The countdown has finally begun! On Tuesday my husband and I finally planned our trip to Disney World for our one year anniversary. The biggest debate we had when planning this trip was which resort to stay at. We always stay on site, so no decision there, but we always struggle with the idea of spending more money to stay at a Deluxe or Moderate resort and whether or not that is worth it to us when we spend so little time in the room.
When I started going to Disney World with my father around age 8 we always stayed at a Value resort because my father is very, very frugal, and he never thought it would be worth it to spend more money on a room that we only slept and showered in. Once I got a little older and started doing my own research on Disney World I came across the ever popular Disney Vacation planning DVD (cue angels singing). I actually never knew there were other places to stay except the All Star Resorts! From that time on I always somehow convinced my father to stay at Moderate Resorts (I'm a little spoiled-what can I say?). Fast forward to my own honeymoon when I was trying to convince my new husband to spend upwards of $300 on a Deluxe hotel for the first night of our vacation -more on that later.
This time around we knew the number one thing we wanted to do on this vacation was go to the Swan and Dolphin Food and Wine Classic, so we planned our trip around the dates of this year's event (October 30th and 31st). After doing some research on this event last year I knew that you got discounted tickets to the event by staying at either the Swan or the Dolphin, so I worked the angle of convincing my husband that we would actually be saving money by staying there! Fast forward again to my idea of staying there this year for our trip and you can only imagine the sticker shock on my face when I saw the cost. Nightly rates weren't even available for our dates, but the "ticket package" rates were almost enough to buy a new Ford Fiesta. Even though the idea of casually strolling out of our room and walking on the causeway to enjoy some amazing food sounded wonderful, and the idea of rolling back to our room after being stuffed with delicious food and decadent wine sounded great, so did being able to pay my bills back home.
Plan two consisted of maybe staying our first night at the Beach Club Resort and then switching to a Value resort for the remainder of the trip, thus being able to enjoy Stormalong Bay for the first day of our trip and spend it relaxing by the pool. Well cut to me checking priced for our dates only to find out that it was OVER $400 a night!!!! While I do love the idea of floating along the lazy river and relaxing by the pool, I certainly do not want to spend more than the cost of our tickets for the entire trip just to do that.
Overall I guess my attempt at frugality (or ability to face reality) won out and we have decided to stay in the Little Mermaid rooms at Art of Animation (my first time staying there!). While I would have loved to be able to spend part of my trip at one of the amazing Deluxe resorts, I always think what else we could be using that money for (margaritas at Hollywood Studios, dinner at California Grill, an extra day in the parks, etc).
Where do you like to stay on site? Do you think it's worth the extra price to stay at Deluxe, or are you more apt to save some money and stay at a Value Resort?
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