Disney Hotel Prices are Out of Control!

[mi*vida*loca]

Value is completely a subjective situation, no matter what the topic. I think Disney does a good job offering Value-Deluxe, hitting a wide range of price points. Personally i've never paid Rack Rate, nobody should. There are so many rolling promotions out there. That being said I recently needed a short stay (2 nights) over labor day weekend. The current promotions qualified for end on 8/28, and the next one begins on 9/1, but my travel dates are 8/30-9/1 - so offsite for this one! Was able to get the Hilton next to Disney Springs on corporate rate discount for $114/night, basically a two for one in the moderate category I had been looking at originally through Disney. I'll take it!

Lest not forget, the mentality Disney resorts are a place 'to rest your head' is faaaaar from reality, even it that's how you personally chose to use them. Disney resorts are Full Fledged RESORTS, with a multitude of amenities. What you think are exorbitant prices, are cost & overhead + profit to maintain a 24/7 resort. Take a moment on your next visit to see the lengthily list your resort offers, there are plenty of reasons vacationers won't even go to the parks on some trips and simply take advantage of what their resort offers.

Yes the resort is part of the vacation for us. We don't go to Disney for 10 days to be in the parks from 8-10 every day. We enjoy our resort and use the amenities. That's why we won't stay offsite when we do Disney because the resort is part of our vacation experience. If I can only afford offsite I'll pick another destination.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Yes the resort is part of the vacation for us. We don't go to Disney for 10 days to be in the parks from 8-10 every day. We enjoy our resort and use the amenities. That's why we won't stay offsite when we do Disney because the resort is part of our vacation experience. If I can only afford offsite I'll pick another destination.

I agree with you 100%. This is why we will be going every other year from now on. I need time to save up and do a Disney vacation the way we like to do it.

 

[mickey2minnie1]

The resort is at least if not more half of our vacation. We enjoy the pools and restaurants and the grounds/theming. If we are going to Disney, which is the only place we ever want to go, we want our Disney bubble. We have stayed offsite before and my teens don’t like it and I don’t either. I will save until we can stay onsite and enjoy the resort. We have stayed moderate and deluxe never without a discount.

 

[Kingdome8]

I would always pay the extra 50-100 a night to stay in Disney. For us it’s a once every 2 year trip and makes the trip so much better. Hotel is key to good time for us. We have stayed at the 60$ a night hotels for a night since we got there day early and it was awful. Lol.

 

[Kingdome8]

Yes the resort is part of the vacation for us. We don't go to Disney for 10 days to be in the parks from 8-10 every day. We enjoy our resort and use the amenities. That's why we won't stay offsite when we do Disney because the resort is part of our vacation experience. If I can only afford offsite I'll pick another destination.

That’s how we feel. I’d rather pay more and have the great experience and memories then trying to skimp and pay 100 less a night for awful time.

We just did 8 days and had 2.5 resort days. Love the hotels

 

[AngiTN]

Momma always told me if it sounds too good to be true it might very well be. Can you offer the secret to your success in avoiding these Disney resort problems? I'd be interested in adopting your strategy so I no longer experience any problems.
Thanks.
~NM

There's no secret at all. I've never had anyone barge in our room, even knock on the door while we were inside with the sign out or had housekeeping miss our room, unless we were in there all day, with said sign out. Vast majority of guests have daily housekeeping (excluding those who opt out of course) and vast majority have no issues with room inspections. You say reports of good service sounds too good to be true, I say folks who have complaint and problem one after another sounds "too bad to be true".
And don't forget Disney is NOT the only hotel chain using this policy so lamented here. It's just trendy for some to hate on every choice Disney does. Same people could go to Lowes over at Universal and never even say a single word. Because it's not fun to get on here and trash them. But it's sure fun to trash what Disney does.
No hotel on the face of the planet can run their facility with never making a mistake. I dare say no one can go through life without a single mistake. So do mistakes happen? Of course. But that's not a norm, it's a mistake.

 

[AngiTN]

Anyone who defends Disney’s current hotel pricing is fully brainwashed by the mouse. Been going for over 20 years and find recent price increases really hard to swallow.

Just a few years ago the Wilderness Lodge was our go to deluxe. Rack rate was $250 or so. I’m now paying that or more for a moderate that used to cost $160 rack just a while back. The fact most deluxe resorts are now $4-700 per night is INSANE. Even with a 30% discount your still ridiculously high.

We stayed a few days prior to resort check in at the Hampton Lake Buena Vista this year. Fantastic clean large room with free breakfast and coffee for $95 per night. Oh, and no parking fee.

While we booked a bounce back for next year already we are seriously considering switching to off site and saving a few thousand on a two week stay.

What a ridiculous statement. Just because some don't fall in to the trend of the haters on here it doesn't mean they can't determine what is a value to them. Besides, the other end of the spectrum around here is just as annoying. There are some who refuse to ever acknowledge anything positive by Disney. It's like their entire goal is to trash the company and anything they do. They could open the gates for free to needy kids for an entire day and there are some who would find a way to destroy that.
Disney does plenty wrong, but they do plenty right too. No company anywhere is without problems.

I just paid the same as a Disney value price (discounted, since they are discounted about 360 days of the year) to stay at a HoJo in Jackson TN!
And paid more than a Disney value at a Clarion in Amarillo TX.
Neither were anywhere close to the options that are provided at the Disney Value resort. They were both not even very clean at all. HoJo is off our list, it was a disgusting mildew armpit of a hotel. But it was 1:00 AM and we had already paid for it. So we stuck it out. At least it wasn't grimy gross.
Our resort in Scottsdale had a "hair" in the sink that wasn't ours. I wasn't down at the front desk demanding compensation. It wasn't a huge issue to me or DH, we just wiped it away with a tissue. But I've seen some here go.off! over that same thing in their rooms, just a single hair.

Never forget too, Orlando hotel prices are not normal due to the incredible volume of rooms in the area. Once you get away from there, you'll quickly see that what Disney charges is not so outrageous.
That's not to say that they don't have some that are. And for sure their rack rates are. But you can always find a room at a discount. Always. Even if it's just 10% at Orbitz.

 

[Captainkidd76]

What a ridiculous statement. Just because some don't fall in to the trend of the haters on here it doesn't mean they can't determine what is a value to them.

Yes, because if you believe Disney's resort prices are too high, you are a hater.

 

[Lewisc]

Universal has been building new resorts to fill demand. Pricing, if you know how to look, is generally very good.

Disney has been doing the opposite. Look at the last 10-15 years. Part of AKL was converted to DVC. One of the wings at the Contemporary was torn down and replaced with a DVC tower. A section of WL was converted to DVC. My memory is DVC construction at POLY and GF resulted in reduction of hotel rooms. Hundreds of rooms at CBR were torn down and replaced by DVC. Moderate rooms were added at CSR, but those rooms seem to be premium priced. Many value rooms at the All Stars were converted to $$$ family suites. There have been a reduction of rooms in every category, except DVC and family suites. I'll let someone else do the math.

Disney is getting premium pricing,in part, by reducing supply. High room rates helps DVC sales. An observation, FP and EMH availability at DS hotels suggests Disney is doing that to satisfy guests looking for more affordable options.

I don't know how many guests book rack rate. Add "free" dining and the price isn't as bad.

Disney did a great job at POP. Fold up the Murhpy bed and the room seems big enough. Plenty of outlets and even USB ports. Large themed pool with plenty of activities for the kids. A pool bar and an extensive food court. Free airport transportation. Transportation to the parks. Luggage delivery. Sorry it's nothing like a Motel 6.

I'm going assume, or at least hope, the poster who mentions room invasions was trying to be funny.

Orlando is way overbuilt. You can get great deals if you want to rent condo timeshare properties, in some cases for less then the maintenance cost paid by owners. A number of older hotels don't charge enough to cover the major renovations needed for older properites. I'm talking about hotels typically available for around $50. Look at the bad reviews for the Ramada hotel suggested in this thread. Many rooms in really bad shape.

 

[pinnocchiosdad]

Is it me or are the cost of Disney hotel rooms too high. I looked on the Disney website for a room next May and the the All Star Resorts started at $170/night. Compare that to fine hotels just outside WDW which were $60/night. Even when you factor in a rental car and parking you still save $70/night or about $500 in a week! We’ve always stayed on site but I’m nearing a breaking point.

This is the draw to purchasing a DVC membership. I didn’t see the value in DVC until I researched Disney Resort prices. Now I see value in DVC especially if your buy in is cash.

 

[snappy]

And if buy in is resale.

 

[suemom2kay]

And if buy in is resale.

I saved over $12,000 buying 150 points at Beach Club via resale.

 

[suemom2kay]

Universal has been building new resorts to fill demand. Pricing, if you know how to look, is generally very good.

Disney has been doing the opposite. Look at the last 10-15 years. Part of AKL was converted to DVC. One of the wings at the Contemporary was torn down and replaced with a DVC tower. A section of WL was converted to DVC. My memory is DVC construction at POLY and GF resulted in reduction of hotel rooms. Hundreds of rooms at CBR were torn down and replaced by DVC. Moderate rooms were added at CSR, but those rooms seem to be premium priced. Many value rooms at the All Stars were converted to $$$ family suites. There have been a reduction of rooms in every category, except DVC and family suites. I'll let someone else do the math.

Disney is getting premium pricing,in part, by reducing supply. High room rates helps DVC sales. An observation, FP and EMH availability at DS hotels suggests Disney is doing that to satisfy guests looking for more affordable options.

I don't know how many guests book rack rate. Add "free" dining and the price isn't as bad.

Disney did a great job at POP. Fold up the Murhpy bed and the room seems big enough. Plenty of outlets and even USB ports. Large themed pool with plenty of activities for the kids. A pool bar and an extensive food court. Free airport transportation. Transportation to the parks. Luggage delivery. Sorry it's nothing like a Motel 6.

I'm going assume, or at least hope, the poster who mentions room invasions was trying to be funny.

Orlando is way overbuilt. You can get great deals if you want to rent condo timeshare properties, in some cases for less then the maintenance cost paid by owners. A number of older hotels don't charge enough to cover the major renovations needed for older properites. I'm talking about hotels typically available for around $50. Look at the bad reviews for the Ramada hotel suggested in this thread. Many rooms in really bad shape.

I believe they've also been adding more options for the 5+ family crowd. For years, I saw people on these boards complain there weren't options for larger families at Disney resorts. Well, Disney answered.

I also believe that while hotel prices have gone up, they are not far out of line for the industry.

 

[Kestryl]

I’ll echo others- hotel prices are up everywhere. Someone mentioned Mackinaw/Mackinac- dear Lord, those prices are high for summer weekends, especially the island. There’s a city in Michigan we regularly visit (mainly for nostalgia)- the hotel we stay at is regularly $150+ on a good day, and it’s not modern in the slightest (once again, we love it for nostalgia). A trip I took to “DC” (really North Bethesda) last spring? $250 per night plus fees and taxes, and $50 per night to park your car. Nashville a few months ago? We were lucky to get a room for $300. (The only cheaper option with parking was a hostel, which, fine, but not for this trip.) My extended family spent just under $500 per night for a cabin near Pigeon Forge this summer. (This was actually a good deal, cause there were 9 of us.)

On the flip side, we paid around $80 at a hotel in a non-tourist area while driving back from Florida. My family has paid around $100 per night when they stay near us- also not a major tourist location.

Anyways, we stayed on sit at DW in May, I hadn’t been to DW in 12 years. My husband had never been. We stayed on site because I know how that works. I knew things had changed, but the general concept was still the same. We may consider staying off site in the future if we go again in a few years, or if we go with a large group or split our trip between DW and OS, but we’ll have to weigh the pros and cons.

 

[Lewisc]

Never forget too, Orlando hotel prices are not normal due to the incredible volume of rooms in the area. Once you get away from there, you'll quickly see that what Disney charges is not so outrageous.
That's not to say that they don't have some that are. And for sure their rack rates are. But you can always find a room at a discount. Always. Even if it's just 10% at Orbitz.

Disney discovered they could charge 5* prices at the GF without staffing to the level necessary to offer a 5* experience. Better yet blame the rating services. More then one CM told me the reason the GF isn't 5* is non registered guests are allowed in the hotel. The reality is the GF doesn't have the staff to guest ratio necessary to provide 4 Season type service.

Just my observation. The level of service provided by Disney at moderate and value resorts generally exceeds industry standards. An example is luggage delivery. Offered even at value resorts.

Service at deluxe hotels not as much. Don't misunderstand me. Service at deluxe exceeds the requirements of most Disney guests. 24 hour room service may not be an amenity many of us use but availability is something offered by highly rated hotels. Same with turn down service. It may not be a bit deal but it's offered to guests at high rated properties.

Offsite hotels generally charge resort fees and/or parking fees. Add those fees, and the cost of car rental and much of your savings evaperate. Even more if you're not an AP holder and have to pay for theme park parking.

 

[Lewisc]

I believe they've also been adding more options for the 5+ family crowd. For years, I saw people on these boards complain there weren't options for larger families at Disney resorts. Well, Disney answered.

I also believe that while hotel prices have gone up, they are not far out of line for the industry.

Right. Disney has increased DVC and family suites. Coincidentally DME, EMH and FP60+ has made exceeding room occupancy less popular. I don't seem to read as many threads with posters asking if a room at XXX has enough room for 2 or 3 air mattresses.

 

[Searc]

And if buy in is resale.

And buy 15-20 years ago.

 

[snappy]

using

And buy 15-20 years ago.

Or during the last economic downturn.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

Staying at a Value or Moderate during Value season, sure, the "benefits" may be worth it. But what benefit is worth $800 a night to stay at the Grand Floridian?

None IMO. We stayed there in April and it was not even that nice. Like in other areas of life, you're paying for the hype and the name. Our bathroom was severely outdated and had multiple maintenance issues over the course of our stay. The room was nothing special. I emailed management, front desk, everyone I could because I think it's a huge ripoff to guests for the experience we had (and I had an AP discount and didn't pay near $800 a night).

 

[snappy]

Even discounted I don’t want a room like that.