Deluxe or Moderate?

[Krystal659]

Early May

Then I would certainly take the pool situation at the moderates into consideration. Both of the ones you have listed appear great! I am eager to try Sebastian's Grill at CB, people seem to really enjoy it. Good luck making the difficult choice between resorts!

 

[Gehrig1B]

Of the two, Beach Club... walk to Epcot and 12 minutes by Skyliner to DHS. Carribean Beach has the Skyliner advantage but when you return to the resort there is but one bar, one decent restaurant, and breakfast is only QS. At Beach Club you have 6-8 restaurants 5 minutes away, a number of lounges and bars, a great pool. Two amazing ice cream parlors... Jelly Rolls for the adults. And that doesn't include Epcot's many eateries and drinking holes...

 

[JPM4]

We have stayed at Caribbean twice since the Skyliner went online and am booked there again early May as well. The pool is great and the grounds are quiet and peaceful. It’s also a 5 minute walk to the Rivera and you can pick up the Skyliner direct to Epcot without having to make other stops. Also there’s a couple of bars and restaurants at Rivera you can check out like I said it’s a quick walk

 

[JM_97]

It doesn't end. Just found a rate at Coronado Springs in the tower that is almost the same price as Caribbean Beach. It has an interior hall which I prefer. No sky liner but still looks like a great pool and love the dining options.

I really underestimated the available choices here.

 

[Krystal659]

The tower looks great, but I worried about the bus travel time if I wanted to leave the parks in the middle of the day (summer trip). I think the skyliner or ease of walking to Epcot would push me to one of the other two you previously listed. If it were a winter or spring trip I would do the tower, it looks amazing!

 

[MichaelWill&Megan'sMom]

We love Deluxe because we have three older kids and the moderates just don’t work for us anymore. That said - we love POR - the theming is just right, the pool and pool bar are fantastic, and then there is Yee Haw Bob...

Another thing to consider,Caribbean beach just got redone and had gondola service to HS and Epcot! Good money saver with transportation perks. Plus, your food options expand with a walk to the Riviera.

As for deluxe. We almost always choose BC (or YC is it is cheaper or BC is full). I missed those booking free dining for this summer, so we are checking out the Riviera. Boardwalk just really needs a refurbished (IMO) and the pool is creepy.

 

[Specter]

If this was already asked I missed it, but how many/what ages in the travel group? I ask because I think that can sway the thinking.

For example, DW and I have stayed at Poly before and loved it, but that was more of a splurge trip. We typically stay at Coronado Springs and have greatly enjoyed that, too. We discovered on our last trip that even just the two of us, we like a little midday break though we don't hit the pools then. We usually just lie down, freshen up before our dinner ADR, and recharge a little. We do often enjoy an evening swim and especially a few days into the parks when you've put a lot of miles on your feet, just floating and soaking in a quiet pool when it's nice and quiet out and the sun has gone down is pretty great.

But, now we have DD and have to start planning more around her. We are still doing Coronado for our upcoming trip in March, but she will only be 10 months old. But when she gets a bit older we will look at things like park proximity and pool areas a little more closely to make sure that she will enjoy herself there. DW and I have already discussed savanna view rooms at AKL even though the resort is further from most of the parks, or Poly to be on the monorail line, or BC/YC/Boardwalk if DW seems to favor HS or Epcot.

 

[JennP78]

If this was already asked I missed it, but how many/what ages in the travel group? I ask because I think that can sway the thinking.

For example, DW and I have stayed at Poly before and loved it, but that was more of a splurge trip. We typically stay at Coronado Springs and have greatly enjoyed that, too. We discovered on our last trip that even just the two of us, we like a little midday break though we don't hit the pools then. We usually just lie down, freshen up before our dinner ADR, and recharge a little. We do often enjoy an evening swim and especially a few days into the parks when you've put a lot of miles on your feet, just floating and soaking in a quiet pool when it's nice and quiet out and the sun has gone down is pretty great.

But, now we have DD and have to start planning more around her. We are still doing Coronado for our upcoming trip in March, but she will only be 10 months old. But when she gets a bit older we will look at things like park proximity and pool areas a little more closely to make sure that she will enjoy herself there. DW and I have already discussed savanna view rooms at AKL even though the resort is further from most of the parks, or Poly to be on the monorail line, or BC/YC/Boardwalk if DW seems to favor HS or Epcot.

I was going to say something similar.

When DS was very little, we stayed at BWI and it was great to be in walking distance to two parks because if DS fell asleep in the stroller I didn't have to fold it up.

Now that he's older, that isn't as much of an issue. I still enjoy the Deluxe resorts for other reasons, but now we're more open to mods, which is nice because we can go more often!

 

[buzznina]

First, if you do not plan on going to WDW a lot and deluxe fits into the budget, I would say deluxe. Plus with a mid-day break it is a bit easier.
For our family, over the last few years we have a very hard time justifying the cost difference of a deluxe, so we usually pick a Mod.
We went to WDW over Thanksgiving on a more budget trip and got a great deal ($99) at POP and absolutely had a great time, especially with them having the skyliner. Yes, we had to get use to the room size and only 1 sink, but that actually led to some funny moments during the trip, which added to our fun.

 

[JM_97]

This will be an adults only trip. That is the main reason we aren't looking at values. They are a lot cheaper, but we aren't too big on the decor. Beach Club or Wilderness Lodge are our picks for deluxes!

This might sound too picky but not a fan of the open hallways. If I am paying a lot of money, I'd rather walk into an interior hall, especially in the summer months when the weather changes in 30 minutes. The Coronado tower looks so nice, and I found a rate that is not much more than a Caribbean beach room.

I'm also looking more into the Dolphin resort by Epcot/Hollywood Studios. Any experience here? I know it's not officially Disney but I would pay about what I would pay for Coronado, but get a nicer room. Would we miss a lot of the Disney-ness of the hotel? I understand you can some but not all of the perks as a stay in a "official" Disney hotel.

(I'm so sorry for asking so many questions lol but this has been very helpful!!)

 

[sjberg79]

I've stayed at the Dolphin a few times because my husband has platinum status with Marriott from his work travels and we have free trips or at the very least know we will get upgraded. I love staying around the epcot area so if the rates for Beach/Yacht/Boardwalk are just too much, I know I can always find something at Swan/Dolphin and it's always more at a moderate rate. The only thing I ever miss is that I can't charge things to my magic band while in the parks, I do like that perk. But that's it, the rooms are nice and the location of Epcot/HS is fantastic and the price is great compared to the "real" Disney resorts there. We don't use the Magic Express, we always get a town car to/from the airport so losing that doesn't bother us. They still have the same shuttle buses to the parks so we do use those. If you can handle charging things in the parks by using your actual credit card or paying cash instead of scanning your wrist, then the Dolphin is good. If that will bother you too much, then stick to Disney. Or if the added cost of transportation to/from the airport makes it not good for you. If this is an adult only trip, you will love being able to walk right over to World Showcase over at Epcot. That would be my own personal choice but that's because I love going over there and drinking around the world and then being able to walk back to my resort.

 

[loves to dive]

If it's worth it is really subjective, yes for some no for others. Our first 10 or 15 years of going to WDW the only resorts on property were Deluxe so that was what we did. At first it was the MK resorts because the others didn't exist. After they built the Epcot resorts, we started using those since we spend at least part of every day at Epcot. Now, we tend to do split stays with a day or two at a value or moderate then move over to Swan/Dolphin, which is a deluxe at a moderate price. It works for us since we drive down and get there around 2 or 3 so aren't in the room much that first night. If we stay two nights before moving to Swan/Dolphin that second day is an AK day since you have to bus there no matter where you stay.

As far as CR, we have stayed there back when we were staying at MK resorts and it's our least favorite of all of them. I just don't like the design of it. The MK resorts hold no appeal to us now, MK is a half day park for us, although we might hop over there for a hour here or there throughout our stay. I'm not a fan of the monorail and that is the only way to get to Epcot from those resorts.

We have stayed at a moderate (CSR) for an entire trip without a split stay once, it was a 4 night last minute week before Chirstmas trip and all that was available. We had no problem with being there as opposed to our beloved Epcot resorts, the buses were no problem and its a nice resort. We have stayed at CSR a few times during split stays and it is my favorite moderate, POFQ is my least favorite.

 

[beccasmom]

We stayed at the CR on our very first WDW trip in 1981 and many times thereafter. We generally stayed in one of the garden wings (there were 2 back then) to save money. It holds wonderful memories for us! But we started staying at moderates when they opened (hello, Caribbean Beach!) due to budgetary concerns. We then purchased a DVC membership in 1992 and almost exclusively booked DVC properties after that (we love the extra space). But every so often we stay for a few nights at the CR (sometimes club level) at the end of a trip. The tower rooms are wonderful and I highly recommend them (wonderful theme park or lake views). They are not overly posh, but are large and comfortable. The garden wing rooms are exact duplicates, except they don’t have the same views (although sometimes you can luck out with a garden or lake view), but fine for those without the budget for a tower room and they are certainly quieter (no atrium). The pools are nothing special, so kids may be disappointed there, but they’re fine for adults. The restaurants are terrific (we love The Wave). The CR is iconic to me due to precious moments shared with my family. We love our DVC, but the CR will always hold a special place in my heart (and I obviously can’t be impartial about it!).

 

[Deb & Bill]

Our first stay at the Contemporary was in the then South Wing (they were starting tear down of the North Wing where BLT now stands). We had a room that faced the pool and it was very nice. The room was extra large and comfortable for us. The walk to the main building was so easy and took almost no time at all. It was really nice to not have to wait on an elevator if we didn't want to since there are only three floors in the Wing Bldg. If you are in the tower, you will want to wait for an elevator. We used DVC points for our stay, but with the Wing Bldg requiring less money to stay there, it's a real win to book that area.