Value vs. moderate - what am I missing?

[pinkxray]

I have narrowed my two choices down to All Star Movies and French Quarter.
It will be during free dining so if we pick ASMo it will be the quick service plan and regular plan with French Quarter. I don't really care either way since I will just upgrade or pay for a few TS meals OOP.

The cost difference is so tiny that I am driving myself crazy going back and forth. My solution? I am making a powerpoint show to show DH and DD5 each resort and will just let them pick. I will include pros and cons off each. I keep coming across more pros to the moderates. Does anyone have anything else to offer?

We will be traveling end of Feb/early March so who knows if it will be warm enough to swim

Pros to French Quarter
Slide
Fridge included
Boat to DTD(WPE)
Hot tub
Regular Dining Plan
shares amenities with POR(where we stayed last trip)
takes about two minutes to get to EPCOT where we will end up quite often

Pros to value
cute theme for DD5 and I Toy Story
will save about $100 dollars

Thanks for any input. I just want to make a decision and be done with it.

 

[Bitsmommy]

TRANSPORTATION... Our family stayed one time at a Value Resort and will never do it again for that ONLY reason. YOU WALK MORE. We have 2 small children (well, one last trip) and it was a beast to walk to the LAST bus stop when leaving the park. Also, the AllStar resorts share buses often, so there is often standing room only on the buses. Tell that to a sleepy 3 year old! In my opinion, pay the extra money and stay at least a moderate. Of course, you can't control the quality of transportation, but you can control the location of the bus stops

Hope this helps.

 

[Goofy4]

There's a McDonald's close to All-Star, but I'm not sure which category to put that in.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Don't forget that there are covered bus stops at Port Orleans. The rooms are also larger at Port Orleans.

 

[bgohre]

TRANSPORTATION... Our family stayed one time at a Value Resort and will never do it again for that ONLY reason. YOU WALK MORE. We have 2 small children (well, one last trip) and it was a beast to walk to the LAST bus stop. The AllStar resorts share buses often, so there is often standing room only on the buses. Tell that to a sleepy 3 year old! In my opinion, pay the extra money and stay at least a moderate. Of course, you can't control the quality of transportation, but you can control the location of the bus stops

Hope this helps.

Sorry, but this post really is confusing me. There is only one bus stop area at a Value.

 

[iheartdisney]

I will piggy back on the transportation issue... Not only are the values the red-headed stepchildren with the last bus stall... the 3 hotels share busses. So at peak times leaving the park (like at night... when you are tired) the busses can fill two and three times and you are still standing there waiting for the next one. And getting to the park, especially at movies... the bus is already full from the other 2 resorts before it gets to Movies, so agin, you are stuck waiting for the next bus.
But the PRO for movies... they have a gigantic ice cream sundae that counts as a snack on the dining plan... yummy! When we stayed at movies, my kids LOVED that we went through Andy's door every night on the way home. It was just really cool!

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

Sorry, but this post really is confusing me. There is only one bus stop area at a Value.

I wonder if the PP means the bus stops at the parks. It does seem like the All Star bus stops at the parks are way in the back, but that might just be my perception.

The biggest difference for me between values and mods is noise level and overall feel. The values are loud (as in noisy and as in colorful), while the moderates are more subdued and relaxing.

I'm sure your DD would love the giant icons at ASM, but I'd have to vote for the better pool and slide as well as the bigger rooms.

 

[KELLY]

Sort of makes me laugh since CBR and POP century have the furhtest bus pick up from the entrance at Epcot. I think the all stars are closer than CBR.

 

[Bitsmommy]

Sorry, but this post really is confusing me. There is only one bus stop area at a Value.

That is exactly what I mean! Sorry, if it was confusing. All of the Value Resort Bus Stops are the last stops at the PARKS. After being in the park all day and making your way to the exit, the LAST thing you want is to walk another FOREVER to get to your bus stop. We weren't fans! But we still had a great time and would do value again when the kiddos are older.

 

[daisyyy]

TRANSPORTATION... Our family stayed one time at a Value Resort and will never do it again for that ONLY reason. YOU WALK MORE. We have 2 small children (well, one last trip) and it was a beast to walk to the LAST bus stop when leaving the park. Also, the AllStar resorts share buses often, so there is often standing room only on the buses. Tell that to a sleepy 3 year old! In my opinion, pay the extra money and stay at least a moderate. Of course, you can't control the quality of transportation, but you can control the location of the bus stops

Hope this helps.

double post

 

[daisyyy]

TRANSPORTATION... Our family stayed one time at a Value Resort and will never do it again for that ONLY reason. YOU WALK MORE. We have 2 small children (well, one last trip) and it was a beast to walk to the LAST bus stop when leaving the park. Also, the AllStar resorts share buses often, so there is often standing room only on the buses. Tell that to a sleepy 3 year old! In my opinion, pay the extra money and stay at least a moderate. Of course, you can't control the quality of transportation, but you can control the location of the bus stops

Hope this helps.

I also prefer the moderates... but your point regarding standing room only... that happens at the moderates as well... we've been on plent of busses where we had to stand. If you're in no hurry, and want to sit, let people go in front of you until the next bus comes and you will get a seat.

 

[pinkxray]

There's a McDonald's close to All-Star, but I'm not sure which category to put that in.

Ugh. I love McDonald's but don't know if I want it that close on vacation where DH and DD can see it. I want to have breakfast at Main Street Bakery and lunch at WPE, not McDonalds.



Thanks for all the replies so far. We will have a rental car so I haven't really thought about the buses. It there much of a difference in how far ASMo is from the parks than POR/POFQ? When staying at POR it never seemed to take too long to get anywhere.

 

[Bitsmommy]

I also prefer the moderates... but your point regarding standing room only... that happens at the moderates as well... we've been on plent of busses where we had to stand. If you're in no hurry, and want to sit, let people go in front of you until the next bus comes and you will get a seat.

It does happen with moderates, you are very correct, but it doesn't consistently happen with Moderates as it does with the All Star resorts. The transportation system within the AllStar resorts is often very overloaded. I have waited over an hour before. This was during value season. Perhaps, it isn't as crowded during the regular season, as they have more buses running. I have NEVER waiting that long for a moderate or deluxe bus.

 

[2Tiggies]

To the OP, it appears you only have one child (5 year old). I don't think room size is a huge issue TBH, but you will have slightly more space at POFQ.

I found the All Stars buses fantastic and we stayed there for 16 days last year. The only time we ever waited more than 10 minutes (if we waited at all) was for some of the DTD buses. And yes, we did sometimes choose to wait for the next bus occasionally if the first one had standing room only but that depended where we were going.

What is nice about POFQ is that no matter where your room is, you won't have far to walk. YOu can also use the amenities at POR if you want to change things up a bit. It will also be nice to have a fridge in your room for left over snacks and desserts. This would cost you an extra $10.65 per day at a value, eating into your savings. I do understand your dilemma though. I want to do POP next year JUST for the theming while DD is still young enough to get the most of it. We are hardly in our room as we spend a lot of time at the pool and the parks so this also affects the decision. If we wanted to spend more time in the room/at the resort I would much rather do a moderate.

 

[Shleedogg]

Buses! It is a bit of a pain at POR to have to visit all the different bus stops but getting on a bus at the end of the night at the parks is so much easier at a mod than a value. We stayed at ASSp and there was an insane rush to the buses and we always had to wait for 2 or 3 buses.

Also, while waiting for the bus to the parks, the wait is much nicer at the mods, benches, covered waiting area. At the values, you're in line, in the sun, sometimes for 20-30 min while you wait for a second bus because the first was too full.

The themeing is the obvious difference. While I prefer the more subdued theme, there's really not much difference between the rooms. If it was a large price difference I'd go w/ the value, but as it stands, I think its worth it to go mod. However, I'd look at CSR. They have queen beds instead of fulls. DH and I cannot sleep in a full. We stayed one night at Pop last trip and got a terrible nights sleep.

But when it comes down to it, Disney is Disney! While I have my preferences, if it came down to it, I'd stay anywhere (except a camp site, lol).

 

[sharadoc]

If the Value is only $100 less, then I would definitely go for the mod. One meal out of pocket, and you're spending the same as if you had stayed in a mod. Having the regular dining plan gives you a lot more food options, too. We love French Quarter for the layout, the atmosphere and the overall feel of the resort.

We like All-Star Music the best because of the activities around the pool for the kids. Always something fun going on and your five year old might really enjoy that. But Movies has the great food court, and you could always walk over to Music for activities.

French Quarter buses might be sharing with Riverside at that time of year, so a total of 5 bus stops to go through. Movies would have 3 stops if you go to Sports, Music and Movies. Both will be an easy walk to your car.

I probably was NO HELP AT ALL!!!

 

[essom71]

OK so I have stayed at port orleans riverside and all three all stars, infact we just got back last week from all star music.

The only all star I would ever consider staying at again is all star sports just because of transportation. Most of the time when buses are shared they stop at all star sports first. The only way I would stay at one of the others is if I had a car.

Transportation is the key reason I would stay at port orleans again. We have teens that like dtd. You can get a boat to there. Again though the boats stop first at POR. The fridge is a plus. The food court is much better as well.

I have to say though if your looking for activities at the resort all star music has movies, pool games etc, that are fun for the little ones. If you stay at any all star resort you can participate in these.

 

[AuroraMeansDawn]

We stayed on night at ASM at the end of a trip after 6 nights in Dixie Landings (now POR) and maybe it was because there was some music festival with lots of marching bands there but we found the moderate to be quieter, it felt like the walls were better insulated and the furniture had a better quality feel to it as did the beds. At the value things felt dark and plastic. Everything seemed to be formica and the bathroom felt small.

However, if my kids were smaller I might have enjoyed the whole pool theming and fun icons more. The movie nights look fun. But if the price difference is $100 and you rent a fridge then you would be paying essentially the same price for lesser accomodations and a less valuable dining plan. I would go moderate.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

Here are some other items:

Moderates:
-Have towels at the pool (values don't) - someone who's been recently should verify though
-Have a sit down restaurant/bar and may have some sort of nightly entertainment
-Larger rooms than values

On a personal note, I found the transportation to be the worst ever at a Value - crowded buses, long waits, etc. - BUT transportation is really a hit or miss and sometimes luck of the draw!

I also found the lobby of the values to be very crowded with long lines but the mods seem to have a more inviting lobby.

I do prefer moderates over values for the reasons you stated and I have talked about so I am biased.

Good luck on your decision!

 

[rusty4]

You didn't mention how long you are staying. But if you are staying more than a few nights you might like the option of going to POR for their foodcourt or restaurant.

Plus you will have the option of renting a surrey. We did that with our son who was 5 at the time and had a blast. He had to sit in the basket as I would imagine your 5 year would need to as well. Their legs just don't reach the pedals.

The boat to DTD is a treat in itself.

Have fun on your trip!