Is the upgrade from Value to Moderate worth the price?

[windycitymom]

Should I spend the extra money to go from a Value Resort to a Moderate resort? First of all, we have only stayed at Value Resorts (Pop, All Sports, All Movies) and were happy with them.

We will be there over Thanksgiving and I was thinking of surprising the family by upgrading to a Moderate. I was thinking of Port Orleans French Quarter. Is that a good choice when it comes to other Moderate resorts?

Aside from price, are there any cons from staying in a Moderate instead of a Value? We will have a car so we won't be dependant on Disney transportation. Can we walk or take a boat from the French Quarter to the Disney Boardwalk? Our "kids" are late teens to early 20s.

The frugal part of me wants to stay in a Value, but another part of me wants to surprise my family by staying somewhere different.

If you have stayed in the French Quarter before, would you go back?

 

[pamrob]

I think it would depend on how you plan to spend your time there. We have stayed at values, moderates and DVC properties. All are great. If I am planning to spend alot of time in the parks I am most likely going to stay in a value. The year we stayed at Coronado my girls were young and we spent more time at the resort so it was great to have a little extra room. Another plus was the pool and pool slide which they really enjoyed.

 

[MomtoGKC]

We've stayed at Port Orleans Riverside - our only choice with 3 kids. We thought the grounds were really pretty. You can take the boat from there to DTD, not Boardwalk.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

POFQ is our absolute favorite moderate resort. We love it. There is a boat to DTD, but not the Boardwalk. The rooms are larger than the values.

There is only one bus stop at POFQ and I expect with you going over Thanksgiving, there won't be alot of sharing with POR, but not completely impossible.

We think it is worth it, depending what we want from the trip and what we will be doing.

 

[quigs3]

We have stayed at both value and moderate resorts, and there is definitely a difference! Even though we spend a great deal of our time at the parks, it's still so nice to go back to the resorts and rest at the end of the day. The busses are better, the rooms are bigger, and I think the atmosphere overall is more pleasant. It is worth it to me to spend the few extra hundred dollars!

 

[myhouseofmouse]

The price is worth it, as long as you plan to spend some time at the resort..using the things that you are paying extra for. If all you use it for is a bed and shower..then NO its not worth it. Last year we stayed at POR..During one such day we had our MNSSHP tickets, we spent the entire day before the party at the resort: played at the pool, rented boats: at lunch at the restaurant. had a great time. Also during our stay, 3 nights after park touring my daughter and I hung out with Yea Hah Bob for his wonderful shows The moderates are a very nice step up in themes and things to do, you just have to find time to use them.

 

[buckirj1]

It isn't worth it to me, but I'd probably think differently if I were sharing a room with more than one other person. I think when you get to three people, even if one of them is a child, any extra space at all would come in handy.

 

[thomas998]

I might consider the cabins because the extra room and kitchen make them a nice bump above the value... But just going with the other values doesn't give you much more than a better pool and slightly nicer look outside the room.

 

[sharonmickey]

My family loves the French Quarter. It's fun taking the boat to downtown Disney. It is a more relaxed atmosphere than at the value resorts. The landscaping makes it feel like the hotel is not as large as at the value resorts, but it is due to how the buildings are laid out - to me moderates seem more spread out than the values. As others have said, if you are spending more time at the resort than POFQ might be worth the extra money. However if you just sleep there I would stick with a value. Now my kids are in their 20s we usually eat breakfast at the hotel then return late at night, for us a value makes more sense. (Plus I hate spending the extra money if I don't have to, I'd rather have a nice meal somewhere than stay in a slightly larger hotel room. But that is just me.)

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Before it was a good idea to go to a moderate because they had a fridge. But now that values are getting them, I would say save your money and stay at the value. But by all means go over a visit POR. The food court has a lot to offer so maybe go there to eat one day.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Yikes the price of a cabin for Thanksgiving is $300 to almost $400 a night. Cant believe they consider the cabins a moderate at those prices!!!!

I might consider the cabins because the extra room and kitchen make them a nice bump above the value... But just going with the other values doesn't give you much more than a better pool and slightly nicer look outside the room.

 

[Tinknalli]

For us it is very much worth the cost. 2 double beds is just too small for 2 adults and 2 kids IMHO. Queens makes a huge difference in the rest we get and affects our vacation. On our last trip we had said it would be our last moderate stay because we could not do double beds anymore. Well most of the moderates got queens so we can continue to use them. The overall atmosphere is so much quieter and more relaxed at a moderate too. It just feels better there. We love POFQ and we love POR as well, the streetlamps, fountains, music, the sound of the horses clip clopping along the lanes at night, the boat to DTD, I could go on and on. POFQ wins over POR in the transportation department IMO. POR food court is so much better than POFQ (except the beignets) that they win in this category. Of course you an take the boat or walk between the two so we use the POR facilities when we stay at POFQ.

 

[momof1princess]

for my family, a moderate isn't really necessary, since we only use our room to sleep and shower, but for someone who spends more time at the resort, a moderate would be great. for now, we'll stick with the value resorts. maybe when DD is older, we'll switch to a moderate.

 

[disneydivermom]

I would definately select a moderate over a value resort. When we went for a 2nd time in 2008 we decided to be thrifty and stay value. We said we would never stay at a value again. Then this year when we priced moderate and cruise, we talked ourselves into value and a cruise and again said "never again".

Why? The bus system is too busy, the resort is too busy and the restaurants are crazy busy. My husband actually skipped meals because of the lines to get food then the second line to pay .

We have always had memorable wonderful vacations but the values take away some of the magic.

If it's in your budget I'd go to Coronado Springs in a heart beat! The resort is beautiful, pool great fun, quick service rated one of the best and the bus pick up back to the resort is typically the first or second one... after a long day at the parks you really appreciate it!

Which every you pick have a wonderful time .

Lisa

 

[puffkin]

I think the values are fine for a night or two. But for a weeklong vacation with more than 2 people in the room, definitely go with the moderate. It is definitely worth the money and POFQ is our absolute favorite of the moderates. I don't think you will regret spending the money.

 

[PharmerJan]

How old are you kids?

We went in March 2011 with our almost 3 year old and stayed value for the first time. (Im a moderate person- many stays at CBR and POFQ) but thought with the kid he would like the themeing at Movies the best.

Tough call. Look at exactly how much more it is and decide if you can afford it. That is what it comes down to.

POFQ is a great resort. I love the look of it and the rooms are much nicer than a Value. Pool is great with a slide, too. The food court is smaller than at Movies and most of the snack credit items you will find in the gift shop as opposed to the food court (didnt find that out until our last day, FWIW).

I love the Mods. I love having a fridge and coffeemaker in room. They are a bit more spacious (just a bit!) and in our case this year the TV was much nicer (flat screen vs small tube TV).

Values are nice and fit the bill. Such a personal decision. If you arent spending much room time, stay Value. If you like to chill at the resort, Id stay Mod.

 

[PrincessNoelle'sMom]

POFQ is a nice quaint resort - not too large to get around and has a very good food court. If I had to choose a mod over a value though - I'd pick CBR. I feel that since the refurbishment it has a much more "deluxe" feel than the other mods. IMO I choose either value or deluxe. Mod's to me are not entirely worth the upgrade from a value but deluxe is. Just to keep in mind - you'll be at Disney and that is "magical" enough!

 

[Suz D]

We really enjoy staying at the value resorts because we just don't think that the moderates are worth the extra $$. Unless...you have a great deal on a moderate (which we got when for this Thanksgiving when we're staying at POFQ!).

We've stayed at value, moderate, and deluxe. I think it depends on what you are wanting out of your vacation. If you are looking for a really relaxing time, go with a moderate (and POFQ or POR are great choices).

Things that we love about a value resort:
1. major Disney theming
2. cost
3. counter in sink area vs. pedestal sinks. This means less storage for your toiletries, toothbrushes etc. I'm going to bring the over the door shoe holder to hold our toiletries since we'll be at POFQ for 9 nights over TG.
4. cost
5. adequate space in the rooms
6. cost
7. Everything seems pretty close to the food court and transportation

Things we love about a moderate:
1. Peacefullness of the grounds (more landscaping, more spread out-which I know contradicts #7 above, but sometimes you just enjoy a little more privacy)
2. More upscale theming. Things feel a little less geared to little kids.
3. I think the food court is a little nicer
4. Option of having a sit down restaurant at your resort (Boatwrights)
5. Water slide at the pool
6. Less crowded transportation

One thing you might think about doing instead of surprising your family with another resort, is to surprise them with a fireworks cruise or something like that.

Finally, you might want to double check on availability for TG week at POFQ. They may be nearly sold out. The difference in cost for a holiday week between value and moderate might be quite a bit.

We got in on free dining and always upgrade from QS dining. For the amount of the upgrade to regular dining (which we pay for OOP at a value) for our family of four, it ended up being only about $10 more per night to stay at a moderate. Since my sister and her family are coming with us and my BIL is a pretty tall guy, we decided it would be worth it to have more space. Plus, the refridgerators were a draw for us (we didn't know that they would put fridges in all of the values when we booked).

If you end up moving to POFQ, maybe we'll run into you!

 

[rvchat]

IMO, YES YES YES. I honestly do not like any of the value hotels at wdw


(((

Should I spend the extra money to go from a Value Resort to a Moderate resort? First of all, we have only stayed at Value Resorts (Pop, All Sports, All Movies) and were happy with them.

We will be there over Thanksgiving and I was thinking of surprising the family by upgrading to a Moderate. I was thinking of Port Orleans French Quarter. Is that a good choice when it comes to other Moderate resorts?

Aside from price, are there any cons from staying in a Moderate instead of a Value? We will have a car so we won't be dependant on Disney transportation. Can we walk or take a boat from the French Quarter to the Disney Boardwalk? Our "kids" are late teens to early 20s.

The frugal part of me wants to stay in a Value, but another part of me wants to surprise my family by staying somewhere different.

If you have stayed in the French Quarter before, would you go back?

 

[Planogirl]

We haven't been to Pop but we tried the Allstars and didn't like it. We didn't care for the theming (our taste), the noise, the transportation and the lack of amenities. If you are OK with that you might want to just stay put though.

It is nice to take the boat to Downtown Disney. It's also nice to have a bigger room, better pool (actually two - you can use the pool at Riverside too) and just overall a prettier resort.