Moderate V Value

[LexiBantam]

Hi!
Our three stays have been at moderates (POR, CBR, CS) as comparing like for like, when including DDP, the moderates have been cheapest.
I’m considering an on site stay next year and Pop Century is now the best value for us.
Would we be disappointed with a value after 3 moderates? I see there isn’t a slide at the pool, and the landscaping doesn’t seem as attractive, but other than that, are there huge differences?
Any advise would be appreciated!

[DonkeyCentreArf]

The rooms are smaller although the refurbished rooms make better use of that space. If there are only two of you then that is less of an issue - for more than that is can be a little cosy. Contrasting opinions on here about the time spent in a room but if you onsite for more than a few days, you will be spending a bit more time in your room / resort so that should be factored in.

Probably the biggest difference is in dining options as there is only quick service on site. If you want something more substantial, then you will have to go elsewhere to eat.

[sky13]

I've stayed at a range of Disney hotels including deluxe/moderates and their equivalents at other Disney resorts and some of the values at WDW, and my default go to resort at WDW is still Pop. To the point that in 2017 I actually had a split stay booked at Pop/POFQ, got to Pop, realised that I loved the refurbed room at Pop, and changed the POFQ part of my stay to Pop...

Don't get me wrong - if money was no object I'd happily book BC or similar every trip! But given the price difference between the deluxes and moderates and values I find that I'm happy enough to stay at Pop and spend the price difference on things like signature dining, souvenirs, tours, shopping...

Of course this comes down to how much time we're spending in the room and how many people are on the trip. I'll very happily stay at Pop solo, whereas I'll book nicer hotels (GCH at DL and Disneyland Hotel at SDL) if I am with family who spend more time in the room/resort...

Comparing Pop and the moderates:
- Pop has the Skyliner, which is an absolutely fantastic mode of transportation. Of the moderates only CBR has the Skyliner (and from my walk through CBR on my last trip I feel like there are a lot of rooms that are really very far from the Skyliner station?).
- Rooms at Pop will be smaller and have a different set up
- The moderates tend to have multiple bus stops (except POFQ), which may or may not be a good thing. Good in that it is less distance to walk from your room to the nearest bus stop, bad in that the additional bus stops add to the length of the trip.
- POR/POFQ also have the boat ride to DS

[loldis]

I have downgraded from moderate to value for my next trip, after downgrading from deluxe to moderate a few years ago. The moderates are now above the prices I'm prepared to pay for Disney's quality of room. Although having said that, I think the Gran Destino rooms are the best balance of price vs luxury and are still what I would book if I was splurging.

Resort amenities aren't a huge draw for me, since I don't use the pools and am usually somewhere else for dining so don't find a single QS limiting. For Pop, you have the Skyliner so are only a quick ride away from CBR/Riviera, the Boardwalk and Epcot for all of their dining options. Although if you're going in summer, you may have to plan around the afternoon storms since it won't run when there's lightning.

Because I don't use the pools, I don't feel limited to my home resort for downtime. For example, if I need a break from MK, I can go relax at Wildnerness Lodge (or any of the monorail resorts - I just prefer WL) for a couple of hours. So I get my fix of prettier resorts that way. And the refurbed value rooms are great, especially if travelling solo or as a couple.

[LexiBantam]

Thanks so much for all your replies- there are a lot of things that I hadn’t considered at all.
In the past we haven’t eaten much at the resort, but that was in the days of DDP when we’d have a TS meal most nights. Without the DDP dining options at the resort might be more important.
The room could be a bit if a squeeze as there would be four of us, but we spend very little time in the room so that wouldn’t be a deal breaker.
Thanks again, really useful to hear other people’s opinions xx

[loldis]

Don't forget that most resorts will typically only have one QS (not counting the pool bars) - it's TS options that tend to get added when they have multiple restaurants. So if you're going to be limiting TS without DDP, then you'd have to head elsewhere once you're bored of the QS options no matter where you're staying.

I'm usually out most evenings, either in the parks for the night time entertainment or off at Disney Springs during the week when it's not too busy. Typically only use the resort QS the first night or two when I'm too tired to bother heading out.

[LexiBantam]

Very true - in our three trips we’ve only had one TS at the resort (Toledo at CS, it was fabulous!) but if we’re having fewer TS, then the food court QS options become more important.
It’s difficult to know what will be important, and what won’t - on our other trips the food has been quite a big part of it, but without DDP, if we go go again we could be looking at a very different kind of holiday 😁

[loldis]

I gave up most TS a few years ago, don't like being tied to ADRs. So always on the hunt for good QS options. The QS at the Riviera looks fab, it's on my list to try. And that's an easy trip from Pop.

I also forgot to mention above you can also walk over to AoA's food court. Right now they're running a reduced menu though, so no different to Pop. But in normal times, that would give you more options without too much effort.

I think CBR is the only moderate better placed than Pop in terms of accessing more QS options, but only because it eliminates the Pop-CBR Skyliner leg. But you might spend that time saved walking to your room at CBR.

[LexiBantam]

Thank you!
It’s funny, I started this thread with questions about accommodation, but writing it down has made me realize how important food is!
I think as a family, we’d like Pop (and I think my kids would much prefer it to CS, which they felt lacked the Disney vibe!) but now I need to do some budgeting, and work out what sort of dining we’d have.
Thanks for all your comments, it’s helped me sort out what’s important to us (now I’ve just got to see if we can afford it &#128513

[macadoo]

My kids always preferred the value resorts, we’ve stayed at Por a few times and cbr and also all star movies and sports. We’ve never been disappointed, we spend very little time at the resort. The kids couldn’t care for the water slides, we go to the waterparks for that. The only advantage of the moderate was the quiet pool being open all hours rather being tied to pool opening times at the main pool.