Please help me decide on a resort!

[arsmith]

We are planning on booking Disney for November 2017. We have been going back and forth on which Resort to book. Everyone keeps telling me that it isn't worth spending money on the room because you don't spend much time there. However, I like to have a comfortable space in which to relax! And a nice pool is a must. Are the Moderate Resorts worth the extra money over POP or AoA? It will be me, my husband, and my two kids who will be 5 & 7 at that time. We have never been to WDW. What Resort would you suggest? Right now we are deciding between POP, AoA, CBR, or POR. But I am certainly open to suggestions.

 

[rosiebean]

Everyone keeps telling me that it isn't worth spending money on the room because you don't spend much time there.

This is not necessarily true, it really depends on the person (or group of people) going.

First, are you the kind of person/group to be a vacation commando? Meaning...on any vacation, do you leave your hotel or vacation rental and go go go all day without breaks? Be it the beach or skiing or weekend trip to a nearby city or Six Flags, are you the kind of people to always be on the go? OR, do you like to take breaks during the day? Do you head back to your condo at the beach for naps? Do your kids like down time at pools? Do they like slides? Do you enjoy sitting down for meals close to your hotel? Or is fast food what your family thrives on? When you get away for a break, do you enjoy relaxing as much as sight seeing? Your vacation style elsewhere will likely mirror your vacation style at WDW.

I'm guessing that this is your first trip to WDW. Now, given that it's your first trip, even if you're usually the "we like breaks and we're not dawn to midnight tourists", you might still feel the need to go all day without stop b/c it's Disney. Especially if you're staying, say, five nights instead of seven or more.

My family (when I was a wee girl of 9) did that our first trip. Our next three trips, we took it easy and enjoyed downtime at our resorts. Now that I'm an adult with kids myself...we still take it easy. My kids love pool time (and slides). I like afternoon naps. We go to the parks early and either have a breakfast ADR or, more often, have a late lunch ADR. Then we head back to our resort for a break, nap, pool time, etc. Then we head out to the parks late in the afternoon or in the early evening. We really enjoy ourself doing it that way and would be miserable going all day long without a break. So...when choosing a resort, keep your personal style in mind.

1. If you think you're going to be rope drop till closing tourists, go value all the way.

2. Adding onto that...if you think you're going to be rope drop till closing tourists...and if a smaller room isn't going to cramp your style overmuch (and it shouldn't with very young kids), if you're find with only quick service food vs having a sit down option at your resort, and if your kids might like the pool but aren't pool/slide demons, go value all the way.

3. If some of the above apply to you but others don't (say you're mostly rope drop till closing and you're ok with quick service food...but you want extra room and your kids will want a day or so hanging out at a pool with a slide), consider a moderate.

3. If you're not the type of family to go go go all day long...even if you're ok with quick service food/pool without a slide/a smaller room...I'd go with a mod. The more you stay at your resort, even if it's for midday naps and a quick dip in the pool, IMO the more you'd appreciate what a mod offers...things like extra room, bigger/more comfy beds, nicer (IMO) theming, etc.

4. If you're most definitely not the type of family to go all day long and if your kids really like pool time with slides (as mine do), definitely go for a moderate.

If you're staying value, I'd go with AoA, but that's my personal style preference. I've stayed at both CBR and POR, and I'd personally go with POR due to its great gift shop, great counter service, lovely grounds and room, ability to visit pools at both Riverside and FQ, and boat to Disney Springs and shops there. However, smaller kids might like the CBR pool better (if you're pool people) than those at POR...and CBR's rooms are very recently refurb'd, always a bonus.

 

[dansdad]

What you will get at a Moderate over a Value

Larger rooms
Queen Beds
Double Sinks
Ceiling fans
Coffee Maker in room
Pool Slides
Hot tubs
Multiple covered bus stops
Table Service restaurant
Lusher grounds
More laid back relaxed atmosphere

Now it's up to you if the above amenities are worth the extra $$. To us they are.

 

[AshleeH]

Everyone keeps telling me that it isn't worth spending money on the room because you don't spend much time there.

If this is how YOU plan to vacation, that's one thing, but don't listen to "everyone" because "everyone" very rarely knows squat.

We stay Deluxe and people tell us this all the time, as if they vacation with us. No, we like to get a good 8 hours (or more) in at the parks, but we also work in a time to go back for a midday break, we use the amenities available to us, we love the elaborate pools, we sit on the balcony and watch the fireworks with the music playing through the TV at night, we sit on the balcony with a good book while our kids play or nap during peak hours where we don't want to be in the parks. We have invited friends with us, we have had friends (who were in Disney the same time we were) come back to our room after the parks close and hang out and chat for a few hours before heading back to their resort.

So really think about what you want your vacation to be. If you are the commando vacationer that spends every hour in the parks, only comes back to shower and sleep and do it all over again the next day, then value is the one for you. If you want to plan for midday breaks and will still be spending a lot of time in the parks, moderate is a good choice. If you want the best of both (plenty of park time and relaxing vacation time), deluxe is the choice for that.

 

[fla4fun]

How do you spend your hotel time on other vacations? Are you out of the room early and back in the room late? Do you spend a lot of down time at the pool and other amenities? Think of Disney the same way.

I have stayed at all levels of resort. This year I have booked four Disney vacations so far, one at Boardwalk Villas, two at Port Orleans French Quarter, and one at Pop Century. Each resort brings something different to the table. I pick my resort based on budget, length of stay, and what I plan to do while I'm there.

I recommend that you set your budget first. Then think about the amenities that will make your vacation good for your family and pick your resort based on which one matches the most items on the amenities list, while keeping you in budget. Think about things like bed size (do you need a king, queen or will a full size be OK), restaurants (are you OK with just a food court, or do you need a table service restaurant right at the resort), transportation options (are you OK with only buses, or do you want options like watercraft and monorails as well - or do you need to be in walking distance of a particular park), and extras (do you need a fitness center, hair salon, spa, all day or limited room service, etc.). Only you know what makes your vacation great.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We spend a lot of time at our resort (afternoon breaks, dinners, days off from the parks, etc.), so the resort is as big a part of the trip as the parks. Plus, I need to be able to sleep in a quiet, comfortable room so I have energy to tour the parks. I would think about how you personally like to vacation and set your priorities from there. Of the resorts you've listed, we prefer POR. It's quite lovely, there is a boat to DS and the rooms are very comfortable.

 

[ChasingLeslie]

Start with budget, and then decide what's important to you.

For me, a goodnight sleep is very important at Disney, so I book mods for the queen beds and upgraded mattresses.

We've chosen CSR for our last three trips and I also love the plentiful dining options there (which you don't get at value or other mods).

 

[mco65]

The moderate rooms are only a tad bigger than the values.. bigger but not way bigger.. but a couple feet here or there could be a deal breaker for some..
The pools are nice no matter what.. i suppose everyone has their favorites. I think the moderates will have LESS folks in them which might tip the scales for some.
The biggest difference (IMO) between the values and the moderates is the resort grounds. They moderates are setup more like an apartment complex where as values are setup more like Motels.. I can do either but we are too big for values so we do moderates. I can't wait for the day when we STOP being Park commandos and become resort bums.. Then we move up to Deluxe... i have a bad feeling that day never arrives..

 

[shannonstar]

Out of your choices, I would likely choose POR. We do like to go to Disney Springs a lot, so the boat off the back is worth it for us.

That being said, we would love pretty much any hotel we choose because they are on property and there is something special about all of them.

In the end, it depends on what you are planning to do with your time, how much you are willing to spend, and what works best for your family.

 

[Dakota731]

Out of your choices, I would likely choose POR. We do like to go to Disney Springs a lot, so the boat off the back is worth it for us.

That was my experience as well!

 

[Elmo888]

AOA Family Suite! Extra room for your family, the pool is great, and the theme is festive. I find extra space definitely worth it for our family (only four of us!). We do like to relax in the room because WDW can be tiring. It is nice to just get away from the crowds and have some space (introvert? Maybe!).

It does really depend on your vacation style, as the previous posters mentioned.

 

[DeanDoug]

Since you mention downtime is important to you, of the options you presented, I would pick from CBR or POR. CBR is themed as a beach getaway and has sand, hammocks, etc. POR is very nice- riverside has 2 sections, the mansions and the bayou with great walking trails , French Quarter is themed like New Orleans. While you could plant yourself at either and relax, POR also offers the option of a boat the Disney Springs, which is a great perk.

Enjoy!

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

Since you mention downtime is important to you, of the options you presented, I would pick from CBR or POR. CBR is themed as a beach getaway and has sand, hammocks, etc. POR is very nice- riverside has 2 sections, the mansions and the bayou with great walking trails , French Quarter is themed like New Orleans. While you could plant yourself at either and relax, POR also offers the option of a boat the Disney Springs, which is a great perk.

Enjoy!

I'd also throw in CSR, which has a a beach section as well, and an amazing pool. (Who doesn't love a giant Mayan pyramid with a waterfall and waterslide?) I agree, if downtime at the resort is important, the elbow room, beautiful layouts, and ability to find peace and quiet of the moderates beats the crowded motel vibe of the values.

 

[MermaidMommy]

One of the best resources for WDW hotel info is http://**************.net/2016/02/02/the-basics-where-to-stay-at-walt-disney-world/. He has extensive reviews and pictures of every hotel, and offers recommendations specifically for first-timers. I'd check it out.

 

[kayteekt]

#1 your budget may have to dictate. With that said, we find the mods are moderately priced ...not any more than we would spend anywhere else.

Additionally, the room discounts are normally 20% where the values will be 10 or 15%.

There are normally no discounts on the mermaid (standard) rooms at AoA. If you're looking at a suite there that price is equivalent to some of the deluxe resorts.

One other thing...not sure when in Nov you're planning to go, but some sort of free dining is "typically" offered during parts of the month. If you're flexible on dates (and resorts) that may work in your favor. In the past, they've offered only free quick service meal plan for staying at a value...if staying at a moderate you'll get a regular dining plan, so that's a much better value. Now no one knows for sure they will offer and what stipulations will be this year...but it's def a good possibility. Note, if you're planning on traveling over Thanksgiving holiday...you can scratch all of that, they will block out that time.

As for mods, we've stayed at POR, CBR and POFQ. The FQ is our favorite because of the size. It's small and intimate, not a terrible amount of walking within resort and just one bus stop. You can walk over to POR and use their pools/amenities if you like. FQ doesn't normally do discounts, however, I've found the pricing is still in line with the other mods with their room discounts.

 

[mel2014]

You may want to wait to make a final decision until the discounts come out for your stay and you know the true price differential between the different options. We are going in April and I was deadset that we were going to stay at Pop and save money, since we tend to be commando style vacationers (though I'm learning and trying to adapt to the fact that my 8-year old cannot do sustained commando touring - she needs downtime to stay in a good mood). But when the discounts came out, it was only $150 more total to stay at CBR for a 9-night stay. To get the potential extra bed, bigger beds, double sinks, additional space, and the waterslides was worth that price for me. Had the difference been $400-$500, we would still be staying at Pop.

 

[Lisann]

You may want to wait to make a final decision until the discounts come out for your stay and you know the true price differential between the different options.

Yes, this.

I always stay deluxe, and occasionally moderate. The one thing that I love at the moderates, besides everything that has been mentioned here already, is the theming. Some of the nicest themed resorts are in the moderate category. Now, it might not mean much to you, but for me, I like a feast for the eyes as well. I stayed at POR six months ago and so enjoyed all of the details and lush landscaping. It's worth the extra money to me.