Moderate vs Value

[BuckeyeBama]

We have stayed at just about every resort at WDW once, and most many more times. Values are great if you have very young children. You fit right in with the chaos. But when your kids have moved past that stage, it is time to leave the Values behind (if you can).

Yes, the beds are bigger and the pools are nicer and there are hot tubs - but the biggest thing that Moderates and Deluxes have that Values do not have is peace and quiet. This is apparent everywhere - in your room at night, in the food court, at the pool, or just walking around the resort. All of those young kids create something that is pretty cool if you are in that stage of your life, but is exhausting if you are not.

 

[Masonmj84]

I just can't bring myself to stay value and it's not because I'm a snob.

The theming doesn't appeal to me.

We're a family of 4 who all strongly prefer queen beds.

We're not park commandos and enjoy afternoon breaks at our resort.

I enjoy hot tubs.

We prefer avoiding food courts in general because they're too chaotic.

We prefer avoiding large groups of teenagers (while these can sometimes be found at mods, they're most often at values).

 

[brazzledazzler]

I think it depends on what factors are important to your stay. If you are not going to be in the room much, but want to be on Disney property, I think Value resorts are a great way to save money and still enjoy the Disney Bubble! However, if you are planning a relaxing vacation, a day at the pool or dining at the resort & enjoying the amenities, I think a Moderate is a better option. As a small child we stayed at deluxes (ok, that was like 80s-early 90s, because there were no "value" resorts yet!), but when I was a teen we mostly stayed at the AllStar Value resorts. As a kid, I never knew the difference; I just knew we were staying on Disney property and I could hop on the bus and be at Disney World. Now, as a newlywed without kids, DH & I prefer to stay at the Moderates because I want to enjoy the resort & relaxation. I go to Disney to escape & enjoy. However, we got an amazing deal on rooms at Pop Century ($88 a night!) for Labor Day, and we just couldn't pass it up. My trips are usually only 2-4 nights, versus a week, so it all depends if you are trying to hit a price point or there is more you are considering. Hope this helps.

 

[Ceryssa]

A pool slide and at least queen beds are our must-haves, which eliminates the values for us. Having a hot tub is a nice bonus but not necessary since we travel with our kids. But my oldest really enjoyed the slides at the pools and we try to make time to visit the pool as often as possible wherever we are, so that's a big deal. And my husband and I sleep in a king at home; downsizing to a double for days on end just isn't an option. I don't want to be uncomfortable the whole trip for the amount of money we spend to go.

 

[cleophus12]

I've stayed all over and just last week went from AKL to Pop in the same trip. It's doable. I'm always just happy to be at WDW. That's my priority.

 

[texasroni75]

We had no issue going back to value resorts after staying in moderates. As others mentioned, some questions to ask yourself are:

Do you spend a ton of time at the resort or room? if you're only sleeping and showering, the size and theme of the room and grounds really doesn't matter that much

Do you want to eat in a restaurant and not a food court at your resort?

Do you need a quiet pool or hot tub?

I still plan to stay mod and/or deluxe sometime in the future, but budget-wise and how we tour while we are there, values still work beautifully for us.

 

[littleblackegg]

I am a huge fan of the deluxe resorts, and will always choose those first, especially if we can splurge and spend a week or so. The moderates, especially POFQ (my husband's fave), are perfect for a few days. They are affordable and comfortable, perfect for a couple without kids, food court is passable, poolside cocktails are perfect to spend an afternoon lounging and reading. I spent one two-night trip at AoA and it was so depressing. Everyone looked so stressed. Overtired and hungry children were crying everywhere. Ugh. Everyone was racing to have fun, I guess. It was a dismal vibe.

 

[SnipsNSnails]

I've stayed in all 3. Would love to do deluxe again some time but the cost is more than we can afford. We only go if we can get a discount. Last time we did free dining at CBR and this time we got 40% off room from my fabulous friends who just moved to FL so he could work for Disney and we're staying at POFQ. We did Pop once, and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again but for shorter stays. That time it was a for a 4 day stay in December so we weren't in the rooms except to sleep, and we didn't even use the pool, as it was too chilly. My boys are still young enough that they like the pool slides, and we prefer the queen beds as DH is tall. We were faced with the choice because I decided in June that maybe we should go this fall during FD and nothing was available in the moderates. I felt like if we were going to spend the money, I'd rather pay a bit more and get what we wanted so we put off the trip until Feb when the boys would have a few days off school and went with the room discount instead.

 

[greentea]

Just stayed at All Star Music last month with 4 adults and was fine. Last time I stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge and I actually thought the bed there was a bit less comfortable. Maybe my back was just doing worse overall during my AKL stay (they were able to send us a foam topper at AKL which helped). Anyway, our Music stay was nice. I kept hearing how tiny and cramped the value rooms are but we were fine, the food court wasn't crowded, the room was quiet. I would stay there again.

None of us care much for swimming, so the pool was not a priority (though a couple of us might have used a hot tub, so there is that lack to consider). I am trying Beach Club next trip, and will probably go back to AKL after that because we did really like it there. But if I was doing another budget trip I wouldn't have any problems staying at a value again.

 

[BigAlsGal]

I've stayed at value and moderate and I can say with 99% certainty I probably won't go back to a value.

I've stayed value at pop, ASMo, ASMu. I've stayed moderate at CBR, CSR, PoR, PoFQ. After giving it MANY chances the big problem for me with the value is noise level. You can hear every noise around you. There is definitely more sound proofing in the moderates. Also the moderates are more spread out making it feel less crowded. I also love the landscaping and ambiance of the moderates.

I have yet to experience a delux. Maybe one day. I just find all my needs are being met by the moderates so I can't pull the trigger on that next step up. Especially for the price difference.

 

[Dug720]

Mod girl all the way here even though I am usually solo.

I stayed at Music once (due to budget) and a Pop once to see what all the hype was about. Ugh. The bed size doesn't bother me - I have a double at home - but the hardness of the mattress and the fact that I could clearly feel the seam all the way around it made those stays miserable.

When I had to extend my stay for Wine and Dine and initially POFQ where I was booked wasn't available for the extra night, in a moment of insanity switched to Pop rather than POR where the Mansions had reminded me of my grandmother's house...but then I remembered the beds and went for POR. As it turns out, POFQ opened back up, so I will be giving it a try in Nivember.

 

[Disneylover99]

We happily flip flop between mods and values all the time.

 

[Sarahbelle341]

I will be the odd one. We liked POP better than POR in some ways. Housekeeping was better for one thing and our room location was perfect. We had great service, were able to park really close to our room, had a nice view of lake and the beds were comfortable. The food court was crowded and loud and the ice machine didn't work well but we liked the food court at art of animation and it was nice to have another option in walking distance. POR food court was loud and crowded too. Our room was in the very back of the bayou section and it took ages to get around the resort. The main pool at POR was really crowded too. We spend a lot of time in the parks so values seem to fit our needs for the money just fine. We are splurging our upcoming fall trip on AKL mainly because my brother is coming with us and has special needs so we though that the bunk beds giving both boys their own beds and more table service dining would help with his allergies.

 

[littleblackegg]

I will be the odd one. We liked POP better than POR in some ways. Housekeeping was better for one thing and our room location was perfect. We had great service, were able to park really close to our room, had a nice view of lake and the beds were comfortable. The food court was crowded and loud and the ice machine didn't work well but we liked the food court at art of animation and it was nice to have another option in walking distance. POR food court was loud and crowded too. Our room was in the very back of the bayou section and it took ages to get around the resort. The main pool at POR was really crowded too. We spend a lot of time in the parks so values seem to fit our needs for the money just fine. We are splurging our upcoming fall trip on AKL mainly because my brother is coming with us and has special needs so we though that the bunk beds giving both boys their own beds and more table service dining would help with his allergies.

We LOVE LOVE LOVE AKL. We spent our honeymoon there and we go to the restaurants all the time. I hope you love it!

 

[FancyNancy]

We go back and forth between mods and values. If we are only going once a year we will stay at a mod but if we plan on going more than once we stay value.