Am I the only one?

[soar2014]

Almost 7 hundred dollars a night for a room???
For kicks and giggles I searched for a room in October at WDW. The POLY which by the way is under renovation and not up to standards will be almost seven hundred dollars a night!
Wow! I mean wow! I can't even comprehend that number. I am stunned and perplexed.
I have seen luxury places in Tahiti less than that. I just am wondering WTH has WDW been thinking?
Who in the world would pay that?
Yes, I know WDW is a global destination and many people would think nothing of paying that price. I just think back to the day when my dad said in 1978 that we could never stay at the POLY because the rooms cost $100 a night!
Is that what it has come to?

 

[EcbLovesMickey]

Almost 7 hundred dollars a night for a room??? For kicks and giggles I searched for a room in October at WDW. The POLY which by the way is under renovation and not up to standards will be almost seven hundred dollars a night! Wow! I mean wow! I can't even comprehend that number. I am stunned and perplexed. I have seen luxury places in Tahiti less than that. I just am wondering WTH has WDW been thinking? Who in the world would pay that? Yes, I know WDW is a global destination and many people would think nothing of paying that price. I just think back to the day when my dad said in 1978 that we could never stay at the POLY because the rooms cost $100 a night! Is that what it has come to?

In all honesty that is why we bought DVC. We figure we "lock-in" a room rate. Although dues will go up it will still probably be less than the same room out of pocket. Especially in ten+ years the way prices are rising.

 

[Sue M]

is that for theme park view holiday pricing? I agree it is nuts! There is no way I'd ever pay that for any hotel room, no less a wdw room. I do like the deluxe resorts, but they really aren't all that Deluxe compared to the outside world, or worth $$$$ a night room wise. It's more the prox to the parks your paying for. A big reason I prefer to stay on site.
I am staying at Poly in August, but not paying anything near $700!!! Yikes.

 

[minnie mum]

IMO, if you are dumb enough to pay rack rate at any resort, then you deserve the hit to your wallet. There are always discounts available. The ones for fall just haven't been announced yet. That said, even with a decent discount we all pay a hefty premium just for the benefits (???) Of staying onsite. I'm thinking I could get a pretty nice room at the Four Seasons for that amount. And the amenities would be far superior to anything you'd find in a Disney deluxe room.

 

[Mom2darlingboys]

IMO, if you are dumb enough to pay rack rate at any resort, then you deserve the hit to your wallet. There are always discounts available. The ones for fall just haven't been announced yet. That said, even with a decent discount we all pay a hefty premium just for the benefits (???) Of staying onsite. I'm thinking I could get a pretty nice room at the Four Seasons for that amount. And the amenities would be far superior to anything you'd find in a Disney deluxe room.

I think it's pretty clear the OP would not be 'dumb enough' to pay that rack rate - that's the whole point. The Poly is lovely, but we all know it is not 'worth' that kind of money. Even with discounts, it is overpriced. It would be my first choice for every trip to WDW, but it is still far too expensive for what you get.

If you're interested in the cost of rooms, be sure to check out this article on Micechat (hope it is within the rules to post!)

Bottom line is that as long as demand continues to grow, prices will continue to rise. It's business - I get it - but it still makes me sad.

 

[cyberbox2]

You just have to know how to play the game. Renting DVC points has allowed me and my family to stay at places like OKW, AKL, WL and BW for right around $175 a night.

It is a shame that you have to basically school yourself in the ways of WDW to really get the best deals, but once you are enlightened, the benefits abound.

I just wonder how many potential customers Disney loses because of the initial, superficial sticker shock?

 

[cheerforchelsea]

I am not going to pay those prices for any resort anywhere. The moderates are plenty nice enough for me!

 

[goofyintoronto]

I am not going to pay those prices for any resort anywhere. The moderates are plenty nice enough for me!

Totally agree! I would never pay delux prices. EVER.
I just cant justify paying that much when im at the parks all day long! Moderates is as high as I go thank you very much.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Nope, not the only one. While we LOVE our deluxe resorts, we will only stay there with a good discount. There is always a good deal to be had, you just have to find them. We are at BC this summer for $198/night. Can't beat that IMHO.

 

[maxiesmom]

Almost 7 hundred dollars a night for a room???
For kicks and giggles I searched for a room in October at WDW. The POLY which by the way is under renovation and not up to standards will be almost seven hundred dollars a night!
Wow! I mean wow! I can't even comprehend that number. I am stunned and perplexed.
I have seen luxury places in Tahiti less than that. I just am wondering WTH has WDW been thinking?
Who in the world would pay that?
Yes, I know WDW is a global destination and many people would think nothing of paying that price. I just think back to the day when my dad said in 1978 that we could never stay at the POLY because the rooms cost $100 a night!
Is that what it has come to?

To be fair, basic rooms have a rack rate that start around $500 during October. You have to go up to the Theme Park View to hit the $700 a night mark.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I'm pretty sure most guests in October aren't going to be paying rack rates.

It doesn't look like room discounts are going to go away any time soon....

I will grant also though that even 40% off of $700, ($420 plus 12.5% tax, $472) is still crazy expensive!

 

[jade1]

IMO the only the only crazier than Disney charging $700 a night, is Disney charging $500 a night when they can get $700 a night. And when they can't get it-they put out a discount.

 

[mollymar]

Nope, not the only one. While we LOVE our deluxe resorts, we will only stay there with a good discount. There is always a good deal to be had, you just have to find them. We are at BC this summer for $198/night. Can't beat that IMHO.

That's a great discount! May I ask how you got it? I can never find anything for less than around $300.

 

[jcjen519]

IMO the only the only crazier than Disney charging $700 a night, is Disney charging $500 a night when they can get $700 a night. And when they can't get it-they put out a discount.

and those discounts are almost year round at this point.

We don't stay moderate or value, they don't appeal to us. (off topic - I was recently looking at the number of rooms at each resort and I can't believe how many hotel rooms the value resorts have) I believe those resorts (and we haven't stayed) are overpriced as well. IMHO you're not avoiding that disney mark up by staying at port orleans or pop. just my opinion.

We've had discounts of anywhere from 30-42% off when staying deluxe limiting this to the last 3 years. We have pretty much stayed exclusively club level when paying cash. I paid no where near $700 a night for this past spring break week club level at the Polynesian.

Personally I'd much rather see these quarterly-ish discounts go away and the room costs just adjusted to reflect. Then offering additional discounts to AP holders or even the general public as well to book last minute rooms could simplify this process.

 

[maxiesmom]

Personally I'd much rather see these quarterly-ish discounts go away and the room costs just adjusted to reflect. Then offering additional discounts to AP holders or even the general public as well to book last minute rooms could simplify this process.

Unfortunately the general public would much rather buy something discounted than something at an everyday low price. JCP?

 

[HM]

I'm happy we got to stay there once for a few nights back in 2001. We paid $199 a night with a discount. (We did our first few nights in a AKL room at $149).

 

[mill4023]

I would love to stay at a deluxe (monorail or Epcot area). If I won the lottery, a nice long stay at the Poly or Beach Club would be at the top of my to-do list.
But with the prices they charge, even if I can "afford" it, I just can't justify spending that kind of money on a hotel room. Plus, we are a family of 7, so even at $300 per night per room, we are talking about $600 a night for 2 hotel rooms. On our last trip, we spent 2 weeks in a 5 bedroom house with it's own pool for $140 per night. Now that we've experienced that, I don't see us ever staying at a deluxe resort.

 

[epsmith921]

The price will be what people are willing to pay. I will admit to being one of the people that's willing to pay a lot for a deluxe. We've stayed moderate and value, and our experiences in the deluxes just make it worth it to us. We do of course try to work the discounts as much as we can, which works out since we love value season so rack rate is lower on top of the discount.

For us, the room size and location are huge factors. My husband despises the bus, so we love the Epcot area because of the non-bus transportation options including our feet.

Basically we decide what rooms/resorts we'd be willing to stay in, I work through the costs of those rooms and view/club level options and we narrow it down. The cost at that point is the cost for us. We'll say things like "this view is $60 per night more, are we feeling like we'll get $60 of enjoyment out of that every day?" Sometimes it could be yes, sometimes it could be no.

 

[gjrusse]

No doubt about it. I cannot overstate how much money I saved by reading this and other blogs. When I called in January, I was offered a package that made me cringe. I ended up around $2,000 cheaper for six-nights at a Disney Deluxe Villa at OKW and six-days of tickets for all of us (no meal plan). With that being said, there still ended up being a better deal out there a month late (around $250) cheaper but it wasn't worth the hassle at that point. I'm not a frequent Disney-goer like so many on here, but here are the lessons I learded:

1. Listened to the people on this blog.
2. Discounts will come for your exact dates. Granted, not so great for holidays and busy times, but always discounts.
3. You will likely forfeit your 180-day booking window by waiting on the discount, but will save so much money it is a no brainer.
4. Don't be scared to call a Cast Member and discuss other deals. I had a suite booked at Hilton Bonnett Creek for far less than Disney was offering for the Deluxe Villa. I sent them a copy of the confirmation and the breakdown of cost vs. staying on-site. As a result, I got a sweetheart deal at OKW...not the nicest of the deluxe villas, but they had capacity. They wanted the onsite money and were very cooperative. This never would work over a Spring Break or Holiday, but early May is a "slow" time.
5. If you don't get the answer you like, hang up and speak to another cast member.
6. And the last golden rule...the longer you stay at Disney, the less of a ripoff it will become

 

[mommyrosa2]

We too enjoy our deluxe stays but I have never and would never pay rack rate. This summer we're staying at the GF for 9 days and we got the room at just over 50% off. In October, we're going back and staying at the YC in a CL room and getting close to 44% off. Like others have said, you have to be diligent and seek the discounts.