Is the mod or higher resorts worth it?

[SashaFarce]

I stayed at CS once with a friend and Boardwalk once on a work trip. My girlfriend and I stayed at POFQ one year and CBR the next for anniversary trips. When she was growing up her family stayed at Contemporary and Poly quite a bit. This year we're taking along a couple stragglers on our anniversary so we'll be staying at values as we usually do. We usually drive our own car to parks.

We really enjoyed POFQ, but CBR was just too big for us. CS is also quite large. I really loved Boardwalk and we'd like to stay there or somewhere similar again. For us, though, the hotel is somewhere to shower and sleep and change clothes, so unless we're going on a very relaxing trip, values are fine and we'd rather spend our money in the restaurants.

 

[Eeyore's My Favorite]

We've stayed at AKL, WL & BC for deluxe resorts & I would actually choose to stay at POR over any of them. Our worst stay recently was BC. Wish we had stayed at POR but we were going to F&W. POR is so relaxing, love the boat ride to DTD , the pool & food court. We took the carriage ride around POFQ. We just love the relaxing atmosphere there & the money we saved by staying there instead if deluxe.

 

[buckirj1]

The value resorts are fine for me, but a lot depends on how many of you there are. Personally, I don't think the moderates offer enough extra space and amenities to compensate for the increase in price for one person, but I might feel differently if I were traveling with others. However, if I had just one other person with me, I'd probably spring for a deluxe resort instead of a mod.

 

[Ariel on Land]

I prefer the mods over values, but values have their place. We stayed in a Nemo suite at AoA and while the room was wonderful, I admit the chaos of the resort bugged me at the end if the day. But I'm staying value again next trip because it's just my 2yo and myself, and I can't justify paying more when it's just us. So "worth" is very dependent on you and your needs!!

 

[missdorado26]

Thanks for all the opinions. We decided and booked the CBR again. I Loved it there last time but we barely got to enjoy the resort. Our last trip was our first trip so form day one we were in the parks until they kicked us out lol. So this time we have set aside 2 days for just the resort. I love that there are hammocks by the beach. The kids can play in the sand and we can relax. It never felt full. The walk wasn't even bad. Yes some days it felt bad but with all we ate we could Def use the walking lol. But overall I loved it the first time. One day when we can afford it I would love to stay at the poly or Gf. But until then a mod will do. I am certainly a frugal mom so I always think the cheaper the better. But I also know I don't like crazyness when I'm trying to relax at the resort. So that's why I rather spend a little extra and stay at a mod. The bus at CBR was OK. But I have nothing else to compare it too other than other people's reviews which seems to be the same for all the resorts. I'm just happy and excited to be going back. Any tips anyone can offer for the resort or just in general?

 

[Babsy]

Thanks for all the opinions. We decided and booked the CBR again. I Loved it there last time but we barely got to enjoy the resort. Our last trip was our first trip so form day one we were in the parks until they kicked us out lol. So this time we have set aside 2 days for just the resort. I love that there are hammocks by the beach. The kids can play in the sand and we can relax. It never felt full. The walk wasn't even bad. Yes some days it felt bad but with all we ate we could Def use the walking lol. But overall I loved it the first time. One day when we can afford it I would love to stay at the poly or Gf. But until then a mod will do. I am certainly a frugal mom so I always think the cheaper the better. But I also know I don't like crazyness when I'm trying to relax at the resort. So that's why I rather spend a little extra and stay at a mod. The bus at CBR was OK. But I have nothing else to compare it too other than other people's reviews which seems to be the same for all the resorts. I'm just happy and excited to be going back. Any tips anyone can offer for the resort or just in general?

I'd book a preferred room for the convenient location.

 

[DJFan88]

Thanks for all the opinions. We decided and booked the CBR again. I Loved it there last time but we barely got to enjoy the resort. Our last trip was our first trip so form day one we were in the parks until they kicked us out lol. So this time we have set aside 2 days for just the resort. I love that there are hammocks by the beach. The kids can play in the sand and we can relax. It never felt full. The walk wasn't even bad. Yes some days it felt bad but with all we ate we could Def use the walking lol. But overall I loved it the first time. One day when we can afford it I would love to stay at the poly or Gf. But until then a mod will do. I am certainly a frugal mom so I always think the cheaper the better. But I also know I don't like crazyness when I'm trying to relax at the resort. So that's why I rather spend a little extra and stay at a mod. The bus at CBR was OK. But I have nothing else to compare it too other than other people's reviews which seems to be the same for all the resorts. I'm just happy and excited to be going back. Any tips anyone can offer for the resort or just in general?

I think you made a good decision. The moderates are definetly better than my opinion -- although what would I know about value since I haven't stayed in one. However, I have checked a couple of them out by walking around and eating at the food court just to see (AoA and Pop) and after all of our mod. staying I have no desire to go to those. As someone else said, however, if it was all I could swing financially, I would and am sure I'd be still enjoying my stay.
I actually stayed CBR 2 times my first stays, and they were great, but then after that it got old. So next time CSR we went. I liked it, hubby, not as much, so then we tried POR, where it is currently everyone's favorite and are going back. However, we always wanted to try a boardwalk deluxe and will be doing a split with BC. But it's taken us 4 trips to do this and we have still loved everyone of them.. Our split at the deluxe will be 4 days, and I really don't think I'd want to do only 2 days there, just not enough time with the check in day and check out day. So, I would just say enjoy CBR and there will come a day when you try the deluxe too.

 

[Day-Day]

I agree with DJFan88. Our experience was very similar year's ago. We stayed at CBR our very 1st visit to WDW and liked it so much we stayed there our 2nd and tried to get it for our 3rd visit. CBR was booked so the CM recommended Dixie Landings (POR) which we knew nothing about but it definitely became our favorite.

As I noted in a previous post, we have stayed at a couple of deluxes and values as well. It is good to check out other resorts if you think you will make additional visits to WDW. Just visiting various resorts while staying at one is a good way to get an idea on its appeal to you; either go there just to see it or plan a meal at a food court or restaurant at the specific resort.

Also, Doing a split stay is a good way to experience new resorts without a full commitment. To some it sounds very inconvenient but WDW makes changing locations easy especially if booking room-only.

My tip doesn't work for everyone but it is something to consider and maybe try out depending on the time of year (weather, crowds, park hours, etc.) you visit. We often take a break from the parks during the middle of the day when lines are long and temperatures are high. It seems like a waste of time to travel out of the park to the buses and back and forth to the resort but during peak times we aren't going to accomplish much in the park and some folks may get cranky. Some of us swim, some nap, some just enjoy relaxing during this time.

We used to schedule a complete day off after 3 days or so of hitting the parks to get rested and the park tickets weren't discounted as much after the 4th day. With the way the tickets are priced now we don't mind going to the park for a short time on one of our "off days" when that extra day may only cost $6 or so.

On days we stay in the park from morning to night (we always do rope drop) we will likely schedule a sit-down meal for lunch so we can recooperate indoors while the lines are peaking for the rides.

 

[DJFan88]

Yes, and if you are looking for something additional to do, strolling around DTD could be something to do if you have a day at the pools and want to do something at night.
Agree about Day-Day and the ticket prices, you could stay in all morning and do the pool/splash, etc., have a nice lunch and then later when it's cooler at night head out to MK or what have you for a few hours. Some times crowds disperse and it's comfortable. We have walked on Pirates very easily a coupleof times in a row at that time. Or do something like that bear singing show , stuff you normally don't want to stop earlier in the day at.
Some say AK is nice and very less crowded later in the day, but I can't confirm that.