smaller rooms at the value resorts?

[lisak1]

Has anyone noticed or had a problem with the size of the guest rooms at the value resorts when you are staying more than a day or two?? I am thinking that with the smaller rooms (or at least they seem smaller to me in pictures and layouts I've seen) that we would feel cramped staying there longer than a day or two. By the way, there are 3 of us. Mom, Dad and a 13 year old. We are planning a 7 night stay in July '06, and i was thinking that we would stay at one of the moderate resorts, if only for more space in the room.
Thank you in advance for any insight you may have.

 

[ILoveWDW2003]

3 people should have no trouble.

 

[ducklite]

One of the reasons they are "VALUE" resorts is that the rooms are smaller, thus less expensive.

Personally I'd find them claustrophobic for two adults after a night or so. Fine if you just need a place to sleep and shower (although my experience with them is that small beds and noisy rooms make for bad sleep!).

Anne

 

[gigi1313]

we're pooh sized people and we would not be comfortable having 4 of us in a value room... dh at over 6'4" tall needs the whole double bed to himself... so we get two rooms and it's a dream... it's like having a suite at value prices... especially if you book during value season! LOL! to be honest, i would love to try a mod again, but am concerned about 4 of us in a moderate room (last time the kids were 4&6 and it was tight and dd made a sleeping bag on the floor most nights) but don't think we can afford two rooms there!

if you are not "amenity" people (and we're not... we like a pool, but it doesn't have to be fancy... we like to eat, but at the resort, food court food is good enough (we eat our big fun meals at the parks)... we have no use for a gym while on vacation, all that walking is enough exercise!) you will be happy at a value... we find the bus service to be as good or better at the values than at the mods... laundry facilities are convenient... game room at pop century rivals any other on property ('cept DQ!)...

not sure if i answered your question, but that's my opinion on the subject! LOL!

 

[gigi1313]

jftr, we've never experienced noisy rooms at either the allstars (sports) nor at pop century...

 

[lisak1]

Some good answers, thank you.

Though my son would love the theming at the values, I was leaning towards a moderate anyway, and now i feel confident in my decision. The price difference is not that much, and to be more comfortable, it is definately worth it. I think it will be the CSR for us.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

It really depends on the individual or family and what they are needing or expecting. Once upon a time, the value resorts would have been perfect for dh and myself. We enjoyed traveling a lot; and, to save money, we stayed in inexpensive accomodations (translation=often very small rooms). Additionally, our room was simply a place to store our backpacks and sleep at night. Over the years, our traveling style has changed. We have 3 children of varying ages, so our hotel room has become not only the launching pad for various activities throughout the day but also a rest station. Now, I expect my room to have at least a queen bed (dh and I have grown used to this at home and could not comfortably go back to a full), a double vanity, room service (for those hours I am trapped with a napping child and find myself starving to death), a balcony (see previous but change "starving" to "bored"), etc. You have to decide on what is right for your family.

 

[CamColt]

We have stayed at the values 4X, usually with 4 people, but once with 5(1 was under 3 in a crib so it was legal ). We never had any trouble with space. No the rooms arent huge, but they were more than sufficient for the amount of time we spend in them.

 

[goofy4tink]

I've stayed at all levels of resorts at WDW. Yes, the rooms are smaller than at the moderates but not by a huge amount. My dd and I stayed at Music and loved it. I think her father could have been with us and it would have been okay and he's 6'4"! The beds were the same double size as the moderates have. And my dd and I routinely share a bed when we travel and she is 5'2" at 11. I do think the moderates have slightly better storage tho. And I did like the double sinks at POR. But, our room in Jazz bldg at Music had a bigger toilet area than POR did...go figure.

We did hae AllStarMovies booked for our last two nights in June, after our BCV stay. But, when the AP rates came out, I changed over to POR-AB(hopefully) to surprise dd. This was her first stay in WDW and holds a very special place in her heart. But that's the only reason I changed resorts.

 

[DisneyAddict_M]

I think the 3 of you should be fine. Anymore than that would feel cramped.

 

[pooh2001]

Select a Moderate IF...
1) You wish to have a pool with a slide and more theming
2) You bring more than 3 suitcases (may be a bit tight for storage at a value)
3) Like better soap in the bathroom
4) Like a more varied menu (Coronado Springs or Port Orleans suggested)

Select a Value IF...
1) The pool will be used only to get wet
2) You can eat pizza, hot dogs and hamburgers each night
3) You like bringing your own luggage to your room
4) You do not need any special services

You may like to check out the Dolphin/Swan resorts.
They are owned by Starwood - but have boat & bus transportation,
many pools including a 3 -acre pool with a water slide & water fall, heavenly beds to sleep on, lots of space in the room, great location to EPCOT (walkable), Studio's, Boardwalk. Some rooms have views of fireworks.
Great rates for teachers, gov employees, MD's & RN's, Annual Pass holders, and AAA members. You maybe able to get a room for $159 per night.
The Swan & Dolphin participate in the WDW Magic Hour - so you will not miss out.
DIS Summer on Special! As low as $159 p/n!
July 15, 2005 - Sep. 5, 2005 ===> Book by: March 31, 2005
https://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/dreamsres/sd.cfm#sd-main-special-book


We love the Dolphin

 

[goofy4tink]

I have to say, in response to the reasons for staying at a value...I had probably one of the best cheeseburgers ever at the food court at Music. Now, the CM did tell me that I could get them like that at off times only. And to please not ask her to cook it up like that a noon!! but, oh, the grilled onions and the slightly melted cheese. It was t die for. And I also had some good breakfast there and the chicken tender meal was very good also. So, I would agree that if you want a slide, stay at a moderate. And if you want Mickey soap you shouldn't stay at a value. But the rest of the reasons are non-reasons for us. We have had to take our own luggage at POR twice now, or wait for over an hour to get it.

 

[stingmom]

Here are the actual square footages per room/resort

We just upgraded from the POR due to the size "factor" and I somehow managed to MISS in all my proud glory of getting us at room there that the beds are only DOUBLES, not queens like we are use to (and we are big and like some elbow room!) HTH.

Value Resorts:
All-Star Movies - 260
All-Star Music - 260
All-Star Sports - 260
Pop Century - 260

Moderate Resorts:
Caribbean Beach - 340
Coronado Springs - 314
Port Orleans French Quarter - 314
Port Orleans Riverside - 314
Fort Wilderness Home or Cabin - 504

Deluxe Resorts:
Wilderness Lodge - 340
Animal Kingdom Lodge - 344
Beach Club - 380
Yacht Club - 380
BoardWalk Inn - 380
Grand Floridian - 400
Polynesian - 409
Contemporary - 422

 

[lisak1]

Here are the actual square footages per room/resort

We just upgraded from the POR due to the size "factor" and I somehow managed to MISS in all my proud glory of getting us at room there that the beds are only DOUBLES, not queens like we are use to (and we are big and like some elbow room!) HTH.

Value Resorts:
All-Star Movies - 260
All-Star Music - 260
All-Star Sports - 260
Pop Century - 260

Moderate Resorts:
Caribbean Beach - 340
Coronado Springs - 314
Port Orleans French Quarter - 314
Port Orleans Riverside - 314
Fort Wilderness Home or Cabin - 504

Deluxe Resorts:
Wilderness Lodge - 340
Animal Kingdom Lodge - 344
Beach Club - 380
Yacht Club - 380
BoardWalk Inn - 380
Grand Floridian - 400
Polynesian - 409
Contemporary - 422

That's a great list, stingmom. Thanks for sharing.
We stayed in Port Orleans in '98, the last time we were there, and found the room very comfortable. it's good to know the rooms at Coronado Springs Resort is comperable in size.
We'd love to stay at a deluxe resort sometime too, but not this trip, i'm afraid, unless something changes.

 

[SaraMc]

My sister and BIL and 13 year old nephew stayed in a Value room, we were in the room beside them. They found it rather small as we are all taller people the shortest being 5'10" and he's 13. However as they said, how much time do you really spend in your room? Needless to say they are going to try moderate next time for bigger beds and a little more space because while they are done growing my nephew has not. DH and I really dont mind value, it saves us $$ and well its just us.

 

[stingmom]

That's a great list, stingmom. Thanks for sharing.
We stayed in Port Orleans in '98, the last time we were there, and found the room very comfortable. it's good to know the rooms at Coronado Springs Resort is comperable in size.
We'd love to stay at a deluxe resort sometime too, but not this trip, i'm afraid, unless something changes.

Happy to share! If it was only 2 or 3 of us going, for only 1 nite, I WOULD stay at the POR (and will SOMEDAY without the kiddies!) But DH is not small and we have 3 kids: DS1 11 & 1/2, DS2 9 and DD 6 & 1/2. So, we need the foot room (not tripping over a trundle by the door) and we found we really enjoyed the sink space offered at the Cont. We were all able to spread out nicely. And, DD enjoys putting her things away in the dresser and the closet is quite large and closes, so I (I mean, TINKERBELL) can pull the "goodies" out of the suitcase that the kids are not even aware of! We "spluged" for a GV, which was $70 more per nite than the POR, but since we will be there for 5 days, we knew we would not be happy after the second nite crammed into the POR. Our other option would be adjoining rooms at a Value. (Same cost as Cont.), but we do enjoy the luxury of walking right into MK. Have fun and good luck!!

 

[SaraMc]

[. And if you want Mickey soap you shouldn't stay at a value.

We got Mickey soap when we stayed at ASMusic in Feb of this year.

 

[ducklite]

I hate to disappoint you, but the beds at the moderates are the same size as the beds at teh values. The room will feel somewhat larger, but not roomy by any means.

Anne

 

[sk!mom]

We found the values to be too small and too noisy for a comfortable vacation. We stayed at POP in June because it fit the budget of the family traveling with us and DH says NEVER again. We will be staying at CR in a few weeks.

IMO, if a value is your only choice due to budget then do it- value Disney is better than no Disney, but if you can afford nicer accommodations you will definitely be more comfortable.

 

[CamColt]

Select a Moderate IF...
1) You wish to have a pool with a slide and more theming
2) You bring more than 3 suitcases (may be a bit tight for storage at a value)
3) Like better soap in the bathroom
4) Like a more varied menu (Coronado Springs or Port Orleans suggested)

Select a Value IF...
1) The pool will be used only to get wet
2) You can eat pizza, hot dogs and hamburgers each night
3) You like bringing your own luggage to your room
4) You do not need any special services

I dont think these will always apply to everyone. From our experience we had no problem storing a good amount of luggage(enough for a weeks stay with 3 adults, 2 kids) at the value. We also never ate at the sit down restuarant during our 2 moderate stays. I found a great variety of food, with some very good "different" items, at the food courts at both the values & moderates. Love the taco salad with beef at ASMO. We also had our luggage delivered to our room at ASSP with no problem.