help to decide between mod or value

[tina_la]

I am making plans to book our next WDW trip in January for next fall and wondering are the mods worth the extra money. We stayed at the value (all sports) last year and we thought it was fine except for having to share a bus with music resort. So if we stay at a value we were thinking the Pop b/c it lots like they ran their own buses. If we stayed at a mod we are thinking Port Orleans but that's still in the air if anyone can recommend a better one. Some questions we had: are the rooms any bigger? From the pics they looked about the same. We are a family of five and the kids will be ages DD 12, DS 9, and DS 2 when we go. plus myself and my husband. As you can see this would be the last year with the baby's age we would be able to stay at a value if we decided too. Any feedback will be helpful. thanks

 

[SuzieN]

I've never stayed at a value resort so I can't really compare for you. Stayed at POR twice - LOVE it! - the Dolphin once - definitely preferred POR - and numerous times off property when I was a kid [don't reccommend that!]. I know that I've read that the mods are a bit bigger and the theming is gorgeous. I also have a family of 5 and my kids are too old for me to stay in a value. Having said that, if you were fine at a value I'd stick with that. When your kids are older you'll have to upgrade so you'll definitely get to experience it anyhow! If you plan on this being your LAST Disney vacation then go to a mod!

 

[nklooz]

We stayed at POR and loved it, the theming, rooms, all of it. Only thing we didn't love was how spread out the resort was, thus, lots of walking, depending on what bldng. you end up with, and, they don't give the option of booking a preferred location. Other than that, loved POR, the waterslide was great, hot tub was relaxing and right by the main pool, the quiet pools were close and relaxing, the boat to DTD was very fun, and the bus service was dependable. The big plus, I would say, is that if you do the Alligator Bayou section, they have trundle beds, thus, providing more room for your family of 5 for sleeping than the value. All of this being said, we're doing POP next fall. However, if it was me, I'd stick with a moderate w/5 of you, namely POR for the trundle beds & great atmosphere.

 

[PA Princess]

Since you have stayed value and liked it and you know after this you will need to move up to a mod, I would probably choose to stay in a value for the lower cost.

Now, which do I personally prefer? I would say the mods. We tried value for part of one trip, and it was fine, but just not my preference at all. I really noticed a big difference between the mods and the values and we are willing to pay more for the mods (and we pay significantly more since we now have 4kids and need to rooms).

 

[tina_la]

thanks for all your input. my husband voting for saving some money and picking the value since as was pointed out we won't have a choice in 2009 w/ the kids ages. I think the thing that I like is the theme and the pools, and the trundle would all be nice in the POR. hmmm...at least either way we know we will be happy b/c we are at Disney.

 

[Bellamickey]

We stayed at POP back in April 07'. It was our first time staying there. We loved it!! We are going back of May 08' and staying their as well. The theming is awesome and the food court, I think is the best of out of all the value resorts. We even prefer it over the moderate resorts. The buses here are top notch!! They have their own and we never had to wait very long and never stood up, well, my hubby did. He always gives his seat up to the women and or children.
I think you made an awesome choice! I hope you and your family have a blast!!!

 

[Lilolvr]

CSR is a great mod and I would recommend it over any of the value resorts.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

Since this will be your last time to get by with one room at a value resort, I'd definitely give POP a try. We've stayed there three times and really like it. I've always felt there isn't much difference between a value and a mod...the beds are still doubles, and the rooms themselves are not that different in size.

 

[solfan68]

My family's most recent Mod experience was at Coronado Springs. One of the MAJOR appeals was the empty buses. Because the resort is also a convention center, many of the visitors are in sessions during the day, and therefore not filling up the transportation. The CSR also has a great theme pool and one of the most unique food courts on property. We thought about staying at Pop on this last trip. Glad we spent the extra to upgrade to Mod.

 

[robinb]

I also think that you should save your money on your next trip since you will have to stay at PO-R or in a Deluxe from now on.

Here is a list of advantages/disadvantages that I came up with for each level:

Advantage of Value over Moderates and Deluxes
* Price.
* Food Courts for quick meals.
* Pop Century has its own bus.
* All Stars resorts share buses, but there is usually very little wait on either end.

Disadvantage of Values
* Small rooms.
* Double or King sized beds only.
* Large groups can sometimes be rowdy.
* No pool slide or hot tub.
* external corridors.
* Pizza delivery only.

Advantage of Moderate over Values
* Nicer feature pools with slides and hot tubs.
* Bigger rooms.
* Free refrigerators.
* Sit-down restaurants (all but POFQ).
* Real bars in main area plus pool bar, not just pool bar (except POP).
* Nicer food court, it's not just one big room.
* No giant icons.

Disadvantages of Moderates
* Double or King sized beds only.
* Can be spread out and most need an internal bus system.
* External corridors.
* Pizza delivery only.

Advantage of Deluxe over Moderates and Values
* Bigger rooms yet. Many can sleep 5 people.
* Queen or King sized beds.
* Some have bunk beds or day beds available.
* Large variety of sit-down restaurants.
* Nicer feature pools, many with zero entry.
* Internal corridors.
* All have sliding glass doors and most have balconies or patios.
* Most have special proximity to parks: monorail/boat to MK, walk/boat to
Epcot/MGM.
* Room service.
* Valet parking.

Disadvantage of Deluxes
* Epcot deluxes do not have snack shops for a quick meal, except the Beach Club Marketplace.
* Price.
* Buses are often shared, especially the Epcot resorts. The ride can take a long time.
* Self parking can be difficult, especially at the monorail hotels.

 

[F1Julie]

We've stayed at all the values and all the moderates. What we like best about the moderates is the pool slides. DD7 just loves them and the value pools don't have them. Bus service is about equal at both. At the moderates, you may not be sharing a bus with another resort, but the buses make multiple stops within your resort. POFQ is sometimes the exception, but more often than not, you share a bus with POR.

 

[PrincessBear]

I have never stayed @ a value either, but I just did CSR and we LOVED IT and had THE BEST TIME! We went when it was not very crowded except for a convention, so we felt like we had the whole place to ourselves! The busses were never crowded and the pool was great, too. Not too many younger kids but I was with my girlfriends so that was fine with us!