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Mom and Daughter at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort Room
  • On Mar 25, 2012
    Karen from MI Asked Note: This answer was provided prior to the change to planDisney and may still contain references to Disney Parks Moms Panel.

    Experiences, policies, pricing and other offerings are subject to change and may have changed since the date of this answer.

    What is the difference if a family of 4 , 3 teens and 1 mom stay at the Disney resorts in downtown Disney as compared with one of the value resorts? Transportation? Extended hours? Etc? Packages through AAA better than wdw?

    Karen,

    Really, there are a number of trade-offs. Here are a few of the ones that I think are the most glaring;

    PROS TO DISNEY VALUE RESORTS
    • Transportation to the parks is better, more frequent, and at no cost.
    • Extra Magic Hours are available, whereas they are only offered at a few of the Downtown Disney resorts
    • Disney Dining Plan. Usually I see these plans as hard to cost-justify, but if you have three teens that are big eaters (as most teenagers I have run across seem to be), then the dining plans might just be a good bargain for you.

    PROS TO DOWNTOWN DISNEY RESORTS
    • You can earn loyalty program points at most of these resorts
    • With teens, the ability to walk over to Downtown Disney is a nice evening plus
    • Room sizes are typically a bit bigger at these hotels than the value hotels.
    Cost is another issue. Typically a Value resort room will be less expensive than some Downtown Disney resorts, while more expensive than others. You have to shop around to see what is the best deal. As for packages, they can be good on either side of the fence. Let your travel agent show you ALL the specials available now, and from there you can make a better educated decision.

    If it were me, I think I would go for the Disney Value resorts so that I could get the evening Extra Magic Hours and the Disney Dining Plan. But that is with me drawing a mental picture of three big-eating teenage boys. Feel free to write me back if you want to give me a bit more info about your party and have me adjust my recommendations!

    Have a magical vacation!

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Meet the Panelist: Doug, Indiana

I am one of the Dads on the planDisney Panel, and I love to help parents plan their vacation, with a focus on showing them how it can be fun for them too. I am also here to help Dads plan some nice surprises for the Moms in their life (they deserve it!). Learn More About Doug

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