Deluxe Resorts A Little Out Of Control?

[hakepb]

Nothing will cost the same today as it did 5 years ago - not bread, not milk, not gas, not a Disney vacation.

Hopefully Disney prices will follow milk and eggs (that dropped down to $0.97 /gal and $0.39/doz this year )

 

[scrapquitler]

I don't find the values overpriced. But then I'm used to at least $200 a night for a 2 star motel in Mackinaw. And we are talking barely 2 star.

Yes! I regularly pay $200 for a La Quinta in Burlington VT on a main road, with zero charm or atmosphere, so when Pop is $120 a night, it seems like a heck of a value to me.

 

[OKW Lover]

My understanding is not that it is due to low occupancy per say but to control inventory and inflate the occupancy rate. DVC rooms are not part of the general resort inventory so when they are empty it doesn't affect the occupancy rate of the resort. It is a bit of an accounting trick to make the numbers better. So while not really due to "low occupancy" in the strictest definition of the word it is an effort to control the published occupancy rates for the public.

The problem with this theory is that DVC resorts typically have a very high occupancy rate by members.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

My understanding is not that it is due to low occupancy per say but to control inventory and inflate the occupancy rate. DVC rooms are not part of the general resort inventory so when they are empty it doesn't affect the occupancy rate of the resort. It is a bit of an accounting trick to make the numbers better. So while not really due to "low occupancy" in the strictest definition of the word it is an effort to control the published occupancy rates for the public.

It's also worth noting that conversion to DVC allows some fun accounting on having dues pay for some of the amenity upkeep, like pools.

 

[DisneyGuy]

Yeah, when compared to other 5 star hotels they are certainly not "deluxe" any way you look at it. When I put out $350-$400.00 a night to stay at a deluxe, i'm doing it because of the location - being able to walk or take a boat/monorail to a park is the biggest "amenity" a Disney resort can offer in my opinion if you are going to be spending a lot of time in the parks. Also, I prefer the hotel style to motel style so really you either pay it or don't go in my case. The rooms keep filling up though and the discounts haven't even been that great - there must not be an issue with filling them.

 

[catfan98]

With our party makeup on our spring trip, if we stayed in a regular room, we would need 2 rooms. We researched point rental and rented a 2 bedroom villa at BCV for just a few (very few) hundred more than what 2 rooms at POR would have cost us with the spring discount. Being all in one room, washer/dryer, restaurant choices, pool...makes it worth it for us. The big factor in choosing BCV, it was all about location - we can walk or boat to 2 parks. As far as Disney deluxe resort costs, we live near Nashville and a regular hotel room downtown on Broadway will run you $300-$500 a night most anytime of the year...more for peak times (holidays, big concert events, Titans home games, etc.). Just like Disney, it's due to location. And also just like Disney, they stay pretty well booked up. People like convenience and will pay for it.

 

[SuperTink]

I agree that the prices are ridiculous. But there is no other Disney.

We can, and have, paid for deluxe, but as the prices rose and our perceived value decreased, we decided to modify our expenses by 1) choosing a moderate vs deluxe, 2) staying only for about 4-5 days 3) visiting only about every 2-3 years.

Works for us.

 

[GreatLakes]

The problem with this theory is that DVC resorts typically have a very high occupancy rate by members.

Absolutely, it is not necessarily to control occupancy rates at the specific resorts such as Bay Lake vs Contemporary as much as to lower the total inventory to counter the non-DVC reports. Len Testa and Jim Hill had a discussion about this a while back and I'm just remembering the bullet points.

 

[Gracie09]

Hopefully Disney prices will follow milk and eggs (that dropped down to $0.97 /gal and $0.39/doz this year )

really my milk has gone up to $6.39 a gallon for organic. Regular is around 3 or 4 I think. I haven't looked at it in a while

 

[maxiesmom]

Good lord, where do you get eggs for 39 cents? I'm lucky to find them on sale for 99 cents! And those are plain old generic eggs.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Location.....location......location.....

 

[hakepb]

Good lord, where do you get eggs for 39 cents? I'm lucky to find them on sale for 99 cents! And those are plain old generic eggs.

Aldi's but Krogers was there most of the summer.

 

[hakepb]

really my milk has gone up to $6.39 a gallon for organic. Regular is around 3 or 4 I think. I haven't looked at it in a while

Ahh... Organic is a different market.

But regular has been frequently under a buck/gal at Krogers and Aldis for us.
I honestly never thought I would ever see milk prices like that in my lifetime.
I kinda get the eggs, because entire farms had to be re-started after an avian flu concerns eliminated a ton of supply last year brought eggs to $3.00/doz and now there is an excess egg supply.

And it's great seeing cheap milk when you go through 6 gals/week when growing boys prefer milk to soda.

 

[maxiesmom]

Ah, no Krogers in my area. And I'm not an Aldi's shopper.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If you are savvy enough, as many people on these boards are, you do not have to pay $500 a night to stay at a WDW deluxe resort. Yes, if you are pricing rooms out at rack rate, the prices are a bit shocking (to me, anyway!), but we have never paid rack rate for any resort on Disney property. With a combination of Disney rewards points and discounts, I'm typically able to get substantial cost savings at Disney resorts. I use mastercard and Jetblue points towards our airfare and can also get Landry's gift cards through another card and use the Landry's Select Card for rewards (our lunch at Yak & Yeti the other day was free using our cards!). And if I can't get a good discount on a deluxe, we'll book Swan/Dolphin on a SPG discount. We also prefer the EP resorts and will book the resort/room category that is cheapest for our trip (they are typically cheaper than the MK resorts). All in all, by grabbing discounts here and there on dining, tickets and rooms, I'm typically able to save much more on a WDW trip than any other vacation we go on. We're also lucky that we live within driving distance of 3 major airports and can shop our airfare a bit. Do you have to put a lot of time and research in order to do this, yes, of course, and many people don't have the time or interest in doing it, but it is possible.

 

[addiln]

This is why Disney has all the options that they have. People who want to spend the high dollar have that option and they get a little bigger room with a better location to the parks. People who have a tighter budget are able to still enjoy the parks and what WDW has to offer but the resort may be in the moderate or value category. For me it was worth buying into the DVC since we go enough and I prefer the rooms and the locations. If we were not members I may have to stay at the value or moderate resorts.

 

[toodycat]

I love the deluxes! I've only stayed moderate twice at CSR. It was nice, but DH does not like the smaller rooms and he regards the exterior room entrances as a safety risk. We pretty much always stay deluxe, but since most of our WDW vacations are in late August for our anniversary or early fall during F&W, it's not high season, so rooms are discounted. For me, Disney is all about the theming, and the theming is most amazing at the deluxes. We also aren't the kind of guests who spend every waking moment at the theme parks. We always plan at least one day by the resort pool plus a little mini-golf, boat rental or water park. Our trips generally aren't more than five nights, so all in all, they are not that pricey. While I think a lot of people can just afford deluxes with no problem, I've read about so many people on the DIS who will save up for a year or more for that special vacation at the Poly or GF. If that's what they want to do, why not? One final point about deluxes is that the grade of pixie dust can be amazing. Of course, no one should expect an upgrade, but the upgrades we've received---savannsh view at AKL, TPV at the GF have been really breathtaking and made the cost of the original room seem like a bargain.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Aldi's but Krogers was there most of the summer.

Not my Krogers. Our milk prices are fixed in Louisiana. Eggs might be, too.

 

[Deb & Bill]

DVC is the only way to go deluxe, IMO. My dream of treating my folks to a stay at the Grand Floridian next December for Christmastime and my mom's 75th birthday is only possible via DVC points. It has taken some effort in researching and finding a great owner, but in the end it is so worth it.

Make sure you have an owner who can book it right at 11 months out. December is a really popular month for DVC members. If they have to wait until seven months out because they don't own at GFV, it might not happen.

 

[GPC0321]

Make sure you have an owner who can book it right at 11 months out. December is a really popular month for DVC members. If they have to wait until seven months out because they don't own at GFV, it might not happen.

Oh I do! I did my homework!
She's great, and has been so helpful and reassuring. I have faith in her.