Has Anyone Stayed Deluxe After Value and Not Been Impressed?

[Madi100]

We've stayed at AS Music, AS Movies, and Pop Century. We've been very happy with all three of them. I would LOVE to try something else out, though. I've decided on the Contemporary. It's not a matter of money. I can't afford more than $200 a night, or I don't want to. But, has anyone stayed at a value resort and then gone to a deluxe and not been impressed? I know it's easy to happen the other way around, because you get used to the nicer beds and bigger room.

My girls have said they want to stay at the Contemporary. I'm not overly excited about the rooms or the decor, but am excited about the closeness to MK and to the monorail. The Contemporary is the only deluxe I would consider. We've slept on really nice beds, and we've slept on smaller beds. We're more comfortable in the bigger beds because we're used to a queen, we don't mind snuggling. We don't mind the bus transportation. We've been impressed with the value transporation over the deluxe that we've experienced in resort hopping - bus that is. We like doing the quick food court, so we don't NEED a resort with the sit down restaurants. In fact, we did Chef Mickeys, and we hated it. We might try it for breakfast, but never again for dinner. We don't need an exciting pool.

The two reasons for staying at the Contemporary are location and trying something different. So, am I going to be disappointed with the amount of money I'm going to spend?

 

[bigbabyblues]

We've only stayed at ASMo once, but we really liked it. DH wants to try the CR next trip as well, but I'd be content with a value. Not to say I don't want to try CR, but I don't want to spend a ton of money on it either. We liked the look and feel of the CR when we went there for dinner, and the monorail is a huge plus, also the walkway to MK. I don't know that we'll try other deluxes either tho.

Sorry, not much help!

Steph

 

[wld]

Went from a moderate (all of them) to a deluxe WL. Yes we were disappointed but fortunately we had got a good rate for WL. I didn't think it would be worth the money if we hadn't got a great rate and would rather spend the money on other things. We stayed at pop last time and weren't disappointed to move from deluxe to value. We are giving deluxe one more try with AKL and Poly this trip.

 

[pumba]

our family started off with Moderates......four times at Port Orleans when it was port Orleans and three times at Dixie landings and then over to All Star movies and then to Movies again and then four times to Dolphin and then back to Port Orleans French Quarter and then back to Movies twice......I absolutely Love Movies ......and I was not disappointed with going there after being at the dolphin.....I absolutely loved the Dolphin for the transportation and being so close to MGM and Epcot.......we had a grand time going from all three of these resorts........

 

[jeepgirl30]

I stayed at CSR several times then stayed at the Dolphin. Really did not care for the Dolphin. A few of the CSR trips were for company conventions. The Dolphin trip was a tradeshow. The Dolphin felt like I was there for business while CSR did not. I liked the location of the Dolphin but really missed the Disney feel.

I also stayed at GF for a sales meeting and incentive trip. While the GF was impressive and absolutely beautiful I would not stay there on my own dime. I can not justify the expense for the room. I had a breathtaking view of the castle which would be nice for my DD but for the price I'd rather spend the money taking her to Princess meals.

For our next trip we are really needing to budget so we are doing value. I'm sure I'll miss my CSR but the kids won't know the difference! When they are older hopefully we can afford the Poly or CR! I really have no desire to stay at GF again.

To answer your question, I was not disappointed with GF but not overly impressed either. I was disappointed with the Dolphin.

 

[susy]

I'll be honest.... I would not judge the other deluxes by the CR. I thought it was just plan old BLAND when we ate dinner there while staying at the WL. I was SO GLAD that we were at the WL! The deluxes are VERY impressive, but the CR was just blah to me with a very concrete, in-need-of- a paint-job look. You may not feel like you are really jumping up to something great. The very UNSHADY pool area seems really out of place in FL- and I live in FL, so I should know! The YC was to die for , as was AKL and the WL!

 

[LindaR]

We've never stayed in a value (they don't appeal to us). We have always preferred the moderates and stayed in them. One year I got a very good postcard rate for AKL and so we upgraded and stayed there. I DO like deluxes, but DO NOT like AKL. I will only stay deluxe if I get an exceptional rate because we spend most of our time at the parks anyway and don't use all the perks of a deluxe.

Give it a try. You will never know until you do.

 

[spiceycat]

can you wait a year - WDW is putting money into CR right now - the 3 year rehab is now surpose to be a year -

they might be through in Dec - but I doubt it.

believe me CR will be a showcase again when they are through.

If you really need to go in Dec - make sure you get one of the rehab rooms.

the things we liked about CR - it looks like the new plan is doing away with - the big game room, snack bar - are going to be a restuarant.

However the resort should be lovely.

the rooms we had in the tower on the bay lake side were bigger than the rooms on the MK side.

 

[nygrl]

We've stayed at AS Music, AS Movies, and Pop Century. We've been very happy with all three of them. I would LOVE to try something else out, though. I've decided on the Contemporary. It's not a matter of money. I can't afford more than $200 a night, or I don't want to. But, has anyone stayed at a value resort and then gone to a deluxe and not been impressed? I know it's easy to happen the other way around, because you get used to the nicer beds and bigger room.

My girls have said they want to stay at the Contemporary. I'm not overly excited about the rooms or the decor, but am excited about the closeness to MK and to the monorail. The Contemporary is the only deluxe I would consider. We've slept on really nice beds, and we've slept on smaller beds. We're more comfortable in the bigger beds because we're used to a queen, we don't mind snuggling. We don't mind the bus transportation. We've been impressed with the value transporation over the deluxe that we've experienced in resort hopping - bus that is. We like doing the quick food court, so we don't NEED a resort with the sit down restaurants. In fact, we did Chef Mickeys, and we hated it. We might try it for breakfast, but never again for dinner. We don't need an exciting pool.

The two reasons for staying at the Contemporary are location and trying something different. So, am I going to be disappointed with the amount of money I'm going to spend?

we loved the cr personally i think the decor is a lot more cheery than some of the other deluxes. we also stayed at asm and there is no comparison in my opinion . from room size to convience you will love the cr! .

 

[goofy4tink]

We've also stayed at all levels of resorts at WDW. We did buy DVC at Boardwalk. That being said....we have stayed at the CR and loved it. I was prepared to say..'It's okay but nothing wonderful.' Well, it's one of my favorite spots. I just love everything about it.

But, I also love the AllStars. We stayed in Music last year and I loved it. Staying in Movies in June and I'm looking forward to that. It's funny but dh and I just had this discussion last night. We have a friend that stays only at GF. He says his wife is a resort snob. I asked dh if these friends avail themselves of any of the stuff that GF offere...fitness, spa, fine dining, etc. He said he didn't know but would ask. We don't use those type things at BWV. The pool is nice and dd loves the slide. But I miss having a food court. So, if DVC offered a lesser plan, where I could buy points but for a lesser amount at the value resorts, I'd be all over it in a heartbeat. I just love the value resorts.

But, the CR is fun and you can't beat the closeness to MK. That walkway over to MK from CR is one of my favorite walks!!!

 

[suevee]

We like doing the quick food court, so we don't NEED a resort with the sit down restaurants. In fact, we did Chef Mickeys, and we hated it. We might try it for breakfast, but never again for dinner. We don't need an exciting pool.


We have stayed at the CR ($89 SoG price), WL ($109 annual pass price), and Poly($179 annual pass price) when SoG was being rehabbed. We really loved them. BUT the food courts leave a lot to be desired. Remember that the moderates and values have many more rooms than the deluxes and so the food courts are much nicer than the deluxes. The CR did have a great game room. That said, we would take the boat from the CR to the Trail's End Buffet for meals. It is the most reasonable WDW restaurant around. It is easy to get to by boat from the Poly or CR but a pain by bus or driving. We also took the monorail to the Poly a lot for their restaurants. We would go again in a heartbeat, IF the price was right. We like the pools.

 

[scrump]

I think it would be nice to try something else as well. We tend to like the value resorts since we stay in the parks pretty much all day, and don't have a ton of use for amenities or pools, etc. That being said, if it was within budget, I wouldn't be adverse to trying a deluxe! I think it would be nice to try something else as well. We tend to like the value resorts since we stay in the parks pretty much all day, and don't have a ton of use for amenities or pools, etc. That being said, if it was within budget, I wouldn't be adverse to trying a deluxe! The proximity to the MK is a huge bonus, too.

 

[Cass]

I think you sound like a really easy going family that enjoys your holidays no matter where you stay.

I don't think the Contemporary will disappoint you, I think you will love trying something new and different and next trip you will be just as happy to stay at an allstar.

Don't sweat it ~ I can't see you being unhappy anywhere

 

[scootch]

I have only stayed at the Polynesian. I did a ton of traveling in my 20's.... a ton(hawaii twice, virgin islands, ect...) and I found the Poly to be absolutely wonderful. The tiki lights, the large rooms, the queen beds, the balcony's.... wow. I really think you get what you pay for at most resorts. `

 

[sotoalf]

Listen, unless you're a big group, you should only stay in a Deluxe unless you're willing to use at least some of its amenities. If you're going to be at the parks all day the size of the food court, number of sit-down restaurants, the gym, pools, and room service are not going to be priorities.

 

[Madi100]

Thanks for all of the replies. On our last trip we really tried to do some things outside of the parks. We ended up being on the bus quite a bit. I would love to do the Hoop Dee Doo Revue. It would be so convenient to jump on a boat and go over rather than taking a bus from our resort to a central location that goes to Fort Wilderness. I think it would be fun to rent the Water Mice. We can do that from Downtown Disney, but how convenient to have it at our resort?

Honestly, the last thing that I would look at is what the resort looks like, except for the darkness. Wilderness Lodge doesn't appeal for that reason. I've stayed in the value resorts, and it's not something I'd decorate my home in, but we really like the values. So, people saying the Contemporary is ugly isn't going to change my mind about the resort. I know the Grand Floridian is beautiful. But, it seems a little too stuffy for me. So, if we did go with a deluxe it would be for location only.

As far as using the amentities, I look at the location as being one of those.

 

[DAWGPOUNDAJ]

Hey there! Okay first thing to consider is are you going to be totally reliant upon Disney's transportation services? I've stayed at all 3 levels of Disney resorts, and have been there going on 12 times now, and when you are totally reliant upon their transportation a deluxe is a nice option, and the contemporary has the close proximity. Of course transportation at moderates and value resorts is not bad at all either. In fact I've never had a problem with transportation at any hotel in Disney World, it's just that the deluxe ones on the monorail service tend to be the quickest. If you don't mind waiting the extra few minutes, like 5-10, then the other ones are just as fine in my opinion. Honestly thats the only real advantage I've seen though when it came to staying at the Contemporary.

Also, I know you said your children were the ones who wanted to stay there, but did they look around it at all on their last trip there? I've never stayed there but have shopped and eaten there, and as a kid I remember thinking it had little in terms of theming to amuse me. I'd just make sure they'd really enjoy that over the All Stars, for instance, before spending the money on it. I've just never met a child who preferred that resort to the others, (of course thats my limited experience as well), so was surprised to hear that. However, this is Disney, so no matter where you stay you'll have a blast!

And to answer your question yes. In fact the only Deluxe that I have EVER been impressed with has been the Polynesian. That resort is simply fantastic. But I hated the Grand Floridian with an unrivaled passion (very bad experience there) and that was after having stayed at every one of the moderates and I have now stayed at all 3 All Stars and I would take them over the Grand Floridian any day of the week. I'm not sure if that would apply to the Contemporary as well however simply because resorts liek the Polynesian were fantastic. Good luck in your decision!

 

[Carrieberry]

Our first trip we stayed at the Poly. Didn't care for it and my DH said he would not go back to WDW. Wasn;t that anything really happened or was wrong with the Poly it just did not appeal to us due to it's location. We like to be more centrally located on property. After much convincing I got my Dh to agree to go back the filoowing year on a trip for just me and him. Believe it or not it was cheaper to go to WDw then any other location we looked into. We went back and stayed 2 nights at ASmo and 2 and what was then DxL. We loved both hotels so much! The decor really appealed to us as did the boat to DD at Dxl. We LOVED ASMo and would stay there every time if the rooms were bigger. We now rent DVC points so we can stay in the bigger places, but we would go back to ASM anytime. The only other deluxes we have stayed at have been AKL (did not care for this AT ALL) and Beach Club Villas (our ultimate favorite when we go without the kid's). I would only stay at the CR if i could stay in the tower. I would never fork over the $$ for a graden room. I would go over and stay at WL (one we really want to try) for the money and get a better view. I have no interest at all in staying at GF. I would try the Boardwalk just because that location right outside of Epcot is the best on property I think. Right inbetween Epcot and Studios and central to Mk and AK. This trip we will be back at POFQ which we love, and then over to a 1 bedroom at OKW. I will let you know when we get back if we liked it better than the ASMo! The thing with the deluxes that we miss when we stay at them is the lack of food courts. They really are something we wish we had when we have been at the deluxes and the little food places like Mara and Captain Cooks just are not the same.

 

[cavecricket]

I would rather work 3 jobs then stay all star again. just not the disney feel for me. i prefer AKL i really dont see myself staying anywhere else. anyway to each his own!!! have fun regardless!!!

 

[eeyore0062]

No, but I have stayed Deluxe after moderate and not been impressed. Having stayed at PO-R we stayed at WL, and it was a real let down. The rooms weren't much bigger than those at PO-R, but the furniture was MUCH bigger, so the rooms were very cramped. Also, compared with the interior decoration of PO-R (stayed both Alligator Bayou and Magnolia Bend), the room decor at the WL was much more dark and drab. We actually liked the interior of AS-Mo better.