Mod or Deluxe??

[Danjocass]

Hi everyone. My family and I are planning another trip to the World in February, and we are not sure where to stay this time around. This will be my 5th trip my DH 3rd and my DD 2nd. We were just there for the holiday season and stayed at POP which was fine. We have never stayed at Mod or Deluxe before and decided we want to but just aren't sure if its worth the extra money. We have narrowed it down to either POFQ or The Boardwalk. Anyone have thoughts on these resorts? I hear good things about both. What are the benefits to either of these . How are the buses? I hear you share which as you know with Pop you don't. Really need some serious advice here the price difference is $2,100 so be as honest as you like. Thanks so much in advance I really appreciate it.

 

[5forDis]

We just got back yesterday from The Grand Floridian. I, personally, thought it was not worth the extra money. The convenience of being on the monorail was great, but the rooms there are in desperate need of renovation & for the price, I expected much better. We had stayed 1 night over at Universal (Royal Pacific) & the rooms/staff were superior to the GF. I have always wanted to stay at GF with my kids...now we can check that off. I would not return there as an overnight guest. If $2100 is the price difference between moderate and deluxe, I'd absolutely choose moderate. You'll get a bunch of different opinions here because it is a personal preference question & no 2 people will want the same thing.

I edited this to add, the superior room & onsite benefits at Universal cost 1/2 of what a room at GF costs...

Think of all the fun extras (or savings toward another trip) you can do with $2100

 

[figment_jii]

I've not stayed at POFQ or Pop, but I have stayed at the Boardwalk several times. In terms of buses, yes, the route can cover the Boardwalk, along with Swan, Dolphin, Yacht and Beach. Sometimes it's only S and D. In truth, the buses probably aren't any worse than any other bus except in terms of DTD. That route covers all five resorts and can be very crowded in evenings (especially towards DTD's closing time).

If you like Epcot, then the Epcot area resorts cannot be beat. You can walk into Epcot via International Gateway. The walk is about 0.4 miles (or about 7 football fields). There is also a boat that runs from Epcot to DHS, so you have easy access to those two parks. There is a path that runs from the resorts to DHS (it's about a mile), so you could walk if you wanted.

In terms of food, the Boardwalk area has several restaurants, plus the ones at S, D, YC, and BC. Unlike Pop, there is no food court per se at the Boardwalk. So if you're used to eating at the food court in the resort, keep that in mind.

According to wdwinfo, the average room size is 260 square ft at Pop and 380 square feet at the Boardwalk. The rooms are larger at Boardwalk (as expected given the price difference). Also, all of the rooms are connected via internal walkways, so you don't have to worry about getting wet as you walk around the resort (or head to the bus shop). Also, the bus stop is covered (which can be really important in the heat or when it is raining).

Are you driving or will you have a rental car? The parking lot for the Boardwalk is a bit of a distance from the main entrance. Also, the lot is kind of small, so some folks have reported having trouble finding a parking space (especially during F&W). I haven't had problems parking, but it's something to think about.

Overall, I really like the Boardwalk because it is located so close to Epcot (my favorite park). I love being able to just walk over there.

 

[BeerMe]

We've stayed at all three in the past and like all of them for different reasons. I'd say POFQ for a change and wait for BWI after you've tried a Mod. Quite frankly, the only reason we stay at BWI (actually like BC better) is because of the proximity to Epcot and I drink a little bit of beer. We like POFQ a lot, because of the water taxi to DTD and they have a neat little pool bar there too. You can also check on ebay and see if there are any people looking to rent BW villas out. We've done that before too. good luck.

BTW we are both retired so we probably look for different things than your family does.

 

[saskdw]

We spent alot of time making this same decision before our last trip. First off, I don't think there is a wrong choice here. Either place will be a great time and IMO both are a step up from a value resort. There are some little details that will be nicer at BWI, rooms a little bigger, decor arguably nicer, etc. But the none of that was $3k nicer to us. The biggest drawing card to BWI for us is the location. I feel it is the best location on DW property to stay at. Walking distance to Epcot, quick boat ride to DHS, restaurants, ESPN club, mini-golf, boardwalk entertainment, all right outside your door. In the end we spent 14 nights at CSR. We really like CSR and couldn't justify the $3k difference to stay at BWI, but it was very tempting. This was our 3rd Christmas in 4 years at DW, if it was more of a once in a lifetime trip maybe we would have splurged.

 

[elaw]

I guess it depends ... we like to walk, so staying at a deluxe Epcot resort allows us to walk to DHS and Epcot without having to deal with busses and we take the monorail from the Epcot entrance to get to the MK area. I also find the Moderates very charming but you have to deal with busses.

 

[minnie mum]

We've stayed at all three levels of resorts at WDW. I agree with the PP who said that there is no right or wrong resort. Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to budget, value for money spent, and which amenities mean the most. What works best for us doesn't necessarily work best for my next door neighbour.

We generally prefer to stay at the mods, with the occasional deluxe stay for special occasions. For us the larger rooms (larger than value, slightly smaller than deluxe), more appealing theming, quieter ambiance, queen beds, TS restaurants in addition to the food court and excellent bus service fits our needs to a T. We also like the quiet pools that are at all of the mods except POFQ. It's all just so comfortable.

It's much harder to jump all the way to a deluxe (for us). The extra cost of the deluxes is harder to justify if you aren't spending a lot of time at the resort. Some find the convenience of walking to the closest park to be a big selling point, but I'm more than happy to endure the agony of a 10 minute bus ride if it means saving thousands of dollars that I could spend elsewhere. And really, the only time we ever had issues with the buses was when we stayed at an AS resort.

So long story short, I would vote for staying at a mod this time, see how you feel about the resort, and then think about whether you'd like to move up to a deluxe on a future visit.

 

[el_tigre]

Wow, a $2100 difference?!? How long are you staying? I hope you're planning a 21 day trip.

Seriously, it sounds like you'll be visiting the second half of the month, which is peak season. Unless it's a very special occasion, I personally have a big problem paying more than $300 per night for a hotel (much less $300 more per night than another resort). When I visit WDW, I always opt for deluxe level, but I don't think I could stomach that big a difference.

The good news is that Disney has released general public room discounts for that period ranging from 5-30% the last several years. If I were you, I'd probably just lock in POFQ now and be on the lookout for discounts should a better deal come available.

And at the risk of sounding like a shill for Starwood, the Dolphin, which is a golf shot away from the Boardwalk (if you're Tiger Woods), currently has a best available rate of $239 per night for President's Day Weekend 2013. That's before their resort and parking fee, but you could probably do better with potential discount opportunities (like their AAA rate). You'd basically be getting a deluxe level resort for the price of a moderate during one of WDW's busiest times.

 

[dmband]

I would def go from value to mod anyway of the week

 

[Danjocass]

Thank you all so much for your advice. Although the BWI looks beautiful, not having a QS at the hotel is a bit of an issue. I hadnt realized that so thank you for pointing that out. It's just a lot more $$ for not much more. We have decided to go with POFQ. Booked it last night and am anxiously awaiting packages.

 

[minijeanie]

I love POFQ. I think it was a good choice! But not to throw a wrench into your plan but have you looked into the Dolphin?

It is priced considerably less than BW and beds are heavenly plus the rooms are huge. I know many people will say that the Dolphin does not have the Disney feel but I disagree. You are right on property and if you are lucky enough to get a view of Epcot...oh wow...watching fireworks from your balcony is fantastic..

 

[Herbie]

We tend toward the MOD, we have stayed everywhere from All Star Music to Poly club level. I still feel that a moderate, especially Coronado, gives us the most value and enjoyment. They have a better resort feel, without the cost.

 

[Danjocass]

I did think about it after I saw the earlier post about reduced rates for that time of year. But, I also heard you can't do a pkg if you are staying there because its technically not owned by Disney. I definitely want to have the pkg for the parks and dining. Is that true? Also, Why is the Swan a little pricier? What exactly is the difference?

 

[el_tigre]

I honestly think the main reason the Swan is pricier is because it's smaller (fewer rooms cause higher demand). Swan rooms with two beds are queens vs. the doubles at the Dolphin. I do also feel the Swan is a little more elegant.

I'm not sure I'd get too hung up on wanting a package. Park tickets will more or less cost the same regardless and the dining plan seems to alter visitors' eating habits as much as saving them any money, IMO. And if you're a AAA member, you can get 20% off most of the Swan and Dolphin's restaurants. I'm never big on packages anyway, but if there's an opportunity for a better resort in WDW's best location for close to equal cost, I'm scrapping the package.

 

[Masonmj84]

I struggle with this same question.

To be honest, I've never stayed deluxe. We like CSR because it sort of has a deluxe feel but at a substantially lower price (in that regard, I'm skeptical that a deluxe could possibly be worth the typically hundreds per night price difference).

That being said, I'll admit to being tempted to try a deluxe. We typically dine deluxe and, as a result, end up visiting most of the deluxe resorts at least once per trip. So I'll admit to being curious as to what it would be like to stay at one (including being curious about what the rooms are like).

To me, the biggest practical advantages of deluxe over a mod seem to be: (1) better location; and (2) better TS restaurant choices. However, we like to eat and visit parks all over the World and no deluxe is perfectly located for this (i.e., if you stay deluxe and use Disney transportation, you're still going to have to rely a lot on buses if you want to visit all the parks and eat at a lot of different resorts).

You can minimize your reliance on buses if you stay deluxe and do split stays. In fact, I've more or less talked myself into believing that split stays may be the only way staying deluxe would be worth it to me. I'm sort of embarrased to admit this, but I often lay awake at night schemeing up different ways I could do a split stay that would enable us to visit the most parks and resorts, while taking the fewest bus rides. I've even thought up an 8-way split stay with nights at each of the deluxe resorts (only involves 3 bus rides, and two of those are to and from AK). The downside, of course, is that you have to deal with the hassle of changing resorts. In that regard, my biggest worry is bell services screwing up our luggage transfer (and even if they didn't, I know I'd stress about it, especially if our luggage wasn't there when we arrived at the next resort).

The long and short of all of this is that even though the deluxes tempt me, I'll likely continue to stay moderate.