CBR vs. Value Resort

glowskull9

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Aug 13, 2013
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So my fiancee and I are planning on going sept 19-26 to WDW for free dining, and im currently at CBR with a king room. However, i did some research and getting a value resort and upgrading to the regular dining plan, the difference is $400between value and CBR!!!

So now, I'm really wondering what i should do. I stayed at CBR once back in 1992 as a kid and probably liked it, and have stayed at CSR twice since then, and also enjoyed it very much. If it was just a little amount of money, I would do CBR hands down, but this is a sizeable chunk of change.

I've never stayed at any value resort before, and really have no idea what to expect at all. Will it be louder? Will it not matter because its the off season? Thanks in advance!
 
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The rooms are smaller, not by much when 2 are in the room. Only CS not TS place to eat. No water slide at values or hot tub. All Star musice is nice for adults only. We enjoyed POP a lot and for that amount of money the dining upgrade I would totally look into it. Check out allersnet.com for pictures & maybe youtube for videos of the different resorts
 
For us, a room is pretty much a place to sleep, shower, get dressed, and go. For that much difference, I'd go with one of the values. I prefer the AS resorts to POP--stayed at Pop, Movies, Sports. Would take either Sports or Movies over Pop. Kind of depends on how much time you spend at the resort and what you're looking for there. If you're like our family, save your money!

BTW--only reason we started staying at POFQ is that for our family of four Disney adults, the price of a value + upgraded dining was only about $100 less for 6 nights. Otherwise, we'd probably still be at one of the values!
 
Any value will be louder around the pool area and in the food court. But once you are away from all of that the resort will be pretty quiet. One thing I'm thinking you may miss at a value is a hot tub. Values don't have them.

I do think a value resort will give you more choices at their food court than you will find at CBR. I also found the bus service to be quicker at value resorts, as they each only have 1 bus stop (though on rare occasions the All Stars share which means 3 stops) compared to the 7 stops at CBR.

If you are not hang out in the hot tub, lounge around the pool people, I would pick a value over CBR. Save the money, or do a nice signature meal.
 

Here are the things you will get at a Moderate over a Value. Then it is up to you to decide if these are worth the extra $$ over a Value.

Larger rooms
Double sinks
Coffee maker in room
Queen beds
Lusher grounds
Multiple covered bus stops
Sit down restaurant (Except POFQ but you can walk over to Boatwrights at POR)
Hot tubs
Pool Slide
 
Value resorts have many more food options and are smaller and more compact. I also like ASMusic for adults (as you can see from my signature!); Pop is also nice with a lake view. For ANY value resort, you want TOP floor Landscape (or lake) view--NOT facing the pool.

I Agree with maxies mom, save your money to DO more over the resort.
 
I see I am the first to reply so here goes some biased information for you to consider. My wife and I are in our 60's and we travel down to WDW every year. We usually stay during early February or early November. Lately, we have been staying at the All Star Music. I have been to other resorts but the last five years we decided that the ASMu was the place for us. Let me first tell you that when we are there,there is usually the cheerleaders, bands, dance groups, or pop warner football in attendance. We've seen and experienced them all. We also stay in the Calypso Buildings because we like to be across from the pool and close to the bus drop off. We are getting older and enjoy not having to walk as far in the evening. I have never lost a nights sleep due to excessive noise, NEVER. Our rooms have always been clean and well maintained during our stay. Our biggest reason for staying at ASMu is the staff. We love them all like family, especially the girls in the gift shop, Maestro Mickeys. Nila, Smirna, Michele, Yolanda and Milagros are the greatest. We send each other emails and they know when we are arriving each year-they are all standing there with arms open wide to welcome us when we arrive. The only meals we have here are breakfast and I have never had a complaint on the food. I lie, we always have lunch at the restaurant on the first day we arrive and the last day there as well. We are the type who like to get up eqarly, have breakfast and get to the parks. We are always back in time to spend a few hours at the pool before we head back to the parks for the evening. I don't need a fancy lobby or huge rooms. We are at the parks, not sitting in the room playing on a computer. The pool activities for the kids are always a treat to watch and sometimes we get back in time to view the evening movie fare next to the pool. Movies at night with caramel popcorn from the gift shop is a great way to relax. I have read complaints regarding bus wait times and having to always share a bus with the other resorts. Not true in my case. Maybe I lead a charmed life but in the past four trips, the longest I ever waited for a bus to take me to the park was 5 minutes. Usually, especially in the rush times (early mornings or evenings) you don't share a bus. If you have to share, big deal-add another 5 minutes to a ride that we usually spend talking to the many interesting people we meet down there. I also read complaints that there is no microwave or coffee pot in the room. That is true but I have never made coffee in a hotel room in my entire life of travels. I walk to the front and fill my cup. On the way you get to enjoy the early morning sunshine and feel the warmth in the air. As for re-heating my food-bah. Quit buying so much food. Our stay is always magical because we make sure that it is. Waiting for a bus-talk to those waiting with you. Up early in the AM and just want to take a stroll around the grounds while the wife is taking her shower, grab a coffee and enjoy. You need extra towels, there are always staff around to help you. I, on the other hand, seek out the rolling carts and grab a large handful when I first arrive. Plenty of towels for the entire visit. ASMu is in no way a four star hotel-but we make sure to enjoy it as if it was. I hope this has helped you in some way to make a choice. I can afford to stay at the Grand Floridian if I chose. We tried it once-too stuffy. We love the ASMu and can hardly wait for our next visit-February, 2016.
I almost forgot-we always have a nice comfortable King size bed.
 
This is all great information. What we really liked about CSR was the ambience and aura it had...however, that really didn't exist too much IN the room so much as walking late-night to the pool (which isn't a thing anymore).

Bus stop wait times don't matter as I will be renting a car, and the hot tub was fun and all but it was mostly fun late-nights, when you cannot even access the pool areas anymore. While I am not a "lounge around the pool" person, I am a "swim in the pool" person. As far as pool times are concerned, I know that the feature pools have been all fenced in, are there "quiet" pools that can be accessed latenight as at the other resorts?

The food situation doesn't really matter much either--having stayed at CSR, I was aware that their table service wasn't great, and I also have already made all the dining reservations (dinner TS), and we have generally not really used the hotel CS options in the past anyway. However, I *DO* make coffee many mornings (but really just because there is a coffee maker available), and we eat breakfast in the room with groceries we have purchased so we do not have to buy breakfast (fiancee can't eat most breakfasts out anyway). No microwave could be a problem especially if there is no coffee maker to get hot water, but I suppose we could get around that.

I just realized that noise really wouldn't necessarily be a factor because I can just bring my white noise machine.

Surprisingly, it sounds like all of the responses are backing the value resort. Thanks!
 
I've only stayed deluxe or villas (or off site - many times in Marriott timeshares), but am actually excited about my first value stay with my daughter in the first week of September! Why? Well, she wants to stay at Pop, and with free QS dining, it's a bargain!

We're bringing my old Black & Decker single cup coffee maker. It takes #1 filters. I just bought a pack of filters off Amazon & made sure it works (it does - makes a mean cup of joe). The maker costs maybe less than $20. I cannot get out of bed and going without a cup or two, so am packing it along with filters and good coffee! And a few Splenda packs so all set!

If it were me, I'd see what works best for you. We love QS meals, so it works for us. We've done so many table service meals, and I don't like to plan so much ahead of time. Also, my daughter has a newly diagnosed severe disability, so she may need to go back to the room and rest (and we'll have a wheelchair so she won't have to walk a lot). It's just better for us to snack on the go.

All resorts have microwaves in the food court or quick service place (at least that I know of). If you need one in your room, you can call and ask. If it's necessary they may be able to help you.
 
im saying even after upgraded to the full/regular dining plan, its still a $400difference...
 
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FOr 400 dollars with the same dining plan at each I would save the money and stay at a value resort especially with just 2 people in the room.
 
I would stick to the value resort, you could do a lot with $400! A nice signature meal, some shopping at DTD. Lots of options! As for choice of resorts at values, my fave is Pop. I love the lakeview, its very peaceful and serene. Plus i really like the walk across the bridge over to AoA. I love to look around and even try out their food court. They have some unique offerings! Pop is my fave resort by far!
 
I am going to put an argument for the moderate into play for your consideration.

I have stayed at all the mods and all the values. They all are nice places to stay. I have enjoyed my stay in all these resorts. Where do I prefer to stay? In general, I prefer a deluxe over a moderate and a moderate over a value. However, I have often chosen to stay at values and moderate resorts. Why? Various factors come into the decision concerning where to stay. Budget is a prime consideration. Who I am going with and how I plan to spend my time at WDW are also considerations. Finally, time of year matters. I like a more upscale hotel during hot seasons because I need to escape the heat in the parks and spend more time at my hotel to rest and rejuvenate.

I am going to ask a couple of questions: What is important to you in a resort? What will have the bigger impact on your stay? an extra $55 per day to spend or the added amenities at a moderate resort?

As Dansdad said: These are the things that you get at a moderate that you do not get at a value

Larger rooms
Double sinks
Coffee maker in room
Queen beds
Lusher grounds
Multiple covered bus stops
Sit down restaurant (Except POFQ but you can walk over to Boatwrights at POR)
Hot tubs
Pool Slide

The larger rooms, double sinks, coffee maker and Queen beds all make my time in my room more comfortable. Even with two people, I find these things to be very nice and an aid to both sleeping and getting ready.

Lush grounds means more shade, a peaceful serene place to walk, a place to get away for a few minutes from the almost frantic 'go go go' that a Disney vacation can become. I enjoy the beautiful landscaping at moderate resorts much more than the giant cartoon icons of the value resorts. I would pay $55 per night more for the atmosphere at CBR.

September is hot. I would pay the extra $55 a day for the covered bus stops (relatively near my room) alone. Sometimes it is nice to have TS at your resort. Food courts are often busy and fast paced. Sometimes I want to dine, not just 'grab a bite'.

If you use hot tubs and pool slides, then they are nice additions to the pool. Pools are more important in hot months, such as September when you may want to use them to cool down and rejuvenate mid day.


Good luck with your decision. I hope that you really enjoy your resort - value or moderate.

Enjoy!
 
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The only value option is actually All Star Sports to get that discount. Thank you, babsy, for that breakdown, and to throw a different opinion into the mix. I really do like the atmosphere of the moderates (feels like you really are somewhere else), though i don't know what kind of atmosphere or lack there-of the values have.

I am also toying with possibly staying the first night outside of WDW completely, using advance check in and just going immediately to the parks on the following morning, and staying in CBR. This may have the same cost benefits as staying everynight in a value. We are considering this because the last time we came, we got to epcot after flying in at maybe 7pm and then had a 8 (?)pm dining event, then all we had was illuminations...and it kind of felt like a wasted park day.

Of course, we could just fly in earlier.
 
We had the same option, we could have saved about $600 staying at a value over CBR but chose CBR even with the increased cost. It came down to resort amenities for me. I love hot tubs, I know that I will use the hot tub several times and my daughter will use the pool slides. Also my husband suggested the moderate over a value because he knows that I will be more comfy in a bigger and more comfortable bed. We plan on spending time at the resort so the resort is key to me.
 
I decided if we don't stay at a value at least once, we'll never know if we will like it or not...so I went for it and booked Pop Century and cancelled CBR. The CBR cost was $2,561 for 7 nights/8 day ticket w DDP and park hopper/WPFAM in a king bed. At Pop Century, it's $2090 for the same exact set of things for a savings of $471! Hopefully, we'll get the king bed request honored, and I'll have the knowledge in the future of if i'd like it or not!
 
I decided if we don't stay at a value at least once, we'll never know if we will like it or not...so I went for it and booked Pop Century and cancelled CBR. The CBR cost was $2,561 for 7 nights/8 day ticket w DDP and park hopper/WPFAM in a king bed. At Pop Century, it's $2090 for the same exact set of things for a savings of $471! Hopefully, we'll get the king bed request honored, and I'll have the knowledge in the future of if i'd like it or not!
Yay! Great choice! :thumbsup2 Hope you enjoy Pop as much as we do! :goodvibes
 
you will love the fact that Pop has one bus stop, at CBR which we also stayed at, they have many internal stops before you get to parks or back from them. It was really frustrating for us, other than that the resort looks great. i would choose it if you wanted a lot of resort days and didnt care about a long bus ride.
 


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