Downgrading WL to Value???

[Disney71]

Hi All -

DH and I are going over our upcoming plans, and we are contemplating changing our WL ressies to a value resort. We would be saving about $1200 if we change. I know that is a good chunk of money - and we are trying to save everywhere we can right now (who isn't I guess, lol).

We would be renting a car no matter where we stay, so transportation isn't that much of an issue. Although, we did love being able to take the boat to MK from WL. We have stayed at CBR in the past and our only major complaint was the bus system.

We have two questions I hope you all can help us with :

1) Has anyone done this before - and if so, any opinions?
2) Any reason not to change our ressies?

Thanks in advance for your input!

 

[Disney71]

Eeeks! I posted this under photos - sorry!!!

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

I have never done this, so I can't help you there, but here are some things to think about. (Oh, before I go any further, I am a HUGE Value lover. Part because I am frugal by nature and would never get myself to pay more, and part because we just love them.) Anyway, it always helps me to weigh things out. I can't tell yo uwhat to do, but some things to think about...

I see you don't have kids. I don't know if you are planning to, but once you have kids finances change big time. I wish DH had done a few things before having kids that now we can't afford to do. If this applies to you then maybe you should just go for it and stay where you love. Something to think about.

However, that is a lot of money and you have been there before. The fact that you are trying to save tells me that there is a reason for you to save, like you are not Rockafellers if you will, something else to think about. Maybe now is the time to see what a value is all about.

What is the reason for the rental car? Is that somewhere you can save? We drive to Disney when we go so we have a car and yet we never use it the whole trip. We have never even move our car (scratch that, one year on our last day the bus drivers did a sick out and we did use our car, but very unlikely.) We have not had issues with the busses in fact we love them. Maybe this is somewhere you could save some money.

 

[3happydancers]

Downgrading from a deluxe to a value is a big jump. Have you priced out the difference between the deluxe and a moderate?

 

[Disney71]

Hi MickeyMomOfThree- Thank you for your input. Nope, no kids yet (we are trying, but still just the two of us). We did enjoy the WL and all the amendites, but we spend so much time at the parks we don't know if it is worth spending the extra money....

As far as the buses go, when we stayed at CBR we used the buses and we had horrible luck. We waited on average 30 mins everytime we got to a bus stop. I know this is not the norm - but it was our norm, lol. The buses added some unneeded tension to our trip, so we decided to rent a car in the future. Last year was our first year renting a car (while staying on property), and I have to say what a difference! We were able to go anywhere in half the time. Also, my grandmother lives in The Villages, so we go there our first day to visit her before our stay....so we definately need a car for that.

 

[Disney71]

Downgrading from a deluxe to a value is a big jump. Have you priced out the difference between the deluxe and a moderate?

Yes we did. And since we are staying at WL and not Poly/GF/CR it is not as much of a difference between the Mods. It is about a $400 difference to go Mod. While $400 is a difference, it just doesn't seem as much of a motivation.....

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

Hi MickeyMomOfThree- Thank you for your input. Nope, no kids yet (we are trying, but still just the two of us). We did enjoy the WL and all the amendites, but we spend so much time at the parks we don't know if it is worth spending the extra money....

As far as the buses go, when we stayed at CBR we used the buses and we had horrible luck. We waited on average 30 mins everytime we got to a bus stop. I know this is not the norm - but it was our norm, lol. The buses added some unneeded tension to our trip, so we decided to rent a car in the future. Last year was our first year renting a car (while staying on property), and I have to say what a difference! We were able to go anywhere in half the time. Also, my grandmother lives in The Villages, so we go there our first day to visit her before our stay....so we definately need a car for that.

Well, if a car makes your stay more enjoyable then that is not a good place to cut, and going to see grandma, you can't put a $$ amount on that, that is for sure!

I agree it will probably be a huge jump to go from a deluxe to a value, but if you spend lots of time in the parks, you have to ask what are you paying for? Personally, we spend a lot of time in the parks but we also take whole days off to hang around the resort, but again, we love the values and enjoy our time there. But if you are not going to spend much time at the hotel maybe the savings is even more justified. The beds are comfy, the showers are hot and the food courts are yummy, if that's all you are going to use then it might be better.

If you want a relaxing night at the WL, what about staying the week at a value then spending your last night relaxing (and recovering ) at the WL? Since you have a car you could jsut pack a small bag, check out of the values then go for a relaxing night at the WL.

I do wish that DH and I had done things like that before we had kids (didn't have the money so we didn't get to) but at the same time there is something to be said to having money when the kids do come along (and sounds like yo uare hoping that is sooner then later.)


Wherever you stay IT'S DISNEY!!!! Enjoy and HAppy Anniversary!!!

Just some thoughts...

 

[Disney71]

I agree it will probably be a huge jump to go from a deluxe to a value, but if you spend lots of time in the parks, you have to ask what are you paying for? Personally, we spend a lot of time in the parks but we also take whole days off to hang around the resort, but again, we love the values and enjoy our time there. But if you are not going to spend much time at the hotel maybe the savings is even more justified. The beds are comfy, the showers are hot and the food courts are yummy, if that's all you are going to use then it might be better....

Within a 7 day disney week we typically spend 2 days not at the parks. One at the resort and one at Typhoon Lagoon. Last year our resort day was very relaxing!! We are wondering how our resort day at the Pop will compare... but knowing we won't be coming home to debt will also be relaxing!

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

Within a 7 day disney week we typically spend 2 days not at the parks. One at the resort and one at Typhoon Lagoon. Last year our resort day was very relaxing!! We are wondering how our resort day at the Pop will compare... but knowing we won't be coming home to debt will also be relaxing!

Not coming home to debt is very realxing, that is for sure! I can't say what you will feel, and we have never stayed at POP, but our days at the AllStars have been very relaxing. During the day espeically (in our experience) the pools are pretty empty.

 

[Disney71]

..... we have never stayed at POP, but our days at the AllStars have been very relaxing. During the day espeically (in our experience) the pools are pretty empty.

We haven't decided yet, but we were thinking Pop was our top Value choice. Is there a certain AllStars that you would recommend?

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

For theme we like Movies, but it hasn't been renovated and while we have not stayed there for a while, it seems to get complaints because of that. We tend to pick Sports, but I don't know what groups are there in September so I would look into that. We have never had any issues with any groups of any kind. This next trip the kids want to stay at the Music, we only stayed there once and the kids love the idea of the movies at the pool at night so we are going to go back there. I think they are all nice, but I am interested in trying Pop one of these times but hear because it is bigger it is more crowded so we have not tried it yet, but we want to.

People seem to love POP, we went over there once for dinner and to look around and it was very nice.

 

[disneyfan55]

We just stayed at WL from Feb 5-12 (always my fav) and really weren't that happy with the CMs or cleanliness of the rooms. Our previous 3 stays were at ASMu and one at ASSPorts and those 4 stays had very clean and recently renovated rooms and probably the best CMs for recents stays. While the atmosphere at the WL is great, the rooms and CMs left a lot to be desired. For all we spent on 2 rooms we could have stayed at one of the Values and had over 1500 left! I was very disappointed so all the cost in relation to the service we received. If cost is a factor, although the Values aren't quite so eloquently themed, they do offer a great food court and cost a heck of a lot less. (we had the 40% pin no AP rooms avail for our week at WL)

 

[ms_missy66]

I haven't read everyone else's replies, so forgive me if this is a repeat. While I haven't had WL ressies and gone down to a Value, I have stayed one night in a value and next in WL, as well as had separate vacations in each. I say go for it! The space is the rooms is not that much different. I distinctly remember walking into a WL room from ASMu and saying, "there's barely any more space!" The only thing I appreciate more about the WL room is the increased counter space in the bathroom.

I love the WL. It's my favorite resort. However, if money was an issue, I wouldn't hesitate, for even a second, to downgrade to a value. The pools are great. The food court has lots of options. The only real difference is the small difference in room size and the inside hallways.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Disney71]

.....We just stayed at WL from Feb 5-12 (always my fav) and really weren't that happy with the CMs or cleanliness of the rooms. Our previous 3 stays were at ASMu and one at ASSPorts and those 4 stays had very clean and recently renovated rooms and probably the best CMs for recents stays. While the atmosphere at the WL is great, the rooms and CMs left a lot to be desired. For all we spent on 2 rooms we could have stayed at one of the Values and had over 1500 left!....

Sorry to hear you weren't that happy with WL, but those are some good points you bring up - thank you!

..........I have stayed one night in a value and next in WL, as well as had separate vacations in each. I say go for it! The space is the rooms is not that much different. I distinctly remember walking into a WL room from ASMu and saying, "there's barely any more space!" The only thing I appreciate more about the WL room is the increased counter space in the bathroom.....

I have to say the bathroom counter issue does have me concerned. DH and I were looking at value pictures last night, and he was bummed that there was only one sink. (We share a sink at home and he looks forward to that one week a year where we are not crowding each other, lol!!) Also - where do you put all of your toiletry bags?? Doesn't look like there are any shelfs under sink....

 

[justgeorgi]

I'd like to chime in

I personally love the value resorts. Although I love to visit the WL and eat there often I cannot see why anyone would want to spend an extra $1200 on a vacation.

I just paid $1300 on All Star Music for 5 nights including my 6 day park hoppers. You can add a whole extra trip for the amount you are spending to stay at WL.

Now of course its your choice but if you aren't spending a lot of time there I'd say change your ressies.

Oftentimes we spend a day as our "relaxing" day and the pools at Pop/All Star are usually pretty quiet during the day and then after sleeping in, swimming and lolling about for a few hours we usually head to Downtown Disney for shopping and then a little dinner and head over to Winter/Summerland Mini Golf So all in all we only spend a few "hours" at our hotel all week during the daytime hours.

 

[justgeorgi]

I have to say the bathroom counter issue does have me concerned. DH and I were looking at value pictures last night, and he was bummed that there was only one sink. (We share a sink at home and he looks forward to that one week a year where we are not crowding each other, lol!!) Also - where do you put all of your toiletry bags?? Doesn't look like there are any shelfs under sink....[/QUOTE]

I usually use the sink while hubby is showering and vice versa.

And we have hanging toiletry bags that we hand on the closet bar which runs right next to the sink

 

[southcarolinagirl]

We do kinda the same thing, we take one of those over the door shoe organizers and hang it on the clothes bar right near the sink. It is awesome! Many pockets for all your goodies & you can see exactly what you need without having to dig in toiletry bag.

 

[Bibbidi]

I've stayed at WL a couple times and it's my favorite, right after CR. We chose to stay at ASMu one year during free dining to see just how cheaply we could do a disney vacation (we have two daughters who were 7 and 5 at the time). For us, the room size did make a difference, everything felt so cramped in there. However, with just you and DH, I doubt it would matter as much.

The buses came quite frequently and we never had a problem (other than standing in the sun waiting for them to arrive). The pool area was very nice and we really liked swimming in it (almost daily).

For the difference in price you're mentioning, $1200, I couldn't justify the WL. However, if it was more like $500 difference, I personally would stay in the Deluxe over a mod/value. The couple times we've stayed at mods or values, I always end up thinking, why didn't I just spend a little extra and stay deluxe? Is there a chance you could downgrade your room level at WL and still stay there?

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

We never have an issue in the bathroom area, and we have DH and I plus 3 kids including a teenager! (And no one need to flame me, our oldest is on her grandparents reservation. We get adjoining rooms but all her stuff is in our room to give her grandparents privacy in the morning.) Anyway, we always are fine with all our stuff and our 3 girls and we still manage to keep a clean room and make rope drop. I think you'll be fine.

The more I think about it the more I think, wow!!! You'll be saving like half! That's huge savings. I wanted to give you both sides and never wanted to tell you waht to do but that is a huge savings!!!

 

[stepdisney]

I would say for us (family of 4) the sizes of the beds are an issue. We need a queen bed after walking in the parks all day AND we like our DS's (15 & 9) to have separate beds (keeps the peace) so going deluxe is our best option (other than family suites).