Value vs moderate with littles

[frecklamy]

Hello! We are looking at coming for a week/8 days with what will then be a 5-year-old and 20-month-old in late August '24 (Having done the summer ICP, I know it's not the best time weather-wise, but would be tacked on to a visit to a friend's wedding so can't do a lot about that!).

Given their ages and the time of year, I imagine we'll be spending a good chunk of our time in the resort/pool (which I think they'll enjoy as much as the parks!). It's about 50% more expensive to go to Pop Century or Port Orleans Riverside than one of the All Stars, but we could probably afford it if it would be a better holiday. The eldest would enjoy extra facilities it they are there but won't know what he's missing if it's not. The other consideration is that we will be reliant on Disney transport.

My questions are: in your view, at that age and for the non-shared buses, is the extra $$ for Pop or Riverside worthwhile?

Also, I know you can only use the pool for your hotel, but can you use the other facilities at other hotels? For example as we probably won't hire a car, could you do a chilled 'beach day' at one of the monorail resorts? (Because the other option is splurging a bit more on one of the moderates with beach facilities?)

Thank you so much!

 

[MICKIMINI]

I think this is more about what your tolerance is/is not for a value with small rooms. In 1996 DH and I bought DVC on the spot as we were staying in a value LOL and we haven't looked back! Your kids won't know the difference so I think it depends on how tight your budget is (that extra savings will pay for some of the inevitable *extras*, right?) If you do try a mod, Port Orlean's is a great choice and close to MK.

When they are older, stay at a mod or higher when you need space and more amenities. I don't know about pool hopping except for DVC. Perhaps someone can chime in. I do know that if you are busing around it will take forever as they don't go resort to resort. You would have to bus to TTC or DS and switch which would be a nightmare - better just to enjoy the pool at your resort! Enjoy your trip!

 

[NYCgrrl]

There is no policy allowing pool hopping at WDW.
However depending on the admission ticket purchased and time of year, you can access at least one, and possibly two different water parks. Although we've only stayed at deluxe resorts we’ve spent a lot of time at both water parks and enjoy them immensely.
Since you know you’ll be using Disney transport, between the moderate and value categories, I’d opt for the resort with the most convenient transport thereby using your limited time more efficiently.

HTH and have fun no matter what decisions you make.

 

[WTG770]

We needed the extra sleeper space at Port Orleans Riverside later as our kids grew, but we found the moderates to have a few important upgrades. 1) Some help with luggage was available while we wrangled strollers/kids/food. 2) The pools were nicer at moderates, and those "small waterslides" were just enough to keep our 5-6 yo's happy when our littlest was just getting wet. 3) POR has the fun boat that takes you over to POFQ and their awesome pool. At least 2 of ours had their "first swim" experience at the baby pool there. We all like the dragon slide at FQ! The food is slightly better

The motel style/bring your own luggage up the staircase while you're holding your kid's hand was not fun for us. The walls seemed thinner. Are the beds smaller too? (Full vs Q?)

 

[Skippyboo]

Pop is still a value resort, not a moderate. It costs more than all stars because of the Skyliner.

Riverside is a moderate. Most of the moderate have the problem of being very spread out. They have multiple internal bus stops so when you come back to the park it can be a pain. You do get a themed pool w a slide. No slide at values.

Pop would be pretty good for your scenario. Skyliner access to HS and Epcot- way nicer than bus. The pools at Pop are pretty cool. Just one bus stop. There is a splash pad area for littles. They have activities and movies outside at night.

you can add the water parks option onto your park tickets normally for around the cost of a 1 day water park tickets and go multiple times to the water park. None of the hotels have a “beach experience”of going into the lake. You can go and sit in the chairs on the sand at poly or yacht/beach club if you’re not staying there but that’s not really a beach experience.

 

[karen4546]

Look at renting points for a deluxe villa. The only drawback is that canceling or modifying the reservation is nil or restrictive. But, you will be able to stay at a deluxe resort for less.

Also, Grand Destino tower is an option. The GDT is a favorite Of mine. Moderate price but deluxe vibe.

port Orlean French Quarter imo is better than Riverside because the footprint is.much smaller than Riverside. The walk to/from buses, pool, and food court is at most 7/8 minures and that is if you are down by the water on the 3rd floor. POFQ has elevators. You can use the amenities at Riverside if you are staying at POFQ.

 

[Marthasor]

I know you did the ICP, but I can't emphasize enough how dangerously hot it will be in August with, typically, daily torrential rain showers in the afternoon. Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are no joke. My DS16 and I used to go in August yearly, but always went to the parks early morning, took a long midday break when the heat was the worst and then went back out when the sun went down. With two littles, I would be looking for a room and resort that offers a comfortable place to retreat to when it just gets too hot and has ease of transportation and close proximity to amenities. For me, that would be POFQ - it's so compact so you can easily access the lobby, QS, pool from really any room (we prefer building 4). You can also use the amenities at POR and take a boat to DS. There is also only one bus stop. You will not want to be walking endlessly to your room in the heat of August. As others have mentioned, there are no real "beaches" at WDW - just sand by water that you cannot swim in. I would also consider going to a water park if you are looking for a more fun pool/beach chill day.

 

[theaterguy]

I agree on the heat and danger to little ones. I was there this year in both July and august and its miserable. 98 in the shade. While walking around I have said to myself.... too often.... that poor baby. Many parents especially young or new parents... ya i said it... don't realize babies have no way of controlling body temperature. Go early, find indoor rides out of the sun, go mornings and later in the day .... Enjoy your trip but keep an eye out for signs the young ones being stressed. The baby can't say I'm hot. Hydrate often..

 

[brockash]

Hello! We are looking at coming for a week/8 days with what will then be a 5-year-old and 20-month-old in late August '24 (Having done the summer ICP, I know it's not the best time weather-wise, but would be tacked on to a visit to a friend's wedding so can't do a lot about that!).

Given their ages and the time of year, I imagine we'll be spending a good chunk of our time in the resort/pool (which I think they'll enjoy as much as the parks!). It's about 50% more expensive to go to Pop Century or Port Orleans Riverside than one of the All Stars, but we could probably afford it if it would be a better holiday. The eldest would enjoy extra facilities it they are there but won't know what he's missing if it's not. The other consideration is that we will be reliant on Disney transport.

My questions are: in your view, at that age and for the non-shared buses, is the extra $$ for Pop or Riverside worthwhile?

Also, I know you can only use the pool for your hotel, but can you use the other facilities at other hotels? For example as we probably won't hire a car, could you do a chilled 'beach day' at one of the monorail resorts? (Because the other option is splurging a bit more on one of the moderates with beach facilities?)

Thank you so much!

If you weren't going in Aug. I'd say do Pop because of the skyliner, however we have found the. skyliner resorts to be a disadvantage during the rainier months. The skyliner will go down many times and in our experience Disney does not have a clear nor efficient way of dealing with this and it can be a real PITA. I'd stick with an all-star. The kids will love it, they hve a splash area and pools and kid ffriendly food court. We've never had an issue with luggage. All value resorts have elevators so no need to balance luggage and kids on stairs as someone else suggested.

Just for perspective; we've stayed at every level and most Disney resorts. In your situation I'd stay at an All-star.

Also, Disney does not allow pool hopping, although if you're just looking for the beach/sand area you can definitely go to a monorail resort or boardwalk resort and use their sand areas, although in Aug. I'd think it'd be. pretty miserable.

 

[kwdw]

The 5 year old will love the theming at an All-Star. The All Stars rarely use a shared bus and if they do, it’s no worse than one of the moderates/DVC resorts with multiple bus stops. The biggest difference I see for you is a pool slide or not. If the 5 yo loves a pool slide, that leans towards a mod. Otherwise, an All-Star is going to be just fine. While Pop is nice for the Skyliner to HS, I actually think the Skyliner drop off for EP is not as good for a family likely to spend a lot of time at the World of Nature area with littles, think the front of the park drop off from the buses is better.

Mod rooms are a tad bigger and if you are putting the 20 month old in a pack n play, that might be good. But the ability to convert one bed to a dining table at a value could be a big bonus for feeding kids breakfast in the room.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

Like others have said you cannot go to another resort to use their pool and I am not sure what you mean by "beach facilities" because deluxes do not really have any beaches. With that said you can use all the pools at the 3 All-Star resorts and if you decide to stay at one of the PO resorts you can use both resort pools there. Some families have issues with the room size of a value, our family does not and we have been staying at value's off and on since our DDs were infants. Plus, now you can fold the murphy bed back up into the wall and that really opens up the room. I highly doubt that you will be able to rent DVC points for less than a discounted Mod room and definitely not less than a Value resort, but you should at least look into it, but there are caveats to DVC, one being you have to pay it in full up front and most are non-refundable. I think ASMO would be great for your 5 year old and other than POP having the skyliner, which we love, the bus transportation is about the same.

 

[Karebear]

Just throwing this out there, but as others have mentioned there really is not a beach option at the resorts as you cannot swim at those beaches. If you stay at the All Stars, you could use the extra money to add the water park option onto your tickets and possibly uber to and from them which would be much easier than trying to get 2 kids and all your swim gear onto the bus. Both of the water parks have really nice areas for the littles to play in and they also have umbrella rentals so you can set up "camp" for the day.

 

[frecklamy]

This is all really helpful, thank you! The DVC rental is a really good shut, it looks like there might be some available and a similar price to the mods for our dates. We don't mind doing mostly self-catering on holidays so potentially we'd save some of the difference between that and values in food! If it doesn't work out, value sounds like it'll work just fine

Also managed to totally forget about the existence of water parks, so thank you for the reminder. The tickets we buy in the UK includes it as standard, so ideal.

(Also both my husband and I hate heights. Fine on rollercoasters, weirdly, but don't want to plan on us stomaching the Skyliner regularly.)

 

[theaterguy]

Just throwing this out there, but as others have mentioned there really is not a beach option at the resorts as you cannot swim at those beaches. If you stay at the All Stars, you could use the extra money to add the water park option onto your tickets and possibly uber to and from them which would be much easier than trying to get 2 kids and all your swim gear onto the bus. Both of the water parks have really nice areas for the littles to play in and they also have umbrella rentals so you can set up "camp" for the day.

uber is very cheap, and direct.

 

[Genie+]

This is all really helpful, thank you! The DVC rental is a really good shut, it looks like there might be some available and a similar price to the mods for our dates. We don't mind doing mostly self-catering on holidays so potentially we'd save some of the difference between that and values in food! If it doesn't work out, value sounds like it'll work just fine

Also managed to totally forget about the existence of water parks, so thank you for the reminder. The tickets we buy in the UK includes it as standard, so ideal.

(Also both my husband and I hate heights. Fine on rollercoasters, weirdly, but don't want to plan on us stomaching the Skyliner regularly.)

DVC rental is a really good option, the biggest consideration is commitment. Regular cash hotel rooms have alot more flexibility to cancel or reschedule (something like 5 days out for room only reservation or 31 days out for room package).

Trip insurance can be applied to DVC rental. Sounds like your dates are pretty firm since the wedding. It depends what your tolerance is outside that. We haven’t bothered with insurance and now after many trips feel like we’re ahead of the game - losing money on one trip is less than having paid insurance all these years.

It’s an individual choice if DVC rental is acceptable. Plenty of options for Aug ‘24 still available, and many are equal or cheaper than moderates while providing more benefits. From there the conversation would change to weighing the differences in rooms, resort, and point cost per night. There are many differences across DVC choices.

 

[Jhp8]

I would do Pop for the skyliner. At your ages, the skyliner is nice because you don't have to fold up your stroller.

 

[gottalovepluto]

All Stars is my vote. Vacation isn’t as relaxing when you’re stretching the budget. (And Aug could be rough for Skyliner access, remember if there is lightening in the area the Skyliner does not run.) If you want some middle ground you could stay AS and take some of the money saved and grab some Minnie Vans.

 

[ClaraOswald]

If you aren't keen on the skyliner, I would probably skip paying extra for Pop Century.

Like others said, Port Orleans Riverside is a very large resort so you may not want to do the long walks to the pools/main building...especially in the August heat. If you want to pay for a moderate, I'd go with Port Orleans French Quarter instead.

And again, like other said, no such thing as a true beach experience on property. You don't want to go in the water at all. Not even dipping your toes in!

 

[DisneyFave]

Having been 3 times with my 2 kids when they were under 5, I'd base my decision on the need to fold stroller. I realize skyliner can get shut down a lot in August but would still lean toward Pop. Being able to wheel a sleeping baby out of the park and directly into the hotel room is truly priceless and a huge stress reducer.

 

[DisneyFave]

Having been 3 times with my 2 kids when they were under 5, I'd base my decision on the need to fold stroller. I realize skyliner can get shut down a lot in August but would still lean toward Pop. Being able to wheel a sleeping baby out of the park and directly into the hotel room is truly priceless and a huge stress reducer.

Also agree with renting DVC points at a monorail or Epcot area resort. We used to do that to save $$. Prices for deluxe villas end up being close to moderate. Totally worth it for the monorail access and being able to push the stroller home IMO.