Sticker Shock! Our moderate has turned value.

[kimmyann]

I had my mind set on CBR (as in a previous post) for our trip in August 2014. Well, I sat down with my calculator & using 2013 pricing for the second to last week of August. I just can't bring myself to justify the price difference. It would be a $590 difference for seven nights (room only). I had only planned 6 nights originally (staying at a cheapo offsite the day of arrival), but if we stay at a value I can totally feel okay with just checking in at Disney the day of arrival to prevent a switch. I leaned towards POP for our first visit, but chose POFQ instead & was very disappointed. It was before the refurb & it seemed very dated. I'm scared that I will encounter the same issues with CBR. Also, figuring that they still have full beds, what's the difference? Plus, we are going at the end of August....the last thing I want is a freakin hot tub.

The final decision was not even made by me. Sitting at the dinner table the other night I said to my youngest DD "I'm thinking we will just stay at POP instead of CBR when we go to Disney". This 10 year old girl (a total non-princess) lit up like the 4th of July & said "Thank you! That's were I wanted to stay to begin with". So, that's it. POP it is. Final.

Anyways, I'm thinking of just booking room only with a AAA discount & hope I will get a better % off with a pin at some point. (got plenty of pins in the mail this year) I will get my tickets from Undercover Tourist (will save a total of $84 for 6 day park hopper, magic your way tickets over Disney). We will bring lunch & breakfast items for each day (thanks to disney finally providing fridges in value rooms) & will just eat dinner & snacks at the parks or resort, so no need for free dining (had dining last time & ended up hating disney food for it), since I plan for some R&R this trip, no rope drop this time. We plan to sleep in (except the two waterpark days), hang out at the resort until late afternoon, then hit up the parks & stay out late (yeah, doing emh). My girls can also go to a park during the day if they feel like it. DH & I are still young enough to play at the resort by ourselves.

I'm actually really excited about staying at PoP this time. I can't wait to read all of the signs for each decade (I know, I'm corny), I love the big icons (esp Lady & the Tramp & the Play Doh one), the pools look fun, the kid activities look fun, & the food court has an awesome menu selection (triple what POFQ offered). I just thought I would share what I decided since you guys have been so helpful with suggestions & opinions. After our last trip, I wasn't sure if I would ever re-visit (it was our first time to Disney), but there is just something about it (I think the whole planning & everything included type thing) that draws people like me back. Hoping for a great next trip & a full year of obnoxious planning.

 

[Siriusblack]

Sounds like a great plan! Enjoy your trip.

 

[discookiemonsta]

Truthfully, after two stays at a moderate (POR) we had to make the switch to the Value resorts due to our budget. We haven't looked back! I can honestly say that as much as we liked POR it just didn't scream Disney. When you have two little 'in love with Disney' girls, the resort needs to scream Disney for them! We've stayed at POP a few times, last year we stayed at AoA and this year we are trying AS Movies. We've really fallen in love with the Value resorts!

 

[Marsheliz]

I totally understand! I had a package booked for this September at CBR and I cancelled it two weeks ago... I'm waiting for free dining to come out for October, or hoping for and we will just try out POP... It's just a room, to me and way cheaper. We stayed at AOA last year and loved it but they aren't seeing many discounts. Either way- we will be at Disney, so it's all good.

 

[tennessee]

love the values, they just feel Disney to me. always go back to them. I wish I could get a pin. I go at least twice a year to Disney for the last 6 years and can not get a pin. Help I need one. lol

 

[JennyDrake]

I also completely understand! I was at WDW in May and contemplating a moderate (I normally go 3x/year and *always* stay in values) and I just about croaked at the price difference between moderate and value!! (My most recent moderate stay was 1 1/2 years ago.) I was recovering from ankle surgery so a hot tub sounded nice, but dang, not THAT nice!!

It all worked out fine and the hot tub would have been a non issue anyway as it was rather cool the whole time and it rained buckets.

Finally, the amount I saved by staying value paid for all of our meals (2 adults--CS + I TS) for the entire stay.

 

[Gibbygirl]

When planning our upcoming mother/daughter trip, I showed DD pictures of POP & ASMo (would love to do AoA but no discounts on LM rooms so didn't even give her that option!) We've stayed at ASMu, CBR & CSR so she's familiar with those. I knew CBR was her favorite of the 3 we've been to so expected she would pick that. To my surprise (and budget joy) she picked POP! She thought it looked fun and wanted to try a different place. That was fine with me as I like trying a new resort each time. It's just the two of us so the space will be fine. However, for any family trips we'll find a way to do a moderate. We're just more comfortable with the extra space. Our trip to CBR was only a few dollars more a night than a value so we decided to "try" it. Now DH won't go back to a value. Since that's his only Disney request, we would make it work.

 

[MKFan-PR]

Totally understand, as we reached the same decision when planning our previous trip (we had previouly stayed at Mods and a couple Deluxes). We chose AS-Mo, and were excited to stay there. We knew we made the right decision when, as soon as we walked through the doors to the courtyard on our way to our room after checking in, my DD (then 13, and already a Disney veteran) just froze, her face lit up, and with a couple tears coming out said: 'OMG, it's just like the pictures!' It was one of our best vacations ever.

We would stay again at a Moderate if we had the chance, but I'm definitely sold on the Values!

 

[Syndrome]

We did just the opposite. Since we are a family of 5, we have to reserve either a Value family suite ($$$), FW Cabin (even more $$$) or 2 rooms at a value. Although POR can fit 5, the room is really too small for us, so that would be 2 rooms in a mod also. For us it was not that much of a price difference to jump up to a Deluxe resort. The values only had a 15% off discount and the deluxes had 30% discount so that helped.
We were looking forward to trying ASMU in a family suite, but couldnt do it because of the small price upcharge for deluxe resorts over the family suite . Those family suites are very nice, but seem to be a little too close in price to deluxe resorts.

Syndrome

 

[dis_guy]

Totally get it, too. Until CBR gets upgraded to queen beds, there isn't much difference from a value for families. We like CBR but with just DW and me most times now, we just get a king bed and are more than fine for our stays. Have fun!!

 

[Willows909]

POP is a great resort...we've always enjoyed staying there!