab with little ones. Loved having a quiet pool and laundry right near our room - used both alot. Lovely and quiet, great food court!

 

[mjp12831]

Last year we had the same scenerio - parents going with us, family of 5. We stayed at POFQ, connecting rooms. Parents didnt get up as early as us, but we just left the door between the room ajar and got her quietly. This worked well.

This year we have no parents so needed a resort that would accomodate 5 - POR was the most reasonably priced, including values because of the 5 factor. This should work fine for us because we dont spend much time in the room.

If you're considering spending any time in the room however, I'd consider something larger and spending a bit more. Your decision should depend on room time and budget.

 

[sdchickie]

I've stayed in both many times and there really are good and bad where ever you stay. I have had perfectly fine vacations at the Pop and one really bad night there where I could hear the drunk teenagers throwing up all night through the walls. Also the toilets at the values are super loud flushing toilets, it seems that they aren't that loud at the moderates for some reason. I agree with what the previous poster said about asking not to be put near large groups no matter where you stay. One super great thing that moderates have that values don't is the corner rooms with 2 sets of windows. Those aren't a guarantee but you can definately request one and boy is it nice to have the extra set of windows, you don't feel like you are walking into a cave. The benefit of the values with kids that young is the decor, the cortyards have really neat sky-high characters which my kids thought were really cool. The moderate grounds are geared more toward adults with beaches, hammocks, and really nice landscaped courtyards. I don't think PO has beaches but the others do. My kids (and I) really loved going out to the beach with my husband while I slept in in the mornings. Which ever one you choose I would suggest while you are down there go by one of the other resorts to see if you might like the other one better for next time. Or do a split stay, I usually stay at 2 different resorts that's why I've experienced almost all of them.

 

[Arielssister]

We have stayed at the All Stars mostly and once we stayed at Carribean Beach Resort. We went last time with our 12 month old and 4 year old. We stayed at the All Star Movies. I think your 2 and 5 year old would LOVE the value resorts with the large icons and kid pools. I agree with a former poster that said moderates are more for adults and value is geared toward kids and families. I have stayed at the All Star resorts 3 out of 4 times I have gone and it was never really loud at night. Now during the day, that's different. The second time we went there were college cheerleaders practicing anywhere they could find grass. Hope it works out for you guys and you find the perfect resort!

 

[Luv2Roam]

With little ones, I would stick with a value. I think they would really enjoy it.
If your kids were older, I would say the pools at the mods they would like better than the values.
We have stayed value, mod, and deluxe multiple times each. And had a great time at all of them. I actually think the bus service at the values is more organized than the other two tiers, from our experiences.

 

[needabreaknow]

I would go to Caribbean Beach Resort for a few reasons: Although we LOVED Pop Century, it is seriously challenging to get a single stroller in the room. One of us would have to go in, hold the door and suck in our tummy just to have enough room to let the stroller get by. The time we brought our double tandem stroller was definitely worse. We had to fold it up BEFORE bringing it into the room. There is just not enough space. We have had tons of fun there ...three stays at pop Century now, but have decided not to go back until we are out of strollers .

I LOVE Caribbean Beach Resort because they have a pirate ship section by the main pool and it is great for toddlers. It's gated so I didn't have to worry about my little crazy monkey running away from me and falling into the pool. It had 1Ft deep water and way more relaxing for me, knowing that he was safe, and that most of the other people there had toddlers and were fine with their craziness We were kind of all watching each other's kids and making sure they came down the slides and up the stairs okay. Then right next to it was the main pool with the big water slide and deep water that my hubby and 5 year old went to.

The main pool does have the zero elevation entrance so we could let our youngest one go in a bit and then we'd have him stop, and it was great for our five year old who was not yet a strong swimmer to have him swim at a depth that was challenging but not scary to him.

If you choose CBR I would consider the Preferred rooms so they are closer to the pool and restaurants, especially if it will be hot when you go.

 

[crazyfordisney2000]

We have now stayed both. So many people say there is not much difference in size but I just don't agree. I felt like the moderate was just enough room (perfect amount of space for us), where at the value we felt cramped. We are a family of 4. We stayed in value when DD was 2 and found it very cramped, maybe because of the pack and play, but there was just not enough room for her to roam, thank goodness our parents went and we had connecting rooms, so it made it easier for DD to relax before heading to bed. A value now would be fine now with our kids 5 & 7 (We still feel a bit cramped, but it is tolerable for all we use the room for is sleeping), but when the kids were little, they always needed to roam a bit before they laid down for a nap or went to bed at night. Our preference is definately moderate, though. As for deluxe, we see no reason for a bigger room, we would pay that money for location only, which is why we will probably be staying at the Dolphin next trip, moderate price, awesome location!!

 

[Disney Mom of 4]

I am a similar boat, so I'm glad you posted this. We stayed at All star movies last year, and the kids LOVED it. They still talk as much about the hotel as they do about the parks. There was so much for them to see there, and they were amazed by the huge figures. The buses were very good, and the only problem we ever had was finding a table in the food court in the morning (it's crazy in there!).

We're planning our next trip, and I'd really like to stay at POFQ, just to change things up and see what else Disney has to offer. I know the kids would love another All Star though, and I have a feeling that's what I'll end up going with.
I've done a lot of research and read a million reviews and people seem to say there's no real difference between value and moderate rooms.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

We've stayed at POP and POR and prefer POP. If I were you, I'd stay at the values as long as you can (maximum room occupancy is 4 plus one child under 3). Pretty soon POR will be your only reasonably priced choice and you'll long for the days that you could all fit legally into a value room.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I've never stayed in a value resort but we have stayed in a moderate, the Caribbean Beach Resort (4 times). For children your age, I would think that you would need a fridge in the room so you can have easy access to milk and other drinks. To rent a fridge at a value is going to cost $10 or $11 a night.

The rooms at the CBR are larger than the other moderates. Believe me, you'll be glad you have the extra space when you get all of your stuff in the room.

The CBR rooms have a slight Nemo theme (no extra charge) or a full blown pirate theme (extra charge) so the rooms appeal to both adults and kids. The new main pool has a pirate themed play area for the kids, a zero entry pool with two slides and, for the adults, two hot tubs.

If you wanted to spend a day at the resort, you could laze around on a white sandy beach in a hammock or beach chair while the kids play in the sand or on one of the playgrounds. You can get your food from the food court to go and have a picnic on the island.

If you can swing the extra money, I'd definitely go for a moderate resort.

 

[creativeamanda]

The biggest deal breaker for me with kids your childrens' age would be the covered bus stops. Taking into account that you may be waiting in the sun with no where to sit for at most 20 minutes (sometimes longer on a bad day), the cost difference is definitely worth it to me.

 

[LuvsDonald]

We have stayed at Movies w/ our 2 kids twice. Once when they were 2 and 5 and then when they were 3 and 6. They LOVED ASM. The pool was great and the three story Buzz Lightyear was awesome. The room itself was just the right size for the 4 of us. We also brought a stroller and had no problems getting it in and out of the room. We tucked it into the corner and used it as a catch all at the end of the day. We did not have a fridge in our room, but we brought a big cooler and kept drinks and fruit it that. The bus stops got crowded after 8:30, and sometimes we waited for 20 min, but it was never awful. It did get hot standing out in the sun (April). We've never stayed at a mod, but we're going in May and checking it out.
If I were you, I'd definitely pick ASM w/ 3 little ones. The kids will only care about the pool and the theme around them, which is best at ASM. We never had problems w/ the resort being too crowded. Besides, all your going to do in the room is bathe and sleep, right? It would be worth the savings.

 

[thej]

Traveling with 3 kids, and one that young, I'd think the greater number of bus stops (closer to the rooms), and faster bus service (so it seems to us anyway) at the moderates is valuable. The other thing to think about is the size of the rooms, and the beds. There is more space in the moderate rooms for a port-a-crib. At CSR you get 2 x Queen plus a dividing door between the vanity area and sleeping area, which might help if your kids are light sleepers.

 

[SGMCO]

I've only stayed at MODs because I think that it's nice
to have some down time from the parks. MODs are so relaxing.
I can't imagine going back from the parks after a long day
and seeing all of the extra large icons. I like the change of pace
the MODs offer, lush landscaping with flowers and animals.
MODs also have there own TS restaurant which are also nice.
My Favorite MOD POR (along with POFQ) has a Boat Ride to DTD
which is fun and different. POR also has a trundle bed for a 5th person.
I also think MODs are wonderful for multi-generations, they have something
for everyone.
Have a Wonderful trip!

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

We have stayed in most of the resorts, but when money is tight, we stay at the Values. We spend so much time in the parks that we really don't see much difference between Value and Moderates - certainly not enough to warrant the huge price jump.

When we do our adult only trips, we prefer Deluxes...

 

[mickeystoontown]

The biggest deal breaker for me with kids your childrens' age would be the covered bus stops. Taking into account that you may be waiting in the sun with no where to sit for at most 20 minutes (sometimes longer on a bad day), the cost difference is definitely worth it to me.

That was one of the main reasons I canceled our reservation at Pop Century. I really like the covered bus stops at the CBR. And, I like not having to stand in yet another line.