I have become a Disney snob. :(

[Harlemgirl720]

I totally understand. I went from Value to Moderate to Deluxe. Then I took a step further and bought DVC. Best move I've ever made.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I totally understand. I went from Value to Moderate to Deluxe. Then I took a step further and bought DVC. Best move I've ever made.

I actually own DVC

But as for hotels.... One day I looked around at my 'deluxe' hotel and realized the quality of the hotel was no where near what it should be. (Compare a Disney deluxe to the Orlando Ritz Carlton. Disney is subpar except for price. There they lead the pack).

I won't be back to a Disney 'deluxe' until quality and service meet the standard for their pricing

 

[ArwenMarie]

I actually own DVC

But as for hotels.... One day I looked around at my 'deluxe' hotel and realized the quality of the hotel was no where near what it should be. (Compare a Disney deluxe to the Orlando Ritz Carlton. Disney is subpar except for price. There they lead the pack).

I won't be back to a Disney 'deluxe' until quality and service meet the standard for their pricing

The Deluxes aren't real Deluxes IMO. They are Disney Deluxes

I only stay in them for the location. If they dropped POP right where the Contemporary is right now, I would still stay there.

 

[ZehnJahren]

The Deluxes aren't real Deluxes IMO. They are Disney Deluxes

I only stay in them for the location. If they dropped POP right where the Contemporary is right now, I would still stay there.

AGREED that the location makes them deluxe! But I do appreciate the more subtle theming (think AKL or WL lobbies) and perks (walking to the parks!) that make them special!

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

I loved ASMusic. The room was small but the place really grew on me the longer I stayed. I would eat breakfast at the pool. The grounds were very nice. The pools had showers and not all the deluxes have them. Transportation was good. I thought the transportation was better than the GF.

Sure deluxes are nice but to save $$$ ASMusic is great.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

The Deluxes aren't real Deluxes IMO. They are Disney Deluxes

I only stay in them for the location. If they dropped POP right where the Contemporary is right now, I would still stay there.

But IMHO the location does not make up for the weaknesses... Especially since my favorite park is Epcot. Hmm... for the price of a Disney Moderate I can stay at the Swan or Dolphin
BYE BYE Deluxe! But Disney won't miss my money lot's of folks are willing do like you and overlook all the other stuff to have that location. I just decided that the only pixie dust I felt was from the "rip off fairy"

 

[ZehnJahren]

I just decided that the only pixie dust I felt was from the "rip off fairy"

LOL, there's a fairy Disney doesn't advertise!!

 

[LKB23]

I can't say that I am an a resort snob because I have 3 kids and a low budget. We really scrapped to pay for this trip. I am happy with any room, but I have stayed at nicer resorts at Disney in the past. To each their own!

 

[ArwenMarie]

But IMHO the location does not make up for the weaknesses... Especially since my favorite park is Epcot. Hmm... for the price of a Disney Moderate I can stay at the Swan or Dolphin
BYE BYE Deluxe! But Disney won't miss my money lot's of folks are willing do like you and overlook all the other stuff to have that location. I just decided that the only pixie dust I felt was from the "rip off fairy"

For our family, we find walkability to three parks (we usually do splits between CR and BC) is worth it. We don't do it for the other stuff that Deluxes offer versus the Values or Mods. But to each their own!

I agree, the Swan/Dolphin is a good pick too.

 

[SA mom]

You said you're going again within the next year and staying at a higher resort, right? If all else fails, look at this solo trip as the first part of your "split stay" with a reaaaallly long break in the middle.

I love this attitude!

 

[P00H1010]

I understand where you are coming from. I never considered myself a resort snob and never thought I would become one but I kinda have. I have been to WDW 4 times and have stayed at a Moderate and a couple Deluxe DVC rooms...never a Value(my DH stayed at ASMusic as a kid). This trip we did AOA (LM room) and BCV. Don't get me wrong...AOA was a nice resort and I was excited about staying there as it looked cute. We had nice 3 nights there before heading to BCV.

However there was a few downsides to us with staying at a value that actually kinda effected our normal "trip routine".

* We are big into staying out late and sleeping in a bit. As we are getting ready in the morning we always drink coffee in the room to help us wake up. I knew the room wouldn't have a coffeemaker and decided that we could deal for a few days. I really found myself missing my morning coffee and since I like it while getting ready if I waited to get it at the food court or at a park it would be too late.
* We like to swim late at night after a long day at the parks and also really enjoy a hot tub as well. We didn't realize that values didn't have hot tubs. The hot tub is nice for relaxing your muscles and especially your feet after a long day. I have plantar fasciitis and the hot tub jets really seems to help relax my feet and help me to be ready for a lot of walking the next day.
* We also were not fond of the crowded buses. Even though AOA doesn't share buses it seemed like they were always jam packed. I have had to stand before on buses with staying at other resorts but it was few and far between. It was almost every bus ride while staying there. I didn't really mind once or twice or on the way to a park....but with the feet problems I have after being on my feet all day the last thing I want to do is stand on a bus at the end of the night as trying to ground yourself seems to take a toll on your feet.

I did like AOA as a resort in general but the "issues" we had will probably keep us from staying at a Value in the future. Everyone vacations differently and these might not be a problem to some but it did have some effect on our normal vacationing ways. I would rather pay a little more for a moderate and vacation the way I want or if we are lucky enough to use our friends DVC points again will do that in a heartbeat.

Having said that, any vacation to WDW would make me excited no matter where I am staying .

 

[karriealex]

I know what you are saying. When we started staying on property we always stayed at CBR and we loved it. Well then I got the chance to stay at the Poly CL with a really good rate. Now I find it very hard to stay anywhere but there. The kids and I are going to DW for a 2 day trip to get the painting dh bought me from Wyland Galleries personalized by the artist. We are staying at POP because we have a Christmas trip planned at the Poly non-CL. I just cannot get myself excited about staying at POP.I just keep thinking about 2 teenaged boys and me in a tiny room with 2 double beds. Yikes

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

I know what you are saying. When we started staying on property we always stayed at CBR and we loved it. Well then I got the chance to stay at the Poly CL with a really good rate. Now I find it very hard to stay anywhere but there. The kids and I are going to DW for a 2 day trip to get the painting dh bought me from Wyland Galleries personalized by the artist. We are staying at POP because we have a Christmas trip planned at the Poly non-CL. I just cannot get myself excited about staying at POP.I just keep thinking about 2 teenaged boys and me in a tiny room with 2 double beds. Yikes

But y'know what? I bet at the end of the 2 days you will say to yourself, "I liked this place!". It's Disney...it's on property...it's all good.

 

[karriealex]

But y'know what? I bet at the end of the 2 days you will say to yourself, "I liked this place!". It's Disney...it's on property...it's all good.

I probably will. We have stayed at POP before when my husband has come with us but we got two connecting rooms. I am sure we will have a good time. It will be the first time I will be there for FW also. It is also the first time I have ever driven 3 hours. That is a bit scary but I can do it.

Just called CRO and found out it is 15.00 a night for a rollaway and I have to request the rollaway when we check in. The extra 30.00 will be well worth it so that my boys don't have to sleep together.

I am actually getting a little excited about this. It will be the first trip alone with my sons and I think we will have a wonderful time. I look forward to spending some alone time with them.

 

[kirby428]

Glad to come back here and see so many other people who are "snobby" too. I thought it was pretty ungrateful of me to be all "eh, ASMu, whoop", but it's nothing against the resort or Disney or even me "needing better". It's more that I have either stayed right by the parks (CR, YC) or that I've stayed in gorgeously themed "adult" resorts (AKL, OKW).

It's hard to get back in the Values mindset. That being said, ASSports is one of my favorite resorts because it was the first I ever stayed at on property, and it was where we stayed back when I was on dance team as a teenager and we came down for dance nationals. A lot of great memories at that resort. It's just hard to compare someplace like that with someplace like CR where you can just saunter over to the park, ya know??

I haven't 100% given up on renting points, but I just don't want to pay what most people are asking. I don't really really mind giving up free dining, but it was the catalyst for the trip! If I end up going value, it will make next year's deluxe trip (fingers crossed!) that much better - and hey, I WILL be at Disney!!!

Aw shucks I'm offended about finding myself guilty of being a snob about Disney resorts. Always knew I was SPOILED ROTTEN, but snobbish? Just came back from a split stay 3n CR TPV and 5n POFQ. We still prefer the Polynesian. Loved walking around AoA, stayed at ASMusic but would rather save longer and book no less than a moderate than go sooner with more days at a value. I could stay free at a Hampton Inn on HHonors points but nooooooo. Hey everybody can book what they like too so is this being a snob or royally spoiled rotten? I want to try the Epcot resorts next but I have to pry ourselves away from the monorail. TORTURE absolutely TORTURE.

 

[kirby428]

I loved ASMusic. The room was small but the place really grew on me the longer I stayed. I would eat breakfast at the pool. The grounds were very nice. The pools had showers and not all the deluxes have them. Transportation was good. I thought the transportation was better than the GF.

Sure deluxes are nice but to save $$$ ASMusic is great.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

I can see that happening. It's acclimation. Feel the same way about my tent when on a week long camping trip. Ahhhh doesn't get any better than that. Fresh air, gentle breeze, no bugs in my ear and cricket sounds. I use a battery operated noise maker with cricket sounds to drown out the sound of those crows at 5AM. Cabins? Who needs um?

 

[Amunet]

I think we are like this also ^_^ We have not stayed at a Deluxe resort yet (we will be staying at AKL for 1 night DVC ... savannah view! this coming trip though) but we have only stayed at moderate resorts.
We stayed at AoA once in the Mermaid Rooms and while the resort was amazingly themed ... just not our thing.
For us, moderate is perfect because it's still a good amount cheaper than deluxe, which allows us to stay longer

My philosophy is; as long as we're staying on resort and going to Disney, I don't care where we're staying.
If we really want to go to WDW but only have enough $$ for a value, then by golly, we're doing a value!

 

[Secretselkie]

I totally get it... We always stayed value and then last year, decided to stay moderate... When it became time to decide where to stay this year, I wanted to do value since it was cheaper, but after paying for a mod- I just couldn't go back to value... Way nicer and more relaxing!

totally agree We spent a few nights at All Star Movies in 2007, offsite in 2009, then 2 weeks at French Quarter this year and we are booked next May for 2 weeks at Caribbean Beach... My husband said next year had to be a Mod as after French quarter he wasn't going back to value! lol

 

[6loversofdisney]

I don't know - this may be the first time I've ever gone where I will be in a different financial situation and could do something above values - My husband and I talked and said we are just going to stick with the values. I have done all kinds of traveling in my lifetime and seen many different places but I've never really cared much about where I lay my head. I want a comfy bed and quiet and clean. That's the extent of it. I always just sleep there and nothing more.

Now, others who have done the better hotels can attest to how it might be hard to then downgrade but as for me and my family, the hotel is kind of irrelevant.

 

[karriealex]

I think the reason where we stay has become so much more important to me is because we have been to Disney so much we no longer go commando. We spend time relaxing at the resort. It is why I love the Polynesian so much. We can stay at the resort and still feel like we are away from the real world. It is very calm and tranquil.

I find the values to be more hustle bustle. We will be at a value for a couple of days in early October, just me and the kids, but it will only be a couple of days. Anything longer and I would try my hardest for the Poly.

Our 5 day trip in December will be at the Poly. Yes we could have gone cheaper but with 4 of us, two being teenagers, one room anywhere else would mean them sharing a bed (shudder) and I also want tranquility for this trip. My dh works very hard doing a job that should be done by someone 20 years younger than him and I want him to just be able to totally relax.