how much time did you actually spend at the resort?

[savannahjean85]

I am trying to decide weather to book a value resort or moderate. My BF says go with Value so we can spend more money at the park; I say moderate I want it to be romantic without alot of noise because I think we will spend a good bit of time at the resort when parks aren't open.
I mean if we plan to stay at the parks while they open does it really matter were the room is? I did some math and it is only going to save us like 250 if we go value is it worth it?
P.S. we don't have kids

 

[zgirl]

We don't spend much time at the resorts at all, but we like the atmosphere of the moderates so that is where we stay when we can afford it.

 

[beccasmom]

Any of the resorts can be noisy; we are DVC members and sometimes there is a lot of noise from other units. We've encountered noise at every resort (yes, a fair amount at All-Star Sports and all the buildings weren't open yet!! , but at POR and CR, too) and I don't think it's something you can totally avoid. Have a heart-to-heart and see if you can compromise....how about a split stay?

 

[cara loves the poly]

we spent a lot of time at the resort.

 

[KMLOVESWDW]

DH & I don't have kids either & we like some quiet time after the parks. This past trip in May we stayed at POR & loved it. We still had plenty of time in the parks, but this time we did much more at the resort. We laid by the quiet pools, walked between the two resorts, sat on benches & gazebos to relax, went on a carriage ride, rented boats, listen to the jazz guy at POFQ, shopped, ate.... boy I guess we were there alot! Like I said, we went to the parks everyday, had 7 days/nights worth of ADRs to go to, but it was worth every penny. The resort was SOOOO quiet. Never even saw anyone pass by our room. I'm in the same boat that you are in right now because next year in May we will be returning with my sister, bro-in-law, niece & nephew. They want to stay at POP, which I would like to try, but I know it won't have the same relaxing atmosphere as POR. Good thing I have plenty of time to decide!! I love the parks but sometimes I need a little change to recharge the batteries. Good luck to you. PS...which value & which mod are in the running?

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

When we did not have children, we didn't spend much time in our room or at the resort.

NOw that we do have children, afternoon breaks from the park are a must. We do spend alot of time at the resort, but not necessarily in our room.

Before children we mainly done value resorts because we didn't spend much time at the resort, yet we liked being on the property.

Now that we do have children we still like the Values. They often do have more families, so it is much louder. We like that there are more familes because our children can play with the other kids. Plus they know the Disney movies so they liked ASMO and liked POP also because of the themes. This year we decided to upgrade to POR. We wished we would have spent the money on something else. Although it was nice, both my children and I didn't find it to be any better (that's our opinion) than a value, based on what is important to us.
The good thing about the moderates is that they do have quiet pools. If you are looking for romantic, you may want to upgrade to a moderate or do a value and plan some romantic things to do, like a nice dinner, WISHES cruise, etc.

 

[cfknight]

we never spend anytime at the resorts except in the morning we usually eat breakfast, and after the parks close the kids like to go swimming. then it's off to bed. We have never stayed in a value before but we are going to try it this time for that simple fact.

 

[simonkodousek]

We don't spend a tremendous amount of time at the resorts, but we like a good afternoon or evening swim, and a morning walk. Also, restaurants are a big factor in where we choose to stay. Finally, we don't go to WDW that often, every two or three years, so we spend the extra money for a deluxe, making it a nicer and more memorable vacation IMHO.

 

[disneyholic family]

we always spend a lot of time at the resorts.....but we go for 3 weeks, so it's obvious why....

it depends what you like to do as to which resort you would enjoy more...

if you want to go moderate, we very much like what used to be called Dixie Landings, now called Port Orleans Riverside. We like to walk and bike there.
Also, Port Orleans French Quarter is nice.

but we've also stayed at the value resorts and spent a lot of time there...

and we've stayed at the deluxes..

really all the resorts are nice in their own way....

 

[dischick4778]

We have always enjoyed afternoon breaks at the resort no matter where we stayed. And I think you might enjoy the pool set up at the moderates a bit better. But I only stayed at a value once for a night. It just seemed more crowded.

 

[kapoof]

we spend enough to care where we are staying, to us our resort is more than a bed and shower. we really enjoy the themeing and atmosphere not to mention the dining. keep in mind the resort you chose can make or break your vacation.

 

[slug]

I am trying to decide weather to book a value resort or moderate. My BF says go with Value so we can spend more money at the park; I say moderate I want it to be romantic without alot of noise because I think we will spend a good bit of time at the resort when parks aren't open.
I mean if we plan to stay at the parks while they open does it really matter were the room is? I did some math and it is only going to save us like 250 if we go value is it worth it?
P.S. we don't have kids

We just got back from the CR with our dd and it was awesome. We were glad we spent a little more to be able to be on the monorail, etc. Mostly b/c our dd is 3 and we had to go back to the room every day for naps.

But we went by ourselves before she was born and we stayed at the All Star Sports. We thought it was fine, and it did allow us to save cash for other expenses at wdw. One thing is that we had a car though. I don't mind the busses for sometimes, but I don't like relying on them for all of our transportation.

 

[Indianadisneyfan]

My girlfriend and me spent 5 days/nights at POR and loved it. It was quite and relaxing. We also loved the resort its self, plus POR/POFQ has a boat to DTD. The boat is real quite and relaxing to take. Sure beats the bus. They also have carriage rides, boats for rent. We didn't spend much time at the resorts but we went with the mod. After the parks closed we would go to DTD and not get back to the room till around 11-12 o'clock.

 

[savannahjean85]

DH & I don't have kids either & we like some quiet time after the parks. This past trip in May we stayed at POR & loved it. We still had plenty of time in the parks, but this time we did much more at the resort. We laid by the quiet pools, walked between the two resorts, sat on benches & gazebos to relax, went on a carriage ride, rented boats, listen to the jazz guy at POFQ, shopped, ate.... boy I guess we were there alot! Like I said, we went to the parks everyday, had 7 days/nights worth of ADRs to go to, but it was worth every penny. The resort was SOOOO quiet. Never even saw anyone pass by our room. I'm in the same boat that you are in right now because next year in May we will be returning with my sister, bro-in-law, niece & nephew. They want to stay at POP, which I would like to try, but I know it won't have the same relaxing atmosphere as POR. Good thing I have plenty of time to decide!! I love the parks but sometimes I need a little change to recharge the batteries. Good luck to you. PS...which value & which mod are in the running?

I'm leaning towards Port Orleans Riverside, if we do value then All-Star Music Resort. I'm really thinking POR though your descriptions sound like the place to go.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

We took breaks every day of our recent seven day trip. We left the parks at around 1PM and went back after dinner each evening.

I can honestly say that I got my money's worth out of our recent Polynesian stay. The hotel was like an oasis after the crowds at the parks!

 

[trivial]

We didn't spend much time at the resorts, except for the evenings (I'd spend at least an hour in the hot tub each night). On our next trip, we'll likely be taking afternoon breaks each day, as we'll have children with. However, even without children, we'd be staying at the BoardWalk Villas again... Disney is a rare trip for us, so what's a little extra to stay somewhere nice?

 

[minijeanie]

absolutely stay at a moderate.

they have nicer grounds, restaurant, bar in case you want to have a drink together. Rooms are laid out well, plus you get a hot tub which you don't with the values.

Absolutely worth the $250 to upgrade.

I would stay at CSR. Grounds are wonderful, restaurant nice plus great hot tub. I found this room 100% more enjoyable to that of a value. Values do not even offer a hair dryer.

You will be disappointed in value,,,stay moderate

 

[MELSMICE]

we spend enough to care where we are staying, to us our resort is more than a bed and shower. we really enjoy the themeing and atmosphere not to mention the dining. keep in mind the resort you chose can make or break your vacation.

Us too! We like to pick a resort that we know we'll enjoy. After spending so much money on a Disney vacation, the resort can make a huge difference in your trip.

I also vote for POR. It is absolutely beautiful. I loved the mansions, but the bayour area is nice also. It is such a relaxing resort. Definitely worth the extra $250, if you ask me.

Values do not even offer a hair dryer.

Seriously, they don't?

 

[minnie61650]

All Star Music is my favorite Disney owned resort. It tends to be a lot quieter and more relaxing than the other values.
More couples stay at All Star Music and the adults usually outnumber the small children.



All Star Music is undergoing a refurbishment of all of the rooms and is slated to be completed by June 2007.
The Calypso and Jazz buildings are completed and the last I heard they are working on the Broadway Buildings.

Here is a website with photos of the newly refurbished rooms at All Star Music.

Look at the Jazz Inn section with new posted:

http://allearsnet.com/acc/g_asmu.htm


Please see my info thread For the resons why I enjoy All Star Music so much.

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?p=18641909#post18641909

Have fun at Disney!

 

[minnie61650]

Just an FYI

The values do have hair dryers.

Here is a photo of the hair dryer from All Star Music:

They also have irons ,ironing boards, and wall safes at All Star Music: