When life hands you lemons, stay Value???

[nemajovc]

We originally had planned on AKL for our Dec 2013 trip. Well, next week our 8 yr old son is getting the first of his almost $9,000 with of orthodontic work done. So with that expense it's putting a damper on our big vacation fund. We are definitely still going but will be best to downgrade at this point. I really didn't want to stay value. will it save us a lot more doing value than downgrading to a moderate? Is it worth it really? Especially IF we get a free dining promo and need to pay the upgrade to the regular plan. What value would be best if this is in fact our best option at this point. Thanks

Others have great info it looks like u have some research. Also how much ts dining is important? I've been realizing that I would probably be happy with 1 character meal and could have done OOP then gone cheaper with cs dining but that's because it's just me and ds. As its such a big vacation u need to make the right choice for your family. Hope dh surgery goes well

 

[luvthemouse71]

I'm a deluxe girl for the most part. However, I will be at WDW solo in December for 4 nights and 5 days. I already went in May and stayed at WL for 10 days, so I was looking for something on the cheaper side, so I didn't feel so guilty for going back so soon. I also wanted to try a new resort, so I settled on AoA-one of the Little Mermaid rooms.

It looks so cute! If I enjoy my stay there, I would gladly stay again.

 

[Simba's Girl]

Voice of dissent here...

Nope...wouldn't stay at value ever again after staying at Poly last time.

Even if it means we go every 3 + years, we've been to Disney enough already that it starts to get old (ducks).

Last time we went was January '10 and next time we plan on going is August '13. The time between gives us enough time to save and pay for things like orthodontic work or expensive health issues (I have RA, 2 kiddos have Asthma, DH had melanoma)-which we mostly use our healthcareFSA for anyway. And all 3 of my girls have had to do the patches, only 1 does not wear glasses (knocks wood) and we are looking at starting orthodontic for the oldest very soon as well.

We go for 10 days at a time, and find the deluxes worth our money because we have never been "all parks all the time" people. We are also somewhat limited in our choices because we are a family of 5 and choose to spend the extra $100 (or so) per day staying at the deluxes over values. I find the values chaotic as well. We also choose to go during "value" season, pulling the kids out of school for it.

We have stayed at ASSp, POR, SSR, WLV, WL, AKL, Disney Institute (OLD!), FW, and Poly. We liked AKL, WL and Poly best.

Different strokes I suppose...

 

[Rychelle924]

Others have great info it looks like u have some research. Also how much ts dining is important? I've been realizing that I would probably be happy with 1 character meal and could have done OOP then gone cheaper with cs dining but that's because it's just me and ds. As its such a big vacation u need to make the right choice for your family. Hope dh surgery goes well

Thank you!! Dining plan really works out well for our family. We need to have a healthy sit down meal as a family and doing all counter service really just isn't for us. We've done trips with and without a plan and it works out better for us with one

 

[Rychelle924]

Voice of dissent here...

Nope...wouldn't stay at value ever again after staying at Poly last time.

Even if it means we go every 3 + years, we've been to Disney enough already that it starts to get old (ducks).

Last time we went was January '10 and next time we plan on going is August '13. The time between gives us enough time to save and pay for things like orthodontic work or expensive health issues (I have RA, 2 kiddos have Asthma, DH had melanoma)-which we mostly use our healthcareFSA for anyway. And all 3 of my girls have had to do the patches, only 1 does not wear glasses (knocks wood) and we are looking at starting orthodontic for the oldest very soon as well.

We go for 10 days at a time, and find the deluxes worth our money because we have never been "all parks all the time" people. We are also somewhat limited in our choices because we are a family of 5 and choose to spend the extra $100 (or so) per day staying at the deluxes over values. I find the values chaotic as well. We also choose to go during "value" season, pulling the kids out of school for it.

We have stayed at ASSp, POR, SSR, WLV, WL, AKL, Disney Institute (OLD!), FW, and Poly. We liked AKL, WL and Poly best.

Different strokes I suppose...

Love your honestly here!! I appreciate it!! I'm nervous about it being chaotic for sure. Ughh I just don't know. I mean we COULD stay mod or deluxe but I'm just feeling like maybe it's smarter to save money on the trip since we have these other expenses popping up ya know. Trying to be frugal hahaha I just have to really sit down and look at the pricing and see how much the savings actually is and if it's worth it.
Sorry to hear about all you have been dealing with as well. I'm going in to the Dr in Sept to be tested for RA. I'm a nervous wreck. But with my husbands surgery, and my one sons eyes and other sons hearing and now dental work Im too busy to even think about it much lol

 

[Rychelle924]

I'm a deluxe girl for the most part. However, I will be at WDW solo in December for 4 nights and 5 days. I already went in May and stayed at WL for 10 days, so I was looking for something on the cheaper side, so I didn't feel so guilty for going back so soon. I also wanted to try a new resort, so I settled on AoA-one of the Little Mermaid rooms.

It looks so cute! If I enjoy my stay there, I would gladly stay again.

I contemplated this resort as well! It does look adorable!

 

[rentayenta]

I wouldn't say we were handed lemons per say but did change our arrival date so we're flying in a day early (a Saturday) due to finding a really great price and being able to use mile/points for 4/6 tickets. Our trip is already costing us mega points (DVC) and because I'm borrowed out we had some choices to make. There are 6 of us this trip.

- rent DVC points from someone
- stay off site
- FW Cabins
- 2 rooms at a deluxe or mod
- AoA
- family suite at a Value

The choice was easy. AoA! It's new and the theme looks so fun, we chose a Nemo Suite.

Having said that, I'm pretty sure we wouldn't be comfortable there for more than a night or two.

I always want to be comfortable on vacation so if the choice is wait longer between trips to obtain that, I'd wait. And I have waited.

We're going to WDW this October and our last trip to WDW was May 2009. it's been a long 3+ years. Can't wait!

 

[disnut8]

Are any of the all stars or pop renovated? Or is everything really old and worn out at this point?

Pop Century was renovated last year or maybe two years ago? I don't know about All Stars since we haven't stayed there for a while. We love Pop Century but are going with All Stars for the next trip because it is slightly cheaper and we've done Pop Century to death so I'm kinda tired of it. Art of Animation is more $$$ so that's out. This is from a Value Girl (not Valley Girl).

 

[KELLY]

We have stayed at pop the last 3 year. We were booked to stay there again this year. I really enjoy it there. I made the choice at our 45 day mark to upgrade to a moderate. We were booked with FD with the QSDP at pop. We didn't really want to upgrade the dining plan. But in the end we couldn't figure out what adr to keep(paying Op) and which to get rid of. My just turned 4 year old is more into characters this time around then she was the past 2 years. So I know just for the character dining and the HDDR it will be worth it for us.


So it made sort of sense to just upgrade to a moderate. My upgrade was around 440.00 for 11 days. That was after figuring what the upgraded cost of the dining plan at pop would be. Not really IMO cheap. So if you need to save money stay in a value if need be. I'm not one of those willing to skip a year for the room. In fact next year we want to go for 14 days so we may be back at pop. Do what is best for your family. We have stayed at all levels but I don't see us going back to a deluxe at all.

Good luck with ortho bills I haven't had to deal with that yet. But the activites my girls are in are enough to make me.

 

[glocon]

I think that after pricing out values vs. mods, if the values save substantial $$ you should go for it. Like another poster mentioned, you can take a day to have a late lunch or early dinner at AKL than spend the rest of the day enjoying the resort. There are a lot of public viewing areas, lots of interesting talks and exhibits, and just beautiful themeing.

I'm not sure if you would be able to use the pool- it is a nice one- but there is an arcarde also. Maybe do Boma (buffet) for late breakfast, walk around and enjoy the resort, than do Mara (counter service) for early dinner . You could make a day of it!

Just because staying at a deluxe isn't in the budget this year doesn't mean you can't enjoy some of what they have to offer. There is so much more to WDW than just the parks!

Maybe this will be a vaction that you a little differently than usual, but maybe you will experience things that you never expected to! Have fun!

 

[Rychelle924]

We have stayed at pop the last 3 year. We were booked to stay there again this year. I really enjoy it there. I made the choice at our 45 day mark to upgrade to a moderate. We were booked with FD with the QSDP at pop. We didn't really want to upgrade the dining plan. But in the end we couldn't figure out what adr to keep(paying Op) and which to get rid of. My just turned 4 year old is more into characters this time around then she was the past 2 years. So I know just for the character dining and the HDDR it will be worth it for us.

So it made sort of sense to just upgrade to a moderate. My upgrade was around 440.00 for 11 days. That was after figuring what the upgraded cost of the dining plan at pop would be. Not really IMO cheap. So if you need to save money stay in a value if need be. I'm not one of those willing to skip a year for the room. In fact next year we want to go for 14 days so we may be back at pop. Do what is best for your family. We have stayed at all levels but I don't see us going back to a deluxe at all.

Good luck with ortho bills I haven't had to deal with that yet. But the activites my girls are in are enough to make me.

Thanks! Yeah we won't skip years. We take a vaca regardless but just might downgrade a bit in situations like this. Yeah between the ortho and all the other stuff kids are pretty expensive lol my boys play baseball and basketball. My oldest plays on 5 baseball teams a year! So between all the registrations, uniforms, multiday trips for tournaments, private coaching etc, sports are like a 2nd mortgage payment!! But they work thier little butts off and and deal with so much with thier disabilities, we live giving them fun vacations each year

 

[Rychelle924]

I think that after pricing out values vs. mods, if the values save substantial $$ you should go for it. Like another poster mentioned, you can take a day to have a late lunch or early dinner at AKL than spend the rest of the day enjoying the resort. There are a lot of public viewing areas, lots of interesting talks and exhibits, and just beautiful themeing.

I'm not sure if you would be able to use the pool- it is a nice one- but there is an arcarde also. Maybe do Boma (buffet) for late breakfast, walk around and enjoy the resort, than do Mara (counter service) for early dinner . You could make a day of it!

Just because staying at a deluxe isn't in the budget this year doesn't mean you can't enjoy some of what they have to offer. There is so much more to WDW than just the parks!

Maybe this will be a vaction that you a little differently than usual, but maybe you will experience things that you never expected to! Have fun!

That's what we discussed last night. It will be a different experience. We can resort hop more for dining and get to see multiple ones decorated for the holidays. And maybe do more around WDW that we normally don't when we would usually just hang back at our resort

 

[nansmama]

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[photo_chick]

We originally had planned on AKL for our Dec 2013 trip. Well, next week our 8 yr old son is getting the first of his almost $9,000 with of orthodontic work done. So with that expense it's putting a damper on our big vacation fund. We are definitely still going but will be best to downgrade at this point. I really didn't want to stay value. will it save us a lot more doing value than downgrading to a moderate? Is it worth it really? Especially IF we get a free dining promo and need to pay the upgrade to the regular plan. What value would be best if this is in fact our best option at this point. Thanks

I'm a hotel snob and I've been happy at the values.

So far I like ASMusic the best. Pop was disappointing.

 

[tennessee]

I love the value. We stay value so we can go twice a year, and also love the quick service dining. We dont like to make plans to eat, if we want we will pay for a meal somewhere special. But I think there is so many good places to eat on the quick dining. Even if i had alot of money still would stay value. I love them

 

[JennyDrake]

Yes, the values are definitely worth it. In some ways, in fact, there are distinct benefits to staying at a value resort. Because they are larger, the bus service is usually better than a moderate or deluxe. In addition, the food courts are larger and have a better selection.

I've stayed at all levels and they are all excellent. After all, any day at Disney is good day.


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I agree! Until last year I had never ever stayed at a deluxe. SInce then I've stayed at AKL, Kidani, SSR and CR. While they are each very speical, you know where my next three trips are??? Value resorts!!

_I_ just do not spend enough time in the room or using the resorts anemities to justify a deluxe resort. I also like the size and variety of the food courts at the values, POR, POFQ and CSR.

My favorite value is ASMusic, but you will enjoy any of them.

 

[Nohal]

Having been to Disney more than 20 times, for the money I would rather stay at a value. I have stayed at Contemporary (never again everything was to far away from our room), Caribbean Beach we were always lucky and got a room close to the food court this was before they charged extra for preferred rooms, POR also stayed in a room close to the food court also before extra charge for preferred rooms. Once ASSp opened we started staying there my boys loved the sports theme, when ASMu opened we stayed there, when Pop opened we stayed there and I think the theming meant more to us than the kids, when ASMo opened we stayed there and have stayed there every trip since. I find that the resort is smaller compared to the other values the decorations are really cute and the food court is great. Movies was renovated last year. Look at the pictures of the resorts you would like and let the kids decide. Staying at a value allows us to go for a longer time. Since we go in Sept (me & DH) we have gotten the free dining for the last 5 years.

 

[Rychelle924]

Having been to Disney more than 20 times, for the money I would rather stay at a value. I have stayed at Contemporary (never again everything was to far away from our room), Caribbean Beach we were always lucky and got a room close to the food court this was before they charged extra for preferred rooms, POR also stayed in a room close to the food court also before extra charge for preferred rooms. Once ASSp opened we started staying there my boys loved the sports theme, when ASMu opened we stayed there, when Pop opened we stayed there and I think the theming meant more to us than the kids, when ASMo opened we stayed there and have stayed there every trip since. I find that the resort is smaller compared to the other values the decorations are really cute and the food court is great. Movies was renovated last year. Look at the pictures of the resorts you would like and let the kids decide. Staying at a value allows us to go for a longer time. Since we go in Sept (me & DH) we have gotten the free dining for the last 5 years.

Thanks for all the great info!!! We stayed at CBR in sept. we paid all this money extra for a pirate room and it was in east jabib! So annoying!!!!

 

[hsmamato2]

That's a good point! My son has stayed at Wilderness Lodge and Pop Century (each twice) and loves them both! Is there a pool? YES! Are we going to Disney World? YES! He doesn't care where we stay!

 

[richmo]

What about off-site? We just stayed a week at a Windsor Hills condo and it was great! Much cheaper than even an All-Star. Plus you can save even more by eating breakfast in (maybe other meals too, if you wish).

Of course, you'd need to rent a car, and, unless at least one of you has an AP, you'll need to add $14/day for parking. And, most rentals are Saturday to Saturday. Drive time to Animal Kingdom is about 5 minutes.

If those guidelines work for you, it might be worth checking out.