Big Mistake I Don't Regret..

Up until this year I had only ever stayed at deluxe resorts or deluxe dvc. Then I went out to stay with Jan and we had a room booked at all star sports, I will be totally honest and say I had low expectations. Well I was in for a surprise in that I loved it! Okay I wasn't a huge fan of the decor in the room (but that was just my taste) but I loved the whole resort! Maybe it was because I had such low expectations that I was blown away? I'm not sure. I'd definitely stay in another value that for sure, tbh I don't see us ever staying in a moderate, but that's only cause the price of a moderate I could rent DVC points and it would be cheaper to stay in a deluxe DVC room (assuming I didn't have enough DVC points myself). I have to say, I do really fancy Coronado springs, I've looked around the resort before and I love the look of the rooms.

After we've stayed at WL, Contemporary, & Polynesian, it was difficult to stay at any other DVC resorts: OKW, AK, SR, Boardwalk, etc. Our expectations were set to a more enjoyable accommodation rather than just a nice place to sleep.

We've tried the deluxe resorts a few times - and this year we're back to AKL once again for a full two weeks (... 110 days and counting T_T). Between these stays we've been popping back to Art of Animation though - and we still love our value resort picks

The deluxe resorts are superior by far, but there's something nice about going back to the value rooms where we started... Some are obviously a bit better than others (I don't know I'd stay at an All-Star again), but Pop and Art of Animation are two that I really enjoy visiting when I want to do Disney on a budget

I have no problem going back and forth between DVC and value. Of course there is a huge difference in the amenities, but the values are quite nice and a lot of fun for a whole lot less money. The one level I will probably never bother with is moderate. If I want to save money, I'll go value. Otherwise I want it all, and that means DVC.

Our favourite is POR, but on our last trip, we tried POP. It was an 'extra' trip, and we decided we would do it on a budget. We had stayed at ASMu years ago, so thought we knew what to expect. DH thought booking POP was a huge mistake, and was thinking he'd hate it. Turns out, we loved POP - it totally exceeded our expectations. Best mousekeeping ever!! We would gladly stay there anytime. ASMu, not so much.

I added 2 nights at POP on to our last trip as I ran out of DVC points. It was fine. Rooms not so great, but the pool was nice, food decent, transportation good. Theming excellent. I wouldn't want to spend 10 days there, but it will do in a pinch. AoA looked nice as well.

I liked the way people decorated the glass in front of their rooms. Like on a cruise.

I'll gladly stay at a value or moderate, but I do enjoy the DVC. There was basically no other way that I was ever staying deluxe!!

Every resort has something special and even at the deluxe resorts, there are things that I've found that don't meet my expectations with regard to convenience and variety. For example, Boardwalk has no decent counter service option. POR beats Boardwalk easily in that regard with it's awesome food court and create-your-own-pasta. The gift shop at SSR is just sad. Everything POP has a much better selection. In the Boardwalk area, the bus stops at 5 different resorts. The internal bus loops at OKW & SSR have lots of stops, too, but they're all in the same resort, so you don't have to deal with external traffic between stops. Then there's POP that often has a dedicated bus or only shares with AoA. Even when the All-Stars are combined, they have a maximum of three bus stops. AKL has only bus transportation. POR and POFQ each have a boat to DTD and are much more centrally located. If we didn't have DVC, I would have no problem choosing a value or moderate and saving the money.

I pop back and forth. Sometimes its Deluxe, sometimes its Value, but most times its Moderate. It really depends on the trip and whether I feel like trying someplace new.

We had that same conversation when we started cruising. "Once you get a balcony, you'll never go back!" Now me, I could cruise in the broom closet as long as I'm on the water- but for Amy, who gets sea sick - the balcony has made all the difference!

Kind of the same with Disney. We have stayed at Sports because the deal was so good and my pocket book was so poor- and the room was really clean and nice- but the atmosphere wasn't there for us. I used to be of the mindset that a hotel was "just a hotel" and as long as it didn't have bedbugs, I was good. Now I've grown to see that the hotel is part of the experience of our vacation and thus, worth budgeting that extra money for. We haven't stayed in a Deluxe yet- I'm a bit afraid to, as we may never go back to Moderate! But for now - PORFQ is our "home" and we are very happy there.

We stayed at a DVC resort (AKL-Kidani) for the first time last Fall and it really did spoil us. I now want to try all of the DVC resorts, but would never complain about hitting Kidani again. It really was lovely.

With that said... I would never turn down the chance for a Disney trip so Value will never be ruled out. I'm actually considering a long weekend trip this Fall for F&W and would have no problem staying at either All-Star or POP!. POP! is our first choice but the others are fine too. For a quick trip I want to maximize my park time so hotel really doesn't matter that much.

We stay where we can afford when we can afford it. I also would like to try and stay at every resort at least once so I don't worry about "never going back" We've only ever stayed Moderate thus far, but we'll be experience both Value and Deluxe in December. We have All Star Sports booked for our arrival night and then will be moving to SS the remainder of the trip.