Moderate vs. Value

[zmanmj]

Is there a big difference in moderate resorts vs. value? Is it worth the price difference. What is the nicest moderate resort?

 

[Bill From PA]

To me, the gap between a Mod and a Value is greater than that between a Mod and a Deluxe. We've stayed at AllStar our first three visits, A Mod the next trip and the Dolphin twice and Swan once and a split stay this year. As to whether a Mod is worth the difference, that's subjective. If we never ventured from the Value resorts we'd be happy as clams there, but we felt the $$ were worth it to stay at POR because of the theming, live piano-bar entertainment and the sitdown restaurant. This last Jan. we stayed 2 nights at AllStar Movie sandwiched between three days at Swan and three at Dolphin and it seemed like a big come down from what we've become accustomed to. I don't expect to see any Teacher's Rate deals at S/D next March so we're resigned to a Mod, and not unhappy with that.

Bill From PA

 

[DisneyJen0504]

We personally think its worth it but that is our experience. For us, not having kids yet, we prefer a more relaxing vacation atmosphere when we go away. After staying at All star sports, though the resort was fine, once we tried a moderate, we saw the difference. The values have over the top theming and offer a less relaxing atmosphere. We prefer the moderates as they have larger rooms, more comfortable for us, great theming, usually great pools and more of them, better dining options, and overall for us, results in a better trip to WDW. Our favorite moderate is Coronado Springs Resort!
That being said, if we wanted to go to WDW and couldnt budget for a moderate, we would consider going to a value resort.

 

[JMD]

Moderates are definitely worth the extra money. I will never stay at a Value resort again. My personally favorite for the moderate is the CBR.

 

[Disney Debbie]

If you are going to be using the room to sleep and shower - no it's not worth it. If you want to spend some time at the resort and the pool - it's definitely worth it. The pools at the values don't have a slide and very little (if any) landscaping or eating area. The main pools at the moderates have slides and often other water fun things for the kids, beautiful landscaping and theming and pool side snack/bar.

There isn't a whole lot of difference in the amenities in the room IMO. The values are smaller - but again - if you're only going to sleep and shower - who cares?

 

[Aimeedyan]

For me, it's worth it. However, we had a bad stay at Pop and didn't sleep at all - and that's all we wanted to do in the room (sleep and shower) and only could accomplish one of those things! Some vacations we spend more time at the resort than others and that trip we tried to just sleep there and it didn't go over well. Others haven't had issues sleeping there, so it's worth it to them to save money and stay.

There is a big diff IMO - in my exp, the moderates are quiet, relaxing, spread out, and resort like. Yes, you might walk a bit farther to the foodcourt but we don't like to waste time dining at a foodcourt at the hotel anyways so that doesn't matter to us. We also drive our own car to the parks if at all possible so transportation doesnt' matter to us. There are other amenities to it as well, like in the pools and such. The rooms aren't much larger than a value, either.

The values, in my exp, are loud, crowded, and motel like. LOTS of people smashed in a small spot of land - multistory, very bright, not at all relaxing or a resort feel. We did not relax at all at the value - lots of activity all the time.

So for us, no doubt we'll be staying moderate or above because we like to vacation a diff way - and we like to sleep more than 4 hours! No one but you can decide if it's worth the price diff, really. You could do a split stay and decide for yourself =)

 

[Buzz2001]

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

 

[Tiger Fan]

It's completely a matter of opinion. We've stayed at ASSport and Movies, POFQ, Y&BC, Wilderness Lodge and on this upcoming trip we'll be at The Poly and the BCV. We also stay offsite for portions of our stays. Now, that being said I love different things about each option. Frankly, I love the extremely low price I can get on the value resorts, but I also love the atomosphere of the deluxes. It often depends on what kind of trip we'll be taking and what our finances are for that trip. For instance we just booked a trip for this October. It's going to be less than $700 for 6 nights including all our food. It was going to be almost $400 more to stay at the moderate and for us, this is an extra trip that we really wanted to save money on. We'll have already been for 3 weeks this summer. It was not worth it to us in this situation. If we only went every other year or less I would save up and go ahead and stay moderate or deluxe only, but if we want to squeeze in another trip on the cheap the values are a good deal and we enjoy it just fine.
Lisa
Tiger Fan

 

[tiggersthebest]

We have stayed at all three levels of resorts and I personally would not do a value resort again. I agree that the moderate and deluxes are similar but if I had my choice I would go Deluxe. However, my current quest is to try all resorts and choose my favorites. Mom of two princesses

Fort Wilderness Campgrounds too many times to count when a child

1997 Coronado Springs
1999 Wilderness Lodge
1999-2000 Fort Wilderness Campgrounds for New Years
2002 Polynesian (so far my favorite)
2003 Caribbean Beach Resort (with one night at All Stars-hated it)
Going to Port Orleans Riverside in August

 

[Amy&Dan]

We have stayed at Pop, ASMO and POR. I loved ASMO but was not as crazy for Pop (totally in the minority I think on that one). Pop was just so hectic and crowded and it was a slow time of year. We also had the least efficient bus service but it was still We still had fun and the rooms were spotless in both values but the pool and other common areas were always crowded, especially at Pop. But I still enjoyed them. Then I stayed at POR and found out what loving a WDW resort is really means for me personally! I would still stay at a value if it was a short trip and I could get some really cheap AP rate (got $49 in January). For us moderates were worth the extra $$ but if the only way we could go to WDW was staying at a value, I would be happy to do so. But then again, I might spend way too much time comparing to our moderate experience.

The pros to POR for us were: enjoyed the pool slide, hot tub, bike rental, boat to DTD, quieter atmosphere, lush grounds, frig in room, double sinks, bathroom privacy curtain, covered bus stops and overall resort feel.

The pros to the values: loved the fun theming, loved the price, enjoyed having lots of kids for our kids to play with, really clean rooms and we were at WDW!