Moderate Resorts - Truthfully

[First TIme with DS]

My husband and I are planning our May 2010 trip with our (then) 2.5 year old son. We have stayed at AKL before but were thinking about stay at POFQ bc we are going to stay longer and want to take 2 vacations next year. Here is my question. POFQ gets good reviews but are moderates still nice. I mean I know it isn't a deluxe and most of the reviews say "I will never stay value again". What about people that are used to deluxe? Is it a huge disappointment? I just need some help. Thank you in advance!

[Belster]

You can tell from my signature that I have stayed at Deluxe resorts for several years before staying value....I was very pleasantly surprised when I stayed value. This will depend on what you want from your vacation.

I like to be surrounded by Disney...I did not get that at GF...but I did at Poly. I also got this while at Pop. Yes the rooms are very different smaller, not nearly as many ammenities, beds are not comfy and cozy. You get what you pay for but it is still Disney!!! We are staying mod for the first time. We chose CSR because I have seen many postings of people that have said that CSR is as close as you get to deluxe for a mod price. I also have looked very well into the resort and can see that I am getting a great value for the type of hotel it is.

I will PM you with a site to CSR so you can check it out.

Good luck!! I would give mods a try.

[Daisy'sMom]

After spending much money on deluxe stays, we went with moderates and now have been staying in values for the past several years. Since we spend little time at the resort, and like spending our money elsewhere, this has worked out extremely well. A matter of fact, we enjoy POP more than all the others combined. The rooms are a smaller, but we don't park our car in it. Two adults and two children fit nicely.
The moderates are just as nice, we will never go back to deluxe. The money saved is a plus.:mickey:

[Mousemates]

We have stayed in resorts of all levels and had good stays at each of the various economic entry points...in terms of the service we have received and care shown to us by the CMs, the hoenst truth is that we have seen little discernible difference between any of them.

So to us the difference between the deluxes and the mods comes down to room size (deluxes are bigger than mods (thou AKL and WL don't really feel that much bigger)), amenities (interior hall ways, more elaborate theming, nicer pool areas, etc) and location (monorail access, or the ability to actually walk to a park).

Having said all that to us a couple of the mods stand out and have a more deluxe feel to them...the first is coronado springs which has many deluxe amenities (including queen beds and a big hot tub) and the other is POFQ which to us has a more upscale or deluxe feel simply because of the excellent job that they did in theming the resort and furnishing the rooms.

I doubt there are many people who would be disappointed with a stay at either of these resorts or that a person would notice any discernible decrease in vacation magic if you visited one of these resorts after a previous year's stay at some of the "less well located" deluxe resorts like Saratoga Springs or Old Key West.

[wdwnutz]

As you can see from my signature, we stayed at a different Disney resort each time we go. So far the Poly and CSR have been our favs. My least fav was POR and Music. We probably will not spend the extra $ for deluxe again, mainly because we just don't spend enough time at the resort to justify the $. Value resorts are ok, but we like the mods the best. Mods have bigger rooms, 2 sinks, the privacy curtain, refrigerators, sit down restaurant and nicer pools than value. This year we are trying CBR mainly for the Nemo themed room (my 3 yr. son fav) and the newly refurb pool with the new kiddie pool area.

[nicster]

I have not stayed at the Deluxe, however, my friends just got back from AKL & were saying that the room they got there was very small compared to Cont (they had switched resorts for the last couple of days). I guess that each Deluxe should be compared on it's own merit... hope that helps.

[First TIme with DS]

I just wanted to thank you guys for your input. I REALLY appreciate it. I am an over-planner and just want to make my sons first trip truly Magical!

[disneymom15]

I've stayed once at CBR, and upcoming trip will be at POFQ. All of our other stays have been at values. We enjoy the values very much. For the little amount of time spent there it suits us fine.

[buzz2001]

CSR has recently undergone a total renovation and now offers queen beds and some nice upgrades like flat panel tv's.

[garymacd]

We have stayed at deluxes and moderates (with a quick stay at a value) and, while we love WL, our personal favourite is POFQ. We stay there so often that it feels like coming home when we get there.

While WL has bigger, better beds, you can't beat the price of the moderates. The theming of FQ is top-notch and it is so compact it is not a long walk anywhere in the resort. It is also one of only two locations where you can get beignets, so that is points in its favour.

I want to try the other deluxe resorts, but to me, POFQ will always be home.

[EmmMOM2]

AKL is our "HOME" resort as well. We have stayed there the last 3 times we've gone.
But this time we wanted to try something different as well so we ARE trying POFQ...
I'll let you know how it goes, but we are confident in our decision.
I have stayed at POR in the past and nothing beats the boatride to downtown, it's a nice break from the buses.

[KatMark]

Our first stays on Disney Property were at deluxes -- Contemporary and Polynesian (approximately seven times between the two). We then moved to a moderate and we've not been back to deluxe except once and that was in 2004 when oldest DS graduated from high school and he picked the resort as he was bringing his girlfriend with us on the trip.

We have never regretted NOT going back to a deluxe. In fact, DH offered me the Poly last year for our 25th wedding anniversary and I chose to stick with my moderate.

I cannot justify, especially with two sons in college and the increasing tuition bills, the cost of a deluxe when I can get just about everything it offers at my moderate (full service restaurant, hot tub (something the Poly does not have), fitness center/spa, beautiful grounds, etc. I do not need to be on the monorail anymore--don't have small kids; I don't need to spend hundreds of dollars on a room that is possibly bigger than the room I have at a moderate but don't care for the theme as much. And, now to top it off, my moderate offers queen beds and flat screen televisions.

So the biggest difference for us is not being on the monorail (as already stated...doesn't bother us...and we drive our car everywhere anyway) and at most of the deluxes you have interior corridors as opposed to outside walkwas. Truthfully, I prefer the outdoor walkways. I enjoy walking out my door and enjoying the Florida weather--that is part of the reason I choose to go to Florida, and I find it quieter than the "interior" hallways with the noise and the kids running up and down the halls and I don't miss the dark, dampy feel of the interior hallways.

Yes, the moderates (three of the four any way) are very large and spread out. But we've had just as long a walk at the Poly from our room to the food court than we do from any spot at our moderate to the food court--difference again--indoors v. outdoors.

It really just comes down to a matter or personal taste, preference and expectations. We are perfectly happy at the Coronado and will continue to stay there for all future trips (we are doinga split stay with the AKL next year...but only beacause we love animals and want to be able to sit on the balcony and watch them in the a.m. or p.m.

[First TIme with DS]

Well you guys have made my decision for me!! However now I don't know if I want POFQ or CSR! Ahhhhhhhh. Thanks again.

[JPL]

I have stayed at all different level resorts depending on the type of trip I am taking.If I have time to enjoy the ammenities I try to stay Deluxe or DVC. Other times when I knew I would be hitting the parks hard I have stayed but needed extra space I stayed in a moderate. I have also stayed at a value on a few solo trips when price was an issue. My fovorite stays have been at AKL, PORS, and yes even Pop Century. My 2 worst stays have been at CSR which I will never go back to. Overall experiences can vary but there is nothing wrong with staying at a moderate or even a value I just think you need to know how much time you are panning to spend at the resort. I would recommend givig POFQ a shot the themeing is very well done and you have the option to walk over and visit PORS with just a short walk. They also offer a relaxing boat ride to DTD.

[Disney Doll]

We love CSR and that will be "our" resort from now on. Next trip we are staying at AKL because we are staying for free with my parents and their DVC, but honestly that resort is not something I would have picked for myself. It's just so dark and the theme isn't really me. I also like the outdoor walkways as opposed to interior corridors at the deluxes and walking the grounds at CSR was one of my favorite parts of that resort. I've never stayed at a deluxe so maybe I'll change my tune after this next trip, but I doubt it because really CSR offers everything I want. It would be nice to be on the monorail, but that one thing is not enough of a reason for me to stay deluxe.

[Tippy]

POFQ is wonderful. The first time we took our girls that is where we stayed. Your child will love the themed pool & will be able to go down the slide there. One parent at top & one at the bottom to catch.
There is a small playground on site. My DD's enjoyed the boat ride to downtown disney.
Enjoy.

[prprincess]

I have stayed at resorts of all price points, and no, going from a deluxe to a moderate is not a huge disappointment. Hubby and I are trying to stay at each resort at least one time, and we have stayed at all of the moderates (except for CBR, which we will try in November) and we have been happy with all of them. Once we do reach our goal, we plan on choosing one to be our "home" resort, and I'm more than 100% sure that it will be a moderate.

Enjoy!!

[renecat]

Since you say this is about your son I'd pick POFQ lots of colorful thing for a 2 1/2 year old. I've stayed at CSR and it was before they did the renovations so I can't say for sure that it's better or not then POFQ. Hope you have a great time which ever you pick.:mickey:

[disneypk]

I too love POFQ. Haven't stayed there since 2007. In July we stayed at CSR in new room, it was amazing. What wasn't thrilling was the loooong walk from Ranchos to Pepper Market. I have been reading reports of recent stays at POFQ. Can anyone tell me if the rooms really are in that bad of shape? We have 4 nights booked there in September.

[greengeen]

Well you guys have made my decision for me!! However now I don't know if I want POFQ or CSR! Ahhhhhhhh. Thanks again.

POFQ and CSR are both lovely. One is not "better" than the other, IMO. CSR is bigger, more spread out, and has queen beds in most rooms now. POFQ is smaller, very quaint, and has double beds not queen. If I were you, I'd just pick one for this trip and save the other for next trip.

[Phantod]

One other thing to keep in mind is the location of the particular resort you are staying at. IF you are using Disney bus service, you could have short trips to some and long trips to other parks, or lots of long trips.

Take a look at the map after determining which parks you will be spending the most time at and that might sway you one way or another. We've stayed at CSR and CBR. We like the convenience of CBR because it's so close to DHS, Epcot and TL. MK is the furthest away, but since we've been to DL 3 times in the past 12 months, we will probably visit it the fewest times.

We also had a wonderful experience at CSR, during Hurricane Charley...the CMs were wonderful, although it was a bit of challenge getting dinner the night when Charley hit and we were "stuck" at the resort. :mickey:

[Checkers]

:mickey:We have stayed at CBR, POR & POFQ and FQ is by far our favorite. However, the downside of a moderate (especially if you have small children who go to bed early) is that there is no balcony to escape to. We are DVC owners and AP holders and when we want to do a "room only" vacation and not use points, we stay at FQ or spring for a deluxe because we do enjoy the resort and just relaxing on the balcony.

[faline]

We've pretty much stayed at all levels that Disney has to offer. Our first few trips were camping in a tent at Fort Wilderness. From there, we stayed a number of times in the Fort Wilderness Cabins (home away from home). Following that, we had our first stay in a moderate (Caribbean Beach). We've stayed in a number of Deluxes (Wilderness Lodge, Poly, Beach Club, Grand Floridian, Contemporary, Animal Kingdom Lodge); a couple of Values (All Star Music and Pop); a few moderates (Port Orleans Riverside, Coronado Springs and the aforementioned Caribbean Beach). We've even stayed Club Level (Wilderness Lodge). One stay was in a studio at a DVC (Old Key West).

We've stayed Value (Pop) after Deluxe (Grand Floridian) and have found that all resorts have something to offer as long as one adjusts one's expectations in advance. A Grand Floridian stay is wonderful but we've also had a very nice stay at Pop Century.

On our upcoming trip, we will start at a Moderate (Port Orleans French Quarter - our first stay here) and then move over to Wilderness Lodge Club level for the remainder of our trip.

As long as we're on Disney property, we're happy! (We've also had a couple of off-site stays so we have a comparison!)