Why Do You Spend the Money on Deluxe?

[mickey2minnie1]

We chose a Deluxe for our first family trip because:

Family of 5
Monerail convenience to hop back to enjoy resort
Queen beds
Theme
Restaurants
Inside corridors
Length of stay

 

[ksc37]

#1 Reason: It's my vacation... I don't get a lot of them!

And, as many others have said...

1) The rooms are bigger. And with a young family who spends more time in the room, space is a major issue.
2) The balcony is nice to sit on when the kids are napping or in bed for the night.
3) Queen Beds
4) Location (except for the AKL, in which case the advantage is theme and atmosphere and animals)
5) Quicker Check-in
6) Atmosphere
7) Not so spread out
8) Closet doors (not open shelving)
9) Indoor corridors
10) Restaurants
11) Better service
12) Better decor than the values (mods also have nice decor)
13) Better pools than the values (mods also have nice pools)
14) They seem to have fewer people / less crowded public areas
15) Nice landscaping, outside areas (many have lake front areas)

 

[ProudMommyof2]

In order of importance
1. Everyone gets their own bed-my daughter is nicknamed the TRASHER!
2. Love the balcony to sit out on when the kids go to bed at night
3. Queen bed
4. Close to the restaurants I love
5. Interior corridors and not as spread out

I know there are more but these were the biggies! WL was perfect for us, bunkbeds made the kiddos soooo happy!

 

[JBurke]

To me the hotel is part of the whole experience.
I love to spend time in the lobby and I prefer when the rooms are all in one building. The value and moderates seem more like motels to me, rather than a hotel.
Plus we are a family of five.
I have only stayed at WL for these reasons.
I cant seem to get myself to try anything different. I am afraid it wont feel like Disney to me if I am anywhere else!

 

[Markstudy]

I just don't like to ride the bus,....well its more- I don't like to wait for the bus.

I wish they had those clocks at the bus stop....telling you when the next bus was coming ( GPS tracking ). I'm never sure if I just missed the bus or when the next bus is due?

I'd rather hire a taxi....which brings up my cost, so might as well stay at the deluxe

I think I cut 6 hours out of my travel time by staying at the deluxe vs riding a bus.

 

[SleepingBet]

Well, in 1999 we stayed at the Poly because my DD was 4 and we wanted the convenience of a monorail. It was great! We spent most of the time in either MK or Epcot, so being able to get back for rest time in the afternoon was great.

In 2003 we stayed at WL for the theme. I had planned to stay at CBR, but WL is so beautifully themed, that it lured me away. It was great. There's no monorail, but riding on the boats was great fun and very quick. Also, being able to watch the nightly water parade both here and at the Poly were great.

This year -- in just 8 days! -- we're staying at AKL. Again, it's the theme that lures me. I wanted to stay here in 2003, but DD, then 8, wanted WL. Now that she's 12, she's very excited about AKL, as we all are. I've heard the detail there is incredible. I can't wait!

 

[applechips]

the monorail for us... CR and the Poly... I love the convenience of the monorail.

 

[mprewitt]

Deluxe resorts were all I stayed at -- until I found out about DVC.

 

[grannyminnie]

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. )

ITA, CarolA,
Disney charges waaaay too much for not enough service!
And I'm not surprised at all that the GF is no more than a 3...we patrons ought to extract more out of the Disney organization, but we are so smitten with the name, we let them walk all over us!! Yes, I'm guilty; I like staying in a deluxe, too, but I cannot in good conscience fork out the prices for the GF! I know, to each his own...I guess for me it'll be more like the WL or AKL for now.

 

[BaldEmu]

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. )

I agree with this 100%. We stay at the Deluxe's (now DVC) because they are more peaceful and quiet, and have better restaurants. HOWEVER - I travel a lot for work. Staying at the Deluxe's because they're the best at Disney makes sense. Staying there because you want to experience good hotels is a bad idea. For the rates, the Disney Deluxe hotels are without question the worst hotels I've stayed at. I travel a lot for work and stay at some very nice hotels (Conrads in Asia etc) and IMO the Disney Deluxes have terrible service and terrible amenities for the price.

 

[kgc07]

We like sleeping in queen beds, like the extra space and stay conceirge, so a deluxe is the only way to go for us. We just bought into DVC and will be staying in 2 bedroom villas for the majority of our trips from now on.

 

[momimouse27]

We don't always stay in deluxe(staying at CSR in Sept), but we have in the past and I prefer them to the other resorts. There are several main reasons:

We are a family of five and if there are no other family members with us, it seems silly to pay the same or more and get two rooms when we can fit in a deluxe room.

I like the theming of the deluxe resorts and convenience of proximity to the parks.

It feels like you are being pampered! In some ways, I feel like that is part of a vacation-feeling a little like you are treating yourself for the hard work you do all year long... So if we can afford it that year, we do stay deluxe. However, I have no problem whatsoever staying at a value if need be. We stayed at POP for a quickie trip in March and had a great time.

 

[jazzgirl]

We stayed in our first deluxe this past Thanksgiving (the BC). We chose it because it was close to EPCOT (our favorite park). We absolutely loved the extremely short and convenient walk, being close to the Boardwalk, and the atmosphere there in general. So this year we're staying at the BCV and hopefully (if we like it as much as BC) we'll be purchasing a resale there!! That's IF I can talk my DH into it

 

[sherry8253]

Valet parking & room service. We have stayed at moderates and after a long day of walking in the parks, the last thing I want to do is hike from a distant parking space and then trudge up a flight of steps to my room. We are in our mid 50's & sometimes we also enjoy ordering room service & sitting on the balcony just relaxing.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

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. )

I only stay at Deluxe, so I am very familiar with service and quality...and although Mobil Travel quotes it as a 3 star, it is not...all other sites quote it as 4 star or better. And IMO, I don't support anything from the ExxonMobil corporation due to personal ethics reasons.

As for reiterating about staying at Deluxes, I do not camp, I do not stay at the local travelodges, etc. I have stayed at some of the finest hotels in the world, including Loews, Ritz, Intercontinental, Westin, W and Sofitel, and the only place I honestly see is lacking in GF or DW in general is the upfront service, but everything else is top notch.

 

[ransom]

The reason we stayed deluxe the first time was because we wanted a balcony. But we wanted to minimize the cost, so we ended up at the Wilderness Lodge.

But the reason we'll be sticking with deluxe is because we fell in love with that place.

We're going back this December, and we became DVC members at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge so we can always stay there (for the next 35 years, anyway).

 

[McKelly]

Queen beds.

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

For me and my family, we do the Polynesian as much as possible for two reasons:

1. The Monorail. Nothing beats being able to get to the MK or EPCOT in such a quick and efficient manner. I don't like buses and the transit times on those things try my patience. Plus, having the monoral drop you off *at* your resort instead of at the TTC and then taking a tram to the car and then driving the car. Ugh!

2. The Beds! The beds at the Poly (and I believe all the deluxes) are so comofortable even when I got 4 hours of sleep it felt like I slept for 8. The beds at the moderates and values are murder on my back. I wake up absolutely cranky.

 

[blanq]

Queen beds.

Me too.

 

[Markstudy]

I'd rather skip two trips a year for one trip at a deluxe

Or go every other year to spend longer at a deluxe.

Am I the only one?

I'm not a resort snob... I guess we've been on all the rides so many times that I like the "feel" of being at the "World" more than how much park time I get The Deluxe just give you that feeling of no stress.