Pop or Deluxe for extended family?

[Allysmom]

We will be at WDW for 6 nights in May of 08 with my husbands family. We will be in three rooms. DH, DD and I stayed at Pop last year and it suited us just fine, even though DH and I honeymooned at BI. FIL and MIL want this to be a once in a lifetime trip so they are talking about WL or Poly. DH and I say save the money! You're never even in your room! SIL will have 4 year old and 9 month old at the time. We will have 7 year old. MIL and FIL in the third room.

Can anyone convince me that it's worth an extra $150-200/night x 3 rooms = around $2K extra for a deluxe room? DH and I are trying to justify it, but we see no reason for them to spend the extra $$$.

[twanner]

We stayed at Pop for our first trip, and then this past January we stayed at Caribbean Beach. (We thought we'd upgrade for a treat.) While I know that CB isn't a deluxe, we definitely preferred Pop! The themeing really gets you in the Disney mood! (my DD6 didn't even think we were at Disney when she first saw the hotel because of the lack of big, colorful characters)
I tend to agree that what's the point of spending so much on a room when you're barely in it? Unless you plan to lounge around the pool a lot--which we don't do much of because we're too busy at the parks! When you think of the money you can save, you're halfway to another Disney vacation!
So I guess I can't help much in justifying the deluxe resort!

[Sharon1026]

It depends on how you like to vacation and what your budget is.
If you are a theme park commando and are gone from sun up to sundown, then maybe a value resort is best. If you dabble in the parks, golf a bit, get a massage and like the resort, then maybe a deluxe resort is for you. That's why they offer something for every persons tastes/budget.

I've stayed in both kinds - depended on my trip and length of stay.

[LisaMarie]

I've stayed at 3 of the moderates and once at a deluxe (Boardwalk Inn). I've never stayed at the values. I liked the moderate resorts fine but I prefer the deluxe if I can afford it. One of the reasons that I can think of for staying at a deluxe is the queen beds. All of the other resorts just have full sized. Some people just don't want a bed smaller than a queen. Also, the deluxe rooms are quite a bit larger and are closer to the parks. It was fabulous being able to walk to Epcot at a moments notice without having to wait for a bus.

[Allysmom]

I totally agree that Deluxe resorts are awesome! DH and I stayed at Boardwalk (but Epcot is our favorite resort!) and I'd stay there again in a heartbeat! But we really are on the first bus to the parks in the morning, and the last bus back. We may do one afternoon at the pool, but for a 7, and 4 year old, the POP pool is fine. I would want a little more pool theming for an older child, maybe a water slide, etc, but I just can't see an extra $2K for a ROOM! And if we upgrade to a moderate, it will still be about $1K more, and I just don't get the difference between the value and moderate. I guess if we're gonna upgrade, we might as well go all the way!

[RockChalkKimball]

My family had this very conversation just a few weeks ago when we were planning our trip for Jan. 08. We have stayed at POP and POR and liked them both fine. My brother wants to try BWI. My mom, who is paying for the trip, doesn't think the extra $$$ is worth it. So, we decided that if my brother and his family want to go deluxe, they can go for it and pay the difference. I say let everyone stay where they want and just meet up every morning or at meal times. That way, everyone gets what they want!

[MissT]

POP is great theming for the little ones. Everything is bright, big, loud... As for older adults, maybe the inlaws preference would be to avoid that. I would stay in a deluxe if our trip had hotel time planned. With Poly, you'd be on the monorail to take advantage of hotel time or to escape the inlaws quickly.
We've stayed at both and often resolve ourselve to the value since we are park commandos on a mission to see 4 parks in one day with dawn to near dawn hours. My MIL is a I'd pay as little as possible if I had to vacation with her eviliness. But that's just me.

[MsMin]

I planned an extended family vacation last year and debated much of the same. We were 7 of us, me and my 3 kids, my parents and my niece. We didn't seem to fit in two rooms with the sleeping arrangements and I found we fit quite nicely in a 2brm villa instead of 3 hotel rooms. It does depend on your comfort w/ the group and willingness to share rooms. The 2bdrm ran about the same price as two deluxe rooms.
Have you looked into the family suites or a Boardwalk villa?

[Allysmom]

DH and I said NO WAY would we stay in a multiple room villa! I just think all three families will need their "away" time. In laws are paying, so it's up to them, but we're actually trying to save them some money. Has anyone ever rented points from DVC members? If we did that, we just found out we could stay deluxe for about a moderate price! But then we couldn't do dining plan. So many decisions!

[bkfree]

For us any of the Epcot Deluxes work the best and are worth the extra money. It is kid and adult friendly. Very close to Epcot , MGM and resort ammenities are great. Tons of great restaurants you can walk too, something for everyone. Easy to bring little ones back for naps while the big ones stay and play. SO much to do within a few minutes walk. Easy for a group to go their seperate ways, meet up later or plan a big get together. Buses are always fast, on time and have never been filled to capacity for us.
The other resorts are just too far from the action and harder for our groups to go to different places or combine a variety of outings into a convenient way. We love having so many options at the Epcot resorts.
The location cannot be beat. We have stayed at all the other type accomodations on site and off site and after staying at the Epcot Location, we will not go back to the others. It just seems to work for everyone and every type of WDW trip.
Yacht Club is our fav.

[Cinderelley]

For your SIL, the Poly might be nice. That way she can hop on the monorail and be back at the room for afternoon naps. If the in-laws are paying, I feel it should be their decision.