WDW vets..do you stay at the same Disney...

I used to be a total hotel snob, especially at Disney (but my DH did get awesome discounts with the military deals through Shades Of Green (and overflow deals), and with some Annual Pass discounts. Matter of fact, we‘ve never paid rack rate at a hotel anywhere. That being said, if your room is large enough to comfortably sleep all of you in one room, then I actually grew to like the value resorts over the last few years (I just can’t justify even discounted “deluxe“ Disney hotel prices any longer, as I could get a room a way nicer resort close by for so much less). Last few trips without my DH I did All Star Sports and also Pop Century. Of the two, I did give the slight advantage to Pop, only because it’s a larger resort and as such, the food court had more variety.
 
Not necessarily. A lot depends on budget for that trip. But lately we have been staying at the Swan and Dolphin. You can usually find them on Priceline for less than a Disney moderate resort.
 
My family plans to do WDW the same way my husband and I do Las Vegas - different resort every time. It's my personal mission to experience them all. :) So far we've stayed at POR and CBR, and next up is POFQ.
 
Why pay more $$ for amenities that you will not use, since you will spend almost all the time at the parks. If you were happy at ASSP then either stay there or I would suggest ASMO and POP since they were refurbed with queen beds and POP has the skyliner. For years, the bed size was always a deal breaker for us with staying value, but now we have no issues staying at the ones with queen beds and have just as much fun as any other trip. We have stayed at all 3 levels plus renting points and been lucky enough to have gone many times. Now we no longer spend all the time at the parks and enjoy the resort we're staying at and can honestly say that we have enjoyed our trips no matter where we stayed. For us, we also found, like a PP, that the deluxe amenities, are not enough to justify the BIG additional cost.
This question was a bit difficult for me, at the beginning, we wanted to stay at different resorts all the time, but then over time it has changed to staying at our favorite ones. It's nice to try a different resort but there is also something special about going back to the same resort that you like and know your way around already:)
 
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We used to say we were going to try all the resorts. So far we have only done one deluxe (Contemporary), three mods (CBR, PORFQ & CSR), & two values (ASMU Suites for two quick 2 night trips when we had a large group & POP)
Long story short, once when trying to decide on a resort, one of the grands asked why we just couldn't stay at POP.
Soooo, have to say POP is our very favorite & have stayed there many, many times.
 
Why pay more $$ for amenities that you will not use, since you will spend almost all the time at the parks.
Whether you're going to the parks or not plays such a huge role in where you stay and whether you enjoy your experience (or not). We did our first no-parks trip this year, and the portion spent at AKL was pure bliss. We've always loved staying there, but staying there without the pressure to make it to the bus stop on time definitely kicked up our enjoyment a few notches.

Similarly, our touring strategy greatly impacts how much we're willing to pay to stay somewhere. When we lived in Florida, we tried a whole bunch of different resorts because getting to the parks at a particular time just wasn't all that urgent. Some of our favorite trips featured stays at POR where strolling the grounds and goofing off at Old Man Island were highlights. Living 1,000 miles away now, we really prioritize proximity to the parks and ease of getting there. Taking a boat to the MK from the Poly is both peaceful and efficient. It's tough to beat. Ditto walking from the Poly to the EP monorail. The BC and BW offer the same benefits for EP and DHS. On our best days, we're in the park at opening time and back at the resort pool by 11am, where we spend the next five or six hours before returning to a park for nighttime fun. That touring strategy is exhausting when staying in a more remote location, and, for us, it's unworkable when staying offsite.

It's a tale as old as time, but for us, it has proved true: getting into the parks early and then getting back out of them greatly increases our enjoyment of the trip. When we push things too hard, we all get tired and grumpy. We've all seen the families that are miserable by 3pm despite having eight hours of "vacation" ahead of them. I sympathize with those for whom a WDW trip is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. However, since we've been before and plan to return again, there's no better experience than acknowledging that we'll never do everything and instead choosing to enjoy our resort.
 
Whether you're going to the parks or not plays such a huge role in where you stay and whether you enjoy your experience (or not). We did our first no-parks trip this year, and the portion spent at AKL was pure bliss. We've always loved staying there, but staying there without the pressure to make it to the bus stop on time definitely kicked up our enjoyment a few notches.

Similarly, our touring strategy greatly impacts how much we're willing to pay to stay somewhere. When we lived in Florida, we tried a whole bunch of different resorts because getting to the parks at a particular time just wasn't all that urgent. Some of our favorite trips featured stays at POR where strolling the grounds and goofing off at Old Man Island were highlights. Living 1,000 miles away now, we really prioritize proximity to the parks and ease of getting there. Taking a boat to the MK from the Poly is both peaceful and efficient. It's tough to beat. Ditto walking from the Poly to the EP monorail. The BC and BW offer the same benefits for EP and DHS. On our best days, we're in the park at opening time and back at the resort pool by 11am, where we spend the next five or six hours before returning to a park for nighttime fun. That touring strategy is exhausting when staying in a more remote location, and, for us, it's unworkable when staying offsite.

It's a tale as old as time, but for us, it has proved true: getting into the parks early and then getting back out of them greatly increases our enjoyment of the trip. When we push things too hard, we all get tired and grumpy. We've all seen the families that are miserable by 3pm despite having eight hours of "vacation" ahead of them. I sympathize with those for whom a WDW trip is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. However, since we've been before and plan to return again, there's no better experience than acknowledging that we'll never do everything and instead choosing to enjoy our resort.
Maybe for you and your family but definitely not for ours, as you can see in the signature we stayed at a bunch of resorts and can honestly say that being at one resort over another did not make it that much better. We find location to be so over hyped and paying $200 - $400 more PER night just so we can save 20 minutes here and there is sooo not worth it for us. Especially now that you can actually get a good idea of when the buses will be coming to the resort bus stops. We do not like taking midday breaks and would rather sleep in a bit and then stay til park close and found that we can get a lot done at closing that we use to get done during RD. We really think the Mods offer the best bang for your buck, but after our last stay at POP with the new rooms and skyliner, I am rethinking that:)
But my statement was for the OP who "literally" said that they will be at the parks all day, so why should they pay more for a resort if they're not there!
 
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I've done Coronado Springs 3 times, the Dolphin once and French Quarter once. Coronado's pool is why I started staying there. Other than when I did the Dolphin the rule I try to practice is "book the cheapest moderate".
 
Why pay more $$ for amenities that you will not use, since you will spend almost all the time at the parks. If you were happy at ASSP then either stay there or I would suggest ASMO and POP since they were refurbed with queen beds and POP has the skyliner. For years, the bed size was always a deal breaker for us with staying value, but now we have no issues staying at the ones with queen beds and have just as much fun as any other trip. We have stayed at all 3 levels plus renting points and been lucky enough to have gone many times. Now we no longer spend all the time at the parks and enjoy the resort we're staying at and can honestly say that we have enjoyed our trips no matter where we stayed. For us, we also found, like a PP, that the deluxe amenities, are not enough to justify the BIG additional cost.
This question was a bit difficult for me, at the beginning, we wanted to stay at different resorts all the time, but then over time it has changed to staying at our favorite ones. It's nice to try a different resort but there is also something special about going back to the same resort that you like and know your way around already:)

If you do decide to go with a value, and if you are really watching your dollars, price them all out. They don't all cost the same.
 
We have stayed Pop, ASSP, and POR. For years, when my parents were paying for themselves and my children and my DH and I paid our way, we were loyal to POR. Dad was a creature of habit and thought POR was the only option. It was wonderful, but the extras that come with a more expensive moderate resort were wasted on us. We didn't hang out at the lounge, never swam more than twice at the pools each visit, never once was in the hot tub area, tended to eat at the food court area instead of table service...). I was concerned that I would hate POP the first year that I booked it. My kids were a bit older by then and it felt like it might have been geared more for young kids from the pictures I saw. The opposite proved true- both kids liked it better and said they loved that it was over-the-top Disney themed. We stayed POP for a few years until I decided to throw together a quick trip with my DD and I last fall. Pop was full, so ASSP it was. We loved it- ended up paying less than we would have at Pop and appreciated that the resort was small and the walk back to the room was quick. (I generally just get standard rooms). Pop still would be our top pick, but don't rule out the All Stars because they have big advantages as far as size of the resorts and that the bus stops are usually closer in the parks than POP (which is always the farthest one). I feel the HUGE advantage that the Values have is their queue line. My family is not aggressive at all and I hated the push&shove that occurs at the Mod and Deluxe resort pick up lines for the buses. At the Values you line up and board in that order. At POR often people that just showed up would push ahead of those who had arrived earlier. Made me grumpy as heck before I even made it to the parks. I wish the Values queued lines were covered, but I just watch the weather and come prepared.
 
... I feel the HUGE advantage that the Values have is their queue line. My family is not aggressive at all and I hated the push&shove that occurs at the Mod and Deluxe resort pick up lines for the buses. At the Values you line up and board in that order. At POR often people that just showed up would push ahead of those who had arrived earlier. Made me grumpy as heck before I even made it to the parks. I wish the Values queued lines were covered, but I just watch the weather and come prepared.
Funny, it was the pushing and shoving in the queue lines that mostly turned me off of the values when we did our stay at POP, mind you that was 6 years ago now, so might have been a different time. But I do agree the mods could use a little better organization at the bus stops. I wish they'd at least separate the stop into different waiting areas depending on the park. Like, wait in this 1/2 if you're headed to MK, and in this 1/2 if you're headed to DHS. I've thought I was standing in line to get on a MK bus, only to find out the people in front of me in line weren't moving because they were waiting for DHS. Similarly, we've had people line up behind us, only to have them ask if we're going to the same park as them. It wouldn't take Disney much to implement, just a bit of paint on the ground could solve some of those issues.
 
We tend to repeat a few resorts. To me it’s nice to arrive and know just where to go and what to expect!

In deciding which resort, I usually let budget be my guide! My last trip we splurged on Animal Kingdom Lodge and only had one park day. Next trip we’re at All Star Sports :)
 
Funny, it was the pushing and shoving in the queue lines that mostly turned me off of the values when we did our stay at POP, mind you that was 6 years ago now, so might have been a different time. But I do agree the mods could use a little better organization at the bus stops. I wish they'd at least separate the stop into different waiting areas depending on the park. Like, wait in this 1/2 if you're headed to MK, and in this 1/2 if you're headed to DHS. I've thought I was standing in line to get on a MK bus, only to find out the people in front of me in line weren't moving because they were waiting for DHS. Similarly, we've had people line up behind us, only to have them ask if we're going to the same park as them. It wouldn't take Disney much to implement, just a bit of paint on the ground could solve some of those issues.
The worst I saw was at the Beach Club. I thought there might be a fight between two women. It's been my experience that unless people are forced to stay in line, like at the values where there is a roped off queue, everyone mills about until the bus rolls in and then it is a free for all. Those with strollers either use them to push through to the front, or get steamrolled as the crowd pushes past while they are trying to collapse their stroller. I think everyone is in selfish vacation mode (and sometimes I am as guilty as the next) and courtesy goes out the window. The roped off queue reminds them of the order that they have to board, even though the line may get rowdy at times.
 
The worst I saw was at the Beach Club. I thought there might be a fight between two women. It's been my experience that unless people are forced to stay in line, like at the values where there is a roped off queue, everyone mills about until the bus rolls in and then it is a free for all. Those with strollers either use them to push through to the front, or get steamrolled as the crowd pushes past while they are trying to collapse their stroller. I think everyone is in selfish vacation mode (and sometimes I am as guilty as the next) and courtesy goes out the window. The roped off queue reminds them of the order that they have to board, even though the line may get rowdy at times.


I've had many moderate and deluxe resort stays, some over major holidays, and have never seen fighting to get on the buses. I dislike the resort queue bus lines--you have to stand, and there is no shade or cover from the elements. Give me a covered bus station with seating any day!

But keep in mind there are no lines at the moderate and deluxe bus stops. Just because you are there, sitting on a bench, doesn't make you first in line. I'd be more upset with someone who jumped up and declared they were first that I would be by people walking up and getting on.
 
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I've never stayed in a resort twice. But, that will likely change in the future, now that we will be beyond the Disney standard room capacity just about everywhere in less than 3 years.
My choices have been limited by discount availability though. DH is retired military, so we get some of the best non-package discounts available. But POR, for instance, has never been an option.

We did POFQ a few years ago, and I liked it a lot less than I thought I would. It's small enough that it felt crowded to me all the time. The deluxes are small, but they don't use golf carts to bring bags to rooms in most cases. It was the end of April, when Easter fell in March, so the parks were hardly crowded at all, but POFQ felt packed.
If your daughters will share a bed, then it might be an ok option though. My baby sister kicks, so I try to avoid sharing with her even as an adult. We brought an air mattress for our then 2 year old, and put it in the vanity area at night, so we could all be up and move around more after his bed time. 2 air mattresses wouldn't have worked out very well.
I would probably still prefer CBR. It's my favorite of the moderates I've stayed at, and has a 5th bed option.
But, if you're trying to choose between a single room at a value and a single room at a moderate, then the moderate probably would win space-wise.

I was pleasantly surprised at ASMu when I stayed there. I didn't really have any complaints. My kids aren't to an age where they care about the quality of the pool, just that there is one. We were in a family suite though. I'm not sure I'd be very excited about it in a single room, even if I was saving money. We spend quite a bit of money in our room though. The kids still nap sometimes at Disney and so does DH.
 
I've had many moderate and deluxe resort stays, some over major holidays, and have never seen fighting to get on the buses. I dislike the resort queue bus lines--you have to stand, and there is no shade or cover from the elements. Give me a covered bus station with seating any day!

But keep in mind there are no lines at the moderate and deluxe bus stops. Just because you are there, sitting on a bench, doesn't make you first in line. I'd be more upset with someone who jumped up and declared they were first that I would be by people walking up and getting on.
If the people sitting at the benches are there first, I think that it is just plain courtesy to allow them to get up and get in line as the bus approaches. What I see isn't exactly fighting (though that Beach Club experience was ugly), more "the bus is here, I am here and all those people that clearly were here before me don't matter". A queued line is just first come, first serve. As I mentioned my dad was a fan of POR, as he got older and more frail the free for all was harder for him to deal with because it moved slower. I know some see it as no big deal because they have no problem with being aggressive, heck they don't see it even as aggressive just doing what it takes to get a seat. For my family, we just prefer the order that a queued line provides. Imagine if the park lines were ran the same way where people could mill about until it was time to board and then just run for the front!
 
If the people sitting at the benches are there first, I think that it is just plain courtesy to allow them to get up and get in line as the bus approaches. What I see isn't exactly fighting (though that Beach Club experience was ugly), more "the bus is here, I am here and all those people that clearly were here before me don't matter". A queued line is just first come, first serve. As I mentioned my dad was a fan of POR, as he got older and more frail the free for all was harder for him to deal with because it moved slower. I know some see it as no big deal because they have no problem with being aggressive, heck they don't see it even as aggressive just doing what it takes to get a seat. For my family, we just prefer the order that a queued line provides. Imagine if the park lines were ran the same way where people could mill about until it was time to board and then just run for the front!

Think about it--the benches are not sorted by park. You have no idea who is waiting for which bus. You don't know if the people sitting have been there longer than the people standing. I have never had it be a problem to get on the appropriate bus without pushing someone out of the way.

Some people prefer the queues at the values, and that is fine. But pushing and shoving to get on the buses at the moderate and deluxe resorts is not rampant. Which is what you seem to infer.

My dad is older now too, he is in his 80s. We now rent a car so that he can always have a seat.
 

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