How do people afford Deluxe?

[BrerJon]

How I did Boardwalk for 4 nights and paid 1500. 7 nights at deluxe should be around 2500-3000

Rack rates for the Grand Flo for January are around $5,500. Same week has a suite at the Yacht Club for $13,500 - more than some people's yearly pay checks. I think for a basic, cheapest room, spending less than $4000 a week is almost impossible at Disney's rack rates without discounts.

 

[BrerJon]

Only 2 of you ? >> BLT (walk to the Magic Kingdom) Studio > (Bed /mini kitchen / bathroom) from David's DVC rental is $1960 (8 nights) - $140 a night ... Key is to book as far in advance as you can or forget even getting a room. (Payment due at booking though) .. There is so much to factor in for each family... We just got back and now the cycle of saving begins again for the next visit in 3 years!

I wonder if the reason the rack rates are so absurdly bad value for money is to make DVC look a more appealing financial proposition?

Of course renting points is the smart way to go Deluxe without costing the earth.

 

[TXDisney]

I honestly think from now on I'm just gonna book about a year in advance only need to pay one night at booking then I have the whole year to save for the trip. A week for 2 of us at a deluxe reg room is around 3000 including tickets. This doesn't include flight or dining. So with flights just to get there and stay and parks is around 3500 I always figure around 250 a day for us spending that's an average including food drinks and souvenirs. So that's an additional 2000. So the trip costs us around 5000 for a week at deluxe. But if you seperate paying for stuff it's not as bad. Like do flights 1 month, do park tickets after a couple months saving then just take out what the rest is each paycheck for spending and hotel bi weekly and it starts saving fast.

 

[HRHPrincessAriel]

I'm more impressed by those that can go for weeks!

 

[ToTBellHop]

How I did Boardwalk for 4 nights and paid 1500. 7 nights at deluxe should be around 2500-3000

Um...I'm not sure how to respond to your question. The price is the price. I didn't have to sleep with any one.

 

[MagicHappens1971]

If you have a car, stay off site, unless you absolutely have to be immersed in Disney your whole trip, you will save a ton of money and in many cases get a nicer room for a lot less.

However, then you have to pay for parking at the parks, takes longer which means less time. And also people enjoy extra magic hours.

 

[MagicHappens1971]

Restaurants with better food. Indoor walkways. Nicer grounds. Most offer transport options besides buses. Most are closer to parks. More beautiful theming. More space in room.

My bias is that when I stay at a deluxe, I get at least 35% off. I don't think GF is worth $1000/night on any planet. But DAK for $200/night in January? Absolutely.

The grand floridian is worth $1000 a night. The contemporary isn't worth a dime though.

 

[arko]

However, then you have to pay for parking at the parks, takes longer which means less time. And also people enjoy extra magic hours.

Those things are nice, but I don't need them to enjoy WDW. Parking costs are generally more than offset by less expensive hotel rates that have better accommodations.As far as parking taking longer, have you ever taken a resort bus to and from a park, I happily drive so I can avoid that mess. Extra magic hours are nice but I just use those now to know which park to avoid that day.

 

[arko]

The grand floridian is worth $1000 a night. The contemporary isn't worth a dime though.

umm no The Grand Floridian is not worth 1000$ a night at any time, if you compare it to hotels that are worth 1000$ a night, it is woefully inadequate.

 

[righttrack]

Those prices are so high because the regular rooms are sold out and you're looking at suite prices. That week is February School Vacation Week one of the busiest times at WDW.

 

[disney4life2008]

Once I make it (lol) i am going to spend one night at akl. But i am not leaving i am going to take in the sights and have dinner at boma. Then drinks at the bar. Then next day head to super 8 for the other 4 days haha

 

[MagicHappens1971]

umm no The Grand Floridian is not worth 1000$ a night at any time, if you compare it to hotels that are worth 1000$ a night, it is woefully inadequate.

Well now that I think about it, the rooms are quite small for $1000 a night, but for the hotel in itself is amazing! Have you ever stayed/seen the Ritz-Carlton hotels? The rooms are much bigger/the hotel (itself) is just as nice. And sometimes it is the same rates in off season at the grand Floridian.

 

[EOD K9]

....... for some it's Bicycles. I could never spend $1k on a bike but I know plenty of folks that have and then some.

Whoa whoa whoa......what do you have against bikes? Similar to Deluxe Resorts and high end carbon fiber bikes, we save for it.

 

[Sage of Time]

You want a deluxe hotel for half the price of regular rack rates? Stay at Swolphin.

 

[dave&di]

We were doing the same thing to stay at the Poly but then decided to use the money for a one week trip this past September at Sports and then rented a DVC for the week this January instead. Still have money left over too.

We did a similar thing, as I said we go every 2 years to a Deluxe but during our 2012 trip we decided we didn't want to wait another 2 so we booked a Moderate (POFQ) for the next year, we also had to cut down our days as we normally then spend a week at Uni, so we did that for a day during our wdw trip! We actually really enjoyed the POFQ but we are still going to do our 2 year Deluxe plan from now on. But should we not be able to afford it in the future we now know we will still be happy at POFQ. Plus with my partner being made redundant next May that may be a possibility!

Did you like Sports? That's quite a change from the Poly! We were nervous about trying a Moderate but we're really happy with POFQ.

 

[TXDisney]

I think it's fun to try different resorts as well. Yes obviously you're gonna enjoy the deluxe hotels generally more then the moderate ones. But if you go frequently and deluxe can get pricey, it's fun to try new things. I stayed at my parents timeshare for years, but over the last 3yrs I've now stayed at GF, POR, Swan and Boardwalk. Next couple times we go, we're doing CB and BC.

 

[yaksplat]

I paid $2300 for 7 nights at the Floridian. I have a friend that's a CM so I get a 40% discount through her.

For us it's the transportation that makes it. We love the monorail and the boats to the magic kingdom.

 

[BrerJon]

However, then you have to pay for parking at the parks, takes longer which means less time. And also people enjoy extra magic hours.

Taxi cabs from the Downtown Disney area off-site hotels drop off close to the park gates (or TTC in MK's case), take about ten minutes and cost about $20, that's quicker than a Disney bus or monorail, and when the price difference is *at least* $200 a night, you more than make that back, so there's no time or financial transportation advantage from staying on property really.

And as for the extra hours, you could buy a whole extra days admission ticket with the hotel price difference.

 

[TXDisney]

There's no secret to what you're paying for. Pretty much all the deluxe hotels are walking distance to the parks on the monorail. So you're paying for location. If transportation isn't a big deal to you, then I wouldn't pay deluxe. My wife and I have always wanted to stay at the boardwalk and the beach and yacht club. We did in September and it was awesome for us bc we ended 3/4 nights at WS. And the one MK night was a nightmare getting back to the boardwalk via DME. I learned I'd just take cab back for $15. But for people like us who are rarely at the resort deluxe I figured out isn't really worth it. We will splurge and stay trips at deluxe every once in awhile but generally speaking we will use my parents timeshare or stay moderate and use cans from now on.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Taxi cabs from the Downtown Disney area off-site hotels drop off close to the park gates (or TTC in MK's case), take about ten minutes and cost about $20, that's quicker than a Disney bus or monorail, and when the price difference is *at least* $200 a night, you more than make that back, so there's no time or financial transportation advantage from staying on property really.

And as for the extra hours, you could buy a whole extra days admission ticket with the hotel price difference.

Show me an off-property hotel with a giraffe.