Which do I choose?

[Shaniyah]

I am planning my trip to Disney in May 2011. Right now I am doing research and trying to figure out what will be best for my daughter (she will be 5) and I. Am I too early to begin planning? What I do know is that we will be staying for 5 nights/6days. Right now I am torn between POFQ and Allstar Music or POP. My question is what are the main benefits of a moderate resort vs. a value resort?

Also I am all for inclusive vacationing. I know I will be purchasing the dining plan but I am torn between the deluxe dining and the regular plan. Will the deluxe dining plan be too much food? I am a single mom and I KNOW we will return to Disney again. I am just trying to make sure I get the most bang for my buck. I am sooo excited to go back to Disney World. I think I may be more excited than my dd is!!!!

 

[kaffinito]

I am planning my trip to Disney in May 2011. Right now I am doing research and trying to figure out what will be best for my daughter (she will be 5) and I. Am I too early to begin planning? What I do know is that we will be staying for 5 nights/6days. Right now I am torn between POFQ and Allstar Music or POP. My question is what are the main benefits of a moderate resort vs. a value resort?

Also I am all for inclusive vacationing. I know I will be purchasing the dining plan but I am torn between the deluxe dining and the regular plan. Will the deluxe dining plan be too much food? I am a single mom and I KNOW we will return to Disney again. I am just trying to make sure I get the most bang for my buck. I am sooo excited to go back to Disney World. I think I may be more excited than my dd is!!!!

Some of us think it's NEVER too early to plan!

Out of the resorts you mentioned I'd go for POP (transportation and food court) or POFQ (small resort and ferry boat to DTD) Both have good pools for small ones.

I know what you mean about being excited about going back. It's fun to go as an adult - even better than going as a kid!

And BTW -WELCOME to the dis!

 

[WDWAurora]

Two of the primary differences are that the pools at mods have more things, like slides, and that mods have table service restaurants. Rooms in mods tend to be larger. That said, we're a value level family. I just can't justify the higher price, even for our honeymoon! We love POP Century, but my parents and grandmothers enjoyed whichever All Star they stayed at (as did DH's sister's family).

As for the dining plan...how much time do you want to spend eating each day? I would not enjoy 2 sit-down meals at home daily, and just wouldn't want to do it at parks when I could be doing fun stuff. Will your 5 year old be willing to sit for 2 longish meals a day? We love the regular dining plan, though!

 

[wild.zinnia]

I have fun just planning vacations, so it's definitely not too early. I'm already thinking about three years from now

I don't really eat that much. My concern when my DH and I went earlier this month was whether or not it would be enough food for him. And it was definitely plenty. We had to use some snacks and CS the day we were leaving (I didn't want to just lose them), which wasn't the original plan. To be honest, I selected the dining plan just because I wanted to prepay for food and not have to worry about budgeting money for it (and carrying more money around with me). It really worked out for us. I don't have kids, so I'm not sure what options are available for children.

 

[Shaniyah]

Two of the primary differences are that the pools at mods have more things, like slides, and that mods have table service restaurants. Rooms in mods tend to be larger. That said, we're a value level family. I just can't justify the higher price, even for our honeymoon! We love POP Century, but my parents and grandmothers enjoyed whichever All Star they stayed at (as did DH's sister's family).

As for the dining plan...how much time do you want to spend eating each day? I would not enjoy 2 sit-down meals at home daily, and just wouldn't want to do it at parks when I could be doing fun stuff. Will your 5 year old be willing to sit for 2 longish meals a day? We love the regular dining plan, though!

I too am trying to justify the difference between the price of Mod and Value resorts. I am thinking since it is her first trip and she will be young why not stay @ the value resort. She won't know the difference!

As for the meal plans.. I like to try new foods and if the food is prepaid I'd go to the more pricey places instead quick service type meals which I do daily. I also want to do some of the dinner shows. Do I have to do all TS on Deluxe plan? How much use do you get out of the refillable mug?

PS: How do I get that cool signature section at the bottom of my posts?

 

[Shaniyah]

And BTW -WELCOME to the dis!

Thank You!!!

 

[Native NYer]

It's never too early to plan!

I've done the deluxe dining plan and try to book some signature restaurants. And we do a character meals. It's definitely a great option if you want to try some of the more expensive places. You can book Cinderella's Royal Table. Your daughter will love it.

To add a signature, click on User CP on the upper righthand side. You can go to various websites to get countdown tickers.

 

[Shaniyah]

To add a signature, click on User CP on the upper righthand side. You can go to various websites to get countdown tickers.

I got it Thank You!

 

[Sue M]

I too am trying to justify the difference between the price of Mod and Value resorts. I am thinking since it is her first trip and she will be young why not stay @ the value resort. She won't know the difference!

As for the meal plans.. I like to try new foods and if the food is prepaid I'd go to the more pricey places instead quick service type meals which I do daily. I also want to do some of the dinner shows. Do I have to do all TS on Deluxe plan? How much use do you get out of the refillable mug?

PS: How do I get that cool signature section at the bottom of my posts?

I would go with POFQ and basic DDP! IMO your life revolves too much around getting to reservations on the deluxe plan. We do the basic DDP, use our snack credit for breakfast-bagel, milk & Cereal,. muffin or danish and our resort mug for drinks. Lunch CS and Dinner TS. With dessert that comes with both lunch and dinner, we found we didn't use our snack credits all the time. So now if we want an occas Mickey Bar I just pay.

As for value vs moderate, true your dd won't know the dif, but you will!!
http://www.mousesavers.com/wdwresortfacts.html

 

[rrkman]

My $0.02 on this. I'm an eater and I think that the deluxe dining plan is even too much food for me. But, if you want to take the time to sit down and have a good meal twice a day, by all means, it might be a good choice for you. But if I have a big sit down breakfast (especially a buffet), I only need a small snack for lunch and then a quick service burger or something like that for dinner. Same with the other way around....if I have a nice dinner planned, I want to show up hungry....not stuffed from my meal earlier in the day. Hope this helps.

As for the mod vs value.....my opinion is that the values are more of a themed motel where the mods are more of a themed resort. For us, we love the deluxes more than the mods and the mods more than the values. Just better theming and less hectic....if that makes sense. But, it just depends....the first time my wife (then 'wife-to-be'), we stayed at All Star Sports. It worked out great for us because the only time we saw the place was when we were sleeping. And for many, it just doesn't make sense to spend the extra money if you aren't going to take advantage of the other ammenities. One other piece of advice....and this ties into liking the deluxes more than the mods more than the values....if you start at a mod, you might be disappointed if you end up with a value the next time. If you start with a value, you'll still like it...plus it leaves the value option open for the next time as well. At least this is how it was for us....once we stayed at Poly and BC, the other places just don't measure up. We still love them but if money was no object, we'd probably be at Poly or BC everytime. Just a thought.

One last thing....never too early to plan. Planning is half the fun.....well, maybe not half but still fun.

 

[jemmouse]

I would DEFINATELY stay at the French Quarter. The resort is compact, you are never more than a 5 minute walk to pool/eatery/bus stop. And speaking of the pool, your daughter will LOVE it. Does she like Little Mermaid? I have heard many children there call it the King Triton slide. A moderate has a slide, values don't. Not a huge difference I suppose, but huge if your child likes that. We have stayed here 4 times it is my sons all time favorite, and that is over Contemporary with a Magic Kingdom view, and also Yacht CLub with the sand bottom pool. He is 9 and the first time going he was 5. So as long as he loves it, I am saving my money for the Polynesian when he wants a switch. The theming with the decorated alligators is quite a hoot. I have referred many of my friends here, and I have never heard a single complaint. In fact from values to here I have only heard positive feedback. I personally have never stayed at a value, but I have heard people complaining of the noise outside the rooms and the paper thin walls. About the dining plan go regular, you won't regret it. Check out allearsnet.com and look at the reviews and the pictures of both resorts. When it comes down to it, it won't matter what resort as much as you and your daughter making memories that will last a lifetime!!!! Happy planning....

 

[gilsan]

I too am trying to justify the difference between the price of Mod and Value resorts. I am thinking since it is her first trip and she will be young why not stay @ the value resort. She won't know the difference!

As for the meal plans.. I like to try new foods and if the food is prepaid I'd go to the more pricey places instead quick service type meals which I do daily. I also want to do some of the dinner shows. Do I have to do all TS on Deluxe plan? How much use do you get out of the refillable mug?

PS: How do I get that cool signature section at the bottom of my posts?

If you think you will want to do a bunch of 2 credit meals, (dinner shows, signature dining, Cinderella's castle), I would go for the Deluxe dining plan. I did not find it to be too much food.

We mainly did a character breakfast in the parks before opening, used the snack credits for lunch and then ate at a signature restaurant for dinner. I like DxDp because you can use the credits for either TS or CS, so it allows you to be more flexible.

We stayed at POFQ and it was nice, small and quiet.

 

[crazyfordisney2000]

We are currently planning our trip for May 2011 , yeah We have stayed at both value and POFQ. We LOVED POFQ!!! Don't get me wrong, we still liked the value resorts. For US (2 kids, 2 adults), the BIGGEST difference between the value resorts and POFQ was the size of the rooms. The space difference isn't huge, but it FELT huge. For us, the size of a moderate room was perfect. Now it sounds like it's just 2 of you, the size of the room probably won't be an issue. The 2 other things we LOVED about POFQ was the boat ride downtown and the compact size of the resort. I always found getting downtown and back always seemed to be a hassle for us, maybe just bad luck with the buses, but the BOAT, WOW!! We loved it. As for the dining plan, I could never imagine Deluxe!

 

[Shaniyah]

I think I have made the decision about the meal plan. My dd is not big on Breakfast Foods she is happy with a pop tart or some cereal! But I do definitely want to do Cinderella's Castle and some sig's or shows for dinner. So I will be getting the DxDP. (whoo hoo one decision made now a million more to go!)

I really like the look of POFQ but it will be almost $300 dollars more. Yes it will be just my dd and I (Maybe one more adult). So I don't need the extra room I just REEEEAAALLLYYYY like them! I have read people mention receiving upgrades when booking. Does anyone know how often that happens? IF, and that is a huge if, they offer the gift card promo again next year I can justify paying a little more. Does Disney repeat promo offers often?

Also I read somewhere about renting DVC points to get a more expensive room at a cheaper rate. Does anyone know what are DVC points? How much are they? How does the DVC work and what do you get?

 

[Shaniyah]

We are currently planning our trip for May 2011 , yeah

Yaaaayy!!!! I see you are from Ontario! Where is Kingston? Im originally from Rochester, NY about an hour away from Buffalo!

 

[karibritt01]

I too am trying to justify the difference between the price of Mod and Value resorts. I am thinking since it is her first trip and she will be young why not stay @ the value resort. She won't know the difference!

We have stayed value and moderate. To us, the value resorts just felt chaotic. It was definitely a younger, louder crowd at Pop vs the mods we have stayed at. After a long day at the parks, the last thing I want to hear is the 1am party at the quiet pool.

Other differences for us were the bus stops (value has a que in the sunshine, mods have a covered bus stop with benches), the pool slide at the mods, the fridge in the room, and the extra space. Why not watch for pin codes closer to time to bring down room costs. Another option is to join AAA to get the room discount - that usually saves us $250-$300.

As for which dining plan... you have plenty of time to look over restaurants. I would plan out my daily schedules as best I could, figuring where I would be eating each day. Then you can do the math and see if it is worth the extra money for DxDP, or just pay a meal or 2 OOP. We have always found we save more by using the reg. DDP, and paying a couple of breakfasts OOP.

 

[Shaniyah]

Everyone is making such good points on both ends of the spectrum. Do pin codes for emails come often? Also what are DVC points??? How do they work?? and what is renting points all about?

 

[gilsan]

Everyone is making such good points on both ends of the spectrum. Do pin codes for emails come often? Also what are DVC points??? How do they work?? and what is renting points all about?

Check this thread for a tip on getting a PIN. People were having luck with saving their vacation on the WDW and than they received a PIN through email a couple days later. The PIN was good for most of 2010.

 

[fireman1]

I took my daughter on her first trip when she was 5 as well. We stayed at the allstar movies. She absolutely loved it. It has some serious eye candy for the little ( and Big ) ones.

 

[clutter]

I too am trying to justify the difference between the price of Mod and Value resorts. I am thinking since it is her first trip and she will be young why not stay @ the value resort. She won't know the difference!

As for the meal plans.. I like to try new foods and if the food is prepaid I'd go to the more pricey places instead quick service type meals which I do daily. I also want to do some of the dinner shows. Do I have to do all TS on Deluxe plan? How much use do you get out of the refillable mug?

PS: How do I get that cool signature section at the bottom of my posts?

She won't know the difference, and if you plan to go back (I find DW to actually be a decent value for a single parent/single child family) you're better off with a value. We have not stayed at Pop, but we do like any of the All Stars. (We also own DVC and love some of the deluxe resorts.) I prefer them because they tend to split the resort up into three busses at closing time (and we always close the parks).

As for Deluxe v. regular v. quick service v. no dining plan, all I can tell you is to study the menus. For a shorter trip, do you really want to take the time out for a sit-down meal every day? When my dd was 5, we did a couple of character meals (preferably one with princesses) and ate quick service. We do the regular DDP now because my dd, now 12, and I enjoy going to the restaurants to eat a nice meal. I have a single mom friend going with her twins soon, and she decided against any dining plan. Her kids are picky eaters and would not likely like the childrens quick service options. So she'll pay OOP for one or two adult meals. They are going for 6 days and are not planning any TS meals. Her kids aren't into characters, and they don't really want to spend the time when she's the only one that might enjoy the food.

So see what is offered at QS and TS meals, and plan from there. You can always add/deduct dining at a later point in time. As for deluxe, that's a LOT of food, and I (personally having had a 5 year old that wasn't that interested in food) would not want to have to deal with that many TS credits. Sure, you can use them for QS, but I wouldn't.

How much do you use the reflillable mug? We don't use it at all. First, we're not soda/soft drink drinkers, even though we have bought the mugs in the past. Second, you have to swing by the food court to fill them, and you don't use them in the parks. Are you driving? Your better bet would be to bring your drinks with you. You can rent a fridge at a value for $10 or $12/night if you need to. Or you can use a cooler and keep ice in it. We did that for YEARS, because my dd, when she was little, had to have her milk to sleep.

Good luck and have fun planning. That's (almost) the best part! Your daughter will be a perfect age for a magical time.