Would you stay at value or moderate just to try it out, even if you could afford deluxe?

[NJlauren]

No. Never. We always choose the best resort based on budget. Deluxe at all possible if not a mod. Never value for more than a single night. Tried it once and hated it. Only exception was staying in a suite at AoA and even that was one and done. We could get a deluxe for that cost

This is something i look t all the time the AoA suites but i just don't get why they are so much money.....maybe when my kids are older we will need the space??

 

[mommyrosa2]

Anyone do this? Did you enjoy it? Do it again? Or never again?

We have done it and are doing it again in August - no regrets here. While we have loved most of our Deluxe stays, we have also really enjoyed our stays at CSR and now with the new Tower opening, switching from the BC (our favorite deluxe) over to CSR, Tower room AND saving $1,000 was a no brainer! I'd rather take that savings and splurge on extra's for this upcoming trip.

 

[blueant315]

I always stay deluxe for the location and balconies. My kids are 4 and 2, so we generally go back to our room for mid-day naps - being able to walk or boat back to our resort saves a ton of time when you double how many trips you're making. So I prioritize that over the money we'd save at a value or moderate. We also like having a balcony since our kids go to bed earlier than we do and it's nice to have space to hang out without disburbing their sleep.

We did spend one night at POR in December when we added a night onto our trip we'd booked using DVC points we rented and it was great. The beds actually worked out better there than our suites at AKL and BLT because there was a little fold out bed in addition to two queen (I think) beds, so my two kids could each have their own. I really liked the pool and atmosphere of POR - those aspects didn't seem any better at most deluxes to me. But the location and balcony are worth the price difference for my current needs. I could see how we would not value these as much with older kids though. But it also seems that values and moderates are a bit noisier than deluxe since their walkways are exterior and your room windows are right next to where everyone walks compared to balconies in deluxe resorts being a bit more private (my experiences are limited to WL, AKL, and BLT).

But I am in the process of buying into DVC because the price of that for repeat Disney visitors makes deluxe resorts comparable in price to moderates. If you're willing to lock in your vacation 11ish months in advance and plan to go to Disney ever couple years (or sooner) I think DVC is totally the way to go if you like staying deluxe.

 

[DisArmyWife215]

Anyone do this? Did you enjoy it? Do it again? Or never again?

Stayed at all 3 levels. Wouldn't do value again unless we had to, they are just too noisy for me. Good when my kiddo was younger but not our style now. There are definite mods we want to try to check them out; POFQ, POR, and new CB to name a few.

 

[dbaker375]

Having traveled so many times to Disney Value resorts with high school and all star teams, I can say never again for us unless traveling with those teams and required to stay there. I'm just not a fan of the food court and the noise.

Now, I will add, if it meant going vs not going and I was with my girlfriends who are "roll with the flow" kind of gals instead of my family, I'd stay Value and just be sure to plan to not use the food court. Rooms have always been clean and we found service at pool bar and front desk at ASM very helpful when we last stayed there May 2018 with our all star team.

CSR is my favorite moderate...not as spread out like CBR and the bus service was good. I do prefer the deluxe hotels if budget allows mainly for location and transportation.

 

[ClapYourHands]

We can afford deluxe, but choose not to. The first reason is that I've only taken shortish trips to WDW, and our focus is always on the parks. If I'm in the parks from rope drop to closing, I feel like it's a waste of a deluxe stay to only use the resort to sleep. Especially with the values being renovated to queen beds, we can sleep there as easily as anywhere else.

Last trip, we did a split stay between Pop (because my kids wanted the in-your-face Disney theming) and the Swan. Pop's queen beds were comfortable, the resort was quiet, and the first bus out got us to AK in time to be at the head of the EMH FoP RD line. I have to admit I loved the ease of travel to DHS and the IG that we got from our stay at the Swan (and my kids appreciated the pools there - they love a nice waterslide). But if I can get the benefit of a crescent lake resort at Sheraton/Westin prices, I'd rather do that than pony up for a deluxe.

The other big reason is that Disney is "my" thing, rather than a family vacation. DH does not care for Disney - or any theme park really. I take the kids with me while DH goes elsewhere (sometimes we split up the kids between us). Therefore, going to Disney is an extra, and not part of our scheduled vacations. So, in my situation, it's sort of a respect thing for me to be a bit frugal rather than going all out. We splurge on things we all do together.

 

[richmo]

The deluxes are nice, no doubt. Have only stayed at Wilderness and AKL so far. Honestly, we liked POR just about as much. Wasn't thrilled with the values; would just assume stay off site (and have)

 

[mi*vida*loca]

For me vacation means luxury. No matter where I go. I like to be pampered, make things easier, have access to nice restaurants, etc. when I'm on vacation. Even when I go on other trips I always stay in a nicer hotel.

So the values are out. They are really nice motels (from what I've seen) and there is NOTHING wrong with them at all. It's just not what I want for MY vacation.

We do moderate and deluxe. Last trip we did two nights at POFQ followed by a week at BWV. My DD preferred POFQ! I really enjoyed it there too. She wants to go back to POFQ next trip. We've also done Poly and BC and before that we did CBR twice which we enjoyed very much also. Once we went deluxe I don't want to go back if I don't have to.

 

[smiths02]

Anyone do this? Did you enjoy it? Do it again? Or never again?

We've done it twice to stay at AoA. The first trip was all AoA and the second trip we did a split stay. I would also like to try the cabins at Fort Wilderness sometime.
We obviously enjoyed AoA because of the space. We could not afford space like that at a Deluxe, but we could have fit into one deluxe room (and we did on the split stay). We also just enjoyed AoA. For our kids, I think they actually got more out of the cool splash area near the pool than they did from Stormalong Bay. Our kids were also at the age where, while they did like the "fancy" room of BC, the in-your-face theme of the AoA suites was fun. The sofa bed and table bed were also infinitely cool since we don't have any "magical" furniture like that in our house

And while we could afford the deluxe, we could also use with saving the money or using the money to do something else on vacation or extend the vacation.

 

[jennyq87]

Anyone do this? Did you enjoy it? Do it again? Or never again?

I've stayed at Value, Moderate and Deluxe resorts. My very first self-paid trip we stayed at All Star Music - we were recent college grads so a Deluxe wasn't an option for us at the time lol. The resort was fine - did not exceed any expectations - nothing was outright horrible.. it just didn't have the feel I was looking for. So unless it was "stay at an All Star Resort or don't go to Disney at all," I would not choose to go back. I found it to be quite loud and did not really enjoy the room.

I'd do another Moderate for sure. The Port Orleans resorts are really really beautiful, and we LOVE having access to the boats to get down to Disney springs. I prefer the Magnolia Bend side to the Alligator Bayou side, but I would absolutely stay there again.

Having said that -- I'm almost always going to choose the Deluxe resort. I'm willing to pay more $ for convenience, good food & good location. Yacht Club is our personal favorite. One of the biggest things for me is that I don't like feeling like I'm in a motel. Most values & moderates are all outside-access doors, and if there's bad weather, you're walking in it (often long distances) to get to the lobby/food court. With (most) Deluxe resorts, you can get a meal without getting rained on. For $100-150/night - I can accept that. For $250+/night - that starts to become a bigger inconvenience for me personally. I prefer the food options at most Deluxe resorts. I like having the option of visiting a nice table service restaurant and/or a nice bar/lounge at night before heading back to the room. And then the proximity to the parks is another huge plus - time is money at Disney, and being able to walk to a park saves lots of time time.

So... as a last resort, I'd stay in a Value. Moderate I will do in the case I can't justify prices for the Deluxe's when we're looking to go. But if I have the option and I'm not having to pay $800/night, I'm going with Deluxe.

 

[Moliphino]

We can afford deluxe, but choose not to. The first reason is that I've only taken shortish trips to WDW, and our focus is always on the parks. If I'm in the parks from rope drop to closing, I feel like it's a waste of a deluxe stay to only use the resort to sleep. Especially with the values being renovated to queen beds, we can sleep there as easily as anywhere else.

That's how I feel, too. I love the Boardwalk, but it's not worth paying 3x as much as Pop when I'm only at the resort to sleep.

 

[StarSeven7]

We could probably afford deluxe hotels but DH and I are both pretty frugal so neither of us would be comfortable paying that much money for a hotel! I like to vacation a lot and I would never talk DH into going to Disney if we were paying that much per night! We prefer to spend less money on our vacations so that we can take more vacations each year and also have money for things like saving money for our kid's college, saving money for retirement, living debt free, and doing home renovations. We just spent a week at All Star Movies and we paid just under $900 for 7 nights after all taxes, and our stay was great! We got a newly renovated room, and despite all that I had read (and worried about!) about the All Stars, it was very quiet - I didn't hear any noise from our room the entire week! We only ate at the food court twice and it was pretty busy the first night (it was Saturday night at 6:30), but midweek we ate dinner there and it wasn't busy at all. I would definitely stay there again!

 

[KenHutch]

I can easily afford deluxe and this past June we stayed at AKL for 10 days. But we love POFQ and have stayed there twice in the past. It is just my favorite resort. And after my daughter found our how much that 2nd room and tickets were costing me for her maternal relatives she has told me its moderate or value until she graduates college.

 

[VAfamily1998]

Anyone do this? Did you enjoy it? Do it again? Or never again?

Yes, we have.
At one time I had a "goal" to stay at each resort at least once. I'm kind of shying away from that now, as I've found that certain resorts just work better for me and others I have no desire to stay at.
So at this time, I have stayed at all of the moderates and many of the Deluxes.

I've found that I actually like some of the moderates MORE than some of the Deluxes; for example, I like Port Orleans Riverside and Coronado Springs more than Polynesian. Also, even if a resort isn't my favorite, sometimes it just works better for the specific situation/trip--I've found that the cabins at Fort Wilderness (considered a moderate) work better for my Disney race weekend trips than most of the Deluxes; I enjoy having the full kitchen so I can make breakfast in the early morning before the race, and I appreciate the peace and quiet so I can go to sleep early at night.

 

[Magical2017]

Yes, because the Disney theming is what makes the resorts fun and special.

 

[Magical2017]

I can easily afford deluxe and this past June we stayed at AKL for 10 days. But we love POFQ and have stayed there twice in the past. It is just my favorite resort. And after my daughter found our how much that 2nd room and tickets were costing me for her maternal relatives she has told me its moderate or value until she graduates college.

I love your DD!

 

[rdaky]

No. If you can afford it, go deluxe. We have stayed at all 3 and the only reason we sometimes stay moderate is to save money. We have vowed to never stay value again.

 

[moose81]

I would try it. We have been staying at the Deluxe monorail resorts b/c our kids are young and we like to bring them back to the hotel to nap mid-day so it has been worth spending the extra money to make it convenient to get to and from MK. But they go to bed early as well and I don't love having to sit quietly in a dark hotel room while they sleep in the evenings. I think once our napping days are over, we will try a family suite at AoA. I don't expect it to be as nice as the Poly but the extra space would be nice.

 

[tex1989]

I would never presume to tell anyone else where they should stay. For us (wife and I) we usually stay value, and that is usually PoP. Our favorite resort by far is POFQ abd we have stayed there many times. Now we can more than afford Deluxe but don't stay in those. We have on a couple of occasions but since we are AP holders and go three times a year, we can do three trips in value resorts for the price of one Deluxe trip. I guess a lot of it comes down to your touring style, your vacation style, and your personal tastes. I am going to work on my farm tomorrow and since our cabin/house is being remodeled and we can't stay in it, we booked a hotel in the nearby town (College Station home of Texas A&M) and will get a suite with a king bed, free breakfast, in room fridge, sitting area, pool, etc and it will be nicer than any value or Moderate room at Disney. Now I understand some will say no comparison but my reality is that I will pay $85 a night for that room. Translate that to WDW and you are paying obviously for the other aminities, not just the room. But a comparable room at a moderate is going to be nearly $300 a night at WDW. I cannot wrap my brain around that. Many will say then just stay offsite, it's cheaper. Yeah but I want to be in the Magic when we go to WDW so we will stay at a value.

So having said all that where you stay is up to you and I would like to say what you can afford, but really it's your choice. I pay cash for my vacations, and they are completely paid for when I get home. I am fortunate I can do that. But if I stayed deluxe every trip for a week three times a year then I would have a lot less money. I like to vacation other places so I will continue to stay value and enjoy our Disney trips as well as other trips and interests and retire in a couple of years.

 

[AngiTN]

We are at a mod right now after several stays in a row at a deluxe. There are so many small things that make up the differences. Maybe a lot of y'all never notice them but we do. I don't care if we are in the parks all day the small things stand out more then. Bigger and softer towels. Even better toilet paper. We like FQ just fine. A stay here let's us fit in more trips so that's good. But anytime the budget allows a deluxe that's where we'd be. I'd never willingly go down just because