Value Resorts v. Moderate Resorts at Disney World
Value v. Moderate Resorts: it’s a common question for guests planning Walt Disney World trips wondering whether they should save money by staying in a Value Resort, or pay a bit more for the amenities and theming at a Moderate Resort. This post weighs the pros and cons of both Moderate and Value Resorts at Walt Disney World in several important categories, and gives a verdict as to which option is the better pick.
We break it down like this because the ultimate answer as to which choice is best is “it depends.” What it depends on is how important each of the considerations below are to you. With that said, let’s try to analyze the five most important features of Walt Disney World hotels to see where each tier has advantages…
1. Price
Each Value Resort is cheaper than each Moderate Resort, with the exception of Disney’s Art of Animation Resort. Since Art of Animation and the Cabins at Fort Wilderness are sort of outliers here in that they’re not an apples to apples comparison with the other hotels in the categories, we won’t give them much consideration. That’s probably best left for a separate article comparing suites or accommodations for large parties staying on Walt Disney World property.
According to our highly unscientific calculations, Moderate Resorts are about $70 more expensive than Value Resorts per night (sometimes less, sometimes more). This difference varies based upon season, discounts, etc., but expecting to pay about $70 more per night at a Moderate Resort is a good baseline. Regardless of the actual number, it’s clear that Moderates cost more than a good chunk of change more than Values on a nightly basis.
Advantage: Values
2. Theme
Moderate Resorts generally offer more nuances and subtlety in the way of themed environments. You have a lot of ancillary details that come together to form a cohesive backstory and more convincing environment that transports you away from Walt Disney World. This is especially true at the Port Orleans Resorts, where you can spend a lot of time exploring to pick up on morsels of the theme. (PortOrleans.org does an excellent job explaining this backstory if you want to read more about it.)
By contrast, the Value Resorts convey their themes through larger than life icons. At the All Star Resorts, these are primarily oversized Disney characters. If you’re traveling with kids, don’t underestimate how much they might enjoy these icons. Most adults will be less intrigued by the theming at Value Resorts, which generally attempt to distract from the “boxy” plain, motel buildings that comprise the hotels with the eye-grabbing icons. There is nothing nuanced about the theming at these hotels, and adults will almost always prefer the more engaging, interesting, and often times romantic theming of Moderate Resorts.
Advantage: Moderates
3. Rooms
Moderate Resort rooms are larger by about 60 square feet. (Caribbean Beach is even larger.) We have a post that offers a break-down of the size difference of all Walt Disney World hotels.
Beyond the size difference, Moderate Resorts generally have nicer rooms and bedding. The Value Resorts, especially the All Star Resorts, definitely seem due for room overhauls, as much of the decor we’ve encountered in these rooms is dated and fading. This may not be the case with every room, but we’ve experienced this on enough occasions to believe it’s the rule rather than the exception.
The quality difference here between Moderates and Values is pretty substantial, especially when contrasting an All Star room to a Coronado Springs or Caribbean Beach room (the nicest of the Moderate Resort rooms). Moderates also offer in-room fridges (EDIT: as do values now) and some Moderate rooms can sleep 5 guests in select rooms.
Advantage: Moderates
4. Transportation
I am of the opinion that more expensive resort-hotels should have better transportation. Disney’s transportation is an important amenity to many guests, and those paying more for more expensive resorts should be rewarded with more efficient transportation. I know some people disagree with this, but I see it as no different than any other resort amenity, the rest of which are generally nicer at the more expensive Walt Disney World hotels. Unfortunately, Disney seems to disagree with me, as transportation is not consistently better at more expensive hotels, especially when it comes to bus transportation.
With the exception of the Port Orleans resorts, which offer boat transportation to Disney Springs, bus transportation is the sole form of transportation at issue here (unless you add Fort Wilderness to the mix, which has an internal system as well as boats and buses to the parks). Pop Century and Art of Animation have the best bus service, as they (currently) do not share buses with each other or any other resort, nor do they have internal stops. These resorts are most efficient.
Port Orleans French Quarter only has one bus stop, but it usually shares a bus with Port Orleans Riverside, which has multiple internal stops. This two resort and multiple stop system makes the Port Orleans resorts low on our list.
Lower still are the All Star Resorts, all three of which share a single bus at times, but have single stops at each resort. These buses are a real wildcard. Sometimes, individual buses will be dispatched for each resort and will be running quite often, making them incredibly efficient (it seems this is increasingly rare). Other times, there will be huge lines in the morning and shared bus service. When staying at the All Star Resorts, we have skipped this headache multiple times in favor of paying $15-20 for a taxi.
Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort and Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort are the middle-of-the-road options. They have long internal routes, but don’t share buses and both have been efficient in our experience. Slight advantage to Coronado Springs Resort for having fewer stops.
Advantage: Varies
5. Dining
Each Moderate Resort has a table service restaurant (except French Quarter, but it’s a 10 minute walk from Riverside, with which it “shares” amenities according to Disney), some of which are pretty good. They’re not Deluxe-caliber restaurants (the kind of restaurants that draw non-resort guests to them), but they’re not bad. Basically, they’re serviceable options if you’re at your hotel during the lunch or dinner hours.
All Moderate and Value Resorts have counter service restaurants. The advantage here also goes to Moderate Resorts, as they offer more varied and interesting menus, although there are a few standout items at the Value Resorts.
Even for breakfast, this only really matters if you’re going to be at your hotel to eat these meals. We usually eat every meal in the parks or at hotels near the parks, so dining at Moderates and Values is always a non-factor for us. It is a factor when adding Deluxes to the mix (if you’ll be leaving Disney’s Hollywood Studios for a meal at Yachtsman Steakhouse, for example, staying at the Yacht or Beach Club makes it easy to make a pit stop at your room before or after dinner).
Advantage: Moderates
Other
“Other” is not really a definable characteristic of any hotel. Instead, this is a bit of a catch-all for other important features and amenities that don’t fit the above categories. In addition to the critical categories above, another category that may be especially important is pools. All Moderates have themed pools with water slides, and each of these pools is pretty cool. Value Resorts also have lightly themed pools, sans slides. Aside from Art of Animation’s Big Blue Pool, no Value Resort Pool made our list of the Top 10 Pools at Walt Disney World, whereas several Moderate pools made the list.
Moderate Resorts also offer bars/lounges and various other forms of activities, like boat rentals, that aren’t available at the Value Resorts. The advantages here universally belong to the Moderate Resorts, which unquestionably have better amenities than the Values. (The most/best amenities are found at Coronado Springs and Port Orleans Riverside.) It’s only a question of whether you’ll use them.
Most of the best amenities are at Deluxe Resorts (or Fort Wilderness), and generally if we’re going to be doing a resort amenity, it’s at one of the Deluxes, regardless of where we’re staying. If your party will spend a significant amount of time at your hotel each day, these “other” things could be pretty important. Conversely, Moderate Resorts are typically more spread out (French Quarter excepted), so if you are firmly opposed to walking, the Value Resorts might be more appealing.
Verdict
Whether it’s worth it for you to pay more for a Moderate Resort depends upon your preferences, budget, and how much time you’ll be spending at your hotel. If you like a richly themed environment, the Moderate Resorts score points. If you’re primarily interested in how much your kids will enjoy a resort, give the Value Resorts a second look–to the bewilderment of some adults, kids absolutely love those large icons. If money is an issue, the ~$70 day extra you’ll be spending at a Moderate may not make a whole lot of sense. That money is probably better spent on a meal at a nice Walt Disney World table service restaurant, unless you’ll be spending a lot of time at your hotel. If money is no issue…why not stay at a Deluxe?
For us, the Moderate Resorts are a good option for a weekend trip, with our top pick for the Moderate Resorts being Port Orleans Riverside. During a weekend trip, the price difference doesn’t add up to the same extent as it would during a longer trip, and I spend a lot of time wandering the grounds of these resorts in the early morning hours. We still only stay in Moderates when we can get a good deal on them (usually a comparatively better deal than we can get on a Value Resort), and when the price is less than $125/night.
The Value Resorts are not for a lot of people, but we have nothing against them. We frequently utilize the Values when we’re traveling during seasons the theme parks have extended operating hours and we find ourselves in our room for only a few hours each night to sleep. Alright, that covers it for this breakdown of Values v. Moderate Resorts at Walt Disney World. If you’re looking for Disney trip planning tips, make sure to read our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide.
Your Thoughts…
Is it worth it to you to stay at a Moderate Resort, or if you’re paying more, do you just splurge all-out by staying at a Deluxe Resort? Or, do you just save as much money as possible by staying at a Value Resort? Share where you normally choose to stay (and why!) in the comments!
My daughter and I just got home yesterday after visiting WDW. We booked at All Star Music but when we got there they upgraded us to a family suite which had one double bed and a couch bed. I booked a room with two doubles. I called the front desk about my displeasure they tried to find me another room at a value resort but was unable to do so. They sent us to Port Orleans Riverside at no extra cost as well as gave us a taxi travel voucher free of charge. It was an amazing stay and as a result we will probably never stay at a value resort again. The rooms, transportation and food here was so great. Good call WDW for this upgrade you’ll make your money back in our future visit I’m sure.
I have stayed at both POR as well as Pop Century within the last year and, while I know my experience may be unique, it was a night and day difference! At POR the mousekeeping was wonderful! They folded the towels into fun shapes, hung my daughter’s stuffed animals from the bed to make a cute scene…it was wonderful to come back to it each day. The rooms were always left clean. At Pop Century there were dead spiders in the corners of the room, smelly water in the bottom of our tub upon check-in, and the mousekeeping did not even show up the first two days of our trip at all! On the third day she showed up at 7pm when I had just gotten out of the shower.
At Port Orleans the buildings were further spread out then at Pop so if you don’t like to walk distances that might be something to consider. At the same time the food at the main hall was better at POR so it made the walk worth it most of the time.
The bedding at Pop consisted of a sheet and then something like a sheet but a bit thicker….like 2 sheets sewn together. If you want a thick blanket or comforter bring your own. I asked the main office for one and they brought me more hybrid sheets. POR had comforters. If your child is sensitive to textures or needs weighted blankets this is something to consider.
The showers at both Pop and POR were about the same size, however twice at Pop we had to take cold showers on two different days because we never got hot water. We had just gotten back from the parks and were feeling dirty but could not enjoy getting clean because even when the knob was hard to the left the water came out colder then lukewarm. When we turned the knob the to right it changed to icy cold.
Finally, the walls at Pop are VERY thin! You can hear water running, toilets flushing, conversations. One night a man was coughing in the next room and it woke me up at 2:47 am and kept me up. I had to put pillows over my head to block out the noise. At POR I never heard anything… After a day in the parks with all the noise it was nice to have some quiet.
This being said, it was my experience. Not everyone’s is going to be like mine. I personally would rather pay the extra money each night for a hot shower and a more comfy, bigger bed.
(Note: My visit to Pop was after the upgrades were done to the rooms.)
My niece and I just got back from a week-long stay at Port Orleans French Quarter and really enjoyed the compact size, the food court, and the one bus stop. At check in, we were given the option of having daily housekeeping service OR a $50 gift card. Surprise! Thought I had read everything about this resort, but obviously not. Do all the moderates have this choice? Btw, I chose the gift card.
Yes, most of the hotels offer the gift card now for declining mouse-keeping. We got the gift card at Pop Century this past summer.
Hi can you tell me if the beds in a value are the same size as mod?
I think they were Queens when we stayed at Corando and Port Orleans Riverside.
I feel like the only person who just wasn’t impressed with POR. I think it was just ok and would not stay there again. Maybe it’s because I am from New Orleans, so the theming did nothing for me at all. I did like the food court, though!
While Port Orleans – Riverside does have boat transportation to Disney Springs, it can be subject to river conditions! Because of bridges along the route, high water can cause cessation of boat travel – that happened to us during a trip there! However that will not deter us from staying there again – we love this resort!
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HI,
We are taking our daughter to WDW for her 7th birthday next spring. We will also be toting an infant along with us. We’ll probably spend 2 or 3 days at the Magic Kingdom, then a few days going the other parks in the area. I’m a bit worried about having to carry the baby, the stroller and associated gear on the bus to go everywhere. The Deluxe hotels are ridiculously expensive, though. Which Moderate hotel has the best bus service? If we want to use taxi’s instead, are they generally waiting outside the hotels or do we need to call for one in advance? Are the taxi’s very expensive?
Have you thought about carrying bubs in a sling (or a front lack or whatever) and just grabbing a stroller for hire at the parks?much easier than carting everything back and forward
We stayed at POR and rode the bus service 2 days with stroller. It can be hectic and if you get on late with other parents your stroller may not have a place to store. We had to hold ours (folded up) until we arrived back at our room. It wasn’t terrible but next time we will budget for a rental and leave the stroller in the car. Also we were worried about someone messing with our stroller while on rides but we took our expensive items on the rides with us and small stuff was always waiting on us at the stroller when we returned.
First of all, I love your blog so much! I have read through most (maybe all?) of your trip reports, many of your various articles…it is the best. 🙂 It helped us so much in planning our trip to Tokyo Disney Resort this past spring!
So, obviously this post is very thorough – I appreciate all of the various pros and cons detailed here – but I could still use some help deciding between a Value or a Moderate Resort! (Sorry in advance for the length of this comment!)
As background, we are planning a trip in April 2016 for just my husband and I; we do not have kids yet. The trip will be 10 days total, with the first day being just a travel day, then 9 1/2 days in the parks, then 1/2 day return travel.
In looking at pricing, we are seeing ~$500 difference between the Art of Animation (the Value Resort we are most interested in) vs. the lower end Moderates (any of which we would be interested in), for the dates of our trip. We can afford that amount in our budget, but we’re debating whether to funnel that ~$500 into a nicer resort, or instead into special dining, drinks (maybe Drinking Around the World?!), etc.
We have been to Disneyland Resort a couple times together over the past few years, and to Tokyo Disney Resort this spring, and during those trips we stayed in the parks all day, every day – we never went back to the hotel in the middle of the day, so during those trips our hotel really was just a place to sleep. I’m not absolutely ruling out a mid-day siesta and/or pool time at the resort during some days of this upcoming trip, as our touring style for WDW may end up being different than at DLR or TDR – after all, this trip will be much longer than our previous Disney trips. However, I don’t anticipate spending too much time at the resort. Even when we wanted to take it easy at times on our past trips, we still just stayed in the parks and hung out, explored, take photos, sat down to eat for awhile, etc. We are also interested in visiting and dining at other (cooler) resorts on property throughout our upcoming trip.
My husband thinks this is a no brainer – he thinks we should just stay at one of the cheaper resorts, since he says we’ll mostly just be sleeping there (which has been true of our Disney trips so far), and then we can have more extra money for other fun things to do (probably mostly dining). This is his first ever trip to WDW.
This will be my third trip to WDW – my first trip was in November 1994, when I was 9 years old and my family visited on our big family WDW trip, and my second trip was in spring 2002 with my high school band. I am torn – when I visited with my family, we stayed at the Polynesian and I looooved it! We definitely had a couple/few days where we spent some time at the pool/on the beach, we went to the luau one evening…enjoying all that the Poly has to offer. It was honestly one of the most memorable and magical aspects of that vacation.
In high school I stayed at All Star Music, and really the only particular positive memory I have is playing in the pool late at night with my friends – but we were rowdy teenagers and would have enjoyed any swimming pool and any other late night activities with no adult supervision; this was not in any way particular to that resort. And I remember feeling kind of let down by All Star Music, since all I had to compare it to was the Poly, and thinking “Oh, I guess not all hotels are connected to the monorail loop…and oh, this hotel is not amazing and magical like the Polynesian…I wish we were staying there!” Spoiled, I know. Of course the trip was still super fun, but it did not have that extra level of awesomeness.
Hence, I am torn. I would love to stay in an awesome themed resort, as I know how much this can add to a WDW vacation, but I can see the appeal of having extra money for experiences throughout the trip, and this seems like it might fit our style of touring better…and we certainly can’t afford the Poly and all its glory. Help!!!