Waiting for a discount?

[TheRatPack]

Well as I said before....we always have an alternative. We've stayed offsite before and ate the majority of our meals offsite. We've also stayed at Disney for just 2-3 days and then headed to the beach. While I love being at Disney and having that all inclusive feel (dining plan, transportation...etc) we've done it differently before based on our budget and we will resort back to that if we have to. Not a big deal really. It is funny though, as a PP stated, they can charge these higher prices because of the discounts. Sort of like going in Kohls or any retailer for that matter. If you see something you like and it's full price....wait a couple of days and they'll have a 40% off sale. I can't tell you the last time I paid full price for an item of clothing or shoes....etc. Every store marks their stuff up and then promotes that BIG sale you just can't miss out on.

Rack rate at Disney is similar.....marked up so much you feel like you are getting the deal of the century when they throw in 'free' dining. I could easily stay offsite for 4000 (what we spend on lodging at a Value with free dining and 4 days worth of park tickets) and feed my family of 7 easily plus add in those tickets.

While it's sad that Disney wants to wean us all of discounts....maybe it'll open their eyes a bit too. If you want to charge rack rate, then I expect the service to bump up a notch too. Smaller food portions.....not going to work for me anymore. CMs that don't have the 'magic'.....yea, not really working for me if I'm paying rack rate. Crowded buses that I have to wait 30+ minutes for and then they break down on the way back to the resort, all the rides breaking down, stained bed linens and sticky carpets in the rooms...etc. Again, if you want to charge a premium for something and never offer discounts, you better bump up your service to match or more people will see the appeal of offsite resorts.

 

[lovingmy2boys]

This is exactly why we are staying at the Swan in September for $129 a night! We are so spoiled with that location and we certainly cannot afford the Yacht Club (although we stayed last time on the 4/3 deal). Yes I could stay at a moderate or a value resort for cheaper but I want to be in that area so the Swan and Dolphin are a better option

 

[lustergirl]

Is getting a discount nice Yes hands down but I have never expected one. I have gotten 2 pin codes which I cant use. One during school and one for dates that I have already booked and paid in full for a vacation home. Would I love to stay onsite deffinatly but I am not not going to go just because I didnt get a discount from Disney. It is all about the budget and so far staying off site is way more cost effective. Id rather stay offsite than not go at all. I will go with whichever is more cost effective and stil have a great vacation. As far DVC who knows maybe the PP is right. But as for me and my family I will be caught dead before we ever purchase a timeshare.

Nuts and bolts people will stil go to Disney whether they get a discount or not. How many people that is the question It all comes down to what one is willing to pay

ditto!!! I will still go to disney without a discount- one would be nice though.

 

[lustergirl]

This is exactly why we are staying at the Swan in September for $129 a night! We are so spoiled with that location and we certainly cannot afford the Yacht Club (although we stayed last time on the 4/3 deal). Yes I could stay at a moderate or a value resort for cheaper but I want to be in that area so the Swan and Dolphin are a better option

have you ever stayed there before? I am interested maybe once.

 

[lovingmy2boys]

have you ever stayed there before? I am interested maybe once.

We have stayed there several times, at both the Dolphin and the Swan. I prefer the Swan because it is smaller and I like that there are 2 sinks in the room ( one inside and outside the bathroom). We love both hotels though. DH honestly prefers to stay there. Each time we have stayed we have gotten upgraded on our rooms as well

Also we used AAA to get the $129 rate. I have never been able to get rate before so I am thrilled.

 

[Colleen27]

While it's sad that Disney wants to wean us all of discounts....maybe it'll open their eyes a bit too. If you want to charge rack rate, then I expect the service to bump up a notch too. Smaller food portions.....not going to work for me anymore. CMs that don't have the 'magic'.....yea, not really working for me if I'm paying rack rate. Crowded buses that I have to wait 30+ minutes for and then they break down on the way back to the resort, all the rides breaking down, stained bed linens and sticky carpets in the rooms...etc. Again, if you want to charge a premium for something and never offer discounts, you better bump up your service to match or more people will see the appeal of offsite resorts.

And that's it exactly. Disney is talking about weaning the public off of discounts, but they aren't talking about higher levels of service. Every trip since '08 we've had the experience of Space Mt being broken down when we went to ride, on the last two we've avoided the monorail because of frequent breakdowns, on the last trip the heater on the pool in our section wasn't working on, there was marker all over the bathroom wall in our room, I had to ask twice to have the pack & play we requested on our reservation brought to the room and call housekeeping three times to get extra towels since you have to take the ones from your room to the pool, etc. None of these are things that wreck a trip, but if Disney expects people to pay their premium prices they should have a better handle on things like service and maintenance.

I love staying on property. We've really enjoyed the dining plan on every one of our trips in the last 6 years, and the deluxe plan for the last 3. But the convenience of the dining plan and magical express isn't worth paying rack rate, not unless the resort experience improves over what we've seen the last few years.

 

[hunter1722]

My guess is Disney is taking a page from Universal's playbook. It used to be $99 for 7 days at both parks for Universal. Once HP opened it became $175. I am thinking as soon as the new Fantasyland is done so will the majority of the discounts.

 

[BrittanyBB]

We just booked our 3rd trip to Disney, and while both other trips we were able to get Free Dining,which was a huge plus for us, when booking this trip and budgeting for it I based the price of what it would be without any discounts, codes or free dining. If anything becomes available that will just be icing on the cake and the difference in savings can be applied to our spending.

I figured its better to prepare myself for the worst, that way if nothing becomes available for our dates then I wont be disappointed

 

[larryz]

Yeah, sure, I believe them...

I've only received two pins so far this year.

 

[shan136]

I don't think Disney is offering a product unique or high quality enough to justify their pricing; I think they've inflated those prices to compensate for discounts.

I whole heartedly agree with this. In an area where other reputable hotels charge <$100 per night, WDW on property hotels charge big city prices and the only way for Disney to fill nights is through some type of discount, especially since the few perks they offer, EMH and transportation, do not make up for the difference.

I doubt they will give up discounts entirely, however, I think they will try to be more strategic about what type of discounts they offer. It will be our challenge to make whatever discounts they offer work for us.

 

[beachclub]

Pins like this cover a single family, Public pins/bounceback/free dining, etc
cover the world ,,better believe them..here's more quotes from Iger himself. May 15th
Public offerings are dead..if offered they will be for like one week here one week there....it will be like planning a vacation time with a dartboard..
Past public offerings covered months at a time, sometimes 3/4 of a friggin whole year....
Better start believing..


Iger said the company was going to keep prices where they are now to send a signal that the discounts Disney employed to draw crowds during the economic slump are a thing of the past.

"We worked really hard to wean the consumer of the discount, and it worked in the second quarter, where we had slightly improved — if you factor out Easter — attendance and occupancy rates and better pricing, which was really important," Iger said. "The goal remains the same for the third quarter."

Yeah, sure, I believe them...

I've only received two pins so far this year.

 

[beachclub]

after reading it again one thing that does irk me is that he states "Attendance and occupancy rates are better pricing"...I cant seem to find any "better pricing".....The only change to the pricing is the normal yearly rate hikes AND the reorginizaion of the room catagories at some deluxes...which benefits the revenues more than providing the customer with
"better pricing".
Basically he is saying. " we are happy that discounts are sharply declining while occupancy rates stay up allowing us to make more revenue using rack rates"

Pins like this cover a single family, Public pins/bounceback/free dining, etc
cover the world ,,better believe them..here's more quotes from Iger himself. May 15th
Public offerings are dead..if offered they will be for like one week here one week there....it will be like planning a vacation time with a dartboard..
Past public offerings covered months at a time, sometimes 3/4 of a friggin whole year....
Better start believing..


Iger said the company was going to keep prices where they are now to send a signal that the discounts Disney employed to draw crowds during the economic slump are a thing of the past.

"We worked really hard to wean the consumer of the discount, and it worked in the second quarter, where we had slightly improved — if you factor out Easter — attendance and occupancy rates and better pricing, which was really important," Iger said. "The goal remains the same for the third quarter."

 

[Colleen27]

after reading it again one thing that does irk me is that he states "Attendance and occupancy rates are better pricing"...I cant seem to find any "better pricing".....The only change to the pricing is the normal yearly rate hikes AND the reorginizaion of the room catagories at some deluxes...which benefits the revenues more than providing the customer with
"better pricing".
Basically he is saying. " we are happy that discounts are sharply declining while occupancy rates stay up allowing us to make more revenue using rack rates"

But it is just corporate speechmaking... Free dining was offered for most of the quarter, I believe for the first time ever for that time of year. That's hardly "weaning customers off of discounts", when we were able to go in March - Mardi Gras week and the start of the spring break season - with free dining.

 

[Donnainnj]

Like a game of chicken, I stayed offsite over Easter, and if need be can do it again the remaining 11 nights of our August vacation. With the discounts the value is there onsite, without we like the space of a condo or house in a gated community for our family of 5. We have an annual pass discount for the first 4 days of our August trip in an AKV 1 BR. The space is there and we get the 2 bathrooms we need. Don't know if we would have paid the price if it weren't over two family birthdays. If the price is right again may add a couple of days there, and then move to two rooms in a moderate (again only if get a decent discount) Would have moved to ASMusic but the suites aren't available and can't deal with full size bed. We can wait a long time, I am sure we can get something reasonable offsite up until the last minute. Oh and the reason we didn't book one of the past discounts for this time period is because we changed our dates. Our oldest is starting college this year and we didn't know what that schedule would be until after those offers expired. Donna

[/QUOTE]cover the world ,,better believe them..here's more quotes from Iger himself. May 15th
Public offerings are dead..if offered they will be for like one week here one week there....it will be like planning a vacation time with a dartboard..
Past public offerings covered months at a time, sometimes 3/4 of a friggin whole year....
Better start believing..


Iger said the company was going to keep prices where they are now to send a signal that the discounts Disney employed to draw crowds during the economic slump are a thing of the past.

"We worked really hard to wean the consumer of the discount, and it worked in the second quarter, where we had slightly improved — if you factor out Easter — attendance and occupancy rates and better pricing, which was really important," Iger said. "The goal remains the same for the third quarter."[/QUOTE]

 

[SnipsNSnails]

My grandparents live 1/2 hr. from WDW so we usually just do a day trip while visiting. We have stayed 3-4 days twice in the middle of visiting before. We have the best offsite option - FREE! There is nothing like being onsite IMO, though I'd be willing to try the Swan or Dolphin some time. I will never pay more than we can afford. We saved for this trip in Sept. and were fortunate enough to get a 35% off pin and then FD beat that price. If no discounts makes it impossible to stay on site again (it would probably be 2-3 years before we consider it again anyway) then we are fortunate enough to be able to still make day trips once or twice a year while visiting and my parents plan to retire to the same area. Everyone is not so lucky as we are to have free lodging available close enough to make day trips. I couldn't say whether they will really stick to this or not. We'll vacation within our budget and if Disney fits so be it, if not, there are lots of other wonderful options. I've always wanted to try out onsite Universal and there's always the old standby, a Carnival cruise which is extremely affordable in comparison!