Unsure about Moderates

[lockedoutlogic]

We usually stay at values, but jumped up to POFQ this year. It is absolutely beautiful and I got some great photos, but... I don't think it's worth all the extra money. I'm a value resort girl, I'd rather spend more money on experiences in the parks and dining. It is also just me or me and a friend, we don't need the extra room.

That's often the trade off...

If you park run...the difference in price between the two goes to waste.

Now...I haven't been to either for a while...I think pop in 2013...but I never park run...and have fallen into The pattern of spending more and more time specifically at the hotels...rotating restuarants accordingly...

Last year ate a lot around beach and yacht...this year at the poly and wilderness lodge - which I hadn't bothered to go to in a while. The luau was a lot better than I remembered.

But that's the point: you can prioritize different things...

I think the moderates are "stuck in the middle with your money"

They are neither nice enough for the quality/experience...nor cheap enough to not be a major expense.

That's just me.

 

[nikkid1]

We always did values, did a moderate on our honeymoon (Coronado) and I did (Caribbean Beach) for part of a athletic trip in high school. I was not a fan, the "upgrades" did not see to be enough of a jump. Glass glasses vs plastic, two sink vs one, and a waterslide at the pool wasn't enough for me. I missed an actual food court, seemed silly to need to be seated at a "food court", which is how it was at Coronado 12 years ago.
Then we jumped to Deluxes and I can't seem to go back. However, we added a night at Port Orleans - Riverside before moving to Boardwalk, b/c flights worked out that way, and I REALLY liked it. I could definitely stay there for longer. It was very pretty. The food system was great. It was very relaxing.
Give it a try. You will never know until you try

 

[dlavender]

We always did values, did a moderate on our honeymoon (Coronado) and I did (Caribbean Beach) for part of a athletic trip in high school. I was not a fan, the "upgrades" did not see to be enough of a jump. Glass glasses vs plastic, two sink vs one, and a waterslide at the pool wasn't enough for me. I missed an actual food court, seemed silly to need to be seated at a "food court", which is how it was at Coronado 12 years ago.
Then we jumped to Deluxes and I can't seem to go back. However, we added a night at Port Orleans - Riverside before moving to Boardwalk, b/c flights worked out that way, and I REALLY liked it. I could definitely stay there for longer. It was very pretty. The food system was great. It was very relaxing.
Give it a try. You will never know until you try

We always stayed Value, since we spent 99% of our time in the parks. One trip we tried out Caribbean. We found ourselves wanting to spend some time at that pool, and enjoyed some of the other activities such as the surrey bike and renting a pontoon for a nominal fee. Kids had a blast. We spent about 30% of our time at the resort. I think the extra $50/night was well worth it. We loved it so much, that the next year we thought, well, perhaps we will have a similar experience if we try Yacht Club. Since we paid so much more, we decided to split 50/50 with the parks. We did enjoy it, but did we enjoy it 2x's as much as Caribbean, or 3x's as much as a Value? No, no we did not. We rented the pontoon, enjoyed the awesome pool, did the bike rental, and the views were nicer, no doubt. The room, however, was not that much nicer, only advantage was that there were hallways vs outside facing. You also had to walk through about 33 hallways to get to your room. IMO I'd rather have Caribbean and $125 vs the Deluxe. But I get that everyone has different styles/budgets/vacation preferences.

Long winded way of saying, that I agree that you have to give it a try to really know.

 

[cutigerlady]

We really like Coronado Springs and Port Orleans Riverside. Normally we prefer Deluxe because we spent alot of time at the resort. When we are going for Disney races, we prefer Moderates because we are not spending as much time at the resort. These are our favorites because they seem to be closer to Deluxes. We didn't like the buses at Caribbean Beach (not to mention our room was right outside the pickup location for a dance competition that began at 5:00 am). At Port Orleans French Quarter, we didn't like the food court as much as Port Orleans Riverside. We also liked having access to a sit down restaurant.

 

[Lisa J]

I've found this thread very helpful. I've been trying to decide if our family should try CSR. We've done all the other moderates and love them. But I've read good and bad about CRS. Some say the food court is the best at WDW. But I've read otherwise. And I've never found Beach Club for 215.00. Is that possible? I would book that price.