Who cannot/will not book onsite without a code?

[ThreeTinks]

Just last week, I did a ton of research on various other options for our annual vacation and, after putting pencil to paper, I realized that Disney vacations really aren't that expensive when compared to the price of the other places.

So, will we or do we book without a discount? Yes. Do we hope for a discount or special offer? Yes. Does a discount make a difference on whether or not we go to Disney? No.

Ditto. Pricing out other vacations in most cases showed to be MORE expensive than Disney. And less "stuff" than you get with a Disney package. We have taken 5 trips and have always had a discount - 20%-45% to kids totally free (now that PIN rocked) to free dining. We are going in May regardless and staying onsite, to me that is what makes the trip, I just would not have as much fun staying offsite.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Ditto. Pricing out other vacations in most cases showed to be MORE expensive than Disney. And less "stuff" than you get with a Disney package. We have taken 5 trips and have always had a discount - 20%-45% to kids totally free (now that PIN rocked) to free dining. We are going in May regardless and staying onsite, to me that is what makes the trip, I just would not have as much fun staying offsite.

I priced out quite a few different places and it was going to be expensive. And, like you, we felt there wasn't as much "stuff" included in those vacations.

We used to stay offsite and were, for the most part, happy with staying offsite. Once we stayed onsite though, there was no turning back for us. We realized just how inconvenient it was to stay offsite and that the convenience was more than worth what extra money we saved to stay elsewhere.

 

[Rosanne]

It would depend on the season. If it was a cheaper season I'd be more likely to go with a discount but might still go without. I'm looking into late March this year and I couldn't enjoy myself knowing I'd spent so much at rack rate so I would wait until it was a price I felt better about.

 

[sunsetbeachgal]

I just booked Value resort at rack rate for our mid-June trip (we need two rooms)...if a discount in announced may go up to moderate...hate to book rack rate, but also much prefer staying on site...

 

[bigbabyblues]

We are also in the minority. We haven't been to WDW since 2010, we know our dates, and we want to stay at CBR. We have budgeted for rack rate; if a discount comes out, we'll gladly take it, but the trip doesn't depend on it. We wouldn't stay offsite ever, but we're fine with the value resorts if the budget would have to be cut.

ETA: there is nothing wrong with staying offsite, it just isn't something we would want to do

 

[bk0308]

We will be going in April with or without a discount. One would be nice, but since this is my 1st time, Im just now finding out that they even offer discounts. I'll keep my fingers crossed and any discounts will be a bonus

 

[aubriee]

As an AP holder I go to WDW several times a year, but no way would I ever go without a discount.

For our recent Oct 27th-Nov 4th trip we had CBR booked with an AP discount, but a coworker offered me a last minute deal for a one bedroom time share one mile outside the WDW gates. With the transfer fee it was $450.00 for a one bedroom, fully equipped condo. My AP discount could not beat that, so we canceled the WDW ressie and stayed off site for the first time. We enjoyed it so much, that I started looking for other off site options. For my upcoming May trip I booked through a third party and got a one bedroom at Bonnet Creek for $895.00 for ten nights/eleven days ($89.50/night). I usually use an AP or a bounce back discount to book our WDW, but it looks like Bonnet Creek may be getting our business for now on. Even with a discount, Disney can beat their prices. As far as paying rack rate for a WDW hotel, no way!

 

[Liberator]

Won't stay deluxe or moderate withouth a discount, too expensive for just 5 or 6 days

Even with a discount the price for a few days is still higher than the flights from Germany to Orlando and back.

 

[ocalla]

We will go too, no matter what. Would LOVE a discount, but if not then we will either go for fewer days, or stay at a moderate.

I too have priced out Condo's on the beach for a week , couldn't believe the price.................for the beach!!!

for now, I'll stick to Disney.

 

[kristenm514]

I will not pay full price, either. I am already looking at moving what I'd hoped to be a Christmastime trip to August, since it's cheaper, and probably wouldn't even do that without some kind of discount. It is obvious that Disney inflates rack rates beyond a reasonable amount, so that they can "offer discounts" pretty much all of the time...however, it seems those discounts are getting to be less and less, meaning all that's left is the overinflated rates. I am wondering if there really are that many people willing to pay rack rates, or if they'll soon hit the tipping point where even devoted customers will be priced out and they will lose money. We'll see.

 

[johnnyr]

It is obvious that Disney inflates rack rates beyond a reasonable amount, so that they can "offer discounts" pretty much all of the time...however, it seems those discounts are getting to be less and less, meaning all that's left is the overinflated rates.

I couldn't agree more with this statement!

 

[looking 4 the mouse]

I will not pay full price, either. I am already looking at moving what I'd hoped to be a Christmastime trip to August, since it's cheaper, and probably wouldn't even do that without some kind of discount. It is obvious that Disney inflates rack rates beyond a reasonable amount, so that they can "offer discounts" pretty much all of the time...however, it seems those discounts are getting to be less and less, meaning all that's left is the overinflated rates. I am wondering if there really are that many people willing to pay rack rates, or if they'll soon hit the tipping point where even devoted customers will be priced out and they will lose money. We'll see.

I would pay the extra just to avoid the heat and humidity of August. I too will be there Christmas 2012 at WL. Went the first week of August this year and the heat kicked our butts. Next trip will hopefully be the 2013 wine and food fest.

 

[clanmcculloch]

I can afford to go without a discount. I just won't. It's about perceived value for me. Rack rates at WDW are more expensive than I think they're worth, especially with how much they've jumped in the past couple of years. If there's no discount then I'll rent a house offsite. So, I'll still go to WDW but Disney won't get as much of my money (either hotel or food money since I'll eat dinners at the house). Heck, even with a discount if the price isn't what I think it's worth then other companies will get more of my money.

 

[vallamen]

I can't stomach the high current rack rate prices plus minimal discounts that came out for the first quarter of 2013. I was shocked when I priced out this year's trip. I think the price they are currently asking for a value room seems high at rack or minimal discount. Transportation perks are not a factor in my decision as we rent a car for cheap anyway. Neither is the extended hours, as we tend to hit the non-EMH parks anyway.

With the price shock, we actually started to explore other options and I have to say we are pretty excited about our upcoming trip which includes $0 being spent at disney. For the first time in about 6 years (about 7 Orlando trips), we are actually staying off site. Instead of onsite, we are opting to stay in a 2 bedroom/2 bath unit at Bonnet Creek for less than $100 a night, going to discovery cove and sea world, and seeing several spring training baseball games. My boys are going to be thrilled!

Our only disney thing will be Chef Mickey, but that is free to us with disney chase rewards $.

If free dining had come out, might be a different story. Disney probably would have gotten the majority of our $. We have been wanting to do Discovery Cove, the high price of Disney this year made us reevaluate how we spend our vacation $ and we opted for Discovery Cove. I think it will have a ripple effect for us though. After this trip, I have a feeling I will never convince my husband to stay onsite again. 2 bed/2 bath timeshare right next to the parks with nicer amenities for less than the price of a value room......Exploring other options this year has really opened our eyes and I am not sure we will ever do another exclusive Disney trip or stay onsite. Disney will probably only be a small portion of our trip at the most.

 

[DanInMN]

In the distant past we had stayed onsite at value resorts, and once at Port Orleans. For the past 7 years or so we have stayed offsite at Bahama Bay, with 1 time at Reunion. We enjoyed the space of large condos with kitchens, and the savings.

This time S/P/D brought the total cost of onsite (no car rental, food cost covered by the dining plan) to about the same as offsite. We will see how the Disney advantages balance against the offsite advantages. Without the S/P/D discount the prices at Disney would keep us offsite.

I'm sure that Disney has done the math too... which is why they have EMH, free ME, and free dining or S/P/D. They want to keep the visitors onsite to keep the dollars onsite. It probably destroys offsite businesses though.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

We could but we won't as it isn't financially practical for us to spend that kind of money for the sake of saying we stayed onsite. We are a family of six with our oldest two children now at adult prices and we are from Pennsylvania so we fly rather than drive to Orlando (DH refuses to drive that far), so Disney World is a rather pricey trip for us overall. We stayed onsite for our August 2011 trip; but that was during "value" season, with the kids stay/play free promotion, plus all our kids were ages 9 and under with our youngest being free (2 years old) at the time. We are in the midst of planning a May 2013 trip and we are still trying to wrap our minds around what it would cost to stay onsite during "regular" season without a discount; and we just can't justify the price tag no matter how much we like the all inclusive aspect of staying onsite. There are so many great deals for really nice offsite condos and villas and I am sure we would still have just as much of a magical vacation because we would still go to the same Disney parks and have the same planned ADRs and experiences (like the Pirates League and Wishes Dessert Party) that we would have if we were staying onsite. So at this point we have a two bedroom deluxe condo booked over at Wyndham Bonnet Creek and we are getting more and more excited about staying there, especially considering it is pretty much (but unofficially) on Disney property.

 

[fla4fun]

I will not book a resort unless I have a discount.
I am not one of those that will book and then wait for a discount. The discount has to already be offered for me to book. This usually means we don't make plans more than six months out.

This is me too. It would be more painful to have to reduce or cancel a trip because I couldn't afford it than to never be able to book it at all.

But it's not just Disney. Typically, I do WDW in January, a beach vacation late February or early March (depending on Easter timing) and a WDW vacation again in May. However, for 2013, the beach accommodation decided to charge peak rates from the last week of January through mid April instead. So I looked at Disney's rack rate for both time periods (late February and May) and found their rates were the same (it looks like Disney's rates go up to peak when the current discounts expire around March 7th). So it made more sense economically to go back to Disney the end of February with the current discount (knowing that a discount for Disney in May is likely to be similar, especially if I booked the current bounceback) and book the beach trip when the rates are back down to the lower level in May. It actually saved $500 on the beach trip to switch them, without adding to the cost of the Disney trip. So I not only have to compare Disney rates to Disney rates, but compare the "other" vacations too, to make sure all the trips will be at the best rate possible. Sometimes it just makes my head spin!

Off property would mean doing day trips from home, and that just isn't a vacation to me.

 

[stasijane]

I am a cheapskate, I will stay off property unless I see a good deal.

 

[pinkerbell]

I won't. Their prices have gotten to high for what they offer. Especially the meal plan, which doesn't offer or cover nearly as much as it used to and costs much more. So now if I don't stay onsite I don't care. We went to seaworld last yr and loved it and are also thinking of taking in universal next trip. No discount and we'll be off-site in April and do sea world and universal. We have an AP but it's the last yr for us for that. Offsite has many options and cost less. Still love Disney, but need to get the most bang for my buck.

 

[pinkerbell]

I can't stomach the high current rack rate prices plus minimal discounts that came out for the first quarter of 2013. I was shocked when I priced out this year's trip. I think the price they are currently asking for a value room seems high at rack or minimal discount. Transportation perks are not a factor in my decision as we rent a car for cheap anyway. Neither is the extended hours, as we tend to hit the non-EMH parks anyway.

With the price shock, we actually started to explore other options and I have to say we are pretty excited about our upcoming trip which includes $0 being spent at disney. For the first time in about 6 years (about 7 Orlando trips), we are actually staying off site. Instead of onsite, we are opting to stay in a 2 bedroom/2 bath unit at Bonnet Creek for less than $100 a night, going to discovery cove and sea world, and seeing several spring training baseball games. My boys are going to be thrilled!

Our only disney thing will be Chef Mickey, but that is free to us with disney chase rewards $.

If free dining had come out, might be a different story. Disney probably would have gotten the majority of our $. We have been wanting to do Discovery Cove, the high price of Disney this year made us reevaluate how we spend our vacation $ and we opted for Discovery Cove. I think it will have a ripple effect for us though. After this trip, I have a feeling I will never convince my husband to stay onsite again. 2 bed/2 bath timeshare right next to the parks with nicer amenities for less than the price of a value room......Exploring other options this year has really opened our eyes and I am not sure we will ever do another exclusive Disney trip or stay onsite. Disney will probably only be a small portion of our trip at the most.

Last April we went offsite again for the first time since having kids. Sea World was AWESOME!!! It has changed so much and was the highlight of our trip. We travel from MA and the cost for a DIsney vacation is just to much for a family of 4 with airfare. We havent booked w/disney for this april but we have our airline tix's so we may do universal and Sae World again. SeaWorld had a great refillable drink cup and meal prices seemed better also.
ENjoy! We have an AP but with the increase in prices and the carying cost for meal plans and Peak periods and all that crap, I'm pretty much done with Disney for a bit Still like it, just willing to try other things too.