Will I hate Value Resorts? Which one should we try?

[Mickey's Best Girl]

Personally, I liked POP more than POR and that was before they started renovating the rooms.

Ditto.

I also think it depends on your mindset. If you go in expecting to be disappointed and unhappy you most likely will be. Maybe take a YouTube video tour of the resort?

We like Pop for its over the top obnoxious theming. We also found POR incredibly dull.

When we're at Disney World we want to know we're at Disney World and Pop accomplishes that for us.

 

[Spencer Wright]

I have not stayed at a value, however my mother and sister have stayed at a wide variety of moderates and values and based on what you are saying, I would discourage a value.

My mother and sister said they were fine, however the rooms are tiny and the pool is INSANE! Like people running around screaming, lots of alcohol, having difficulty finding a chair. They also said having to wait 2-3 buses or more after park closing is common.

They did stay at POP during a slow October and said it was enjoyable enough, however during busier times (which seems to be all year now), it is not enjoyable.

 

[Miffy]

Just wanted to reaffirm what another poster said about the noise at a Value. During my one (and only) Value stay, the noise in my room was from: (1) the people next door (I believe there may have been a connecting door)--and they were not particularly loud, although their crying baby wasn't exactly silent, but I could hear all their conversations; (2) suitcases being wheeled past the room's door at any hour; and (3) people walking past, also at any hour. I never heard any noise from the pool or the courtyard, but I had 5 nearly sleepless nights because of the other 3 noise sources. The flushing toilets really aren't an issue, since you can just close the bathroom door, which pretty much eliminates that sound.

Just to give some context, I've been living in apartments all my adult life, so it's not like I'm used to the quiet seclusion of a home. I'm not. I've had neighbors on all sides of me for, well, decades. Their noise rarely, if ever, bothers me. This was different. This was like having someone, or many someones, in the room with you.

This stay was at one of the All Stars--definitely avoid them if you didn't like POFQ--so I'm not sure how the soundproofing might be at Pop or AoA, but keep in mind that there are outdoor corridors that aren't carpeted and that people come and go at all hours.

Not everyone has this experience at the Values. My noisy stay may have been a combination of a connecting door (I'm not 100% sure there was one), particularly loud neighbors (although they didn't seem that way, really), and bad room placement (at the end of a corridor near the stairwell). But I'd never do it again.

Edited for typos!

 

[Aurora0427]

Looking to save some money. We have stayed at Deluxe (Poly- LOVED IT) and Moderate (POFQ-not impressed) and I am thinking of trying a Value for fun to save some money and try something new.

BUT I am a little nervous about it since I thought POFQ was disappointing and will not stay there again. There was practically no theming in the room at all, felt very outdated, and I did not think it was worth $230 a night.

Generally, we are fine at any hotel that is clean and feels updated. The price per night at the values is on par with what I am looking for. Any suggestions on where we might like to stay? Or will I just be completely unimpressed with all of them?

We've stayed deluxe, moderate and value. We were also unimpressed by POFQ. We'd never go back. The value we stayed at was AoA in a Nemo suite. We liked the extra space and thought AoA was much nicer than what we were expecting. That being said, the beds were uncomfortable and I don't think I could do a week there. We've walked around POP and it's just not for us. If you're doing a quick trip where you're at the parks all day, maybe. But we spend too much time at the resort to stay longer than a day or 2 at a value. It's just not for us.

 

[stayathomehero]

I just finished staying at POP. It was delightful.

They also said having to wait 2-3 buses or more after park closing is common.

This is sadly an understatement. We drove this time, but the one time we went to the parks and back via bus, we had to wait for about 5 buses after extra magic hours. Of course we ran into the same issue at Caribbean Beach last trip so...

 

[stinkpickle]

If you were unimpressed with POFQ, you will likely be unimpressed with any value...

This. ^^^

 

[elaine amj]

I am happy with the Values. but it is a definite change after a deluxe.

We just did a split stay - 14 nights at Saratoga Springs in a 2 bedroom villa and 1 night at All Star Music. We have always stayed at Values prior to this. Some differences I noticed are:

- general resort noise level. SSR was always quiet, and even when the pool was noisy, it didn't begin to approach the pool noise at All Star Music.

- soundproofing. SSR had insanely good soundproofing. To the point that if I was in the master bedroom, my kids couldn't hear me in the living room...and DEFINITELY couldn't hear me from the 2nd bedroom, even when we called for them loudly. My DH is used to yelling out instructions from his bed...and it really threw him off to discover that my teens genuinely could not hear him. I felt like I walked a LOT in the villa since I couldn't just call out instructions lol. Some days I got tired just walking between the 2 rooms haha.

- noise level outside the room. You can definitely hear everything that happens outside your room. We had a do not disturb sign on our door. We got woken up by them knocking on the door next door and we could clearly hear every conversation taking place in the hallway.

- theming inside the room - this was super subtle at SSR and only slightly louder at ASMu.

- toiletries; deluxe gets better toiletries than values.

Overall, for the price I paid, I was pleased with ASMu and would stay there again. We had no issues with busing. When we left AK at closing, we only had to wait for a second bus, which came reasonably quickly (I think we waited maybe half an hour). We had plenty of the same waits when staying at SSR. The absolute worst was MK closing - the waits for the SSR buses were ridiculous IMO (on 3 separate nights - once where we waited a solid hour after closing!) and twice as long as any other bus stop in sight. We always had to wait for the 2nd bus (usually a 40+ min wait) and multiple times spilled over into the (empty) Old Key West line.

 

[emilyindisney]

I enjoy the values and have had all good experiences but I certainly believe some of the negatives people bring up (crowding, noise, etc.) Personally, I like All-Star Movies- it's been the most quiet and compact in my experience. My bus experiences at all the All-Stars (and Pop/AoA) have all been favorable. For a little more money you might want to try Pop though. Given that it seems a little more popular I think Disney takes a little bit better care of it. It's actally currently undergoing nice room renovations!

 

[sharadoc]

I don't think the values are bad at all. The All-Stars are the oldest, so they have the most mature landscaping. Each one is about half the size of Pop, so there's less people in the food court, getting on the bus, etc. You have 3 food courts within walking distance of each other too. Don't listen to the "bus sharing" doomsayers, it only happens during slow times when the buses are almost empty. They don't share at opening, closing and during really busy park times.

The All-Stars are also the least expensive. We have only stayed at All-Star Music so that's familiar to us, and we really like it.

 

[shellyj]

Looking to save some money. We have stayed at Deluxe (Poly- LOVED IT) and Moderate (POFQ-not impressed) and I am thinking of trying a Value for fun to save some money and try something new.

BUT I am a little nervous about it since I thought POFQ was disappointing and will not stay there again. There was practically no theming in the room at all, felt very outdated, and I did not think it was worth $230 a night.

Generally, we are fine at any hotel that is clean and feels updated. The price per night at the values is on par with what I am looking for. Any suggestions on where we might like to stay? Or will I just be completely unimpressed with all of them?

We had never stayed at a value until last fall when we were stuck in town a couple extra nights after HUrricane Matthew. Our original stay was rented points at SSR which was a HUGE disappointment to us. We transferred over to ASMu because I couldn't stomach paying rack rate for SSR and they weren't offering a break on the price and ASMu had a room open. We LOVED it there. I LOVED the theming. I LOVED that they have motel style bathrooms with the sink separate from the shower and toilet. It was just my husband and I that trip, but I wish the deluxes had that - so convenient for families. I LOVE that the sink area has a curtain so it creates another area of privacy. The rooms actually felt roomy because the front part is bumped out a bit. We didn't use the pools, but they looked like fun. The CMs were so wonderful where SSR staff was indifferent at best. We enjoyed the food court and we liked that none of the buildings were a far walk from it. At SSR everything was so far away we were coming back from the park just to be faced with a 1/2 mile round trip to get back and forth to the main building or have a long wait for the internal bus.

To put my opinion in perspective - Our most favorite resort is AKL and we usually rent points and stay in 2 bedroom suites. I would absolutely stay at All Star again and I would most definitely choose it over SSR. Honestly, I think my kids would absolutely love to stay at an All Star but we travel as a pretty big group and a 2 bedroom on rented points is a better deal than multiple rooms at an AS. I can never convince myself to pay about the same for AS but give up the convenience of the full kitchen and washer dryer in the room at AKL!

The only negative I saw to the values is that the bus lines don't have shade.

 

[disneychic2]

I'm not sure my opinion would be of value since you didn't care for FQ and it is my favorite resort...but for what it's worth, we like Pop when we take our grandchildren to Disney. I like the dedicated buses...no sharing!!! The food court is great. I DON'T like the small rooms or standing in the hot sun while waiting for a bus. The kids love it!

 

[elaine amj]

I LOVED that they have motel style bathrooms with the sink separate from the shower and toilet. It was just my husband and I that trip, but I wish the deluxes had that - so convenient for families. I LOVE that the sink area has a curtain so it creates another area of privacy. The rooms actually felt roomy because the front part is bumped out a bit.

I'm a bit confused. We just stayed in a 2 bedroom at SSR. On the studio side, there was a huge double sink with a large countertop that was separate from the shower and toilet. Just like AS Music but much, much larger. On the 1 bed room side, the master bathroom suite was gigantic and had 3 separate rooms - 1 with just a toilet, 1 with a sink and shower, and 1 with yet another sink, the whirlpool tub,and a small walk in closet.

I do agree that overall I find the values comfortable and in general, worth it for their reasonable prices. Rooms are small, but manageable.

 

[shellyj]

I'm a bit confused. We just stayed in a 2 bedroom at SSR. On the studio side, there was a huge double sink with a large countertop that was separate from the shower and toilet. Just like AS Music but much, much larger. On the 1 bed room side, the master bathroom suite was gigantic and had 3 separate rooms - 1 with just a toilet, 1 with a sink and shower, and 1 with yet another sink, the whirlpool tub,and a small walk in closet.

I do agree that overall I find the values comfortable and in general, worth it for their reasonable prices. Rooms are small, but manageable.

I'm not sure why it was confusing. I suppose I should have said I wish "all" the deluxes have outside sinks. SSR does have a great bathroom set up, and I wish all the 1 and 2 bedroom suites had a similar design. We generally rent points to stay in 2 2-bedroom suites and a lot of the master bathrooms (Kidani Village in particular) have only the toilet behind a separate door and the rest of the bathroom features share one large space. However, I also understand that the outside sink doesn't scream luxury or high end.

We didn't love SSR, but the bathrooms are great for big groups.

 

[elaine amj]

I'm not sure why it was confusing. I suppose I should have said I wish "all" the deluxes have outside sinks. SSR does have a great bathroom set up, and I wish all the 1 and 2 bedroom suites had a similar design. We generally rent points to stay in 2 2-bedroom suites and a lot of the master bathrooms (Kidani Village in particular) have only the toilet behind a separate door and the rest of the bathroom features share one large space. However, I also understand that the outside sink doesn't scream luxury or high end.

We didn't love SSR, but the bathrooms are great for big groups.

Oh I see. You had referenced SSR in your post and so I thought you were mostly comparing SSR to ASMu. Makes more sense now that I know you are comparing other deluxes without that feature.

Glad you enjoyed ASMu. I like Pop a lot, but for the price, I chose ASMu for my last two Value stays and have been happy each time.

 

[bookgirl]

Just my POV but if you were unimpressed with POFQ then I don't know that you will like the Values. Physically Values and Mods have a lot of similarities. Outwardly the Values are much more Disney/Over the top in themeing with the Mods being more subtle and using not as Disney centered themes. They both have outdoor corridors, separate sink areas (value has one sink/mods two) food courts. The mods do have a coffee pot/queen beds/TS restaurant/pool slides and at least 1 hot tub plus the Mods have a little more square feet.

If you know what you did not like it might help you figure out if Values are for you.

I'm fine at all levels so it's all good with me but I know what I'm getting with each level and can choose the one that best fits my trip.

My mom on the other hand tolerates Mod but hates Value so she is definitely a Deluxe kind of guest. The things she dislikes about the Mods are the same things she hates about the values.

 

[fla4fun]

I agree that you need to make a list of exactly what you didn't like about POFQ. Then do a little research to see if you will have the same issues at the value resorts.

As another poster has already mentioned, the room decor in all Disney rooms is going very generic. I don't like that personally because I feel the interior of the hotel should harmonize with the exterior. Take the new villas at WL. They are not nearly as themed as the older villas and rooms, and I think they lose some charm as a result. They are nice, but in a bland vanilla kind of way.

My personal value favorites are Pop and AoA. I prefer a resort with a water feature, which is why AKL is one of my least favorite deluxes. I stay at all levels of Disney resort and a lot of it has to do with managing your expectations. A value is a step down from a mod when it comes to amenities and a mod is a step down from a deluxe. If what makes your vacation great is the variety of amenities at a deluxe, you may not be happy at a mod or value. If you can appreciate a value resort for what it has instead of what it doesn't, you can have a great vacation there.

 

[monarchsfan16]

I admittedly am a little confused. The shift toward "updated" rooms means rooms are losing their theming. I also, having been to the real French Quarter, found the POFQ rooms to be well themed, particularly given today's "all white" trend.

Now that being said, if you're looking for theming, Art of Animation is your best bet. Those rooms are over the top. If you're looking for updated, the refurb rooms at Pop come to mind, but to me, those look (from pictures) poorly themed. Perhaps we have different definitions of "updated" and "theming", but I'm genuinely concerned that you won't be able to find what you sound like you're looking for at a value.

 

[Monorail_Man_NJ]

If you thought POFQ was meh then stay away from the values. Personally I think POFQ is the best moderate due to low crowds and very quiet and peaceful.

Also depending on dates and promo codes you can get AKL for around 230 a night with a standard view.

But to answer your question it would have to be Pop Century or AoA.

 

[ols386]

I preferred POFQ over POP, but would have no issue staying at either resort again.

 

[ColoradoMom12]

There's so much personal preference to this question. I like and have stayed at many deluxe resorts, mostly the CR for no reason other proximity to MK (especially at the rate for the garden wing). However, I also really like staying at Pop Century. As far as theming, I prefer it to CR. I actually prefer it for its transportation as well. Other than walking to MK, I'm unimpressed with the buses at the CR (always shares with WL when we're there). And while in theory the monorail is convenient, my experience is more times than not, we end up stopping and waiting for a long time. I'd rather be on a bus from the Pop Century than stuck on the monorail. Plus the bus is direct transportation! No transferring at the TTC.

I've never stayed at a moderate and doubt I ever will. I'm not into the idea of needing to take a bus around the resort. As is probably apparent from from what I said in the previous paragraph here, I'm a one and done kind of gal. LOL. Riding a bus around the resort itself, even if it doesn't stop at other resorts, just does not appeal to me.

I agree with the advice someone else mentioned in this thread. Think about what you liked at POFQ and make a list. Research your options. Decide if any of the values are worth trying out. I would't necessarily say just because POFQ wasn't impressive to you, you'll be disappointed with a value. CR isn't particularly impressive to me. I stay there for the convenience, though. Pop Century impresses me because if its dedicated bus service and fun theming around the resort. In fact, many of our trips are split stays. We start at Pop and ride the bus to AK and HS. Sometimes we go to Epcot too. Then we move over to CR and go to MK (and sometimes Epcot).