Would you upgrade?

[StelmackFamily]

currently booked AoA Mermaid Room for 7 night stay in June? Looking to upgrade to a deluxe resort ( GF or Poly)... tell me if it’s worth the $$$

 

[hertamaniac]

currently booked AoA Mermaid Room for 7 night stay in June? Looking to upgrade to a deluxe resort ( GF or Poly)... tell me if it’s worth the $$$

Are you looking to be able to cook your own meals some/all of the time? We chose OKW for an extended stay to take advantage of the full sized kitchen. It freed up $ to splurge on signature dining a few nights. Of course, it is not on the monorail loop if that is your preference.

 

[OneinThree]

IMO, whether it's "worth it" to someone really depends on what kind of a trip you're planning otherwise. If you've got a lot to see at all 4 parks plus potentially Universal, you might not find yourself at the resort enough to really take advantage of the amenities. On the flip side, some have pretty much seen everything and balance park and resort time, wherein the significant premium for the upgrade is well worth it. The moderates offer a balance between the two.

 

[puck292]

We always stay at Grand Floridian or Yacht Club (May 2018 GF) for a couple reasons: 1. Transportation/location is amazing and saves time and frustration. 2. Our kids are older (20/17) and we spend more time at the resort and the deluxes have so many dining options and really nice lounges; and 3. because the kids are older we generally need more space. Having said that, getting the bill at the end of the trip has gotten more and more shocking every year. But if you don't mind spending the money and you will take the time to enjoy the ambiance and amenities the deluxe hotels have to offer, I highly recommend that you go for it. But if your kids are younger and you will spend more time at the parks, you my want to save your money! Good luck with your decision!

 

[MimiOfTwo]

Depends. I’d never book a Mermaid room. But full disclosure, I don’t like any value rooms. I do think Poly & GF are overpriced but if you’ve got money to burn I’d say go for it. If not, I’d upgrade to POFQ. It’s a nice step up from value but won’t break the bank.

 

[loves to dive]

Worth it is subjective. Like previous poster, I'd never book a Mermaid room. I do occasionally stay in the value resorts during split stays but I would never pay for an AoA room since they are usually close to the price of a moderate. Personally, we prefer the Epcot resorts and the price is worth it for us.

 

[gillep]

Very subjective. For us, it would be worth it because we use the on-site amenities at the deluxe (and moderate) resorts. We like having access to hot tubs, fitness center, bar/lounge that is not the pool bar, sit down restaurant (preferably a signature and non-signature), etc.. We also will book certain trips around certain parks, so for instance we are doing an evening event at MK and are staying at The Contemporary, for our F&W trip we stay at YC or BC.

 

[happymommy]

I agree it's subjective. The LM rooms do not appeal to me at all; however, I've stayed at Pop and had a better time than I have had at one of my stays at the BWI.

The LM rooms are the furthest from everything at AOA, which is something to keep in mind.

I do love the GF, but the rates that Disney charges for deluxe resorts now is not worth it to me at all. If I go back, it will be to Pop or the Swan (on points). No plans on going back anytime soon though!

 

[cutigerlady]

We just got back from a trip where we stayed at the Poly CL and I thought it was worth it. Our trip was heavily focused on spending time at the resort and not the parks. It was freezing, but that didn’t stop my kids from swimming (pools are heated). We spent very little money elsewhere, so my total cost was similar to a trip at a cheaper room but more food.

I’ve stayed at AOA in the cars suites too. My son is begging to stay there again because he loved it there! So you might be surprised at what your family would like best! (My husband definitely prefers the amenities of deluxe resorts! )

 

[Tonberry]

Here's my take:
Our next December trip is at the Poly, but we chose it because we plan to spend a lot of afternoons and some mornings at the resort swimming and relaxing and stuff. We also plan to park hop a lot and use Disney transportation, so the extra money spent at the Poly is worth it to us.

If our plan was to do one park all day or just swim for an hour, eat and go to bed, I couldn't see spending the extra money for an upgrade to a place like GF or Poly.

 

[Stefani P.]

If you want the extra room that suites offer at AoA, it is a great resort.
The posters who say they'd never stay there are probably used to deluxe.
I stayed 10 days with my daughtes age 17 and 21and the 2 bathrooms plus a bedroom door i could close each night for privacy and peace...invaluable!
If I were going and planned a lot of resort time, then I would upgrade. But if you plan to spend a ton of time in the parks, it isn't needed.
If you don't need a suite and a basic room is fine, maybe upgrade to a moderate!

 

[Disneyhenry]

I think it’s worth it 100%! I have stayed at GF and it was so beautiful! The grounds, the pool, everything about the resort is great!
We will return some day
Plus that time of year you will love having the monorail to quickly go to parks, the pool to relax around.
I say go for it!!

 

[mickeynut1]

As others have said, worth is subjective as it's different for everybody. We've never stayed at AoA (or any other value), but have stayed at both Poly and GF and the extra cost for either one would be worth it to us. We spend the majority of our time at the resort and enjoy the extra amenities the deluxe resorts offer. The Poly is our favorite overall, but the GF runs a very close second. If the extra cost is doable, I say go for the upgrade. Good luck!

 

[Mousemommy1]

We spend a lot of time at the resort, so for us, paying the extra for a deluxe is worth it. If you are going to be park commando's, then the room is just a place to sleep, you may not want to shell out the extra money.

 

[HappyMomma]

It depends on your needs and what you like. I've stayed value when we couldn't afford anything else. My kids loved the themes. I thought it was garish. But worked for us then. Now most of my kids are older and our finances are different. So we stay deluxe. We could go to Disney every year if we wanted to stay in a value or moderate, but we like the deluxe, signature dining, and boutiques so we go less often because it's worth it for us. Everyone is different. Some people are in the parks more and only sleep in the room or wish to go more often so no matter what their finances wouldn't find the deluxe a good fit for them. Really the moderates are a fantastic option. We are actually picking up a night a CBR on this next trip because we knew we'd be tired and just going to Disney Springs the first night so didn't want to "waste" our money on another night in a deluxe. I'd say if you are planning a resort day and a late start day and a few early evenings back to hang at the resort and enjoy the views and the pool it's worth it But if you're going to be at the parks all day almost every day it wouldn't be worth it.

 

[Shellyb84]

We spend at least half our time at the resort, so the deluxe amenities are worth it to us. Not to say that we never stay at Values or Mods - we typically make 4-5 trips a year at least and we don't stay deluxe every trip (I would like to, but having a few more inexpensive trips allows us to go more often). We stay deluxe for our big summer trips and then also in the fall when we get a really good discount. For other short trips we stay at Pop, a mod, or FW occasionally in our travel trailer.

I agree with others on the LM rooms - if we stay value we only stay at Pop. The LM rooms are pretty much the same price as a moderate.

 

[Sue M]

currently booked AoA Mermaid Room for 7 night stay in June? Looking to upgrade to a deluxe resort ( GF or Poly)... tell me if it’s worth the $$$

It depends, I think the Mermaid rooms are the standard rooms at AoA, not suites? AoA is super cute and has a great main pool. Looks really fun. Also has a good food court. We stayed at Pop last trip and walked over for a meal. Food options were good, but really busy. Pasta bar had long line, my friend and I ordered at the same time, but my food came out 5 min after hers. And they got order wrong.
You haven’t said how many in your room. The Mermaid rooms are small, value rooms. If there’s more of you, I’d upgrade to either a moderate or deluxe.
Another thought is in AoA standard room the beds are doubles. At the mods or deluxe you get queens.

 

[aleh021]

currently booked AoA Mermaid Room for 7 night stay in June? Looking to upgrade to a deluxe resort ( GF or Poly)... tell me if it’s worth the $$$

If you have the money for it then I say yes! Hands down Poly
Beautiful resort, amazing food, transportation is great and rooms are a great size.

 

[bffdisney]

If you want the extra room that suites offer at AoA, it is a great resort.
The posters who say they'd never stay there are probably used to deluxe.
I stayed 10 days with my daughtes age 17 and 21and the 2 bathrooms plus a bedroom door i could close each night for privacy and peace...invaluable!
If I were going and planned a lot of resort time, then I would upgrade. But if you plan to spend a ton of time in the parks, it isn't needed.
If you don't need a suite and a basic room is fine, maybe upgrade to a moderate!

Little Mermaid rooms are not the suites, just standard rooms.
LM rooms are 277 sq ft with double beds.
Rooms at the Poly or GF are around 450 sq ft and have queen beds.
That might help determine if it's worth it to you?

 

[jlwhitney]

Depends. I’d never book a Mermaid room. But full disclosure, I don’t like any value rooms. I do think Poly & GF are overpriced but if you’ve got money to burn I’d say go for it. If not, I’d upgrade to POFQ. It’s a nice step up from value but won’t break the bank.

I agree with this. We just did one night in a mermaid room and hated it. It was fine being only 1 night in a sense but would never stay more than a night.