Offsite, value, moderate or deluxe??

[CJK]

As many of you know, we are going to Disney in a few weeks. Dh continues to tell me that this will be our last trip for a few years (we went 3 times this year!!). Our trips have either consisted of an All-Star Resort stay OR a very cheap offsite hotel. We've just never been able to bring ourselves to pay for a better onsite hotel considering the exchange rate. I love wandering around the deluxe hotels, but have never stayed there.

Well, since this is our last trip for a while, we've started to explore our options. The Polynesian remains our favourite deluxe so we decided to investigate cost. The cheapest rate available for our time period is $274USD a night!! I'd love to stay there, but I just can't wrap my brain around paying $274 a night vs. the $74 we have booked at the All-Star. I'm continuing my investigation of using priceline, but then I worry about not being able to cancel with the state of the world the way it is......

My question is this......... what is your thought pattern when booking a hotel in WDW? Do you splurge with your hotel and just not worry about cost? What would you do? Thanks for any info/advice!

 

[dsneygirl]

It all depends. This upcoming trip 4/4 we are staying off site with priceline $34 for the Sheraton Safari because we are doing this trip on the cheap. Have some left over passes from another trip. However our last trip was only 3 days and we splurged on the Poly. Our current financial situation is probably the biggest deciding factor.

 

[MikeJ]

This was one of the reasons we bought at DVC. Other than maintenance costs, we've locked in the next 39 years of accomodations at a Home Away From Home resort and don't need to worry about rising room rates, exchange on the dollar, or finding codes and deals from CRO. And for what we pay in maintenance costs, we are getting larger accomodations for the price of a value resort.

- Mike

 

[SandraC]

Hi ~ our first on-site trip was 2001, we stayed at CBR. I picked CBR because more Canadian's seemed to stay there than any other resort and I loved the theme. I didn't know about codes and mousesaver.com so I paid $300 CDN a night. I don't regret it for a second. "Tuition of Life." It was worth every penny. The week we got back I found mousesavers.com. We thought 2001 trip would be the last for a few years too LOL LOL LOL LOL! We had such a great time that we started planning the 2002 trip. I liked CSR so we booked it, got a code, $94 USF per night for 10 nights. In hind sight I wished we split that trip to 5 nights CSR and 5 nights elsewhere. Next trip we will split the nights. Probably 2 nights at the beach (Ormond or Cocoa) 4 nights at Port Orleans and 4 nights at a deluxe. Since we decided annual trips lose magic for us, we can go less often but spend more money. I save my trip money in advance so it's almost not like money ~ does that make sense. You only live once! Stay where ever you want! HAVE FUN! S

 

[calgarygary]

With a family of 6 (4 girls), staying on-site has never been an option with us. In Nov. we stayed at the Vistana Villages and it was great. The added space and reasonable rates for what you get, really helped to make our 2 weeks fantastic.

Gary

 

[juniorbugman]

We stayed here on our last trip April 2002 and we payed 585 USD$

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3257&item=2166300379

We are planning a trip in 2003 date to be determined and are going to book this house again, it is just 5 min from WDW near Splendid China. If you need a more exact map just ask me.
Its was such a great thrill to come home at anytime and just jump into the pool and relax.

 

[CJK]

Thanks for all the replies! I love hearing everyone else's ideas. I'm making dh read all these! Thanks again

 

[NancyK]

You have to make the right choice for your own situation. If you feel guilty about the amount of money you spend on a deluxe, you might not have as good a time as if you had stayed in something less expensive. I really want to stay in the Poly for our 25th anniversary next year. But when I thought about the nice meals we can have if we stay in a moderate, I decided to book POR. Now, things could change between now and then. Maybe a great code will come out. Hey I could win Super 7 or Lotto 649 Now, on the plus side - the U.S. dollar is a lot cheaper to buy right now then it was last summer when we went. (Who knew that $1.50 exchange would be a bargain?)
On the other hand, one of my sisters has stayed in the value, mods, and the Poly. I don't think she thinks about the cost of the hotel because they really enjoy the resort. They go over to the parks for a few hours at a time - whereas we like to stay at the parks all day. Good luck with your decision. You'll have a great time no matter where you stay.

 

[PoohBWV]

When we first started vising WDW we stayed at CB then POFQ then next trip to Dixie Landings. During our DL stay we really were not enjoying ourselves. Our kids had gotten bigger, so the room seemed cramped and there was a really bad smell just outside our room. On our third night there we went to the Hoop De Doo via the boat from the Contemporary. When I saw the Contemporary I fell in love! It was awesome. We asked if they had availability which they did, so we moved over the next morning. We all loved it so much. Only problem was it was going to be very hard to go back to a moderate. Our next trip, we brought along my parents and rented a two bedroom unit at OKW. It was gorgeous and at that time the BW was just being finished. We ended up buying into DVC at the BW and enjoyed many vacations there. Moral of the story - if you can afford a deluxe, go for it. It is a great experience, but be forwarned it is very difficult to stay any where else.