Shocked a little by Price increase.

[ofmouseandman]

So.. We started planning tentatively for next year since they released the dates yesterday. Going 2020, most likely staying at a Moderate or Value (that's typical for our family when we don't have a lot of people going). I "price my vacation" yesterday for 4 adults and a 2 y.o. and my jaw dropped. Essentially no matter what dates I put in for Spring of 2020, Value prices have skyrocketed to Moderate prices, essentially pricing my family out of Moderate. Now, I don't mind value resorts and have stayed at most of them but because we are usually one of those "it's just where you sleep" families as we don't hang at the resort often during our vacation. I'm just annoyed at the now lack of options to stay under 6,000.00 dollars as we are big fans of the quick service dining plan and always include it. Even pricing our stay at some of the usual lower priced Moderate resorts is baffling. We are young and in our early-late 20's so we like to have our Disney vacations without it breaking the bank. Now instead of going Spring 2020 we are thinking of pushing it to the fall just to have time to pay for it. I am worried that like most things, Disney is now becoming out of reach for the middle class. I'm not stupid, I know that WDW is out of reach for a lot of Americans and there are many people that only go once in their lives but as I try to go as often as I like, I'm worried Disney just might continue to go up and price us right out of the option to go to WDW for Vacation. Am I the only one here? What does everyone else think?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

As this is about resort prices, moving to the Resorts board.

 

[sbd78]

I think a big reason some of the values (AoA and Pop) and one of the (previously) lower priced mods (CBR) have gone up considerably is the gondola. Disney is banking on the gondola making those resorts much more desirable. Whether that's the case remains to be seen. Personally, my prediction (and take it with a grain of salt, I have no inside info) is that Disney might be able to get away with these much higher prices for a year or so because of Galaxy's Edge, but the newness of Galaxy's Edge will wear off and things will correct themselves. If bookings are down because of higher prices, they are going to have to start offering discounts. I also think Disney is getting a little cocky with the strong economy right now. The economy has always and will continue to have ups and downs, and once we have a down, Disney is going to have to recheck their high prices. Vacations are the first thing to get cut from people's budget when the economy slows.

 

[ofmouseandman]

I think a big reason some of the values (AoA and Pop) and one of the (previously) lower priced mods (CBR) have gone up considerably is the gondola. Disney is banking on the gondola making those resorts much more desirable. Whether that's the case remains to be seen. Personally, my prediction (and take it with a grain of salt, I have no inside info) is that Disney might be able to get away with these much higher prices for a year or so because of Galaxy's Edge, but the newness of Galaxy's Edge will wear off and things will correct themselves. If bookings are down because of higher prices, they are going to have to start offering discounts. I also think Disney is getting a little cocky with the strong economy right now. The economy has always and will continue to have ups and downs, and once we have a down, Disney is going to have to recheck their high prices. Vacations are the first thing to get cut from people's budget when the economy slows.

I absolutely agree with you, that's actually something that concerned me when I new that the skyliner was going to have a stop at AOA and CBR. I think its fantastic but also limiting at the same time.

 

[Alesia]

Rent a house. You can easily find an entire house that's within 15 minutes of all the parks for considerably less than the cost of a value resort. It'll save tons even if you have to rent a car

 

[dachsie]

And they raised the parking fees at the resorts this week.

 

[Alesia]

And they raised the parking fees at the resorts this week.

Yet another reason to rent a house

 

[DisLiss]

I think the price increases have a lot to do with the date of the trips being planned. I priced out All Stars, POP, and POR for late summer of 2020 and found the prices were not terribly higher than the same week in 2019, but late Summer tends to be a much lower crowd time than Spring.

When I checked the same standard rooms for Easter week as opposed to the week before Labor Day, the price differences were pretty substantial..and that's just for the rooms, there will be date based price differences for the tickets as well.

So, for the week before Labor Day, 2020, the rooms are: POR: $249.00; POP: $163.00; ASMo: $125.00

But for Easter week 2020, the exact standard rooms are: POR: $302.00; POP: $225.00; ASMo: $182.00

 

[stephk1981]

I was definitely shocked. We have been going often since DS was 2 and have been AP holders since we moved nearer to WDW(3.5 hours) . Our three times a year to get use out of our AP's is over! With parking fees, AP increases and resort increases our vacation budget is what it is. We normally stay around 20-21 nights a year....when our AP's expire I won't renew. We can do two trips a year and buy non park hopper tickets for both trips and still save $150 per person on tickets vs AP's. We also will actually save on resort stay too by going less nights. Disney is pricing a lot of people out, it is sad, yes. Will we stop going? No, but it will be less.

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

I took a quick look at Aug 2019 vs Aug 2020 (rack rate, 7 nights, Thurs - Thurs) here's the info for the following:

VALUE - Pop Century - Standard Room
7 nights Aug 2019 = $1378
7 nights Aug 2020 = $1569
A 12% increase - I'm guessing the Skyliner plays a role in this increase...see CBR below as well

VALUE - All Star Sports - Standard Room
7 nights Aug 2019 = $1279
7 nights Aug 2020 = $1289
A less than 1% increase

MODERATE - Coronado Springs - Tower Water View
7 nights Aug 2019 = $2695
7 nights Aug 2020 = $2795
A 3.5% increase

MODERATE - Caribbean Beach - Water View
7 nights Aug 2019 - $2053
7 nights Aug 2020 - $2483
A 17% increase - Skyliner once again

DELUXE - Polynesian - Lagoon View
7 nights Aug 2019 = $5731
7 nights Aug 2020 = $6099
A 6 % increase

DELUXE - Beach Club - Garden or Woods View
7 nights Aug 2019 - $3963
7 nights Aug 2020 - $4241
A 6.5% increase

 

[Nick6300]

Shocked at the 25%ish increases to AP, not surprised that they increased though. We debated about upgrading our 7 day hoppers to 10 day hoppers as a family and about 2 days later the increase happened earlier this yr. Even though we we're disappointed in not deciding quicker, we upgraded last week to 10 days, and they also priced up our discounted tickets. The day before this increase in AP, we were thinking of upgrading the 10 days to AP because half of us want memory maker and we were nearly at the price point with having the 10 days. I said then that if we wait to upgrade to AP at the park - like everyone preferred to do, that they could increase the rates again because of GE. I just feel really dumb for blindly buying in no matter what. And honestly, they could increase rates 2-3x next year and we will probably still go. We usually don't complain about the price increases too much because we know we're willing to pay it.

Now that we're faced with the 2nd straight increase for upgrading on this trip... we're thinking about instead buying either AAA or Sams AP at the old prices and not using our expiring (12/2019) tickets. Using them as a credit towards the renewal or future trip. But adding the AP is going to be expensive with having to go another 2 trips next yr, with the increasing hotel and flight costs.

We're still trying to figure out what to do but my initial thought is doing some cheaper off site trips with the AP. A yr or 2 ago, we reluctantly tried an Allegient Airlines trip into Sanford, renting a car, getting a cheap motel that we visited many times on wkds when we lived in Tampa. We were ok with driving to ea. park, but the 1 horrible time flight late Sat arrival and early Sat departure for Allegient shaves your stay, you have to drive to/from Sanford, etc. It was much much cheaper than our typical All Stars/Pop stay - because the motel was under $50/night and serviceable (as in we didn't see bugs), and the flight + car was only a few hundred. We grocery shopped with the rental and tooked lunches/ate breakfast at motel. I want to say it was about $700-800 for 2 for the whole trip (already having the APs). I know there are some nicer official off site hotels that serve to be more in between on site and the crummy motels. DW not willing to try house/apmt rentals - just doesn't want to risk it falling through. I gave myself until tonight to decide but idk if we really will do the APs. We used to target $1500 total budget for Value back in 2012ish. I think it's now like $3k - which means doing the APs with the intent of going 2x next yr, is like committing $6k. Seems pretty steep for not enjoying as many luxuries such as table service, nicer hotels, merchandise, etc.

 

[pixiemama91]

We booked Beach Club for August 2020 and I was actually pleasantly surprised with the rack rate. I was expecting it to be higher. Granted I still don't plan on paying it and am hoping for a discount.

Although I did notice some of the rates for other times of year did seem a little high especially for the Value and Moderate resorts.

 

[buzznina]

We already have a trip booked in November at POP, but after that we will look at the "Good neighbor" hotels that get the EMH and 60 day FP+. They give more discounts and a lot of the time will wave the resort/parking fees.

 

[chekhovgirl]

So.. We started planning tentatively for next year since they released the dates yesterday. Going 2020, most likely staying at a Moderate or Value (that's typical for our family when we don't have a lot of people going). I "price my vacation" yesterday for 4 adults and a 2 y.o. and my jaw dropped. Essentially no matter what dates I put in for Spring of 2020, Value prices have skyrocketed to Moderate prices, essentially pricing my family out of Moderate. Now, I don't mind value resorts and have stayed at most of them but because we are usually one of those "it's just where you sleep" families as we don't hang at the resort often during our vacation. I'm just annoyed at the now lack of options to stay under 6,000.00 dollars as we are big fans of the quick service dining plan and always include it. Even pricing our stay at some of the usual lower priced Moderate resorts is baffling. We are young and in our early-late 20's so we like to have our Disney vacations without it breaking the bank. Now instead of going Spring 2020 we are thinking of pushing it to the fall just to have time to pay for it. I am worried that like most things, Disney is now becoming out of reach for the middle class. I'm not stupid, I know that WDW is out of reach for a lot of Americans and there are many people that only go once in their lives but as I try to go as often as I like, I'm worried Disney just might continue to go up and price us right out of the option to go to WDW for Vacation. Am I the only one here? What does everyone else think?

Four adults? I would definitely rent at Wyndham Bonnet Creek (we use Vacation Strategy). We moved to doing that once we started vacationing with extended family. It sounds like you're pretty entrenched in staying on property, but I'd never go back to that (with that many people) due to prices and space. We're renting a three bedroom 1500 sq. ft. unit at Bonnet Creek for $210/night in spring of 2020 (that's 50% larger than my condo!). Lowest price I've had on a one bed was $89/night. So much space! Resort is great, and we do rent a car and park, but it's soooo easy and quick to get around! We are rope droppers and have never had a problem. The only trap is that you'll want to spend more time at the resort because it is so great Take a look at it on the map!

 

[Magical2017]

Four adults? I would definitely rent at Wyndham Bonnet Creek (we use Vacation Strategy). We moved to doing that once we started vacationing with extended family. It sounds like you're pretty entrenched in staying on property, but I'd never go back to that (with that many people) due to prices and space. We're renting a three bedroom 1500 sq. ft. unit at Bonnet Creek for $210/night in spring of 2020 (that's 50% larger than my condo!). Lowest price I've had on a one bed was $89/night. So much space! Resort is great, and we do rent a car and park, but it's soooo easy and quick to get around! We are rope droppers and have never had a problem. The only trap is that you'll want to spend more time at the resort because it is so great Take a look at it on the map!

I second WBC. Great resort, great service, and still a great vacation.

 

[Magical2017]

We already have a trip booked in November at POP, but after that we will look at the "Good neighbor" hotels that get the EMH and 60 day FP+. They give more discounts and a lot of the time will wave the resort/parking fees.

Will they continue offering the EMH and 60 day FP into 2020?

 

[MrsPete]

Yet another reason to rent a house

Yes, we're planning a trip to celebrate our retirement. We're taking our adult children (our treat to them), and we simply can't consider on-site. Not when we can have a 3-4 bedroom house with a private pool for less than $1000. We're not short on money, but we just can't justify the price difference between on-site and off-site.

 

[buzznina]

Will they continue offering the EMH and 60 day FP into 2020?

Yes. You can see the information under the Disney News and Updates section, right side of forum.

 

[kaytieeldr]

So, for the week before Labor Day, 2020, the rooms are: POR: $249.00; POP: $163.00; ASMo: $125.00

But for Easter week 2020, the exact standard rooms are: POR: $302.00; POP: $225.00; ASMo: $182.00

Quick, off the top of my head: 25%, 33%, and 50% increases, respectively.

 

[Disneypro1]

Even with any price increase Disney does...or has done.. The middle class can easily afford a week at WDW or DLR every couple years...We are just that. You have to know when to go and use codes and save your money. I work all the overtime it takes and even with out that, we just plan. Plan and save money. But, when folks say disney is pricing out the middle class....thats just 100% inaccurate. They are pricing out folks that don't plan or find ways to save. I.E. stay at a value, stay off property. Dont spend a lot on food or souvenirs. There is many many ways to bring the cost way down. I see folks that only stay at Deluxe and complain about increases....Well, then stay at a Moderate or Value or even cheaper....Off property hotel or condo. Disney to me is and will always be a GREAT value vacation.