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

We typically stay Deluxe (DVC) but thought it would be fun to try as many different resorts as possible over the coming years. We often get into town early so grab something for a night or two leading up to our DVC stay. The first time that we stayed at POP we decided never again. Mods are fine, value was out of the question. That being said, this week we ran into the same situation and decided to give POP a 2nd chance with the renovated rooms and it was very nice. The larger beds are much better and we enjoyed the decor. It was only for one night and we did find it quite a bit louder in the room which I would not really want for a longer stay but we will gladly try out the different value resorts once they are updated.
 
We've done all levels and will again. We do Deluxe (own DVC), have done moderate and values. We can do Deluxe, but find when we aren't using our DVC we would rather save the $ to use on other things. It's all in the eye of the beholder.
 
Well we can afford deluxe but honestly enjoy the Pop and the moderates more. That may sound crazy to some but last time we stayed at the Poly I was disappointed. I just feel like the deluxe resorts are not as fun and I miss the big food court areas that the values and moderates have. I would also rather use that extra $300 a night on something else. We have stayed at Yacht Club, Contemporary, Poly, Animal Kingdom and Wilderness Lodge and honestly Wilderness Lodge is the only one I would return to. My favorite is POFQ and Pop. Now with that being said when we do Universal we always do Deluxe because of the included express pass that comes with staying there. That alone is worth its weight in gold. But if not for that we would be staying at their Value Cabana Bay Beach Resort because again I just find those types of resorts more fun! To each their own :)
 


One thing I dislike about a lot of deluxe resorts is that some of them are almost an "attraction" themselves. I mentioned earlier in the thread that I am not a fan of Polynesian. It just seems so chaotic to me; not only are the actual guests of the hotel there, but also other onsite/offsite guests there to eat at 'Ohana or the dinner show, people there to watch fireworks on the beach, people there just to see the resort, etc. I've never stayed at Grand Floridian, and thought my "dream trip" involved a stay at Royal Palm club level. But our last trip in December we stopped by to see the gingerbread house and realized just how many other people go just to visit the resort (yes, I realize we were part of that "problem.") It was just so loud and crowded in the lobby, now I'm not so sure I want to stay there. Moderates don't get that kind of chaos.

People say this a lot, but after a week at the Poly last fall, I didn’t think it was chaotic at all. We stayed in Rarotonga, which is literally right next to the lobby, and we didn’t notice hordes of non resort guests. To be fair, it might be different around the holidays. But the only time we really felt impacted or annoyed by people visiting the resort was the one morning we ate breakfast at Capt Cook’s before MK rope drop, it was a little nuts. Even then, I can’t say it was any worse than some of the videos I’ve seen of food courts at the Values and Mods in the AM—I’d venture to say there are probably way more people crowding those vs people visiting the Poly, given the much higher number of rooms in most of those resorts. It’s kind of a wash, really. And the thing is, at most Deluxes you have alternatives. If Capt. Cook’s is a madhouse there’s always Kona Island for coffee/tea and pastries, which is what we did most mornings (we are not huge breakfast people).

But we had no problems with getting peace and quiet, enjoying relaxing strolls on the beach and around the marina, quiet pool time. Even fireworks are not crowded if you know the best spot (tip: it’s not right in front of Pineapple Lanai where everybody goes). One night we found a nice little spot to watch the Water Pageant that was basically deserted. We skipped the ‘Ohana insanity by getting it as room service.

I mean, there’s a lot of reasons not to stay at a Deluxe if that’s not your thing, but people visiting them isn’t a factor for me. Chaos is relative; I see what the breakfast rush looks like at those food courts and to me it’s a panic attack waiting to happen. But I’ve also never stayed at Values or Mods, so someone who does may have a different view. The great thing about Disney is there’s a resort for virtually everyone. I was sick for the latter half of that Poly trip, and cancelled our 50s Primetime ADR one night because I just couldn’t go back to DHS. We ended up getting room service again and it was fantastic. It’s little things like that which make Deluxes worthwhile to us, besides the convenience of location. But we’d never pay rack rate to do so. We stay at a steep discount through a TA that does convention blocks.
 
Before marriage + kid: we'd stay offsite, rent a car, and do the park commando thing from rope drop to close. It was cheapest from a hotel + food point of view. Plus we had tons of youthful energy.

After marriage + kid: Deluxe or bust. The luxury of not worrying about folding up a stroller with a sleeping kid is amazing, as is close access to parks. We did one trip when the kid was 3 months old offsite, and it was great, but since then we returned at 7 months old (Yacht Club), 14 months old (Disneyland Hotel in CA), and 18 months old (Beach Club before cruise and Grand Floridian after) and the convenience has been worth the cost.

The lifestyle inflation was only allowed by me because our incomes doubled, we paid off all of our debts, increased retirement contributions, built savings, and still had some room in the budget to afford Deluxe. If we were still paying off debts or saving only a little for retirement, we wouldn't even consider Deluxe.
 


While we still have kids who nap, Deluxe will always be worth it to me because we end up spending a lot of time in the resort, the rooms are nicer to hang out in while the little one sleeps, and you can get your sleeping kid there in their stroller on the monorail from MK and Epcot. But, we take shorter trips (never more than 5 days) and only visit WDW every 2-3 years. If we went annually for 7 day trips I would definitely consider a hotel like POFQ.
 
We have stayed in values and mods on some trips and loved them all for different reasons. All WDW resorts are awesome and can serve a purpose for anyone.
Some of. our reasons:
Value - for a nice resort onsite without breaking the bank, great for theme park intensive trips, fun themes for children and young at heart
Moderate - beautiful grounds, nice for lots of TP time, but also nice when wanting to be outside walking around the resort, middle budget
Deluxe - nice when you expect to spend time relaxing at the resort and less time in the parks or have strollers or mobility/health issues, cost can be limiting factor

Finally, we like to try somewhere new or where we haven't stayed in a while. It's fun checking out the little Disney touches that can be found in the. resorts. We find the CMs at all levels to be kind, engaging, helpful and a large part of the magic. The important thing is to go in with realistic expectations and not expect a deluxe experience at a value resort.

We used to do split stays mixing in a value or mod to make the overall trip affordable, while staying deluxe for the most part. So we actually mixed up deluxe and value and moderate all the time. Now with the new FP+ rules making split stays much less valuable, we will probably only stay in deluxe CL with a portion of our stay offsite to save $$$. That way, we can book the CL FP+ and forget the length of stay. Plus, we can experience some of the really great offsite resorts and restaurants that we have been missing for some time now. 2 nights deluxe CL will give us three days of FP+ which will be enough for us. Time for us to check out Universal and other Florida attractions. WDW has now become too complicated/ busy/expensive to be our single Florida destination.
 
Yes, I've done it, but NEVER again! I had put aside the money to stay at a moderate (OK not a deluxe), but at the last minute had this great (actually terrible) idea to try AS Music because DS is a musician and "wouldn't it be fun!" I hated every minute I was there-in all honesty, it was college break, though, and the resort was full of college kids with non-Disney language. I could just envision them sitting around the dorm saying "Hey, let's go to WDW and see how many we can cram into a hotel room, and party all week!"
 
We usually stay at a deluxe, but we did stay at Pop once. While the theming of the resort was fun, the room was way too small and the lines for the buses were insanely long. The food available in the food court was not good at all and the tables and self service areas were dirty. Some of the soda machines were not working and it was just a loud, chaotic experience. The resort seemed very crowded, and I would never stay there again except for maybe one night if I was coming in late or couldn't get my deluxe for that night. So, if you can afford deluxe, definitely book that.
 
I've watched online videos of the current Values & Moderates and I don't think I want to stay there. I don't even want to stay at the DVC properties. I would rather not go to Disney than having to stay at those aforementioned resorts. Sorry!
 
Family of 5, have NOT stayed at a Deluxe. We have stayed at POR and POFQ several times and love it but wanted to try something different. We booked Carribean Beach for our trip in August '18 - HATED it! Yes, it was under construction but we expected that - it was the busses. There is a bus to get around the resort, another bus to get to the parks, and all of the busses took forever just to get around Carribean Beach. My wife was so unhappy she took the bus back to the check in building to see if we could get move to a different resort while I took the kids to the pool. FWIW - the pool was fine, but we liked the one at POR better. We were able to get a suite at AoA and Disney was super cool about getting us moved over. LOVED it! We had heard horror stories about the busses there but it was great. We almost always got a seat for everyone and the wait times were fine - better than we found at any of the Moderates. The AoA pools did not have a slide so that was a bit of a bummer. We loved the suite and having 2 bathrooms has become a necessity now that we have done that. Would definitely stay there again.
 
Some of these responses just baffle me. I’ve never once stayed at any Disney Resort (I’ve stayed at all levels from deluxe down to Value) that I have had these issues at. I’ve never found any of them to be dirty. Maybe I’ve just been lucky. This is Disney! I’m happy to be staying onsite no matter what “class” of resort I’m staying at. I really think it depends on who you ask. I think there are a lot of people out there that just think they are (for lack of a better phrase) “too good” for value so they go into it with low expectations, looking for anything negative they can find. Just my opinion.
 
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I didn't read all of the replies.

We can afford deluxe, but we do love POP and like staying there. I would never pay rack rate for deluxe. I don't think they are worth that.

I switched our WL booking to POP for Thanksgiving week. We saved $2000 by doing so. We will be happy there and even happier with that money back in our pocket.

We are staying at AKL for the first time this July and I am very excited about it. Got a great deal renting DVC points :)

I do not like moderates. Stayed at POR once. NEVER again.
 
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 love the location and balconies as well. BC and WL are our favorites. Being able to walk over to Epcot in minutes from BC, or hop a boat over to MK from WL is the opposite of stressful. I love being able to stand on our balcony and watch fireworks, or have a view of the Boardwalk.

When we used to go as a big family group, we’d stay in the All Stars or CBR, even once at Fort Wilderness. They were fun, and little time was spent in the room. Now, we spend time in our room and at our resort and often split our day up- with a shorter/half park day mixed with dinner near our resort, pool time, a golf or water park day.

We like the Villas with in-room kitchen and laundry facilities, so that we can eat some meals in and travel with less. The soaking tubs are a treat after long days on your feet.

My sister always stays in CBR and my FIL last stayed at POP. We realize that we like the peace at WL, and the quiet pools in the Deluxes are almost a private pool.

I look for the best price available, but the hotel is part of my vacation experience and at this point we wouldn’t choose a value or moderate unless someone else was paying for my trip. If someone else is taking me to Disney- all’s good.
 
We compromised for CBR in 2017 because DH "didn't want to wake up and feel like a cartoon exploded in the room". Fair enough Disney was my idea for vacation. It was worth having a pool with slide and sand to play in since we took midday breaks. DH napped and DD8 swam or played with other kids. The only thing I didn't care for was driving to all the parks because DH didn't want to ride buses. He had agreed to drive sometimes but then when he saw traffic decided not to. This year we've upgraded to Poly so I can skip driving anywhere for at least 6 of the 10 days. We have resort and midday breaks planned again so there will still be enough for DD10 to do. And if she gets bored who's to say DH can't hop the monorail and meet up with us after his nap?
 
I want to preface my response my stating I have never stayed at a deluxe or a moderate resort. I have always stayed at values. However, I am going to stay at Coronado Springs for the first time as my first moderate in June because it has the gym amenity which I need to help train for my career. My point is, while I don't have issues with the values and never will, I will always need Coronado Springs (or a hotel with a gym) to help with my profession. Part of the decision of hotel is about amenities.
 
I didn't read all of the replies.

We can afford deluxe, but we do love POP and like staying there. I would never pay rack rate for deluxe. I don't think they are worth that.

I switched our WL booking to POP for Thanksgiving week. We saved $2000 by doing so. We will be happy there and even happier with that money back in our pocket.

We are staying at AKL for the first time this July and I am very excited about it. Got a great deal renting DVC points :)

I do not like moderates. Stayed at POR once. NEVER again.

what did you dislike about por?
 

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