Is it really worth it to spend the extra money?

[milmore104]

I have I guess some questions and coments. I know how everyone says oh splurge on a nice room. But my question would be why? Every year we plan a trip to Disney and we always have $7,500 to do it with. We go for 2 weeks and stay at one of the AS. And every year I tell myself that we are going to stay somewhere else I start to check out prices and things and can never justify spending the extra money. I mean what is so great about the deluxe resorts? Am I missing something? I thought that it was just a place to sleep! I would really like some input on this.

 

[Disneydenise]

This is just my opinion but, I think it does depend on wat you want out of your vaation. I have not stayed in the AS yet. If I had younger children I think I would but my children still o wit us on vacation and they are 18 & 17. They have alot of stuff and they take up lot of time and space. That is how I justify going to the deluxe resorts. We started going to Disney before they had the value resorts so I to use to staying less time and going to the deluxes and a few times at a moderate. The ameniteis they hav to offerat the deluxe resorts are worth it to me. My sone loves the arcade at the Contemporary and he likes the watermice at the GF and the Poly. I love the beach at the Poly. We do make use of these things.

 

[Bill From PA]

I sort of agree with you. We've stayed at the AllStars twice and would do so again. Last March we took advantage of a great rate and stayed at PO/Riverside and we appreciated the difference. The lounge, boat to DD and PI and the restaurants in addition to a bigger food court made it worth a little more. This Nov. we're staying at Dolphin, again, only because of a great rate and because the kids are staying home. I would not pay full rate for PO or Dolphin. WDW is an active vacation for us and all we NEED is a quite, clean and convienient place to recover from the parks.


Bill From PA

 

[milmore104]

Is the food court at PO really bigger and better then AS? This is our main reasoning for staying at the AS. We have a 2 yo DD and we like the fact that you can get anything you want to eat in the food court were as at a deluxe resort you are limited to the resturants menu.

 

[Bill From PA]

Is the food court at PO really bigger and better then AS?

It seemed so to me. Maybe it was an optical illusion created by the layout or the more extensive theming, but I doubt it. It wouldn't have been worth it to us to pay full rate for, but at $99 per night in the first week of March, I'm glad we did it.


Bill From PA

 

[Linda L.]

Let me start. I've never stayed at the deluxe resorts, though I am this trip. I've always done the moderates. Here's why. I have two sons. You don't say who's with you, but my boys don't sleep well together. We tried that many years ago. That is why I always took Dixie Landings for the extra trundle bed. The sink outside also helped two people get ready at one time.
Now my reason for trying a deluxe. Got an excellent price. The whole 8 nights is only costing an extra $350. I actually saved that seperately from doing surveys and mystery shopping, so my husband wouldn't complain. I can't wait to walk to the MK instead of waiting for a bus and wasting all that time. I just hate wasting an hour on a bus. I also can't wait for my kids to try the water mice. That's something we've never done. I'm also looking forward to having dinner at the California Grill on my birthday and sending the children downstairs with money to eat at the food court and play games. They're now old enough to try this. Yeah! I'm also really looking forward to a queen bed, as those full beds are awful, and a larger room.
That's just for starts.

 

[PamNC]

but our situation might be different than yours. For one thing...you stay a long time. We usually stay 1 week. Plus, we've visited so many times that we like to enjoy the deluxe resort amenities. For instance, our favorite is YC/BC. We LOVE stormalong bay. Can't beat it...best pool on property. We love the beautiful resort and like relaxing and taking in the view. Plus, we enjoy the boardwalk area with the surreys and restaurants. I guess what I'm saying is although we do go and enjoy the parks, it's only part of our WDW vacation.

Now, if you want to go go go in the parks - I'd say AS is perfect because you're just sleeping. It's all a matter of taste.

PamNC

 

[jennymouse]

I think it depends on the vacation. Last year my DGD(7) and I went for 4 nights the week before Easter on sort of a spur of the moment trip. We spent most of our time at the parks trying to see it all in 4 days.LOL We stayed at ASMu and loved it....would do it again in a heartbeat. This year, I'm taking DD & DGD and we are staying twice as long, but planning some down time at the resort. Depending on code rates, we'll either be at AKL or CBR. Since we'll be at the resort more, I thought a mod or deluxe would be nice.....also, I've had longer to save up for this trip.

 

[milmore104]

I have gotten some really great advice from everybody. I'm sorry I forgot to tell you who I was going with. I am traveling with my DH and DD (this will be for her 2nd birthday). You wouldn't think that this would be that hard of a choice to make. And it's not the fact that we can't afford to spend the money it just goes against my upbringing. I am truely a bargain shopper. I shopped for 2 months to buy a computer. I have to feel like I'm getting the best deal for my money. I would really like to stay at all the resorts so I guess I'll just have to wait till new codes come out for 10-29 thru 11-11-02 and see if there are any good deals on Mod. to Del. resorts.
I really thank you all for your advice and comments keep them comming.
I also didn't say that we are planning on buyin AP's this time.

 

[mat2672]

It totally depends on what your looking for as far as the "total package" during your trip. If you really only look at the resort as a place to sleep then theres not much reason to spend the extra money. But, if you would like things like sit down restaurants and better theming, transportation, etc., then you might benefit from doing a deluxe. Dont get me wrong, I stayed at the allstars and didnt have any problems at all, but there is a big difference as compared to the deluxes when it comes to the resort ammenities and overall atmosphere. But, if you dont need that stuff then save your money. Then again, if you finally do upgrade to a higher level resort, you might realize what youve been missing. Either way, being anywhere at disney beats sitting here at work!

 

[Hnymoon@Dixie]

Originally posted by mat2672
Either way, being anywhere at disney beats sitting here at work!

Well said MAT!

 

[milmore104]

You truely hit the nail on the head.

 

[milmore104]

I just wanted to add something. My DH and I always stayed at OKW and I have to say it was beautiful but the studios are actually smaller than the rooms at AS. And we had a king bed , unlike at OKW were it's two queens. We did stay in a 1 bedroom a couple of times but realized it was a waste of money seeing we only used the kitchen once to make a breakfast. And I was on vacation to relax not make meals.

 

[miranda113]

The reason **I** feel the splurge is worth it, if possible, is because of the transportation issue. Oh, the sit down restaurants and the service and the "theme pool" are all great, but would I pay the extra for them if they were right next to AS? Heck no!
But IMO you can't beat being able to walk to Epcot or MGM from the BWI, YC, BC or Swan & Dolphin. Or to MK from GF, Poly... I personally hate the thought of having to drive or get on a bus every day of my vacation. Plus, this makes it harder to take a mid-afternoon break at your resort.
To me, that makes the extra $$ worth it. But if you don't care about that, then save the money! You're at Disney no matter which resort you choose

 

[Lainy67]

We are going for the parks, yet plan to take advantage of the pool in the afternoon to give us a break. We cannot fathom spending 100 more a night on a deluxe (which is what the price was when we checked) compared to a moderate. We might have gone for a value, however Movies was not available for the time frame, and the difference between what we got for POR vs. All Star Sports and Music was only 150. For the extra sink, and a little more quiet we opted that 150 was a good deal to pay. 600 -700 was NOT. My hubby and I were talking about this last night. I would love to try AKL, but the extra money to do it just isn't worth it to us. That money can buy more souvenirs that we can enjoy for a lot longer than the few hours we would spend at the resort. (Now if they offered to upgrade us for 20 a night to AKL we might just do it.)

That being said, if our goal was to enjoy the resort (although we are more commando type people than rest and relax and be lazy people) we might look at going higher but cutting out some park days and thus cutting cost down. But we probably would not be going to Disney if that was the case. Being Lazy and Doing Disney just don't go together in my mind.

 

[Desnik]

We like to stay at deluxe hotels when going to Disney and these are our reasons for doing so:
Location, and transportation. You just have better options than the other resorts, like a boat to MK or the monorail or walking distance to MGM and Epcot. We love to rent boats and spend at least 2 days at the resort enjoying all the amenities. Nicer dining options, interior hallways, balconies, bigger rooms.
We have yet to pay full price for a deluxe which is also important to me. We have an AP and have been lucky to get really great rates, like $199 for the GF!! Who could resist! I, like most people like a bargain when I can get one!
milmore104 you mentioned that at deluxe resorts you are limited to restaurant menues, and that is not true. When we were at the GF they had Gasparillas Grill which had kids meals like chicken fingers, pizza, hot dogs, burgers. And the food was really good. I'm almost positive that all deluxes have an option for quick food like this.
For us, the resort is just as much part of our trip as the parks. We find ourselves spending more time at the resorts, on each trip we keep adding more resort days!

 

[milmore104]

To lainy67,
Could you please tell me wear you found your prices. I have been searching and the best I can come up with is if we upgrade to a mod. instead of value it will be around $500 more. We are traveling 10/29-11/11 Thanks

 

[Lainy67]

They were running the summer saver plan, and I booked online, so I ran the prices over and over and over again - several times a week for three weeks. I also ran them all separately (room, flight, tickets). The best deal I got was what I booked through Disney online and was a package. When I ran the prices for All Stars with the same dates, same flights, etc... I got prices about 150$ less than the moderate resorts for the week for all of us. When I ran the prices for the deluxes the cheapest was 500 more (WL - standard view) and they went up from there.

I remember the price difference for the value to mods very well because we were looking seriously at staying at a value. However, we really wanted Movies and that wasn't available. So we ran it so many times and talked so extensively about it that it has been ingrained in my mind.

I ran your dates through and the room rate I got for POR for a few days from now is the same rate I got the dates you have listed for an All Star, so the Summer Saver package I KNOW helped. I got a rate of around $99 a night for the POR. I know some people have gotten better rates, but that was the best I could find.

Also, keep in mind your trip is double the length (or almost) of mine. Good Luck.

 

[JulesMom]

We have stayed 2 weeks the last few years in June. We split our stay. 1 week at a moderate and then 1 week at a deluxe.

It doesn't increase our budget that much--especially if you get an AP rate!

It really is a nice change to switch resorts mid vacation. It always feels like we are having 2 vacations!

 

[mouseketeerwannabe]

Milmore104,
I understand how you feel about being it going against your grain to pay so much more for a Deluxe. My husband finally helped me see that we are worth it. We work so hard all year and the Deluxes really do add to our memories and the whole ambiance of the trip. With a two year old consider this:

At GF it's a short walk to the gondola and the MK is the first stop. When our daughter was 5, we were able to be there when it opened and get all those Fantasyland rides done without lines! We were back at the resort for a swim and nap and then refreshed for the evening. The next day, we rode favorite rides again at opening and then headed to Toon Town to be first in line for Mickey. The thing I hadn't realized before is how much easier it was to go back to the resort even for an hour or two and then return (we did that waiting for a fast past time) when you are right on the monorail line.

At night we were able to sit on our balcony and watch the castle turn colors and then watch the fireworks display in our pajamas!!I will never forget that feeling.

We also were able to walk over the the snack shop for self-serve snacks.

Whatever you decide, I know your trip will be a magical birthday for your two year old.