Resort Prices - Wow

[captainkidd]

I can honestly say, for the 1st time ever, I'm strongly considering skipping Disney all together in 2011 for another vacation destination. I was looking at the resort prices for 2010, and Disney is getting nuts. $365 for the Poly during value season. Over $200 for a moderate during the summer. Nearly $150 for a Value during the summer.

We always get either a AAA rate or an AP rate, but if the time comes when neother are available, that'll be it for a while. Having stayed at the Poly before, I think Disney is out of their mind charging upwards of $400 per night. Then again, a lot of people stay there, so maybe it's just me.:shrug:

 

[DisneyJoe]

I disagree.

Portofino Bay at Universal is superior to any Disney owned Resort, yet is about $150 cheaper than the Grand Floridian.

A good arguement can also be made for Universal's other 2 on-site hotels, both of which are less expensive than any of Disney's super Deluxe Resorts.

I don't consider Universal a similar experience.

 

[DisneyJoe]

Every year I price a vacation, and almost every year I decide on Disney because it is just has expensive as other locations but I get more value for my money.

This is my point - those who think Disney is overpriced haven't priced similar vacation experiences and their costs.

 

[TinkerBelle8878]

My question is what's the difference in price between the Swan/Dolphin and the Downtown Disney hotels compared to the official WDW resorts?

And what's not included that's included if you're 'officially' on site?

I stayed at the All Star Sports back in May and was disappointed. The bus system has gotten completely out of control. Each time a new resort or DVC is added, the values bus number (where you catch the buses back to your resort) gets shoved farther away from the park entrance.

It used to be that the monorail hotels went to TTC to get to the Studios and AK. Now all the hotels have they seperate bus stops for everything. Had I known this had changed from when I was last there in 2000, I would have booked elsewhere.

At the end of the day it was adding insult to injury (my poor feet).

 

[TURKEY]

I don't consider Universal a similar experience.

Then what do you consider a similar experience to WDW? I don't know of anything.

 

[marcriss]

DH hates the CSR and I hate the CBR. We both love the POR and POFQ.

DH says it is so not Disney and too convention for him. I am so not a Carribean girl. We tried the CBR in a pirate room and DH could tell I still hated the resort. I loved the pirate room but when we left the room I just hated the resort.

I am luke warm on the ASMu but like the ASMo, ASSp and PC values. I would stay at the ASMu again.

DH is luke warm on on the GF but would stay again.

We have tried the GF, Poly, CR, WL and YC. Our favorite is the WL. We both loved the YC too. Both have DVC and we have walked around the area. Neither of us felt the same magic in either of the DVC.

As you can see we really are in the Grey area. I was all ready when the new towers opened, but then I saw the decore and turned off.

I'm always interested in what people dislike. We've never stayed at CSR or CBR but people we know have done both and weren't too high on them. We used to love the WL, but my son as a baby didn't like it because it was dark. We still reminisce about Nutty Irishmen at the lounge and sitting in front of the fireplace. I agree with you about BLT, it was too modern for me. Don't get me wrong it looks amazing, but it's not really my cup of tea.

 

[LSU_Tigger]

I've been in the DVC since 04 and can tell you that is the way to go. Only disadvantage is the cleaning and size at some resorts(BIG). Though my wife and I travel with our children which are under the age of 7. So having a big room is a blessing at times. I've stayed at Poly, WL Villas, BW, OKW, SSR, POFQ, and CBR. My vote for #1 of those is POFQ because of size, buses, staff and reminds me of home. In closing any one with more than one child and young DVC 1 bedroom or bigger is the way to go! IMO:wave:

 

[captainkidd]

I don't consider Universal a similar experience.

It's as close as I can think of. Sorry, but in some respects, Universal is better.

 

[captainkidd]

Just want to add something in about DVC. We've looked into it numerous times. I don't think it's a guarenteed money saver. As high as Disney resort rates are, an important thing to keep in mind is discounts. Granted, DVC rates stay the same, but that's not always an advantage.

I've had CPA's crunch the numbers for me based on many factors, and for us, the only way DVC could make financial sense is to pay it off up front. When you get into 5 year financing and factor in dues over the next 40-50 years, it gets tight. When you get into 10 year financing, forget it. I could bore you all with the spreadsheet I've worked on, but there's no point. I'm not pro or anti-DVC. Hell, I'd LOVE to do it. I simply can't afford to pay for it all up front. But I promise you, if you put the numbers down with 10 years financing, it's not a no-brainer.

The funny thing is, DVC tries to prove it's the best option for larger families. It's just the opposite. The smaller your DVC accomidations are, the more financial sense DVC makes.

 

[pax_65]

DVC tries to prove it's the best option for larger families. It's just the opposite. The smaller your DVC accomidations are, the more financial sense DVC makes.

Again, though, that's strictly from a financial perspective. If you look at the accommodations and the overall experience:

A couple of 2: hotel room vs DVC Studio (close)
A family of 4: hotel room vs DVC 1-bedroom (DVC wins big)
2 families of 8: 2 hotel rooms vs DVC 2-bedroom (DVC bigger)
2/3 families of 10-12: 3/4 hotel rooms vs DVC grand villa (DVC huge)

Thanks for the analysis, though - I was fortunate to have a chunk of change to put down about 10 years ago, so I bought into DVC and paid it all off at once. I still consider that one of the best purchases I've ever made.

 

[magic2me]

Again, though, that's strictly from a financial perspective. If you look at the accommodations and the overall experience:

A couple of 2: hotel room vs DVC Studio (close)
A family of 4: hotel room vs DVC 1-bedroom (DVC wins big)
2 families of 8: 2 hotel rooms vs DVC 2-bedroom (DVC bigger)
2/3 families of 10-12: 3/4 hotel rooms vs DVC grand villa (DVC huge)

Thanks for the analysis, though - I was fortunate to have a chunk of change to put down about 10 years ago, so I bought into DVC and paid it all off at once. I still consider that one of the best purchases I've ever made.

It is just DH and I. We have no children and we are in our late 40s. I think we will just keep going the way we are.

 

[Master Yoda]

Just want to add something in about DVC. We've looked into it numerous times. I don't think it's a guarenteed money saver. As high as Disney resort rates are, an important thing to keep in mind is discounts. Granted, DVC rates stay the same, but that's not always an advantage.

I've had CPA's crunch the numbers for me based on many factors, and for us, the only way DVC could make financial sense is to pay it off up front. When you get into 5 year financing and factor in dues over the next 40-50 years, it gets tight. When you get into 10 year financing, forget it. I could bore you all with the spreadsheet I've worked on, but there's no point. I'm not pro or anti-DVC. Hell, I'd LOVE to do it. I simply can't afford to pay for it all up front. But I promise you, if you put the numbers down with 10 years financing, it's not a no-brainer.

The funny thing is, DVC tries to prove it's the best option for larger families. It's just the opposite. The smaller your DVC accomidations are, the more financial sense DVC makes.

You are quite correct. The DVC is not for everyone. We looked into it twice and with our travel habits, resort choices and family size the numbers just never panned out.

 

[Monty]

Don't kid yourselves for a moment. Disney makes a profit on every room.

Whether it's DVC or regular Resorts, they make a profit if you stay there. How much profit depends on you. They price the rooms based on whatever discounts or PINs or deals are going to be offered. Once they've done their price-point calculations, they offer the deals and packages to allow people to mitigate the costs if they do the research and find the best deals.

If someone 'chooses' to pay rack rate and get free dining, that's a choice they make. Will it save them money? Probably not, but people make choices. Some people choose to pre-pay their whole vacation in order to budget and have everything paid for, that rarely saves money, but if it makes them more comfortable, Disney is happy to provide the option [and take in more profit].

If you choose to go to WDW there are methodologies to save more if you research and are prepared to put a little effort into changing reservations or buying an AP when it makes sense to. Some AP discounts or PIN savings can be enough to pay the full cost of your APs and a TiW card and still leave you savings over rack rate. But don't for a moment think Disney is losing any money on you, they're just reducing their profit margin. If people stop filling the rooms, they'll start closing resorts for periods and maintain a profit margin. reducing prices doesn't change demand enough to be warranted.

 

[harryk]

It was only a few years ago that they closed several resorts for a period of time. WDW even closed a few of their restaurants - Artist Point was among those closed.

 

[bgraham34]

It was only a few years ago that they closed several resorts for a period of time. WDW even closed a few of their restaurants - Artist Point was among those closed.

I think Artist Point was under refurb at that time.

 

[JimboJones123]

If Disney lowered prices on all Deluxe rooms to $200 a night they would have a flood of people at Deluxe resorts and the moderates would be rendered useless. There are four tiers.

Value - $82-$149

Moderate - $135-$179

Deluxe without a park near - $219-$350

Deluxe with park access - $$$


The Deluxe with park access offer the ability to walk or monorail to the park and some rooms with a park view.

Unless outside competition guests willingness to not reserve these rooms changes, the rates will still go up.

This is the busiest September I have ever spent a WDW. They are not hurting for lack of business at all.


We looked really hard at a cruise this year. $300 for passports. $100 for a room the night before the cruise. $400 in tips. $400 for excursions. Taxis.

The $499 a person for a seven day cruise (which is a VERY low price for a cruise) came out to more expensive than our current 2 week WDW trip. We also rented a car for the trip. Now, if we upgraded to a suite, the price would go up $4000. So would a WDW trip. I do not see much of a difference between a suite upgrade and an upgrade to deluxe.

WDW is a fantastic value if you want it to be. If you want it to be a luxury, try pricing

 

[Innoventions]

Hahaha, its funny reading these posts. You guys seem to be complaining about the prices in general, yet every single person that has something to say uses an example like " well we usually stay at the deluxe resorts" and then automatically goes, "guess we have to stay off site now. cause the polynesian is $400 a night". Its hilarious that the value and moderate resorts dont get any love. More often than not were staying at a value resort, and by no means is that a down grade. Were never in the room so there is not point in staying at a extremely done up resort, and we still get most of the amenities: transportation, magical express ect. Plus if we wanted to we could stay anywhere we wanted, but would rather spend the money on more days in the park or even just save it. Your still getting the magic of disney as well as the cleanliness of disney, which is a big plus. And to be honest with you the food court which only moderate and value resorts have is actually extremely helpful. Get up get your coffee, get the kids together eat a nice breakfast. Unlike the restaurants and such that the deluxe have. After staying at all 3 levels of resort, I actually would prefer the value. Its actually probably the only resorts your getting your moneys worth. And honestly its disney, its a theme park, be prepared to pay greater prices. Thats why they have different levels of resorts. And i wont quote who said it, but in no way is a trip to disney now for the "well to do". If you save or even budget your time you can go and enjoy the magic. Maybe not for 10-20 days but more like 2-5, but your still enjoying that experience and getting the vacation. Hahaha, I guess its not Disney though if your not staying in the Deluxe resorts.

 

[harryk]

Very well said. We are DVC members and as you can see, the DVC facilities are with the 'Delux' resorts. This gives us the privilege of not getting daily maid service or trash removal. We get to prepare our own meals, if we want to. If we did not have DVC we would stay at the 'value' facilites and have just as good a Disney Vacation. DVC provides the convenience which we look for.
I can't understand those on this site who tend to denigrate the various levels of resorts.

 

[captainkidd]

I've stayed at every level of Disney Resort. I love the Values theming, but they're quite a distance from everything (except Blizzard Beach and Animal Kingdom.) The Mods are nice, but the transportation is the pits because they're all so big. The Deluxe, especially with young children, is super convenient. The rooms are more spacious and being able to use the monorail, boat or walk to a park is a HUGE perk. Unfortunately, to get that perk, you need to drop $400+ per night.

 

[mickeymaniacs]

We always stay off-site because of the prices. Last year we got a 7 bedroom 6 bath 5,000 sq. foot house in Emerald island resort which is 3 miles from Disney, for $2,200. It was about $550 per family and we had a games room, our own pool. We were 10 minutes from the parks and didn't have the troubles. We had considered staying on site with free dining but it still was more than what we would pay offsite. I just can't see paying the prices at Disney when we can get an entire house in a gated community for less. We love the parks but I would never rely on Disney transportation and I don't like having to be tied down to reservation times for the dining plan. It just makes more sense for us as a family of 5 to stay offsite. I have pictures of the house from last year and the resort community and it beats any of the moderate and some of the deluxe hotels at Disney.

 

[durangojim]

Hahaha, its funny reading these posts. You guys seem to be complaining about the prices in general, yet every single person that has something to say uses an example like " well we usually stay at the deluxe resorts" and then automatically goes, "guess we have to stay off site now. cause the polynesian is $400 a night". Its hilarious that the value and moderate resorts dont get any love. More often than not were staying at a value resort, and by no means is that a down grade. Were never in the room so there is not point in staying at a extremely done up resort, and we still get most of the amenities: transportation, magical express ect. Plus if we wanted to we could stay anywhere we wanted, but would rather spend the money on more days in the park or even just save it. Your still getting the magic of disney as well as the cleanliness of disney, which is a big plus. And to be honest with you the food court which only moderate and value resorts have is actually extremely helpful. Get up get your coffee, get the kids together eat a nice breakfast. Unlike the restaurants and such that the deluxe have. After staying at all 3 levels of resort, I actually would prefer the value. Its actually probably the only resorts your getting your moneys worth. And honestly its disney, its a theme park, be prepared to pay greater prices. Thats why they have different levels of resorts. And i wont quote who said it, but in no way is a trip to disney now for the "well to do". If you save or even budget your time you can go and enjoy the magic. Maybe not for 10-20 days but more like 2-5, but your still enjoying that experience and getting the vacation. Hahaha, I guess its not Disney though if your not staying in the Deluxe resorts.

Check the attitude at the door buddy.
If you're the type that only sleeps in your room and nothing else, than why would you stay anywhere else but a value resort? However, if you're someone who enjoys spending time at the resort itself then the deluxes offer the best amenities for that. There are those people who enjoy that type of vacation and wouldn't consider staying at a value because it doesn't make that type of vacation possible. All Disney vacations are not created equal, some like to stay in the parks from the time they open to the time they close. Others like to come back to the resort each day for a swim, nap, etc, and some hardly spend time in the parks at all, they may golf, or just hang out around the resort grounds. There's no problem with someone complaining about the price of a resort whether it's a deluxe or other category because that's the type of vacation they want to have.