Regrets on Resort choice based on price not desire?

[LaurieN]

Anyone ever stayed at a WDW resort based on price, that later regretted not spending the money for the resort they really wanted or did it work out better than expected??

Yes! In 2009 we wanted to stay at BC but chose CSR to save $1,500. I should say that there was nothing wrong with CSR, it is a beautiful resort and at the time had just been renovated so our room was basically brand new. BUT...we went to BC for a photo session and breakfast at Cape May Cafe, and the minute we walked into the lobby DH looked at me and said "Really, we're not staying here over a few dollars? Well, $1,500 is more than a few dollars, but boy did I feel bad! We fell in love with BC right then and there and DH declared he would only come back if I promised we would stay there next time, even if we had to wait a few years!
Needless to say, I had to wait 2 years but we went back in Nov 2011 and stayed at BC. DH loved it so much we booked a bounce back and are going again this Nov

I don't want anyone to think I'm bashing CSR because I did LOVE that resort. The grounds are just beautiful and the rooms are very nice, it's just that the BC is where our hearts are!
Laurie

 

[Fluff724]

I would regret staying at a resort that I couldn't really afford even more. I always select our resort with price in mind. I am much happier staying where I can comfortably afford my vacation. Not having to worry about other costs. Not having to scrimp on dining because we were spending too much on resorts. Or worrying that I could pay off the credit card when we got home. KWIM?

I would love nothing better to stay in a GF theme park view room. But I can only afford to stay at a mod. That has never spoiled any of our vacations.

This exactly!

I have stayed at all 3 levels of Disney Resorts and off-site at time shares we got to use for free thanks to my parents. All of the resorts have had things to love (even offsite) and I can honestly say we always had a great time.

 

[LONES]

I had only ever stayed at POFQ, and really never saw any reason to stay anywhere else. It fits our budget, and fits our needs well. For our trip this past January, we didn't pull the trigger fast enough, and were not able to get any discounts at POFQ. We already were paying more than we wanted for airfare, so I really wanted to save somewhere. I know it's not too big of a difference, but we opted to take free dining at POR. I was so stressed out before the trip that I was going to spend the whole vacation wishing I was at FQ. My parents traveled with us, and although they would have rather stayed at FQ even paying rack rate... they said they would stay at POR if that's what we wanted to do. Now I was doubly stressed that they would hate it, too!

I must admit... when DME dropped off at FQ first, and we didn't get off, my heart sank. We got off at POR and went to check in. I was greeting by a CM that I assume was new... because everything seemed to be going nowhere fast. We were very concerned with room location, because my dad has a pretty hard time getting around. She seemed like she had never even been outside of the lobby before. That's when the CM next to us piped in, and said he could get started with my Dad's check in. He was wonderful!!! Very nice, very knowlegeable, and did everything in his power to make us FQ lovers feel welcome.

I ended up loving it there! Our next trip we will likely be back at FQ due to my parents mobility issues, and now I'm worried I would be wishing I was over at Riverside! Honestly... I would be totally fine with either, but I would have never tried Riverside in the first place if it hadn't been for financial reasons.

 

[Tink415]

Anyone ever stayed at a WDW resort based on price, that later regretted not spending the money for the resort they really wanted or did it work out better than expected??

NOPE! All of our trips to WDW have worked out great as far as where we've stayed. Our first trip was to CBR back in 1996 and we stayed there because the package we got cost an amount I was willing to pay. Since then we've stayed everyplace except ASSp, YC, BLT, AoA, and had lots of great vacations. And after all the trips we've been on, we don't have a must-stay place. Each family member has their favorite, but we enjoy something about each resort.

A couple weeks ago my dd asked to go on a last minute WDW trip for summer vacation. I priced airfare and hotels. Only rack rate is available at WDW hotels last minute and I don't have any DVC points available to use. Once I priced everything out, I decided no last minute trip this summer. Now that decision I might regret

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

In January we stayed at WL to save a little over our preferred Poly. Definitely regretted it. We loved the lobby and the pool area and also liked the boat to MK. But the room was so much smaller and we did wish we had spent the extra for Poly.

That is of course coming from the standpoint of now being able to afford deluxe. In our early years together we did some really budget-minded trips and the fact that we weren't staying deluxe (or even on-property in some cases) didn't leave us disappointed.

So what am I saying here? I've only regretted my choice when I could have easily afforded to spend more for what I really wanted but didn't do it.

 

[tinkermommyof3]

Anyone ever stayed at a WDW resort based on price, that later regretted not spending the money for the resort they really wanted or did it work out better than expected??

We always enjoy being together as a family in WDW. We always have great memories. But in response to your question, we did regret staying at POR because the room was cramped for the 5 of us. The resort and food court were nice. We just prefer to vacation at the Disney Deluxe locations for the room size, amenities, etc. and they are not a budget buster. We spend a good bit of time at the resort so we want what want on our vacation. It wasn't a horrible vacation by any means. But, it could have been better...

 

[goofy4tink]

That is one of the best questions in the World. No pun intended.

I love, love, love POR. In 2009, I took 2 girls from my local watering hole the week after Thanksgiving. That year, the 4/3 package came up and we bot SSR for $200.00 less. Wow.

Same location, same amentities, etc. But it just was not for us. I even took the girls down to POR two nignts and we knew it was just better for us.

It was wonderful to try something new, but it was not for me. So many wonderful choices at the world.

Oh man...sounds like us. We had booked POR (our first WDW resort when it was DxL), and were really looking forward to it. Then, a great rate came out and I changed to WL. Well...Disney came out with the Fairy Tale pkg, buy four nights, get three free. My dd, then almost 10, has always wanted to stay at the Polynesian...so, changed yet again. And ended up paying about $100 more for the pkg. BUT...when we got there, we found that we would really have been happier at POR!!!

I find it interesting that rather than answer the clear question the OP posed, many people are just chiming in defending their resort level choices....

Nope, not me. I stay at many different resorts. My favorites are POR, Pop, BWV (where I own) and BLT (again, where I own). I don't much care who likes them or who doesn't.


All in all? I have only had resort regret one time...the above mentioned stay. The Polynesian was nice enough, it just wasn't what we wanted, in the long run. Live and learn. I happily stay at all level of resort. I can usually find something great about every single resort there.

 

[padawans]

Anyone ever stayed at a WDW resort based on price, that later regretted not spending the money for the resort they really wanted or did it work out better than expected??

Our Christmas trip last year I regretted staying at WL and not the GF. I could have afforded GF, but decided to save some money. I really did not like WL. I don't know if I'll will ever get the chance to go at Christmas again so I kind of regret that descision.

I'm the type that will just postpone a trip if I can't afford what I want, but I don't have to buy airline tickets so it's easy for me to do that if some unexpected bill comes up. I get not everyone has that luxury.

Poly/Yc/BC and BW are my favorite resorts. I can't imagine taking a trip that did not include one of these. CSR is my go to resort if I need to do a mod for a few days to offset the cost. To answer your question....yes I think I would regret not spending the money if it was something I could have afforded.

 

[pigletto]

If it was a trip I had planned for years, or for a very special occasion I would likely be disappointed if I didn't go for what I was dreaming of.
We've been able to go often enough with annual passes the last few years that I'm never too worried because there is always a next time.
Lately the focus for me has been to go for the best price possible so it actually is working in reverse... I'm happier the less money we spend because it means we get to go back sooner

 

[Singinglizzie]

Thanks for all the responses. I have not stayed Value before and am wrestling with the fact that I want to stay at a mod or deluxe but my budget this time around says no. I know I will be at Disney and that alone will make our trip great. Most of our time will be spent out of the room, so just need a clean, comfortable place to sleep and hopefully the value won't disappoint. I just didn't want to get there and regret going. Glad to hear others have been in a similar situation and all has worked out.

 

[GovieMom]

About ten years ago we were booked at CSR, since our budget at that time allowed for a moderate resort. A few weeks before that trip, we got a postcard from WDW, offering a standard-view room at the fairly new AKL, for just $50 per night more than what we were paying for CSR. I hemmed and hawed over that one, but decided that it would be too much extra money (7 nights) for us to pay. Ever since, I have always regretted not forking over the extra money for that stay. CSR was pretty, but AKL is AMAZING. We were fortunate to stay at AKL since then, but I still regret choosing CSR over it the first time.

 

[ben1993]

I've stayed at ASMo and ASMu as well as Pop, I actually think the rooms are just fine, amenities fine, decent pools; I just don't care for the themeing, the brash style is not to my taste at all. That is pretty much the only reason I would prefer to stay Mod or deluxe (if renting points) IF I could afford it at that time. If I could only afford Value it certainly wouldn't 'ruin' the trip.

 

[kar0066]

We have stayed at a value resort 3 times and a deluxe once - AKL. I really loved AKL - but we were hardly at the resort. We had a 40% pin that year so I felt we had to try a deluxe.

This year I booked a mod, but within a month switched to POP. I was able to add two more nights to our trip for the same price.

I should add that there is just two of us - myself and my DD and she is 10. A value works great for us. Plus I love Pop. I love the food court, I love the gift shop, and it we have always had great service.

 

[mimmi]

That's a good question and one I've been pondering for months now. We wanted to stay at WL in November and then we stumbled upon a Disney UK offer- 40% discount for OKW and SSR and free dining combined- and while those two resorts have always been the least appealing for us, the offer was too good to pass and so I booked OKW.
I'm sure we will have a good time and as I want to stay at all the resorts, we would have stayed at OKW someday anyway, but I have to say that I'm still a little apprehensive, especially when I look at WL pictures.

 

[Lifeangel1]

For our upcoming trip we originally booked POFQ as we love this resort. That was before free dining was offered. Once FD was announced we called immediately but was told there were no available rooms left with FD at FQ. We were offered POR, CSR, or CBR. My DD had to make a quick decision and chose CBR. We are alittle nervous as we never stayed there before and it crossed our minds to forget FD to stay at FQ but we decided to experience a different resort. We'll see in a couple of months if we regret that decision or not.

 

[mommapea]

The only resort that we've tried, and I regretted, was SSR. I had booked us for a split stay at VWL and BWV, using points through a friend. When we decided to add a few days to our trip, this and OKW were the only 2 we could get into with points. We had already stayed at OKW and wanted to try something new. I should have went back to POFQ or tried Pop if we wanted to keep the cost low. I will say that the pool was wonderful, but the day we were there was very crowded and hard to enjoy. We tried a quiet pool on a different day, and it was fun and we basically had the place to ourselves. I thought I was prepared at how spread out this place is, but it is the worst resort we've tried in terms of getting around. We drove to the main pool, and had trouble figuring out where to park and walk. We've never tried a value resort, because I thought we'd end up having regrets. I think if it came down to going or not, I'd book Pop in a heartbeat just to try it. We have friends who won't go anywhere else. It's their Disney home away from home, so to speak. In fact, we've booked a few days at BWV during spring break, and maybe I should look into Pop for a couple of other nights...think I'll look right now .

 

[cjsm&d]

Anyone ever stayed at a WDW resort based on price, that later regretted not spending the money for the resort they really wanted or did it work out better than expected??

I have never regretted any resort choice that we've made. I have thoroughly enjoyed them all and never "wished" during our vacathion that we had made another choice.

Edit: I take that back. When we did a split one time, half YC half off-site, that we did the YC part first and the off-site 2nd. If I had a do-over I would always do the off-site stuff first then the WDW on site. It is just hard for off-site hotels to match up to the WDW experience.

That said, the only real WDW resort regrets I have are that i fought against trying CSR and Swan for so long, because they are a couple of my favorites.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Anyone ever stayed at a WDW resort based on price, that later regretted not spending the money for the resort they really wanted or did it work out better than expected??

I feel like I could write my own book on this topic! Over the last 15 years I have learned that if you are going to shell out the big bucks for airfare, park tickets, food and/or dining plan, etc, etc, then it doesn't make sense to skimp on the resort choice. We had some trips years ago that honestly I felt like I would have rather stayed home than been where we were.

The way I solved the problem is that we book the hotel we really want and then we pay it off in chunks before we get there. That way when we check-in the room is already paid in full and all we have to budget is food and extras. If you book your resort 6 or 9 months in advance and the room seems insanely expensive at like $3,000 you just have to think about it in small increments. Make a payment every 2 weeks of like $250 and then it's easier to manage. Also its better than putting the whole thing on your credit card and then coming home to a huge bill you can't pay off in a month then racks up interest!

Money aside, I also think staying in the resort you really want helps your whole trip feel like a vacation. We often spend a whole day just enjoying our resort and everything it has to offer.

 

[Emteach]

Our last trip, 6 years ago, we stayed at All Star Movies. We had nothing against the resort itself. Loved the atmosphere, pool and food court but size wise it just didnt work for us. We were 3 adults and a 6 year old at this point. This trip we have saved a lot for (6 years in the making) and are staying at the Polynesian, something the would have ordinarily been out of our budget but we got free dining, a better deal since it is value season and we LOVE that it is on the monorail. We also needed somewhere that could accomodate 5 people (3 adults, 1 almost teen and a 6 year old).
Know it will be worth it for us and so looking forward to it

 

[Buckimion]

DW got a BIG windfall and knowing I wanted to go to WDW told me to plan a dream week of everything I wanted, allowing for her to have some major decompression time too. We made the down payment and she didn't even blink, but while making dining reservations she asked how much were the rooms per night and froze when I told her we were looking at $600 or so per night for Poly Club Level. She decided that was a little (LOT) much and asked me to downgrade it to value, choosing ASSp which had been in discussions last year.

A few days later I was running the numbers on CSR and managed to talk her into an upgrade, although I confess I'm not sure if I'll be completely won over with CSR. (Although our only previous on-site experiences have been ASMu & Ft.W. We don't have to aim too high.) I keep looking at other mods but I always hit some little bump that has kept me with CSR. POFQ doesn't have ANY discounts, Royal Rooms and AB preferred rooms at POR as well as the Pirate rooms at CBR just seem far from transportation and I DON'T want to drive. Shutters at CBR doesn't seem to be a winner either.