Moderate or Value for first timer?

[Smally]

My wife (who is pregnant) and 2yr old boy are planning to go in early Sept
for our first Disney experience. We are planning about 3 days at the parks and the rest (4days) just chill time at the pool with the little guy. We originally were attracted by the cheap prices (meal plan included) and looked at the All Star resorts but are getting tempted by the moderates as we will stay at the resort a few days (mostly looking at CBR). I guess I'm just looking for some advice on if the moderates are worth the extra money and if so would you see CBR as the best choice for a toddler?

Cheers

 

[nutsforgolf]

Depends how much extra money you are talking about. It sounds like since you will be at the resort more often, a mod might be worth it. Another mod to try would be POR because it has a boat ride to DTD, which gives you more options for dining outside of the parks.

 

[nutsforgolf]

Depends how much extra money you are talking about. It sounds like since you will be at the resort more often, a mod might be worth it. Another mod to try would be POR because it has a boat ride to DTD, which gives you more options for dining outside of the parks.

 

[Dislifer]

My vote is to go for the Moderate. For the extra money, I think you will be happier with your surroundings! Have you looked on line at the pictures of the Moderates and the Values??? Only you can decide what is best but in my opinion, I'd pay the extra for a Moderate!

 

[Manon]

WE wanted to go to a Value, but decided to go to a moderate at POR, and at the end of our stay we extended with 1 night in a Value, and we didn't like it at all. We are going back in january and we are going back to Port Orleans Riverside, because we simply LOVED IT, and we are going to have 2 days just to relax at the resort and enjoy it more than last june. Moderate are really worth it!

 

[travelin' tigger]

My wife (who is pregnant) and 2yr old boy are planning to go in early Sept
for our first Disney experience. We are planning about 3 days at the parks and the rest (4days) just chill time at the pool with the little guy. We originally were attracted by the cheap prices (meal plan included) and looked at the All Star resorts but are getting tempted by the moderates as we will stay at the resort a few days (mostly looking at CBR). I guess I'm just looking for some advice on if the moderates are worth the extra money and if so would you see CBR as the best choice for a toddler?

Cheers

I've stayed at most values and moderates and they are all great. Values offer you a bang for your buck. Pop Century is a newer resort with 3 pools, a kiddie pool and a Pop Jet playground that's a big hit. Also it's located on the shore of a lake. All the values have a food court and a good bus system.

Moderates will give you a few more amenities including full-service restaurants, food courts, room service (limited), luggage service, swimming pools with a slide and hot tub, on-site recreation, bus or boat transportation. Coronado Springs (IMHO) has the best pool themeing and since it's a convention resort, it also has a health club and hair salon - the other mods don't.

HTH with your decision!!!

 

[kellyf2626]

I think no matter where you stay, you will love the themeing and atmosphere at the Disney resorts.

Port Orleans FQ is a beautiful mod resort, and one I would choose over CBR. I would say that it all depends on how much extra money it would cost.

You are going to have such a wonderful time!! Enjoy your first trip! You will always remember it!

 

[purplepixie]

We have stayed at ASMo and CS. As far as the room goes we didn't notice to much of a difference. They both had decent bus transportation. The difference for us was the pool having a slide at the moderate. With your kids being smaller you may enjoy POP more than the mods. The water jets and kid pool may be more of a draw then a slide for a 2 yr old. I've heard the food court is pretty good at POP, also. My Sil and Bil are staying there in a week. We're staying at WL. I'm hoping to look at both. When we don't spend much time in the room the values are nice. This time we went for comfort and those queen size beds were a big draw. Have a good time no matter what.

 

[tnkrbell]

I say go with a moderate!!

 

[Bugsmom73]

I would go Moderate. DD was 15mos when we stayed at CBR, she loved it. Each island has a quiet pool and a playground too.

 

[gigi1313]

if you are going to be spending a significant amount of time at the resort, i would definitely go for a moderate... the values are great but besides the room, food court, arcade, and plain pool, there's not much to them... the mods have playgrounds, pools w/slides, sit-down restaurants, and other amenities...

if i were planning a stay w/lots of resort time, i would probably go for POR or FQ based on the proximity of the sister-resort w/a different pool to hop to as well as the boat to DTD and the evening entertainment (family friendly) in the River Roost Lounge... plus there's the fishing hole, the rental boats, surrey bikes, carriage rides, etc... none of that is available at a value!

whatever you decide, i am sure it will be MAGICAL!

 

[MinnieSummer]

Definitely go moderate. The rooms are bigger with ceiling fans and for some reason the AC units work differently and better. That said, I'd stay at Coronado -- especially with a toddler. Just request a room close to the dig site or the main building. Although, they now have in-resort transportation so it's not as much a problem. The pool is better, the playground is great (not sand or mulch which always gets in kids eyes) but some kind of bouncy rubber platform. If you must stay at a Value stay at POP not one of the AS's.

 

[Buzz2001]

If you are going to chill by the pool then the Dig Site is the place to hang out.

THE PROS
No sharing bus service with other resorts
Centrally located with short rides to the parks
Largest hot tub on WDW property
Awesome main pool area with bar, snack bar, playground and kiddie pool
3 quiet pools
New shuttle service eliminates long walks to any of the villages
High speed internet service
WiFi available too
Free use of the gym
Spa
Fridge in the room
Coffeemaker in the room
Iron and ironing board
full room service menu
2 arcades
beautifully landscaped
central air, not a noisey wall unit

THE CONS
Full size beds (kings size beds are available)
one sink

IN THE MIDDLE
The Pepper Market is either a love it or hate it place. We love it but some folks just don't care for it.

Convention resort - some guests don't like seeing other guests at work. Doesn't bother us and helps keep the buses empty. GF, Cont, BW, Y & B Club are also convention resorts.

Check out my website below

BEST MODERATE POOL THREAD

 

[smfritz03]

We ended up staying all all star movies---2 adult and 3 children--2 rooms. We visited some of the other resorts like WL, AKL and Poly and Contemporary---the kids say they loved the movies the best of them all!!!!

 

[minnie61650]

I am 55 years old and travel several times a year. I often stay at 4 star hotels.
So the deluxe resorts do not have anything special for me.
All Star is like being in the heart of Disney and that is where I want to be.

All Star Music is my faveroite.It Is quieter because more couples stay there.I love the Clypso builing it is closer to the pool,food court and bus stop.

Here is a site with a map of All Star Sports and All Star Music.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/allstarmap.htm
Scroll down.All Star Music is at the bottom of the page.
The Calypso buildings at All Star Music are #1 and #10 are nearest to the food court and bus stop.
They are the preferred buildings and cost about $12 extra per night.
The Calypso pool at ASMU has Donald Duck.

Here is the map of All Movies.
http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/allstarmovie.JPG
The Fantasia Buildings are the preferred buildings.
The All Star Movie Fantasia pool has Mickey.
The buses are wonderful.
Bus ride times according to PassPorter.com
All Star Movies has pop up fountains now also.
Bus rides are shorter from the ALL Stars than POP according to PassPorter.com

All Star Buses------------Pop buses
MK 20 min---------------MK 25 min
Epcot 10 min------------Epcot 20 min
MGM 10 min--------------MGM 15 min
AK 10 min----------------AK 15 min
DTD 15 min---------------DTD 20 min

The All Star resorts have 1960 rooms each.
Pop has 2,880rooms.

That means more people in the pools,food court and in line waiting for the bus at POP.
When phase 2 of POP is built it will be 2 bus stops at POP and the 2 POPs will have the same # of rooms as the 3 All Stars.
Also All Star is closer to the main road to get to parks and thats why bus rides are shorter from there than from POP.
Pop and All Stars have kiddie pools and Playgrounds.
When staying at All stars guests can use any of the three theme pools,three quiet pools,three kiddie pools,three playgrounds or the pop up fountains at All Star Movies.


A WORD ABOUT BUS SHARING:

It is usually just our stop and maybe one more on the way to the parks. On the way back sometimes its all 3 but often Sports and Music share and Movies has it's qwn bus back.

I guess some people who stay at POP see all 3 All Star names on the return sign of our bus stop when they head to the POP bus stop and think All Stars also has 3 stops on the way to the park.
(Even when we stop at another AS resort to load up it has not taken more than 5 minutes and we are on our way!)

I love the All Star Resorts --they can't be beat. I have visited WDW more than a dozen times with the 1st time in Oct. 1971. It was brand new. I've stayed at FW, Disney Inn, a few the of Hotels on hotel Blvd., CBR and the towers at the Contemporary. I got to see the MK from my balcony at the Contemporary and I'm happy I got to experience it once. I just prefer the All Star Resorts.
The theaming is pure Disney.
My last 4 visits have been at The All Stars and this fall when we take dd,dsil, and our grandson age 3 we are staying at the All Stars Music. I thought about AKL and even though we can well afford AKL I just wanted Alex to experience the Disney Magic at the All Stars on his first visit.
Where else can one find Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse at the pool?
I can hardly wait.
Linda
__________________

 

[Skroops]

The values are very themed, and your kids are too young to really know. We have stayed at POR, and really enjoyed it, but the beautiful landscaping, pool area and sit down restraunt aren't appreciated by the kids. They would LOVE the jet kiddie pool area at the POP! We have really enjoyed the home away from home resorts with our toddler. We stayed at Saratoga Springs last month and it was awesome to have another bedroom for baby and the kitchen. The FW cabins are also great for a separate area for sleeping baby. Of course now I am suggesting you spend MORE money! Sorry. It's so nice that there are so many choices at WDW, but it gets confusing!

 

[Smally]

Thanks so much to all who have posted. I've just got off the phone with the agent and there are a few more details. Basically our choices are narrowed due to availability - ASM or *** for the values or POR/CBR for the mods. If we stay at CBR we will want to pay to reduce the walking. The difference is around $550cdn between value and moderate. We would need to rent a fridge at the Values (anyone know how much that is?) but it seems there is no sit down resteraunt at the values which may be a pain. I guess that would mean a bus trip to another hotel/Downtown disney if we wanted to get a nice meal. My wife is really leaning to POR and I guess she deserves the extra luxury (I'm just counting costs as I'll now need to buy myself a camcorder to capture all the memories

 

[jrjac]

This will be our first trip to WDW, too! Here is my way of thinking about the resorts...being our first time, we are staying at a value resort. (ASMovie) Next trip, we may stay in a moderate resort. Then maybe a deluxe on the next trip? Just want to do alittle of it all-one step at a time!




7 days and we're off to DISNEY!

 

[Harmony]

For first timers, esp those traveling with small children, I say do Pop or All Star Movies! No where but WDW can you get a HUGE Buzz outside your window! Or...a HUGE Baloo and Mowgli! The value resorts make a great first impression on small children.

POR...though offering more amenities, just doesn't have that whimsical feel that Pop or All Star Movies does.

However, I'm sure you will enjoy your stay at either resort! Have fun!

 

[Harmony]

Smally, if you need a fridge to keep medicine cool or for any other medical reason, then there is no charge.