Moderate vs. Deluxe

[Ropachs]

Hello,
We've always stayed at moderates, but are considering a deluxe for our trip next year for one reason - the monorail to MK and Epcot. We stayed at Caribbean last, which we love, but we had nightmare wait times for the buses. But is the monorail worth the extra money? Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Lori

[LilOrmstonViolet38]

i stayed at Wildreness Lodge on my honeymoon, which isn't monorail, but does have boat transpo to MK. I felt it was definitely not worth it. i love WL and have wanted to stay there forever, and i do dislike the wait for buses, but i just didn't see enough diference in the resort to justify the money- and we even got a free room upgrade to a better view! granted transpo was better but food is more expensive because there isn't a "food court" to speak of, just a couple options at a small mini-court. and i know WL is less expensive then GF, Poly, or Contemporary are. if you have the money i can see it being amazing, but all i could think about is how many bills we could have been paying with the extra money each night....

[sillyolbear]

If you are going to be spending the majority of your time at the MK, then a monorail resort could be worth the extra price. When we've traveled with extended family with young children, it was very worth it. Easy MK access and an easy trip back to the room for nap time.

If the other parks will be as big a draw as the MK, then you might not see as big a difference.

[DDuck66]

We stayed at the CR in 05 and are staying at the Poly this May. While we do not go to a Deluxe every visit, it is really nice to splurge on one. It is not only the proximity to the Monorail and MK, but it is all the extra benefits that are also included. Being able to watch the MK fireworks from your balcony is PRICELESS.

[I believe]

I am most likly the minority in this conversation, but here is my :twocents: for what it's worth...
We stayed at AKL in early Feb.It was the first time we stayed in a deluxe resort. It was nice, but didn't wow me.
I too thought the difference between the moderates and AKL was actualy slight. The animals outside our balcony were the only real "perk".
I have to say , the thought that kept creeping in my head was "Why didn't we stay an extra day instead of spending extra on the room?"
In the future we will continue to enjoy the resturants at the deluxe hotels, and spend our extra cash on more park days rather than a hotel.
It might be different staying at a monorail resort, but I think it would take a really good deal on a room to convince me to go back to a deluxe.
I hope this helps answer your question. Whatever you decide, Have a magical time.:mickey:

[jpH/keD]

We have been twice since '05. We stayed a value resorts. The first trip in '05 was at A.S.Sports and it was in May so not too crowded. I had no problems w/ the values. This past Nov. we stayed at A.S. Movies. We went during Thanksgiving week. The resort was totally booked up and very crowded. The busses were our worst nightmare. I learned alot. I do not usually spend the amount of money required to stay in a deluxe hotel anywhere. We have small kids and they don't care or know any difference. BUT next time we go we will stay at a monorail resort simply because I will not waste that much of our vacation being herded like cattle and waiting for long periods of time. I know its what ever your preference is but that week was insane! Where ever you decide to stay! Enjoy!! :thumbsup:

Oh and WELCOME TO INTERCOT!!

[SBETigg]

The deluxes are so very worth it and the monorail deluxes are my favorites. It makes such a difference in transportation. I stayed moderate once and I will never go back, not that it wasn't lovely but we missed the proximity to the MK, feeling surrounded by the magic all the time not just while in parks, easy transportation with no bus hassle issues (even the buses have always been better to our experience at deluxes), larger rooms and bigger beds.

[PetefromRI]

I'm starting to think it may be worth it after the last few stays at mods.The busses were just crazy.I have to think that for what Disney charges they ought to hire more drivers and get more busses.If everyone starts getting rental cars they might end up with major traffic problems.I think most businesses have been cutting back to skeleton crews,Try looking for an open register at Wal-Mart on a Saturday morning.

[marutzw]

We stayed at Poly last year and it was worth it for the monorail. The resort is beautiful and we had a room way over by the TTC so we could walk to the monorail stop there in about 2 minutes from our room. The monorail service is so much better than any bus service from any resort.

[scootch713]

If you go to MK alot(like I do with two daughters, we hit it nearly everyday at some point)... then the monorail is worth it. The poly has the best monorail access as if you are in a building like rapa nui.... you can just walk to the TTC and take the epcot monorail.... and take the express monorail to MK.

[Jasper]

Ultimately it all depends on where and how you plan on spending your time. If transportation is your only issue and you plan on traveling all over the property then being on the monorail may not make a whole lot of difference because so many attractions are not on the monorail. However, if you plan on spending most of your time at MK and EPCOT as well as your resort then maybe being on the monorail does matter.

The best thing to do is sit down with a piece of paper and write down what all you plan on doing and how often you plan on doing it. Once you have that list in hand it often becomes very clear whether or not the extra money will matter.