I finally get it. There is a difference in deluxe to values.

[Eeyore's Wife]

Our 2012 trip saw us spend one night at POP and then a week at Bay Lake Tower in a Magic Kingdom View One Bedroom.

At the end of the trip we decided that we liked having the balcony to watch fireworks, but other than that...everyone liked POP better.

For future trips we will flip the formula and do a week at POP and one night at Bay Lake Tower.

We bring our own shampoo, soap, and lotion. When we stay at POP we often grab a taxi and to directly where we want to go, without waiting for a bus, riding standing up, or being wedged next to a flatulent toddler after a Churro bender.

We enjoy the UP feel of POP. It seems joyous to all of us.

I do NOT want to make meals, other than quick breakfast, while on vacation so do not need a kitchen, just a refrigerator.

While the monorail deluxe resorts are near the parks, they all have to take buses to the water parks, Animal Kingdom, DTD and Hollywood Studios.

POP has rooms with a King bed, but it is a request not a bookable category)!

When I stay at a Deluxe, at deluxe prices, I expect a complete resort under one roof. So, while I will stay at The Contemporary or Wilderness Lodge, I will not stay at Poly as I have to schlep outside to refill a drink, buy a Tylenol, or get a sandwich.

For the price difference between the value and deluxe resorts I can buy a lot of fine dining, bottles of wine, cab rides, and massages.

That said, if you really enjoy the differences, then enjoy! I never thought I would love the Value resorts, but I do.

 

[BeerMe]

Of course there is a difference. Otherwise no one would pay for a deluxe.

 

[kandb]

There should be a big difference. The values are a little over $100 a night and the deluxes can be $400-$500 or more a night.

 

[DznyCrzy11]

I can now say that I get it. I get the reason why people spend the extra $ for a deluxe resort over a value. Don't get me wrong, we still love our Pop Century, but man o man..... There is a difference in what you get

The rooms are much bigger and the beds are really comfy. The balcony is a great plus which I never thought was important...but I now get it!!!
The covered walkways...Oh, the covered walkways.....well, I gotta say, when people commented on that as being a 'plus' I thought "really? That is so not a big deal"....well, IT IS WHEN IT'S POURING RAIN. Not to mention, The bus lines at a value compared to a deluxe are night and day. You have to line up like a cattle call in the hot sun at a value and at a deluxe, you casually sit around under a covered area and when the bus arrives, everyone leisurely approaches. It is wonderful!!!

I could be wrong, but the quality of the towels at a deluxe are waaaay better. They are thick and fluffy and bigger.

There are so many other things I could say, but....I REALLY DO GET IT NOW. There are a bunch of differences....some more subtle than others, but it all makes a difference.

Oh yes!!! We've stayed value, moderate, and deluxe. We first stayed at a deluxe resort in 2010 and have stayed deluxe ever since. Growing up my mother loved staying at FW Campground and we even stayed in the cabins once and then ASMu. Man oh man, now the deluxe resorts are the only ones I want to stay at.

 

[ninafeliz]

I love the moderates, and have stayed at all 4 of them on multiple occasions. However, I also love the deluxes, particularly WL and Poly. What makes the Poly worth it to us, at this point in time, is a direct monorail to both the MK and Epcot, as we have 2 young kids. No folding strollers and having them unfold on a packed bus! Been there, done that. Of course, it can still happen on the way to the AK!

What became a bigger problem for my family was trying CL and not wanting to go back!! We tried Poly CL on a whim last year, and guess where we've booked again in October, even though all we could get was a lagoon view club level room instead of standard view. It's a lot of $$$, even with the 30% discount. But we were so disappointed when all I could get was regular room that when the lagoon view popped up one night with the fall discount I snatched it up. I never thought I would care, but I do. Don't get me wrong, I still love POR and would happily stay there again, but I'm thrilled to be going back to the Poly this Fall.

 

[RunningWithScissors]

Our first family Disney vacay was at the Poly so we set the bar pretty high. I don't mind a moderate but after one night at a value, I won't do it again. Totally disliked everything about it. We are just not fans of a "value" style hotel regardless of whether it is at Disney, NYC, the beach, etc. We are DVC now, so it is deluxe all the time!

 

[Ofinn]

I don't know what it was, but we spent a couple hours at the beach club last year trying to decide if we wanted to stay there, and all the guests seemed like the whiniest, snobbiest people. We didn't like POP because it was just really busy and overstimulating, but I don't know that I want to be hanging around people who are territorial about pool chairs. So we stay at POR and love it.

Your ticker says your staying at BC with the whiney, snobby people. I'm confused.

 

[HMANSION LOVER]

I like the deluxe hotels because people don't pee on me there.

OH, do behave

 

[duffdo]

I am staying at a deluxe, well, deluxe villa resort (SSR,) in October. It will be my first time at that level. I have previously stayed in a value (Sports,) and a mod (POR.) I did notice the difference between the value and the mod--bigger room, better furnishings, nicer beds, more facilities, better bus service, etc. I just hope there is a big difference between the mod and the deluxe as I have spent $$+++. I know I will get a balcony, but will hopefully get a few nice surprise perks!

Part of me hopes I won't see a huge difference, and be able to justify the extra cost, as I think the following trip, I will be in a value!

 

[Syndrome]

There is much more of a difference between value to moderate as far as amenities and "feel" go , but the price difference is minimal. There is a smaller difference between mod to deluxe........but the price difference is staggering !
If you want the deluxe "feeling" while saving a few $$$, moderates are great ! Deluxes are great too, as long as you can accept the crazy prices Disney charges for them !

Take todays rack rates for example (around the most inexpensive time of the year) ..........
All Star Sports = $90.
Port Orleans = $170.
Polynesian = $492. !!!

So, you can stay 1 night at the Poly, 3 nights at POR, or 5+ nights at the All Stars for about the same price !!!

Also, dont forget how the tax is compounded as well. Just the tax alone for the Poly is getting close to 1 night at the All Stars !

Its kind of scary to look at it like this !


Syndrome (all of a sudden feeling like a fool for staying "deluxe" for so long, lol)

 

[Cadyrose]

We are on our 4th day at the Grand and this is our second trip here. The first was in December for a 3 day commando trip to get all the Holiday events in, being that it would be our one chance for that type of trip when our kids were still young. We didn't really get a lot of time at the resort but loved having a short boost ride from MK (our main park) and the beds made a huge difference for us after our long days...not to mention there was still some construction...

This time, we can truly see the difference of why we like it...side note: we've stayed at ASMovies, Pop, WL, GF...

Rhe boat ride is a huge value for us and the convenience of the Epcot monorail since those are our two main parks. This trip, we have been ending every night with round trips on Splash during MSEP since it is walk-on at that time.

The beds and space of the room is still a big plus....with a DD9 & DS11, we like the two separate sleeping options (1 in a bed and 1 on the pull out...although the bunk beds at WL were also a great option as well) we just feel like we can breathe vs the cramp feeling of ASM/Pop...it was fine when they were 3 & 5 though...

The pools. My kids love the water slides but not enough for the water parks that turn slides into thrills. They really liked the WL slide but our loving the GF slide which has a little bit more oomph to it. Also they are not super crowded. WL in August had it's pool packed almost as tight as sardines... since there are two here, people are spread out and a break really feels like a break. Also sitting in the zero entry courtyard pool watching Wishes over the trees was pretty fantastic!

What my DH and I were talking about just yesterday was why do we need to call people's preference" snobby" if they prefer a type of resort? If someone says they will only ever stay in a value, that to me is not snobby but what they prefer...same goes for those who will only stay mods or deluxes...or will only stay POR or CR garden or POP preferred or CL...value of a resort level or specific type is different for everyone. We all know what we like and what we will spend our money on.

I always look for deals...have never paid rack rate whether it was our Value or our Deluxe trip....and I will continue to look for the best deals. They're out there so why not! For us, the deal in comparison to the resort is what we look at...and we have been finding that with deluxes right now

 

[BeerMe]

Take todays rack rates for example (around the most inexpensive time of the year) ..........
All Star Sports = $90.
Port Orleans = $170.
Polynesian = $492. !!!

We have stayed at the Poly and this is why we are staying at offsite condos in the Fall. We can stay for a month in great condos that are as nice as or nicer than the Poly for the same cost as 3 nights at the Poly. Poly is more convenient to MK, but MK is our least favorite park anyway. My condo is closer to Epcot!

 

[karice2]

I love going to Disney and I know that the Deluxes are over priced but I won't stay at a value on principle. When I used to travel with friends when I was younger, we always stayed at the cheapest motel because we were broke military privates.

I told myself after a certain age, I will only stay in hotels that have hallways.

Just my thing. I love Animal Kingdom Lodge, BWV and GF. I won't do the Poly because once you do Hawaii in real life, it is hard to stay at any sort of mock up.

My next trip I am staying at the Dolphin because we are just doing a quick trip but Deluxe all the way for me.

 

[bethbuchall]

We just did a split stay at AoA (Little Mermaid room) and AKL. The bed was much more comfortable at AoA, but the towels were better at AKL. The maid service was better at AoA, and she left us extra towels, though.

We preferred the bus lines at AoA. It seemed like chaos at the buses at AKL. It didn't matter who had been waiting longer. Everyone rushed the bus as soon as it pulled up.

We liked the extra dressing space with the curtain at AoA.

AKL was much noisier with the inside hallways and children running all hours of the night. We also heard the people above us and those in the connecting room at AKL. We really didn't hear any outside noise or noise from other rooms at AoA.

My daughter is now an "extra adult" in the room. That was $10/night at AoA, and $25/night at AKL.

We enjoyed our balcony at AKL.

It was nicer in the rain that things were either inside or under cover at AKL.

Overall, we decided we'd rather stay longer at a value. If we had to do a short stay and had the money, though, we'd pick one of the Epcot deluxe resorts.

 

[princessap]

I love going to Disney and I know that the Deluxes are over priced but I won't stay at a value on principle. When I used to travel with friends when I was younger, we always stayed at the cheapest motel because we were broke military privates.

I told myself after a certain age, I will only stay in hotels that have hallways.

Just my thing. I love Animal Kingdom Lodge, BWV and GF. I won't do the Poly because once you do Hawaii in real life, it is hard to stay at any sort of mock up.

My next trip I am staying at the Dolphin because we are just doing a quick trip but Deluxe all the way for me.

I have done Hawaii trips a few times and still loved the poly! You never know until you try it! We loved it!

 

[disneyworldaddict]

I love any hotel in WDW! I've stayed at all levels and think they are all great. When its just me and my DH we do deluxe, when its my DD and step DD we do 2 rooms at a value, usually POP. I find I chose different resorts depending what my plans are. If will I be spending more time in the parks and just need a place to sleep and shower, or less park time and looking for more leisure Id want more hotel amenities. We've gone to WDW and not even don't the parks, so that we could do all the other things there are to do there. I think they do an amazing job at all the resorts and even though I'm staying at a deluxe this trip, I don't mind staying at a value on the next one!

 

[kirby428]

I've never stayed anywhere but at a value resort. I love going to Disney even with a value room. I could probably afford to upgrade now, but I'm afraid I'll get spoiled and not be able to downgrade if/when I needed to.

Someday though I'll bite the bullet and book a stay at Wilderness Lodge. That resort is just amazing!

Cowboy up! Go hog wild and book the Polynesian. Ain't no bullet ta bite; jus pineapple. We started at the CR and dove right in no toe dippin to test the waters. We use moderates and values as length of stay extenders but I gotta be on the monorail for easy to and from the monorail resorts for those days at the MK. Want to break into the Feel of the Epcot Resort some day. All the food places are in Epcot and end up 2.5 days in that park just to EAT so why not walk there? My son did a Jedi Mind Trick on me so I HAVE try BWI first. Waved the fingers cross my eyes an all that. Zat seem pretty gullible to you or what?

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

Once you go Deluxe it really is hard to not continue to do so. But, for *me*, the most important thing is staying on property. If a value resort is all you can comfortably afford...by all means do it! Moderate resorts can really be magical as well...LOVE that CBR!

 

[ali in wonderland]

So glad to read this, we are just the opposite and need some help! We are wanting to stay at a value for the first time. Our villa reservations at Animal Kingdom-Jambo are January 2-9, and we are thinking of surprising the kids by leaving 2 days early in order to see the New Years fireworks. I would love suggestions, since we have never stayed in a value resort. Which value resort do you recommend or not recommend? Will we be able to handle a value after being used to deluxe villas?

We are DVC and used to those accommodations. We just stayed at AoA for two nights before our cruise. It was cute with all of the Nemo and lion king characters. The room itself was comfy as far as beds showers etc. The first thing my kids said when we opened our room door was "it's so small in here." It is not small, but my children are used to the villas. The crowd is much larger at the value resorts, and more alive. We came home at midnight and the food court was packed, and people were all over the resort. Again, we are just used to our quiet DVC villas. I would stay there again for a night it served its purpose and after all you are still paying disney rates so it is far from bad. However our two night stay made me realize how much I love my DVC.

 

[smidgy]

I like the deluxe hotels because people don't pee on me there.

maybe I missed a private joke, but we have encountered more "code brown" pool closing at deluxes than at values.

Has anyone stayed at the Swan? We have walked through on our way to putt putt from BCV, but never stayed there. Just wondering how it compares. Is it more comparable to moderates or deluxe?

we have stayed at the dolphin twice. loved it. I would compare it to deluxes, (esp the location)

Yes csr has pool towels. Don't worry. It's a great pool to relax around. Good bar, food, and playground all in the pool area.

there are pool towels at all the feature pools at the moderate resorts. but you have to bring your room towels to the "quiet" pools.