teekathepony
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2009
- Messages
- 4,777
Before I begin, can I just say that my husband is begging me to go back to Disney World this year? Begging. Do you have any idea how hard it is to say "we can't!" to something I want more than anything?
(...anyone want to review/change their guess as to when we cave?
)
Lets talk resorts!
The single guarantee here is that we will be staying onsite. In 2010 we stayed at a Clarion Inn for 5 days and then switched to Pop Century for 10 because the Clarion had free shuttle service to Sea World, Discovery Cove and Universal Studios, all of which we planned to visit. So we did all that stuff at the beginning of the trip (rather than pay for taxis/busses from Pop) and then switch to Pop and do all Disney for the rest. We both swore we wouldnt do that again! For us personally, it was just not a good fit. We dont rent a car when we travel so we relied on the shuttle service which was so restrictive and not always accurate (times and pick up locations changed on the fly!) The hotel wasnt very nice and the beds were uncomfortable, and the staff unfortunately unfriendly.
So Disney it is!
With that explained, onto the choices!
Value: Im fairly cheap. Ok, ok, Im incredibly cheap. I dont like to spend money and when I do, I dont like to spend more than I have to. Thats why weve always stayed in the value resorts. In 2007, on my family trip, our TA recommended Pop Century for a number of reasons and we loved it so much that Ive just kept going back. For me, a resort has always been simply a place to sleep and shower. I like to spend all my time in the parks, so springing for a higher priced resort simply didnt make sense. If we decide to go all value, well definitely be staying at Pop Century again. We know it and love it and have no desire to see any of the other value resorts.
Moderate: We are seriously considering a first moderate stay. We talked about it a lot and figured that weve been there a few times now, and maybe we would enjoy spending time at the resort this trip. I took an afternoon doing serious research into the mods as if we were definitely staying at one. Of course I read good and bad about each one, but the resort that pulled me in was the Caribbean Beach Resort. Its really beautiful and somehow feels to me like what a vacation should feel like. I cant explain it, it just calls to me. So if we went with a moderate, CBR is a strong possibility.
Deluxe: We definitely cant afford to do a 10 day all deluxe stay, but we are entertaining the idea of a split stay, first 8 or 9 days at Pop Century and then 1 or 2 at Animal Kingdom Lodge. No contest, if Im going deluxe, Im going to AKL! Its always been my dream to stay here, so if I could, even for just one night, I think I will.
With these options in mind, I did some very early pricing to get an idea of where we stand.
(2012 pricing, no discounts)
Resort:.........................Price per night (November):...............Price per night (January):
Pop Century..................$100 (standard room)........................$89 (standard room)
Caribbean Beach............$169 (standard room)........................$159 (standard room)
Animal Kingdom Lodge.....$305 (standard room & view)..............$269 (standard room & view)
So we have a few options that we are considering, including some split stays.
Assuming a 10 day vacation
Im having lots of mixed feelings about what to do here. My cheapskate side says to look at the prices, my luxury loving side says to think of how enjoyable the other resorts might be, my simple side says "switching would be aggravating", my husband is no help because he wants to just stay 10 days at AKL! I hate being the strict budgeter in the family with no one to tell me no!
What do you guys think?
(...anyone want to review/change their guess as to when we cave?
)Lets talk resorts!
The single guarantee here is that we will be staying onsite. In 2010 we stayed at a Clarion Inn for 5 days and then switched to Pop Century for 10 because the Clarion had free shuttle service to Sea World, Discovery Cove and Universal Studios, all of which we planned to visit. So we did all that stuff at the beginning of the trip (rather than pay for taxis/busses from Pop) and then switch to Pop and do all Disney for the rest. We both swore we wouldnt do that again! For us personally, it was just not a good fit. We dont rent a car when we travel so we relied on the shuttle service which was so restrictive and not always accurate (times and pick up locations changed on the fly!) The hotel wasnt very nice and the beds were uncomfortable, and the staff unfortunately unfriendly.
So Disney it is!
With that explained, onto the choices!
Value: Im fairly cheap. Ok, ok, Im incredibly cheap. I dont like to spend money and when I do, I dont like to spend more than I have to. Thats why weve always stayed in the value resorts. In 2007, on my family trip, our TA recommended Pop Century for a number of reasons and we loved it so much that Ive just kept going back. For me, a resort has always been simply a place to sleep and shower. I like to spend all my time in the parks, so springing for a higher priced resort simply didnt make sense. If we decide to go all value, well definitely be staying at Pop Century again. We know it and love it and have no desire to see any of the other value resorts.
Moderate: We are seriously considering a first moderate stay. We talked about it a lot and figured that weve been there a few times now, and maybe we would enjoy spending time at the resort this trip. I took an afternoon doing serious research into the mods as if we were definitely staying at one. Of course I read good and bad about each one, but the resort that pulled me in was the Caribbean Beach Resort. Its really beautiful and somehow feels to me like what a vacation should feel like. I cant explain it, it just calls to me. So if we went with a moderate, CBR is a strong possibility.
Deluxe: We definitely cant afford to do a 10 day all deluxe stay, but we are entertaining the idea of a split stay, first 8 or 9 days at Pop Century and then 1 or 2 at Animal Kingdom Lodge. No contest, if Im going deluxe, Im going to AKL! Its always been my dream to stay here, so if I could, even for just one night, I think I will.
With these options in mind, I did some very early pricing to get an idea of where we stand.
(2012 pricing, no discounts)
Resort:.........................Price per night (November):...............Price per night (January):
Pop Century..................$100 (standard room)........................$89 (standard room)
Caribbean Beach............$169 (standard room)........................$159 (standard room)
Animal Kingdom Lodge.....$305 (standard room & view)..............$269 (standard room & view)
So we have a few options that we are considering, including some split stays.
Assuming a 10 day vacation
- 10 nights at Pop Century -- $1000 (Nov.)/$890 (Jan.)
- 5 nights at Pop Century/5 nights at Caribbean Beach -- $1345 (Nov.)/$1240 (Jan.)
- 9 nights at Pop Century/1 night at AKL -- $1205 (Nov.)/$1066 (Jan.)
- 8 nights at Pop Century/2 nights at AKL -- $1410 (Nov.)/$1242 (Jan.)
- 10 nights at Caribbean Beach -- $1690 (Nov.)/$1590 (Jan.)
Im having lots of mixed feelings about what to do here. My cheapskate side says to look at the prices, my luxury loving side says to think of how enjoyable the other resorts might be, my simple side says "switching would be aggravating", my husband is no help because he wants to just stay 10 days at AKL! I hate being the strict budgeter in the family with no one to tell me no!
What do you guys think?
) on the DIS boards. If you don't want to cave you are going to have to give up the DIS! 
You all are no help! Just kidding of course. It's hard saying no when every fibre of me wants to go.
) 
I should be starting to make matching t-shirts and packing ponchos.
