What are some of the differences

[2manygirls]

at the hotels.
Which hotels have coffee pots, microwave or fridges? Which are in the best location.
I heard the values are far away(bad location) is this true?
My budget is under $140 a night.
Is there a big dif between the values & moderate?
What about staying at a none disney location? Is there any downfalls with that.
I would like to find somewhere to stay that offer free breakfast & coffee.

 

[spiceycat]

wdw is not going to offer breakfast or coffee.

you can buy a refillable mug and then have "free" coffee every day.

differences between moderates and values

moderates - have a slide on their pools, have bike and boats rentals, have a sit down restuarant, generally have 2 sinks in the bathroom. more spreadout than the values - so walk time would be further.

values - are generally a little smaller (but not a great deal except for the CBR - it is as big as WL and AKL), have only a food court, Pop has both an inside lounge and a lake - the All stars don't.

values have more guests than a moderate is much less space.

 

[lemondog]

If you're looking for free breakfast and coffee, you'll have to stay offsite.

Disney has 3 categories of resorts (well 4 if you count DVC) -- Value, Moderate, Deluxe and Home-Away-From-Home (which are DVC studio/condos). There is also the Fort Wilderness Campground which has cabins.

In your price range, you could do value or possibly a moderate in slow season with a discount code. Values are not within walking distance of any parks, but Disney transportation for the most part is very good. They have regular buses to all the parks, or if you rent a car you could drive yourself.

IMO, the moderates have slightly larger rooms, more amenities (TS restaurant, pool slide, hot tubs, etc.), nicer landscaping, etc. but their distance from the parks is about the same as values. You would still need to rely on buses or your own car.

 

[simonkodousek]

If you're looking for free breakfast and coffee, you'll have to stay offsite.

Disney has 3 categories of resorts (well 4 if you count DVC) -- Value, Moderate, Deluxe and Home-Away-From-Home (which are DVC studio/condos). There is also the Fort Wilderness Campground which has cabins.

In your price range, you could do value or possibly a moderate in slow season with a discount code. Values are not within walking distance of any parks, but Disney transportation for the most part is very good. They have regular buses to all the parks, or if you rent a car you could drive yourself.

IMO, the moderates have slightly larger rooms, more amenities (TS restaurant, pool slide, hot tubs, etc.), nicer landscaping, etc. but their distance from the parks is about the same as values. You would still need to rely on buses or your own car.

I second this information. Rooms at the values are 260 square feet, while rooms at the moderates (all except Caribbean Beach) are 314 square feet. Rooms at the Caribbean Beach resort are 340 square feet, the same size as the Wilderness Lodge and the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

 

[2manygirls]

ok. so do any have a microwave, fridge or coffee pot(wanted to use the hot water from pot for oatmeal & cup o noodles)

are the disney resorts better than the non disney? what differences are there?

 

[stepdisney]

Not better but more convenient. You don't have to drive and park because of the bus/boat/monorail transportation directly from park to resorts. Also, you get perks. For us, staying on site earned us free dining during our trip. Disney often links promotions to tickets and on-site stays. Also, you are entitled to Extra Magic Hours or EMH's. If you stay at a Disney resort, you can enter the park that has EMH's one hour earlier than others and you can stay up to 3 hours longer at the park that has evening EMH's. You may want to look into the swan or dolphin hotels. You can catch a deal for $125 per night often and they are located in the Epcot area. You will have access to Disney transportation such as boats and busses and you will have a fridge and microwave in your room. Also, you can walk to Epcot. Keep your eyes open for the Swan and Dolphin Hotel deals. They are not Disney owned but Disney allows them to share both transportation and EMH's.

 

[2manygirls]

stepdisney Not better but more convenient. You don't have to drive and park because of the bus/boat/monorail transportation directly from park to resorts. Also, you get perks. For us, staying on site earned us free dining during our trip. Disney often links promotions to tickets and on-site stays. Also, you are entitled to Extra Magic Hours or EMH's. If you stay at a Disney resort, you can enter the park that has EMH's one hour earlier than others and you can stay up to 3 hours longer at the park that has evening EMH's. You may want to look into the swan or dolphin hotels. You can catch a deal for $125 per night often and they are located in the Epcot area. You will have access to Disney transportation such as boats and busses and you will have a fridge and microwave in your room. Also, you can walk to Epcot. Keep your eyes open for the Swan and Dolphin Hotel deals. They are not Disney owned but Disney allows them to share both transportation and EMH's

How do you earn free dinning? How do you get promotions? I applied for the Disney visa card will that give me any deals on rooms or tickets?

 

[spiceycat]

ok. so do any have a microwave, fridge or coffee pot(wanted to use the hot water from pot for oatmeal & cup o noodles)

are the disney resorts better than the non disney? what differences are there?

the moderates have fridge and some have a coffee pot

Disney resorts are disney resorts. They have -
DME - disney magical express
WDW transportation
EMH - extra magical hours - 1 hour in the morning and 3 hours in the evening
DDP - disney dinning plan
deliver of packages to your resort

offsite - more room and generally cheaper prices. you can get a house or a 2-bedroom condo for the same price as a value (and sometimes cheaper).

but offsite you NEED a car. If you are not willing to drive, then stay onsite.

 

[spiceycat]

How do you earn free dinning? How do you get promotions?

during the later part of Aug and Sept - Disney has for the last 3 years offered free dinning.

Sept is generally the least crowded month at Disney. So it was started after the hurricanes to encourage guest to come then.

Disney visa does sometimes have a promotions. AAA gets you a discount. looks over on the rates and codes for other discounts you might be able to get.

 

[stepdisney]

Right now there is a promo for Disney Visa holders. It's not free dining but there is a discount for bookings from September - December 22nd. When are you looking to travel?

Usually Disney Visa holders get first crack at the deals that will eventually be offered to the public. Continue to check this site under the thread "Codes and Rates" Most deals are offered around the same time of year. August/September is a slow time for Disney and there is usually a great discount offer or, like this year, last year and 2005, free dining. You can also check the WDW site under special offers. We usually hear about offers over here on DIS before they are offered on the official site (pixie dust I guess ). The free dining was offered to Disney Visa card holders a few days before the general public and we all knew it was coming because of....(the pixie dust?) and because of the time of year it was offered the last two times. In order to get the free dining you had to be staying at a disney resort and have at least a one day base ticket. It was a package. It is my favorite offer because it saved us the most money considering the length of our stay and the amount of food we eat daily . After the offers come out, just call the 407 wdwdisney number and book your stay and tell them you want offer so-and-so (usually a three letter code such as ZMQ or something) Most DISers check the site at least three times a day for updates and such. Everyone is helpful and shares information freely. The codes will be listed on this site. Just keep asking questions. You're off to a great start.

 

[NeverlandPixie]

The moderates I have stayed at (POR, POFQ, and CBR) include mini-frigs and coffee in all their rooms, whereas the values do not (you pay an extra $10 per day for the frig in the values.) And yes, the coffee packets, etc., are supplied at no extra charge. (One of the reasons I love the mods ... no walking to the foodcourt for that first cup of coffee)

 

[2manygirls]

thanks everyone for the info

so if I book a trip & a better offer comes out like free dinning can I have that added changed?
I think I am getting this!

 

[stepdisney]

thanks everyone for the info

so if I book a trip & a better offer comes out like free dinning can I have that added changed?
I think I am getting this!

You sure can. We booked our current vacation under one promo and when free dining came out, we switched from the pin code to free dining (after doing the math).

 

[mikkiwikki]

values - are generally a little smaller (but not a great deal except for the CBR - it is as big as WL and AKL), have only a food court, Pop has both an inside lounge and a lake - the All stars don't.

values have more guests than a moderate is much less space.

CBR isnt a value