Have you made a switch from value and/or moderate resorts to deluxe? Was it worth it?

[SecondStars]

We used to stay at Pop or AOA until this past September when we decided to splurge for the Contemporary. Hurricane Irma happened and we had to change dates by a few days....and ended up having to move to the Wilderness Lodge. We fell in love & I don't think we are ever going back to Value, we're spoiled now

 

[penjen]

We have stayed at all categories. Our usual vacation is between 10-14 nights. That gets quite expensive at deluxe and we just don't spend enough time at the resort for it to ever be worth staying at deluxe all that time. The times we have stayed at the monorail hotels the monorail was down most of the time so that benefit was not even worth it. I would have rather had a reliable bus

 

[wdw4rfam]

We did many value resorts.....then moved up to moderate and never looked back. Then made the jump to deluxe and will never go back. Mainly because as many times as we go, we now spend way more time at the resort than we used to. Back in the day, we only slept at the resort. Now we spend half the day relaxing at the pool, etc. Just love the more laid back feel. As I said on another thread this week....I’d rather skip a year and go deluxe than go every year elsewhere.

 

[monorailsilver]

What's been your experience 'upgrading' your resort stays? Did it meet your expectations?

Our story: we vacation in Florida once a year and usually split our stay between visiting family in the Orlando area, and enjoying a few intensive park days while staying at POP.

For the record, we love POP and have always had a great time there! But we're increasingly drawn to the idea of a longer and more relaxed stay at a deluxe resort. Primarily for two reasons: 1) proximity and transportation options to the parks (MK and Epcot are our favs); and 2) better pool amenities for enjoying downtime during resort days and afternoon breaks.

Really interested to hear experiences of others that have made this switch. How did it alter your Disney experience? Would staying a week at Boardwalk or Wilderness one year make it hard to go back to POP the next? Did park proximity and transportation make a big difference for your touring plans?

Thanks for sharing your insights!

I went the opposite a few times. Parents always paid for trips so we stayed at the Poly, GF and BC. Then I went and did a split so I could afford it on my own.

As far as transportation, you still need a bus for all the resorts to get to at least 2 parks (unless you are staying at an Epcot resort and walk then the IG to the monorail station to get to the MK but I wouldn’t do that). But on the flip side, MK and Epcot are my favorite parks so I stay at the Poly so we avoid the bus as much as possible and just go to those parks most days. I do love the boat to/from the MK though, less people on it and so peaceful!

Pool-kids love the pool no matter what. My kids couldn’t always do the water slide and were content with swimming in the quiet pool or the themed pool minus the slide. The last time we went in 2013, they all could swim so we sat in a spot where we could see them in the entire pool and they were free to go (youngest was 7). But they spent the entire afternoon playing pool games, they loved it! We only did the pool on non park days so the rest breaks were just that, a nap!

So since I didn’t make the switch, what I did not like about the mod/value was the lack of light-I like natural light so to open the slider curtain is a bonus. I felt like I had to have the curtain closed in the mod/value because everyone could see in as the walkway was right there. Other then that I had no issues with staying there. So I think going from the boardwalk to pop would be fine.

And as above, park proximity is the deal breaker. We mainly go to MK and Epcot so the Poly is our choice. This year I have convince my husband to do a split stay so we will have 5 nights at the BC followed by 5 at the Poly. I have not stayed at the BC since the summer of 1990. He just told me 2 days ago he isn’t sure he is going to like it but i know he will love the boat to the studios.

 

[Lovetherodent]

Went from moderate to value. That was not a great choice. Found it crowded, noisy. Hated waiting for multiple buses before one had room. Loved the over the top Disney and the food court. Planned to go back to mod. Had POFQ booked, and....Disney closed it for refurbishment. We got an upgrade to a deluxe (Poly) for $25 a night more, and have not looked back. I love the transportation options at the deluxe! Even AKL, which has only buses, has its own bus. Even though we are RD to close people, we do take the afternoon break, and going back to the deluxe is just quieter and more relaxing. And the walk or monorail means you spend less of that break on a bus. I could probably go back to a mod, but I’d rather go less often and go "big."

 

[Summer2018]

I went the opposite a few times. Parents always paid for trips so we stayed at the Poly, GF and BC. Then I went and did a split so I could afford it on my own.

As far as transportation, you still need a bus for all the resorts to get to at least 2 parks (unless you are staying at an Epcot resort and walk then the IG to the monorail station to get to the MK but I wouldn’t do that). But on the flip side, MK and Epcot are my favorite parks so I stay at the Poly so we avoid the bus as much as possible and just go to those parks most days. I do love the boat to/from the MK though, less people on it and so peaceful!

Pool-kids love the pool no matter what. My kids couldn’t always do the water slide and were content with swimming in the quiet pool or the themed pool minus the slide. The last time we went in 2013, they all could swim so we sat in a spot where we could see them in the entire pool and they were free to go (youngest was 7). But they spent the entire afternoon playing pool games, they loved it! We only did the pool on non park days so the rest breaks were just that, a nap!

So since I didn’t make the switch, what I did not like about the mod/value was the lack of light-I like natural light so to open the slider curtain is a bonus. I felt like I had to have the curtain closed in the mod/value because everyone could see in as the walkway was right there. Other then that I had no issues with staying there. So I think going from the boardwalk to pop would be fine.

And as above, park proximity is the deal breaker. We mainly go to MK and Epcot so the Poly is our choice. This year I have convince my husband to do a split stay so we will have 5 nights at the BC followed by 5 at the Poly. I have not stayed at the BC since the summer of 1990. He just told me 2 days ago he isn’t sure he is going to like it but i know he will love the boat to the studios.

He will love Stormalong Bay.

 

[wdw4rfam]

Went from moderate to value. That was not a great choice. Found it crowded, noisy. Hated waiting for multiple buses before one had room. Loved the over the top Disney and the food court. Planned to go back to mod. Had POFQ booked, and....Disney closed it for refurbishment. We got an upgrade to a deluxe (Poly) for $25 a night more, and have not looked back. I love the transportation options at the deluxe! Even AKL, which has only buses, has its own bus. Even though we are RD to close people, we do take the afternoon break, and going back to the deluxe is just quieter and more relaxing. And the walk or monorail means you spend less of that break on a bus. I could probably go back to a mod, but I’d rather go less often and go "big."

Yup, poly was the one that sucked us in too. You just can’t go back after that.....although AKL is our second fav. I book others and always end up switching it back.

 

[wdw4rfam]

We don't really mind the buses at the values. We actually had much better experiences with them than the buses for Beach Club. I like that the bus lines at the values have chains that make clear lines.



Agreed, we've had much better bus experiences at POP than during our one stay at Port Orleans Riverside.

I will say as much as I love the deluxes, I really miss the actual bus lines. The pushing and shoving when there’s a lot of people waiting is awful- and it’s usually the people who got there first and are sitting that don’t get on.