What makes a moderate better?

[trekker93]

For those of us who stay there alot, this resort has many of the features of a moderate but saves you $40-50 per night in costs. From my standpoint, using those funds for other fun things is more important than having a room 10 sqft wider! Also, Pop is a family resort - it has tns of things fo rthe kids to do - form great pools, to wheely rces to ping pong and a great arcade.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I have never heard of Pop being a moderate value resort. It has the same size rooms, the same type pools (no hot tubs, no slides) and the same dining options. Its always listed as a value on Disney's site. Its a great resort but to me it has nothing above or better than the All Stars.

The moderates are ideal for kids and all of them have arcades, themed pools with water slides, bike and boat rentals, playgrounds and CBR and CSR have beaches.

We like the values fine but the moderates are what works for us (and we have stayed deluxe). Its definitely a personal thing that varies from family to family but for us here is why we prefer moderates:

Lusher landscaping.
Full service restaurant at all mods but POFQ.

Quiet pools (and I know the values have quiet pools but for us they are not that quiet). POFQ does not have quiet pools.

Frig standard in each room. We need a frig and that $10 per night at a value cuts into the savings.

Extra space in the room, not a huge difference but enough to feel some breathing room for the four of us!

Larger bathroom with double sinks or in the case of CSR a long bathroom counter.

All mod rooms have the privacy curtain. Only certain rooms at Music and Sports have them, none of them in Movies do and Pop is getting them post refurb. With teens, we need that privacy curtain so its nice to know that no matter what mod we choose, its there.

Quiet. The common areas in a value are always bustling (and that can be fun) but our experience has been the moderates are less hectic and noisy.

We will stay in values again when the finances warrant it, but we will always pick moderate if we can.

As for offsite, it just doens't appeal to me. We like the option to get the DDP or QSDP, we enjoy having Disney do the driving and we enjoy the customer service Disney provides regardless of what resort level you are staying in. Exra Magic Hour is another thing. We don't do it everyday, but at least its there if we want it. If we stayed offsite, I'd be buggers knowing the parks had hours I couldn't take advantage of!

OP: If you pick POFQ you will have a compact resort, a great food court, fun main pool with a slide, the boat to DTD, larger bathroom with double sinks, and you can use all the facilities over at Riverside since its POFQ's sister resort. So you will have something like 8 pools to choose from total, two hot tubs, two water slides if you desire to swim that much! POFQ is very charming and well themed and very relaxing.

 

[Fundytrail]

For us the moderates are all about atmosphere! The grounds at POR are soooo relaxing to stroll around and get a break from everything Disney. If you plan to send some time relaxing at the resorts then a moderate or deluxe are for you if you plan to spend all your awake hours at one of the parks and only want a place close by, then maybe a value is for you. As stated in other posts before me moderate offer some extras but the atmosphere is worth the extra $ to us.

We had family stay at a value and we were at a moderate and we could not convince them to stay at a moderate last trip. They are returning the end of August and they have booked a moderate.

 

[princessmom29]

We have stayed at CSR twice and paln to staty again in March. For us the decision boild down to this:
For about $250 more for a 7 day trip, we got:

1. Queen Beds
2. Covered Bus stops
3. Larger Rooms
4. Fridge in the room
5. It was just so calm and serene, we loved coming back to a relaxing atmosphere. I don't know that I could have done wall to all coartoons all the time.

 

[Evi]

I Haven't stayed at a Value resort so I can't compare other then to what people have said on the boards and what I've seen walking around the resorts. I think Mods have better landscaping and more walking paths. I also think all mods have quiet pools. I think most mods have a sit down restaurant as well as counter service and in room fridges. From walking around allstars and the pop I felt like they had a motelish vibe to them and that's not meant as an insult its more that they seemed very building and concrete heavy. I don't know if you know what I mean but if you compare it to por or csr they are really green and lush and both have the lakes or little river running through them so you feel closer to nature. In the end I think where you stay is decided by two things. 1 how much time you spend at resort and 2 whats in your budget. No matter what were all at the happiest place right so its all good.

 

[Praying Colonel]

We dig CSR over Pop (the only value we've ever stayed at) because the rooms are bigger, beds are bigger, rooms have fridges and we like to use the hot tub.

 

[KSandbergFL]

thanks everyone,

I did know that AKL and WL were deluxes, on the lower end of the price range for deluxes. My daughter is most interested in POFQ, and I really don't think my dh cares, just as long as he doesn't have to drive.

We live in central FL and often take advantage of the FL resident rates... we have stayed at almost every Disney hotel at least once, in the past 6 years.

My personal favorite resort is POFQ. In my opinion, it has the nicest grounds/landscaping of all the resorts, even the deluxes. Even though it's a moderate, it just "feels" more like a deluxe, because the grounds look so nice. My only complaint about POFQ is that the food court is kinda ugly, drab, and noisy... so we often take the boat down to POR (or even farther, to Saratoga Springs or Downtown Disney) and eat there instead.

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

Our #1 reason for going mod vs value is multiple bus stops with covered areas to wait. That can be a life saver in the beating summer sun. We find that the multiple stops don't add much time but we have never been turned down or couldn't fit on bus in the mornings, at the values we have had to wait 1-2 more bus cycles to get on sometimes.

We also love the more grown up decor, the quiet pools, and option of TS restraunt. Of course I've stayed in all the mods and never ate in any of those TS restruants.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

Last year, we spent a week at WDW and stayed on property at All Star Music. While we enjoyed it, and thought the pool areas were lovely, we all agreed that we would have been just as happy at a little nicer hotel for less money just a few miles from WDW off property. I'm tentatively planning our next trip and would really like to know if you've found a moderate to be worth the price to stay on property? I assumed we would consider a resort off property, but my Dh informed me that he really liked using the bus system and not driving. My daughter has also expressed her desire for a pool slide, so if we do stay on site, it will have to be a moderate. We might consider WL or AKL if the price were right. So, what do you think makes a moderate worth it?

I know you've received lots of other opinions and here's another one.

We have stayed at all three levels of WDW resorts and enjoy them all. It sounds like you specifically did not enjoy the overall theming of the AS Music, lack of a pool slide and a desire for a "nicer" resort.

I find the Moderates "nicer" than the Values, but there are some similarities as well. Neither one has balconies as the doors are all outside. Three of the four Mods have the same bed size as a Value.

However, I find the landscaping to be nicer IMHO and they seem more relaxing overall than the Values. I have to admit that I think POFQ looks most like a Value with the kitschy Mardi Gras theme. I do like the ceiling fans and fridge. I didn't notice the room size difference too much though.

POR and POFQ are great in that they are sister resorts and you can share use of the pools and amenities. Our kids liked the pool at POFQ better than POR. We also enjoy the relaxing boat ride to DTD - it beats a bus anyday!

If you can find a good discount, I'd try AKL over a Moderate. You get a balcony, queen size beds (yes, I know CSR has them too), a separate bathroom vs just a curtain, inside hallways, a gorgeous lobby that you enter every time, covered walkways to the bus stop and of course, a one-of-a-kind resort with a view of a "zoo" out your window.

 

[chrisw127]

Nothing! We've stayed at a bunch of different resorts and the mods was the only one we were disappointed by, because we didn't see the value of the extra money over a value resort. If you want to upgrade go for a deluxe.

I agree. I don't mind going back and forth between the values and deluxes because to me I'm getting my money's worth at both, although in different ways. The mods just don't seem worth it. For that kind of money, you could rent a DVC unit.

 

[dzorn]

I do not quite understand this post, I am pretty sure that if the bus is dropping off passengers, they do not pick up any, full or not
We have stayed at each level and have really enjoyed each one, but my DW and I think that the Deluxes are overpriced and we never felt like the extra $$ we spent was worth it. We like POP but with 2 little ones we need a fridge and now our oldest DD likes the pool slides, so we have become a Mod family.

Every bus that drops off passengers also picks some up for the next destination they are going to.

Only time you would not encounter it is park opening and closing.

I find the main difference is multiple bus stops, pool slides, refridgerator and quieter at the moderates.

Denise in MI