Some disturbing Disney pricing info

[Jennasis]

Having bought DVC when we did (2014) we are very fortunate. Otherwise we 'd be staying offsite for our trips.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Disney has never lowered prices. They do obviously run discounts periodically, but rack rates have never gone down.

Come on...when was the last time you paid rack rate for a room most anywhere?

 

[gypsy_at_heart]

When is the last time you got a room at a value for less than $100? Not anymore!!!! not with the last price hikes the last couple years!
As for the floors not being dirty in a newer room.... you should have seen what we walked into at CSR last month! Nasty, sticky stuff on the bathroom floors, piles of dirt and food crumbs under and around the beds and dresser! it was terrible!

I booked ASMu for 82.45 a night with the Fun-Filled Escape Room Offer in January of 2018. I ended up switching to a moderate because I prefer them, but I’ve seen those rates more than once. Paid $143 for my room at Coronado instead.

Personally, I liked the room at CSR. It was clean, comfortable, the staff were nice. I didn’t think the resort was overly huge, I know a lot of people do, but it was about a ten minutes walk for me to the main building or I could hop on the bus which had a stop right behind my building and get a ride there. I know it’s not everyone’s style but I’m always surprised at the vehemence of the new styles detractors. I mean, I didn’t particularly like the value rooms pre Reno but I didn’t hate them with the fire of a thousand suns - I don’t think I’ve felt that strongly about the decor of any hotel room.

Do I find Disney cheap? Nope. It’s expensive. I travel a lot and I can often go on an international vacation for less or the same as a Disney stay. But I also live in Vancouver, which is an expensive city, so the food prices and such don’t really shock me, it’s kind of the same as at home. I mean... I just paid $1.55 a LITRE for gas today, a McDonald’s meals is going to cost me around $12 and my car insurance with the maximum safe driving discount is $150 a month. I mean, I can’t find a decent hotel room in my city for $82. So I guess what I’m saying is that, to me, it seems how ‘expensive’ Disney is, is relative to what cost of living you’re surrounded by. If you normally pay $65 a night for a hotel, I can see how $143 would seem crazy.

Still, maybe it’s me, but I have a hard time dragging up some of the outrage I’m seeing in this thread. Disney will most likely out price me at some point - and then I’ll stop going and that will be sad for me. But I don’t have some born entitlement to go to Disney or on any vacation really.

Does pricing everyone out seem smart to me? No, but it’s not my company, so it’s not my say. All I can do is decide what’s right for me and wait and see how their choices pan out in the future.

 

[lambdabeta]

I love reading these threads. It interests me because the people on this board are a unique group of people. Sometimes I don't think they appreciate that by what I read in their posts. Disboards is full of people who love Disney and do all kinds of things to get there. Yes everyone does it differently but when you talk to a bunch of people who want to go to Disney you will get vastly different answers then you would from the general public. They tend to be skewed toward "WDW not being as expensive compared to other things", "their prices haven't gone up more than anyone else" and "I can always get discounts" or "I don't go without discounts". This last one kills me. Like I said this is a special group of people. I can get a discount too if I...rent DVC, get a pin, use a bounce back, use a Disney discount package, use a TA with a discount, have an AP or troll the discount websites like Expedia. Now what I give up for that discount...choosing exactly when/where I want to stay, booking early or booking late, having to go at least 10 days in a year and my time by having to search for a discount. The general public on the other hand...doesn't get pin codes, or bounce backs(because you have to stay there for this), doesn't know which TA offer discounts, go long enough or know about an AP to make it worth the cost or know that discounts exist on travel websites for WDW. Most people go to their local TA or WDW website and book a trip. If there happens to be a discount package that fits with their plans they use it. Otherwise they pay rack rate.

I didn't know how to get a discount until I joined this group last year before my trip. I did some research when booking my trip last year. I emailed multiple TA to see what they offered. Some were cheaper and some were not but none offered what I wanted so I booked through Disney. I did this before I joined Disboards and learned how to get a discount. I learned buying Disney gift cards can save money but I had already paid for my trip so I got them for my expenses. I tried to get a discount but the only way to do it was to change my dates or resort. Neither of which I was willing to do. Same thing happened this year. In order to get a discount I would have to change resort. Didn't want to so, no discount. My discount this year is paying for my trip with Disney gift cards from BJ's which I learned on Disboards.

Yes there are plenty of people who stay at WDW at rack rate without a discount of any kind. That is exactly my original point about posters on this board. They tend to think what is normal for them is obviously what everyone else is able to do.

 

[cruiser21]

We are going in mid-August... when do these great deals come out? Are these prices for late August?

Yes

 

[kaytieeldr]

Values are the ones that look like hospital rooms to me - not the mods/deluxes.

Even the refurbished ones?

 

[Captainkidd76]

Even the refurbished ones?

Only the refurbished ones.

 

[Captainkidd76]

Come on...when was the last time you paid rack rate for a room most anywhere?

Don't remember. Been some time since we stayed at Disney without renting points.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

The problem is the number of people in the US that move for economic reasons is way down. Not sure why that is? We are desperate for workers here. They keep raising wages to attract more people. Not sure how wide the spread has to get before more people start moving. It is a real problem here.

It is cold there. No way I'd move to Seattle. And not to get political, but lets just say I have a different world view than most people around there.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Cheapest rate for standard room for 2018 without discount is 534 a night.

But why anyone ever pays rack rate is beyond me. There are many avenues one can venture down to find some sort of discount.

 

[MillauFr]

It is cold there. No way I'd move to Seattle. And not to get political, but lets just say I have a different world view than most people around there.

Yes it can get cold here and we do have a few inches of snow a year. Usually it melts within a couple of days. Most of the time it only drops below freezing about 10 days a year at our house. Good thing it rarely gets too hot here and most people don't even have air conditioning.

 

[MillauFr]

Like one poster already said, part of the issue is the risk. But also it needs to be a place people want to move for more reasons than a job. I love your area. I'm from your area. I have family in your area. But the cost of living these days is nuts. That $100,000 doesn't go far at all. On the flipside, where I live now it's negative unemployment and a super low cost of living, but it's all rural with terrible weather, so people look twice at that too. There are many intangibles.

The plus is that if you are high income Washington State has one of the lowest tax burdens in the US. No income tax. Yes the cost of housing is high but transportation costs are much lower since you don't need to have a car in the city. Instead of having 2 or 3 cars like many families have we only have 1.

 

[MillauFr]

Was that for August 2016? I know we paid that price in 2016 and paid $266 in 2017. I expect next years prices for that deal to be over $300 per night.

We paid $189 for the Poly in August 2016 booking through a travel agent.

 

[Huff]

Values are the ones that look like hospital rooms to me - not the mods/deluxes.

I do not know of any hospitals that look like the values around where I live. Most are high rise buildings closer to Bay Lake tower or the new Riviera. I prefer moderates but not at the cost. For our 9 night stay with free dining it would cost us $700 more to stay at CBR. For some that's nothing but for us its a matter of going to Disney or not.

For comparison, I'll be traveling on business next week and staying at a Hilton Garden Inn for $99/night. Disney is extremely expensive. Gone are the days of $75/nt for the values and $120/nt for moderates I remember not long ago.

 

[Huff]

We paid $189 for the Poly in August 2016 booking through a travel agent.

Thats a great rate but I haven't seen that in a long time. None the less its still out of our price range for a week stay. Best deals I've seen lately have been at Dolphin/Swan for around $125 but the dates aren't the best.

 

[MillauFr]

Thats a great rate but I haven't seen that in a long time. None the less its still out of our price range for a week stay. Best deals I've seen lately have been at Dolphin/Swan for around $125 but the dates aren't the best.

I don't want to pay the outrageous prices to stay onsite at Disneyland. Only time we stay onsite is when we do to Disneyworld. Onsite hotel prices are far cheaper in Florida.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Yes it can get cold here and we do have a few inches of snow a year. Usually it melts within a couple of days. Most of the time it only drops below freezing about 10 days a year at our house. Good thing it rarely gets too hot here and most people don't even have air conditioning.

Our neighbors did move there this spring from Nashville. For amazon, actually. They love it!

 

[Disneylover99]

We paid $189 for the Poly in August 2016 booking through a travel agent.

Well then I must of got ripped off that year, cause I paid $238.50 for a standard room, probably through the same travel agent. The year before that I booked Beach Club for $205.

 

[Searc]

I don’t disagree. I remember paying somewhere around $500 or so in 2009ish for an AP and now it’s pushing $900. Big difference. I also just saw the new price increases for MK food options and was blown away. $38 for breakfast at crystal palace is out of control. I probably would have found a different option when we booked our ADRs months ago.

It's now $50 for breakfast at Chef Mickey's.

 

[Huff]

I don't want to pay the outrageous prices to stay onsite at Disneyland. Only time we stay onsite is when we do to Disneyworld. Onsite hotel prices are far cheaper in Florida.

Disneyland only has the 3 deluxe resorts priced on par with WDW's deluxes. Either are way too expensive for me. I'm close enough to DLR to drive and stay offsite. Easy to get a 3 or 4 star resort near DLR for $100 or less. Have stayed at Hilton, Crowne and Red Lion which are all very nice less than 1 mile from DLR all for under $100. Have to fly to WDW. Onsite is expensive but saves renting a car and parking costs.