Help-Have not been in 3 years

[Mynamewastaken]

I booked for Friday, Feb 14 (coming in late), to Tuesday, Feb 18. Should I bother booking deluxe for "extra hours?" I think the only date with extra hours is that Mon. and I think there is a paid event that night, so is it even worth spending all that money on a hotel if I have to pay extra for the evening event? I need to catch up on the changes since we've been. Any help/advice is appreciated.

 

[Babsy]

First of all, in order to give any real suggestions it would be useful to have a little more information about who is going and what your plans will look like.
Meanwhile, I'm not really sure what you are asking? Are you considering staying in a particular deluxe resort? Or comparing value, moderate and deluxe resorts in general? I would not consider booking deluxe for extra evening hours alone, (especially that you have to pay for )- I'm not sure that you have to stay deluxe in order to pay for and attend evening hours events. I believe that when you stay deluxe, there may be some evenings when you have free extra evening hours, but with a four night stay, you may not have that opportunity during your visit. Also, with your trip planned for Feb, you may need to look at resort availability and prices. (This may be a bit late for booking, IMO.) Then, with a budget in place you will have a better idea of where you may want to stay.
FWIW:
In general, we usually stay in deluxe resorts these days. However, for many years we have stayed in both value and moderate resorts and enjoyed our stays in all the WDW resort categories. We now stay in deluxe because we enjoy having a balcony on our room, we are older and prefer the additional space and comfort and we like to dine in restaurants rather than food courts. In your situation things may be quite different.
A lot will depend upon your party composition and upon the reasons for your trip. Do you have small children? Then a value resort is often a great fit. Will you spend every day from open to close in the theme parks? Again, value or moderate resorts would be a smart choice. However, if you are looking for a quiet relaxed pace, spending time at the resort and relaxing, then the deluxe resort may be worth the additional fit. There are a lot of factors to consider.
I hope that you have a wonderful visit! Feb is my favourite month to visit WDW.

 

[CarolynFH]

You might find this thread helpful too. It’s pinned to the top of the Theme Parks board. https://www.disboards.com/threads/planning-tips-for-your-disney-world-trip-start-here.3873895/

 

[Maleficent85]

I booked for Friday, Feb 14 (coming in late), to Tuesday, Feb 18. Should I bother booking deluxe for "extra hours?" I think the only date with extra hours is that Mon. and I think there is a paid event that night, so is it even worth spending all that money on a hotel if I have to pay extra for the evening event? I need to catch up on the changes since we've been. Any help/advice is appreciated.

The paid After Hours event on that Monday is at Magic Kingdom. The extended evening hours are 2 extra hours after the park closes is for Deluxe only resort stays or the cabins at Fort Wilderness if booked on DVC points. The extended hours are normally EPCOT on Monday and Magic Kingdom on Wednesday (these can differ at time generally during Halloween and Christmas Part season). The calendar is only out till mid January but that Monday has an after event at MK and there are still extended hours at EPCOT listed that night. If you don't already have a hotel booked you need to ASAP because that is going to be a holiday weekend for a lot of people. We are actually going to adisneyland that weekend. (if booking a room and tickets or a room, tickets and dining plan you can book the room for $200 down and if fully refundable if cancelled over 30 days out) (if you book room only I believe you have to pay the first night in full and it's still cancelable with no fee over 7 days out) (tickets outside of a package are not refundable). As far as upgrading to deluxe that is up to you if you want the extra cost. We personally prefer deluxe but the moderate and value resorts are great to and you get the esrly entry 30 minutes before official park open. If you do stay deluxe and are eligible for extended hours you either have to have a park ticket for that day or a park hopper ticket. If you do decide to go deluxe the most affordable rooms will be at Old Key West, Saratoga and Animal Kingdom Standard View. Good Luck and have a great trip.

 

[MyNameIsSonnyEclipse]

I booked for Friday, Feb 14 (coming in late), to Tuesday, Feb 18. Should I bother booking deluxe for "extra hours?" I think the only date with extra hours is that Mon. and I think there is a paid event that night, so is it even worth spending all that money on a hotel if I have to pay extra for the evening event? I need to catch up on the changes since we've been. Any help/advice is appreciated.

Definitely don't book Deluxe just for EEH. Book it because you want to stay at a particular Deluxe property. If you are in any way agnostic about your lodging, save your money and book value/moderate and use the savings for a better experience at the parks/better dining. If you want to dip your toe in the water of Deluxe, consider renting DVC points (although this is an inflexible option, if that is important to you).

 

[Mynamewastaken]

The paid After Hours event on that Monday is at Magic Kingdom. The extended evening hours are 2 extra hours after the park closes is for Deluxe only resort stays or the cabins at Fort Wilderness if booked on DVC points. The extended hours are normally EPCOT on Monday and Magic Kingdom on Wednesday (these can differ at time generally during Halloween and Christmas Part season). The calendar is only out till mid January but that Monday has an after event at MK and there are still extended hours at EPCOT listed that night. If you don't already have a hotel booked you need to ASAP because that is going to be a holiday weekend for a lot of people. We are actually going to adisneyland that weekend. (if booking a room and tickets or a room, tickets and dining plan you can book the room for $200 down and if fully refundable if cancelled over 30 days out) (if you book room only I believe you have to pay the first night in full and it's still cancelable with no fee over 7 days out) (tickets outside of a package are not refundable). As far as upgrading to deluxe that is up to you if you want the extra cost. We personally prefer deluxe but the moderate and value resorts are great to and you get the esrly entry 30 minutes before official park open. If you do stay deluxe and are eligible for extended hours you either have to have a park ticket for that day or a park hopper ticket. If you do decide to go deluxe the most affordable rooms will be at Old Key West, Saratoga and Animal Kingdom Standard View. Good Luck and have a great trip.

Thank you! It's 3 of us. 2 adults and 1 teenage son. We arrive on Friday and leave on Tuesday. I booked FQ Fri-Mon and then switched over our last night to a deluxe for the EH and proximity to Epcot. Thank you!

 

[Maleficent85]

Thank you! It's 3 of us. 2 adults and 1 teenage son. We arrive on Friday and leave on Tuesday. I booked FQ Fri-Mon and then switched over our last night to a deluxe for the EH and proximity to Epcot. Thank you!

You're welcome. I almost suggested doing a split stay with your last night at a deluxe. French Quarter is a great resort and easy to navigate. The beignets are delicious as well!

 

[elvispursley]

Love FQ but when we priced our trip out earlier this year, the Swolphin was actually the same price. We switched to the Swan and had EEH plus the convenience of easy access to two parks.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

Love FQ but when we priced our trip out earlier this year, the Swolphin was actually the same price. We switched to the Swan and had EEH plus the convenience of easy access to two parks.

Was FQ a discounted rate or rack? We always check SD and once we add the resort and parking (we drive) it makes it so much more per night and rarely ever is in the ballpark of a discounted Mod.

 

[Genie+]

I’m all for spending extra money at WDW if it means having even more fun but honestly I do not think the 2 hour EEH at EP on Monday night is worth booking deluxe for 4 nights. It’s going to work much better just buying LL multipass and single pass at EP. EP is huge and worldcase is shut down in the middle during EEH, so it’s hard to get much done in that time, especially if you’re going to watch Luminous (recommended) but that leaves about 90 minutes after.

Book deluxe only if the resort itself &/or the location is very meaningful to you. If you just want convenience and a place to rest and wash up, I’d go with Caribbean Beach or Pop Century. The skyliner is sweet for getting to EP and HS. And then use the money saved for some Enchanted Extras, LLs, dining experience, after hours, etc…

 

[elvispursley]

Was FQ a discounted rate or rack? We always check SD and once we add the resort and parking (we drive) it makes it so much more per night and rarely ever is in the ballpark of a discounted Mod.

FQ was discounted and Swan was quite a bit less with my AP discount.

 

[Mynamewastaken]

FQ was rack rate. We didn't decide on Disney until a week ago all the discounted rooms were gone (not sure if FQ was even part of the promotion). There are other mods but I’ve wanted to stay at FQ for a while. I can be indecisive and have been known to change my reservations (lol) so for now, this is what we’ve booked.