Moderates worth it?

[Vikki]

We stayed at ASM this year and loved it.

We will be going back in 2006 for our 5th wedding anniversary, going for 3 weeks.

Here's the question. Is a moderate worth it? I liked ASM and would stay there again, but I have just been looking on the Virgin website and the difference between ASM and Port Orleans for example is only £400 ($731), which doesn't seem like a lot for 3 weeks.

By the way, I wouldn't stay at CB as we visited there and didn't like it much at all, far too big.

Also, we're looking into 'DIY'ing this next holiday, but Virgin is good for a starter price :D

So what do you think? We'd either do Port Orleans or Coronado Springs I think (neither of which I know much about yet). Or should we just stick to ASM?

Thanks!

[Bambi]

I haven't stayed at any of the resorts you mentioned. I have heard great things about Port Orleans and would like to stay there someday.


Just want to add that I can't say if its worth it to stay at a moderate since I have never stayed at a value or moderate before. I would guess and upgrade is always good:D

[d_dreamer]

I've never stayed at either park, but moderates are deffinelty better then value. Judging my pictures, I'd stay at Coronado-looks beautiful, almost as though you weren't in America.

[JuniorMickey]

I've stayed at POFQ and Coronado. POFQ wins out every time. i loved it. I usually stay at value resorts because I don't spend a whole lot of time in my room....

[Vikki]

This is what I'm thinking, is that extra money really worth it (especially when the AS are so good)? Ah, so many choices :D

[Keith]

Well until this year we'd stayed in value and deluxe only .. the moderates didn't seem to offer anything over the value.

This year we tried POR and we loved it!

It has boats for hire, its beautiful, river running through the resort... boats to downtown disney, nice food court which sells things OTHER than burgers (chickens etc.), it has a full service restaurant (boatwrights).. it has piano bob who is a MUST see IMHO.. the shop is large and well stocked. It's WELL worth the money.

BUT I have to say... I know I (and I suspect others) get carried away with resorts. You start at ASM then you go POR then it's wilderness lodge, then its yc then gf etc... Frankly I think that as long as you're there at disney, unless money doesn't matter or you've saved for it and you just want to blow the lot on the holiday, all stars is sensational value and fun.

[JuniorMickey]

I was considering a moderate for my October '05 trip but I think I'll stick to a value so I can spend the money saved on other stuff :D

[Vikki]

BUT I have to say... I know I (and I suspect others) get carried away with resorts. You start at ASM then you go POR then it's wilderness lodge, then its yc then gf etc...

Yes I can understand that, I guess you always think the grass is greener and all that....... :D

[lovinmom]

We stayed at a moderate (CSR) and while we really enjoyed it we really didn't spend much time there so for our trip this Spring we are looking at either Pop Century or an All Star.

[tajainaz]

The rooms at the moderates are slightly larger than the values, so that could be a factor with 3 or 4 people in a room. Coronado Springs has a small coffeemaker and iron and ironing board in each room. Decent blow dryers, too! :)

Beyond that, it's what suits the budget and personal preference!

[Musicmixer]

:D We have stayed at PO-FQ twice, (once for our anniversary) and we will be staying there again next year. We totally love the place, and feel that it is well worth the money. As Keith said the river, the pool, the boat to Downtown Disney, the food courts, and the restaurant (@ Riverside - just a short walk) are all added perks. The grounds are well manicured and are very romantic in the evening for a stroll. The FQ is also the smallest of the moderates and everything is located only a SHORT walk away. I highly recommend you give it a try at least once, I don't think you will be disappointed!!! :wiggle:

[discominnie]

Hi
We stayed at POFQ for our anniversary holiday this summer and it was lovely, even in the middle of summer it had a quiet calm feel, nice to escape to from the busy parks!!

I'd recommend it to anyone

Debsx

[ebud32]

One thing moderates are closer to the parks . all stars are 20 mins away. I would try pop century or CBR, POFQ,. they are all great. Pop century is near CBR and Saratoga.good luck

[BevW]

We've split it up again..we're staying 3 nights at POFQ, and 4 nights a Pop Century. We've done PO before and we loved it, we're staying at Pop Century cos we've never been. Plus we have 2 DGD's with us this trip, so we know we'll be spending more time in the rooms than normal.

[JuniorMickey]

One thing moderates are closer to the parks . all stars are 20 mins away. I would try pop century or CBR, POFQ,. they are all great. Pop century is near CBR and Saratoga.good luck
20 minutes? never taken me 20 minutes to get anywhere in property....

[windbag]

Ive been to CSR and loved it. Hope next time to try 4/5 nights at POR. I think if you can afford to go moderate for that special occasion then do so - the ambience from the views of lush green lawns and planting is worth the extra. The rooms are a wee bit bigger with better decor but youre not in the room very much (hopefully) so I would only use moderates for a special event and use AS etc for the usual trips. Or as others have said, split the time so you can get the best of both worlds.

[Chris/Lisa]

We looked at it Vikki but the price didn't in all honesty seem to be justified. Mind you we have small kids so we would not be interested with sit down meals at the hotel.

Lines for Buses to and from park looked about even 'cos there were many more buses to the AS resorts

Only one we were really looking at was the AKL as the idea of seeing the animals was good - pretty sure as you go 'up' the cost of things like breakfast does too so that needs to be factored into the budget.

Personally I will stick to budget and rotate arund them until I can afford a monorail hotel.

Try Sports Music or Pop if you want a change Vik you won't be dissapointed

[candyman]

untill our last visit we had only stayed at all star sports
but we had aproblem mid way through the holiday and moved the the CBR
we just could not believe how much nicer it was .
if you can afford it try a moderate even if it is for part of the holiday
virgin dont advertise it but they will split the holiday
this time we are staying 1 week in the CBR and then 3 weeks in a
private villa off property -this is because we wanted our own pool for our disabled DD
BUT we have added 3 days at the GF becvause we are getting married -we booked the GF separatly our selves and a good tip , if you are brave enough , do it DIY with help from the good folks on here , the AP discount made a big diference to the rates .
but on the other hand dont beat your self up if you decide to stay at the all star--at least you are at WDW and that is all that matters

steve

[joanne]

Although I haven't stayed at all resorts, I have visited them all for research purposes. I'd say the moderates are definitely worth it. You do get more at moderates than values.
I've stayed at POR and will be staying at POFQ in a few weeks.
CBR and CS are very large resorts. CS tends to get the better reviews of the 2.
POR is larger than POFQ, which is nice and compact.

Don't forget Vikki, you can save a lot more by booking direct with Disney or through a Disney travel agent who can get you discounts that you won't get with Virgin :)

[Whitequeen]

When I get back in Dec. I will have done value, moderates and Deluxe. I'll write a comparison review if you want.

[uscwest]

We've done all three. As far as food costs go, the food courts are pretty much the same price across the board. However, the less expensive the resort, the better the food court.

[Scoootch]

Okay..the main differences if you want to know what you get when you bump up to a moderate from a value would be these: A. Slightly larger rooms. B. Waterslides and hot tubs at the main pools. C. Sit down restaraunts in addition to the food courts. D. moderates will have limited room service (limited to pizza delivery from the resorts food court - although off sight places such as Pizza Hut will deliver to any of the resorts) E.POR and FQ have boat service to DTD in addition to buses as well as they are considered "sister resorts" which means you can use the pools and ammenities at both. F. Moderates offer recreation such as boat rentals,cane pole fishing(at POR), fishing exursions(for a fee),surrey bike rentals, and horse drawn carriage rides (at POR).

If none of these things is important to you than bumping up may not be worth it to you, however, personnally I really like the moderates. Especially FQ. So if you're not sure either way, try it out like everyone has suggested, but those are the main differences.

[Vikki]

Mind you we have small kids so we would not be interested with sit down meals at the hotel.

Does Anthony (DH) count as a small child? :D No, maybe not :whistle:


Try Sports Music or Pop if you want a change Vik you won't be dissapointed

I don't fancy POP to be honest, went there and wasn't too inpressed, Music may be another option though.

Don't forget Vikki, you can save a lot more by booking direct with Disney or through a Disney travel agent who can get you discounts that you won't get with Virgin

Yes, I am discussing all this with Mickeymac at the moment. I am currently trying to convince DH that this would perhaps be a better option than going with Virgin :)

[Lil Simba]

For a special occassion why not try a moderate? We stayed at POFQ for our honeymoon and loved it. It had a quiet, romantic setting. And we really enjoyed the boatride to DTD. We used those boats several times. It's a smaller resort so that walk to the pool, gift shop, lobby, food court and buses was short.

Also, the POFQ buses go to POR too, but they picked up at POFQ first. We were there in May/June when it was pretty crowded. Being picked up first meant the difference between getting a seat and not getting a seat. By the time our bus would make it around to the thrid stop at POR it was full and the rest of the people usually had to stand or wait for the next bus.

But I've never stayed at a value, so I can't really compare the two!