Why pay for a deluxe resort?

[susykt4]

I would love to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge sometime. I'm just too cheap to pay the huge difference between AKL and Pop Century when the kids love Pop so much. We have a potentially flexible trip coming up where we could add a couple of extra nights. My question to y'all is should we spring for AKL our last night or two? Why would it be worth it? (My kids are 8 and 6.) What makes a deluxe resort worth that much more money a night?

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

See to us paying the extra money is well worth it because we would never stay at a value. The money saving is not worth it. Our kids are 10 and 5 and even my 10 yo is a resort snob .

We like the extra amenities and elegance the deluxe resorts offer. We spend 1 day at the pool at least to take advantage of the extras the resort has to offer.

We usually stay at the BC or BW so we also like the convenience of being able to walk to 2 parks and being walking distance away from the BW after the parks close. The kids love the magicians, jugglers and overall ambience of the BW at night.

Everyone has their quirks and ours are staying at a nice hotel. It doesn't matter if we were at the parks from dawn to midnight which the majority of the days we are, we like everything about the deluxe and what they have to offer. So we are willing to pay the extra to have it.

 

[MiniGirl]

For us, the bigger bed alone makes it worth the difference in cost. Also, my dh is not a Disney fan, so we do spend time at the resort just relaxing. My kids enjoy the pool slides. I like having the fridge in the room, and my dh likes having the coffee maker and the balcony. He gets up earlier than the rest of us (like 4 or 5 in the morning) and goes out there to read his paper and drink his coffee while we sleep.

Now, when we g w/o my dh, we often stay at a value and it suits us fine most of the time.

I really just depends on what kind of trip we are wanting to have.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

If I had the money to blow I would stay at one but the values and the mods are just fine for us.

 

[PelletierBears]

We always stay Deluxe at Disney! For several reasons:

1. queen size beds - DH is 6'2 and broad shouldered, full size beds are a bit of a squeeze.
2. bunk beds at WL and AKL - DS is 15 and DD is 12...won't, and I wouldn't ask them to, share a bed
3. atmosphere - I'll admit the theming at all the resorts is great but once you walk into the WL there is no denying the difference
4. on site dining choices

We stayed at AKL when it first opened and I have to tell you it was amazing. We had a savanah view room and each night after a long day walking around we would sit on the balcony and listen to the animal sounds and when we woke in the mornings the animals were right there!
If you can afford the extra cost I say go for it! It's an experience you'll never forget and well worth it even if you can't get a savanah view rm.
We were planning a split stay at WL / AKL but just changed it to the Poly. We're only able to afford it because of the book 4 nights get 3 free deal

 

[kldmom2000]

We always stay at the YC/BC.... ever since our honeymoon in 1994!!! DH will not hear of staying anywhere else... especially a value. We love the proximity to Epcot-walk right on in! We also are leary of hotels/motels with doors not enclosed in interior corridors. We love the pool.... gosh the pool. Our girls would be happy to just hang by Stormalong Bay for days if they could! The ambience is just magical too! The beds are so comfty!!!! The pillows-wow! I've been trying to get something comparable for our bed at home! LOL! We never pay rack rate though.... could never afford to! LOL! We go during value season and luck out with some sort of a discount whether it's AAA, free dining, or a special discount code found on mousesavers.com....

 

[hoosiergirl7]

I have never stayed at a value so I can't compare deluxe vs. value. I could very well see myself staying at a value for a 3 or 4 day trip. Our next major planned trip is a 7 night stay and we are staying at BWI. DH and I currently sleep in a king at home. We could never share a full in a hotel for an extended period of time but are comfortable in a queen.

We too are a family that likes to hang around the resort for a few hours every afternoon relaxing and to us that means having better amenities. DS who just turned 5 could care less where we stayed because to him Disney is Disney.

I think honestly it varies from person to person what you're willing to spend on a vacation. DH and I do one big vacation a year and if we go to Disney then we're staying Deluxe if possible. I also think that this is part of the reason people do split stays. I've seen many posts where people spend 4 days at a value and then spend 3 nights at a deluxe.

 

[GvilleDisneyDad]

For me it's worth it just for getting to and from the MK easily. We stayed at the pop and the hotel was fine with me. The kids don't care. But, that packed bus ride back to the pop after the park closes with 2 sleeping kids at night is terrible. YMMV.

 

[TheInfrequentVisitor]

You really can't beat the atmosphere of a deluxe resort. Walking through the door into the lobby of the AKL is amazing.

 

[mom2aredhead]

We've stayed at AKL 3 times and Contemporary once. I agree with a lot of the reasons people gave before...
Bigger beds, 'fridge, coffee maker, nicer larger pools, and amazing atmosphere.

Specifically at AKL, there is nothing quite like waking up early in the morning, brewing a cup of coffee, and sitting on the balcony watching a giraffe graze and some zebra run around. And AKL (and WL) are the cheaper of the deluxes, so depending on the time of year, they can be almost reasonable! Our last few stays at AKL, we paid $149-$164/night (May and Dec) for a standard room and got upgraded to Savannah at check-in. Worth every penny!

I think that with your kids being the ages that they are, they'd really love seeing the animals around the resort. Almost makes the Kilimanjaro Safari seem boring in comparison. But be careful...once you stay at a deluxe, you may be spoiled and there may be no going back!

 

[blessedby3]

I like more transportation choices and the deluxes-lots of them- offer more choices. Ex. -boat, monorail, walking, as well as busses. Ill never forget after we had stayed at the CR, the next trip was at POP. We waited in the bus lines through the loading of 3 other POP busses and the whole time we were waiting we could see the CR. DH said, If we had stayed there again we wouldnt be standing in this line now. True, but not every trip can be a deluxe for us.
We are staying at the Poly in March (thank goodness), but have also stayed at the CR and WL. I love the ammenities that the deluxes offer also. We are a family of 6, so our options are more limited-especially after youngest DD turns 3 in a couple of years.

 

[Crisgw]

Growing up, my family only stayed at the Poly. As an adult, when we finally took our boys, we stayed off property (in a house) 2 times and then finally decided to stay at AKL (this past September). It was by far the BEST experience I've had at WDW. We loved it so much there that we (and my DH was always TOTALLY against DVC and Disney for that matter) bought DVC at AKV. It is totally worth it. To me, AKL is amazing and an experience within itself.

 

[Sydnoahmom]

Every time we plan a trip, we say we're going to stay at a Deluxe. But when it comes right down to it, we end up booking a Value. We are the comando type of vacationers-early up and late to bed. If we want to swim we do it when we come back at night. We have never been able to justify the extra expense of the Deluxe. If this was the only trip we took, maybe, but we take lots of little trips throughout the year to other places.

This trip, we had to change dates and are now going in August. We did have 2 rooms at Pop booked for the week after Thanksgiving. We talked about it and have decided to stay at CSR in one room. They now have queen beds and the pool has a water slide. This is a compromise with DD12 who is upset we aren't going to a water park. We will also need to take a mid-day break b/c of the heat.

In my dream world, we would be staying at BW or YC!

 

[Helene]

We've worked our way up to the deluxe resorts. We stayed at AKL last December & will be going to WL in May. In Dec 07 we recieved a code for 40% off the rack rate & this year we are taking advantage of the "buy 4 get 3" deal. After staying at the deluxe resorts, it is very hard to think about staying anywhere else. The overall feel is so relaxing, we felt like we were in paradise.

It's hard to describe the differences. I say go for it & decide for yourself!!

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I love the POP! It is a great resort. We stayed there once and had a ball. However, I like the monorail better! I would not change resorts during my stay. Too much hassle and waste of time. Also, going to AK would not be any great change since I would still have to be on the buses to go everywhere. I should say that we also like to enjoy time at the resort so convenience is everything to us.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

For me it's worth it just for getting to and from the MK easily. We stayed at the pop and the hotel was fine with me. The kids don't care. But, that packed bus ride back to the pop after the park closes with 2 sleeping kids at night is terrible. YMMV.

I hear ya! Try it with 4 sleeping kids! NOT FUN!!!!!!

 

[treboats]

I have stayed at Wilderness Lodge and at Port Orleans Riverside and to be honest there really is no difference to me. We never spend much time at the resort hanging out even if we are there during the day the kids usually nap and DH may take the oldest DS swimming for a bit but not worth the extra $700 to stay at Wilderness Lodge for us. Of course this year our youngest turns 3 so we will be staying at POR because of the trundle. Last year we requested the trundle and they gave us two adjoining rooms instead. DH and I had a king bed and the kids shared the two full size beds it was fantastic. I would rather book two rooms at a less expensive resort than pay for the Deluxe. Just my opinion.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

We like Pop. The problem is those full size beds are too small! We also like to have a coffee maker and a fridge.

We love AKL. It is our favorite resort. We love it so much we bought DVC with AKV as our home resort. We stayed at WL in 2007 and didn't like it as much as we like AKL. In 2008 we stayed at the Poly and SSR and still liked AKL better.

I will say we thought resort hopping was a huge pain. We spent a ton of time and money moving from one resort tot he next, checking in, getting settled, etc. But we moved 3 times over a 16 night vacation. Moving once might not be too bad.

 

[Minnie]

We've stayed at every level of resorts at WDW and IMO there is a huge difference in what you get at a value or mod compared to a deluxe

I love to travel and budget so that when I vacation I can do so in comfort and feel pampered. I work hard long hours and that short weekend or week stay helps me recharge and to IMO it's worth the money

There is simply nothing like pulling up to the front of the resort and handing over the keys to the vallet then enjoying a quiet book on the balcony overlooking the lake, park, ect.... Man I am really ready to go back

 

[susykt4]

Wow! Thanks for all the responses! If we do move from Pop to AKL it will be after 7 nights at Pop and we'll likely be finished with parks and only move to take advantage of everything at AKL. We'll be moving to a different hotel regardless, so the thought of changing resorts isn't too major of a deal.