Moderate/Deluxe resorts

[jennc2001]

Are they really worth the upgrade?


We always stay at a Value resort when we visit WDW. We're not planning on staying at a Moderate or Deluxe resort anytime soon, but we just looked to see how much they were and it would be approximately $1000 more for us to stay there for a week. Is it really worth paying that much extra???

 

[KanineKrunchies]

We have stayed at Deluxe, Moderate & DVC resorts but not at any value resorts. I agree with others that if you are using the resort to basically just sleep and shower then stick with the value.

One other perk of the deluxe resorts however is location and more transportation options. Maybe one day you can splurge to get the experience of some of the other resorts.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

The difference is space and amenities, and to us it's worth the extra cost. We are no longer park commandos. We enjoy the rooms and the pools as well as the parks. We get park hopper passes and split the days, coming back to the rooms for some down time, or hang out at the pool till it's time for dinner, then close the park with the late EMH. The teenagers are semi-park commandos, but still like pool lounging.
The Polynesian is starting to show it's age, but it's still our favorite deluxe. The French Quarter is our favorite moderate. Last year we did the Poly, but we just wanted some more space so that the two 16 year olds had some room, not to mention more room for us so we're doing the one room suite at Old Key West. The alternative would be two connecting rooms at the French Quarter. Next year.

We aren't park commandos anymore either. Just like you, we like to get out to the parks for a bit in the mornings, catch a rest back at the resort, then close the parks down later.

We've stayed at all three. A little about "us" (my wife and I). We spend most of our time in the parks, we enjoy using the pools to cool down. We do not travel with children. We ALWAYS rent a car (no buses for me, so transportation is usually a non-issue - i say usually because sometimes I prefer not to drive home after a day in Epcot if you catch my meaning). We are double income no kids so budget is normally not a major concern.

What we've found:

Pros to Deluxe: It was nice to walk to Epcot and take a boat to HS.

Negatives: Same quality rooms as moderate, same quality of food service, pools are no wetter than anywhere else.

Moderate Pros: Theming is as nice as the Deluxe (in my opinion), love POR. Very nicely themed and enjoyable pools. Rooms are nice.

Moderate Cons: A bit pricey if all you're doing is hanging at the Parks.

Value Pros: You're on resort, so you get the benefits that come with it. The rooms are clean and reasonably priced.

Value Cons: Crowded, can be loud.


For us we are generally willing to spend the extra money for a moderate. We find a big difference in quality and theming between them and the values. The deluxe resorts just don't warrant the significant increase in cost. My opinion, if you can afford it, get to a Moderate resort for better theming, restaurants, pools and slightly larger rooms. Skip the deluxe unless you really put a lot of value on riding a monorail, boat or walking to a park over renting a car.

BTW - a weekly car rental is usually about $175/week for an economy car. Much less expensive than paying $1000+ for an upgrade to a Deluxe, and parking on resort and at parks is free with any hotel on resort.

Agreed. We also have found a significant difference in our overall enjoyment staying at a moderate over a value.



We also have stayed at all 3 levels of resorts. Our first 4 trips we stayed at POP. Since then we've stayed at the Contemporary twice, POFQ twice, and Animal Kingdom Lodge. We now view staying at POP as a "only if we have to" place to stay (noooo desire to ever stay at an All-Star). We found that we really do enjoy the atmosphere of all the other resorts we've stayed in a lot better than POP. Everything is just nicer. It's less-hectic & chaotic.

People say all the time that they don't see the reasoning to spend extra money to stay anywhere other than a value resort since they are hardly ever at their resort. We used to think that, too, when we stayed at POP and were more of the park commando type. I can honestly say, especially with the deluxes, that we do spend more time enjoying our room and resort now because we want to. It's fun. It's relaxing. It adds another dimension to the overall vacation for us.

Just another perspective for ya. No matter what you choose it'll be fun. It's Disney!:wave:

 

[kittybubbles]

Aren't the MODs starting to switch to queen beds? I know we booked Coronado for our upcoming trip partially because the room description mentioned queen sized beds.

Anyway, we mainly go for three day weekends and often stay at a Value. We have stayed at deluxes and moderates as well. We would stay at Pop a lot but we started getting put in the back of 90's a few times and it just seemed like a long walk to the main building.

We then feel in love with POFQ as it is so small that there are no rooms that a far from anything.

But we tend to chose between a Value and a MOD. Often the advantage to us is a slightly larger room and the mini-fridge. Often, to fool ourselves a little on the cost difference between a MOD and a value, we will look at the rate for a preferred room w/ a mini-fridge at a value and compare it to a standard room at a MOD (not that we would chose a preferred if a standard was available, nor would we pay for the use of a mini-fridge)....we just think it helps us justify the cost difference between a MOD and a value....and if the MODs have queen beds, that is worth something as well.

 

[duran385]

Like everyone else i would say it depends on how much time you plan on spending in your resort. The only thing that i noticed that was much better was rooms are a tad bit bigger at the mods and main pools were much nicer.

 

[britdaw]

Most people here will end up telling you it comes down to your budget and preferences. And that is pretty much the truth.

When I was booking our trip for August, the difference in price for 5 nights/6days at a value versus a moderate was something like $300 -$400 bucks? It really wasn't that much. I enjoy the extra space; nothing I hate more than a cramped hotel room with everyones stuff all over the place and nowhere to walk when I have to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. So we went for it and chose POFQ over POP.
I had REALLY wanted to upgrade us to a deluxe. Our touring style really doesn't leave us with much time at the hotel room, so it's not really about theming, or 'upscale' quality for us. For me, I'd want to stay at a delux for LOCATION. It just depends on your family/group. Unfortunately, to upgrade to a deluxe from a moderate, it was over $1,400 difference, which was something we just couldn't swing. So the moderate worked best for us.

Everyone here has good advice and insight into the "value" of each resort. But truthfully, it comes down to what you and your family need/want/can afford.

Great advice here... I definitely agree with that last part, in bold. There are a lot of people here who can give pros and cons to anything you ask about, and it's all wonderful advice. But in the end, if you would rather save the money for the trip and stay at a value resort, then do it. Most people at Disney don't spend much time at their resort, and if this is the case for you, I don't know if it would be worth it to upgrade, especially if your budget is pretty tight. However, if you can afford to upgrade and you plan on spending a little time at your resort, to enjoy the pools or ammenities, though, why not upgrade?

 

[phardin]

I think it's worth staying at a moderate over a value for the smaller bus lines at the end of the day. Getting out of the parks is a lot quicker at the end of the day.

 

[durangojim]

I think it's worth staying at a moderate over a value for the smaller bus lines at the end of the day. Getting out of the parks is a lot quicker at the end of the day.

We primarily prefer to stay at deluxes because we're the type that go back to the resort mid day to go for a swim, let our kids take a nap, and just relax a bit before heading out to the parks again in the evening. We find that the ambience and amenities of deluxes (usually BC and WL) allow us to do this best. We did stay at PORS and had a horrible time, primarily because of the abysmal bus service. We also did not find the amenities to be anywhere nearly as nice as those in the deluxe resorts. After that trip, we decided we'd never stay at a moderate again. We have stayed at Pop twice and really love it for when we want to go on a cheap Disney vacation. We don't feel that Pop is trying to be a deluxe but isn't (which is how we felt at PORS) and with discounts is a good value. Pop also had the best bus service of any resort, value, moderate, or deluxe, that we've ever stayed at.

 

[MMCoffman]

Do Moderate!

We've stayed at All Star Sports and at Coronado Springs. I don't believe the difference was any where near $1000. Now the Deluxe are a huge price upgrade. We loved CSR over All Star Sports, the pool was better, the room was enough bigger and the beds were queen not double (which is a big deal to us). We went during free dining to make it really all worth it!

If you are going in September for example, the price difference between value and mod is $200 for 5 days, I'd say that IS worth it!! However, like others mentioned it has to be in your budget

Enjoy your visit!

 

[MouseDreaming]

I think it also depends on where "in time" your family is. If my DS was 6, and my DD was 1, we would totally try a value. But, when your traveling party has a 7 yr old DD, and a 12 yr old DS, paying a little more for queen size beds...well, you don't even think twice about it. Love POFQ after the refurb!

 

[Goofy6294]

Everyone is going to have a different opinion, and everyone is right in their opinion because they are doing what is most comfortable for them. My two cents: I've stayed in the PORS on my honeymoon, and the POP once/CR twice with kids. My boys are 8 & 3. Their only concern is MK. We tend to be out of the park before the fireworks, and we love the convenience of a monorail resort. We felt like cattle at the POP due to its size. For us there is nothing better than coming back to the room after a long day in the park, giving the kids a quick bath, watching fireworks from the balcony and then walking two feet to get to our room versus fighting the crowds trying to leave MK. So for us right now, it's CR. Although, my relaxation meter instantly went up a couple clicks after walking into the GF for the first time on our last trip for a breakfast reservation....