We want to take advantage of the Fairytale Vacation in Oct. and are thinking of staying at one of the value resorts (i.e., Movies, Music or Sports). Are these properties worth it or should we consider staying elsewhere?

Yes, i think they're definitely worth it. We've stayed there three times, with growing teens, and while it was close quarters, we were only there to sleep and shower. Ask for Movies, as its got more disney magic.

This past april we stayed off site and never will again. The transportation and overall disney experience is worth the extra bucks. At least to our family.

Go to disneyfan.com for an amazing amount of disney info. And have fun!

Yes! Stay in the park. The extra ammenities provided more than make up the higher cost of the Disney hotels. And the luxury of parking your car once and forgetting about it is heaven! Once, when our children were very little, we stayed at the Port Orleans Hotel and did NOT go to the theme park. We rented bikes, took walks through all the beautiful hotels (each one has a different theme) and their grounds, rode the rail, and swam in the pool. We were so busy with different activities that our kids didn't even notice that we skipped the Magic Kingdom. Well, they were pretty young, I admit, but the point is that we got more bang for the buck inside the park than outside.

With children, the value resorts would make sense. Without kids, the fairytale might be a little, shall we say noisy and not what you have in mind. Some of the moderates are very good with more elaborate services and pools and more than worth the upgrade. If you do some checking, like at mousesavers, you can get a discount of sorts but nothing like the bidding sites. Disney protects its franchise at all costs. LMF

I would upgrade to one of the moderates if possible. In October you should get a good rate. The Value Resort are just that value resorts, walls are paper thin, you can hear the toilet flushing next door and it is noisy. Mousesavers.com is a great site for further info.

I stayed at Sports and it was fine. I was with a bunch of friends. With kids i think it will be good, but it is by no means romantic.

Richard, another suggestion is to try one of the really fine hotels at Lake Buena Vista. They all offer free trans to the parks, plus you're in walking distance to shopping, dining and fun at Downtown Disney. Good deals on the web.

Yes, stay there.

If you want Disney 'magic', do NOT stay at the moderates! You'll feel like you could be in ANY nice hotel, but NOT at Disney. (Unless you venture into the gift shops where once again, you'll be overwhelmed with Disney.)

Its the All Stars if you want the magic and money saved.

Have fun!

The Value Resorts "magical?" You have got to be kidding rockin. They are nothing but Motel 6 on Disney Property. We stayed there once and they are noisy, woodwork gouged up and kids galore. If you really want "magic" splurge and stay in the Dolphin/Swan or one of the other nicer hotels--skip the tacky value resorts.

I'm with Myrna. My daughter stayed at one of the All Star's and said it was horrible. Small rooms, run down, very noisy. I think you would be better off staying offsite at a nicer hotel. IMO, the real advantage comes from staying at a hotel right on the monorail (Polynesian, Floridian, Contemporary) and beyond that it's all the same.
Saying that, we do all have different ideas on what it important to us.
Have fun wherever you decide to stay.

We stayed at the All Star Resorts a few years ago and it was fine. Our boys were 10 and 12. Yes, it is like a motel room. But the game area is neat and the pool is fine. They had a wonderful time. Of course the other resorts are better, but you pay for that. The good thing is you can stay at the cheap resort and then you can go to visit any of the other resorts while there. Staying on property is definitely worth it, even if you have to go value.

We stayed at Sports in January for $55 a night. We never waited more than 5 minutes for a bus. Being able to have packages sent back to the hotel was great. At a value you have to pick up your things at the gift shop instead of being set direct to your room. We were up early and spent the whole day at the parks. We had dinner at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We got on a bus to go back to a park to catch another bus to our hotel. We were sitting at the front and the driver starting asking questions about our trip. When she found out we were going back to get on another bus she drove us directly to our hotel. We were thankful although I'm not sure how the others on the bus felt. If you are use to luxury hotels you will not be happy.

I have stayed at all of the different types of resorts ie "value, moderate, deluxe" and agree with a couple of other folks that a little extra a night goes a long way. The "value" properties are nice and well themed but as mentioned are very noisy. Try to go at least moderate if you can afford, you will not regret it!