Opinions wanted value v. mod. v. deluxe

[jillyjoey]

Last time we went we stayed half time off property at a big resort and half time at All-Star Movies - never again will we stay off-site. Anyhow, for our next trip, we plan to book at a mod resort. But, now seriously considering deluxe. We will be going in December so I don't know if pools will really be an issue. Here's the question.
(1) Moderate over value, why?
(2) Deluxe over moderate, why?

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

We prefer the moderates, we have stayed at the values also but would never again, its such a big jump up from a value to a moderate. I do love the deluxes also, but honestly you get more bang for the buck with a moderate. We visited all the deluxes and have had dinner, etc., and didn't see that much more except for being on the monorail for the price difference which was phenomenally higher! The moderates also have a resort feel and we really love. Have fun and let us know what you decide.

 

[kathy carleton]

Having stayed at almost every resort on property, I recomend moderate!! Frankly, I am not a big value fan. They are fine, but unless that is the only way I can go to the world, OR plan to do kamikaze parks and water parks, then I do not do values. Keep in mind though, if it is a 1st timer trip, the I do suggest to friends to do the values becuase your 1st couple trips to WDW you are never in your room!!

I am a real fan of POR and CSR. Love both resorts! If you were going in summer and planning to do much at pools- CSR- love their pool and pool/snack bar! grounds are great, and bus service fantastic! I think CSR is a deluxe (except for beds) in Mod clothing.

Also love, love, love POR!! bus service not as great, but the grounds are fabulous!! At that time of year is a perfect time to be there. We always fo AB section- but that is a matter of personal preference.

Don't get me wrong, I love the deluxe resorts... especially Epcot area.. If there is a great rate for Swan/Dolphin.. I might do that!!

Eager to hear what you choose.. enjoy

 

[jann1033]

so far we have only stayed at a value, dvc( vero beach) or fort wilderness ( which is so different than any other resort imo)

this time we are staying at a mod. mainly because my kids want a better ie fancier pool than the values.

only value i have stayed at is pop and i didn't really see anything wrong with it but usually we are not resort hounds and spend most time in the park or out and about wdw. the things i liked about pop and thought were great for families with little kids were the food court (lots to pick from) and i thought the pool was cute and the little goofy surf place very cute. i thought the bus service was very good. we stayed right after it opened but i don't remember much in the way of "landscaping" or places to stroll around and it seemed to be geared towards younger families to me. not that it was ugly, just not gardeny

the reason we are going moderate this time is the fridge and coffee maker mean we can eat breakfast in the room ( will help with grand baby)and i think with a little one we will probably spend more time at the resort so the hot tub and nicer pool will be useful.

truthfully i don't see that much difference in the rooms between any of them, the dvc( which i think is supposed to be on a par with deluxe) was bigger and the furinture was nicer but also only had one bed so not THAT much bigger. and not nearly as nice as i would get in aroom i spent that much for in the real world. it seems most of the added cost is in public spaces so if you use that alot it would be worth it, if you basically just sleep there and have breakfast, not so much.

if they would upgrade the pools there my ideal space would be fw cabins..they are quiet and peaceful but the pools are plain

 

[estnh]

Given the skyrocketing cost of the deluxe resorts, we also prefer the moderates. I think there is a big difference between the values and the moderates, but that difference is much less between the moderates and deluxe resorts.

We've stayed at most of the Disney resorts, and, unless there are great special rates, we now usually consider only the moderates for our annual weekly trips.

The exception is when we go to the Food & Wine Festival--we just go for two or three nights, and we only go to Epcot, so it is worth the extra $$ to stay at an Epcot resort.

 

[DVC Sadie]

For us the biggest difference between moderates and deluxe is the convenience of the monorail, pools, room service, restaurants (both CS and TB) and the atmosphere. Although we have never stayed in a value or moderate we have visited different resorts to see the different themes that they offer. Visiting different resorts have been a wonderful way for us to spend a couple of days on vacation and I suggest everyone try it once in awhile.

 

[brentalex]

We have stayed in all three category resorts. I prefer the deluxe resorts, because it seems to be just that, a resort. The value resorts seem to me to be too much just like any old motel. We stayed at POR and the grounds were beautiful, HATED the transportation, liked having use of multiple pools, and taking the boat to DTD. But we have stayed at the contemporary and AKL and will be going back to the contemporary in 22 days These hotels just feel more like a vacation. We enjoy the extra services, more restaurant choices that may not involve travel ( I realize everyone on site really has the same restaurant choices, some may just involve a lot more travel ) and the feeling we get that we are really on vacation. We also have a children issue, our kids are too old to sleep in the same bed so we need a room that has the extra day bed, or had bunk beds. So that somewhat limits us to a deluxe anyway.

 

[LBKMAMA]

What is it about section AB of POR that you like? We are going there right after Thanksgiving...primarily because you can have 5 to a room. The CM that I booked with said to ask for Magnolia when we cked in? Any comments on that...I haven't even gotten to look at a map of it yet so I'm not that familiar.

We stayed at CSR last year and it was fabulous and I thought the buses were great. Are the buses slower at POR or is it because of the fact that they stop at two places. Do they stop at POR first in AM or should we expect them to be full in the AM and have to possibly stand? I just want to prepare myself and my DH...if he knows ahead it won't bug him as much.

Thanks for any info on this resort ...

 

[formernyer]

I'm definitely in the minority here, but no matter where I'm traveling I prefer to stay in a Value option. Depending on the length of the trip it adds up to hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars in difference for nothing but a place to sleep.

If I was the type person who liked to lounge around at the hotel a lot I'd probably opt for a moderate, but when I'm on vacation the last thing I want to do is hang around a hotel room any more than I need to.

I also need to add that I buy season passes to a local water park which we use 1-2 times a week all summer long; therefore, the pools are no big thrill to me. My kids like to swim, but it isn't something that makes or breaks a hotel for me.

That's just my opinion as a middle-class working person...I'm sure if I was rich I'd probably have a different opinion

 

[Crazy4Disney43611]

In my opinion if you don't have a preference of where you want to stay, then stay at the cheapest on property place you can find. If you never start staying at deluxe resorts you can be content with staying at a Value, but for myself I 1st stayed at a 2 BR Villa at BWV, then 2 BR Villa at OKW and I will be going back to the 2 BR Villa at BWV in Feb. The fact that I have stayed at these resorts...the thought of staying at a Value makes me cringe! I almost talked myself into staying at a moderate but luckily I sold a kidney so I could spend the extra $ for a deluxe. LOL! So if you stayed at a Value and your fine with it, stay with it cause in my experience once you go up you'll never go back down. Sean

 

[Sherri]

We stayed at the CBR for our first trip on site and the Boardwalk for the next. We had fun both times and spent a majority of the time at the parks for most of the time so a bed is a bed when your tired at the end of a busy day. I'd be content no matter what. We will be staying at Pop Century for two nights then on to the Wilderness lodge for five nights. I am just as excited about both resorts. I think it makes most sense to stay in the less expensive place IF you are going to be gone most of the time anyway.
Oh I have say we LOVED the CBR main pool better then the BW main pool. We had only gone to each pool one day during each stay and thats my honest opinion on them.

 

[kathy carleton]

What is it about section AB of POR that you like? We are going there right after Thanksgiving...primarily because you can have 5 to a room. The CM that I booked with said to ask for Magnolia when we cked in? Any comments on that...I haven't even gotten to look at a map of it yet so I'm not that familiar.

We stayed at CSR last year and it was fabulous and I thought the buses were great. Are the buses slower at POR or is it because of the fact that they stop at two places. Do they stop at POR first in AM or should we expect them to be full in the AM and have to possibly stand? I just want to prepare myself and my DH...if he knows ahead it won't bug him as much.

Thanks for any info on this resort ...

We stayed at POR last year the week of Thanksgiving. A very busy time. We loved AB section, but I do think it is a personal preference- the rooms were cute.. with all of the furniture in keeping with the twih/log theming.. very cute. The location of AB is great in respect to transportation- were in in bldg 14- very convenient to all things. I do think whether you like mansions/AB is a personal thing, although we were thrilled with our location.

The only drawback was the buses- (but keep in mind the busy time we went)- POR & POFQ share buses and they go to FQ 1st. POR is a large resort. On Thanksgiving day we did wait an hour for bus to Epcot. But frankly, I think this is the exception to the rule. The bus situation would not be a deterring factor for me... We park our car when we get to WDW, and are happy to let someone else do the driving!

 

[bellebud]

for us, dh refuses to stay at a moderate or value only because they're 'motels' with outside opening doors as opposed to the deluxes with interior hallways and balconies (or at least sliders) to the outside. We spend a lot of time at the resort, and while we'd be just as happy with most of the moderates as far as resort grounds, pools, playgrounds and food courts, dh doesn't want people walking by our room window, and doesn't want to sit with the shades closed. silly, i know! i actually really want to try csr and por, but i can't convince him because of that window.

 

[Dizneydaz]

All things being equal, we prefer the moderates-especially POFQ. However, last time we stayed at CBR and liked that too. One thing we never have to consider is transportation as we always have a rental van. I love AKL, especially the pool and views but it is quite a big jump from the moderates. We've stayed at AKL twice and to be honest with you on our last trip we visited on our last day (stayed at CBR) and saw more of the resort than we did when we stayed there-don't know why-we just did.

I like the value of the values, but is it my imagination or are the pools colder? Last time at POP I think the bowling pin pool changed ten degrees overnite-It was January and cold outside and let's just say first day the pool was wonderfully warm, next day-ohh so cold! And the values don't have a spa(jacuzzi).

Luckily my niece worked at Dland (until about a month ago) and we've been able to take advantage of CM discounts on several trips which has made the resort choice easier.

I'm sure you'll have a great time no matter where you stay.

 

[MICKEEP]

Never stayed at a value so I can not comment on that but the big difference between moderate and deluxe is the size of the bed (full vs queen) and balconies (balconies only at the deluxes).
We would love to stay at deluxes all the time but if we can't, CSR is a great second choice....beautiful theming, good restaurants and very good bus service plus it has deluxe features that the other moderates do not have like a health club, for example.

 

[keishashadow]

Curious, why do you hate staying off-site? Where did you stay?

If you're going to spend your time @ the parks, the Value's cannot be beat. Especially fond of AS Mu's pool. Iconing theming for kids is a treat & transportation is extraordinary.

If you plan on having "down time" @ the resort & spending more than a few hours in the pools, then I would consider the move to Mod or, better yet - the Del offerings.

A split stay might work for you, especially if you just add the dining plan for one of the portions.

One drawback to the Values is that during holiday's & group dates (cheerleaders, sports teams) they can be nerve-wracking. Not sure when in Dec. you're planning on visiting but, the 2nd week was alot busier than I expected last year.

Good luck, enjoy the magic.

 

[jeast]

I've only stayed at ASMo. However, we found it difficult to manage with the double beds. DH is 6'3" and I am 5'7". Both large people (not fat, just chubby). We sleep in a king at home. We could manage a queen together, but those doubles are just too small.

Furthermore, our children will not go to sleep if they are sleeping with us. they can't wind down. So each of us sleeping with a kid didn't work either.

I thoroughly enjoyed the resort and would definitely stay there again if they had two queens. Since the values and the mods have doubles, we've decided to rent points for a better resort. That is the main issue we have with values and mods.

If you don't mind sleeping in doubles, the values are great!

 

[allegracristina]

Deluxe all the way! It truly feels like you are in another world with the theming at the deluxes. The restaurant choices in the deluxes are much more our speed. I cannot stand the food court set up in the values and mods. Also the bigger beds, balconies, room service, and better transportation (imo) are well worth it.
We will always do a deluxe stay, even if it means only going once a year.

 

[jillyjoey]

Curious, why do you hate staying off-site? Where did you stay?

We stayed at Summerbay resort for part of our stay in June 2004 as we were visiting SeaWorld the first part of our trip. We personally did not have any problem with the resort (although apparently alot of others have), it was beautiful and amenities were great but there was just something about that Disney magic when we stayed on-site. Actually, my kids (3 & 9) are still requesting that we stay at "the Buzz Light Year Motel" (ASMo) despite offering them other choices.

 

[ihearttink]

Deluxe all the way! It truly feels like you are in another world with the theming at the deluxes. The restaurant choices in the deluxes are much more our speed. I cannot stand the food court set up in the values and mods. Also the bigger beds, balconies, room service, and better transportation (imo) are well worth it.
We will always do a deluxe stay, even if it means only going once a year.

I agee with allegracristina. The transportation is so much better. At the moderates there has been times where the buses have been too full so we would have to wait for the next one. Never has happend to us at the deluxes. The balconies are a big thing too us.

If we had never tried the deluxe, we would have been very content in the moderates. As the saying goes, you can't miss what you never had. We have stayed at POR, CS, CB and were happy. However, for us, after staying at the deluxes we can't bring ourselves to go back to the moderates.