*SIGH* I so wish WDW resorts were a little cheaper!

[summermac]

Don't get me wrong, I love the values. Having stayed at 3 - they are great fun. Well I won't say I loved POP this trip but I am chalking it up to being more due to the time of year we went and not being able to utilize the pool, etc. I'll take the blame on that one. I'd even give it another go round even though I liked Sports better.

But what I really want is to be able to afford to stay at a moderate or justify the cost at the very least. Or better yet, a deluxe. We walked from Boardwalk to Epcot and I fell in love with Beach Club as did my kids and husband. So much so that I came home and mocked up a price for a May trip just to see what it would cost. Yeah...so much for that dream.

Sad face!

 

[QVCshopper]

Check out the UK Expedia thread on the Budget Board. I booked Beach Club for slightly more than $250/night including taxes and fees in June. Of course, more than Pop, but not tons more than a moderate.

 

[jperrot1]

I love Disney and all it does, but it saddens me that so many are being priced out because of the increase in their prices. I know I read somewhere that someone does a price check on WDW price increase, and they analyzed it as inflating much quicker than inflation. That results in families getting priced out. I hope you get a pin code or something and can experience a moderate and/or deluxe resort. Or, maybe you can look into their free dining packages when offered. Watching people being priced out is not fun.

 

[chocolateavocado]

Don't get me wrong, I love the values. Having stayed at 3 - they are great fun. Well I won't say I loved POP this trip but I am chalking it up to being more due to the time of year we went and not being able to utilize the pool, etc. I'll take the blame on that one. I'd even give it another go round even though I liked Sports better.

But what I really want is to be able to afford to stay at a moderate or justify the cost at the very least. Or better yet, a deluxe. We walked from Boardwalk to Epcot and I fell in love with Beach Club as did my kids and husband. So much so that I came home and mocked up a price for a May trip just to see what it would cost. Yeah...so much for that dream.

Sad face!

I hope you're able to find an awesome deal & make your dream come true!

 

[summermac]

We were lucky to experience a moderate in 2009 thanks to the Buy 4, get 3 free deal they were running. Should have upgraded to a Deluxe back then.

 

[JennyDrake]

I can certainly relate. I'm an AP holder and work takes me to Orlando 3x/ year and then I stay and play for a few days. Just 4 years ago, I regularly got a rate of $69-79 at the values and $99-109 at the moderates.

In December the best rate I could get at AS Music (standard room) was $134/night! (Fortunately, it was only for one night!)

I'm often a solo traveler and I simply cannot justify $200-ish per night at moderates--much less what a deluxe would cost! Another for comparison, in December 2010 I stayed pool view at AKL for $229/night.

Like you I would love to try deluxe resorts, but I simply cannot justify the cost.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Disney always offers discounts and with a good discount, the prices are very reasonable, IMHO. I was in a mod (POFQ) back in Sept for only $120/night. I think that's pretty good!

 

[Ofinn]

Yeah they offer discounts, but I am paying a lot more for my rooms with the 35% discount then I was 4 years ago. I'm pretty much to the point where I'll only go in value season with 35% off. A lot of time it's only the most expensive rooms that are discounted.. We like to take more than one vacation a year, and we like to go other places besides Disney. I'm finding that the Disney trip is taking up far too much of my vacation budget. I can't wait to see the 2015 prices.

 

[Shaden]

Don't get me wrong, I love the values. Having stayed at 3 - they are great fun. Well I won't say I loved POP this trip but I am chalking it up to being more due to the time of year we went and not being able to utilize the pool, etc. I'll take the blame on that one. I'd even give it another go round even though I liked Sports better.

But what I really want is to be able to afford to stay at a moderate or justify the cost at the very least. Or better yet, a deluxe. We walked from Boardwalk to Epcot and I fell in love with Beach Club as did my kids and husband. So much so that I came home and mocked up a price for a May trip just to see what it would cost. Yeah...so much for that dream.

Sad face!

We swore we would NEVER stay deluxe, just not worth the price, we love mods and might actually prefer the outdoor hallways, and the expansive grounds, etc. Deluxe look nice, don't get us wrong, but we LOVE CSR and POR ...

However, we priced out our May Trip, 2 weeks, and price for a King Bed at POR for 14 Nights, WITH a 30% discount $2640. The price to RENT DVC points at Animal Kingdom, standard view deluxe studio, 5th floor, overlooking the pool .... $2660. $20 more than the Mod with a 30% discount, yes please.

SO, we are rolling Deluxe this time

 

[Sfmarine]

I agree with everyone else. Don't give up on staying at Beach Club! BC is worth it just for Stormalong Bay. Wait for a special to be announced and take advantage of it. If you are an AP, you can get up to a 37% discount on deluxe resorts.

 

[melissafox18]

We are staying deluxe for the first time and I'm SO excited about it! I'm sure it's going to ruin Disney and I'll only want to stay at deluxe resorts from now on. That being said, I'm always torn between staying longer (or going more often) at a value or going every other year (or every third for a splurge vacation) and stay at a nicer resort.

Location, location, location!

 

[GigiDisneyfreak]

Check out the UK Expedia thread on the Budget Board. I booked Beach Club for slightly more than $250/night including taxes and fees in June. Of course, more than Pop, but not tons more than a moderate.

Can you use this website even if you live in America. I have seen it mentioned before but only by people in Europe.

 

[AllyinWonderland]

You could look into renting DVC points. Right now we are planning our vacation for October and if we can get the points for the week we want we will be staying at a deluxe for less than a moderate and barely more than a value.

 

[ah10is]

Can you use this website even if you live in America. I have seen it mentioned before but only by people in Europe.

Yes! I live in the USA and booked AKL for $201 a night for this July using expedia uk! Would never be able to afford a deluxe otherwise!

 

[mevelandry]

We are staying deluxe for the first time and I'm SO excited about it! I'm sure it's going to ruin Disney and I'll only want to stay at deluxe resorts from now on. That being said, I'm always torn between staying longer (or going more often) at a value or going every other year (or every third for a splurge vacation) and stay at a nicer resort.

Location, location, location!

My husband went from moderate (POFQ) to deluxe (PR) then from deluxe (AKL) to moderate (CSR) and it really wasn't that bad! The only thing I don't enjoy from the moderates are the "motel doors" ...

At some point we might even stay at a value for the forst nights and finish with a deluxe for the last night!

 

[DJFan88]

My husband went from moderate (POFQ) to deluxe (PR) then from deluxe (AKL) to moderate (CSR) and it really wasn't that bad! The only thing I don't enjoy from the moderates are the "motel doors" ...

At some point we might even stay at a value for the forst nights and finish with a deluxe for the last night!

I actually like that motel doors in the moderates. Because of the beautiful surroundings at the moderates it doesn't feel the same to me as the local motel 6 motel doors. Also, I love all of the spaciousness that the moderates offer.
However, we always drool when we're walking on the boardwalk at staying in that area, spec. BC because of the whole proximity/flexibility thing with Epcot and I guess DHS.
So, finally we are trying it., but in a split stay. Because, I just have to go to POR as I love it and I want to go a lot of days, as we only get to go every 2 years and it's a trek. (we don't fly, either drive or now we go autotrain). So I will do a split with BC to try it, a 6/4 split with the deluxe in the end.

 

[nfggirl5454]

JennyDrake is right about the prices being SO much more than they were four years ago. You can find good deals though, if you look around. Last Sept, I was able to get the BC for around 250 a night, including taxes, through hotels.com. We booked it around Memorial Day, as they were having a special sale, and the price was the same for the Contemporary and a few other deluxes. We had a hard time deciding which to go with but settled on BC for Stormalong Bay and because it was the LTM Villains event and thought an Epcot resort would be best. Definitely try sites like that, and maybe authorized travel agents. I was able to get a good price on the YC for this August, less than I'd pay for a mod at the same time.

 

[john398]

I personally get spoiled by the cheapness of Vegas and when I compare to Disney I have to remember its cost a lot more

 

[Pakey]

I second the suggestion of looking into renting DVC points. You can stay at a DVC resort on rented points for about the same price as a moderate. They aren't as nice as the deluxe resorts IMO (I own DVC at BCV so I'm not bashing them) but they are an upgrade over a moderate. So if BC is your dream, look into renting to stay at BCV where you can then use all the amenities of the BC resort at a fraction of the cost.

There are some drawbacks to renting (mainly that you can't cancel without losing all or part of your money) but the rewards may offset these drawbacks.

And I do agree that the prices are getting outrageous. The deluxes aren't even luxury resorts. Obviously the demand is there or the rates wouldn't be what they are.

 

[klmall]

Renting points isn't always cheaper. We're paying about $2000 for 5 nights at BLT in December Value season, weekdays for a 1 bedroom. Studios are somewhat cheaper but can be impossibly small for families of 4 and they are the first to be rented by owners. We decided that we could either stay in a standard room at the Poly which we love or get a larger space with 2 bathrooms.

It is very important to compare prices carefully before assuming that renting points is always cheaper.