If you are trying to decide if you should upgrade from a value resort to a moderate resort, we can help!
Making this decision may seem difficult, but staying at a Disney resort is always a magical experience! No matter whether you stay at a value resort or a moderate option, the Disney difference is certainly prevalent.
Resorts Accommodations Location
Amenities The Mouse For Less Tips
Value Resort Vs A Moderate Resort
Walt Disney World Value Resorts are perfect for those wanting to stay in a a themed room on Disney property with fun pools and food courts, at a value price. All Walt Disney World Resorts have access to on-site benefits – even the Value Resorts.
Disney Value Resorts
Pop Century Resort
All-Star Music Resort
All-Star Movies Resort
All-Star Sports Resort
Art of Animation Resort.
Walt Disney World Moderate Resorts also offer an immersive room, but the resort also offers a bit more for Guests to enjoy such as slides at the pools, table-service restaurants, and more theming.
Disney Moderate Resorts
Caribbean Beach Resort,
Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
Port Orleans Riverside
Port Orleans French Quarter
The Cabins at Fort Wilderness
Accommodations
Room Size
Standard rooms at Disney value resorts each accommodate four guests plus one child under three in a pack and play crib. Some of the moderate resorts can accommodate up to five guests with the addition of a pull-down bed in certain rooms.
Kitchen Items
Disney value resorts all have a small refrigerator, and that is great for keeping drinks and even some food items cold and available in the room. Disney moderate resorts have a refrigerator and a coffee maker in the rooms. This can be a big plus for those of us who need our coffee or tea before we even think about leaving the hotel room.
Bed Size
Another big reason to upgrade from a value resort to a moderate resort is the size of the beds. Value resorts only have double beds while moderate resorts have queen sized beds.
Vanity Areas
In addition, the moderates have a much larger vanity area and most have double sinks. Coronado Springs is the one moderate resort that doesn’t have double sinks, but it still has a larger vanity area.
Location and Transportation
Boat & Bus Rides
Disney’s Port Orleans Resorts and Disney’s Fort Wilderness are special in that these moderate resorts feature boat transportation. Port Orleans has have boat transportation to Disney Springs. But Fort Wilderness has boat transportation to the Magic Kingdom. Transportation can be a great benefit at a Disney resort because the property is so large and it is extremely time consuming to travel from park to park. To stay at a resort that has monorail service or is within walking distance to a Theme Park, you will have to consider one of Disney’s Deluxe properties.
The bus stop areas at moderate resorts are covered, while the bus stop areas at value resorts are not fully covered. It is a small convenience that may be important to you. Most moderate resorts have a number of conveniently located bus stops instead of the one bus stop area that is available at the value resorts. This can save you from walking a long distance to transportation. At the end of a long day walking through the parks, those few saved steps are important!
Amenities
Dining Options
When you upgrade from a value resort to a moderate resort you also receive additional amenities. Moderate resorts have improved dining options over value resorts. Value resorts only have a quick service dining location generally in a food-court style setting. Conversely, moderate resorts all have a table service dining location in addition to a counter service location. There is one moderate exception and that is Port Orleans French Quarter, however due to it being a sister resort with Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside, they share a table service restaurant.
Upgraded Pools
When you upgrade from a value resort to a moderate resort, the other amenities at the resorts are slightly different as well. The pools at moderate resorts are upgraded compared to the pools at value resorts. The moderate resort pools all have pool slides, whereas the value resorts will typically have a themed pool, but will lack a slide. In addition, the moderate resort pools have a hot tub while the value resorts don’t. After a long day of walking in the park, a hot tub may seem like a necessity and not an option.
Resort Activites
Moderate resorts also have more activities than the value resorts. To look at the weekly activities at the resorts check out the activity schedule at each resort. There are several differences between moderate and value resorts. If you are planning some time to relax at your resort, this may be a good reason to upgrade from a value resort to a moderate resort
The Mouse For Less Tips
- Art of Animation Resort and Disney’s All-Star Music Resort are the only value resorts with a room option (family suite) larger than a moderate resort room. Family Suites are larger in size but do cost more than a typical value resort room.
- Don’t forget to consider how much time you intend to spend at the resort. If you plan to stay in the parks as much as possible, then room size may not be an important feature of a resort, but if you plan to have a non-park day
- Transportation is not a consistent benefit when comparing moderate and value resorts. Some moderates have better bus transportation, but others do not. One thing that some people should keep in mind is the number of bus stops at the moderate resorts. Some moderate resorts have internal bus stops which prevents guests from having to walk to one central bus stop. This also increases the amount of time spent on the bus, since the bus must stop at more than one location.
- Do keep in mind that resort dining is not necessarily an exclusive benefit. Any guest can make a reservation to dine at a table service restaurant. It is nice to be within walking distance from your resort room to a nice table service restaurant.
- Port Orleans Riverside and Caribbean Beach Resort each have rooms that can accommodate up to five guests. This is the least expensive option for a family of five to stay on-site at a Walt Disney World moderate resort.