In your opinion what makes Moderate resorts worth the $ if

[rebelbuddhist]

We don’t swim in public pools.
We don’t spend much time at resort other than to shower and sleep.
We don’t eat at the resort other than our final, check-out day

So, is there anything that makes a moderate resort worth the significant upcharge from a value resort in your opinion?

 

[kenthanson]

I'll tell you in two weeks after we do our first moderate stay after being value resort fans for the last decade. I would have rather booked a value but late booking had all of the values booked solid and Coronado springs had a good price.

 

[Haley R]

We don’t swim in public pools.
We don’t spend much time at resort other than to shower and sleep.
We don’t eat at the resort other than our final, check-out day

So, is there anything that makes a moderate resort worth the significant upcharge from a value resort in your opinion?

I would say based off of what you just said to do a value. If you're not going to be in your room that much or use the dining/pool amenities there isn't much of a reason to pay more for a moderate.

 

[TinkOhio]

The beds, room size, thin walls, and bus service are the real difference in my opinion. Beds at the All Stars are very uncomfortable. If we stay for more than a night or two at the All Stars, it takes a hot shower and some Motrin to get rid of the back aches every morning. The walls are sometimes very thin, and the rooms are smaller. Waits for busses at the values in our experience have been much longer than waits at the mods.

That said, the new rooms at Pop are really nice! They rival the mod rooms in many ways now. The new queen beds are great! If not hanging out at the resort much, I would save the money and stay in a renovated room at the Pop.

 

[fla4fun]

I have stayed at both mods and values. To me, the biggest differences are things that don't matter so much to the OP - the slide and hot tub in the pool area, access to a TS restaurant at the resort, and a larger room with guaranteed queen beds. If all you need is someplace to sleep and shower, go for the cheapest room you can and spend the savings on other experiences.

I do spend a lot of time enjoying my resort, so the resort amenities are important. I don't like the All Star Resorts much, but I do stay at Pop and AoA. I think in many respects they rival a moderate resort as far as atmosphere, and with Pop's renovations, bed size is no longer an issue. But if I could stay at either Pop in a new renovated room or POFQ without a huge variance in price, I would pick POFQ in a heartbeat. I really like the atmosphere and theming there, and the larger room size is a plus.

 

[mco65]

If our last kid had arrived solo, we likely would be staying at Values more than we do Mods... and we swim almost every night. I love the Pool at POP...
We stay at Mods because they are cheaper than Deluxes and we need the extra bed. Otherwise, i see very little difference between the values and Mods... certainly not enough to warrant and extra 1k in lodging.. JMO

 

[dansdad]

We don’t swim in public pools.
We don’t spend much time at resort other than to shower and sleep.
We don’t eat at the resort other than our final, check-out day

So, is there anything that makes a moderate resort worth the significant upcharge from a value resort in your opinion?

Here are the things that make it worth it to us. Now, most of these will be moot because of what you posted above and by the room refurbs going on at Pop.

Larger rooms
Queen beds
Double sinks
Ceiling fans
Coffee maker
Multiple covered bus stops
Pool slides
Hot tubs
Table service restaurant
Lusher grounds
More laid back relaxed atmosphere

Again, OP asked for opinions and in our opinion these amenities make the price difference worth it to us.

 

[sponica]

If it's a time of year when the parks are open past 9, then I'm fine with a value. (you have to pry me out of MK when it's open super late). If it's a time of year when the parks close down at 9, I like having a lounge/bar to get some adult beverages and the option of a decent TS even if I don't use it.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

For us, it would be bed size and noise levels. If we can't get a good night's sleep, our park days are ruined (been there, done that). I will always spend more to try, as best I can, to ensure we all get a good night's sleep.

 

[bluejasmine]

I use to tell my clients that moderate and deluxes were for ppl who were planning on spending a little to a lot of time at the resorts, even if its to take an afternoon break and swim or take a night off to relax..
After years of WDW vacations I learned that my family (now just DH and I) do better with mid day breaks of swimming and relaxing for an hour or two shower and come back to parks for dinner,rides and fireworks, it feels more like a vacation and our attitudes seem to be better than when we are tired and hot lol

 

[mickeynut1]

Here are the things that make it worth it to us. Now, most of these will be moot because of what you posted above and by the room refurbs going on at Pop.

Larger rooms
Queen beds
Double sinks
Ceiling fans
Coffee maker
Multiple covered bus stops
Pool slides
Hot tubs
Table service restaurant
Lusher grounds
More laid back relaxed atmosphere

Again, OP asked for opinions and in our opinion these amenities make the price difference worth it to us.

 

[SarahC97]

I was surprised at just how large of a difference there is between vales and mods. We're a value family, but we stayed for the first time at a moderate and really liked it. The beds are larger, the rooms are larger, there are double sinks in the bathroom, the bus stops are more convenient, and the overall atmosphere of the resort is just nicer. We're not opposed to values, but the bus stop situation was a real eye opener for me and I definitely prefer that over the setup at the values.

 

[Shellyb84]

Here are the things that make it worth it to us. Now, most of these will be moot because of what you posted above and by the room refurbs going on at Pop.

Larger rooms
Queen beds
Double sinks
Ceiling fans
Coffee maker
Multiple covered bus stops
Pool slides
Hot tubs
Table service restaurant
Lusher grounds
More laid back relaxed atmosphere

Again, OP asked for opinions and in our opinion these amenities make the price difference worth it to us.

Pretty much all of this, except I don't care about the coffee maker in the room.

We spend a lot of time at our resort so the pools and food options are very important to us. I do love Pop though and sometimes choose it over a mod.

 

[Kingdome8]

For you. It doesn’t sound worth it. If it wasn’t for 60 day fast pass I’d say stay off site.
For us hotel is half the fun. For instance port orleans was great. Great pool and slide. Food court was amazing. Rode bikes. Just liked he big resort feel of waking up and walking for coffees.

We stayed at pop. Was just loud and crowded feel to it. But we do like to spend a day or two at resort and hang out.

 

[hsmamato2]

for you? not much difference and Id book value if that were me.... they're perfectly fine for what you want OP I like mods and higher b/c i spend a lot of time hanging atmy resort,and while values are ok, the mods and up are better for that.

 

[AngiTN]

We don’t swim in public pools.
We don’t spend much time at resort other than to shower and sleep.
We don’t eat at the resort other than our final, check-out day

So, is there anything that makes a moderate resort worth the significant upcharge from a value resort in your opinion?

We don't swim typically because DH doesn't know how. If DGD is with us we might swim a day or two but it's not a focus
We don't eat at the resort because we prefer TS
We mostly just sleep at the resort
We still always stay Mod or Deluxe because sleep is what they do best. Walls are thinner at the Value resorts. Beds are horrible. Even the towels and toilet paper are lower quality.
We do single nights at a Value when we fly in really late, and then move to the main resort for the rest of our stay. I am always reminded quickly why I don't stay our entire trip at the Value resorts.

 

[Arielfan98]

I have never stayed at a moderate or deluxe for the same reasons you've listed above; However, I am considering upgrading to a moderate for my Disneymoon (whenever that comes along ). The only resort I can justify spending the extra $$ on is the AKL Savannah view rooms. I cannot recall any U.S hotel room that offers this up-close experience. I will never travel to the Savannah of Africa, so why not here?

 

[loves to dive]

We don't swim typically because DH doesn't know how. If DGD is with us we might swim a day or two but it's not a focus
We don't eat at the resort because we prefer TS
We mostly just sleep at the resort
We still always stay Mod or Deluxe because sleep is what they do best. Walls are thinner at the Value resorts. Beds are horrible. Even the towels and toilet paper are lower quality.
We do single nights at a Value when we fly in really late, and then move to the main resort for the rest of our stay. I am always reminded quickly why I don't stay our entire trip at the Value resorts.

This is pretty much us as well although we do spend time at the pool because my son has back problems and the hot tub helps. We don't swim in the pools except maybe to dip in and cool off but the hot tub and refreshing adult beverage is a must most days.

 

[rebelbuddhist]

I have never stayed at a moderate or deluxe for the same reasons you've listed above; However, I am considering upgrading to a moderate for my Disneymoon (whenever that comes along ). The only resort I can justify spending the extra $$ on is the AKL Savannah view rooms. I cannot recall any U.S hotel room that offers this up-close experience. I will never travel to the Savannah of Africa, so why not here?

I would guess on a Disneymoon one probably would spend more (lots) of time at the resort so the upcharge to a moderate would be beneficial.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

For you. It doesn’t sound worth it. If it wasn’t for 60 day fast pass I’d say stay off site.
For us hotel is half the fun. For instance port orleans was great. Great pool and slide. Food court was amazing. Rode bikes. Just liked he big resort feel of waking up and walking for coffees.

We stayed at pop. Was just loud and crowded feel to it. But we do like to spend a day or two at resort and hang out.

This is us too, we've done value but mod is where it's at for us even on trips when we are hardly at the resort. Even if we only do one half day at the resort or only one midday trip back to the resort during our entire stay, the mod is worth every penny to me. I found POP way too chaotic and the stay is just not as enjoyable. The grounds, the space and the serenity at POR and other moderates are worth it to me!!!