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

[Ofinn]

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 been to Hawaii five times, and I still love the Poly.

 

[Lynn2205]

To be honest I stayed at AKL for my honeymoon last year and frankly I was a bit disappointed. The beds were identical to my usual hotel of POR, except there were animals outside. My room at AKL wasn't exactly the view I had hoped for, we had a view of the Savannah but most of the animals weren't there and were hiding under shade etc.

Besides in all honesty, DH and I weren't in the room long enough as we stayed out in the parks. This year for our anniversary were are staying at AOA and from the pictures and reviews it appears the value resort seems to better than the deluxe. I did enjoy Boma and Sanaa at AKL but would i stay at AKL again? probably not. It was a lot of money for the same room as a moderate or value.

AKL seemed noisy on a night in the corridors and in the lobby which put us off a bit.

 

[Q-man]

We've been going since long before the value properties opened. Tried the POP last year and felt like we were in a Motel 6 on steroids.

The only reason the deluxes are so expensive is demand not amenities. What I don't get is outside of going to MK the transportation from the Seven Sea lagoon deluxes to the rest of the parks is terrible. Poly to EP since you can walk over to the TTC being the only exceptions. How do the most expensive resorts have the worst transportation?

 

[cart-mom]

Dup post deleted.

 

[cart-mom]

To be honest I stayed at AKL for my honeymoon last year and frankly I was a bit disappointed. The beds were identical to my usual hotel of POR, except there were animals outside. My room at AKL wasn't exactly the view I had hoped for, we had a view of the Savannah but most of the animals weren't there and were hiding under shade etc.

Besides in all honesty, DH and I weren't in the room long enough as we stayed out in the parks. This year for our anniversary were are staying at AOA and from the pictures and reviews it appears the value resort seems to better than the deluxe. I did enjoy Boma and Sanaa at AKL but would i stay at AKL again? probably not. It was a lot of money for the same room as a moderate or value.

AKL seemed noisy on a night in the corridors and in the lobby which put us off a bit.

I stayed AKL standard view and had a view of plants but walked outside into the hallway to a huge window and a view of the savannah and animals. It really depends on the time of year and the temps if you will see them our will they be hiding in the shade. I would stay there again. Values and mods have their place at wdw too. I think you really need to try each to see what best fits your needs for the vacation you are planning. Sometimes we do value and sometimes we do deluxe. Frankly, I enjoy deluxe for the amenities. To each his/her own. This is why there are so many choices.

 

[kapoof]

We have stayed deluxe only and next trip we will be at the bwi. We like being close to the parks and with the Epcot resorts, walking to and fro two parks is very appealing. I have pulled into pop and was appalled at how undisney it felt. To be fair I didn't go inside of the resort, just at the bus stop. I think the allstars would appeal more for the disney icons, but the btg scare me from ever trying them. we will stick with deluxes, we love them and they are a huge part of our vacation.

 

[Lynn2205]

I stayed AKL standard view and had a view of plants but walked outside into the hallway to a huge window and a view of the savannah and animals. It really depends on the time of year and the temps if you will see them our will they be hiding in the shade. I would stay there again. Values and mods have their place at wdw too. I think you really need to try each to see what best fits your needs for the vacation you are planning. Sometimes we do value and sometimes we do deluxe. Frankly, I enjoy deluxe for the amenities. To each his/her own. This is why there are so many choices.

that is true. We did find that we were a fair distance from the other parks. i prefer POR just for the sake of being a little closer to each park but the downside is that we had to share the bus with Old key west, especially at DTD.

 

[smidgy]

We've been going since long before the value properties opened. Tried the POP last year and felt like we were in a Motel 6 on steroids.

The only reason the deluxes are so expensive is demand not amenities. What I don't get is outside of going to MK the transportation from the Seven Sea lagoon deluxes to the rest of the parks is terrible. Poly to EP since you can walk over to the TTC being the only exceptions. How do the most expensive resorts have the worst transportation?

the walk from the epcot resrts (or the boat) to DHS or epcot is great!!! the buses are horribloe, though.

the 3 "monorail" resorts have the boats, walking (CR) and , of course the monorail.. but that isn't what it used to be. many delays, breakdowns, etc. and again, the buses are horrible.

AKL was the worst seconded by WL . AKL should have sep buses for the Jambo and Kidani. WL buses were bad. but then again, these 2 deluxe resorts are the cheapest of the deluxe.
we like a split stay. so if we are at dolphin, BWV or BCV, we only do epcot and DHS. amybe MK once. and we stay at a elsewhere for our AK day a a day (or 2 ) at MK.
we love ALL the resort levels.
mosderates were our favorite, but this last trip I fel in live with theat bW view room.

 

[RainK]

We def noticed the bus service for values was all in all way more efficient and quicker than our visit to BC. The DTD bus was just ridiculous. It stopped at Marketplace, Pleasure island, Swan, Dolphin, BW, Yacht and FINALLY BC. It was torture! Over a 50 min ride.
We also didn't care for the boat ride to HS since it stops at all resorts in the area and is slow. We walked one night....and got there quicker.

 

[lucas]

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.

Yes, there is a difference in what you get. We are AP holders and FL residents. We go for a LOT of long weekends. The difference to us is in paying a small fortune for a deluxe. We "could" but prefer not to spend that kind of money on so many long weekends. Heck, we could go on a 7-night cruise (maybe even 10-night!) and still have money to spare with what a deluxe costs. And that includes food.

 

[rockingrollercoaster]

I really like the Boardwalk area too! So glad your loving the deluxe....However, we could not find the "deluxe" in the deluxe Disney resorts/hotels...not saying they are not nice but in our opinion I don't see the justification for $300 or $400 per night for any of the deluxes in Disney..again, not saying they are not nice just not that nice.... We don't use the buses EVER never EVER, (lol)......so bus stops don't matter to us. We don't eat at the food courts because we do DLX dining and we eat all table service meals. As for the towels....the value towels do us fine and I did not notice better towels at Poly vs ASMu. As for bath products, very rare that we would use those...we bring what we are all use to using...For us, we are out of the room so much that it just doesn't make sense to pay those prices but again, I understand there are those that do like to spend a lot of time at the resort........I did not find the Poly rooms really any better than the ASMusic, still one bathroom, still 2 beds...just a little bigger but not enough to pay a couple hundred dollars more per night......Poly's grounds were nicer and the monorail access was nice but again, we have our car and we do valet parking and it cannot be beat....my family won't do buses, EVER...crazy, I know I did actually like the Swan and Dolphin, 3 years ago I got a great nurse rate and I actually liked the Dolphin better than the Poly........hands down!!

It is so interesting to see how people view vacation necessities differently....
I totally agree with SYNDROME and his/her view...$492 per night for Polynesian is actually ridiculous.......

 

[CuseWazowski]

We stayed at the CR: Garden for three trips from 2007-2012 and were very happy. We decided to try AoA this year because our DS is a Cars fan. We were actually very happy with the AoA. I know it's more of a value plus and costs more than the other values, but we liked the suite a lot. It was very spacious for four of us and we liked having two bathrooms. We didn't mind the toiletries or towels - we stopped at the front desk for extra pool towels. The buses were never a problem and not shared with other resorts. Service was great all around and the food court was fine. We saved $1000 by staying at AoA vs. CR.

 

[rockingrollercoaster]

a hotel room with just one open room and one bathroom is just that, lol...a hotel room.......for $300 more a night, I would have to expect a suite of sorts with 2 baths, separate living area at least...............otherwise I am not forking over the extra $300. It was actually cheaper for us to get two rooms at the values vs one deluxe at the BWI.............now the kids are seriously spoiled, they always want their own room, lol
wow, $1000 savings is a big savings, glad the AOA worked out well.......I think it's kind of over the top in a good way..............

 

[stephaknee]

We just got back from our AoA trip and I loved the resort, especially the bus service. One night we took a bus from DTD to get to BC for Jellyrolls and I would never spend that much money for a bus line that takes so long. It took an hour to get to BC and the bus was packed.

 

[RainK]

OP here....I SHOULD disclose that although we absolutely loved loved loved BC, we did NOT pay $400 a night for it....we actually paid $190 a night thru a TA.

I personally would NEVER EVER pay $400 a night + for a hotel, but that is just me. BUT, I can see why people do actually pay that. (nor could I afford to stay the 8 nights that we did @ $400 a night)

They hotel was amazing and it was def better than a value. We loved it and would go back in a heart beat....but I wouldn't pay $400 a night.

 

[RainK]

We just got back from our AoA trip and I loved the resort, especially the bus service. One night we took a bus from DTD to get to BC for Jellyrolls and I would never spend that much money for a bus line that takes so long. It took an hour to get to BC and the bus was packed.

We actually took a cab to AoA on Thursday to check it out. It looked fun. My kids said they want to stay there next time.

 

[BeerMe]

Just out of curiosity I priced a 28 day stay at the Poly and POP to compare what I'm paying for a condo.

Polynesian = $15,000
POP = $3,600
Condos = $1,200

Of the three the condos are the nicest accommodations. I've stayed at all three.

There is definitely a difference - a difference I'm loathe to pay anymore.

 

[kittercats85]

I've only stayed at moderates before. I am looking to book my honeymoon, and although I'd love to do a deluxe, they are SO expensive! We actually wanted to stay at Saratoga Springs cause we are from the Saratoga area ourselves, but it is pretty expensive and actually isn't available when we'll be there anyway.

Has anyone split their trip between two resorts... a few days in each. Was that just a pain?

 

[smidgy]

I've only stayed at moderates before. I am looking to book my honeymoon, and although I'd love to do a deluxe, they are SO expensive! We actually wanted to stay at Saratoga Springs cause we are from the Saratoga area ourselves, but it is pretty expensive and actually isn't available when we'll be there anyway.

Has anyone split their trip between two resorts... a few days in each. Was that just a pain?

we do it all the time. we love it. disney will transfer your luggage for you. if we drive, we take it ourselves. last trip we just took a cab from AOA to boardwalk villas. it was about 7 bucks! I felt silly giving him 20%, gave him an extra $5. (cause you do have to wait about 4 hours for your bags. with disney's transfer,)
a lot of people go to the park while waiting for their room to be ready and for their bags. we like to hang by the pool on "Transfer day", so make sure to keep out our suits, books, etc.
it's a great way to try new resorts, and sneak in a deluxe for a few nights when you can't afford it for the whole trip.

if you are doing a package, just put extra park days on the package for the 1st resort. do a "room only" reservation for the 2nd resort. use the tickets from the package.
wilderness lodge or animal kingdom are the 2 cheapest deluxes, and either would be good for a honeymoon!

or how about a value for a couple days and then splurge on beach club or boardwalk, (with the $ you saved by staying value). you could rent DVC points! then you could walk to epcot! or check out the dolphin.

 

[Q-man]

the walk from the epcot resrts (or the boat) to DHS or epcot is great!!! the buses are horribloe, though.

the 3 "monorail" resorts have the boats, walking (CR) and , of course the monorail.. but that isn't what it used to be. many delays, breakdowns, etc. and again, the buses are horrible.

AKL was the worst seconded by WL . AKL should have sep buses for the Jambo and Kidani. WL buses were bad. but then again, these 2 deluxe resorts are the cheapest of the deluxe.
we like a split stay. so if we are at dolphin, BWV or BCV, we only do epcot and DHS. amybe MK once. and we stay at a elsewhere for our AK day a a day (or 2 ) at MK.
we love ALL the resort levels.
mosderates were our favorite, but this last trip I fel in live with theat bW view room.

The walk-ability of those resorts to two parks is why I specified the Seven Seas Lagoon deluxes in my post. I should have included Bay Lake for WL.