Disney Hotel Prices are Out of Control!

[SaintsManiac]

Your choice, but you're missing a great deal during school vacation. Personally, I'm glad so many people opt out of summer at WDW. It keeps the crowds & resort costs relatively low.

Yes it is my choice. Got great deluxe prices both times we did it. I’d rather stay at Pop and have better weather.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

Yes it is my choice. Got great deluxe prices both times we did it. I’d rather stay at Pop and have better weather.

Better weather is subjective. Two of our short winter trips to WDW had us touring during bitter cold snaps (freezing daytime temps with the windchill factored in)- just our luck. In the summer, we tour during mornings & evenings and spend afternoons resting or swimming. And the late summer nights are lovely. That is much nicer than shivering under blankets in freezing wind while waiting for fireworks to start, imo. And summer weather allows us to really enjoy WDW's amazing pools & water parks.

We spent a week at Pop early one February, not near any holiday, and were disappointed with how crowded the parks were at a forecasted "low" time. We also disliked our motel-ish room at Pop. From then on I decided only to go to WDW during school/work holidays (since even "offseason" was crowded), & only stay at the more comfortable resorts. Never regretted that decision.

But different people have different perspectives and I respect your preferences, too. If we all liked the same exact thing, that thing would get crazy expensive & crowded. I guess that's what's happened at WDW overall...

 

[Happyinwonerland]

We stayed five years ago at Poly and three years ago at GF. Late last year I wanted to stay at the Contemporary but it was $1000/night.

I'd be hard pressed to pay $1k/night anywhere. I can't believe that's what the rooms were selling for!

 

[writerguyfl]

I agree prices are too high, but what fine hotels near Disney World are $60 per night?

I think $60 is too low. But as I mentioned way back on page 2, if you bump that up to around $80/night, you'll get many options for "fine hotels" in the Walt Disney World area.

Doing a quick search online, I got the following hotel rates for dates in September 2019:

• Residence Inn by Marriott Orlando Lake Buena Vista: $63/night (no resort fee, free breakfast)
• Fairfield Inn & Suites Lake Buena Vista in Marriott Village: $63/night (no resort fee, free breakfast)
• Galleria Palms Hotel: $67/night ($10 resort fee, free breakfast)
• Delta Hotels by Marriott Orlando Lake Buena Vista: $67/night (no resort fee)
• Hilton Garden Inn Lake Buena Vista/Orlando: $70/night (no resort fee)
• Homewood Suites by Hilton Lake Buena Vista/Orlando: $71/night (no resort fee)
• SpringHill Suites Orlando Lake Buena Vista Marriott Village: $71/night (no resort fee, free breakfast)
• Hampton Inn Lake Buena Vista/Orlando: $74/night (no resort fee, free breakfast)
• SpringHill Suites by Marriott Orlando Theme Parks/Lake Buena Vista: $77/night (no resort fee, free breakfast)
• Radisson Hotel Orlando-Lake Buena Vista: $77/night (no resort fee)
• Courtyard by Marriott Lake Buena Vista at Vista Centre: $80/night (no resort fee)
• TownePlace Suites by Marriott Orlando Theme Parks/Lake Buena Vista: $81/night (no resort fee)
• Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Lake Buena Vista: $82/night (no resort fee, free breakfast)
• Holiday Inn Express & Suites Orlando - Lake Buena Vista: $82/night (no resort fee, free breakfast)

 

[WIll C]

$250 for parking plus the 10 day cost of a rental car. The two stays we did last year we didn't have a car and it seems like a waste to have one when you are spending so much time in the parks/hotel. If you intend to go to other spots around the area then a car may be useful but we spent maybe $200 in transport costs (a Minnie Van once and a trip to UA one day). If you are staying offsite but close, I'd still rather use Uber or something to get to the park (if your hotel doesn't have transport).

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I think there is around 20 of them (correct me if I am wrong) and to see Disney Resort prices increase the way they have and then extend the 60 day window to all these off site hotels makes me feel what you pay to stay on site has been devalued as it's no longer a benefit that you only get for staying on site at a Disney resort.

There's a list out there but I don't remember where; I usually see it when they've added more or renewed the deal. IIRC they just added one or two more I feel like.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

$250 for parking plus the 10 day cost of a rental car. The two stays we did last year we didn't have a car and it seems like a waste to have one when you are spending so much time in the parks/hotel. If you intend to go to other spots around the area then a car may be useful but we spent maybe $200 in transport costs (a Minnie Van once and a trip to UA one day). If you are staying offsite but close, I'd still rather use Uber or something to get to the park (if your hotel doesn't have transport).

All depends on one's perspective and preference.

We'd get a rental car regardless (especially because we go to Universal) but even onsite getting to AK's parking lot in 4mins worked quite well for us You may spend all day in the parks but time is money too and if I can get to the parks quicker than Disney's buses that can count for something to a person. Generally speaking MK is the place where using a bus can be more beneficial because of the requirement of parking at TTC then doing a ferry or monorail to MK vs a bus that takes you directly to MK. Even then for us when we park hopped between Epcot and MK we parked at the TTC and just took the monorail between the two easy peasy.

 

[WIll C]

All depends on one's perspective and preference.

We'd get a rental car regardless (especially because we go to Universal) but even onsite getting to AK's parking lot in 4mins worked quite well for us You may spend all day in the parks but time is money too and if I can get to the parks quicker than Disney's buses that can count for something to a person. Generally speaking MK is the place where using a bus can be more beneficial because of the requirement of parking at TTC then doing a ferry or monorail to MK vs a bus that takes you directly to MK. Even then for us when we park hopped between Epcot and MK we parked at the TTC and just took the monorail between the two easy peasy.

It's always dependent on your use. A 10 day trip the car is going to cost about $1000 so it's good to factor that into your trip planning. If I was staying offsite a ways away and wanted to go to the coast or some other parks I'd get a car, but for $1000 I could probably stay onsite if all we did was UA as well as WDW. Of course, for us, we have to get a 1BD so our hotel costs are always more expensive and we our options are more limited.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

It's always dependent on your use. A 10 day trip the car is going to cost about $1000 so it's good to factor that into your trip planning. If I was staying offsite a ways away and wanted to go to the coast or some other parks I'd get a car, but for $1000 I could probably stay onsite if all we did was UA as well as WDW. Of course, for us, we have to get a 1BD so our hotel costs are always more expensive and we our options are more limited.

$1,000? That's pretty high. I know I for sure can get even a larger vehicle than we normally get for less than that.

We got a Costco deal for $199 for 9days for an Intermediate car through Avis in 2017. Even then through Rentalcars(.com) through Alamo the price was $221 for Compact. We opted for Costco because it was cheaper, spouse drove free and it was for a car class above what we originally had through Rentalcars(.com)

 

[WIll C]

That was total usage cost, including parking, gas, etc. YMMV (literally).

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

That was total usage cost, including parking, gas, etc. YMMV (literally).

Ahh ok I see well that is a bit different than straight up that's the rental car cost. I do know when I was planning my last WDW trip that was going to include my in-laws (they ended up not going with us) we did highball the rental car cost and then the gasoline cost just to be on the safe side so I guess generally speaking one could do that too.

 

[Captainkidd76]

Your choice, but you're missing out on decent prices during a school vacation period. Personally, I'm glad so many people opt out of summer at WDW. It keeps the crowds & resort costs relatively low, and ADRs & FPs easy to book.

July is the busiest month of the year. Christmas week is the busiest week, but for the month, July is the busiest and has been for years.

I'll just say this knowing full well that there will be some to claim they know more and "walked right up to the castle on got a table for dinner" or got onto Slinky mid afternoon with a 5 minute wait. Whatever. I've been to Disney World for vacation 50+ times, including probably 20 times in July. This past July, it was so insanely crowded at the Magic Kingdom one day, I lost it. 30 minute wait just to get on the Peoplemover. We had done the other parks and this was our 3rd day at Magic Kingdom. We had just done a Universal only vacation in January so that wasn't on the agenda for this trip. After seeing a Fastpass line for Buzz Lightyear that was past Monsters Inc I turned to my wife and kids and asked "Who wants to go to Universal?" My wife said "Can we?", and 2 kids both started jumping up and down. I called immediately and got a room for the last 2 nights of our vacation at the Royal Pacific with an AP rate of $205.

The point of this isn't to say Universal is better than Disney. There are some things they do better, but there are many things Disney does better. The point is, Disney World, Magic Kingdom particular, for my family, is no longer enjoyable in the summer. It breaks my heart to say, but we just don't want to go back. It's absolutely chaotic.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

July is the busiest month of the year. Christmas week is the busiest week, but for the month, July is the busiest and has been for years.

Was your bad experience near July 4th? With the exception of July 4th week, July is not a high-crowd month at WDW anymore. Fall & spring have higher crowds, higher resort prices, & harder to book ADRs & FPs.

The lowest crowds we've encountered, by far, in recent years have been in the second half of July. And that corresponds to the lower resort rates, easier to book ADRs & FPs, etc.

Also keep in mind that MK is busy midday 365 days of the year.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Everyone has a different perception on crowds. MK (specifically Fantasyland) feels chaotic almost every afternoon no matter what day of the week or time of year I’ve been there. Crowds don’t bother me, but when you combine them with heat and awful guest behavior it can make you feel overwhelmed.

 

[Captainkidd76]

Was your bad experience near July 4th? With the exception of July 4th week, July is not a high-crowd month at WDW anymore. Fall & spring have higher crowds, higher resort prices, & harder to book ADRs & FPs.

The lowest crowds we've encountered, by far, in recent years have been in the second half of July. And that corresponds to the lower resort rates, easier to book ADRs & FPs, etc.

Also keep in mind that MK is busy midday 365 days of the year.

No. It was the 2nd to 3rd week of July. Maybe our ideas of crowded are different but to me, 40 minutes for It's A Small World, 70 minutes for Pirates, and Fastpass lines snaked outside the entrance of an attraction is too much. The other parks were manageable. It's mostly due to Fastpass Plus. Disneyland, with attendance just shy of Magic Kingdom doesn't have those issues. Granted, there is far more to do in Disneyland than the Magic Kingdom, but not having people booking a Fastpass for Winnie The Pooh keeps lines tolerable.

 

[Captainkidd76]

Crowds don’t bother me, but when you combine them with heat and awful guest behavior it can make you feel overwhelmed.

This!

 

[Disneypro1]

Is this sarcasm? If not, it's just so wrong, I couldn't even imagine where to begin.

No. It’s factual.

 

[toodycat]

That was total usage cost, including parking, gas, etc. YMMV (literally).

We usually rent a car to visit my MIL before going to WDW. Even though we stay on site, it’s handy to have. Last year, the rental agency lost our reservation upon return and never charged us the $560 we owed them. I tried to call several times, but no one could find the reservation number. So, my mileage definitely varied in a good way.

 

[Captainkidd76]

No. It’s factual.

First, it's an opinion. Second, sounds like you've never been to a Six Flags park. Or, you've never been to Universal. If you have and you really can't differentiate between Diagon Alley and any area of a Six Flags park, well, I really don't know what to say.

 

[Captainkidd76]

We usually rent a car to visit my MIL before going to WDW. Even though we stay on site, it’s handy to have. Last year, the rental agency lost our reservation upon return and never charged us the $560 we owed them. I tried to call several times, but no one could find the reservation number. So, my mileage definitely varied in a good way.

Bank error in your favor!

I paid $570 for an SUV from Alamo for 16 days last month. Rental cars are like airfare. Changes by the minute.