How much time do you REALLY spend in your room???

[dkrause716]

We don't spend a ton of time at the resort but always go back for a swim and to relax mid-day. We do enjoy having a balcony to sit on at night and in the morning. Hoping to switch to WL for this July but it depends on AP rates. We have two rooms this time and I can't pay rack rates!

My DH tends to be a commando guy but this year I am not letting him have his way!

 

[skiwee1]

It isn't just the larger rooms at the deluxes but also the better pools and amenities. We do love the room size at the Poly for the 3 of us because we like to have a break in the afternoon. A deluxe also allows us room service which is nice when you can have more space to eat. What we really find great at the Poly is the pool which we spend just as much time at as the parks, and the restaurants. I used to think the room didn't matter so I stayed at mods. Our only goal while there was to get out and get to the parks. Once I tried the deluxes I find that I WANT to spend more time at the resorts. They are much more enjoyable and worth every penny.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Well,

Not a family with little kids. We're just two adults. We are literally only in our room to sleep, and get dressed/shower/get ready to go to the parks/pool...

We occasionally get pizza or something if we are not up for a full meal and eat in room.

 

[rcraw45425]

Love the comment about hating your room so much you avoid it! That was us last Spring Break! We wound up offsite due to pi** poor planning on my part and ahuge unexpected financial output (ie taxes ) Never again! The Holiday Inn Maingate East was a dump! Understand it's no longer a HI, understand why. This was before I kew about general codes, we could have stayed at a value for what we paid at this dump. Better planning since we found the DIS. Yes we return to the room midday, great way for all of us to unwind. DH gets to rest his feet (another DISer with plantar fasciatis) and I take the girls around the resort or to the pool. Can't do that offsite. WE spend enogh time in our room to warrant going deluxe in my book, not necessarily concierge though.

 

[Huey Dewey&LouiesMom]

When we go next year, I'll be traveling for 8 days with a 6 year old, a 2 year old & a 14 month old. We are trying to save for a deluxe (hopefully a monorail resort) because with kids that young going in such hot weather, I think we'd almost have to.

 

[Tricialiv]

On our July trip w/ a almost 3DD and 6DS we never took a break. We were at Beach Club and I had planned on it, but never could do it. Crowds made it impossible to do what we wanted with a couple hours cut out of the day. The kids had a great time though. We were there 5 days. A break would be nice but I think it depends on the length of stay and crowds. I did have to move all my PS breakfasts back an hour or two! Tricia

 

[cdpa4d]

We don't spend very much time in our room during the day; however, we do spend a lot of time on the hotel grounds. To me what you really pay for at a WDW resort or any hotel/resort are the amenities they offer. For instance, at the AK you pay for animals outside you room, or restaurants in the lobby. At the Poly, you pay for gift shops, restaraunts, and the monorail. Most importantly you pay for atmosphere. When you book a deluxe vs a mod vs a value you really see a big difference in the resort ammenities.
ADP

 

[lajones81]

I only spend my time in the room when sleeping at night or if I need a nap. Other than that, I'm out exploring since it's a vacation!

 

[DAWGPOUNDAJ]

Well my husband and I are 23 (just to give you an idea on ages since that probably makes a difference as well) and on park going days we spend next to no time in our room at all. However, we always book our trips for at least 7 days so we can spend an entire day just at our resort. The only times he has ever been to Disney were with me and every time we have stayed at the All Stars, and still made a point to spend an entire day there, swimming, relaxing in our rooms, food court, getting those lovely little washable tatoos to make his mother squirm because she couldn't tell the difference the first time we did that... lol So even at the All Stars spending a day at the resort is fun. However, as much as I like the All Stars, the other resorts are a lot better themed. It boils down to if you really want to spend a day at the resort or not, and what your tastes are. It doesn't take a lot to impress myself of my DH so the All Stars have always been fine for us.

However, I remember as a kid that my parents and I would spend more time at the resorts than I do now as an adult. So if your bringing children with you expect to spend a bit more time at the resorts.

 

[ducklite]

We try to RELAX at WDW, which means not spending every waking hour in a park.

We like to wake up and start our morning slowly, often using the pools before teh afternoon throngs appear. We almost always spend an hour or two in our room in the late afternoon, early evening, before dinner.

I'd say we spend as much time in our room or enjoying the amenities of the resort as we do in the parks, if not more!

I think that people approach WDW with six possible mindsets.

1. I'm paying big bucks to be here, so we're spending every hour doing something, no sleeping, and if you can't eat and walk you'll starve.

2. We're probably never going to be able to go to WDW again, so we need to see and do it all this time.

3. I'm naturally a go-go-go person and like to have a lot of excitement on my vacation.

4. I'm on vacation and want to have time to relax.

5. I've been to WDW so many times that my need to see and do it all has gone away, and now I am looking for the more off-the-beaten-path adventures that WDW can provide.

6. There's theme parks? I just thought it was a nice resort with various activites.

My guess is most people in 1-2-3 don't really want or need a deluxe. People in 4-5-6 will use their budget to determine which resort they stay in, and if at all possible will be at a deluxe.

Anne

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

For me, the deal-breaker between moderate/value and deluxe is the balcony. I really dislike A/C (even when I have to use it) and I just love opening up the sliding glass door and having that extra bit of private living space along with the fresh air, no matter how much or little time we spend in it. Hang swimsuits and towels on the chair backs, relax, etc. As one poster put it above, a place you WANT to return to.

I picked WL because I could easily allow my 11 and 16 yr old down to the lobby to refill their mugs (yes, those controversial mugs!) and know that they can be back within a few minutes, or wander down to the nearby pool. I didn't want to have to hope and pray I got a room at POR or POQF or CBR in the buildings everyone else is trying to get, too.

Will someone PLEASE turn off the faucet in southern california???

 

[MargaretF]

Ducklite has some really good points. We are a 4/5 family at this point and really enjoy the amenities of resorts. We always take a break during the day and spend time at the resort's pool. I like coming back from a day at the parks to a place that I am excited about staying at. I love the theming and all the little stuff. I have never stayed at a value resort and never will (rooms too small) but I love the mods and deluxes. We usually spend at least one evening just hanging out at our hotel and have a great time. To me, the hotel is part of the whole WDW experience and the money for mods and deluxes is worth it. The real question was how much time do you spend in your room, here's my best estimate: 12 hours sleeping/evening/morning, 2 hours middle of day (getting ready to swim/showering after swimming). About 14 hours out of a 24 hour day.

 

[SleepingUgly]

Thanks for answering, everyone. Great points were made!

Personally, I think that as a child and vacationing with go-go parents whose concept was "a hotel room is only a place for sleeping," and therefore, always booked the smallest and cheapest motel rooms wherever we went -- Can you say Motel 6 and Best Western ... even a Holiday Inn was a step "up" for us and my brother and I were so excited -- it has led me to really appreciate more deluxe resorts now that I'm an adult. I want to be able to return to my room and know that I'll be able to relax and, if I can't fall asleep, there will be things for me to do and the bed will be comfortable for me to lie in if I have insomnia, haha.

And I am one of those people who love to see and do as much as possible on my vacation, but I also want to RELAX. I don't want to return home and need a vacation from my vacation, and a trip that consists of 16-18 hours on my feet is NOT a vacation to me. And now that we have kids, I also need a WDW resort with enough amenities to entertain and pamper all of us -- my dh and me, because we work hard at our jobs and want to be comfortable while on vacation, and for the the kids, in case they are not in the mood to go to the parks on a certain day. Hard to believe, but I'm sure parents understand the fickleness of toddlers and preschoolers.

Of course, when I was younger and single, I was less picky of my accomodations because back then, the room was literally a place just to sleep. Hey, if I could survive a road trip from Chicago to the Kentucky Derby in a FORD FIESTA with 7 other college kids, then I can survive anything, right? But at this stage in my life, I want to enjoy my vacations and not have to be more tired AFTER my vacations than before. Those days are gone ...

Linda

 

[mirlow]

The resorts are as big of a draw for us on WDW trips as the theme parks. We spend most of our waking time at the resorts than we do the parks. We will spend more time in our room/balcony if we have a LVC or AKL SV room. We are a family of five (9,6,4)

 

[floridagirrl2]

I truthfully think that where you stay has a lot to do with how much time you spend in your room.

We don't spend any more time in our room or hotel when we stay at the Dolphin than we do when we stay at POP or AllStars. (We don't have children, though.)


Our biggest reason for staying onsite is the quick, safe, easy transportation. We also love having a food court. Dolphin wins out over the Value resorts primarily because of the location (walking or boating distance to Epcot and MGM) and of course...the Heavenly beds! However, since we have annual passes and go to Disney 6-8 times a year, we usually don't budget for the Dolphin.

 

[dreamflight99]

Enough to care!!

 

[Mady/Sophiemom]

We first visited w/ kids 2, and 5, and did spend alot of time in the room, but as they have gotten older (now 9, and 6), we don't really rely on nap breaks, unless we have a late night ahead. The 15-20 min. nap on the bus to the resort seems to perk them up, so we might take a quick swim, or just clean up for dinner, and head back out.

We spent a considerable less amount in our room last year than previous trips, and this year we are trying a value resort for the first time. My kids are griping about no slide at the pool, but then I remind them that we have a pool membership at home, as well as our local theme park annual passes, and they hush up.


We do spend alot of time in other resorts though too. This trip, we have 2 meals at Poly, and 2 at GF, along with 1 at CR. We oohh, and ahhh, and say that next trip, we are staying HERE, but then we start to plan, and decide against paying the extra. If the great deal, comes along we will, but so far are excited to be at Disney, and content with mod. or value accomadations.

I agree, that if this is a ONCE in a lifetime trip, go all out, but we go quite often, and in between take trips to Vegas, HH, and Chicago, so I don't feel deprived at all.

 

[pepe of ohio]

We spend considerable time in the room, like the 8 hours we sleep. But during the day, espically hot, hot days, a mid afternoon break from the parks and before and after a pool dip, before dinner or going back to the parks in evening, amounts to alot of time in a room. If rooms aren't that of a top priorty, stay at the Campground and sleep in a tent. The resort, the room and pool is a large part of our vacations.

 

[LadyBears]

We went last August/September with our DD5- the park hours were much shorter. While we didn't go commando, my DD doesn't really take naps & we did get her a stroller. But, when I knew she needed downtime, we took advantage of a long Monorail, train ride, or boat ride to "nowhere". We got on & didn't get off until it made the complete loop. We used that as a "stop to smell the Roses" time. Then after we were relaxed, we continued where we left off.

A little off topic: For Christmas she got a playmat "map" of MK. She loves to pull it out & have her dolls ride the monorail or the boats around & play tourguide. It always makes me laugh to hear her say "Yooouuuurr attention please, the Walt Disney World Railroad now boarding for a scenic trip around the Magic Kingdom! All aboaard!"

Those rides to "nowhere" seem to have stood out to her as a very important part of the trip. Definitely more impressionable than the bus rides!!

 

[Kallison]

Last trip we usually left for parks around 9 and came back at dinner for warm clothes (end of Jan.) then back out until closing 9 or 10. We like Deluxe for location -- walking to Epcot and MGM. In the summer we like pools - stormalong. Proximity to a lot of restaurants.