Upgrade to Room w/View?

[MrPeetrie]

I was wondering, when you book your Disney trips, do you spend a little extra for a nice view? Or do you cut back on the room in order to spend money on other things. And, does it depend on which resort? For example, maybe you uprgrade to a water view in the Boardwalk, but not at the Wilderness Lodge. I was just trying to decide which room to book. Any input helps.

[tinksmom02]

We haven't been fortunate enough to stay at a deluxe (yet), but I did "upgrade" to a water view at POFQ. I dunno, my thinking is that if I'm paying all this money for a vacation, what's a little more to ensure a good vacation.

I know lots of people disagree with me, and I can totally appreciate saving money going with a standard view. That's fine, if you don't spend that much time in your room, it could be an unnecessary expense. I have to tell you, though, that when I get my Poly vacation LOL I want a MK view!!

[TammiMcMan]

It depends on a few things. First of all, I probably wouldn't bother unless I had a balcony. Then it depends on the resort, if the lowest level view is overlooking the parking lot, then I'd upgrade. Lastly, I'd figure on how much time I was actually going to spend in my room, looking at the view.

[Mickey91]

If we get a great rate on the rooms we will go for the better view. This year we are also going for the water view because we got free dining and are still saving quite a bit. At the Pop, we go for the better room location so we don't have to walk as far. But, sometimes we just don't care. We don't see the room much to know the difference.

[Cinderelley]

For me, it depends on what I want when I get there. On our first trip, I wanted to be by the water spouts at Pop for my 2 year old Nephew to play in, so I requested the 70s section by the water spouts. The last time we were at Pop, the kids and I wanted to be able to see the fireworks, so I requested the back of the 50's section. When I go with my friends, we don't care what we're looking at, so I'm more concerned with the distance we have to walk. If DH & I take his older kids back to WDW next year, I will be requesting a view of Sunset Savannah at AKL. I think the grandkids would love it.

[Kairi_7378]

I think the only place where I'd reserve a nicer view would be AKL. The savanna views are what set that resort apart from all of the others. Because we were in the parks all day, I was glad that I didn't upgrade my room view on my last vacation.

[JoDisney]

I saw on your list that you are going to CBR in '07. I would not upgrade for a moderate. The water view could just be near a quiet pool. Also, the resort is up and away from the beach and lake, so the view not all that worth it in my opinion.

[Jillirose]

We never paid for a view at Port Orleans, or Caribbean, but paid at the Beach Club. It was fantastic! We talked about it everynight when the lights were on. We opened up all the curtains and appreciated it every night:)

[Squeaky Mouse]

It really depends on what we have planned for the trip and where we are staying. If we're doing the commando touring thing, no. We're seldom in our room and only there to sleep. These trips, we're more likely to stay at a value. If it's just dh and me and we want to spend time relaxing at our resort, yes. AKL and WL are two places where I would pay for a view. Both have standardviews with ugly parking lot views -- worse than I've ever experienced at a moderate or value.

[scootch713]

The only view I think I would ever upgrade to is the Magic Kingdom View at the Contemporary. Wow is all I can say. They upgraded us last year(free) due to my niece having cancer) and watching fireworks from your bed is unbelievable.

Otherwise I try to get standard view as my standard views so far have not been parkign lot views, they have been nice views(probably more like woods, courtyard, ect...)

[cindyrellinut]

I have almost always stayed at a value and upgrade to a preferred room. This year we decided to stay at the Poly.:mickey: Since it was such a large difference in price and being on the dining plan, something had to go. We booked a garden view room. Due to the fact that I haven't stayed in anything but a value in over 5 years, I'm just happy to be there.:joy:

[kgoulash]

we always pay for a view, i'm just not that interested in looking at the parking lot!

[mrsgaribaldi]

We never request a specific view. One time we were upgraded at the WL to a room with a view of the water and a balcony. Really nice:thumbsup: We are hardly ever awake in the room though:blush:

[NLODisney]

I have only paid extra for the view at AKL and actually we paid for concierge and requested savanna view which we got. I would probably pay extra for savanna view if we stay here again because it was awesome to watch the animals from the balconey. Other than that we haven't paid for a view. We were up-graded for free to a water view when we stayed at the BC concierge so we could get a day bed in our room and the view was great. I am tempted to stay at the CR in a MK view sometime I think that would be cool to watch the fireworks and castle at night.

[JPL]

The only 2 views I would pay for are Savannah view at AKL and MK view at CR. I was talked in ot paying extra once for a water view room at POR and I still think the puddle from the rain storm was my water view because I certainly couldn't see any water :confused:

[gueli]

You probably already know this, but 'water view' can be vastly different depending upon which resort you book. For instance a water view at poly means a view of the 7 seas lagoon, not a pool. Same w/garden view- it can mean a view of the parking lot or a view of a pool at the poly, etc. :mickey:
Back to the main question of upgrading- A room is a room (a place to sleep,wash up,etc). At any given resort I can enjoy the view by taking a short walk. If I had a parking lot view, I would ask for an upgrade(when I was there), especially if it is where they warm up the buses @ 5 AM...:cool:

[Jen66]

We got a MK view at the GF for our July trip. I figure with the heat and the crowds, it will be worth the extra $$ to relax and watch Wishes from our balcony. Plus the kids absolutely love the idea of seeing the castle from our room.

[iceicebritney]

used to upgrade all the time, used to only stay in concierge, used to do a lot of things that we found out were a waist of money and not worth it.

you're never in your hotel room, and if you are - then you're not doing disney right, and you need some serious help. you can spend that money on commerative photos, alcoholic beverages, gifts for ppl back home, or anything else that your heart desires... i mean whats the point of a "lake view"... we've all seen a lake before, ...right?!

[psychotekkie]

At the Poly, every room has a gorgeous view. The "cheap" garden view rooms overlook wonderful landscaping. No upgrade is necessary.

At the AKL, we didn't even consider anything but a Savannah View. That's what we were there for.

At the Pop, we were on a money-saving vacation, so who cares what room, so long as it's cheap!

[JCDarzi]

I think it definitely depends on the hotel.

In the large hotels, convenience and room location are probably more important than view. I would pay extra for location..especially with small children.

In the nicer deluxe hotels, I think it will depend on the style of your vacation. If you plan to be in the room a lot and are in a relaxation mode, a view might be nice.

If you are like us, we hit the ground running as soon as the parks open and usually do not see the hotel room until late at night. A view would be wasted on us.

[chasgooses]

It depends on the resort you choose.

I think upgrading to the preferred rooms at the values is worth it because you are in a much better location. Even those who do commando style and argue that a room is just a room can see the value of a preferred room because it saves time and makes the whole trip easier being located closer to the main building/pools/buses.

I don't think upgrading at a moderate is worth it. After all, any "water view" is through the walkway that people will be walking by every day. When I stay in a hotel with that setup I don't usually use the window that much. If there was a preferred situation (particularly at the more sprawling moderates like POR and CBR) like at the values that would be one thing, but I really can't see the value of a "water view" at the moderates.

The deluxes are another story. You might be best served with a standard room at the WL, but for many of the others an upgrade is worth it. If you are staying in the Boardwalk/BC/YC area, the water view upgrades are definitely worth it (particularly at the BC where many of the standard view rooms look over rooftops and parking lots). Same goes for the AKL and the savanna view. If you don't get that, IMHO the AKL is not worth it. At the Poly and GF it's not as necessary because the garden views are mostly nice, but the MK views are worth the upgrade too (with the start of the MK view category, I would never stay "lagoon view" at the Poly/GF anymore because I wouldn't want to pay extra for a second tier water view). Finally I also think it is worth it to upgrade at the Contemporary to stay in the Tower. While the MK view is clearly preferred the Bay View rooms are nice, and they still offer you the chance to have the full Contemporary experience.

[Momof2boys]

We upgraded views at WL & AKL to Woods & Pool view because I don't want to see a parking lot every day. We kept the standard "garden view" at the Poly and faced the quiet pool both times - great views !

[KAT1811]

I would say that if you have a few spare $$$ hanging around go for it if you are going to spend some time looking at the water. If not when you check in you can always aske if they can upgrade you. A few times we've lucked out and gotten the better view without asking or paying. If it's not that importanat to you I'd go with the latter. This year we paid for the water view at Coronado Springs because I requested that our grand gathering be situated around a quiet pool. DH and I are the only ones with little ones (10 1/2, 2 1/2, and 7 months) and we are thinking that is we are right on the quiet pool then we can put chairs right outside our door and hang out with everyone else when the little ones are down for the count.