Priceline Express Deals

CarrieR

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jun 10, 2008
I've gotten great deals on mods for this weekend - one by booking about two weeks ago and one by booking last night. Thought I could start an FAQ/tips for opaque booking sites since the on-site Disney hotels are now appearing. (Is this allowed?)

If there's interest, and others want to post their wins, I can update the first post with more tips, FAQ and wins.

BE AWARE THAT GETTING A SPECIFIC HOTEL THROUGH AN OPAQUE BOOKING IS NEVER GUARANTEED. Using available clues, you can narrow it down and have a "good bet" at success. However, until you hit the purchase button and get your confirmation with hotel name, there is no way to know for sure. Opaque booking includes inherent risk and if you are risk averse it is best for you to book through traditional routes.

The below is based on my experiences & research, but if others have different experiences I'd love to hear them!

TIPS

Priceline


The on-site hotels will be in the areas "Walt Disney World - Bonnet Creek" and "Walt Disney World - Disney Springs." If it is outside these areas, it is (probably?) not an on-site hotel.

The hotel will not have a resort fee. (Resort fees are common in Orlando. You will see it listed as "Hotel fee, $xx.xx (Due at hotel)."

The amenities will typically I nclude "free parking," which is an uncommon amenity in Orlando.

Hotwire

The on-site hotels are in areas "Walt Disney World - Bonnet Creek" and "Disney Springs."

The hotel will not have a resort fee. (Resort fees are common in Orlando. After you click on the hotel, you will see a box with a big red button that says "Book Now." If the hotel has a resort fee, there will be small grey print under this box that says, "This hotel charges guests a resort fee of USDxx.xx per room per night."

The dead giveaway amenity is "airport shuttle." Because WDW is so far away from MCO, few hotels in the key zones have airport shuttles. (On-site hotels, of course, have DME.)

Sample hotel sets - Priceline

Disney's Port Orleans Resort - French Quarter
Area: Walt Disney World - Disney Springs
3.5*
Listed amenities: Free parking, indoor or outdoor pool, restaurant

(Possible amenities: Free Internet (in room,) Free Parking, Outdoor Pool, Restaurant)

Caribbean Beach Resort
Area: Walt Disney World - Bonnet Creek
3*
Listed amenities: Free parking, free internet (in room,) swimming pool

(Possible amenities: Free Internet (in room,) Free Parking, Outdoor Pool, Restaurant)


 


For my dates, the only thing I have been able to reliably find on HW is GF at $700+/nt. I think there was something else at $3-400 but I'm a budget kinda girl... lol!
 
I've been looking into this as well! For my dates there do not seem to be any deals available yet but my trip is 8 months out ;) the no resort fee and free parking tend to give Disney resorts away I think.
 


what about "bed choice available?" I would think that would be a non-Disney hotel?

Doesn't the amount of percentage off play into it too?
 
Bed choice is most likely non-Disney, although the listing that I was 99% sure is GF had one king or two doubles.

% off does play into it. It's pretty easy to tell on Priceline... I took a couple of screenshots today but didn't want to take the time to write a full-fledged FAQ if there wasn't interest. Seems that there is, so I'll make it a priority over the next couple of days :)
 
i find it interesting. ::yes::::yes::

I have used Priceline a lot in the past, but when I go to Disney I want to guarantee I stay on property. I'm a little too nervous to try it. I also think that Disney doesn't give up inventory until pretty close to the dates and I'm too far out now with July trip. :scratchin
 
Just searched August 27-31 which currently has a good room-only discount and it was $669.32 total on Hotwire for CBR and $553.26 total on CheapTickets using their 16% off coupon.
 
  • Restaurant
  • Free Internet
  • Indoor or Outdoor Pool
  • Fitness Center
  • No Smoking Rooms/Facilities
I see a 3.5 star in Disney Springs area on Priceline for my dates and the above mentioned amenities. Do you think this is POFQ?

The price is $90 a night.

It doesn't say anything about free shuttle and I can't find any mention about Resort Fees.

Total was $427 for 4 nights.
 
  • Restaurant
  • Free Internet
  • Indoor or Outdoor Pool
  • Fitness Center
  • No Smoking Rooms/Facilities
I see a 3.5 star in Disney Springs area on Priceline for my dates and the above mentioned amenities. Do you think this is POFQ?

The price is $90 a night.

It doesn't say anything about free shuttle and I can't find any mention about Resort Fees.
CSR is the only moderate that has a fitness center, so it can't be POFQ. I just searched and I think I got a similar result to you that was 3.5 stars with no resort fee, but the bed choices definitely did not line up with any of the moderates.

Digging around in the actual hotel results on Priceline revealed it was the Holiday Inn Orlando.
 
I was looking at the Priceline options for one night and it offered trip insurance for $5. I wonder how easy it is to cancel and get a refund?
 
There should be a list of qualified reasons - usually sickness, death in the family, job loss etc. I looked at it too, but "I don't like my hotel" doesn't seem to suffice ;)
 
I have been searching on Priceline for over a month now, just seeing what would come up and for what price. I have seen some great deals, like AKL for $171 a night. But I haven't been able to get any Disney resorts to come up past April 30th.

I have checked Hotwire a few time but really can't get any that I know for sure are Disney Resorts and the ones I think are Disney resorts are not at a good price
 
There should be a list of qualified reasons - usually sickness, death in the family, job loss etc. I looked at it too, but "I don't like my hotel" doesn't seem to suffice ;)

LOL I'll look at the fine print On a side note, our second trip to FL in 2010 I did a hotwire deal and didn't like my hotel & the 3rd party travel insurance had no problem canceling for that. I had expected for my claim to get rejected, but it didn't. So I guess it depends on the company.

I did look for my dates to see if anything looked Disney, but the only ones I found were still pretty high anyway (one was $806/nt before taxes & fees...wonder what that was....GF? CR TPV?)
 
I am very interested in this! How does occupancy come into play on opaque booking? When my Dh was still in school we used to research on the website bidding for travel to then bid on Priceline. I think you can only bid on double occupancy. Now that we have kids, we have 4 people in the room and if we get charged for the kids, it can negate any savings.
 

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