Trying to figure out which resort

[disneymom2two]

We're going to Disney for my 50th in August. We're spending a couple of days at Universal either right before or right after (my husband does his vacation picks at work next week and that will decide when we tack on Universal). For WDW, I'm trying to decide between the 3 types of resorts. If I did it right when I was playing on the Disney site, it would be about a $1500 difference between a value and a deluxe for 4 nights and a 4 day park hopper for the 3 of us. The 3 resorts I was looking at were Pop Century, Port Orleans Riverside Royal room, and the Polynesian. My husband wants a Disney feel to the hotel (I'd suggested the Dolphin or Swan because they have teacher discounts but he said he thinks they'd feel too much like a convention center). While we typically aren't stay in the hotel types I'm guessing that since we're going to be there in August, we are going to come back to the hotel a bit mid day. We were thinking of renting a car but if the transportation is convenient enough, we could forego that. So, for the 3 of us, is the difference between a deluxe and a value worth the $1500? Or the $800 between the deluxe and moderate?

 

[holden]

Have you looked into renting points to stay in a DVC room? Poly has DVC and the rooms are spacious. You'd probably save some $ doing that. I think you would have to purchase your tickets separately, but you could get them from a discount seller. Not sure if I'm allowed to say the name here, but if you google "Disney tickets" I'm sure they'll come up. They have a frog as their mascot/logo.

 

[Nancyg56]

We're going to Disney for my 50th in August. We're spending a couple of days at Universal either right before or right after (my husband does his vacation picks at work next week and that will decide when we tack on Universal). For WDW, I'm trying to decide between the 3 types of resorts. If I did it right when I was playing on the Disney site, it would be about a $1500 difference between a value and a deluxe for 4 nights and a 4 day park hopper for the 3 of us. The 3 resorts I was looking at were Pop Century, Port Orleans Riverside Royal room, and the Polynesian. My husband wants a Disney feel to the hotel (I'd suggested the Dolphin or Swan because they have teacher discounts but he said he thinks they'd feel too much like a convention center). While we typically aren't stay in the hotel types I'm guessing that since we're going to be there in August, we are going to come back to the hotel a bit mid day. We were thinking of renting a car but if the transportation is convenient enough, we could forego that. So, for the 3 of us, is the difference between a deluxe and a value worth the $1500? Or the $800 between the deluxe and moderate?

Is this a "special" trip? I think a 50th is, but am not sure how you regard it.

IF you can swing it without begrudging the cost, I would say go Deluxe....if you plan to enjoy the resort. My adult kids and their spouses, and my DH all prefer the Poly over any other resort, my DGD and I are Grand lovers! Anyway, the amenities and location of the Poly are worth a lot, IMO, but not worth anything if you do not plan to spend time at the resort you are aging a premium for. My DD and DSIL were there in July and felt the resort was worth every penny as they used the pool, etc every afternoon to escape that heat!

I think that if the funds did not justify the time spent I would suggest a moderate. Again, I can only go by how we use the resorts, but we like a TS restaurant on site as well as a nice pool, and a hot tub. The water taxi from POR is a great perk, IMO. My family loves the ride to DS especially in the evening.

 

[buzzrelly]

If you can afford it, then definitely stay at The Polynesian! Hands down! Especially for your 50th

Personally, I've stayed at only one mod and would never go back (CBR), so when I can't do deluxe I do Pop. I hear POR is very nice though.

 

[Disneylover99]

I've stayed at Pop, a RR at POR and the Poly. While I love the Poly, I would not pay an extra $1500 to stay there.

I would choose Pop, especially since you mention transportation. Buses are reliable and quick. One bus stop and you go directly to a park. Last week, we were at the Poly for lunch and the monorail was down, so we waited for the boat. It took some time.

 

[mickeynut1]

Is this a "special" trip? I think a 50th is, but am not sure how you regard it.

IF you can swing it without begrudging the cost, I would say go Deluxe....if you plan to enjoy the resort. My adult kids and their spouses, and my DH all prefer the Poly over any other resort, my DGD and I are Grand lovers! Anyway, the amenities and location of the Poly are worth a lot, IMO, but not worth anything if you do not plan to spend time at the resort you are aging a premium for. My DD and DSIL were there in July and felt the resort was worth every penny as they used the pool, etc every afternoon to escape that heat!

I think that if the funds did not justify the time spent I would suggest a moderate. Again, I can only go by how we use the resorts, but we like a TS restaurant on site as well as a nice pool, and a hot tub. The water taxi from POR is a great perk, IMO. My family loves the ride to DS especially in the evening.

I agree! We love the deluxe resorts, with the Poly being our favorite (although the GF runs a very close second). If the extra cost is doable without breaking the bank, I think the Poly is a great choice. It's just 2 monorail stops from MK, a quick 5-7 minute walk to the TTC to catch the Epcot monorail, and the pool is very nice as it backs up to the beach with a view of the castle in the distance (not to mention you can watch fireworks while swimming). With all of that said, if a deluxe wasn't in the budget, I would go with a moderate. We've never stayed at POR, but it looks like a beautiful resort and gets a lot of positive reviews. Good luck!

 

[Marthasor]

I would urge you to throw the Swan back into the mix. IMHO, it does not feel like a convention resort. The rooms were just renovated and they are spacious and comfortable. They have some of the best restaurants on property IMHO and a fantastic pool complex. You will also be within walking distance of DHS and EP and they have dedicated bus service to MK and AK. With your teacher discount, it will probably price out around the same price as a WDW mod. Well worth it, IMHO.

If you were considering the Swan, I would also consider one of the WDW EP resorts over Poly (I would pick whichever is cheapest). BWI, BC/YC are lovely and, again, are within walking distance of EP, DHS and a ton of restaurants. SAB at BC/YC is arguably one of the best pools on property.

Don't get me wrong, Poly is lovely, but the restaurants are lacking IMHO. 2 TS (one of which is almost impossible to get into - O'hana) and an incredibly chaotic QS. There is also no shade at the pool.

 

[disneymom2two]

Have you looked into renting points to stay in a DVC room? Poly has DVC and the rooms are spacious. You'd probably save some $ doing that. I think you would have to purchase your tickets separately, but you could get them from a discount seller. Not sure if I'm allowed to say the name here, but if you google "Disney tickets" I'm sure they'll come up. They have a frog as their mascot/logo.

I looked into that last night and I think we are going to go that way especially since my son has decided to come with us (he's 18 and in college). I was nervous about the tickets since I've read a lot of horror stories but the one with the frog is accredited with the BBB.

 

[loves to dive]

Be careful with renting, you have to pay up front and normally there is no cancelling. There is no guarantee you are going to be able to get anything either, I'm not saying don't try it but just know the benefits and down side as well. I love the deluxe resorts and stay in them every trip, I've stayed at all the WDW resorts except SS and WL for deluxe, POFQ for moderate and AoA, ASmu/ASmovie. I'm not a fan of the value resorts, I've tried them twice and won't do them again. The moderates are o.k. and certainly budget friendly, no reason to rent a car, just use the WDW buses. I prefer the Epcot resorts to the MK ones, especially if you don't have little ones and according to what dates in August you are going to be there, F&W might be happening and with PHs you might find yourself at Epcot every day. I agree to rethinking Swan/Dolphin, I'm a very big fan of WDW resorts and hesitated staying there but have stayed at both and wouldn't hesitate to going back to either. The only reason I don't stay there every trip is even if I use a AAA discount, after you add in the resort fee and parking fee (I drive down) sometimes it's actually less for me to stay at a WDW resort.

 

[MinnesotaMouseketeers]

I always answer the, "is the additional cost worth it" the same every time I see this question. I would only upgrade if you are going to make the resort part of your vacation; and it sounds like you are during this vacation.

To me, it makes no sense to upgrade if the resort is only being used as a place to sleep; because you are going to be at each park from rope drop up until the end of the fireworks. We do make the resort a part of our vacation. We will return in the afternoon for some down time, if we are there for six nights we actually take a day from the park and stay at the resort for most of the day. We go to the pool, make dining reservations, explore the resort, enjoy a drink and read a book poolside, etc.

We have never stayed at the Swan or Dolphin but know people that have and they enjoyed their stay there. The Poly is my wife's favorite resort. My favorite resort is WL or is it AKL or is it the Poly? I'll have to go back to each resort and try to figure this out!

 

[HairyChest]

Either stay deluxe or do a dvc rental at a deluxe to save some $ (itll be about the same price as staying at port Orleans). You will be looking forward to the mid day breaks and evenings when leaving the parks instead of missing the parks. if you stay value it wont be special, itll be a place to sleep. port Orleans is beautiful but still has a motel feel to the rooms in my opinion and since you can stay deluxe dvc for the same $ I d pick a deluxe

 

[AshleeH]

For a special trip, I would definitely go with Poly. You might not plan to stay in the hotel much, but the hotel itself might cause you to change your mind. We love the amenities of every place we stay.

 

[crazylady]

Try googling magical vacation deals. Depending on when you are going in August you might be able to book through an specific travel agency for a really good deal at the Deluxe hotels.

 

[holden]

I looked into that last night and I think we are going to go that way especially since my son has decided to come with us (he's 18 and in college). I was nervous about the tickets since I've read a lot of horror stories but the one with the frog is accredited with the BBB.

I've bought tickets from them before and had no problems.

 

[DopeyDame]

We'

I looked into that last night and I think we are going to go that way especially since my son has decided to come with us (he's 18 and in college). I was nervous about the tickets since I've read a lot of horror stories but the one with the frog is accredited with the BBB.

We're going to the Poly on rented points in a few weeks and I'm so excited! We've used undercover tourist and parksaver and have never had a problem with either. If you search either name on this board, there are lots of threads with people who have used them, so I wouldn't be too worried about that. It's when you buy "3 days left on a 5 day hopper" from ebay or something that you have issues.

Why did you chose Pop over AoA for your value choice? If you do go value, I'd seriously consider AoA instead. I really like that the hotel rooms are inside, and the whole place just feels a little nicer.

 

[Shellyred8]

I have bought tickets from Undercover Tourist and ParkSavers and never had an issue with them either. For ParkSavers, you just want to make sure you allow a couple of days for them to get you the ticket info once you purchase.

We love the Boardwalk resorts for their proximity to EP, HS and lots of dining options. And you can also just hop on the monorail over to MK. We have stayed at BWV, YC and BCV. BWV is our favorite. I've also stayed at CBR. It was fine, but if you can swing it, I would go for the Deluxe.