Confession Time

[Mortlives]

I have become a deluxe snob. I didn't mean to be. For my latest trip, I had booked a Pirate room at CBR, and then a finishing stay at AKL. But... I wasn't happy. I love the pool at CBR, and the theming, but I just couldn't get into it.

So the minute I got a discount offer, I replaced CBR with BC. I will now accept my lashes from people who rightly love the moderates. What's not to love? They have hot tubs, and awesomely themed pools, and table service restaurants. And yet...

 

[rangerxenos]

I stayed at a Deluxe for the first time last week, AKL, and I'm not sure I want to stay at a Mod again! That being said, as I am frugal, I don't know what I'm going to do next trip. I know that I don't really see myself ever staying at a Value resort again after staying at CSR and POR.

 

[Sweeney1996]

Call me one too then. But, we are not frequenters, we go maybe once every 2 or 3 years, so we save for it. Many years ago(10!) we went to DL and stayed club level at the Grand California(pixie dusted with an upgrade). Then, when we did our first trip to the World, we had myself, my husband, our daughter, and my mom and her significant other, we stayed at CBR. We had 2 adjoining rooms. It was efficient, served it's purpose, beds were small, still full size at that time. Two years later, we came back, minus mom and the SO and stayed WL, heaven!! loved it. My husband has always wanted to stay at the Poly, so that is where we are booked for August. We will not do a value at all, we save and like the upgraded amenities of the deluxes. We probably won't do a moderate either. Now, we do stay standard view, because, that is all the budget allows, but, it is still deluxe for us.

I will edit to add, we get our rooms at a reduced military rate, and only so many rooms are alloted for that rate. So, we feel we get the most bang for our buck, going with the deluxes. We will not consider SOG either. I know the room sizes are comparable, but, the theming of the rooms depress us, and we we like to get "away" from the military culture when we vacation.

 

[pamkat1820]

SNOB ME IN, lol We stayed at AKL, loved it but didn't care for the buses. OK don't kill me We stayed at POR, love the theme and grounds, hated everything else. I was not comfortable in the room at all. I felt very closed in because of the windows that looked right into the room, I felt like I needed to have the curtains closed all the time. We stayed at the YC and I was back in love again.

 

[Astylla]

I will never understand how having an enjoyable stay to your own preferences makes you or anyone a hotel snob lol. It's why I actually love Disney resorts so much because there appears to be something for everyone in terms of comfort , style , pricing and amenities. I'm a firm believer in choosing to stay where you will feel most comfortable not just what you can afford either. I don't think any category is better than the other , it;'s just personal preference and happiness overall which is completely subjective.

I do think that booking what you want versus the best deal is often misguided. If you book a great deal but won't be happy..what's the point ? I only think people are "snobs" when they try to insinuate that anyone not staying at their "level" is a waste of time/money , etc. Definitely to each their own

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I'm a snob too. I once had this notion of staying in every resort. Have done all deluxes (except SSR and OKW), POR, CBR and AoA. I don't want to stay at every resort anymore. Didn't like CBR or AoA. POR was fine, but give me a monorail or EP resort and THAT's a vacation! A split is even better. The less I have to wait for a bus, the better. We also only book with discounts. For us it's deluxe with discount or don't go at all.

 

[maxiesmom]

Be a snob if you want. That leaves more rooms at the Moderate and Values for those of us who like them! You gotta do what makes you happy. Why spend a lot of money on a resort if it doesn't speak to you?

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

Always start low and move slowly up. That is my theory of everything.

A used Honda in youth, then move steadily up to your dream car in old age.

A small apartment when first out of college, to your dream vacation home once the kids are off to college.

Disney Value resorts when you have young children - Deluxes when the kids are grown.

When you start at the top, you don't want to go back, and there's nowhere else to go. You plateau.

When you start at the bottom, you can keep looking forward and moving up.

We are in the Moderate stage now, and we are quite happy. Still room for improvement.

Always climbing the ladder.

 

[maxiesmom]

[QUOTE="AtlantaDisneyDreamer, post: 53610454, member: 500385"

When you start at the top, you don't want to go back, and there's nowhere else to go. You plateau.

When you start at the bottom, you can keep looking forward and moving up.

We are in the Moderate stage now, and we are quite happy. Still room for improvement.

Always climbing the ladder. [/QUOTE]

I really don't agree with this theory. I've stayed at deluxe resorts, and yet I don't feel any need to stay at them for every trip. I like POR much more than I liked the Beach Club. Heck, I like the Sports more than I liked the Beach Club. It has a much nicer food court area, and better bus service. But those things are what are more important to me. Maybe for someone else it is a larger bed and proximity to a park. But I don't think it is as simple as once you go deluxe you are spoiled for anything else. It is more of what makes you feel spoiled. And for me that was not a bus that shared with multiple other resorts and a food court that was bare bones.

Gotta go with what makes you happy.

 

[saskdw]

It's really all about perspective, expectations, priority's, and personal preferences.

I'm not sure how long you go for, but our typical trip is 14 nights. We go every December. For our dates in December for a 14 night trip it is $3000 more for a standard room at AKL over a Business Class room at CSR.

The BC rooms at CSR are close to everything. 2 min walk or less, actually closer than alot of the rooms at AKL. The pool and hot tub are better at CSR. The rest of the amenities are a wash between the two as CSR has a fitness center, spa, sauna, 3 lounges, etc. The BC rooms also come with access to the BC lounge which is "club level lite". The bus service is significantly better at CSR and the rooms are basically the same size.

The advantages for AKL are a balcony and a much nicer lobby (although CSR has a nice lobby too).

So comparing the premier Business Class room at CSR to the bottom end standard room at AKL for $3000 more there really is no comparison. CSR wins everytime.

Yes, a savanah view club level room sounds nice, but now we are talking $5000 more.

If we were going to splurge for a Deluxe resort it would be one of the Boardwalk resorts because of the location. We can just never justify the extra cost over a resort that we already love. If we were people that stay just a few nights and the difference was a few hundred dollars we might look at it differently, but we stay 2 weeks and the difference is thousands.

 

[Mortlives]

I was just a little disturbed to realize I wouldn't be happy at the CBR. I have always wanted to go back, because it was our first resort and I really loved the pool area. But, I guess that's not going to happen. I am still recalling how derisive I was when Sharon Osbourne said something about not being able to abide a 4 start in Fiji, and I'm kind of afraid I am going the same way.

I am not sure I will be crazy about BC theming, it seems a little tame compared to what I am used to, but I like the idea of walking to Epcot and DHS (or taking the boat if I am feeling lazy).

Maybe part of it is that I am travelling solo, and they really recommend that a woman travelling alone should stay in a place with interior room entrances. (Who are they? What do they know? )

 

[buzznina]

Always start low and move slowly up. That is my theory of everything.

A used Honda in youth, then move steadily up to your dream car in old age.

A small apartment when first out of college, to your dream vacation home once the kids are off to college.

Disney Value resorts when you have young children - Deluxes when the kids are grown.

When you start at the top, you don't want to go back, and there's nowhere else to go. You plateau.

When you start at the bottom, you can keep looking forward and moving up.

We are in the Moderate stage now, and we are quite happy. Still room for improvement.

Always climbing the ladder.

[QUOTE="AtlantaDisneyDreamer, post: 53610454, member: 500385"

When you start at the top, you don't want to go back, and there's nowhere else to go. You plateau.

When you start at the bottom, you can keep looking forward and moving up.

We are in the Moderate stage now, and we are quite happy. Still room for improvement.

Always climbing the ladder.

I really don't agree with this theory. I've stayed at deluxe resorts, and yet I don't feel any need to stay at them for every trip. I like POR much more than I liked the Beach Club. Heck, I like the Sports more than I liked the Beach Club. It has a much nicer food court area, and better bus service. But those things are what are more important to me. Maybe for someone else it is a larger bed and proximity to a park. But I don't think it is as simple as once you go deluxe you are spoiled for anything else. It is more of what makes you feel spoiled. And for me that was not a bus that shared with multiple other resorts and a food court that was bare bones.

Gotta go with what makes you happy.[/QUOTE]
I agree with maxiesmom on this. We have stayed at the deluxes, but did not join "Once you go deluxe, you cannot go back" group It comes down to what your family likes, we have had great stays at all levels and for us we just feel that right now the Mods gives us everything we want without breaking the bank. But again it comes down to what you like, indoor hallways may be very important to some but not us and so on.

 

[Masonmj84]

For me, what sets the deluxes apart is location. If we can afford it, we typically split our vacations between at least two deluxe resorts to maximize the location advantage (e.g., at a MK area resort and an EP area resort).

Along those lines, we like CSR and POR a bit better than BC as far as the resort itself goes, but the location of the BC is just so fantastic (a 5 minute walk to World Showcase is heaven, especially leaving the park after Illuminations). Especially, in a split stay scenario where you're just there for your EP and HS days (and, therefore, don't need to rely on busses).

 

[saskdw]

But again it comes down to what you like, indoor hallways may be very important to some but not us and so on.

I might be weird, but when it comes to the WDW resorts I actually prefer the outdoor corridors.

The last Deluxe we stayed at was RPR at Universal. Our room was as far from the elevator as you could get on the top floor. It took quite awhile to walk to the elevator, wait for it, and ride down 7 floors to get to the pool. I kept thinking I would rather be walking outside in the sunshine at CSR.

 

[saskdw]

For me, what sets the deluxes apart is location. If we can afford it, we typically split our vacations between at least two deluxe resorts to maximize the location advantage (e.g., at a MK area resort and an EP area resort).

Along those lines, we like CSR and POR a bit better than BC as far as the resort itself goes, but the location of the BC is just so fantastic (a 5 minute walk to World Showcase is heaven, especially leaving the park after Illuminations). Especially, in a split stay scenario where you're just there for your EP and HS days (and, therefore, don't need to rely on busses).

I agree with your line of thought. The location of the Epcot resorts and the monorail resorts is their big draw, not the resorts themselves. But as I stated above for 2 week trips the cost difference is something we can't justify. We walk over to the Beach Club after illuminations and catch a taxi to CSR. It's a $6, 4 min ride. Beats the extra $4000 for actaully staying at the BC!

 

[L&Lfan]

Deluxe snob here and proud of it! Having said that, I did a split stay last year at Coronado Springs and the Boardwalk Inn with a friend who could only afford a moderate and enjoyed myself completely. She paid for four nights at CS and I paid for four nights at BWI. If it ever got to the point where I couldn't afford deluxe digs, I'd definitely stay at CS!

 

[mickey2minnie1]

For me, the resort is my vacation. I love the parks, but when I want to relax, my tropical paradise is the Poly. This summer we are trying POR for 4 nights, which I am excited about, but I have saved to be able to do the Poly for the last three nights.

 

[KNJWDW]

I prefer the deluxe resorts as well. For us, the resort is a big part of the vacation. A lot of people feel they don't spend much time in their room, so where they stay doesn't matter. That isn't the case for us. We go to the parks almost everyday, but we also sit by the pool, relax and enjoy the other amenities of the resort. It makes me happy to know that after a busy day in the parks, I can sit on the balcony for a bit and decompress

 

[GrumpyBelle]

At least you recognize it. When my DD was 12, we stayed at CSR---she walked in and took one look and turned to me and asked "oh mommy, is this where the poor people stay when they come to Disney." DD is the definition of resort snob.

 

[fly girl]

Hello! Fellow snob here!!


Not only am I a deluxe snob, but Disney picked the right family to give an upgrade to CL years ago. Since I got that taste on how nice it is, 8 trips later I still don't want to go back to just a "regular" room. Thank goodness we get the military rate!


Even Dh who just goes with the flow on vacation says he can't go back to non-CL rooms. Pitiful, you bet! But we love it!