Is it worth it...going from Value to Mod?

[twoeeyy]

We have stayed at values for our last 6 trips ( POP was the last 4 ) We are booked into POP again for Sept 26-Oct 05 with free dining. I would love to try a MOD again ( last time we stayed at CBR that was a value, they had not built the AS 's yet ) but for our upcoming trip it will be almost 700.00 more to switch to a MOD I am thinking of adding on 2 night at Universal instead.

Now what I really want to do is stay at POLY , maybe someday when I dump my husband and find myself a rich guy ( JK'ing )

 

[Mickdeb]

Brooke,
I think, as many posters have said it depends on how much time you spend at the resort. Now we have been in January twice and it was in the low 80's and was definately warm enough to swim. POFQ/POR have great pools as does CSR. Haven't stayed at CBR.

The biggest deal breaker for us, or I should say, for my husband was; the lack of any where to go after our daughter was in bed. He doesn't enjoy going to bed by 9:00pm if we are back to our room. At POR there is a bar area with great nightly entertainment. Sing alongs, adult beverages, really fun
Also having a sit down restaurant was nice instead of the food court every morning. We found we could have breakfast at Boatwrights even without
and ADR. Don't forget the boat to DTD from POR/POFQ. A nice alternative to the buses.

So it really all depends on how your family likes to travel. All park time vs. some quite resort time.

Either way enjoy your trip

 

[Twilight Terror]

We stayed at Pop last year (our first onsite holiday). We are a no frills family and have always gone with the 'value' option, including our holiday last year. While the place was clean, comfortable and a good base, we found it to be too noisy and busy. It felt a bit like there was no time to just stop and observe and enjoy. However, all of our party are over 21, so that might have something to do with that.

For next year we have splashed out a little extra for a moderate resort, and we will being staying at POR. That decision was partly to get the free ddp, but more so to do with staying somewhere slightly quieter. The in-room fridge and coffee-maker were a huge advantage too!

I think that because we are older, we prefer the slightly more relaxed, slightly slower way of life that seems to come with the Moderates. However, if we ever had kids in our party, we would opted for the value resorts, because they are just so alive and geared towards the boundless energy kids seem to come with when they step through the gates of WDW!

 

[Mom2JoeyandBen]

2 things that are much better with Mods IMO are:
1) Bus Transportation
2) Size of Room

Especially with a family of 4 or more, the size of the room makes a huge difference. The quality of the beds and having a "central air" unit is a big thing for us too. At POP there were metal coils digging into our back at night when sleeping. POP and CSR are the only 2 value/mod hotels I believe with a central air system. We will be trying CSR for the 1st time in Feb.

However, once you experience a Deluxe like CR and WL(2 of our favs), you have a tough time even going back to a Mod, with the many reason being the ease of transportation, especially at one of the monorail resorts like the CR.

 

[ElizabethB]

Honestly, I couldn't see much difference in size between a value room and a room at CSR. They are identical in layout. The tub and shower are certainly the same. CSR has one sink. So did All Star Sports. It's two double beds in both locations. Each has a small table and two chairs. Just not that much difference, IMO.

To me, the real difference is in the resort and its amenities. We love walking around CSR resort at night, love the on-site restaurant, etc.

We rent a car and never take the buses. So, can't comment on that.

Perhaps room size doesn't seem much different to me because we often stay in a one-bedroom DVC villa. Now, there's a difference. When each one has two double beds, a small table and two chairs, the teeny bath/tub combo room and the absolutely awful open closet (who thought that was a good idea?!), I just can't see much difference.

 

[ElizabethB]

We were two adults and two pre-teens at ASSp, at CSR and at GF. We were just as comfortable (or shall I say uncomfortable) space-wise in the ASSp room as in the CSR room. CSR felt very small by the end of the week. We were only at ASSp for two nights, so it probably would have felt really small by the end of the week too.

Perhaps what surprised us the most was how un-roomy the GF RPC room was. At least the beds were queens and very comfortable. But, there was not enough drawer room for four people to store things for a week. I ended up putting my clothes in the nightstand cupboard where the phone book is.

WDW seems to have a problem with building decent sized rooms anymore -- apparently much more economical to skimp on space. That makes CR and Poly very attractive to me, and, though we haven't stayed there, I'd consider CBR simply because I understand the room are a little larger than the other moderates.

As for CSR and ASSp, not enough size difference to matter, IMO.

 

[TANYABETH]

I'd skip the moderates and head right for the deluxe!!!

 

[bnk1120]

The mods are definitely worth the price increase. Did not like ASMU when we stayed there in May. But I guess many people think it's worth it to upgrade to a deluxe. For me, I can't see spending THAT much. It's all a matter of opinion.