Any regrets upgrading?

[Minnesota!]

to the OP- regarding the connecting rooms at the Value's. Both times I have stayed and requested connecting rooms, my request has been met.

Also, for the first time, I'm taking the plunge to go deluxe this June. I'm staying at the Poly. I'm usually frugal too, but with the military moving us overseas, I'm not sure when we'll be back to WDW (at least for the next three years) so it was worth it to me this trip! I cannot wait!

I will also say - anytime we have requested connecting rooms (gone with friends/family 3x)...our request has been honored.

Worst case - DH stays in one room with some of the kids, you in the other.

The rooms at AKL, while bigger than Pop, didn't feel much bigger than CSR. Just the longer corridor between the door/beds, really.

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

I've never had regrets the times I paid more for better accommodations.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[mad madam mim78]

Each time I have looked to book, and I have watched down to the last minute, an upgrade to deluxe from Coronado has always been more than $1000 (at least 6 nights), and that was to AKL, a bit more for WL. To get to anything on the monorail has always been another $2000 or higher.

We were upgraded for free upon check-in on our last trip this past November to AKL. We loved it there. Now I don't know how we will go back to moderate, but I really can't fathom spending that much more when we don't spend a ton of time at the resort.

So where are these small prices to upgrade? Each time I see all the people who stay at these resorts, I wonder about their spending $5000+ for their trip while I'm only spending $2500. What am I missing? And I'm aware of the DVC rentals, but those aren't at Poly, GF or Contemporary.

I'm with ya! I never seem to find amazing deals. Believe me if it was the difference of 700 dollars I would jump right on that. I guess it has to do with the time I'm going. Thanksgiving week.

 

[tinkermommyof3]

We were going to stay at Bay Lake Tower in a 1-Bedroom Villa. I booked it for 10 nights in August knowing it was value season. We usually stay at the Polynesian but one room was getting tight with a growing family of five. The washer and dryer in the room was a perk of the villa as well. When the Summer promotion came out my August dates were not included. I tried to book BLT during the dates of promotion but it was not available. So we are staying at the Polynesian in mid-July under promo to save some money. We are not suffering in anyway going back to Poly in one room. We would regret upgrading to Bay Lake Tower with no discount for sure.

 

[mommyrosa2]

OP, I say if you can afford to upgrade, try it, then only you'll know for sure if it was worth it. When we first started going to Disney we stayed offsite - served our needs but we knew the next time it would be onsite. Next trip, we "upgraded" to a value - again, served our needs and was fine. After a few trips, we "upgraded" to a moderate and enjoyed the extra amenities so much that we knew it was well worth it. Next trip, we "upgraded" to a deluxe and well, it's been deluxes ever since. Now that our girls are older, we do enjoy the deluxes for various reasons. Our favorite is the Beach Club as well. There's just something about being able to walk to two parks that we love. We also tour very differently now and take the time each day to actually enjoy the pool and resort. I will admit though, that all of our trips were booked either with a GP discount or a pin code so the upgrade charge was not considerable to us. I can honestly say that while we have never regretted upgrading, I wouldn't hesitate downgrading if that's what my budget allowed. In fact, we are doing a little bit of both this year. Our family vacation this year will be at our favorite moderate (CSR) this summer and DH & I will enjoy the BC for an adult only trip in the Fall. Whatever you decide, do it with no regrets ...

 

[goofy4tink]

I have considered this. My ONLY hang up is that the whole points thing is terribly confusing to me. I know that's really bad but I DO NOT get it. Purchasing the points is one thing. Then apparently there are wait lists I think? That whole thing scares the poop out of me. I just go with what I know .

http://www.dvcrentals.com/PointsCalcNew/PointsCalc.asp

This is a link where you put in your dates and it tells you the cost of the various properties...should you get up the courage to check out DVC points.

I really don't think the little bit of extra room you get at a deluxe is worth spending all that addtl money. Yes, they are nicer than moderates, but if you're paying full price, then it's not a good use of money! But, that's just me.
I would look into David's DVC rental site. He is very trustworthy. I have used him to get rid of points that I had 'lying around'. But, you can't change your plans without there being penalties!!

If it were me, I would go with either two rooms, connecting, or just get a suite at one of the value resorts. Most people find that they are able to get connecting rooms with little problem.

 

[Tink415]

This question is for the frugal. I am pretty thrifty for the most part. I'm not cheap....I just love value. I like to get the most for what I pay. I've recently always picked the cheapest option for resorts for my family of five. Usually PoR. I love the resort. It's beautiful. The only thing is the room is really a tight fit. Not really a big deal but definitely no room to move.

I'm considering spending more money this time. I guess what I'm asking is have any of you done this? Put aside your frugal ways and upgraded? Did you regret it? Did you get your money's worth? Please.....do tell.

We own DVC at OKW (bought resale) but still stay at other resorts, room only or sometimes with a package, regularly. IMHO the only deluxe resort regular rooms that give you significantly more room in the room are Poly and CR; other resorts may give you the added benefit of a balcony or patio and better storage options, but the rooms are only slightly larger. Personally, I only see the value in paying deluxe prices IF we'll be spending time at the resort and/or get a great rate. No regret with how we make our ressies! Having said that, when we stay at a moderate haven't had more than 4 in the room!

Updated to add: I've considered getting 2 rooms at a value, but since connecting rooms aren't guaranteed (even if confirmation says it is) I haven't done that. I'd also hesitate to rent points as our plans can and do change!

 

[vatali]

This question is for the frugal. I am pretty thrifty for the most part. I'm not cheap....I just love value. I like to get the most for what I pay. I've recently always picked the cheapest option for resorts for my family of five. Usually PoR. I love the resort. It's beautiful. The only thing is the room is really a tight fit. Not really a big deal but definitely no room to move.

I'm considering spending more money this time. I guess what I'm asking is have any of you done this? Put aside your frugal ways and upgraded? Did you regret it? Did you get your money's worth? Please.....do tell.

We went from POR to CR tower. pretty masive upgrade. It actually started at POR, then POFQ then CR GW, then we were like, we are spending X, Y is only a little more, lets get Tower so we feel like we are really at the CR. Long story short, it was the best room we have had in WDW. not because the room was all that much better (it was though) but walking to and from MK so no waiting and very short bus lines to HS made a massive amount of difference vs in POR waiting with everyone else at the bus stop.

Do I regret it? Yes and No. It was a lot of money, a lot mroe than I would normally be comfortable spending. But the real issue is now that I have stayed in a monorail hotel, I have serious doubts i'd go back to staying in a mod. This is my biggest regret, that to have an enjoyable WDW vacation now my limits have been set higher and I will have to pay a lot more in the future.

 

[pamkat1820]

I am the same way, I have to get the most for my money or I'm not happy. I don't mind spending the money if its the best deal I can get.

On our last trip we stayed in the RR'S at POR - it was nice but I was missing something. We went to dinner at cape may and I fell in love!

The quote threw disney was over $3800 with food & tickets. Ouch!

I found a TA with a great quote YC club level (I always wanted to stay, CL just once) 7 days with 6 day base ticket with my food budget it came out to about the same price.

For me the added club level made the ouch not as harsh lol. I feel like I'm getting more bang for my buck. And if I wanted to we could book a standard room for even cheaper!

We looked into renting points and I know some ppl feel you only sleep in your room. But if I'm spending the money I'm spending to travel to disney I want a great room. My husband works hard all year I'm a stay at home mom with a small business we deserve a nice vacation. I'm sorry but the villas look like they need some major updating to me. - please don't flame me I just have bed spread issues

 

[mad madam mim78]

We went from POR to CR tower. pretty masive upgrade. It actually started at POR, then POFQ then CR GW, then we were like, we are spending X, Y is only a little more, lets get Tower so we feel like we are really at the CR. Long story short, it was the best room we have had in WDW. not because the room was all that much better (it was though) but walking to and from MK so no waiting and very short bus lines to HS made a massive amount of difference vs in POR waiting with everyone else at the bus stop.

Do I regret it? Yes and No. It was a lot of money, a lot mroe than I would normally be comfortable spending. But the real issue is now that I have stayed in a monorail hotel, I have serious doubts i'd go back to staying in a mod. This is my biggest regret, that to have an enjoyable WDW vacation now my limits have been set higher and I will have to pay a lot more in the future.

Yes this! Part of me doesn't want to walk down this road. My disney obsession is bad enough! I need a deluxe addiction like I need a hole in the head!

 

[mad madam mim78]

I really appreciate all the good feedback! For now I will be booking (I think) 2 rooms at POP in about 2 weeks. I want to be able to make my dinner reservations for thanksgiving week which that will be my 180+10. Then I will wait (impatiently) for special offers and AP discounts to come out and make my final decision. I wish they'd put discounts out sooner!!

I don't want the thread to end though. Please if anyone has more stories, good and bad, about upgrading please share. I really do listen and consider everyone's advice.

 

[glammadiva]

When I was younger I went with whatever was cheapest. But now that Im older, I want to pamper myself, so now stay at the level I can afford and I have never regretted upgrading but I have when I didn't!

 

[gilesmt]

I am sorry I have to compare oranges to apples, but mod to deluxe is that anyway.

We use to stay POR and love love love it and would be back in a minute if we could. But for us and I know it is not the same it is cheaper to go SoG rather than POR most of the time, so we did that the last two times and saved. But I can compare a deluxe hotel which SoG is to POR and let you know what is the difference.

We do love the bigger room. We do love the twin size sofa bed rather than the Murphy bed and for us it works out better, we have 2 DD's, DGD, ex husband and myself, ex gets the sofa and we get beds. The mattresses are more comfortable, to me the resort is just as beautiful but not as Disney.

But when all is said and done, we rush out of our room each morning, hit the parks hard, sometimes take a nap but not always, sometimes hit the pool but not the last two times, and we fall asleep dead tired at night within minutes of getting back to the room. So is it worth it, not if it cost me twice as much so I could only come half as long, I would take the smaller room and come yearly, rather than a deluxe and come every three years. We do it only because SoG is cheaper than poly most of the time when we go.

 

[AThrillingChase]

I am not sure the ages of your family, but when I requested connecting rooms via phone reservations, the woman helping me commented about guaranteed connecting rooms when minor children outnumber the adults I believe? We have mostly adults so I did not listen intently enough, but you may want to call and inquire!

 

[LivingtheWDWdream]

I have been lucky to stay in many of the Disney resorts over the years. We've stayed in most of the values, most of the moderates (except POR), some of the deluxes and one of the DVC resorts (but have seen the interiors and grounds of a few others).

In terms of Value vs Mod vs Deluxe I will say that for Value vs. Moderate to me the only difference in the rooms are theme, values have no hot tub, and no full service restaurant like moderates have (i.e. boatwrights). Now vs. Deluxe the amenities grow tremendously so if the amenities are something that is important to you then you will want to decide what matters vs. what doesn't. But I will say that in terms of sizing, that there will be great differences between resorts, and in price level.

For the sizing of the rooms issue, I would NOT upgrade into the AKL or WL deluxe resorts with a family of 5. The rooms are not much bigger then rooms at POR or POFQ and the quarters will be very cramped for much higher prices then POR. We were a family of 3 at the time and AKL and WL both felt like we were on top of each other.

We stayed at Poly and the rooms are larger but the cost to stay there is way over priced and that is because Disney knows that people want to stay there because of the Nostalgia, the proximity to the MK, and the fact that its a tropical theme. So they price it accordingly, unfortunately my frugal self won't stay there again. We had an AP discount and felt we had been taken advantage of even with the discount. We regretted that upgrade from a Moderate.

We were blessed with a free upgrade from CBR to Saratoga Springs which was a 1 bedroom Villa (not a studio) and the room was very nice spacious and plenty of sleeping space for all of us. The washer dryer was a great bonus, and the resort was very nice. We loved being able to walk to DTD, or water taxi to it, and the buses seemed to run pretty regularly. Had we stayed there and had to pay full price we would have a coronary because of the costs, the free upgrade was thrilling but even with a discount I couldn't justify the cost to do it. BUT I would totally rent points in a heartbeat to stay at either SSR or Old Key West.

We babysat my friends children one night for them at OKW so that they could enjoy a parents night out, and they had a 2 bedroom villa (dvc owners) and the room blew us away with how spacious it was, how nice the resort was, the amenities it offered, and frankly had the pricing for DVC been slightly better for our budgets I think we might have signed on the spot. But it just wasn't in our cards.

Renting through David's site is very trustworthy and is well known on the boards, saves you a bundle on rooms that normally would be well out of range, and will give you amenities you won't have elsewhere, plus you don't have to worry about if rooms will connect or not.

So my suggestion is since the only difference between a moderate and a value in my opinion is a hot tub vs not having one, I would get two rooms at a value with a request for connecting rooms, or book a family suite either at AOA which will give you 2 bathrooms and plenty of bedding and space for your family in one room or to rent DVC points for OKW in a 2 bedroom villa so you can save even more by having breakfast in the room, and maybe having 1 or 2 meals in the villa. To me none of the deluxe resorts are worth the price to upgrade from the moderates.