Disney has made it pretty simple for virtually everyone to enjoy a trip to WDW and affordable enough to stay “on property”. They have four resort classifications: Value, Moderates, Deluxe and Deluxe Villas. All rooms are good enough for most people. I usually stay at the Value resorts simply because I know that I’m only going to be in the rooms at night just to sleep. But with kids, or if you know you'll be spending more time in your room, moving up the food chain is sometimes preferred. But all resorts have at least one pool, places to eat and non-creepy rooms.
Value Resorts: All Star Sports (ASS), All Star Movies (ASMo), All Star Music (ASMu) and Pop Century (PC). [The Art of Animation Resort (AAR) is a new Value Resort in partially open and you can stay there now.] My wife and I like ASS and PC simply because they each have a dedicated bus to take people from the Resort to the various parks. But ASMo and ASMu are also good... and depending on the time of year, might be less crowded. However, they share a bus, so it's possible that you might not get a seat if your bus stopped at the other resort first. This is frustrating, but there's nothing you can do about it other than to stay somewhere else. As of 2010, the cost for values is from $82-$174 (ASMu is up to as much as $355)/night.
Moderates: Caribbean Beach Resort (CBR), Cabins at Fort Wilderness (CFW), Coronado Springs Resort (CSR), Port Orleans - French Quarter (POFQ), and Port Orleans - Riverside (POR). We've stayed at: CBR, CSR and, most recently, CFW... never at any of the others. But they're all VERY similar. What you will find on Disney's website is that they're grouped by location. For example, they say that CSR is in the "Animal Kingdom (AK) area". This simply means that, generally speaking, a bus trip to that part of the property is going to be fastest. It doesn't get you any special privileges or anything. The 2010 cost for moderates is between $149-$1320/night.
We like the moderates when we have a few extra dollars to spend – it starts anywhere from 25-50% more than the Value prices. But, like the Value resorts, the doors to each room open to the outside world. The only difference is that you might not have as many kids running down the hallways at the Moderates.
Our recent trip to CFW was also very interesting. The cabins are essentially themed single-wide trailers set within the FW Campground. With more than 700 acres of land dedicated to FW, it’s one of the most quiet resorts on property. They have two pools, an internal bus route system, two convenience stores and just about everything you could ever want in terms of entertainment (besides being the location of the Hoop-de-Hoo Review, the Tri-Circle-D Ranch and the only resort that rents golf carts to get around within the resort, they even do a free movie and smores every night with Chip & Dale out on the lawn). It takes a little longer to get anywhere from within the resort as you have an extra bus ride to wait on. But check it out if you have kids that need a separate sleeping area (the cabin is nearly the size of a suite within any other resort) or if you’re looking to save costs by using each cabin’s full-size kitchen and food prep areas.
Deluxe: If this is going to be your ONE TRIP TO DISNEY for awhile, some people really love to stay "on the Monorail line"... and this is how. The Polynesian Resort (the Poly), the Contemporary Resort (CR) and the Grand Floridian (GF) are all on the monorail line. The Wilderness Lodge (WL) isn't on the monorail line, but is close to the Magic Kingdom (MK) as well and is also a Deluxe. The 2010 cost for Deluxe: between $240-$3,005/night.
Being on the monorail line has some perks, especially if you think you're going to spend a lot of time at the MK. Additionally, some people think that it’s easier if you have children because you don’t have to ride the bus and can get back to your resort quickly. It is faster, convenient and heck, it's still a pretty cool way to travel. Disney geeks are also fascinated by the monorail spiel: "Por favor, mantenganse alejados de las puertas." (Please stand clear of the doors.) It's repeated at every stop. Oh, but while the monorail also goes to Epcot, it's not THAT much faster than the bus.
Deluxe Villas: If you really have money to burn, you can stay at places that are typically reserved for Disney Vacation Club (DVC) members: The Beach Club Villas, BoardWalk Villas, Old Key West, AK Villas, Bay Lake Tower at the CR, Saratoga Springs and Villas at WL. These are the uber-expensive rooms ... which typically only make sense if you have a lot of people going to split the cost. The 2010 cost for DV's: $295-$2475/night. Additionally, there is a known-but-not-Disney-sanctioned process of “renting points” from DVC members so as to get a week or so in a DVC property without spending the amount of money typically required – and without having to become a DVC member. Visit www.allears.net to learn more about DVC.
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