Should I upgrade DCL stateroom or WDW resort room?

[cjsmith]

Since there will be a much greater chance of your finding a discount on the land portion, I would try and upgrade your room. Though the All Stars may be nice, there is something to be said for the convience of staying closer to the parks. You will be able to see so much more if you stay at one of the parks close to Magic Kingdom and not have to worry about waiting for buses and the long bus ride from AS. While the Poly and the Contemporary are great since they're on the monorail line, the Wildnerness Lodge may be more afforable and you can take a boat ride over to the MK.
As far as the cruise, there will be a huge price difference between what you have and a verandah cabin. Hopefully you will get an upgrade to an outside cabin with a view. That will be great. You'll probably find that you spend very little time in your cabin, so it won't matter. We only spend time in our cabin so that we can enjoy the verandah. If we didn't have it, I wouldn't bother being in the cabin, porthole or no porthole.

 

[CheapMom]

Originally posted by manchurianbrownbear

We did five days at ASMo followed by a 3-Day Wonder cruise.

That is exactly what we are doing this coming December. Do you think that you spent so little time in the stateroom because the 3 day is so-much-to-do-so-little-time or is that just your family's style? I am asking beacause we have a cat 4 for the five of us and I am considering downgrading to 2 cat 12s if we won't be in our room much at all.

 

[westjones]

If you downgrade to Cat. 10s you can get connecting rooms (if that is important to you).

I have been on the 3, 4 and 7 night cruises and have never spent much time in my room. I love deck 4 to just relax, I love the activities during the day, we love the movies, there is really little reason to be in your room except to sleep or get dressed.

DJ

 

[Ursula's Mom]

I have to agree with Manchurianbrownbear. My daughter loved the All Star movies resort last year and is actually disappointed that we are not staying there this summer. Even though we are going to Boardwalk with the Keister Coaster (sp?) pool slide, she still would rather stay at All Stars and swim in the "Mickey Pool." We are staying at the boardwalk this summer because we joined DVC after our August, 2003 visit. She is now 7 and stayed at the All Stars at ages 4 and 6. In May, 2001 and August, 2003, we had no problem with buses at the All Stars. The drivers were entertaining for our trips to and from the parks.

I found that when we are at the resort (we go in the warmer weather) we are only in the room to sleep and change clothes. My husband and I let my daughter stay up later on vacation, so we generally go to sleep shortly after her. If you plan to be up at night enjoying a relaxing evening on a balcony after your child goes to sleep, then you might want to consider an upgraded resort room with a private terrace/balcony. But if you're like me and do not plan to be in the room much, I would opt for using the money for extras at the parks (the souveniers at each park can really add up!).

We have been on two 3 day cruises, both in cat 11 and again, we were not in the room that much. For our seven day cruise coming up this year, we opted for a porthole cat 8 room, since I do not know how I would feel without a window for a week, but I did not want to spend the extra $$ for the veranda. If I were to do another 3 or even a 4 day cruise, I would again do the cat 11. I would rather be in a cat 11 on deck 7 (only two decks down from the pools, food and drink station and two decks up from the club)than in a cat 10 or 9 on decks 1 or 2 (then you have to use the elevator to get where you want to go).

Also, on our three day cruises, our bill for expenses (without excursions) was approximately $550 for each trip. This was for souveniers (we seem to go a little overboard on these for our extended family, so this number may be a bit higher than others), bingo, photos (I bought the 15 photo package at Shutters) and drinks (remember soda is not included as a pre-paid beverage on the ship).

Just some things to think about. I hope this helps.

Kathy

 

[WisconsinDisneyGirl]

Well, I sure have had alot of input to my post! I knew I asked the right people!

I spoke with my travel agent today about upgrading. She said that I should think about keeping the reservations that I already have. That my 5 year old would just love ASMovies due to the fact that he is a Toy Story nut and would go out of his little mide to see a huge Buzz! She said that maybe I could take the money I would have spent and get tickets for a show at Downtown Disney and a really nice dinner at our fav WDW eating spot CA Grill. Sounds good to me. I still have to consider that I have to buy tickets to the parks too! The nice thing is I still have alot of time to make a solid decision!

Thanks all!

 

[CheapMom]

I love AllStarMovis. See my son 3, daughter 4 and niece, 9 enjoying the hotel. Such a playful atmosphere. To me the transportation/distance from the parks was not an issue at all. Each park is a short busride away.