Rumor of future discounts

[ciera321]

Disney Contemporary Resort:

Standard room: $6924
Tower theme park room : $8792

Hard Rock Universal(stay more save more promo):

Standard Room: $3418
Club Level: $4782

Bonnet Creek Hilton (On Disney property beside CBR).

Booking through LastMinuteTravel: $1732
Rack Rate: $2220

These 3 hotels are all comparable for room size, amenities, and overall luxury. The Bonnet Creek Hilton is arguably the nicest resort of the 3. So you can see Disney is really not in the game at their prices. It's not even close. Yes I will pay more for the Disney atmosphere and the extras like the bus service, but the price difference here is crazy. Again, its not about what I can afford, its a matter of fair value.

You're right, those prices are crazy! That's a lot for atmosphere and bus service...

 

[nrpofp]

We are going to Disney in December and I am just jaw-dropped at the thought of it costing $1000+/day (with the cost of flight and car factored in). The flight and the car are the cheapest parts of the trip.


I just cannot fathom in my head how Disney can think that their deluxe hotels are worth of $300-$400+/night, with $5-600 rates not uncommon. We want to stay at WL but the cost is astounding!

The visitors from other countries must be a lot richer than the average US citizen or they must be getting great discounts. I always thought we were doing pretty good with a $60K a yr income but I guess not!

Granted, we haven't been in a resort hotel since 2007 but then, with a small discount, the rate was $175/night for a suite with a full kitchen.

I'm REALLY having a hard time getting my head around all this. If I thought I could stand outside access rooms, it would be easier.

It's not that they are richer our dollar is almost at historical lows.

 

[esmetutu]

I've been reading everybody's posts and thought that Disney might like to read them as well. So, I sent Disney an email this morning. I may get nothing more than a "thank you so much for your comments" email back but I really thought they should hear what we all have to say. Here's a copy of my email to them:


Good morning,

We are WDW vacationers/lovers through and through and hope to continue to be for many years to come. I'd like to voice a few of my thoughts and concerns if I may.

In the past, we have been fortunate enough to take advantage of discounts that Disney has offered to the general public. Without these discounts, our family would not have been able to visit Walt Disney World. We spend, literally, thousands upon thousands of dollars while on vacation. We scrimp and save all year long in order to enjoy ourselves. Having said that, over the last few trips, we have cut back a lot on the "extras" such as snacks, souvenirs, etc. Those little "extras" certainly don't make or break our vacation but it does take a bit of the joy and excitement away.

I have already booked our 2012 vacation but it's at "rack rate" and without dining (which we got free last trip) and I couldn't believe the price of the vacation. My jaw almost hit the floor when I saw the price. Needless to say, it was a massive blow to our already tight pocketbook. Unfortunately, with the rise of the ticket and room prices as well as the increase in the price of food and dining, I am not sure if we will be able to keep the reservation and vacation at Disney next year unless Disney comes out with a special offer during our travel dates (May 23rd through June 2nd).

It makes me sad to think that we may have to vacation elsewhere but the reality is that the economy has hit us hard as it has many others in the United States and elsewhere. I would rather give my hard earned vacation dollars to Mickey Mouse and his gang but that may be what we have to do.

I am an active participant in a discussion board and I know that I am not alone in my concerns. There is one thread in particular that was started which discusses whether or not people will be able to travel to Disney in the future. I thought you guys might be interested in the thoughts of those posters. If so, here's the link: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2761551. I am sure that this thread will continue on and on as we all have thoughts on whether or not we can travel to Disney if there are no future discounts/special offers.

I know that I am only a little fish in the sea of those who swim/travel to Walt Disney World each and every year but I wanted to express my thoughts and concerns to you. I hope that I am able to keep our reservation but I simply do not know if we can do that without some sort of discount. Hopefully, you guys will send me one of those ever elusive pin codes or put something out for the general public that I can take advantage of. I know I have to decide something soon. It may be a pipe dream to think that there will be offers during our travel dates but a girl can dream can't she?

Thank you so much for your time.

I applaud you for taking the time to write Disney a letter. I always say if you are going to "boycott" something, they need to know why or there's no point in doing it! Good job!

 

[vinotinto]

What I find troubling about this whole thread is how many people seem to have rack rate or small-discount reservations (think 10-20% off) and are saying that they won't go unless they get a deeper discount. Then, why book in the first place? Booking that room only reduces your possibility that discounts will be offered for that room during that time period. From the Disney Corporate perspective - why offer discounts when it seems the hotels are full? At what point are ya'll cancelling if a discount does not come? 45 days? 30 days? 15 days?

Personally, I don't book until I find a price that I'm willing to pay. I don't see any advantage to booking in advance and hoping for a discount.

 

[PersonalizedMouse]

Here's hoping that if enough people follow through they will get the message

 

[jcemom]

Personally, I don't book until I find a price that I'm willing to pay. I don't see any advantage to booking in advance and hoping for a discount.

I agree.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

I just quickly priced a few things out for a real numbers comparison. This for my family to stay this December from the 14th-28th.
The numbers are fees and taxes paid for room only.

Disney Contemporary Resort:

Standard room: $6924
Tower theme park room : $8792

Hard Rock Universal(stay more save more promo):

Standard Room: $3418
Club Level: $4782

Bonnet Creek Hilton (On Disney property beside CBR).

Booking through LastMinuteTravel: $1732
Rack Rate: $2220

These 3 hotels are all comparable for room size, amenities, and overall luxury. The Bonnet Creek Hilton is arguably the nicest resort of the 3. So you can see Disney is really not in the game at their prices. It's not even close. Yes I will pay more for the Disney atmosphere and the extras like the bus service, but the price difference here is crazy. Again, its not about what I can afford, its a matter of fair value.

Very true. Like most of us, I am willing to look the other way while the Mouse has his paw deep in my pocket. Disney has earned that from me. I could write all night (as could we all) about the wonderful magical ways Disney has impacted my life and my family. But there does come a point where the value is just not there...

I know Disney is making the very best decisions it can for its stockholders, and I can appreciate that. I think that, as someone else pointed out, so long as the dollar is so weak we Americans might as well get used to the idea of WDW filling its rooms with dollars from overseas. That's just the economic reality.

It might disappoint me that Disney thinks now is the time to cut back on discounts, but I can understand the math.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

I understand how booking can hurt our chances for discounts. Unfortunately we often feel pressure to book regardless because we are a large family. Those precious ADRs need to be made 180 days in advance. The timeframe to wait for discounts puts us in a tough position.

There are many instances where we would have to pay out of pocket (CRT for example) at the time of booking. I could pay out of pocket for a typical Cindy breakfast...$420+ for my family, or I can put a $200 deposit on a reservation.

I wish the ADR system would go to 90, even 60 days. Then most of us could wait until we are happy with the available offers and book.

 

[lisam427]

I'm not of the "I have to have a discount or I won't go" mentality. I will book at full price, if full price is fair. For us December is the only time that works for a Disney vacation. We will never stay at a value so that pricing is irrelevant. When you factor in the pricing of Mod/Deluxe resorts, the park tickets, and ridiculous food pricing the overall cost is waaaay over market value. So they can wean me off of discounts, but they will have to lower their prices to get my business. This isn't about being able to afford it, it's about not getting ripped off.

Disney if you are reading this its real simple: We are going to Florida for 14 days this December. We love Disney and it is our first choice. Discount or lower your Mod/Deluxe prices buy 40% or have a free dining promo (not CS, real dining) and we will stay there 14 nights and spend 90% of $10,000 or so at your parks, resorts, and restaurants. If you don't we will stay elsewhere and spend most of are time seeing the other attractions such as Universal, Seaworld, Busch Gardens, Space Center, Ripleys, Wonder Works, Legoland, etc....there are lots of other things to do and LOTS of cheaper and in some cases better hotels to stay at. I can get a 30% discount at any of the 3 Universal Hotels and lots of deals at other nearby places.

The biggest flaw in Disneys thinking is that their current pricing is fair market value.

i wholeheartedly agree with this post. i could have not said this any better myself!!!

 

[Colleen27]

What I find troubling about this whole thread is how many people seem to have rack rate or small-discount reservations (think 10-20% off) and are saying that they won't go unless they get a deeper discount. Then, why book in the first place? Booking that room only reduces your possibility that discounts will be offered for that room during that time period. From the Disney Corporate perspective - why offer discounts when it seems the hotels are full? At what point are ya'll cancelling if a discount does not come? 45 days? 30 days? 15 days?

Personally, I don't book until I find a price that I'm willing to pay. I don't see any advantage to booking in advance and hoping for a discount.

 

[esmetutu]

Actually there are jean brands that don't go on sale, if I want that pair, I either pay, keep saving or walk into a different store and by a different pair that weren't the exact same brand that I wanted. Same thing, I may want to stay at the Contemporary so I pay for it, or if I can't afford it at rack rate than I keep saving or go to a moderate or value resort or go offsite and stay much cheaper. It's my choice. Geez people, all I was trying to get at was that we shouldn't expect (is that a better word??) a discount just because they've done it in the past and just because it would help us afford staying onsite vs. offsite or in a delux vs. a value, etc.

Why can't we expect a discount on a very overpriced brand that continuously offers large discounts?

I think that's what bugs me the most... random PINs being sent out for everything from Free Dining to 10% off room rate, or discounts being offered one day before my arrival date. It's just not very honorable.

Someone likened Disney to Kohl's; prices jacked up only to be offered on sale. 95% of the store is like that! You'd be crazy to pay full price.

 

[dandave]

I honestly can't understand how anyone can feel that the WDW deluxes are worth more than $300 a night. Disney's rack rates are absurd!
I've been to Europe 3 times in the last 3 years, and I've found very good deals on lodging in the heart of London, Prague, Edinburgh, Inverness, etc. I go to Disney, because it's fun and affordable - *with* the discounts that knock some of the air off of the overinflated price tags. I'd much rather spend my vacation in Europe than Epcot.

 

[twoplustwins]

We will continue to go to WDW, but not yearly anymore. We will go this year and then not again until FantasyLand is complete. After that who knows when we will return. This year, we will stay at Bonnet Creek. There are no onsite options for us that come anywhere close to what we are spending at WBC. I cannot imagine that we will ever be able to stay onsite again. Instead of Disney getting the majority of our vacation money (like it did for our past trips), it will now go to other hotels/condos, Universal, SeaWorld, non-Disney restaurants, etc. They will get the ticket money, but that's about it.

 

[ToddyLu]

hmmmm....interesting thread. DH and I budget for WDW every year. It is our "family vacation spot". We purchased DVC to lock in current pricing. It is a luxury. I could do comparison shopping all day. Disney World is Disney World--not Universal and not Busch Gardens. I could pay whatever for a beach house and not "do" Disney each year....problem is my DH will not cruise under a foreign flag and will not go to Europe. We are not stupid and have seen the changes yearly in Disney---dinning not what it used to be, the occasional CM not smiling--but all in all it is a very nice vacation and very consistant. I want happy when I go. It gives me that. I realize that at some point I might not can afford to go--but so far we have been able to. I don't worry about it. If at some point I wasn 't able to afford to go, I would definitely be in trouble in other aspects of my life--

 

[esmetutu]

What I find troubling about this whole thread is how many people seem to have rack rate or small-discount reservations (think 10-20% off) and are saying that they won't go unless they get a deeper discount. Then, why book in the first place? Booking that room only reduces your possibility that discounts will be offered for that room during that time period. From the Disney Corporate perspective - why offer discounts when it seems the hotels are full? At what point are ya'll cancelling if a discount does not come? 45 days? 30 days? 15 days?

Personally, I don't book until I find a price that I'm willing to pay. I don't see any advantage to booking in advance and hoping for a discount.

I know I should cancel, so I guess you are right! Leaving a reservation can definitely hurt all of our chances for a discount. However, from what I've gotten from other questions like yours, most people book when they can actually afford it (that sounds obvious! ); most aren't as informed as us on the boards so they don't even know about discounts, other options, etc. Those who book, only to cancel, make up a just small portion of the WDW guests and we probably aren't even making a small dent in the hotels being filled or not.

I didn't want to cancel thinking it might "jinx" something. I've thought about canceling every day, but -what if tomorrow has a discount???- Despite all this, we are going to WDW no matter if we are staying on or off site. Plane tickets have been bought and the money is saved. Unfortunately when the trip was planned POP was perfect for us, but due to some unexpected health issues it seems a moderate (or offsite) would be a much better fit.

 

[PersonalizedMouse]

I see in previous threads that people have mentioned that they book and then change their reservation when a better deal comes along. I am thinking about doing this in order to get my ADR's. Are there penalties for changing and can you only do it once?

 

[jennabcassell]

While I have to say that I am a full believer of staying on site, the price increase over the last two years is getting higher and higher. Aug 2009 we stayed at CB for $80 a night and now this summer I booked ASSp for $80 a night!! I love staying on Disney property but if this increase in rates keeps going up, we will have to resort to outside hotels. I would love to be able to stay at the deluxe resorts but the cost is getting too much for us. We are fla residents and APs and we still can't afford it. Not to mention that we have never been able to use FD or any other incentive they have offered since its cheaper to book under the pass holder rate for the rooms. NOR have I ever gotten a pin code or free upgrades at check in or anything like that. I think that Disney should take care of those of us who keep returning. We are going to be the ones that get our other friends and family to come with us who in return tell their friends and family, etc, etc.... Can't they see in their computer that I am a very loyal guest!!! I have to say that this loyal guest is starting to hit her max budget at the value resorts and (yikes!!) reconsidering renewing her pass for next year simply because I don't think I will be able to afford it anymore!!

 

[KEPE]

I haven't been to disney since I was a child and now decided I wanted to take my child. I was shocked to see the prices but again, this is about making a memory for my child so I bit the bullet and booked. I will go discount or not. However, my budget is my budget and thats it. So give me a discount and I'll probably spend more in the parks on "extra's". No discount and I won't go for the "extra's".

I don't get why disney feels the discounts need to stop. The prices are so inflated that even with the discounts they are making money. If you give me free dinning I'm going to eat in the park EVERY meal because I'm not going elsewhere when I'm getting it for free. I'm also going to order the apps and that glass of wine because hey, I got a deal. When all is said and done I still spent the lots plenty. Additionally, I feel like I got a bargain because I didn't pay full price and I'm going to look to go again. No discount, I'll stay at universal or offsite and chances are I will go to universal and seaworld and not spend every day and every meal in Disney parks. I still have a great vacation, within my budget but disney got a lot less of my money!!

 

[carseatmommy]

I don't have the time to read all the replies right now...but I will be back. I just wanted to add my 2 cents.

I really believe that Disney's defination of a family is skewed. They usually say 2 adults, 1 junior, and 1 child. Eventually those children are going to grow up and not fall neatly into those categories.

That's not MY family though. My family vacay will be myself, my DH, our 2 yr old son, my mother and my 12 yr old nephew. Many other families vacation with a grandparent-who could potenially live in the same house. I think Disney needs to let us define our own families and not tack on a fee for an additional adult.

I also don't understand why they have a junior category for the hotel rooms...but not their menus or theme park admission tickets.

Susan

 

[princesspeach]

I am very fortunate to get an airline employee discount. Even with the deep discount I have never paid less than 275.00 for a deluxe room. I just booked a water view room at the the yachtclub and it was still 340.00 a night. Cl with 40% off is still between 400-500 a night. For the people the say the rooms are overinflated by 40% I would have agreed with you 2 years ago. Now I think its getting closer to 50%. If disney keeps raising the prices of rack rates a 40% discount isin't going to be enough to bring people in. I guess they don't realize people salaries aren't increasing.Even though are dollar is in the toilet so is the economy in europe. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next couple of years.