I was spoiled on my first ever Disney trip. Worried about being disappointed now.

[Jaxbelle]

Our very first trip to Disney we stayed at the Polynesian. Fell in love! Right across from the Magic Kingdom. You could see the castle from wherever you walked on the property. The ease of having the monorail right there to get to MK and Epcot. The sounds, the smells, the lobby, etc. Our second trip we decided to save money and booked our stay at Port Orleans Riverside. I was worried we would miss being in the middle of it all and having the monorail access. Not at all! We found a new Disney resort to love For some similar reasons (Port Orleans Riverside rivals with its lush greenery and beauty), and for different reasons (the rustic feel, and the boat ride to Disney Springs for example). Just be open to trying different things, and believe me you WILL be pleasantly surprised. Disney doesn't disappoint. For reference, our last stay (adults only trip) we stayed at French Quarter and loved it as well. And for our next stay? A new experience for sure!

 

[fla4fun]

I have also stayed at all three levels of resort, and to be honest, I've only had a couple disappointing trips out of probably 100 trips, and both of those happened to be at deluxe resorts. Yes, there are differences between a value and a deluxe, but different doesn't have to mean bad. It sounds like the OP is thinking this through, and trying to keep expectations realistic, and that is the most important thing.

I would second the idea of keeping your eyes open for a discount though. I have seen discounts at the mods that put them nearly dollar for dollar with the LM rooms at AoA. I've stayed at POFQ for $153 when LM rooms were going for $147, and I feel that extra $6 per night was well spent (nothing wrong with LM rooms - but the price differential can be higher than $6 just going from preferred to standard at a value and not giving you as much for the money either).

 

[Hi Pluto]

I second the DVC point rental. We are getting a studio villa at AKL with savannah view for less than half the price of rack rates. If you google dvc point rental sites you can find some good choices.

Also, consider a disney-focused travel agent. They also can offer some amazing rates and act similarly to how disney books it ($200 down for packages or one night's rate for room only to secure reservation).

Otherwise, if you're committed to AoA, think of it as your way to try out all the resorts. It will give you a new perspective, as others have said.

~Cari~

 

[MaC410]

I'm going to start researching the moderates and see which ones my wife and I would most enjoy staying at. If discounts come up and end up being the same price or very close to our current AoA booking we will surely like to try one of the moderates. What's everyone's personal favorite when it comes to moderates?

 

[PSUGuy]

In 2014 we did a last min. trip in March, only Value rooms were still available, we stayed at AllStar MU. Despite being Board Walk people the last 10 years we didn't suffer at a Value, you'll be fine.

Bill From PA

 

[Dis703]

I'm going to start researching the moderates and see which ones my wife and I would most enjoy staying at. If discounts come up and end up being the same price or very close to our current AoA booking we will surely like to try one of the moderates. What's everyone's personal favorite when it comes to moderates?

My personal favorite is CBR. Beautiful, peaceful, quiet resort with beaches and a tropical feel to it. The resort itself feels like a vacation to me. Some don't care for the size of this resort but I don't find it to be an issue.

 

[MaC410]

My personal favorite is CBR. Beautiful, peaceful, quiet resort with beaches and a tropical feel to it. The resort itself feels like a vacation to me. Some don't care for the size of this resort but I don't find it to be an issue.

I've heard some good things about that one. Looks beautiful from the pictures and the new refurbished rooms look very nice. At the moment though there are no standard rooms available there for our 11/30-12/9 stay. In fact the only moderate that currently has availability for our dates is Coronado Springs. I know room availability changes by the minute pretty much as people change around their reservations. Hopefully when the discounts get released for our dates people will shuffle around and some standard rooms will open up in the moderates.

 

[HopperFan]

STOP looking at it as replicating your last visit. I mean it was your honeymoon so you can never replicate that even if you went back to YC.

Look at every trip as a different adventure with different style. Changing hotels especially makes going back to the same place a little different each time.

Money saved allows more trips or more meals or more special events. And if you are on the go, like we usually are, it's our bed and shower ..... and the best perks are the EMH & DDBD ... Disney Designated Bus Driver so we can have a few drinks at the parks or Disney Springs.

AoA is the deluxe of the values. The imagineering is some of the best on property, the food court dining is good with a wide variety. While you can't walk to a park, your transportation is not shared and a notch over YC in that respect. Walk ALL over, take lots of pics. Notice the landscaping and how it matches the movie, Nemo area even looks like underwater plants. The Cars area, looks like you are IN the movie. HAVE FUN with it!

 

[MaC410]

While you can't walk to a park, your transportation is not shared and a notch over YC in that respect.

Yeah I'm actually looking forward to not having to share a bus with other resorts like the YC did. It especially was rough at night after a like a 15 long day having to wait on the bus stopping at the swan/dolphin and boardwalk.

 

[Accident]

Variety is the spice of life.. Your not missing your last trip, you're creating the next trip. One of the best things of WDW is there is so many choices that you can have a completely different experience each time but still tie in those "can't miss". It'll make more sense after you do that second trip but you aren't even sure what your do not miss things really are or what your personal interest changes will make less exciting. You got the we finally made it trip out of the way and now you need to figure out what your future trips are going to end up being and it'll be different every time you go. When it's not different you quickly get bored of it.

 

[Catvondita]

Its def no deluxe hotel but again you said yourself that you only really slept in it. One thing we usually do is to buy a bottle of wine for the room and it helps us feel like the place is a lot nicer as weird as that sounds. We bought some bath bombs from Basin and took a nice bath here and there so that also helped us think it was nicer. I stayed in the Little Mermaid Rooms at Art of Animation and I loved the theming but it was a little hokey. I would suggest POP Century instead because AOA had a long walk back to the Little Mermaid Rooms from the bus stop. It wasn't unbearable but after a long day of walking at the park the 7-10 minute walk can be tiring. Also although I liked the theming of the little mermaid room it did make it feel a little too kid friendly, POP has more of a standard look if that's something you are interested in. Either way we did love AOA. The food court was great and pretty too! Just remember ahead of time you are not staying at a deluxe so don't expect it. Hopefully you wont be disappointed

 

[cruiser21]

Have you considered the Swan or Dolphin. I stayed there for a conference and really enjoyed it. I believe it quite a bit less then the Yacht club.

 

[MaC410]

Have you considered the Swan or Dolphin. I stayed there for a conference and really enjoyed it. I believe it quite a bit less then the Yacht club.

I've seen people suggest those before as a cheaper alternative but the rooms are still $300+ a night. It's hard going through with something like that when you can pay half the price somewhere else.

 

[cruiser21]

I've seen people suggest those before as a cheaper alternative but the rooms are still $300+ a night. It's hard going through with something like that when you can pay half the price somewhere else.

I guess those hotels have gone up in price too. Have you considered value season. Some people have gotten deals through travel agents late August. Too hot for me, but the prices are good.

 

[melana]

I have stayed at Value and Moderate and each time I have had a wonderful time. We spent not more than a few hours a day in the room other than sleeping. But we were there for the parks. I love Disney so just being there makes it a great experience for me.

But I had a similar issue or thought I would when I went on my second cruise. My first cruise I had was in an aft-facing balcony room. Fell in love with that. My second and third cruises have been in inside rooms. Each time I had a great trip.

So I think you will be fine and have just as good a time in a moderate as you did in a deluxe..

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Don't chase the "high" from your last trip. Create a new trip. I found myself doing that on my last trip but for different reasons and it was an epic fail. Our 2011 trip was our best trip, not because of resorts, but because my kids were the perfect age. I had to learn to enjoy Disney in a different way.

Last trip we stayed deluxe and I am a bit worried that moderate won't satisfy me anymore but I know once I'm there all of that will go out of the window! To be honest, if I had to stay value I would wait a little longer and save more to at least go deluxe. The values do nothing for me.