Why Do You Spend the Money on Deluxe?

[LMEJ]

I have stayed at Deluxe, Moderate, and Value resorts. We are fortunate in that we can afford to stay at deluxe if we want to, but we don't always. I am curious what motivates people to spend the substantial amount of additional money to do so. I'm not being judgmental at all, I'm just curious. For those trying to plan their first trip and make decisions, sometimes it appears that if you don't go deluxe you are really going to be disappointed. In my opinion, the value resorts are nicer than most comparable "value" type motels outside WDW.

For me, we stay at deluxe currently because we have 3 small children and want a monorail resort for convenience, but my experience has been the rooms themselves not that much better than moderate, or honestly even value. When are kids are a little older, I think it will be hard to justify the extra expense. Thoughts?

 

[jlewisinsyr]

For me, I like service...when I am traveling, whether it be for work or play, I want good restaurants on site, I don't want to have to park my car, I want a large comfortable room and all of the rest of the perks that go along with being a 4 star or better resort.

 

[MrsJ Henry]

We like the theme of the deluxes we stay at and also the indoor entrances (that may seem funny to people but we like it)
We like the ability to take other transportaion other than just busses to the parks, the restaurants and the balcony off the room.
These are some of the reasons we like them.

 

[grannyminnie]

I have this (maybe mistaken) idea that there's less people to "bump into" in a deluxe, and that the service is going to be a "cut above". Some people have reported back that that is simply not true! My stays in deluxes so far have been satisfactory, but I believe for the price we pay (and yes, I choose to pay it), the overall experience could be better...

 

[cara loves the poly]

The Poly has a large enough room to feel comfortable spending a week in, I would be miserable in a value or moderate. No thank you, not a vacation for me, I would rather be home in my big bed w/ my beautiful surroundings.

 

[BrianD]

For us it's all that's already been mentioned, but especially because of our little ones. And by that I mean the convenience of the monorail (or the Epcot resorts), the extra space, and having the three beds (that includes the daybed). Our son is handicapped and does not share a bed well, so being a family of four, it is nice for the children to be in their own bed. Also, my wife & I sleep considerably better in a queen, than in a double. It's amazing how much of a difference just a few inches makes.

Also, the fact that we have small children means we spend more time at the resort than we would otherwise, for naps and such.

But theming-wise, all level of Disney resorts are great. In fact, I would even stay in a Value before I would stay in anywhere else in Orlando (assuming its a Disney vacation), except for maybe the Ritz Carlton. But even with the Ritz, I choose to stay in a Disney deluxe for the location and theming.

 

[spiceycat]

I agree with you.

deluxes most of the time can get me to the parks faster.

CR or Polyn - MK or Epcot

BC, YC, BW - Epcot or Studios

but most of the time just stay at OKW - love it. first of all using points it is not expensive at all at OKW!!!!! secondly love the laid back, relaxed style. very people friendly. guests and CM there generally aren't in a big hurry to get to places. you can take time to smell the roses!

that say one my favorite non-deluxe resort is Pop century.Love that place. It is a bit faster moving than OKW. but it is a fun place!!! when on a budget or for the fri/sat night - it is my choice.

of course I also have know to go offsite as well!

 

[NJRRK]

Believe it or not we stay in deluxe for the value of them.

1 - We need three beds (DS 13 and DD 17) cannot be in the same bed.

2 - We don't like the Values (personal choice, don't slam me).

3 - 1 room in a deluxe is cheaper than two in a Value.

Now if my wife and I decide to do a trip just the two of us, we might decide on POR with a King bed.

 

[Cindy's Mom]

We've only done one deluxe thus far - but are currently in the process of booking YC for next summer.

I know why we always wanted deluxe....its because of the lobby and the pools. We LOVE LOVE to hang in the lobby and just people watch.

We are NOT by any means park commandos, we do 2 parks in 6 days so the resort is a big (huge) part of our vacation.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We can't sleep in double beds, so we need a deluxe (usually we stay in a DVC one bedroom). Once our son heads off to college, we might stay in moderates since it would give us either each a bed or a king bed.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Several reasons:

Family of 5

Transportation - this is really the dealbreaker with DH. We like the monorail and boats to MK when we stay at the GF and Poly, and we like the boat to MGM and being able to walk to EPCOT when we stay at YC.

Queen Beds

Pools - kids love SAB, the Volcano Pool at the Poly, and the themed pool at GF.

Balconies - DH runs early in the morning and I love to be able to sit on the balcony with my coffee and watch him run by. I like being able to keep our drapes open without people walking by and looking in.

 

[sfbank]

For us we just love the Boardwalk. It holds a special place in our hearts I guess from our first trip. We have not tried a moderate or value and I am sure they are great. We tried the WL and it just wasn't the same. For us, part of our Disney trip is being at the Boardwalk. It is our home away from home

 

[cybrkitn]

My goal is to eventually stay at a deluxe resort. But right now we can only afford the value and moderate.

My reason for wanting the deluxe has to do with the bed size. The values and moderates only have king and double beds while the deluxes have queen and king. DH is pooh sized so sleeping on a double can sometimes be tight. We have a queen at home and we don't feel as if one of us is getting kicked off the bed or fighting for the covers.

As far as the conceirge service goes, it's nice to live it up at least once. But we're not really into all that and can do without. The only issue I have with the deluxe is the price. I'd love to be able to afford it and stay at the YC. We just love the decor there.

 

[kandlsutton5]

QUEEN beds, resort dining, and location....

 

[LilGMom]

We ended up preferring Deluxe resorts after staying at WL. We absolutely fell in love with the WL and, like a pp said, we also prefer the interior entrances to our room. The overall 'feel' of the deluxes seems to be different than at the moderates. We bought DVC because we like to stay at deluxes and with the ever-increasing rates we didn't want to even think about being priced out of them {shudder at the thought}. So for us it is the overall feel and experience of the resort that we prefer.

 

[newharmony]

We do have a DVC so we do stay at BCV for 20 nights once a year. We love it because we can walk into Epcot via the IG. Wow! The other 20 night stay (we are at WDW for 40 nights per year), we go to the ASMo. We love it there, too. We love the informality, the theming, my DH loves the food court. I'm so happy to be at WDW, I'd sleep in my car!

 

[marivaid]

For us it's like having 2 vacations in one. We tried value, moderate and deluxe.

When we're in a Deluxe we spend a LOT more time in the resort itself. At the Poly we went to the pool, watched fireworks on the beach or from our balcony, just walked around enjoying the view.

When we were at ASMO, we wanted to be out of here as fast as possible, and stay away as long as possible (it was possibly also due to the fact that they were doing work on the pool so we felt like we were staying in the middle of a construction site. Not very magical.)

Other reasons we loved staying in a Deluxe especially the Poly :
- Location, location, location!
- Monorail
- Much bigger rooms
- More comfortable beds
- Restaurants on site
- Quieter and more relaxing than a Value

Would we go to a Value again ? Sure. If we planned to be in the parks all day. But if we expect to spend any time in the resort itself then it'll be Deluxe again or possibly moderate.

That said, with the price increase I'm going to have a hard time justifying the costs of any resort.

 

[CarolA]

For me, I like service...when I am traveling, whether it be for work or play, I want good restaurants on site, I don't want to have to park my car, I want a large comfortable room and all of the rest of the perks that go along with being a 4 star or better resort.

I understand your point of view, but you are aware that the Disney Deluxe's are NOT "4 star or better resorts" Independent Rating agencies give the GF a 3 star and that's Disney's FlagShip.

I stay in "deluxe" quite often when I travel. Sadly I find Disney's do not measure up in the service department. (They have pricing down however. )

 

[jillhou]

Queen beds....it would not be a vacation sleeping in a double. We have a king bed at home = for the last 20 yrs - and the thought of having to stay in a double for a night is not even pleasant!

Room - we are a family of 5

Room - We have 3 boys....the bigger the kids get = the MORE room you need, not less!!!!!!!!

Convenience is always a consideration

Sure - they are expensive, but my time is worth something and being comfortable is worth something. Having room service available is a big plus.

Anyway - cannot imagine staying anywhere else!

 

[antmaril]

I am an admitted hotel snob. For me, the hotel is the most important part of any vacation, not just Disney. The atmosphere, lobby, theming, etc. are very important to me. I am willing to pay for it.

We usually stay at the Boardwalk Inn. I really like being able to walk to EPCOT and MGM (or take the boat). It's our favorite WDW resort.

That being said, we are staying at POP at the end of this month. This is our second trip this year and we need two rooms this time. I decided to economize. We are only staying four nights. I'm sure it will be fine.

I may never stay Value again, but, you never know. I may like it!