Value resort rooms are approximately 260 sq.ft., while moderate resort rooms are approximately 340 sq.ft. (CSR rooms are a shade larger). Both value and moderate resorts have exterior corridors.
The primary difference between the two types of resorts (other than room size) is that moderate resorts have a table service restaurant in addition to a food court, a hot tub, the main pool has a themed slide and the landscaping is a bit more lush. Moderate resort rooms also have a small refrigerator (under-counter size, I believe. I haven't stayed in one since the refrigerators were added); value rooms do not. It's possible to rent a small(er) refrigerator (countertop size) at the value resorts or join a fridge swap on the Budget Board.
Pop Century is my favourite value resort of the existing resorts. Location is one of the reasons--it's a short bus ride (or drive) to EPCOT and DHS, and a slightly longer ride to AK and MK. It's also the largest, so the food court can be crazybusy (Yep! All one word!) during peak hours. In-your-face theming with icons from the 50s through the 90s, and a touch of Disney. The All Star resorts are closer to AK.
CSR (Coronado Springs Resort) is a convention resort. It's a tad more sedate than CBR, POR or POFQ, but it's Disney. Still fun. If I were a young child, I would absolutely love the Dig Site! *LOL* It's closest to AK, but I don't recall the bus ride to EPCOT or DHS being very long, either. All of the buildings have elevators. I was just reading about CBR (Caribbean Beach Resort), and the buildings do not have elevators--in case that is important to you!
The resort you choose is based on what is important to you. That extra space can be nice if you plan to spend much time in the room. For a first visit to WDW, I would tend to go with what the PP said and book a value resort. Although you're familiar with
Disneyland, you will have a lot of new territory to cover and probably will use your room primarily to sleep and shower! *LOL*
There is so much to do at WDW! It's a complete destination within itself. The monorail is transportation, rather than just an attraction (not sure if you remember when there was a monorail loop at Disneyland, with stations at the Disneyland Hotel and in Tomorrowland). At WDW, there are three monorail loops: an express loop from the TTC (Ticket & Transportation Center outside MK) to MK, a TTC > resort > MK loop linking Polynesian, Contemporary and Grand Floridian (all deluxe resorts with pricing similar to Grand Californian) resorts with MK, and the final loop from TTC > to EPCOT. It's fun to take the resort loop monorail and visit those three deluxe resorts for dining--or just to look around!
Compared to Disneyland/CA, WDW is HUGE! Something around 47 square miles, if I remember correctly. Not all of it developed, and portions of it never will be developed (environmental issues), but there is a lot of ground to cover! There are four theme parks, two water parks, two miniature golf courses, several 18-hole golf courses (five or so--they've been changing them in the last few years and I lost track!), DTD (Downtown Disney), around 20 Disney-owned resorts (with
DVC, I think it's a bit more, but I wasn't counting the DVC resorts connected to Deluxe resorts), a number of non-Disney hotels/resorts on WDW property and one non-Disney owned resort on non-Disney owned property in the midst of WDW!
In addition to monorail and bus transportation, there also is water transportation between some of the deluxe resorts and parks and moderate resorts and DTD. The ferry from the TTC to MK is my favourite way to get my first glimpse of MK each visit!
You can't compare DL/CA and WDW directly. There are similarities, but even then there are differences. It isn't that one is better than the other, just different! I love some things about DL/CA and others about WDW. *LOL* Don't ask me to choose between my children!
For your first WDW visit, I would plan to stay primarily on WDW property. In the future, when your younger child is a bit older, you can take a longer vacation and add some time at US/IOA and SeaWorld.
What ever you decide, you will need to do a bit more planning for WDW than for DL/CA, just due to the sheer size of it. Don't be too specific, just figure out if you will use morning and/or evening EMH (morning EMH is hard for us the first few days coming from the west coast!) and plan your park days and dining accordining. Try to keep dining in the same park or adjacent resorts. Decide what your must-do attractions are in each park, then add to them as time permits. And be sure to take time to smell the roses!
What ever you decide, your WDW holiday will be magical!
They are buffets, when you order drinks ask to have the bill brought out with them so as soon as you're done eating you can split.
