AEfx
Well-Known Member
I've always found it funny when some people get airs about them about staying at a Deluxe vs. a Value or a Mod, thinking they are staying at some sort of luxury resort. I live in a small New England town which has beautiful beaches and every summer is overrun with tourists. In the late Fall to late Spring it's desolate at the beach (and wonderful).
Now I didn't grow up (nor am I now) wealthy, but the community I live in is very well-known and considered a "posh" destination if you stay at the right places. (I talked to Tracy Ullman once, and when I said where I was from that was her exact word, "Oh, what a posh area!" LOL.) Like, real luxury resorts. No highrises, but places where people are pampered and coddled and they do everything except wipe your behind for you (and I'm sure that's available at an extra charge). People that stay in such places have what I refer to as "real money". That's opposed to those who are upper-middle class, and think they are wealthy (and usually spend as much as they make every year to keep that up, sometimes even more).
Disney offers none of this. I know some people will simply not get this statement, but there is really little difference from Pop Century to the Grand Floridian if you are looking for true luxury, or a real resort vacation, when comparing to a true luxury destination. At the GF, the rooms are a tiny bit bigger, things look a little classier, and you can rent some watercraft...which you don't even need to stay there to do. Yet Disney charges enormously high prices for what you get. When people ask what's the worst rip-off at WDW, those Deluxes and Suites and even the "Home Away From Home" stuff is so overpriced it's not even funny. You can rent a very nice condo, with your own yard, personal fenced-in, in-ground pool, jacuzzi, four bedrooms, everything brand new, within five miles of Disney for $150/night. Sure, you have to drive yourself to the parks, but honestly I'd much rather that than deal with those buses, plus sometimes being able to go to a real store or even just out of the "magic" for a bit can be a plus.
Heck, when I go alone, I've been known to stay for a few nights at the Motel 6 right outside the gates (it's actually the closest hotel to MGM, period, Disney property or not). I'm going to visit the parks, I need a place to sleep and shower. Even if you like to relax in your room, or want resort amenities, when you can stay so close to Disney at much nicer hotels than Disney offers for a fraction of the cost it's hard to justify it for anything but taking the monorail to the MK, and that's just not worth it for me.
As to Disney being low brow/high brow, well that's just in the eye of the beholder, and to be frank people that refer to anything as "low brow" are suspect to me. It's simply a social construction to make people feel better about their lot in life (one way or another). Some rich people love WDW, some poorer people love WDW, it has nothing to do with money. It has a lot to do with class - which money cannot buy (because some of the classiest people I have known have had a lower income, where some of the absolute trashiest people I have met/known could light their cigarettes with burning $100 bills and not think twice). If someone has class, they don't break things down into "low brow" and "high brow", they just experience life.
Now I didn't grow up (nor am I now) wealthy, but the community I live in is very well-known and considered a "posh" destination if you stay at the right places. (I talked to Tracy Ullman once, and when I said where I was from that was her exact word, "Oh, what a posh area!" LOL.) Like, real luxury resorts. No highrises, but places where people are pampered and coddled and they do everything except wipe your behind for you (and I'm sure that's available at an extra charge). People that stay in such places have what I refer to as "real money". That's opposed to those who are upper-middle class, and think they are wealthy (and usually spend as much as they make every year to keep that up, sometimes even more).
Disney offers none of this. I know some people will simply not get this statement, but there is really little difference from Pop Century to the Grand Floridian if you are looking for true luxury, or a real resort vacation, when comparing to a true luxury destination. At the GF, the rooms are a tiny bit bigger, things look a little classier, and you can rent some watercraft...which you don't even need to stay there to do. Yet Disney charges enormously high prices for what you get. When people ask what's the worst rip-off at WDW, those Deluxes and Suites and even the "Home Away From Home" stuff is so overpriced it's not even funny. You can rent a very nice condo, with your own yard, personal fenced-in, in-ground pool, jacuzzi, four bedrooms, everything brand new, within five miles of Disney for $150/night. Sure, you have to drive yourself to the parks, but honestly I'd much rather that than deal with those buses, plus sometimes being able to go to a real store or even just out of the "magic" for a bit can be a plus.
Heck, when I go alone, I've been known to stay for a few nights at the Motel 6 right outside the gates (it's actually the closest hotel to MGM, period, Disney property or not). I'm going to visit the parks, I need a place to sleep and shower. Even if you like to relax in your room, or want resort amenities, when you can stay so close to Disney at much nicer hotels than Disney offers for a fraction of the cost it's hard to justify it for anything but taking the monorail to the MK, and that's just not worth it for me.
As to Disney being low brow/high brow, well that's just in the eye of the beholder, and to be frank people that refer to anything as "low brow" are suspect to me. It's simply a social construction to make people feel better about their lot in life (one way or another). Some rich people love WDW, some poorer people love WDW, it has nothing to do with money. It has a lot to do with class - which money cannot buy (because some of the classiest people I have known have had a lower income, where some of the absolute trashiest people I have met/known could light their cigarettes with burning $100 bills and not think twice). If someone has class, they don't break things down into "low brow" and "high brow", they just experience life.
