Not so special Fall Specials

[Babsy]

I just noticed that the new Universal hotel-Sapphire Falls is offering discounted rooms WITH $150 food credit. Not too shabby!! I like the separate sitting area and kitchen at Cabana Bay but that food credit is certainly enticing.

That DOES sound like a good deal!!

 

[Huff]

I'm not so sure Disney is filling up all the rooms at regular prices. They released summer specials rather late this year and some are better than last year. They now have free dining over Thanksgiving weekend which is unusual.

 

[Shanti]

i am planning my first solo trip to Disney/Universal this fall. In the past, I've stayed at POR and loved it each and every time I've gone. However, with the Canadian dollar being so poor, it's just not feasible for me to spend that much on a room just for me. I just checked the newly advertised fall special offers (20% off) and nothing is available! There are a ton of rooms at both Port resorts if I am willing to pay regular price or book a package. But not one single room is available at the special offer price.

So.....I decided to check out Universal's Cabana Bay which compares to a Disney moderate and the price blew me away! The room is a suite that sleeps 5, complete with kitchenette and lazy river and was almost half the price of Disney. POR would have cost me $1500 while Cabana Bay was $900.

I did read a news article that said Disney is slowly getting rid of the "special offers" as too many people take them for granted. Disney is packed at regular price so why bother offering discounts? Well, people like me depend on them. So now instead of me buying a 7 day pass for Disney, I'll buy a 3 day and just visit my favourites once. The rest of the time I'll explore Universal and surrounding areas. I know Disney doesn't care, but I think they dropped the ball with this one.

The discounts seem to be biggest in summer. Fall is becoming a peak season at WDW, so it features fewer discounts than before. That doesn't mean discounts are vanishing altogether- they're just getting less common in uber-popular fall.

 

[sandam1]

I have enough Airmiles points to get a 2 day pass for free but if the annual pass rate is really nice, I'd opt for that.

I wanted to add that you can "bridge" that 2 day pass to the annual pass (i.e. pay the difference between the ticket that you have and the cost of the annual pass) while you are there AND still get the passholder discount on your hotel room. Although I haven't tried it myself, everyone says that you just have to show a valid annual pass at some point during your visit. It might be the best of both worlds.

 

[RyansMum]

I wanted to add that you can "bridge" that 2 day pass to the annual pass (i.e. pay the difference between the ticket that you have and the cost of the annual pass) while you are there AND still get the passholder discount on your hotel room. Although I haven't tried it myself, everyone says that you just have to show a valid annual pass at some point during your visit. It might be the best of both worlds.

SWEET! Thanks for the helpful tip

 

[eastendlights]

I'm not so sure Disney is filling up all the rooms at regular prices. They released summer specials rather late this year and some are better than last year. They now have free dining over Thanksgiving weekend which is unusual.

I agree. I am getting special offers with PINS weekly now for the past few months and I had not gotten any at all for 2015/early 2016. I did not get one for our Feb 2016 trip. Hopefully this will continue when I am ready to book our Feb 2017 trip.

 

[sunsetbeachgal]

We are doing an Orlando extended family trip in the fall (dates not set) and think we will do a split stay with Cabana Bay and a Disney on-site resort. The free dining promotion sounds tempting, but it requires too many nights and a six day Disney park hopper ticket which we don't need or want to pay for since the grandkids are older and more interested in Harry Potter now over the Disney Princesses! Glad to hear Cabana Bay is good! Maybe Disney will have a room only discount that we can combine with an Orbitz discount which is what we have done for our last few stays and has worked out great.

 

[RyansMum]

We are doing an Orlando extended family trip in the fall (dates not set) and think we will do a split stay with Cabana Bay and a Disney on-site resort. The free dining promotion sounds tempting, but it requires too many nights and a six day Disney park hopper ticket which we don't need or want to pay for since the grandkids are older and more interested in Harry Potter now over the Disney Princesses! Glad to hear Cabana Bay is good! Maybe Disney will have a room only discount that we can combine with an Orbitz discount which is what we have done for our last few stays and has worked out great.

I just switched my reservation from Cabana Bay to Sapphire Falls. I like the idea of a brand new resort and the $150 Dining Credit (4+night stay) was hard to pass up. While I wont have a kitchenette and couch, I can make it work.

 

[Huff]

Looks like Disney has raised their prices for the fall at some resorts. Looking at Values the price for a 10 night stay for 4 adults and PH's with FD is $400 more than last week when FD was first announced. I had originally booked ASMU for $4100 (upgraded from QS to DS). Changed to CBR for $4200. Now ASMU and ASSP is around $4500 for same package. Is it common for rates to go up and down like this for the same resort, same days and using the same discount deal?

 

[busymommy2pink]

As a fellow Canadian, the dollar is climbing. I'll take 20% more on the dollar than the almost 40% earlier this year that made us cancel this years annual trip. With these prices though, we will be back may 2017. 20% has been pretty standard the past several years.

 

[book_junkie]

Another thing to consider is that POFQ and POR are extremely popular, so any of their discounted rooms go quickly. It's also not going to help the moderate room inventory that Disney is starting a room refab of the Coronado this fall. It's way beyond it's 7 year cycle, and from friends I've heard talk of them expanding it to accommodate more convention travelers.

 

[RyansMum]

As a fellow Canadian, the dollar is climbing. I'll take 20% more on the dollar than the almost 40% earlier this year that made us cancel this years annual trip. With these prices though, we will be back may 2017. 20% has been pretty standard the past several years.

I could think of a few dozen families that see Orlando every year but this year they either stayed home or went to an all inclusive resort for 1/3 to 1/2 of the price. A 5 star resort in Cuba was on sale for $750 per person! Flights, food, activities and a family suite for that price. Holy!

 

[RyansMum]

Looks like Disney has raised their prices for the fall at some resorts. Looking at Values the price for a 10 night stay for 4 adults and PH's with FD is $400 more than last week when FD was first announced. I had originally booked ASMU for $4100 (upgraded from QS to DS). Changed to CBR for $4200. Now ASMU and ASSP is around $4500 for same package. Is it common for rates to go up and down like this for the same resort, same days and using the same discount deal?

While I'm not an expert like some of the people on here, that doesn't seem to be normal. Once the rack rates are published for the year, that's it. A $400 increase is a bit much especially after they just advertised fall specials. You just confirmed they aren't so special!

 

[1sttimedisneymama]

Looks like Disney has raised their prices for the fall at some resorts. Looking at Values the price for a 10 night stay for 4 adults and PH's with FD is $400 more than last week when FD was first announced. I had originally booked ASMU for $4100 (upgraded from QS to DS). Changed to CBR for $4200. Now ASMU and ASSP is around $4500 for same package. Is it common for rates to go up and down like this for the same resort, same days and using the same discount deal?

Was it the cost of upgrade from QS to DDP?

 

[DebbieB]

I wanted to add that you can "bridge" that 2 day pass to the annual pass (i.e. pay the difference between the ticket that you have and the cost of the annual pass) while you are there AND still get the passholder discount on your hotel room. Although I haven't tried it myself, everyone says that you just have to show a valid annual pass at some point during your visit. It might be the best of both worlds.

SWEET! Thanks for the helpful tip

Being the 2 day ticket is free with air miles, I would verify that it is upgradable before you plan on it. Free tickets typically are not.

 

[Lynne M]

I'm going to (belatedly) move this to the Discount Codes and Rates forum.