Disney Hotel Prices are Out of Control!

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Sorry if I missed it, but do Expedia and Orbitz etc still book WDW rooms?

My friends are looking in Feb and I'm not seeing any WDW rooms on there.

I'm seeing it on Priceline, Expedia, and Orbitz though I just did a random search for a couple of weeks from now.

Maybe their dates are the issue?

 

[jade1]

I'm seeing it on Priceline, Expedia, and Orbitz though I just did a random search for a couple of weeks from now.

Maybe their dates are the issue?

Must be, but the WDW site has quite a few avail so I guess we will just use that. Cheapest is AoA $170, but skyliner will help. Mid Feb.

 

[jade1]

I'm seeing it on Priceline, Expedia, and Orbitz though I just did a random search for a couple of weeks from now.

Maybe their dates are the issue?

Must be, but the WDW site has quite a few avail so I guess we will just use that. Cheapest is AoA $170, but skyliner will help. Mid Feb.

 

[mister morrow]

i really have no idea why people are getting shocked by the increase in disney prices. disney's prices rise every year and are obviously going to keep rising.
nowadays, everything is becoming more expensive. this isn't just a disney issue.

also, i don't see why some people in this thread are judging others based off of where they stay. everyone is different and have different needs; some people love staying at an offsite resort for $100, and others prefer to stay onsite. remember, we all love disney here, no need to judge

 

[Chickinvic]

Be very, very careful about picking a hotel at that price.

We rent a 4 bedroom/3 bath villa with private pool and hot tub in a gated community 10 minutes away from the parks for 100/night and it is lovely. I would imagine a hotel room for cheaper should be okay if someone really just wants somewhere to lay their head a t night.

 

[TangledHairDon'tCare]

Who wouldn't book using a discount?...thats like paying sticker for a car - No one is that..well...financially inept. I mean its too easy to get rooms and packages ..WAY under rack rate.

2 years ago, I booked my parents their 40th anniversary trip to Wilderness Lodge at rack rate because I didn't know any better. They wanted to book their trip and they were comfortable with the price I told them so I booked it for them. This was before I knew that I could modify a reservation when a promotion came out. I learned that on this board.

 

[toodycat]

I love WDW and will probably always stay onsite, The GF is my favorite, but I agree that outside of the World, there are better hotels for less money, even in other popular tourist destinations. I just booked a one bedroom, ocean view suite at the JW Marriott in Cancun for 2020, with the equivalent of CL service, for $459 per night. I can’t get that level room at that price at WDW. It would be twice that. But, just because I’m aware of the price disparity doesn’t mean I won’t still stay onsite at a deluxe. To us, the resort is part of the magic. We would rather stay fewer nights at a more immersive resort than more nights at one with fewer amenities. We always schedule at least one “pool day” in a vacation. Also, my self-employed husband gets very little time off and doesn’t want to stay off site if he has to drive to the parks every day and fight traffic. He’d rather wake up and be a monorail or boat or bus from rope drop. I always look for room discounts, but I’m sympathetic to those who pay rack rate. As a teacher, I don’t get to pick when school is closed. I can’t always travel on dates when a discount is available. This isn’t a problem limited to teachers. Some businesses or factories shut down for Christmas week or the last two weeks of August and that’s when vacation is. I have zero complaints about the experience that Disney resorts offer. I’ve never had an issue with bad mousekeeping or room invasions. I’m just reporting how things work for us. Whatever makes other Disney lovers happy is what works for them.

 

[Dean Kennedy]

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. We stayed at Disney Springs Holiday Inn instead for a $100/ night. Not the best hotel but got 60 day fast passes and extra hours so adequate for $100/ night. The prices of the in park resorts also seem high to me compared to what you get.

Uber was great from the hotel to the parks and we usually had a three minute wait so everything worked very well.

I agree, they have reached the tipping point. Last visit paid about $375 for what I felt like was a good $95 a night room. Also wham suites at AofA can reach near $500 a night, that’s anything but a value resort.

 

[thymed]

Is it me or are the cost of Disney hotel rooms too high. I looked on the Disney website for a room next May and the the All Star Resorts started at $170/night. Compare that to fine hotels just outside WDW which were $60/night. Even when you factor in a rental car and parking you still save $70/night or about $500 in a week! We’ve always stayed on site but I’m nearing a breaking point.

Disney everything is getting out of control! The rooms, the tickets, parking.... my husband mentioned today he figures next year they will be charging to ride the trams!
We have been coming every year for the last 18 years, are annual pass holders, etc. The prices have been skyrocketing and the amenities plummeting. This year our annual vacation is double what it used to be. The extra magic hours that you used to enjoy in the parks are basically gone replaced by “special ticketed events” that cost another arm and a leg. The resort parking fee is horrible, the resorts parking lots are never full. They just keep taking things away or charging for them. We love Disney, all things Disney. I have brought countless people to the resort and talked them into the cruises etc. But the pricing has gone too far for us. The parks just aren’t worth it anymore. The food is mediocre at best and now unless you want a more expensive sit down restaurant you can basically eat chicken fingers and burgers... we never came for the food but they have even made it unappealing. I don’t think this is the place Walt envisioned as the spot for a parent to take their kids and have fun....it is a money machine that doesn’t mind chewing up it’s patrons.... sad

 

[dez1978]

Who wouldn't book using a discount?...thats like paying sticker for a car - No one is that..well...financially inept. I mean its too easy to get rooms and packages ..WAY under rack rate.

lots of people don't follow boards like these and don't know they can apply promotions after the fact. Or they can't move their dates to a date thats included in a promotion.

 

[NikitaZee]

lots of people don't follow boards like these and don't know they can apply promotions after the fact. Or they can't move their dates to a date thats included in a promotion.

All true! Also - for our Thanksgiving trip this year, we booked really early in the year. Rack rates - room plus park tickets. The fall discounts came out and our dates were included, however prices had increased by then and our original package price is actually $7 cheaper than the new discounted rate. I mentioned to another poster a couple of days ago - this is our first time in 15 years going to WDW without any type of discount.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

The rack rates are bananas, IMO. If we had no choice but to pay those I honestly don’t know what we would do. The resort is such a huge component of our trip I think I would have a really hard time dropping the cash (airfare and park tickets aren’t cheap!) for what I would feel like was an incomplete trip not staying at one of our favourites.

We love love love renting points. We have upcoming trips at BWV and the Poly for what I consider relatively reasonable prices. The BWV studio is barely more than rack rate for a moderate room. I understand that option isn’t good for everyone and their vacation styles though, but it works well for us!

 

[cakebaker]

I would never pay rack rates and honestly, there's rarely a time when some kind of discount isn't in play. We're a family of teachers and very limited on our time schedule- never fail to find some kind of discount. Like almost anything else, the price is sky high, then they discount it to bring it back down to something more "reasonable". Disney knows marketing and if they lowered their prices and did away with discounts, people would have fits. People like the illusion that they're saving money. We don't stay at values, but with discounts some of them can be under $120 and that's just not a horribly high price to pay. Yes, you can get better accomodations off site for that amount of money- just have to decide what your priorities are.

 

[ww52]

Disney knows marketing and if they lowered their prices and did away with discounts, people would have fits. People like the illusion that they're saving money

Not sure if Kohl's is a national retail store, but they LIVE on this idea. Everytime I shop there the receipt tells me how much I "saved" off a price they never charge anyone to begin with!

(Actually they got in legal trouble so they get around it by putting merchandise out at the full price for a short time and then put it on "sale")

JC Penneys almost went out of business using "honest pricing".

People like to think they are getting a deal.

The downside however is the nagging feeling that despite getting a discount you're STILL paying to much.

 

[snappy]

Not sure if Kohl's is a national retail store, but they LIVE on this idea. Everytime I shop there the receipt tells me how much I "saved" off a price they never charge anyone to begin with!

(Actually they got in legal trouble so they get around it by putting merchandise out at the full price for a short time and then put it on "sale")

JC Penneys almost went out of business using "honest pricing".

People like to think they are getting a deal.

The downside however is the nagging feeling that despite getting a discount you're STILL paying to much.

Not much of a deal if the rack rate booked earlier in the year is lower than the current “discounted” rate that an earlier poster experienced.

 

[scard192]

you don't even have to stay on site any more to get the 60 day FP+ booking window. To me that was a big advantage with all the new attractions that have and will be opening.

 

[ww52]

you don't even have to stay on site any more to get the 60 day FP+ booking window.

Is this true? I'm not sure it is.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Is this true? I'm not sure it is.

Disney expanded the EMH and 60FP windows to certain select non-Disney hotels in the Disney Springs area basically (only certain ones qualify). It's still on Disney World property but not Disney-owned properties. I should note it's on a rolling approval meaning that Disney re-approves the benefits. I believe right now they go through 2020 at the moment.

 

[Farro]

I think that's short-sighted to assume people all over the place book on some sort of discount.

The going advice on the Boards seems to be book with what you're comfortable spending; don't count on a discount to make a place that you were not comfortable spending suddenly comfortable. That may mean some people wait til discounts are released and that may mean people book at rack rate hoping a discount may come out but accepting it if it doesn't.

You may never book rack rate because you're always flexible or always willing to hunt for a discount (be it on Disney's website or a 3rd party). There are people out there that simply book and call it good. Sometimes they are booking when a discount is out and sometimes they are not. Either way there are people who book rack rate. Heck my in-laws hate booking online, they would much rather call--if they call when no discount is available they would simply accept the rate as it were. My mom too.

Yep. We wanted a specific resort, specific dates. There were no offers available when we went during our last October trip. We tried, but nothing available for our dates. Other years discounts were available, but when we called somehow it wasn't available for resort/view we booked. We aren't willing to switch.

Who wouldn't book using a discount?...thats like paying sticker for a car - No one is that..well...financially inept. I mean its too easy to get rooms and packages ..WAY under rack rate.

So hi everyone, we are financially inept and we've paid rack rate.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

Discounts are for far less than they used to be though, are they not? Especially if you’re just part of the general public. Plus you do often need to be flexible on your resort, room type, or your dates.

It’s not quite like the Old Navy/Gap pricing structure where there is literally always some sort of easy to access discount for anybody who looks for it.