Are the resort hotels really all that much better than the value resorts?

[dISNEYlOveer]

It depends when we go, if we are booking it, we do a moderate because they're nicer and usually quieter than the values. We don't spend a ton of time in the room, but it's nice to come back on a bus that isn't too full and have a quieter resort area. If our family from MA who are DVC members books it and we stay with them, then it's usually a deluxe villa because of all the people we have staying with us on those trips. The values are just too busy and loud at times and we don't have any small children traveling with us so it's not a big deal to be in that type of hotel. Now, I will say, we stayed at AoA two years ago and it was pretty nice. That one I would consider staying at again, but the others, no.

 

[MichelleWDWfan]

I have stayed at all 3 (value, moderate, deluxe). Most of our stays are at values, POP being our fave. The only reason we stayed at a deluxe (AKL) was a 1 night stay savanna room as a surprise for my sons graduation. We are out at parks all day and only at the resorts except to sleep and shower. No matter what hotel you stay at on property you can eat at any restaurant on property.
We stay at values and enjoy character meals at Gr. Floridian, Contemporary and the Poly, and many great restaurants on property.
If I were wealthy, sure I would stay at a more expensive hotel, but I stay at values and can afford to go more often. I love the theming at the value resorts

 

[CinderellaElla]

Deluxe vs value resorts are all a matter of what you want/need out of your vacation. Keep in mind there are also moderate resorts in between the deluxe and value resorts. My husband and I usually use the value resortds because we are always ones to stay at the parks all day and just use the resort for sleeping/resting/eating. On special occasions (like our anniversary coming up) we are FINALLY staying at the Grand Floridian for the first time as a special treat for 2 nights. We plan to make the most of what the hotel has to offer and not spend as much time at the parks on those 2 days.

 

[Jim Oakman]

only have done villas and they are amazing

 

[Hundredacre]

I think it depends on your personality. If it was up to me I would stay at the value resort every time. They are clean and cute and on site. But my husband hates them. He hates taking the bus everywhere (sometimes waits are long) and he hates that sometimes there are groups of teens. It is frustrating for me to have to pay more- a lot more- for a room you are not in very much. I agree with those who say stay on site. We have stayed off site at a variety of expensive hotels and it really ruins the entire disney experience.

 

[gorjus121]

We have a timeshare that we use to trade into local Orlando Marriotts. We love to extend our trip by a few days by staying on Disney property at the beginning of our trip. I utilize the special offers to get discounted rooms and it has made the Deluxe resorts more affordable. We have stayed at the Contemporary, Polynesian, and for the second time we are staying at the Yacht Club. We love the pool that the Yacht Club and Beach Club share. it's amazing. We also love the fact that we can walk right into Epcot or over to the Boardwalk.

 

[kimis]

Hubby and I always do the value resort POP. But we are there everyday at rope drop and stay through evening EMHs. So even though the value rooms aren't as big or fancy, it's simply a place to sleep. Plus the value resorts are like deluxes compared to off site motels, NEVER stay off property. The motels are used and abused, not worth the tiny amount of money you might save. We love POP bc it has its own dedicated buses, so no other stops, the restaurant there has pretty good food, I HIGHLY recommend the pot pie it's so good, and though not as grand, you are still immersed in all things Disney!!

thank you! My dh and I will be staying at POP in a few weeks for the first time in a value. We usually stay at POR but we have a smaller budget this trip. lol I was concerned with staying at a value but we decided we are only in our room to sleep usually so it should be okay. I appreciated reading your quote. Thank you!

 

[disneypolybride2008]

we have stayed at value resorts: Pop Century like 5 times, All Star Movies (food court not as good as Pop, frustrating how the busses stopped at the other all star resort, music.. years ago anyway.. so we always chose Pop as it had it's own bus, great food court, cute theming)... we also stayed at Caribbean Beach pirate room (so far away, frustrating to wait for an internal bus to take us to our room but then a nice guy drove us there on his own, very frustrating waiting and waiting which seemed rediculous for a bus to the parks, the pool was awesome but we didnt go in, just looked...the food court seemed abandoned so i didnt want to eat there.. i think we were the only ones in the whole place), and then the Polynesian when we got married (we were so impressed how you could tell it was such a classy place, everyone seemed happy and friendly, held the door for you nice, it was so upscale feeling, and a short ride to MK and Epcot... then we did Art of Animation when it first opened with DD on her first trip, it was great, loved the food court, hated the buses but it wasnt that bad b/c atleast the bus stop was first in line rather than the LAST stop like Pop was, and their pools were cute, DD loved the Ariel's room and splash pad... then just last October, we went to the Grand Floridian for the first time.. wow! now that is amazing. We had dined there and walked through it plenty of times, but staying there was amazing. The whole place was top notch. First, there were way less people than at the values. All the people again were friendly and all say hi to each other. We got a table by the pool to eat lunch and a waiter came over.. for quick service, nice! Took forever, but it was great and the food was made to order. AoA had some food that was dried out, not hot, on a few occasions. GF always makes to order. Their food court was small and perfect, barely ever crowded. They bring you your food, inside or out.. at their quick service and you can sit outside and see the castle.. at night and watch the fireworks. Never busy.. except the first morning for breakfast.. geez. Nothing like AoA or the values though. Their pools were immaculate. AoA had some foamy scuzz by the edge where the zero entry is. Gross. The padded flooring aroudn the splash area was all coming apart and looked horrible. Their beds were like sleeping on a crate. Noisy, hard and uncomfortable. Rooms were huge at Grand Floridian, beds were as good as you can get. Total luxury. Bell man eager to help. I phoned to get one to assist us getting a taxi to AoA, they asked how long i needed, and i said 10 min. they were there on the dot. Then DD had to go potty so they said we can meet up at the curb where they said they would have a taxi waiting for us.. and they did! How perfect. Then at AoA we get out and have to ask for a bellman to assist us.. they have to ask to see if there is someone available to help, nobody, so the man says he'll do it. .gee thanks.. and off we go. Then when we left AoA i called for a bellman, never came, so i had to call again, then they finally came another 20 minute wait.. making us worry about making our airline check-in.. just made it.

Yes it truely makes a difference. I dont know how we did it so many times at a value.. we were w/o kids, and younger i suppose. We were out early going to character meals, then all day and night at the parks, eating at the deluxe restaurants, came to the room to sleep and thought it was fine. I always loved Pop Century and was so excited about AoA, but since our not so nice experience at AoA we'll likely never do a value unless we can't afford anything else. Tickets are so much money.. now that this coming visit is our 10th trip.. 2nd with kids, we are just going to go deluxe, eat, and play in their gorgeous pools.. seeing characters at breakfast.. fireworks from the resort and leaving the chaos of the parks behind and saving $1000.

This April we are split staying at the Grand Floridian, we were just there, but it was so gorgeous i can't wait another year.. so we are doing 3 nights, then going over to the Yacht club, our first time there.. first time for their restaurants, strolling the boardwalk, renting a surrey bike, watercraft, and pool time..the grand floridian we got for $465 a night which is 30% off, as is the Yacht club at $365. Not too bad when you consider we are not getting park tickets, which saves $1000 for 2 adults and 1 kid, and not getting the dining plan. I'm paying out of pocket, hoping to not over eat, bringing water and snacks and DD's pbj, so it's actually a cheap trip. We got a good deal on flights too. When we stayed at AoA which the mermaid rooms are not discounted, got the dining plan, and park tickets it was $1000 more than what we are doing this trip.. which will be better and more relaxing.

 

[gummyfisho]

I have to agree, moderates really are the best of both worlds. especially the port orleans resorts. CBR AND CS can seem a bit more like values as far as crowd numbers go . Plus POFQ and POR have boat transportation to Disney Springs.

 

[kreckl]

We choose either a mod or deluxe, and often a split stay. Weather can be a factor- if you don't want to be confined in your room and have bad weather then deluxe offers more options and is so much better. I've been wanting to save $ and try a value for a few nights but we are not commando people and really want a good night's sleep and place to recharge and relax. Noisy rooms with uncomfortable beds worry me. We liked the food court options at CSR but it was quite a long walk from our preferred room to the pool. We prefer to be closer to dining options and pool and haven't found that at mods- plus navigating late at night is confusing and we have gotten lost several times! Maybe thats just us but all of the buildings look alike and on a dark rainy night- it was impossible.

 

[Gradeadork]

I have stayed at almost every resort and have found both advantages/disadvantages to each but it depends on the age of your kids, how much time you will be staying at the resort, and if you are on the dining plan. Whenever we do the table service dining plan, we like to stay at least at a moderate so we have a restaurant available. My favorite value is Art of Animation, moderate is Caribbean Beach, and deluxe is Animal Kingdom Lodge. On our next stay, I am going without my husband and my 12 year old is bringing a friend. This means I only need counter service meals and we will be at the park from opening until closing! The resort accommodations will be minimally used.

 

[AshleeH]

It's worth it for us - we always stay Deluxe. But it's not for everyone, and thank goodness it's not or we would have trouble booking our favorite hotel. We often stay at BLT. Some people think it's a waste of money - those tend to be the "I go to my room to sleep" vacationers. We are the vacationers who are out at rope drop, walk back to the hotel for a long midday break and swim. I usually take a nap or read, then we head back out for ADR's and nighttime in another park. And at least twice a week we try to be in the room somewhat early and sit out on the balcony - usually with some fun treat that we brought back with us (a cupcake from Starring Rolls, for instance) and enjoy watching Wishes from the balcony.

But the main selling point for us, it's location, location, location. That walkway to MK is worth it's weight in gold. We've been stuck in MK for hours waiting for a monorail at the end of the night - while MK is the go-to park, we are not going to make that mistake again. Now we're in bed within minutes of the park closing. I'm taking my daughter next year and we're going to stay at the Contemporary for this very reason - I don't want to have to deal with getting a toddler and stroller out of MK and onto a bus/monorail in the mad crush at the end of the day. Especially when we'll be in MK a lot that week.

 

[Dale Hancock]

We've done all three levels over the years, and yup, they all have the magic. If you and your party are all diehard fans, the Value rooms are fine.....you're just going to sleep. My wife is going because I AM, so our favorite place has become PORS. The landscaping is marvelous, it's quiet, and you can truly relax if you've had enough magic on a day. But being crazy about where to stay is part of the fun-enjoy!

 

[Leelo]

My DH and I LOVE the deluxe resorts. But we only stay there on special occasions due to cost.