Are you trying to decide on a Disney Resort at Walt Disney World? Are you wondering what the differences between the Value, Moderate and Deluxe Resorts are besides the price? In this post we will discuss the differences to keep an eye out for, how to research resorts you are considering and the resorts we have visited.
The Differences
As I have said before, all Disney resorts are not created equal. Even the divisions of Value, Moderate and Deluxe do not always guarantee a similar experience at a similar rated resort. If you would like a break down of the benefits and disadvantages to each of the resorts I highly recommend this post from WDW Prep School.
Some things to keep an eye out for if they are important to you:
- Price – Value Resorts are rather reasonable when compared to off site hotels. All the resort-only perks but not the added price.
- Room Size- Varies considerably.
- Bed Size – Value Resorts (and even some Moderates) are notorious for Double Beds. If queen beds are important to you, definitely ask about this one.
- Location- Where in the “World” are you? Are you close to your favorite park(s)? How far do you have to walk in your resort from bus stops, pools, restaurants? Can you see the fireworks from your hotel?
- Themed Rooms- From Princess Rooms to Pirate Ships to Little Mermaid Suites, if special rooms are of interest, you need to check to see what your resorts offer the rooms you are interested in.
- Restaurants- What restaurants are close to or inside your resort?
- Pool- Moderate and Deluxe Resorts are known for their amazing pools and water features. Value resorts have great pools, but Moderate and Deluxe have themed water slides, water features and almost a water park feel.
- Transportation- Some resorts have dedicated buses, others are shared with other resorts. Some resorts are within walking distance, others are miles away. Some offer water transportation or a monorail to your favorite park. You may want to know how your resort stacks up.
- WiFi Quality- This is again, not equal across all resorts.
- The Extras- From water sports to bike rentals, carriage rides and special activities for the kids, check out the extras of the resorts you are considering.
Whew… that is a lot to manage, huh? That is why this broken record I highly recommend working with a free Disney Travel Agent who can help you identify the resorts that meet your financial needs and your personal preferences.
Researching Your Resort
After you have your choices narrowed down to two or three, I like to go beyond Disney’s basic information and find what others have to say about the resorts I am looking into.
I have a very scientific method 😉
I google them.
I look for posts from bloggers, images, message boards and –if they have one– their Unofficial Fan Site, all of which always have had way more detail than any official site.
Here is just a smidgen of research on the resorts we have stayed at or plan to stay at in the near future.
Caribbean Beach (Visiting Soon)
Our Favorite Resort… So Far
To date, our favorite resort has been Coronado Springs.
From the pool to the layout of the resort, we loved it. We appreciated the great internet access and that Queen beds came standard.
It was not as heavily “Disney” themed as other resorts, but it didn’t dampen our spirits any. We appreciated the comfortable room size and nice interior.
We just loved it all round and very much want to go back.
Our second favorite would have to be Port Orleans- Riverside.
We upgraded to a Royal Room that year and while it was amazing, I have to say I regretted spending the extra money on a special room that we spent little time in.
The grounds, however, were immaculate and breath-taking. And, to be fair, Miss Add broke her leg before going to this resort, so the pool here– which is supposed to be terrific– is not factored into our experience.
Do you have a favorite resort? Why is it your favorite? Do share!
Stay tuned
This post is a part of our Disney Planning Series to stay tuned for more great tips and information.
- Introduction
- Part 1: Lodging (Onsite or Off and Choosing a Disney Resort)
- Part 2: The Parks (When to Visit and Which Park Which Day)
- Part 3: Top 5 Parks Tips
- Part 4: The Parks ~ Fireworks & Parades
- Part 5: Food Options
- Part 6: Characters
- Part 7: Our Favorite Places
- Part 8: Transportation Options
- Part 9: The “Extras”
- Part 10: Apps We Love
Next up is how we choose when to visit Disney. Do you have a tried and true method?
About Cris
I am the mama behind GOODEness Gracious and the owner of Cris Goode Solutions.
Here at GOODEness Gracious, we like to keep it light and fun as we cook up family meals, share our super mommy secrets and chat it up about the GOODe life:)
So come on in and sit a spell.
Kristin Stone says
I second Riverside, especially if you don’t have kids. It was beautiful and romantic – perfect for our honeymoon! 🙂
crisgoode says
I can totally see that! And, if I remember correctly, I think there are even horse drawn carriages there… But I may be making that part up 😉
Eternal Lizdom says
Yay! We are staying at Riverside in June – glad to hear it passes your inspection! 😉
crisgoode says
It is absolutely stunning. You will love it!
Emily De Jonge Elling says
my go-to method is typically called: fly by the seat of my pants.
Yeah, I need this series. Can’t wait to read it in it’s entirety!
crisgoode says
Thanks! I so did that my first time and although we had a great time, when I got home I kicked myself so much over all the stuff we missed! It has taken a little time, but I am really happy with our “game plans” now.
ManyLittleBlessings says
We’ve stayed at Coronado Springs (2011) and Port Orleans Riverside (2012). We didn’t really like Coronado Springs at all. It was fine resort wise, but we didn’t like any of the restaurants at the resort, so we kept needing to leave the resort to eat. That was a pain because we were usually exhausted and just wanted to stay in if we were already at the resort. We also had a couple of things break that we called maintenance about and nobody ever came to fix it.
On the flip side, we loved Port Orleans Riverside. Loved the grounds, the staff, and the food court. Plus, I loved our room which was one of the newly renovated rooms in the Alligator Bayou and had the banquette bed or whatever they called it, so we were able to have five of us in the one room. 🙂
crisgoode says
That is so funny… We loved it so much we really want to go back! I really think we might have felt the same way about Port Orleans had we had the pool experience… I do totally agree about the food. We didn’t eat much at Coronado, so it wasn’t an issue for us… we waited to eat at the parks/downtown Disney. (We always order groceries to keep snacks in the room). Port Orleans had a better food court in our eyes as well.
Both room qualities were immaculate for us… with Coronado feeling a bit nicer even than the Royal Rooms (not more themed by any means).
I guess it all comes down to personal preference and individual experience 😉
Shannon Albert says
Hey, Cris-
Thanks for linking to my pros/cons post. I loved reading through your post because you discuss some criteria that a lot of people find important (especially bed size) that I didn’t include on my list.
I really love hearing people’s favorite rides, hotels, restaurants, etc., because there’s always a huge variety of opinions so it was interesting reading why you like Coronado Springs. It definitely has a few perks that other moderates don’t but it gets mixed reviews. I share your love of Port Orleans Riverside. Gorgeous resort that won’t bankrupt you.
Subscribing to your site and look forward to reading the rest of the posts in your Disney series.
crisgoode says
Thanks so much for stopping by! Your site has so much great information. I know the bed size issue is something that really threw me when I first started going to Disney. I find it so interesting that folks are so mixed on Coronado… We really did enjoy it. And, I have heard from so many people about their love for Riverside… It really is like being in a whole different beautiful world. I am really looking forward to Caribbean Beach this time around… and my daughter is REALLY looking forward to that kiddie pool!