Moderate Envy....

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Waffle Lady
Joined
May 11, 2006
Messages
150
So we are heading back to the World in September, our third annual trip with Free Dining! This will probably be our last trip for awhile since DS starts kindergarten next fall. I've done my best to stay away from these addicting boards, but now that we are less than 60 days out, I am BACK! :goodvibes

So, now I have moderate envy. Big time. We are staying at one of the AS properties (for the life of me I can't even think which one right now). I am looking through all of these beautiful photos of the moderate and luxury resorts feeling all bummed out. I mean, they are GORGEOUS! Please someone talk me back from the ledge...after all, we are going to the WORLD!
 
Check out my CSR website below for more pics to help push you over the edge.
 
As a little girl ( pre-school age), one vacation memory that has stayed with me for 30+ years is staying at a motel that had a big dinosaur on the property. Although as adults we admire the beautiful grounds and amenities that a deluxe or moderate might provide , I bet it is the theming at the values that make memories for for our kids.
 
We, too, are less than 60 days out and let me tell you, I cannot WAIT to see Pop for the first time! Last year was my first trip to WDW (DBF has been 30+ times) and we stayed at AS Sports and as a grown adult, I LOVED IT! I am sure you will truly enjoy whichever of the AS resorts you are. I mean, c'mon, it's Disney!!! And think of the money you are saving by staying here instead of paying $40 or $50 more/night for the mods... kinda cancels out the free dining aspect IMO! Sure, the dining would still be free, but you'd still be shelling out the same $$$ for a resort that you probably won't be spending a whole lot of time at, I'm guessing...
 

We're heading off to POP in a couple of months. I know my kids are going to LOVE ut...although I have to say originally we were going to go moderate and I am having some 2nd thoughts as well myself. I guess in the end we cannot justify the additional expense for a place we mainly plan on just sleeping and swimming (and the pools at POP look awesome for kids!) I'm sure you'll have a blast!
 
How Funny! I was feeling the exact same way about our up coming free food trip too. This will be our 17th trip in 10 years. We have Only stayed at Deluxe and Moderate WDW Resorts. In fact we just came home in May after having 3 courtyard view rooms at the WL.. So I know what you feel. We too are making a trip for the Free Food Special and wanted to make it a cheaper vacation being that we just paid for the Expensive one in May. So were staying at the All Star Music Prefered area, wherever that is. so I am thinking the same as you. We just could not justify paying rack rate on the higher priced resorts otherwise I would had used my AP discount for a room only and paid for our food out of pocket. Were looking at this as a new adventure I say we should look at it as we should try all the resorts at WDW at least once. so Have Fun and your only there to sleep and shower anyway..pixiedust: :dancer: party: :mickeyjum :fish:
Chatty
 
AS you've allready said; you're going to the world!! :) You've been to AS before, so you know what to expect and that you guys like it (or you wouldn't be going back). That can be a real bonus; you KNOW what you've got! You know exactly what to expect for this trip.

The quesion you should ask yourself is "what would switching to a mod give me as a plus at what cost -both financial and immaterial-?". Only you can answer that, as it's different for every person and family. If you think the possible plus of a mod over value is worth the bucks and possible other "costs" and you can afford it (not unimportant after all!); look into mod. If not or doubting; stay with what you've got. You know it suites your family, you know you'll have a good time.

I can understand the feeling, though. I had ASMo with free dining booked. Yep; had. I also was dreaming and drooling in silence over the mod, or to be more precise; over CBR. I didn't mind ASMo (well from what I expect of it, never been!), but CBR just had that bit more. The beaches, the more pools, the way the resort stretches out (reminds me of childhood trips with the whole family), the low buildings, more space in the room, the whole atmosphere, it just appealed to me. I looked at it from al possible sides. And allthough I thought there were a lot of plusses, I just couldn't justify the costs for myself.

Untill last saterday, that is. I've had an unexpected small financial extra fall into my lapp. The dollar keeps getting weaker in relation to the euro, which made it just that bit less expensive. And after doing the math, I found out that I could upgrade even cheaper than with the free dining. They've got the ZJZ-code going on at the moment, which ment I could upgrade for less than $400,- (1 person, 8 nights MYW incl hopper and water&fun + ddp). I just was told "no diving with animals just in case", so had to cancel the Sees Aqua Tour I had allready booked and payed. That $100,- went towards the upgrade, so it feels like I payed less than $300,-. ;)

Than I looked at that money once more. What could I do with that $300,- if I stayed at ASMo? It is nice souvenir-money to add to my budget, and a nice amount of money to spend at home. Was this worth it for me to spend on a resort?

I looked at the pros some more. This might be my only trip ever to WDW, with a rapidly deteriating health and normally not having the money for such a trip. This is going to be my first trip with a powerchair, so I want to make it as memorable on a positive way as possible. CBR would add just that little spark more to it.

Looking at the costs, it was worth it to me. I can do without the extra souvenir-budget and it fits into my budget to upgrade. The pros outweight the costs by far. After I looked at all that, it was simple. I picked up the phone and arranged to get a room at the CBR. (the last available room with a roll in shower, which was like a sign that this upgrade was ment to be :wizard: Or I want it to be :rolleyes1 )

Look at the costs and pros for you family. If it's worth it to you; great. If it's not; don't make yourself crazy. The DIS is great, but the risk is that you'll focus too much on other things instead of what one's allready got. You're going to WDW, and you've enjoyed the last 2 times you did. You got free dining the third time in a row :dance3: , how can you go wrong?!
 
looking at your signature you have stayed at Pop century, all star movie and this time all star sports.

since you haven't stayed in a moderate - before you pay that extra money. go visit one this time.

you can use everything there except the pool.

they also have double beds - to get queen beds you must upgrade to a deluxe or DVC.

you might find that they are great in your dreams but only so so in real life.

you can walk to CSR from all star sports - now it is long a little less than 2 miles. So go visit it on your next trip.
 
Our first trip with kids was at the Contemporary, our second at AsSports. The kids actually liked sports better because of the fun themes! They don't care as long as they are at Disney!:goodvibes
 
It looks to me like from your signature you are staying at Sports. We really enjoyed that resort and my son loved the sports icons. The main pool is being refurbed right now but is open on September 13 so that won't affect your visit which is good.

I have stayed at all the mods and values and love them all. While I love the moderates its not always worth it to me to pay more to stay at them. I agree with another poster in that room wise, the mods don't offer that much more in the way of space or amenities. What the mods do offer is the grounds and amenities around those grounds. Lusher landscaping, some sort of water (lake, river) and pools with pool slides. So that is what I think about when I am cost comparing between the two levels. If I know we will spend some time enjoying those grounds and pools then I don't mind spending a bit extra. The mods also offer more in the way of dining, all of them except POFQ have a full service restaurant. But likely your ADR's are all made so you won't probably need that anyway.

As far as the All Stars, Sports is great because I do believe its picked up and dropped off first when they share buses (and my experience has been that they don't always share and when they do it never feels like that big of a deal).

I think you could always call them and see what they will offer you to upgrade. If that extra money won't make you have to skimp on anything either before, during or after your trip, it might be fun to change and try something different. You can definitely tour a moderate but in the end I think you really have to stay at a place to know if it really works for you. Given that you are eating for free, this might be the time to splurge because either way, you are getting a great deal.

And I will add that when I stay at a value, even after staying at a mod and my DVC, I never feel jipped or sad or regretful. We always have a great time, we love the values, the fun theming, the food courts, pools and grounds (I do think the values have nice grounds and pools too). I never spend one minute there wishing I was someplace else.

To me you cannot go wrong. With whatever you decide, just relax and be happy with it, you are going to have a great vacation!
 
The magic is EVERYWHERE on property and off, you'll have a great time. I've stayed in all three levels. And the only reason we won't stay at budget level anymore is because we need more room due to some medical issues. We could go every year if we could stay at budget level, hold onto that, you're going every year... it's MAGICAL!!
 
I know, I KNOW we will have a great time! I love WDW and love it even more seeing my son experience it. I've only ever stayed at value resorts and had a GREAT time. We just can't justify spending the extra money when we only spend a few hours in the room either napping or resting. My daydreams always have me eating peeled grapes and chocolate covered cherries at the mods and luxuries though -- isn't that funny??

Anway, I can't wait, can't wait, can't wait to go! :banana: In fact I am leaving work early to get home to change some ADRs around.
 
I admit I've never stayed in a value, but I have stayed at a mod. I don't think the the extra money for a mod over a value would be worth it for me. They are both essentially "motels." The mod has a bigger room and a sit down restaurant, but how much time are you going to spend in your room or eating at your resort's sit down restaurant?

For my next trip I'm booked at WL in "value" season but still in sticker shock. If I change it will likely be to a value resort. The $65.50/night at AS Music is looking mighty good compared to $229.50 at WL (and that is with an AAA discount!). We're talking over $1,300 difference for 8 nights before tax!
 
We stay at a DVC resort in the fall (20 nights...this year at BCV). In the spring we stay at the ASMo (20 nights). We love the Movies! The DVC is great, especially when we are at an Epcot resort, but the Movies is so laid back and informal. We love to watch the kids who are thrilled at the giant dalmatians and are in the pool at 10pm! We also love the food court at the Movies. We'll go over there to eat during our stay at BCV in Sept. The big drawback for us with the value resorts is the bus service, but it is about the same at moderates (we've stayed at CBR, CSR and POR). So go and enjoy the Movies! And think of the people that would kill for a chance to stay at WDW...anywhere at WDW!
 
Our first trip with kids was at the Contemporary, our second at AsSports. The kids actually liked sports better because of the fun themes! They don't care as long as they are at Disney!:goodvibes


My GD felt the same way about POP. I took her on her first trip and we did a split stay at Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge. I thought she'd love it (and she did). However, I took her aunt and uncle (my younger son and D-I-L) a few months later and we chose to stay at POP. When we got back my GD looked at the pictures and demanded to know why we didn't stay at the 'cool Disney hotel. I took her back four months after that and before we left she demanded to know if we were going to stay at the 'cool hotel'. Walking to our room she was looking around at all the icons, looked up at me, grinned from ear to ear, and said "now, this is Disney".:confused3

FYI: We have also stayed at CBR, CSR, POFQ, AS Sports, and rented DVC points to stay in a Boardwalk studio. With a REALLY good AP discount I would consider returning to AKL or WL again. I would also rent DVC points again. I am not interested in staying at any of the mods again (except maybe PORS--simply because I haven't stayed there yet). To us the room and amenities at a mod is just not worth the difference in price over a value (especially considering we spend very little time in the room).
 
I think kids really like the Values for the theming. It just looks so fun. They don't notice the smaller rooms. Since you say you're not going for a few years while DS starts school. Still budget some of the money and put it aside for a future Disney trip at a better hotel. You'll like the bigger rooms and DS will get a pool slide!! Or, think about renting points from a DVC--even bigger rooms with a microwave/fridge and it may be cheaper than some MODs.
 
Where do you live? I live in Jacobus, just a little north of the MD/PA line. I actually work at an amusement park (in Lancaster - can you guess where??). :goodvibes
 
We prefer the mods because they don't seem as crowded. I think it is just because they are more spread out. The buses seem less crowded too. But by no means would I miss a WDW trip because I had to stay at a value. I really liked the ASMo that we stayed at in 2003. DH has always stayed deluxe with my DMIL and DFIL. That I even got him to try a value was a big step. The mods seem a happy medium. Sometime you might jump to a moderate resort. I think ours was a $400.00 difference last year. I have to say, I think it was worth it. I won't say that I'll never stay at a value again, they hold their own special charm. The big characters are the best.
 
Where do you live? I live in Jacobus, just a little north of the MD/PA line. I actually work at an amusement park (in Lancaster - can you guess where??). :goodvibes

I used to Love that amusement park when I was a kid. I have very fond memories of my parents, GM and me on one of the boats in the gardens at the back. And the giant slide seemed so cool to me when I was about 7.
 
Where do you live? I live in Jacobus, just a little north of the MD/PA line. I actually work at an amusement park (in Lancaster - can you guess where??). :goodvibes

We live in Stewartstown.
So you work at "The Kingdom for Kids" (the song sticks in your head April-Sept:headache: ) and vacation at the Magic Kingdom!!
Took my DN there last year.
 





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