Disney (FL) [casual advice]!!!

[/DG/]

Hey guys, I'll be going to Disney World this Nov because my younger brother has been working there and is able to get us free tickets! Also our hotel rate will be discounted because of him too. Thx bro!

I have some money saved up and will be paying for the plane tickets and hotel. We'll be staying at a Disney hotel so we don't have to rent a car and take the time to drive and park there every day.

NOW, the dilemma for me is in deciding whether or not to pick a "value" hotel (cheapest) or a "moderate" hotel.

The breakdown for my spending is as follows (estimated):

Plane tickets round trip: ~$400
Hotel: ~$400/$800 - depending on value vs. moderate

So my total spent will be either $800 or $1200, depending on which type of hotel. I have enough saved for either and I won't be completely drained after doing so. BUT this is the most I have ever spent on one thing and it is a bit intimidating to do so.

Value pro - Nearly half the price of the moderate!
Value con - Very cheesy and not very pleasing to the eye tbh. Childlike with bright colors and otherwise just look like generic hotels.

Moderate pro - I stayed at one of these before (Port Orleans) and the resort was gorgeous!
pro 2 - Slightly bigger bed and room size
Moderate con - Double the price omg!

There isn't much different between them. It's just judging whether or not you think looks are worth $400 more.

BUT here's the thing. I am treating my mom here and I want to show my appreciation for her. I live with her and don't pay for rent, don't pay for much food, etc. She said she would be happy with either, but I don't know. The thing is that we won't be swimming or anything because it will be in November. We are basically just going to sleep there, so she said you aren't going to be looking at it much anyway. Meh. I actually might end up forced into the value anyway because reservations fill up fairly quickly.

For those that want to look them up, the list of value vs. moderate hotels are as follows:

VALUE
All Star resorts (the ugliest )
Pop Century (my brother works here )
Art of Animation

MODERATE
Port Orleans
Coronado Springs
Carribean Beach

I could go to the WDW forums, but then I'd have to make an acct. Whatever. Anyone have an opinion???

 

[Ivy]

Oh, how fun! I think you'll be happy either way- you probably won't be spending much time in the hotel, right? The moderate resorts are really nice and have good restaurants in them usually. I would go with the moderate, personally, but if you're squeamish about the money, there's nothing wrong with the value. Pop and AOA are supposed to be less cheesy than the All Stars, I've heard. How long are you staying?

 

[Ivy]

Re: swimming- you may be surprised. Disney keeps their pools heated year-round and the weather in FL rarely gets very cold. The time we stayed in a Disney resort (Old Key West) was in January, and we swam on several days where it got above 80.

 

[/DG/]

Oh, how fun! I think you'll be happy either way- you probably won't be spending much time in the hotel, right? The moderate resorts are really nice and have good restaurants in them usually. I would go with the moderate, personally, but if you're squeamish about the money, there's nothing wrong with the value. Pop and AOA are supposed to be less cheesy than the All Stars, I've heard. How long are you staying?

We will be staying for five nights and I believe we won't be using the resorts as anything other than a place to sleep in and eat breakfast in. The first day we will just be checking in and relaxing, so that's really the only day we'll be spending a lot of time at the resort.

I did a bit more research online and it appears that the All Star resorts all share a bus system during off season, so it's more likely to have a bit of a lengthy bus wait. And then the Art of Animation is booked up for the regular rooms, so that leaves Pop Century as our current value pick.

I just don't understand why the value resorts all have such gaudy, ugly themes. Why can't they have just made one of them look like a regular Holiday Inn or something? It's just so offensive to the eyes! >_<

My current moderate pick is the Coronado Springs one because I'm really digging the theme and stuff that I'm seeing in pictures. Both of the Port Orleans ones are out because they are booked for standard rooms. Caribbean Beach doesn't really do it for me from what I'm seeing of it.

So now it becomes a question of whether aesthetic is worth double the price or not, seeing as we won't really need all of the amenities.

Re: swimming- you may be surprised. Disney keeps their pools heated year-round and the weather in FL rarely gets very cold. The time we stayed in a Disney resort (Old Key West) was in January, and we swam on several days where it got above 80.

You went swimming in January?? We went during Christmas time several years back and it was really unusually cold at the time. We brought jackets and stuff, but we ended up having to take a trip to a Walmart to buy winter coats because it was so cold. And we were STILL freezing our asses off! I think it was even colder than it was in Michigan at the time. It probably won't be as bad mid-November and from what I understand, this was rather abnormal, but still. At the moment we aren't planning on swimming much anyway because we're going to try to be at the parks.

 

[Ivy]

With the bus situation, I'd definitely book Coronado Springs if I could and it wasn't too much of a stretch. That makes SO much difference. Old Key West had a ferry to Downtown Disney that went past Coronado and it looked really nice. And five nights in Coronado for $800 is a steal!!!

We did swim in January- the last day of our trip it did get cold and we couldn't have swam that day, but it was over 80 all the other days. I think your previous Christmas trip was kind of an anomaly.

 

[ChocolateMoose123]

Any resort of Disney is going to be clean, close and safe. I live in Orlando, btw. So I would go with the less expensive.

Bring sunscreen.

 

[/DG/]

With the bus situation, I'd definitely book Coronado Springs if I could and it wasn't too much of a stretch. That makes SO much difference. Old Key West had a ferry to Downtown Disney that went past Coronado and it looked really nice. And five nights in Coronado for $800 is a steal!!!

We did swim in January- the last day of our trip it did get cold and we couldn't have swam that day, but it was over 80 all the other days. I think your previous Christmas trip was kind of an anomaly.

Ah noo, I'm afraid you've misunderstood. Pop Century and Coronado Springs both have the same type and quality of transportation. The only moderate hotel with a second type of transport is Port Orleans and there are no standard rooms available.

I do agree that it is a great deal and I'm hesitant to pick the value hotel because we might not ever get this deal again.

 

[Ivy]

I guess I did misunderstand- I know they're all on buses but didn't you say all the value resorts share a bus system while the moderates have their own? Or is it just the All-Stars that share a bus?

 

[/DG/]

I guess I did misunderstand- I know they're all on buses but didn't you say all the value resorts share a bus system while the moderates have their own? Or is it just the All-Stars that share a bus?

Yeah it's just the All Star hotels that share a bus line.

 

[Lia_kat]

I'm from FL and have stayed at Disney resorts multiple times. Go with moderate, they're still very nice and comfortable.

 

[Eugene Watson VIII]

Didny lan