Mods VS Deluxe: Things We Learned After Our June, 2017 Trip

[Marionnette]

But, as I understand it, it is a very poor use of points to stay at POFQ, POR, or any of the other moderates. I have been told that DVC expands options, but I don't understand how. Right now, I can stay at BLT or Contemporary. I can stay at Wilderness Lodge or Boulder Ridge. With DVC, you can use your points to stay at BLT, sure. But wouldn't you have to use cash if you wanted to stay at Contemporary?

You can stay at BLT or BRV IF there is availability after owners have had first crack at those villas. Disney Resorts do not own those units, DVC does with a small percentage that are turned over to Disney Resorts when owners use their points elsewhere (like for a cruise or to book a regular resort room). Otherwise, no, you cannot stay in those villas on cash any time that you want.

And yes, using your DVC points to stay in a regular Disney Resort hotel room is a poor use of the points. But renting a reservation at a DVC villa out and then using the cash to stay in a Disney Resort hotel room is always a possibility. So, just like I said, I stayed in regular hotel rooms twice last year. Does it matter whether the cash came from renting out or from my own pocket? It's not as if by owning a DVC contract, I am barred from ever staying in a Disney hotel room.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

You can stay at BLT or BRV IF there is availability after owners have had first crack at those villas. Disney Resorts do not own those units, DVC does with a small percentage that are turned over to Disney Resorts when owners use their points elsewhere (like for a cruise or to book a regular resort room). Otherwise, no, you cannot stay in those villas on cash any time that you want.

And yes, using your DVC points to stay in a regular Disney Resort hotel room is a poor use of the points. But renting out a reservation at a DVC villa out and then using the cash to stay in a Disney Resort hotel room is always a possibility. So, just like I said, I stayed in regular hotel rooms twice last year. Does it matter whether the cash came from renting out or from my own pocket? It's not as if by owning a DVC contract, I am barred from ever staying in a Disney hotel room.

Okay, I can't stay there anytime I want if it is completely booked by the owners. But, that also applies to DVC owners, no? If you own at BLT, that doesn't guarantee you a room at VGF if the VGF owners have it all booked, right?

 

[Sue M]

We did our first deluxe trip last trip with a Poly and BC split. I loved staying deluxe with the proximity to the parks. Next trip will be a mother daughter trip and DD really wants to do GF. I've always wanted to try POR or POFQ but I'm worried I might be spoiled by the deluxes now.

We stay at all resort levels, and there are things I like about each resort.

We're generally mod people, but are planning to stay deluxe next time (AKL) and I'm actually kind of nervous. I love a relaxed, casual feel when I'm on vacation, and there is a part of me that worries I'll feel like "fancy"="stuffy". Please tell me I'm wrong!

You're wrong!! I've stayed at all the deluxe resorts except CR & BWI. I've never felt any were stuffy. GF was one of the most relaxing! We loved AKL. The pool area is so nice. Great dining options.

 

[Marionnette]

Okay, I can't stay there anytime I want if it is completely booked by the owners. But, that also applies to DVC owners, no? If you own at BLT, that doesn't guarantee you a room at VGF if the VGF owners have it all booked, right?

Umm...yes that is true. But if I own at BLT, I still have a better chance of staying at VGF than a non-DVC owner does because I can try to book that villa at 7 months either thru DVC or by booking a cash reservation thru Disney if there's availability. I have a higher chance of success because I have both options available to me.

Look, DVC is not for everyone. It may not be for you. But I've never not been able to book a trip with my points. Sometimes I don't get my first choice in villas but then, people booking hotel rooms sometimes don't get their first choice in rooms, either.

 

[prettythings03]

We've come to the same realization that we are a Deluxe only family if we travel together. (Myself, hubby and the 2 kids) The additional room, the extra sleeping space so that no one has to share a bed and the IMO, better pool areas just make it better for us. It does mean less trips, no more every year more like every year and a half.. but I am okay with this. We are looking into DVC in the next couple of years ourselves, but just purchased a new home, so I need to space things out a bit.

 

[Eastern]

I've stayed many times at POFQ and many times at deluxes, and POFQ is still one of my favorite resorts. The deluxes have location going for them and I love the lobbies, but if I had to choose based on value for the money spent, I would always choose POFQ.

 

[loves to dive]

This is why I do split stays, I get to stay in my beloved Epcot resorts and save money as well, win/win. I drive down but park my car as soon as I get there and use Disney transportation, so I do two nights in a moderate and knock out AK, which you have to ride a bus to no matter where you stay and MK. While you could ride the monorail to MK from an Epcot resort, you have to walk all the way through the park to get there and I'm not a fan of the monorail so we tend to ride the bus even from an Epcot resort. So, I knock out my two bus resorts those two days and then when I move to an Epcot resort, I do Epcot and HS. We tend to be at Epcot just about every night no matter what park we do in the morning. For us, MK is a half day park (horrors I know) so we normally do it the first day we arrive since we arrive around 2 or 3. We also stay at Swan/Dolphin if it's available and the price is right, it's not always less to stay there than one of the Disney Epcot resorts once you add in their resort fee and parking fee.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

Umm...yes that is true. But if I own at BLT, I still have a better chance of staying at VGF than a non-DVC owner does because I can try to book that villa at 7 months either thru DVC or by booking a cash reservation thru Disney if there's availability. I have a higher chance of success because I have both options available to me.

Look, DVC is not for everyone. It may not be for you. But I've never not been able to book a trip with my points. Sometimes I don't get my first choice in villas but then, people booking hotel rooms sometimes don't get their first choice in rooms, either.

Oh. See, I'm really not being fair here because I'm looking at it from a points rental perspective. We booked out Beach Club Villas resort in early May for a trip in late January. So really that isn't a cash rental.

We have tried to make DVC make sense for us but it just doesn't at this point in our lives. I wish it did, though.

 

[Marionnette]

Oh. See, I'm really not being fair here because I'm looking at it from a points rental perspective. We booked out Beach Club Villas resort in early May for a trip in late January. So really that isn't a cash rental.

We have tried to make DVC make sense for us but it just doesn't at this point in our lives. I wish it did, though.

You're right. The math doesn't always work for everyone. I bought my first resale contract, back when the real estate bubble burst, for much less than it would have cost me to purchase directly and I paid cash (financing would not have been a good idea). The majority of the cost of DVC ownership is the ongoing annual maintenance fees. When you take those factors into consideration, plus the time value of the money spent on the contract, it can become difficult to justify the purchase from a financial POV. That doesn't mean that the $$$$ don't add up for some people, but I would have a hard time making them work with financing a direct purchase from DVD today. But I still find value in purchasing resale with cash at some resorts.

 

[stinkpickle]

...I can "rent" my points out and use the cash to pay for a vacation anywhere...

This. ^^^

 

[stinkpickle]

Ironically, we did a split stay at AKV-Kidani and POR, and we actually liked POR a little bit more.

 

[PSUGuy]

We've been staying at Board Walk on rented DVC points for more than 8 trips. Often we get a standard view studio for less than a Value, always for less than a Moderate. In addition there's a kitchenette so we save on breakfast and break eats, we Graze Around the World during Food&Wine for the rest of our grub.

Bill From PA

 

[SGMCO]

I find that what is very lacking at Deluxe is a Good Food Court, there are food courts but very limited food choices. A good food court is very convenient. Also I've stayed at AKL and found the CMs not as friendly as when I've stayed at MODs, was ignored when checking in even though both CM kept looking at me. That being said I have rented points at OKW this coming October, hoping for a pleasant stay, I will miss not have a large Food court with good food. I hope the CMs are friendly and helpful.

 

[Minnesota!]

We're generally mod people, but are planning to stay deluxe next time (AKL) and I'm actually kind of nervous. I love a relaxed, casual feel when I'm on vacation, and there is a part of me that worries I'll feel like "fancy"="stuffy". Please tell me I'm wrong!

You will be fine at AKL We are very laid-back, casual people. I have never, once, felt out of place at AKL. GF...yep. YC...yep. AKL feels like home, however

 

[skuttle]

We prefer deluxe resorts as well. For the first time last trip we did a split stay. Last year, we moved our October trip (Long weekend at CR-TPV for MNSSHP) due to Hurricane Matthew canceling our halloween party to the week of Thanksgiving last minute. We also decided to extend our stay a few more days since we had the extra time. We ended up doing a split stay...3 nights at POR and 3 nights at CR-TPV. It actually wasn't too bad, and a nice way to ease the cost of an all-deluxe stay. When we stayed at POR, we hit the parks pretty hard with early EMH and staying in the parks all day. When we switched to CR, we relaxed a lot more, took time to enjoy the resort, etc. It was quite enjoyable. And a good compromise for our bank account!

 

[buzznina]

We've been staying at Board Walk on rented DVC points for more than 8 trips. Often we get a standard view studio for less than a Value, always for less than a Moderate. In addition there's a kitchenette so we save on breakfast and break eats, we Graze Around the World during Food&Wine for the rest of our grub.

Bill From PA

This was true for us about 4-5 years ago, but ever since pts jumped up to $15-$16+, we have not found any studio (other than OKW/SSR) less than a discounted Mod room and this included a couple of trips in low season Now BWV and AKV have been real close during the low season, which we have stayed at BWV, but BCV and the rest were usually $500+ higher and . And if the OP felt cramped in the POFQ room, they will feel just as cramped and more once the pullout is open, in a studio.
We use to think the Deluxes were all that but then (for us) we realized the extras you get were not worth the extra $200+ per night. We will stay there when we want to splurge but only if we get a great deal and $200 more is not a great deal for us.

 

[Aurora0427]

We visited the World June 18-25, 2017. We stayed at POFQ, and we had a wonderful time. However, my DH and I felt we learned a lot from this trip.

We were initially booked at BWI in a standard room; we were excited to be so close to Epcot and HS. Although, after much soul searching, I felt stressed about how expensive the BWI was, so we decided to rebook at POFQ, as it saved us about $1400.

After we made the switch, I did a lot of research on POFQ on the Disboards, I asked Dis veterans lots of questions, and Dis folks really worked to reassure me that we made the right choice. POFQ was a lovely place. We loved how small the resort is, we loved being just steps from the main pool, food court, and bus stop, and we loved the opportunity to take advantage of the amenities at POR as well. Our boys are old enough that they were able to roam the resort on their own; they even walked back and forth between the two resorts on their own on a few occasions, and they really enjoyed their independence at POFQ.

With that being said, the minute we hopped in the pool on our first full day there, my DH said, "We should have spent the extra $1400 and stayed at BWI." *sigh* He was right. This was our longest WDW trip...our first time staying for a full week, and we have come to the conclusion that we are deluxe resort people. We felt cramped in our room, we were very underwhelmed by the pool, and we realized we missed the extra small touches that deluxe resorts offer. We have stayed at OKW, the Poly, the CR, and the GF, and we finally understood during this trip that the extra square footage in a deluxe room matters, that having three sleeping surfaces is REALLY important (our oldest DS had to bunk with the youngest DS, who is a blender at night, yikes!!), and that the ability to get to the parks using forms of transportation other than a bus matters as well.

I want to stress that we didn't dislike POFQ. It was a lovely resort, and the CMs were terrific. Also, the ability to quickly get to our room after getting off the bus after a long day at the parks was awesome. I wouldn't discourage anyone from staying here...we seriously had nothing but good experiences. On this trip, we simply learned a little more about us as a WDW vacationing family, which is a good thing, right? From now on, we know we really want to stay at a deluxe resort. Additionally, we had a Beaches and Cream ADR at lunchtime one day during our trip, and we got to explore the BWI, the BC, and the YC before and after we ate. We loved what we saw, and I think we definitely want to give one of these resorts a try next time.

We felt exactly the same after staying at POFQ. My then boyfriend, now husband, didn't want to spend the money on a deluxe resort for ten days. Since I wasn't paying for the trip, I held my tongue, but after the first day, he was saying the same thing as your husband "I should've spent the extra money on a deluxe!"

We are just deluxe people, because of many of the reasons you listed above.