What’s The Difference Between a Value Resort and a Moderate Resort

Walt Disney World is home to not only four theme parks , two water parks and Disney Springs. It’s home to several resorts. These resorts are categorized into four groups: value, moderate, deluxe and deluxe villas. Each category has several resorts with its own theming appealing to a wide variety of guests. There’s truly a Disney World resort for any person planning a vacation to Disney World. For more on what staying at a Disney World resort offers click here. But what makes each category different from the other, for an overview click here. Today we’re going to examine what makes a value resort different from a moderate resort. But before we do that, here are the resorts for each of the two categories:

Value

All-Star Movies. All-Star Sports. All-Star Music. Art of Animation. Pop Century. Campsites at Fort Wilderness.

Moderate

Coronado Springs. Caribbean Beach. Cabins at Fort Wilderness. Port Orleans – French Quarter. Port Orleans – Riverside.

Cost

The price difference between a moderate resort and a value resort is approximately $200 per night.

Each resort is individually priced. The price varies on the time of year, with slower times of year being cheaper than peak season. The resorts in the value category range in price from $89 per night to $188 dollars per night during the cheapest time of year. The resorts in the moderate category range in price from $280 per night to $360 per night. These again are the prices at the cheapest time of year and the least preferred areas. Each resort will have an altered cost for better situated rooms or larger rooms.

Dining

When staying at a value resort, your dining options are limited to quick-service restaurants and pool side bars. The quick-service restaurants are cafeteria style with lots of options for each meal of the day, they are open at 7am and close at 10pm. Each of the value resorts also have pizza delivery to guests rooms. All the restaurants are located in the resort’s main building. If you want to eat at a sit down, table service or buffet style restaurant you’ll have to go elsewhere. Each moderate resort has a least one table service restaurant found on their resort property. They also have quick-service restaurants set up as food court style with several vendors giving guests lots of choice. The moderate resorts also have pool side bars at their main pools. Keep this in mind if you are purchasing a dining plan and not expecting to spend every day at the parks.

Transportation

The transportation offered to the value resorts and the moderate resorts are similar. Both offer bus transportation and a couple resorts from both categories are on the Skyliner. The biggest difference between the two is bus stops. At the moderate resorts there are bus stops located around the resort, because the resort is so spread out. At value resorts, there is one bus stop located outside the main building. The line for a bus at a value resort is roped off, where as the bus stops at moderate resorts have benches to sit and wait.

Waterslides

Each resort at Walt Disney World has a pool. But not all of the pools are the same. Some are quiet pools and others are pools with waterslides and water play areas. Each resort in the value category has a pool but they are your basic pool, sometimes there is a child splash area but that’s all. The main pools found at moderate resorts have at least one waterslide, some have water play areas. The moderate resort main pools are like a mini water park. Making it redundant to go to either Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon.

Rooms

The standard rooms at a value resort are tiny. These rooms have very little space for moving around, and offer very little privacy. Some of the value resorts do offer family suites which create more space for larger families. But the standard room, which gives you that lower room rate, are small. They have one king bed in each room or a queen pull out and queen bed, a tv in an entertainment unit with drawers and a bathroom area. Staying in these rooms makes spending the whole day at the parks ideal. The moderate level rooms are a little bit larger, and offer a bit more privacy in the bathroom area. They also have ceiling fans in their rooms.

Capacity

The amount of rooms found at a value resort is going to average around 1860, with Pop Century having the most rooms at 2,880 and Art of Animation at 984. The amount of rooms, on average, at a moderate resort is 1800, with Port Orleans Riverside having the most at 3,056 and Port Orleans French Quarter having the least at 1,008. This means both level resorts are going to have similar capacity for guests. So the busyness of the resort, restaurants and transportation is going to be similar.

So there you have it. The 6 major differences between value resorts and moderate resorts. Is the price difference worth it? It really depends on the type of vacation you plan on having and the people you’re with. If you plan on visiting the parks from park open to park close every day, then a value resort will be fine. If you plan on splitting up your visit with afternoons by the pool and nice evening meals, then the moderate resort may make more sense.

If you’re looking for more tips on deciding which resort is best for your Disney World vacation, take a look at these previous posts:

Disney World Resorts We’ve Stayed at Again and Again

The 5 Disney World Resort Areas

The 5 Biggest Waterslides at Disney World Resorts

The 5 Disney World Resorts with the Most Pools

5 Reasons to Stay at a Disney World Resort