Room Discounts at DL Hotels?

[jhaig]

WDW veteran trying to plan a Sept 2016 first time trip to DL. I was wondering if the DL resort hotels ever give out room discounts in September. Is September as slow a time of year to go, like it is at WDW?

 

[Sherry E]

There are a couple of things to consider about September 2016 and whether or not it's slow. Halloween Time usually begins around mid-September. This year it began on 9/11. Next year I'm not sure if Disney would actually start it as early as 9/9 or if they would begin the season more around 9/12 or 9/13, but Halloween Time is very popular and brings in a lot of guests. This year the parks have apparently been very crowded in September -- last week there was even a brief time when Disneyland closed to capacity, which never happens in September. I think that the crowds this year are partially due to the Diamond Anniversary, as well as Halloween Time, various other events and the fact that a lot of things are closing permanently or temporarily, causing many people to go to the parks to see them one last time.

... Which brings me to my next point. Supposedly, the Diamond Anniversary festivities are scheduled to continue through September 5, 2016. I don't think we know what that means, exactly, in terms of the entertainment schedule and decorations. Disney's summer season will technically end in late August, but I guess that they want to at least run the Diamond Anniversary shows through Labor Day of 2016 (probably beyond that, I would guess). After 9/5, I think they will begin the transition into Halloween Time mode and maybe remove the Diamond Anniversary decorations for good. Up until 9/5 I would expect there to be a lot of people in the parks.

There will likely be some sort of hotel discount covering some portion of September and ending in late September, but it wouldn't come out until the summer.

 

[jhaig]

Thanks for the info. I was waiting until the Diamond anniversary festivities were over to attemp DL. It's usuallky not terribly busy in WDW during September, so I was hoping for the same in DL. We would skip the Halloween party anyway. My plan was to hit the parks Mon-Thurs and fly home Fri. Would rides be closed during mid-Sept (Haunted Mansion, Space Mtn) getting Halloween overlays?

And what kind of discounts are we looking at for rooms at the three hotels on property?

 

[Sherry E]

Thanks for the info. I was waiting until the Diamond anniversary festivities were over to attemp DL. It's usuallky not terribly busy in WDW during September, so I was hoping for the same in DL. We would skip the Halloween party anyway. My plan was to hit the parks Mon-Thurs and fly home Fri. Would rides be closed during mid-Sept (Haunted Mansion, Space Mtn) getting Halloween overlays?

And what kind of discounts are we looking at for rooms at the three hotels on property?

Haunted Mansion will close towards the end of August to receive the Haunted Mansion Holiday overlay, and will reopen on the date that Halloween Time begins (which could be 9/9 or anytime after that). Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy usually does not take to long to install -- only a couple/few days -- so I would expect it to go down on or around Labor Day, or maybe just after Labor Day, and then reopen on the first day of Halloween Time.

I suspect that the 60th anniversary fireworks and parade will still carry on past 9/5/16, but on a reduced schedule (as opposed to nightly, like they are now). I think it will really just be the decorations -- like what's on the Castle -- that come down after 9/5/16, and maybe the World of Color - Celebrate show will end.

The discounts could range from 10% off the regular rack rate to 25% off.

 

[Geemo]

Keep in mind in September, fireworks and Fantasmic! are usually only on Fri, Sat and Sun nights. If you plan to see one of theses you'll need to modify your dates

 

[jhaig]

We're not big into parades or fireworks, but I'm sure World of Color will be awesome.

 

[Canuck16]

We went in the middle of September in 2012 and the parks were certainly busy.....plus it was 100-110 degrees.

 

[Angrose]

Keep in mind in September, fireworks and Fantasmic! are usually only on Fri, Sat and Sun nights. If you plan to see one of theses you'll need to modify your dates

Fantasmic! Will be down all next year, so fireworks would be the only concern.

 

[MinnieM21]

This year there weren't any discounts in September. So there might not be any discounts for September next year. It seems like there are less DLR hotel discounts than previous years.

 

[Sherry E]

There were some discounts that extended to the latter part of September this year.

 

[Astylla]

With all the impending closures for construction of SWL , I actually think you may see an uptick in offers extended or better ones after the 60th celebration ends.
I've talked to several AP holders who expire in the next few months who we are all not renewing. Most of us have 2-5 per household at premium/Deluxe and I wouldn't be surprised if others follow suit.

I love Disney but i'm actually glad ours expire in late January. We have several reasons for not renewing but the closures and construction definitely create depreciation for the passes for us.

 

[Sherry E]

With all the impending closures for construction of SWL , I actually think you may see an uptick in offers extended or better ones after the 60th celebration ends.
I've talked to several AP holders who expire in the next few months who we are all not renewing. Most of us have 2-5 per household at premium/Deluxe and I wouldn't be surprised if others follow suit.

I love Disney but i'm actually glad ours expire in late January. We have several reasons for not renewing but the closures and construction definitely create depreciation for the passes for us.

I agree -- a probable uptick in discount offers as the SWL construction really kicks in and takes over, and a sudden increase in things to see and do over in DCA is likely as well.

And then, when SWL land opens (I don't know what year that will be, and Disney is not announcing a timeframe), expect no discount offers at all after spring and for the rest of that year (which is what happened in 2012). Also expect a huge AP increase again (probably a more substantial one than what is seen every year).