Value vs. Moderate

[Nohal]

We go through this every year and never feel the difference of $600 is worth moving up to a moderate. Even after all of the trips I have taken we still spend almost all of our time in the parks. Stayed for 8 days the last few years and never used the pool and we go in September. If we go back to the room its to rest to much trouble to get bathing suits on to spend little time at the pool. We stay value and upgrade to the regular DDP also.

 

[JennyDrake]

Is it just the two adults going?

_I_ have a very hard time justifying the cost of a moderate over value unless it is summer because the moderates have more pools and the pools have deep ends.

As you can see in my signature, I have lot of stays at the values and other that AoA I've not had issues with noise --I always request TOP floor, NOT facing the pool.

$600 would buy more than one signature dinner, plus many adult beverages (if you enjoy such.)

 

[KELLY]

I actually prefer either Value or Deluxe. I'm only staying at POFQ since it is a short 4 days trip and I plan to do some shopping at DTD this trip. We just got back from 17 days at pop and had a great trip. Next year we are doing a split Universal trip and getting a suite at Universal and then head to the poly for 8 nights. But I know this sounds weird but I will probably miss the values. I would rather save the money. Next year we are going for my DD birthday so it is a special trip for her at we have some things planned for her.

We will probably be back at the values in 2017 or the Beach Club. I'm one extreme or the other.

 

[havoc315]

I had looked into that very briefly, but it seemed like a "too good to be true" kind of thing, so I didn't pursue it. Have you used it before?

DVC rentals are a good deal, but with caveats:

Often to get the location you really want, you have to book way way early -- 7-11 months before your trip.
Secondly, I don't really consider them the equivalent of a deluxe hotel. They are more like small condos. In some ways, for some people, that is better than a deluxe hotel: kitchen, laundry. For others, they would rather have a regular deluxe hotel room -- no daily housekeeping in DVC, the second bed is a sleeper sofa. Plus, no free dining is that's a consideration.
On the plus side, most of the DVC properties share deluxe location and share the deluxe pools. And location is the best part of deluxe.

Now, at the end of the day... If you get a 20-30% discount on a standard view deluxe room, DVC rental doesn't save a huge amount. But it still tends to be a bit cheaper than a regular deluxe room (but you are giving up daily fresh towels, housekeeping). It's a bit of getting what you pay for. If you give up housekeeping, and are ready to book 7-11 months early, you can get that deluxe location for a moderate price.

 

[Jhondy210]

My husband and I just had the same discussion. I really want to stay at POR because it looks so nice but we decided we couldn't justify the extra 600 dollars to stay there. We do plan to spend more time taking it easy at the resort this trip than normal but the amenities at the moderate resort still didn't justify the extra 600 dollars. I've never stayed value (I've only stayed deluxe DVC) so I know this trip will be very different then what I'm used to but I'm excited to try something new.

 

[joannamet]

Stayed at POR for our first 2 trips and loved it but the cost difference from Val to Mod at that time was only about $200. For our upcoming trip in Nov we trying ASMu. Unless the money is really no issue for you, I don't think its worth the extra cost for Mod or Deluxe.

 

[tinkerbella16]

We moved up to a moderate after years at the Values. The Queen Beds alone are worth it to us. We always stay at POR and thoroughly enjoy the resort, especially the quiet pools. We do always choose a preferred room so that we are close to the buses & the food court, but we love the feel of the Alligator Bayou rooms. Just stayed at AKL & really wished that we had been at POR. Twenty-two more days & we are back at POR! Yay!! You can check out www.portorleans.org for everything about POR & POFQ.

My thoughts exactly! The queen beds alone make it worth it.. double sinks, beautiful grounds, boats to Disney Springs and slightly larger rooms for more space. POR is my home away from home, and I have not been back to the values since my first stay at Port Orleans in 2007- they got me! Plus we love POR's food court, and thought it was the best lf all the values/mods.

 

[lovndisney12]

The last several trips we have stayed at moderates. This past November my DS (13) and I stayed one night at ASM after a conference I had for work. I would not stay at a value again unless under a very similar situation. The room seemed much smaller than the moderates we have had at POFQ and CSR. It was pretty cramped with just the two of us. While double beds are fine when it is just DS and I because we each get our own bed - when it is all four of us - queens are a must with teenage boys. DS (13) and DS (17) don't like to snuggle! For these two reason alone, we will continue to stay at moderates. And while our building wasn't that busy, the moderates had a little nicer and quieter feel overall.

With that said, if it is just the two of you and you have enjoyed your stays in a value before - then save the $600. Besides, you won't know what you are missing which might be a good thing for future trips!

We were looking to bump up to a Deluxe this December because I really wanted to stay at the Wilderness but ended up doing a day longer in business class at CSR for less. After lots of consideration, we decided we preferred a longer trip over the deluxe amenities and awesome holiday decorations that we would have had at the Wilderness.

 

[bouncingsquares]

Is it just the two adults going?

_I_ have a very hard time justifying the cost of a moderate over value unless it is summer because the moderates have more pools and the pools have deep ends.

As you can see in my signature, I have lot of stays at the values and other that AoA I've not had issues with noise --I always request TOP floor, NOT facing the pool.

$600 would buy more than one signature dinner, plus many adult beverages (if you enjoy such.)

So this post is almost a month old now, but I got busy and forgot about it haha. Was your issue with AoA just that it was noisy? Or were there other problems? We haven't booked yet, but my husband realllllly wants to stay there, even though it is not part of Play, Stay, and Dine. We have decided for sure that we are going with value because we really can't justify the cost of upgrading to moderate. Like you said, we could have some really nice dining experiences with that extra money and I feel like that's a better use of the money than a bigger bed or pools that I probably won't use!

 

[HopperFan]

So this post is almost a month old now, but I got busy and forgot about it haha. Was your issue with AoA just that it was noisy? Or were there other problems? We haven't booked yet, but my husband realllllly wants to stay there, even though it is not part of Play, Stay, and Dine. We have decided for sure that we are going with value because we really can't justify the cost of upgrading to moderate. Like you said, we could have some really nice dining experiences with that extra money and I feel like that's a better use of the money than a bigger bed or pools that I probably won't use!

As you can see below we have slept around

If it were me I would be staying value based on the info you shared about your trip. My question is why does DH want to stay at AoA? As you can see we stay in POP and we wander around AoA (taking lots of pictures), took a tour of the suites (they are cool but haven't had a trip to justify cost) and we love to eat there. To me the perk of staying there and giving up discounts is (1) swimming in the pools (2) staying in a suite. If you don't have big pool plans and are getting a regular room ............... stay at POP, get your package or discounts then walk over the bridge to wander the resort and eat in the food court. Many rooms in POP are closer to the AoA food court than the standard rooms at AoA are.

 

[JennyDrake]

I had several issues with AoA: in room noise was one, I am a runner yet I found it a HIKE from the LM rooms to the food court/bus stop--so much so that it made refillable mugs downright laughable, the food court was BEDLAM no matter what time of day. Disorganize LOUD chaos, much worse than other values. It took an inordinate amount of time to get the food and by the time you stood in yet another line to check out, the food was getting cold. The food also "sounded" better than it actually tasted. I've re-tried the food court on my last 2 visits to Pop--and it was no better. The resort is stunning in its visual appeal and _I_ would stay at Pop and walk over to look and visit.