Moderates vs Value

[thewdwguru]

In general, what are the differences in Values vs Mod's? Longer bus ride to parks? smaller rooms? etc? I will be going in Dec with my 2 year old. Would it better to stay at the mods or values for his naps? etc? I prefer to stay at the contemp but I cant afford $300+ a night!

Thanks

 

[Erika]

Values have smaller rooms and no sit-down restaurants (food courts only). But they are themed with small kids in mind. You might prefer a moderate resort but I don't think your son would appreciate it as much.

The length of the bus trips depends on how close you are to each particular park... for example, the All Stars have a longer trip to the MK but a shorter ride to MGM.

 

[Yellow Shoes]

The rooms at a value are smaller, but with only 2 of you, it won't feel cramped.

Transportation at values or mods is going to be by bus. As Ericka said, it depends on how far the resort is from the park. (And remember that Animal Kingdom Lodge is a deluxe, but is a far from MK, so that ride will be long.)

If you are concerned about noise at naptime, I would suggest that you request the top floor so there is less traffic outside your door, and no noise above your ceiling.

At 2 years old, ANY pool is fun. Pop Century has a squirting fountain area by the 70's buildings that I think a toddler would love.

 

[Yellow Shoes]

Sorry about the duplicate post.

How DID I do that?

 

[GoofyMom2]

The values do have smaller rooms, I know the Unofficial Guide has room sizes etc, maybe also on allearsnet.com. This site has tons of info on each resort, including photos. This site might help you with a decision.

With a 2 yr old, I can't imagine a sit-down rest. would be too important at the resort, since the food courts have a good selection for kids (and adults!). We stayed at ASMovies and the kids just loved the themeing, plus there were some great photo ops. Really made us feel that we had arrived in Disney.

Personally, I am a penny pincher in some areas so I can splurge on others. Value resort would save you some money in that area so maybe then you will have extra for some character meals, souvinears, etc.

Good luck and have a Magical time! :wave:

 

[wired]

We liked the mod resort CB. Rooms are nice size, plenty of room to setup a paknplay. We also liked the rooms being split up in different buildings that they were quieter then others, and for the most part each cluster of buildings has their own pool. Though some don't care for the walk to get to the dining, food court, and shop, we liked the short walk in the morning or evening, nice theming.

TW

 

[HauntedPirate]

Value Resorts - rooms around 200 sq ft. Smaller bathrooms. Noisier. Lots of families with small or younger children. Great theming. Food courts are awesome. Buses can sometimes be shared at the All-Stars, but bus service is typically great.

Moderate Resorts - rooms around 275-300 sq ft. Two sinks/mirrors. Quieter. Buildings a bit more spread out. A bit more elegance in the theming. A sometimes older crowd. Restaurants and food courts. Buses aren't necessarily worse, but I haven't stayed at a Moderate for several years.

And I won't have any updated info on these resorts in the foreseeable future - We're DVC members now. :sohappy:

 

[AshAlytwins]

We have stayed in both...and for the amount of time(small) that you spend at the room, the value's are the way to go. You give a bit on luxury, but have extra cash to use in the park's. The Sport's rooms were big enough for 11 year-old twin girls my Husband and me...we were quite comfy. We are trying the Pop Century at the beginning of December and look forward to it!!!

 

[thewdwguru]

Any differences in the Pop Century and the All Stars? Preferences? Thanks

 

[rolm]

Smaller rooms, less towels, plastic drinking cups, soap dispensor, no coffee machine, no fridge, 1 sink, and in the Allstars Music there was a food court with a place to sit. We prefer the moderates, primarily Coronado Springs Resort. Have fun!

 

[shoppingnut]

Any differences in the Pop Century and the All Stars? Preferences? Thanks

Pop doesn't share its buses with anyone else. All Stars the buses are shared between the three resorts (music, sports and movies), although this is not the case for MK, where the three resorts have separate buses.

 

[csm7030]

We usually stay at the All Stars, but we down this past weekend and stayed at Pop Century for the first time. As others have pointed out, Pop Century to off by itself and does not share its buses with any others resorts. All three of the All Stars share buses and they are more crowded and make more stops before getting where you are headed. We also noticed that Pop Century seemed a little more quiet and the food court was a little nicer. They have a nice bar area inside and a coffee/dessert shop. They also seem to have a nicer pool bar that is a little larger than those at the All Stars.

We have stayed at the Carribean Beach and the Polynesian before, and would love to stay at the Contemporary and the Grand Floridian, but would rather stay at a value resort and make more frequent trips. We plan to stay at Pop Century again at the beginning of December.

 

[shoppingnut]

I also forgot to mention that they tend to put the school groups (bands, etc.) in All Stars and not in Pop. Pop is also newer.

 

[col]

i would say with a 2 year old a value resort would be good you can choose from the all star resorts and pop century.
i have stayed at the all star sports and loved it, its great but i havent stayed at pop century yet (i will be in december ). even though i loved all star sports . if you do decide to stay at a all star resorts and you have a child with you its not ideal because of the bus system because they stop off at the other all star resorts then go to the parks. but the themeing is great and colourful any child would love it. do as everyone has suggested ask for a rooms on the middle or top floor to avoid any noise. when i was there i was on the bottom floor in the american football section- right in front of the football field and it was really cool seeing men playing american football with other people they didnt know and a lot of kids where joining in.
as for pop century i havent visited there yet but it looks great and i only have 66 days left :xmas: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[daverube]

I'm done penny pinching. Thought Pop-Century and All-Star Movies had nice rooms (at least for 2), my g/friend and I aren't satisfied with the level of, for lack of a better made-up word, "commonness" of the people we interacted with who were also staying there. I'm not elitist, by far, but I don't believe small children should be out running around and being loud, be it in the pool or outside their room, after 9pm. Plus, we had problems with folks talking on their phones or to each other outside our room at night.

We're upgrading. It might mean that we don't visit as often (usually 4 or so nights per year), but I think it will be a better experience. Trust me, I don't think everything will be perfect at the other, higher priced resorts, just a little more private.

I'm glad Disney offers a value resort to folks who want to experience the Greatest Place on Earth, we've just decided to upgrade. Obviously, this post is not meant to offend anyone.

 

[Goofy36]

It all depends on what frills you're looking for. Value resorts do less in the way of theming and food. Moderates are better with a better feel to them and usually better pools (I found FQ's pool to be on par with ASMo's.)

You should also consider how much time you'll spend at the resort versus the parks. If you can stay all day in a park why would you need to spend a lot on your room?

Transportation all depends on proximity or resort to your destination.

 

[bgraham34]

If i am low on funds I will stay at a value resort. It does not bother me too much. Because you just basically sleep there. Unless you plan on using the pool and then another place with less kids is ideal for me.

 

[Erika]

I'm done penny pinching. Thought Pop-Century and All-Star Movies had nice rooms (at least for 2), my g/friend and I aren't satisfied with the level of, for lack of a better made-up word, "commonness" of the people we interacted with who were also staying there. I'm not elitist, by far, but I don't believe small children should be out running around and being loud, be it in the pool or outside their room, after 9pm. Plus, we had problems with folks talking on their phones or to each other outside our room at night.

We're upgrading. It might mean that we don't visit as often (usually 4 or so nights per year), but I think it will be a better experience. Trust me, I don't think everything will be perfect at the other, higher priced resorts, just a little more private.

I'm glad Disney offers a value resort to folks who want to experience the Greatest Place on Earth, we've just decided to upgrade. Obviously, this post is not meant to offend anyone.

Be forewarned, you'll find that at probably any resort. There were kids running aound outside at CB long past 9 pm when we were there, and I've had friends run into that at the deluxe resorts as well.

Often a trip to Florida includes a pretty drastic time zone change which does not help matters either.

 

[SheenaXena]

If you value your sleep, don't stay at the value resorts. We stayed at the Pop a month ago. It was great staying at Disney and the rooms weren't as bad as I thought. But, you can hear the people next door, coughing, morning wake-up calls, talking. I would stay there again, but I didn't get one good night's rest. (My aunt's snoring played a good part too!):lol: The food court was good, crowded all the time, but good food. The buses weren't that bad. When you go to MK, DRIVE!!!!! If you stay at the value, expect to walk the farthest. A long way when you've been in the park all day! Hope this helps. Our next stay will be at the mod or deluxe.

 

[NeedABreak]

Pop Century is my personal fav. We stayed at the CB and really loved it but now that I'm all grown up and paying for all this myself a value resort was the best option.

Take a look at your budget, would staying at a moderate limit your spending on food, at least one night with a sitter (gotta hit PI), and other things?

If you do go for the Moderate we check out the port orleans riverside and it also looks great.

Enjoy your trip!

just 22 days for me!