Switching from Value to Moderate on a budget

[kclark9830]

Thank you all SO MUCH for your advice! We do plan on spending a lot more time at the resort this go around. Maybe a much cheaper upgrade to POP would be a better option for us, just because of the savings. And I really liked the suggestion about renting DVC and getting a deluxe. Yeah, that would be awesome!

Thank you again. This will help us make our decision.

 

[frannn]

We have this same dilemma for our upcoming trip in August. We are booked with free dining, so the price difference between the values and the moderate is minimized due to us getting the regular DP at POFQ rather than paying for the upgrade at ASMo. The extra cost at this point is about $400, which my friends here on the DIS feel is worth it to stay at the moderate . We are on a tight budget these days, so this was still a decision that was not made lightly. We figured with my adult daughter coming along, it would be worth the extra to have queen beds and the possibility of a cot for DD12. Hopefully the smaller resort and one bus stop, boat to DTD, and coffee maker in the room are just icing on the cake. If we don't feel it conveys the same Disney theming as the ASMo, and is not worth the $$, we can always go back to the Movies next time (hoping there will be a next time).

 

[kjs1976]

POFQ has become our fav go-to home-away-from-home resort. This is after staying at all the values (except movies) and Beach Club and AKL. While I would not personally pay to upgrade to the royal rooms at POR, I would have you consider POFQ for the following:
1. Smallest of the mods - many have mentioned the size of POR and CBR being a huge turn off. This one is the smallest. Even the year we stayed in a river view room on the third floor (pre-kiddos) I did not feel the extra walking was a hassle to the busses/main bldg. if I have to walk, I want it to be scenic and relaxing and it certainly is at POFQ no matter where your room is.
2. Your hubby wants a more relaxing place, then this is it for all stated above. Also, you get Enough Disney there with enough break. The pool and food court are themed, but the rest of the grounds is like being in a beautifully manicured southern resort. Take a walk or break on the benches by the river, stroll through the lawns...it's all relaxing. We've never felt crowded or bombarded there.
3. Your kids will love the added action of the pool slide. Our DD 7 loved the pool games and activities they had last yr when we went. The CMs do a great job with the kids.
4. As others have mentioned, the bigger rooms and beds keep us coming back. We need at least a queen for DH and myself.

Just a few things to consider! Also try doing a Google search for "magical travel agency special" to find the travel agency that gets the best Disney deals and that could help you try something new and save big! I know we just did!

 

[lauradis]

OP repeat after me "Money is only a tool to get me the things I need then want!"

Basically, if you and dh really want this, you have tons of time to make it happen.

 

[dancin Disney style]

I would also suggest spending the extra money by renting DVC points. You will get more for your money that way.

 

[abcboys]

We stayed at POR last time we went since we were a family of 5. And while i thought it was fine (nothing negative to say. It wasn't dark dirty etc) and my kids really liked the pool, i would not spend 800 extra to stay there if we could use a value. We had stayed at POP before and my kids just loved that place. The huge icons and everything was so much fun for them. The surrounding at POR while nice was boring for them. We were lucky and had a room fairly close to the front but several of the buildings were quite a hike. The walking paths and greenery were nice, though.

 

[kathy884]

It sounds like you really want to stay onsite and obviously lots of people do and lots of people love the moderates (Disney gets good occupancy rates on them). Me -- I just can't stomach the prices of the moderate resorts. For less money than the moderate, I usually do an offsite two bedroom condo (renting from a timeshare owner), rental car, and pay for Disney parking. Probably the offsite condo resort we've rented at the most is the Sheraton Vistana Resort, but there are tons of good ones out there. I often get rentals from TUG2.net classified ads section and Redweek.com (I sign on as a guest to see if there is something that looks good, and if I see something that I want to rent, I join to $15 (a requirement to contact the owner). The rental for the whole week is usually $1000 or less high season and we're talking two bedrooms/two baths, great common area and full kitchen, nice screened in balcony to sit out on, washer/dryer, great pools and hot tubs, tennis courts, etc. And Orlando is an easy place to get around in, in a car. Our kids love the resort so much too, that we usually on a week long stay do two resort days, cutting our park days down to four (more savings). // Just thought I'd mention this as another possibility, but I totally get it if you and others prefer to stay onsite. We just like offsite and the value we get for our money so much more. // It looks like about 40% of Disney park guests stay onsite, an incredibly high number. So Disney is obviously doing something right. Having done both though, (We've stayed at POR before and it was OK), we are hardcore offsite visitors now.

 

[tzolkin]

I went to look at the price chart because I couldn't figure out how you were coming up with a moderate room being 3x the price of a value. (In our experience rack rate at a moderate is always less than two value rooms and when you get a room discount the savings are more because the moderates are at a higher percentage off.)

I did notice that at POR there is a huge difference between the regular rooms and the Royal rooms, so that's how you got such a high price. For example, late August All-Stars is $104, POR is $191, and the royal room is $261.

If you really want to try a moderate, I would go for the standard room and that would cut off $70 per night. I'm assuming you're planning 5 nights based on the numbers, so that would save you $350. If you got 20% off that would save another $200. So in that scenario you are looking at the moderate costing only $250 more than the current estimate you have for a value.


Also wanted to offer my opinion that the royal rooms are not any better than the standard rooms. The year the royal rooms first opened, we booked one for my MIL for the two nights she joined us. (We are a family of five so had a room in the AB section.). It was fun for the kids to try it out, but it certainly wasn't worth an extra $70 per night (don't think it was that much then).

 

[eeyoreandtink]

We ar renting DVC at AKV through a brokerage service for A week in Feb 16 and paying less per night than the above price for a royal room!

 

[hpfan100]

I would pick staying at POR...it's great to try something new and the grounds are beautiful. I believe the royal rooms are in a farther location but port Orleans is not that large so maybe it won't be bad. I agree with previous posters that you should book third party either orbitz or cheap tickets and use a promo code on top of the disney discount. Also look for discounts on your tickets, travel and food to help lessen the expenses.

 

[Fsudisney]

Agree to look at "magical travel agency special" or look at renting points through DVC. We enjoy the moderates over the values because of the theming and grounds but I won't spend a lot on them. We just stayed at CBR for $146 a night after taxes through Expedia UK, which was a better discount than our passholder rate through Disney and only a little more than a value. I feel like you can make it work if you want to try a moderate just need to look for the right price!

 

[LovesTimone]

I have stayed at all 4 of the Moderates here's my take on each of them.

Coronado Springs - This is a convention hotel, and has that feel, not as much Disney theming. If you are there during a convention ( which we were) you risk getting run over by the people attending. The pool area and slide are nice. I think that this was the highlight of this resort for us. Food Court was really not to our taste, and with the convention there is was impossible to even think about getting in and a spot for us to eat. Tons of people with their lap tops / I-pads out spread out on most of the tables. When we are on vacation the last thing that DH needs to be reminded of is work . Just saying.....

Caribbean Beach - We love this hotel and have stayed here many times, as a matter of fact we will be staying one night this month to celebrate with some friends for their anniversary and his birthday. The pool area can't be beat, the theming is over the top, lots of loungers. As for the food court, we have eaten all 3 meals at one time or another, and always had a decent meal. This resort does offer a sit down restaurant - Shutters at Port Royale - We have never eaten here, as our plans just haven't afforded us to try here. Some friends had dinner there in November of last year for their 1st night and said the food was good and service too. Buses there is a internal bus that just makes the loop, and the buses to the parks are on times, and this resorts does not share a bus with other resorts.

POFQ - We consider this our home resort, we love the small size of the whole resort, really there are no bad rooms here. We enjoy the boats to DTD , we have seem lots of wildlife along the way. You can walk to POR and use there food court and pool as well. Which is sorta like 2 for one. Food court is smaller but they offer some really different options which is nice. With the buses at times they do share with POR, but they stop at POFQ 1st. The pool, hot tub, play ground and laundry are all together. The theming is great and the grounds are beautiful.

POR - We just stayed here for the 1st time last month, and I was worried due to some of the review on here... We loved it we stayed in Alligator Bayou building 17. I personally did not think that the rooms were dark, or dated, I am glad we stayed here as I want to check out the pull down bed, It would be perfect for a child under the age of 10. The grounds and pool area were really neat, Food court we had make your own omelets and I was surprised at really how good they were, I know at dinner they offer a create your own pasta offering. As far as the buses, they do share at times with POFQ- but when count when the parks are closing they had dedicated buses going to each resort.

I would look into coming during free dinning, as you will get 1TS, 1 QS, 1 snack credit, this would help with the character meals, also your DH might appreciate some sit down grown up meals along the way.

Play with the dates, sometimes a day here or there can mean a savings.

Ask for Gift cards for birthdays, Christmas, and any other time gifts are given this way the kids have there own spending money.

 

[msb578]

Don't rule out booking Deluxe Depending on the season, you might get 30% off from Disney, plus another 15% off if you book through Orbitz. That may put you close to your Mod mark. Deluxes are great for parks-lite trips.

Renting DVC can be good, but remember it's etched-in-stone non refundable.