Are Deluxe Resorts worth the extra money?

[SFRN97]

Hello this will be our 5th trip we have stayed at both value and moderate. This will be the first time going without a strollerDS will be 9 DD 5. We will be visiting MK before our cruise and Epcot and HS after our cruise. Is the extra price difference worth it for the convince of hoping on the monorail or a quick water taxi ride back and forth from park and resort? Not looking forward to that walk to car at night or to the bus with 2 tired kids with no stroller. TIA

 

[Chuckers]

I don't think anyone can make that decision but you... you've already stated that you're not looking forward to the bus ride back with the kids. Is that little perk worth enough to cover the $100s extra you're going to pay for a deluxe?

For me, it's not. I have stayed at AKL, GF, POR, ASMu and ASMo. This next trip is POFQ. The only deluxe I want to stay at is the Contemporary and that's just for nostalgic purposes. Unless I am going to spend a lot of time at the resort, a moderate is just fine. The most important part of a resort, to me, is the bed. Since that's where I will be spending most of my resort time. The beds at a value are like sleeping on a door.

 

[ziravan]

You won't know if deluxe is right for you until you try. I think it's worth it. My advice: rent moderate for first half and YC/BC for second half (walk into Epcot and HS; Stormalong Bay!!)

Compare the two. My guess: you'll never go back.

(To me, this is like asking if balcony rooms are worth it on a cruise. OF COURSE they are.)

 

[Peanut Butter]

Friends of ours just got back from a trip where they splurged on GF. The mom told me it was not worth it and they won't do it again. Her kids are 9, 7, and 4 (just FYI).

Her biggest complaint is that they just so happened to go at a time when the monorail was down which was the whole point of them upgrading to deluxe so she was really disappointed in that. But she also said that she had trouble finding food at the resort that her kids liked since the restaurants were on the nicer side. I think just in general she didn't find that they were any better than the moderates and not worth the extra money. Perhaps she'd have felt differently if the monorail had been working. Anyway, they are going back in the fall and are staying at Port of Orleans.

 

[kohlby]

We usually stay at the Dolphin, I'm not sure what category that would be in as it's not owned by Disney. It is cheaper than the Disney Deluxes. We did stay at AKL once, which is a Deluxe. It's the furthest Deluxe away but transportation was excellent. My kids loved seeing the animals outside their window. We were upgraded free from a regular room to a room with animal view and bunkbeds - so that alone made it worth it! Without that upgrade though, we still would have been able to see the animals in many spots through the hotel. We picked that one for two reasons. One was that its' the cheapest of all the Deluxe and we had a PIN code for 40% off, making it quite reasonable in price. The other reason is that it's so different. If we were going Deluxe, we wanted something different. And though theming is definitely going to be different everywhere, seeing animals right outside the hotel was even more different.

I wouldn't stay in a Deluxe just for transportation though, but that's us. It would be a lot cheaper to rent a stroller if that's the only reason. (You can rent a stroller from an off-site company so you have it to go back to room still). If your siggy is correct, you still have quite a bit of time before this trip - which will help you know if you really need a stroller still. 5 seems to be the age that can go either way - some kids still need it and some don't. (None of mine needed it for physical reasons and older two did fine without. We are taking the stroller due to sensory issues with my third though, he's 5).

 

[myrheille]

It depends. When you have kids young enough that they need to go back to the room for a nap, then YES, definitely, but only if you go to a resort where you can walk to a park, like the Epcot resorts or the Contemporary. (Monorail might be a good second option, but it seems to be down quite a bit! At least it was when we went.)

Right now we have a two year old who needs her nap, and we plan for our trips in the next three years to be in Deluxes. After that, frankly, I feel like Values will be just fine. Of course, by then we may be spoiled...

 

[Happyjen27]

For me, definitely.

Not because I require posh rooms or gorgeous grounds (although I do like these perks). Simply because of transportation and location.

Especially considering your short time there, it will be so nice to just hop on the monorail or jump in a boat to get to the MK. Or, if you stay at the Contemporary, there's nothing more satisfying at the end of the night than walking by all of those lines for transportation and walking back to your resort.

Also, since it's just a night here and then a night there, you can try out Deluxes without committing to a whole week. Until your next trip.....

 

[rajahfan7]

For me always. I like the extra space and being at an "indoor" hotel if it's raining.

 

[jessicar82]

For us, it's absolutely worth it. We have a 5 yr old and 2 yr old and being able to walk (or take the boat) to and from the parks is priceless. We stayed at values and moderates before and this past Sept splurged and stayed at the Boardwalk. It was great to be able to just take a nice walk back to the resort at night and if we came back for midday naps etc. We have our next vacation booked at the Beach Club for this Sept. We will probably try the MK monorail resorts after we've made our rounds at the Epcot resorts

 

[SFRN97]

Thanks everyone so far. Seems I will have to see exactly how much more we will be spending staying at deluxe vs moderate. DD is 4 will be 5 for the trip and still takes a good 2 to 3 hr nap most days especially after touring so it would be great to leave DH and DS to do rides while I go back to room with DD and not have to drive back and forth. We always rent a car when we go.

 

[asmit4]

Deluxes to us are 'disney deluxe' which is not 'real world deluxe'....so for us- it is not worth it.

However, we have considered the monorail and THAT to us- does make it worth it. The problem is- the monorail has been all wacky with their schedules. What is the point of paying to stay at the Contemporary if you have to bus it like the values do to Epcot?

The whole point to me of a deluxe is the monorail factor. Without it- I feel they are a complete waste of $.

 

[Altoqueenkelly]

For some, yes they are.... For us? No way.

 

[stitchfan18]

I love the locations of the deluxes and the easy transportation. Sitting on our balcony in the morning watching Disney wake up is so amazing. I love hearing the train whistle at magic kingdom and the boat horns on crescent lake, it just really makes me feel like I'm at Disney. I don't get those same feelings at the values or moderates.

 

[branv]

It absolutely is for us. We've stayed at all three levels. Hated values b/c we found the rooms too small and the atmosphere chaotic. We like to come back to the resort midday to relax, and found that napping/relaxing was impossible for us at the value due to noise (mainly the beds being next to the door and the door leading straight outside). Mods were fine, but again, we consider the hotel part of our vacation -- peaceful early mornings drinking coffee on the balcony, strolls in the evening along the beach/boardwalk, no endless walking from point A to B at the resort (do that enough at the parks!), quick trip into a park (or boat ride, which we LOVE doing at the beginning and end of the day. Beautiful views and peaceful). The parks are amazing but tiring to us. We need a place that let's us recharge. I can definitely see, however, how a commando park goer would find spending extra on hotels pointless. That's just not us, though.

Wow, just writing this is making me yearn like crazy for a split BC/WL stay, lol!

 

[SwanVT2]

I would stay at the Swan/Dolphin. You have the convenience without the price tag, lots of dining options, comfy beds and an excellent pool.

 

[mm1971]

It really depends on how you vacation. We normally choose a mod as it was always large enough for our family room-wise and the pools were where we spent most of our down time. If you are spending a lot of time at the resort, then I would say yes it is worth it.

The rooms are bigger, the pools and facilities are bigger/nicer and you get the better restaurants. Nothing beat jumping on the monorail to head to MK and Epcot without driving or waiting for a bus. I would say that if you plan to spend a lot of time at the resort or if you prefer no lessen the bus travel, then spend the extra $$. If you don't mind the buses and such, then go with mod. Our favorite mod resort is POFQ.

 

[monorailsilver]

For me yes! I have stayed at all star sports and the then Dixie landings with out kids and I hated, really hated keeping the window shade closed. It was dark, no sunlight, just yucky. I had stayed at deluxes all prior to that.

I hated, still do, taking the bus everywhere. At least now it's just to DHS, AK and DtD. But add the stroller and the kids forget it!

When our kids napped, if dh and I weren't napping, we could sit out on the lanai, patio, balcony.

So yes for us it is worth it plus we are a family of 5.

 

[msmama]

I like being closer to the parks - Beach/Yacht and Boardwalk are the only Deluxes I've done - and being able to take alternate forms of transportation. Sometimes it's worth it for me, sometimes I decide I'm just fine at Pop, lol. That said, I've never really had issues with bus transportation like I know others have. To me, riding the busses is just part of doing Disney (though I've yet to have a stroller free trip).

My guess is that next trip I'd try a deluxe without a stroller.

For me, it's the moderates I don't get. I don't feel like I'm really getting anything that's worth it to me (though I did love POFQ and would stay there again for the size).

 

[MandiC]

For us, I don't think any deluxe would be 'worth it' unless it was the contemporary (can walk back and forth to MK and the monorail for everything other than AK). We absolutely loved Port Orleans Riverside, which is a moderate, the transportation sucked tbh but the rooms and grounds were gorgeous, lots to do. Thing is, we were rarely in our room! So the extras of a deluxe other than the possibility of walking wouldn't be worth it.
We are thinking of Fort Wilderness for next time, we'd do the cabins since they can fit our family, have a kitchen and there seems to be lots to do there that we enjoyed at POR (campfire, boat rides, outdoor movie), MK is a boat ride away so while you can't walk and don't have the monorail I do consider that a huge advantage.

 

[Raenstoirm]

We always stay deluxe as our main hotel. My goal is to stay at every WDW resort so we do a split stay every couple of trips. But that has had some issues. After 1 night at a value...ick. It was ASM and we will not be going back to any AS ever again. We were all too happy to hop to the contemporary the next night. I still plan on trying pop and AOA though. We have stayed at every mod except FQ. They are lovely and very much worth the upgrade from value. Deluxes just can't be beat. We are doing Boardwalk and Poly this fall (so only GF and AKL will be left on the deluxe to do list). Beach Club is our main hotel and we stay there at least a week or so a year. In fact we plan on buying a DVC there this year. The pool is great and the location can't be beat.