Should I Switch??

[elvispursley]

I'm currently booked at YC for Aug. 26-Sep. 3. I'm debating about switching to either CBR (king) or POR (haven't decided which area) for June 27-July 6. Overall savings would be nearly $800 by switching to either of the moderates, including air. I've stayed at both YC and POR before but have never stayed at CBR. Not sure if it's worth the savings?? Would you give up EEH? How horrible are crowds over the 4th of July vs. Labor Day? My mom also uses an ECV, so would prefer to be at a 1st bus stop for pick-up. We'd also be giving up MNSSHP and would celebrate the 4th of July instead. UGH!! In need of serious help as I can never make up my mind as to which resort to stay at, even after I've booked something

 

[Dug720]

For me, the fact that Moderates offer nothing park-wise over values (talking EEH), I will either budget for Deluxe or stay Value. I'm not overly wowed by the themeing of any of the Moderates - and I don't do pools because they skeeve me out - and I travel solo, so I don't "need" the extra space. So if I'm not paying for a Deluxe, it's hard for me to justify a Moderate when it really doesn't give me anything extra.

(I am currently booked for Music in February and briefly (based on a podcast talking about POFQ) pondered changing to that regardless of the lack of any benefit over Music; but then I priced it out. I would be $669 and change more to bump up. That's a couple of tours and some nice souvenirs right there. Plus Music's food court opens at 6:30 vs. the 7 that the Moderates open, so I could always grab something to go on my way to the parks.)

 

[Mle8308]

If you do decide to switch, I would do a resort with Skyliner access with the ECV. At least you would have easy on and off with it for 2 parks. The busses often rotate what bus stop is first, so you could end up being last sometimes. Maybe even consider Pop and save even more?

 

[elvispursley]

If you do decide to switch, I would do a resort with Skyliner access with the ECV. At least you would have easy on and off with it for 2 parks. The busses often rotate what bus stop is first, so you could end up being last sometimes. Maybe even consider Pop and save even more?

The skyliner access has me leaning towards CBR for the easy transportation. Plus not staying deluxe would give us more $ in the budget for doing Minnie Vans to AK and MK. Pop isn’t a bad idea—we’ve never stayed at a value in all the decades we’ve been going. How’s the pool? We definitely love lounging by the pools. Is there much shade?

I also just saw that CSR would also save more, however, their pool doesn’t have a ton of shade and only buses. Hmmm

 

[Dug720]

I also just saw that CSR would also save more, however, their pool doesn’t have a ton of shade and only buses. Hmmm

If you could do CSR in a Preferred room, that would put you in Casitas which, unless it has changed, is the first stop going to the parks. (Disney Springs is the exception and I believe that one starts at the Tower. Tower is the final stop for Parks.)

 

[Skippyboo]

Caribbean Beach is a super huge resort. The Skyliner station is at the edge of it so you still might have to walk 10 minutes or more to get there. Plus no elevators in building. If you want to downgrade from Yacht Club, I would look at Pop. Skyliner access to 2 parks. The pools aren’t bad- main 60s themed pool, bowling pin shaped pool in 50s section and computer pool in 90s section. I would think July 4 would be more crowded than Labor Day since all the kids are out of school.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

I would stick with YC for late August. July is going to be more crowded in the parks than late Aug due to school vacation. The skyliner in July will have a lot of down time due to lightening/storms which could be very frustrating especially with an ECV. Staying at YC in late Aug would allow easier access to EP and DHS with an ECV and you can enjoy sitting on the balcony during your resort down time. If the weather is stormy, you can also access dining without going out in the rain.

I love moderate resorts but not during the hot, storm seasons.

 

[brockash]

I'm currently booked at YC for Aug. 26-Sep. 3. I'm debating about switching to either CBR (king) or POR (haven't decided which area) for June 27-July 6. Overall savings would be nearly $800 by switching to either of the moderates, including air. I've stayed at both YC and POR before but have never stayed at CBR. Not sure if it's worth the savings?? Would you give up EEH? How horrible are crowds over the 4th of July vs. Labor Day? My mom also uses an ECV, so would prefer to be at a 1st bus stop for pick-up. We'd also be giving up MNSSHP and would celebrate the 4th of July instead. UGH!! In need of serious help as I can never make up my mind as to which resort to stay at, even after I've booked something

Our preference would be YC in late Aug. The crowds aren't horrible in July, but certainly noticeably higher. I def would not do CBR (way too many bus stops especially with a scooter.) To me YC is just not comparable at all to either moderate so given the choicce we'd always pick YC, but it's really only up to you all if the savings is worth it. For us $800 wouldn't be enough to swap to a much lesser resort and higher crowds, however you're still at Disney and at the end of the day I'd be excited to go to a value if that was the plan

Also, while we love the skyliner during the non rainy months, we find the skyliner resorts a con in the rainy months. It goes down a lot and Disney does not have a quick/smooth process on communicating or handling that situation which is super frustrating for their guests.

 

[brockash]

For me, the fact that Moderates offer nothing park-wise over values (talking EEH), I will either budget for Deluxe or stay Value. I'm not overly wowed by the themeing of any of the Moderates - and I don't do pools because they skeeve me out - and I travel solo, so I don't "need" the extra space. So if I'm not paying for a Deluxe, it's hard for me to justify a Moderate when it really doesn't give me anything extra.

(I am currently booked for Music in February and briefly (based on a podcast talking about POFQ) pondered changing to that regardless of the lack of any benefit over Music; but then I priced it out. I would be $669 and change more to bump up. That's a couple of tours and some nice souvenirs right there. Plus Music's food court opens at 6:30 vs. the 7 that the Moderates open, so I could always grab something to go on my way to the parks.)

I echo the hard to justify paying for a moderate. I also would rather just stay at a value over a moderate and save the money. Deluxe are crazy expensive, but we at least feel like we're getting something out of it, where the difference between mod and value is very small.

 

[elvispursley]

I would stick with YC for late August. July is going to be more crowded in the parks than late Aug due to school vacation. The skyliner in July will have a lot of down time due to lightening/storms which could be very frustrating especially with an ECV. Staying at YC in late Aug would allow easier access to EP and DHS with an ECV and you can enjoy sitting on the balcony during your resort down time. If the weather is stormy, you can also access dining without going out in the rain.

I love moderate resorts but not during the hot, storm seasons.

Excellent point! We’ve definitely had to bus it back to YC from HS when we got caught in a storm, but they were handing out towels as we entered the lobby. Oy—all very good points (plus, do adore SAB)!

 

[georgina]

I was there over Labor Day weekend last year and didn't find the crowds to be too bad. And yes, there were some storms, one which closed the skyliner for a time.

 

[Shellyred8]

I'm currently booked at YC for Aug. 26-Sep. 3. I'm debating about switching to either CBR (king) or POR (haven't decided which area) for June 27-July 6. Overall savings would be nearly $800 by switching to either of the moderates, including air. I've stayed at both YC and POR before but have never stayed at CBR. Not sure if it's worth the savings?? Would you give up EEH? How horrible are crowds over the 4th of July vs. Labor Day? My mom also uses an ECV, so would prefer to be at a 1st bus stop for pick-up. We'd also be giving up MNSSHP and would celebrate the 4th of July instead. UGH!! In need of serious help as I can never make up my mind as to which resort to stay at, even after I've booked something

Another vote for the YC, for all of the reasons people mentioned above. The ECV is really the sticking point for me on this one. It's a sketchy time for the weather and having access to dining without having to go outside would be my main considerations.

 

[SG131]

I would not switch to a moderate with ECV. Not worth the extra hassle. If you want to save money, switch to pop, but no the pool isn't going to be quite as nice.

 

[ktink]

I would also stick with YC for the same reasons as others have stated.

 

[Robber Baron]

I vote YC.

I'm a big fan of resorts that are under one roof. That would seem to be a big Pro if you have an ECV user.

The only moderate I like is CSR, I always get Preferred so we have a covered walkway to El Centro from our room.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Stay at YC over Labor Day

• 4th of July itself is developing a rep for being quiet but not so much the dates around it while Labor Day & the dates around it tend to be quiet
• YC is better than CBR as you aren’t reliant on the Skyliner which will close if lightening is in the area. With an ECV you can’t just walk to BC & get a rideshare if in IG area, you have to wait for a Disney Bus (which has been known to take an hour to deploy) or pay up for a MV
• YC means no bus to 2 parks so noticeably better than POR as well.

I tend toward the downgrade it vote but in this case because of the ECV coupled with traveling with an ECV myself I whole heartedly vote stay at YC.

I would also find Swolphin acceptable. While their prices can be laughable this far out once you’re a month to a week out you may see them start to really drop (only ever book refundable rooms at Swolphin so you can rebook if you catch a price drop).

 

[kylenne]

I was there over Labor Day weekend last year and didn't find the crowds to be too bad. And yes, there were some storms, one which closed the skyliner for a time.

Me too, and that’s typical for Labor Day. I go down during that weekend a lot and i rate it with Memorial Day as the best holiday weekend to go. A lot of schools have gone back already so crowds are very manageable. Last year was great but for the holiday itself at Epcot.

You could not pay me to stay at a Skyliner resort during hurricane season btw. Disney has no clear contingency plan for Skyliner guests at Epcot and they seem to just roll the dice for whether or not they send you to the front entrance or BWI/BC for buses. I don’t like the thought of that any time of year but when it’s guaranteed to be down every day? lol nope. Definitely echo PP sentiments to stay put at YC or keep an eye out for Swolphin rates, I stayed there that weekend for less than the non-tower rooms at CSR on an AP rate.

Since OP mentioned pools, my hot take is I actually prefer the Swolphin pool to SAB. No chair hogs, way better food and drinks than Hurricane Hannah’s (which you can order by scanning an QR code on your chair) and it’s so much calmer. I think it’s one of the most underrated pools “on property” tbh. They also have the cute little pedal boats nearby that are included with your resort fee, though I haven’t done those since I was 10.

 

[elvispursley]

So did a massive spreadsheet today plugging dates in June/July for flights and comparing those dates to CBR,CSR, and swolphin. Because the airfare is outrageous, I’m going to stick with my original dates. I looked into the Swan (never stayed at the swolphin) and was ready to pull the trigger on that booking but got a slight bait-n-switch when they price they quoted turned out to be $300 more! Turns out they were quoting a price with a $300 credit if you applied for their credit card (not thanks). It puts it barely less than the AP deal I got on YC. Plus, if I’m honest, I don’t want to deal with he hassle of trying to get my reservation linked in MDE, risk having it drop out of MDE, and the other issues I’ve read can happen. So thanks to all who shared their opinions and helped me make up my oh so indecisive mind up!

 

[dpswift]

My daughter and I are chronic resort switchers. To be honest the only resort we won’t switch from is POR. It is our overall favorite. That being said I love Yacht as well.I don’t like the feel of CSR. I wanted to love it but I don’t. We have had issues with CBR in the past however my daughter and I visited on our last trip and with all the changes we might give it another chance. As far as the values I honestly like them all.