disney resorts historical rates

[duels23]

ok, not sure where to post this one at, but here goes.

i'm a history teacher/buff and a wdw buff as well. so, combine the 2 things and i really enjoy reading about how things were at wdw in days gone by.

question: does anyone know what some of the original rates were at the various wdw resorts at the time each one opened? i.e 1989 grand floridian, cbr. 1971 contemporary, poly.........etc...............

just curious what things were like back in the day.



15 more days until wdw trip '06 for the smith 7

 

[krbq]

I used to think DH was crazy for saving receipts from our past trips, especially since at the time it seemed like we were spending outrageous amounts to stay at WDW -- but now I'm glad he did:

We have receipts for the Polynesian and the Contemporary in Dec. 1982 showing we stayed at the Poly lagoon view for $105 per night, and the CR MK view for $105 per night (but those aren't the rates for when those resorts opened).

In 1995 we paid $275 for the Treehouses (with MK Club discount) (again, not the rate when the resort opened).

The rest of these are from when the resorts were fairly new:

We paid $99 per night at GF in Oct. 1988, but that was with the shareholder discount.

We have a receipt for the Beach Club in 1992 for $123 per night, but that's also with the shareholder discount.

At Dixie Landings (now POR) we paid $119 per night in 1992.

In 1994 we paid $184 for a 1 BR villa at Disney Vacation Club (this was OKW -- I guess at the time it was the only DVC available since the receipt doesn't say which DVC resort).

In 1994 we paid $127 for a standard room at WL with MK Club discount (I think the rack rate then was $149).

In 1996 we paid $221 per night for a 1 BR at BWV.

If I find any more I'll post them later!

 

[duels23]

thanks for the reply. that's pretty interesting info, particularly the $99 gf rate and the $105 for the poly/cr in 82.

 

[krbq]

I finally had a chance to ask DH what it cost him to stay in the CR MK view on his first trip: in December 1973 he paid $46 per night, plus $4 for an extra adult. Now it's over $400 rack rate, even in value season.

 

[Seahunt]

This link isn't for room rates, but shows the ticket prices at WDW from the '70's - on, and is really interesting also! Can you imagine a $3.50 adult admission ticket in 1971?

http://allearsnet.com/tix/tickethistory.htm

 

[Disney grandma]

We stayed at the Poly in 1974 for $45 per night. We debated at that time whether we should "splurge" or not since we could have stayed off site for about $29 a night. Glad we "splurged" at that time. We stayed five nights and the only park was the Mk so it was a very relaxing vacation with two little ones.

 

[n2mm]

We stayed at the CBR when it first openned. We made our reservation one year in advance and they were sold out in May 1989 when we were there (no discounts were offered back then because Disney had a waiting list of more than 1 year of people waiting to get into this and other resorts at full price). THe Regular season rate was $69 a night. This was one of the first lower rate affordable places to stay. This resort set the tone for other moderates, and then value resorts. Before CBR was open, we could not afford to stay onsite at the Contem., Poly, Disney Inn, and Treehouses or campgrounds. Thank goodness for openning CBR in '88/'89, because this resort showed Disney there were alot of folks ready to visit, if there would be onsite affordable lodging. BTW: It was only partially openned in 1989--Aruba was not done, and there were no buildings beyond the bridge (North). This was our second trip to WDW, the first one was in 1987 and we stayed at the Grovsnor at $89 a night.

 

[Kewz1]

We stayed at the GF (concierge) in June 1990 for our honeymoon. Our rate was $330/night.

Kristen

 

[deide71]

We stayed at the CBR when it first openned. We made our reservation one year in advance and they were sold out in May 1989 when we were there (no discounts were offered back then because Disney had a waiting list of more than 1 year of people waiting to get into this and other resorts at full price). THe Regular season rate was $69 a night. This was one of the first lower rate affordable places to stay. This resort set the tone for other moderates, and then value resorts. Before CBR was open, we could not afford to stay onsite at the Contem., Poly, Disney Inn, and Treehouses or campgrounds. Thank goodness for openning CBR in '88/'89, because this resort showed Disney there were alot of folks ready to visit, if there would be onsite affordable lodging. BTW: It was only partially openned in 1989--Aruba was not done, and there were no buildings beyond the bridge (North). This was our second trip to WDW, the first one was in 1987 and we stayed at the Grovsnor at $89 a night.

That's really interesting...since the Grovesnor isn't much more than $89/night 19 years later.

 

[n2mm]

That's really interesting...since the Grovesnor isn't much more than $89/night 19 years later.

wow, I didn't know that. That's amazing. I guess once the mods and value resorts started showing up on property, the hotel village became less popular. It was the cheapest of all of them on the strip back then. In 1987 was the only time we stayed there.