Ever go from Deluxe to Moderate and not hate it ?

[pooh2001]

The Moderate resorts seem to have nice theming - but less square footage, no closet doors and your door leads to the outside weather.
Would you hate moving from Deluxe resorts to moderate resorts ?

As our kids get older- we spend less time in the room. As long as the moderate resort can handle a cot (DD & DS not in the same bed), it may be a better deal for us.

We have only stayed in Deluxe resorts - CR tower, WL pool/gyzer view, and the Dolphin - twice: resort view and pool view.

What about Moderates ? CSR looks nice and maybe CB (has largest rooms?)

Would you be disappointed in your room if you stayed at a moderate ?

Which one would you select ?
CSR
CB
POR
POFQ

 

[catbertdave99]

We stayed at WL (view of the lake) and AKL (savannah view). Loved the balconies, loved the resorts, and when finances resulted in us trying CBR instead, I was concerned that I wouldn't like it.

Turns out CBR is our new favorite! We love the quietness that the spread-out nature of the resort gives. Preferred locations in Martinique and Trinidad North are close to the food court and gift shop, as well as the main pool, but Jamaica and Aruba and the rest of Martinique are close also.

We also like the food court. We're not big sit-down restaurant people, and the mods have better food courts than the deluxes. We also like that CBR has 6 quiet pools in addition to the main pool. We almost always have the quiet pool to ourselves, and that helps us get a nice break from the parks.

Maybe some people wouldn't like the mods after a value, but we PREFER to be at CBR now!

 

[penguincrazie]

We usually stay at POR but just returned from BWI yesterday. BWI was very nice, the room was so much more spacious. However, we could go back to POR and still like it. We will miss the extra room, but its doable.

 

[hockeybabe]

Our first stay was at WL...loved it! Our second stay was longer, so we downgraded to a moderate, CSR and we....loved it! Yes, the room was a little smaller, but not too noticeably. One sink, but more counter space. No closet doors, but a curtain seperating the sink area from the bedroom area...I wish the deluxes had that! I could get up in the morning, take my shower and make my coffee and not disturb the rest of the family as they slept in! It was great! CSR has central air, so no wall units going on and off loudly all night like I thought we'd have to put up with in a non-deluxe resort. Ceiling fans, hair dryers, coffee makers, iron and board, small table and chairs and fridge are all included. The pool is awesome, IMO the best on property (outside of stormalong bay, of course). The resort doesn't share buses with any other resort, and only has 4 stops, with the last being at the main building, so you can bus there if you want to. We stayed in the cabanas, and loved it. The quiet pools were always empty. There were little lizards and bunnies on the paths, and these giant hammocks on the white sand "beach". We don't spend alot of time in the rooms, but it was still a great resort and we wouldn't hesitate to stay there again if deluxe was out of our budget.

 

[AGPrincess]

My family's stayed at most of the moderates, and my favorite is the POFQ. I love the food court (especially the beignets) and the themeing is awesome. I love the way the pathways have sidewalks and street signs and there are little gardens everywhere. Plus, you're never excessively far from the main building. At CSR, b/c of the lake, it seems like it's a lot farther away from some of the rooms -- it's quite a hike back to the lobby!

 

[daannzzz]

I have done it a couple of times.

One year we did 3 nights at the Grand Floridian, then 3 nights at the Wilderness Lodge and ended with 3 nights at Coronado Springs. We had a great time and loved the trip. I love the themeing and layout at the moderate resorts just as much as the deluxe.
We also did 3 nights at the Animal Kingdom Lodge in a deluxe room. Had one of the rooms under the thatched hut roof with a large balconey. We then moved to Port Orleans French Qaurter and , even though that is my least favorite of the moderates, we had a great time!
It all depends on your outlook and if you are happy to be there.

 

[bradk]

i've stayed at AKL and CR and i'm very happy with POFQ

 

[PoohsFan1]

We always go to Disney during the Value season therefore we always stay in a Delux resort. This time we are leaving in 2 weeks so we downgraded to a Moderate (POR). I have visited this resort and ate at Boatwright's, the grounds look awesome and I love the fact that there is a ferry that goes to DTD. However, the one thing I know I am going to miss is the balcony. I love to just go out to the balcony in the morning with my cup of coffee and just watch whatever. Up until a week ago I kept looking online to see if there was any rooms available in any of the Deluxes but could not justify spending the amount of money that we would of had to pay. I would rather spend that money on something else. When we go back to Disney during the value season, whenever that may be, I know we will definately go back to a Delux.....but who knows my taste may change in 2 weeks.

 

[plutospup]

We've stayed at BC, CR, WL, and AKL. Our last trip we stayed at CSR...and very much enjoyed it! The pool area is great, and we enjoyed the Pepper Market, and Maya Grill as well. The landscaping is beautiful! I would not hesitate to stay at CSR again. In the past we have also stayed at CBR, but didn't like it nearly as much as CSR. One of the reasons was that CSR has central air conditioning (like the deluxes), while CBR has the traditional air conditioners that I find are much noisier.

 

[cara loves the poly]

look up seaspray, she had a very nice review and i think the title was "is deluxe worth it".......she did a great job of comparing the two. I think you will find it helpful.

 

[magicmouse2]

Moderate resorts are the best value for money. You get plenty of resort activities, hot tub, pool with slide, a sit down restuarant and lovely theming. I personally prefer the door to our room opening out to the world as it gives a sense of freedom. Yes the deluxe rooms are much nicer, more convenient to parks and have balconies, but we always have a hire car, and spend very little time in the room anyway. We stayed at the GF. The next trip we stayed at POFQ. The GF is hands down the prettiest resort, but the outdoorsand theming of the POFQ appealled more to us, and the room decor was almost as nice as the GF due to a recent rehab. If cash were no problem I would probably stay at the POLY and the Beach Club. We work and save hard for our WDW trips so a moderate suits us fine.

 

[NMW]

We have a family of 5, so a moderate is just not a possiblity for us. Even if we could, I think the double beds as opposed to queen beds would really bother us after a couple nights. I don't know if any moderates let you get cots-maybe someone else can answer that for you.

 

[imatoad]

We love POR and recently stayed at CBR which was also very nice. However, one of the things we really missed not staying at the Poly was having the monorail at your door. I didn't mind driving from our moderate to the parks etc., but after a long day it is so nice to just jump on the monorail from MK or EPCOT and leave the driving to someone else. We've never really used the bus service so I can't speak on behalf of it.

 

[lou7401]

As you can see from my signature, we have stayed in a range of resorts and it's never bothered us. We travel quite a bit as a family and where we stay (Disney or otherwise) depends on what other trips we are doing that year and how much money we are budgeting for the trip. I plan our vacations about 6-12 months in advance and I usually ask the family "is Disney our main vacation next year (in which case we spend more on the hotel) or is it an 'extra' (in which case Mod or this year - Value).So I guess what I'm saying is we love Disney and we are happy to be there regardless of where we are staying. I've also concluded based on what I've read here at DIS that my family cares a lot less about the room itself compared to many on this board. They are all nice to us but at the same time, we don't compare a $150room to a $400 room.

 

[pepe of ohio]

When our children were still with us, both married now, we always stayed deluxe, just for the convenience of room and space. We have been twice to a value, forced stay during a hurricane after 10 nights deluxe ubtil storm passed, and once at a moderate for one night before a Disney cruise and didn't care for the room size, ammenities or general layout. We prefer the whole resort under one roof, we take enjoyment and pleasure our of our vacations and pamper ourselves to stay deluxe. Now that its just the 2 of us, we spend alot of time at our resort, prefer a themed pool, good location and extra ammenities. Our 39th trip is this September, we're on property for 10-12 nights, we have AP's and like to picnic at our pool, do the late night dip and reminence about the vacation and just enjoy the feeling of deluxe while we're in WDW before we return to the mundane world of going home.

 

[stacy6552]

we went from deluxe to value and were fine, felt like we were getting what we paid for...then we went to a mod and didnt like that. I didnt see the added value for the price over the values.

 

[SeaSpray]

I've gone from a Deluxe to a moderate and not hated it! LOL

Last month I stayed at POR for the first time and really enjoyed the resort. Here's a link to my review (pictures are on my web site):
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1451957&referrerid=&highlight=

Here's a link to the thread that Cara Loves The Poly was referring to:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1457995&referrerid=&highlight=


I hope this helps a little with your decision.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

We have stayed at AKL twice and loved it. The balconies, sit down restaurants ( Boma & Jiko ) etc. But we always seem to go back to our favorite POFQ. We just love everything about POFQ. The boats to DD are just great. It is so relaxing to hop on one in the evening and slowly make your way to DD.

 

[danj]

We stayed at CS and it was okay,but I think we have been spoiled by the convenience of the deluxe resorts with being so close to the parks

 

[TammyPB]

YES! We had stayed at BWI, AKL twice, and YC.

Last summer, we decided to try Port Orleans Riverside. LOVE IT! The pool is way bigger. The food court has so much more to offer. And best of all, if you have a car, it's so easy to get around. We just drove everywhere. Our car was parked right outside of our room, so that was really sweet.

Don't know if we'll stay at a deluxe again.