[tiki]

We have stayed at the value and moderates and my older boys would LOVE to stay at the Poly or another higher end resort. I'm asking for tips, suggestions, benefits and reasons for paying $250/night?

[Daisee]

This had not always been the case, but lately we have been "renting" DVC points to stay at the DVC resorts. That has enabled us to save bunches of money. We enjoy Deluxe resorts for the comfort & service. We usually only do Disney once per year, and budget for the expense.

[DisneyTeacher]

My DH and I are both in education so we aren't rich and never will be but staying in a deluxe resort is something we like to do so we save carefully to make sure we can stay at the resort we want.

We like the deluxe resorts for a lot of reasons. They are usually closer to the parks and have more than just buses to pick from for transportation. The rooms are bigger and have inside hallways. Deluxe resots seem to have more dining options for sit down restaurants.

[cinderbella]

I've never had the money to stay at the Poly and I used to be "An Value All The Time" kind of girl but lately I've fallen in love with deluxes and will never go back! Basically we're in the same boat as DT. My husbands a teacher and I am getting my masters in education so we will never ever be rich but to us it's a matter of planning and saving early. I know most people will disagree with me but we almost always but our entire trip on a CC (to get Disney points) and have a strategy for paying it off once we get home already set. And we cannot go on another trip until we've paid it off. In some peoples opinion this isn't the smartest way to do things but it works for us and we get to go on vacation when otherwise we wouldn't be able too. But this isn't for everyone either. Dave and I are really good at stretching and saving our money.

[mwalter]

Like everyone so far has said, if you want to do it badly enough, you will find a way. It will take discipline to save the money, but think how good you will feel when you accomplish your goal. One suggestion would be to start off with either the AKL or WL. They are less expensive and you would get an idea how long it will take and how hard you will need to work at it.

[cooncat]

We've been staying at the FW Cabins for our last few trips. Worth the money? Definitely! We like the atmosphere, the room - we started with big kids, now we're all adults so the room is even better - and having our own little space. The first time we did it I took out a personal loan for the vacation. Now I put it on my Disney Visa and everyone gives me their share by the payoff date (and I get the rewards points because I'm the planner - whoo-hoo!) We afford it by only going once every 3 years and always booking in value season. This year we booked for free dining, so it got even better! Because of the way we feel once we get to the FW Cabins, it's so worth the extra money. It would be different if we went a lot, but keeping the trips to WDW down to every several years means that we can plan and save better.

[DayDreamer]

I save save save. I have money direct deposited from my paycheck into a "vacation account" every payday. I use an ING account so I won't be tempted to use a debit card or easily access it for any reason. Its worked out great since I've been doing it. All trips are paid in full before I even leave home.

[timsha]

We have mostly been deluxe snobs for many years. We make good salaries, but we save and plan for it. We have a vacation account that we deposit to every week, and we are disciplined not to touch it. Just save, save, save.

[tonyksl]

I live less than 3 hours away and only go 3-4 times a year and have stayed at a deluxe resort every time except once since 2000. CBR was the one time we didn't and I don't want to do a moderate again. Not having to pay a lot for travel is a huge plus. It costs me, even at 4 bucks a gallon, less than 80 dollars to drive both ways. We are seasonal passholders. That's basically $900 a year for tickets for the 4 of us. Average that out over 4 trips at 3 nights / 4 days a piece, my tickets and travel come out to $315 a trip. Add another $600 for rooms with our passholder discounts, plus $250 for food, each trip costs us less than $1200. That's less than a paycheck.

[CaraMia]

Normally we stay at the moderate resorts. A few trips ago we got a great rate at AKL so we stayed there. We loved it! So the trip after that we split our stay...2 nights at POFQ and 2 nights at AKL. We had earned enough disney points on our disney credit card to pay for the POFQ and we had again found a great AKL rate. Timing is everything!

My husband does A/C work and had done a lot of side work. We take his side work money and put it in the safe in the closet and forget it is there. Then when the vacation planning starts we have money set aside. Just so happens that he had done ALOT of installs and we were able to set aside enough to afford the Polynesian resort, our seasonal passes, food, and a little extra. We had always wanted to stay there and never could afford it. We can not wait! We may even throw in a day at Aquatica depending on how much we can save from now until we leave, Aug 14th.

A big difference I found in the deluxe vs moderate is COMFORT. The mattresses are so much better at the deluxe resorts. And the beds are bigger. I didnt think the room size was that much better at AKL but I hear the rooms at the Poly are a nice size. For us, we are looking forward to the monorail system/boat to MK and skipping the lines for the bus. Normally we dont mind it but being that we are going in August when it can be blistering hot..it will be nice to get back n forth to the resort so quickly. As for the restaurants, we used the quick service counters at AKL. More reasonable then the restaurants. However, this upcoming trip we are looking forward to Kona's and Ohana's if we can get a reservation.

So the answer is to just save save save! The disney credit card points helps!

[BuzzLightyear]

Renting DVC points was the big one for us.
We were able to stay at the BCV and BWV for the price of a mod!
We also stayed at the Contemporary, and went with the "wing" room to save money.

[LittleMissMagic]

Well, you're really talking around $270 a night for the Poly, and more in the peak season. Prices are incredibly steep, however, I'd say it's worth it.

The deluxe resorts, generally speaking, are more convenient to the parks. It's very handy to stay in a monorail resort because it's just a quick 5-10 minute ride to the Magic Kingdom. Or, with a transfer, about 15-20 minutes to Epcot. It's a lot easier to get back during the middle of the day. Monorails are a lot more dependable than buses and water launches because they are faster and there is a set track with a certain number of monorails running.

Epcot resorts are also handy because you can walk (or ride a boat) to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. (However, you are entering Epcot in World Showcase, which opens later than Future World.... and you don't see the geometric sphere as soon as you walk into the park.)

The towels at deluxe resorts are thick and very plush (as compared to those in the AllStar). You get turn-down service (or at least in the Grand Floridian, but I think the Poly does, too). Flat-screen TVs, iPod docks (GF at least), verandah (in most rooms), queen size beds, daybed (in many rooms), two sinks, seperate shower/toilet area (well, that's in allstar, too), thick, padded mattresses, soft bedding, squishy pillows, room service, theme park views (in select rooms), and more. If you're planning on spending a lot of time at the resort, the deluxes are worth it. However, if you spend the majority of the day running around the parks, then you might want to stick with moderate.

[llama]

We bought into the DVC in 2000. All the DVC properties are deluxe! It was a good move for us, since we generally go to WDW twice a year for at least 2 weeks each time. And also gives us the option of selling points we don't use.

Like everyone else here, unless you're independantly wealthy or have just won the lottery, saving towards your dream vacation is the way most people make it into the deluxe resorts.

[dznylvr]

We haven't done any of the deluxe resorts. We have been happy with the values or moderates. We do spend all of our time at the parks, and very little at the resort, so that would be the best choice for us.
We do say that if DH and myself ever make it to WDW for adults only trip, we would do a deluxe-probably GF. It just doesn't make much sense to us to spend money that we could use another way-especially since there are 5 of us.

[KarenWDWCP]

We stayed at the Contemporary back in 1984 on our first trip to WDW and it took years of savings for my parents to afford it. At the time, there were not many onsite options and they really wanted to stay onsite for my first trip. Since that first trip, we had only stayed in Values and Moderates until our most recent trip in April/May when we stayed at the Beach Club. Basically, my dad had always said that the Yacht and Beach Club resorts were his dream resort and since we were going for a shorter amount of time and I am now a working adult who pays her own way for airfare, park passes and most food, my mom decided just to go for it and splurge on the Beach Club.

BUT, I still love POR and the other moderates and would rather stay there if than not go to WDW at all!