Regrets...I've Had A Few...

I think for us it would be hard to go back to moderates. I was perfectly happy staying in them until Mrhub insisted we give the Poly a try. I do not believe we have ever went back to a moderate. We are still working on staying at all of the deluxe resorts. Although there are some that I do not like as well as others, so far we have not tried one that I would not stay in again.

We loved POR, but have not been back since we stayed at The Boardwalk. Our next 2 trips are planned for The Boardwalk as well. I can't imagine staying anywhere else and the balcony is a huge plus. We also like the fact that it is more like a hotel, ie. hallways inside and air conditioned (BIG plus in early September). Once you go deluxe, you never go back!

Having stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Saratoga Springs and Old Key West it's not going to be easy to go down to a moderate.. . But funds must dictate to a point where to stay.

Anyone who says that it doesn't matter where you stay as you're not spending time in the hotel... Is wrong!

SSR is our only deluxe stay so far and at this point, I could definitely go back to POR. That was our first onsite stay and we absolutely loved it. Don't get me wrong, I loved SSR, too, and I will be happy staying there again in the future, but POR is still the yardstick by which we measure new resorts. Now my opinion on that could change after this weekend at BV...

if I was not a dvc member I would never stay at a deluxe resort just because of the cost, the moderates are very nice compared to any regular hotel you could stay at anywhere. if staying at a moderate can save you money so you can take extra trips to the world I say do it, no matter where you stay in Disney your in Disney

Our only moderate was Coronado (meh, okay but not great) and before that it was only value resorts (We actually liked POPs). No more All Stars...too loud. BUT if the only way we could swing the escape was to cut corners there, I can live with that over not going or for us only going 4 days (too much travel for little time there).

I have said this before, don't plan on the last one. It's like saying I will never again do .....(fill in the blank). Maybe you wait until the kids are adults and on their own OR they are paying. Either way, the two year marker may not remain, but the vision can. Maybe the Poly refurb will be so awesome, you won't be able to resist!?

It's WL that we are staying, not Poly..LOL...but I agree with you...The reason for the 2 year thing is cost..Our average total package cost, for two weeks is approx $8000.. Give or take a dime...

So.... I've only stayed at all star music, this year is our first deluxe in the shape of OKW. Although I haven't been there yet I know in my heart I would stay at any value resort, over the space of 14 days we spend a total of 112 hours in the room and that time is spent sleeping and showering. We don't really spend time there.

I've only ever stayed at deluxe and now we own DVC, I don't see us ever staying in less. That being said, if I got the chance of a cheapy week which was in a value or mod I would def give them ago, as it was said before, you're still in disney!

Well, Fergus, I think that answers varies from person to person. Some may prefer going from deluxes back down to values or moderates simply because of price and the amount of time they spend in and away from the resort. If you're a park person going from open to close, there is an argument that can be that a deluxe may not be worth the money. I've only stayed in the values because well, like I've said, money rules more often than not and my mindset was just the theme parks and maybe a night or two at Downtown Disney.

But since I have bigger plans to do more outside the parks on my next trip down the road, the values don't exactly fit my need very well. They could but it would be inconvenient from my perspective. Plus there's a question of would you mind seeing the same things over and over again. I mean, for some people, they don't mind seeing the same images of the resorts. For others, maybe not. A change of scenery may be necessary for someone to truly appreciate the experience. How I felt about re-visiting AS Sports was that, yeah, I sacrificed a potential different experience for money but I just felt afterwards, I should've chosen something different to make my trip even better so I personally was not satisfied with my resort choice. I love staying on property in Disney, don't get me wrong, but I always want to experience something different on each trip. But alas, the mistakes I made do hopefully mean that I'll make better decisions down the road.

Totally agree with you but with this trip our month is October and parks close much earlier than in July..We hardly spent any time in our room at the resorts but this time it will be nice to sit in a balcony at night with a wee nightcap..

I don't believe they're WRONG. It all depends on your touring style. If you are up at the crack of dawn and out of the room and into the park as early as possible and then falling into bed the second you get back late at night after being in the parks all day, the added cost of a deluxe may not be as beneficial to someone who likes a lot of downtime or time exploring the resort, or a family with a young child that may need daily afternoon breaks in the room.

We always stayed at Values til 2012 we stayed at PORS for our honeymoon. We've since returned to Values since we don't spend enough time in our room. However, we are new DVC members so I guess we're deluxe people now

That is exactly us. We like having a nice place to stay, but we go, go, go and don't really spend hardly any time in the room. So the money we would have used to stay at the higher resorts, we used to play on in the parks instead.

Well all I can tell you is our story with WL. We have stayed at a lot of Disney resorts from value to deluxe and from the moment we walked into the WL for the first time we were hooked. We keep talking about trying a new resort but WL keeps drawing us back in. It is our home away from home. It always calls us back year after year.

We won't be going back after our Boardwalk trip. Rooms are nicer, bigger, and balcony.

As JanJ said, The Boardwalk feels more like a hotel...a very upscale hotel. I found children to be less annoying there as well v. the values...there were less children as well. This is also coming from someone who doesn't have children and avoid children while visiting the world....

Fergus I agree and that why we are at OKW this time round, for nice quiet night swimming and drinks.

I've stayed at Pop (2 times), All Star Music (3 times) & Port Orleans Riverside (once). I haven't gone back to Port Orleands Riverside & have no intention or desire to go back, although I wouldn't mind trying Port Orleans French Quarter. Pop is my current favorite & I'm sure I'll be going back to it.

I agree. I truly like the values & wasn't all that impressed by POR so that helps but for me it boils down to two things. The first being that I would rather play longer than stay nicer and second I don't see enough of a value in the extras you get at a moderate or deluxe resort to make them worth the cost. That said I'm seriously considering renting points for a DVC studio for my next trip because I'm planning on it being 15 or 17 nights & think the extra space, microwave & comfort features might be worth it on that long of a trip. My only other option for having a microwave in my room would be a family suite but if I'm going to spend twice or more per night than the cost a regular value room I'd like to stay someplace nicer than a value.