Just wondered what thoughts might be on room prices at WDW. I am going to be booking a 1 and 2 bdrm villa at AKL for 14 nights and the pricing seems to have gone through the roof. I will be going next year in May so right now I can only see March 2022 pricing but it’s coming in around $3000 a night for the two (Savannah view). Even with a discount it’s pretty crazy. I know I checked the pricing last fall for May 2021 and I’m sure it wasn’t as crazy as this. Do you think prices will go down for May 2022 or would it price out the same as March? Is Disney recovering lost $$ on the backs of future travellers? Pretty steep since I am from Canada. May have to look at renting points. what are your thoughts?
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Room Prices Exploding?
- Thread starter Wendylet
- Start date
StarshipDisney
Well-Known Member
If you are willing to share, I would be very interested in knowing what you paid in the end for the two villas. Just curious.
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That's nuts. You can get a Marriott/Hilton Grand Vacations type of place mere minutes away from DW for about $300 a night that is about 1100 square feet, has two bedrooms, a full kitchen and a W/D. I mean don't get me wrong I like staying on property, but $3,000 a night vs $300 a night - You're not getting $2,700 a night worth of "magic" for the on-property option. You can pick up an Uber at 7am spend $15 and grab some coffee and hit one of the many public areas overlooking the animals.
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I wish it was just as simple as that. We are a group of 10. Four children ranging in ages from 1-7. Having Disney transportation would be much easier than trying to Uber with the required car seats for the numbers we have. The parents would be very concerned with the car seat situation. If I can get the rooms through renting points it actually comes to $1500 a night for both villas. Six people in one and four in the other. As I mentioned this is a once in a lifetime trip and none of the grandchildren have been before so really want to give them the full immersive experience. If we travelled frequently we would certainly not be looking at absorbing a room cost like this. For this one time only we want to offer the full Disney magic experience.
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Uber XL. 2 of them (maybe 3). They'll be back to back (possibly to back). Not trying to harp on it. But for a $2,700 savings PER NIGHT. Yeah.
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The rooms would be $1500 per night total for two villas. So the savings would be $900 per night as we would need two rooms minimum. Even less if we needed three rooms. Plus add on the three Ubers with appropriate car seats everywhere we go. And then not the same experience for the grandchildren. As I mentioned if we travelled frequently we would definitely be looking elsewhere. My father passed away of covid at Christmas this year and we are using some of the funds passed on to make this special trip happen. The experience I am providing is invaluable to me based in this past year.
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That's a shame. I'm sorry for your loss. If you have a windfall and want to spend it on a Disney trip, so be it. Your last sentence says it all. I hope it all goes well for you.
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Just need to chime in that a DVC stay may not be the "Disney" experience you are look for. With kids in the 1-7 range for 14 days I would also look at a split stay between a MK resort and Animal Kingdom lodge, it is easy Disney will move luggage from one resort to another, or they did pre-covid. I also would want to stay in Jambo house, not Kidandi. You have time to do the research. and many members here or on other sites willing to help plan. Also,FYI, many travel agents are not at the level of expertise you will find on the fan sites.
Enjot your planning and feel free to ask questions!
Enjot your planning and feel free to ask questions!
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Thank you for your kind words.
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Thank you for your thoughts on the matter. I did consider the split stay situation and after extensive talks with the four parents I can understand their position where they would prefer not to have to pack up and move mid way through. I know for a few adults or for older children they can be helpful with the packing but with such young children it’s difficult considering what these kids come with! We also discussed about not being close to the parks, especially MK, but everyone feels okay with it. The reason I was choosing Kidani was because we felt strongly about having a dedicated 2 bdrm and not a lock off. I do know that most restaurants and amenities are located in Jambo house but since we will have full kitchens we feel we will mostly be eating off property or in the rooms. Is there some other reason you suggest Jambo? I would love to hear your thoughts.
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Not to offend anyone who loves/owns at Kidandi but it has refered to as Animal Kingdom Lodge Lite. I have stayed at both and would agree. The lobby is about a third of the size,, no quick services and a very small gift shop. I have many fond memories of breakfast outside Mara before hitting the parks at AKL. Unless it has changed, the pool is also themed better although Kidnadi has a pool play area for kids.
How much cooking are you honestly going to do when you on vacation? The great part of Disney is you can take your kids everywhere without hesitation. Every restaurant besides Victoria and Alberts. If your eating offsite, how are you getting there? That would be more of a hassle then its worth to me packing up the kids, driving to eat off site. Plus outside of the Dsiney bubble it is very touristy. Have you considered the dining plan? I would think it will be back by then.
Reconsider the split stay. I have done simular trips and it was the best decision. After 7-10 days you are going to have to do laundry. We always had a resort/slow day before our switch day. Kids went swimming, did laundry, repacked and hit the parks the next day and return from the parks to out new resort. Disney picks up your bag and delivers them to the new resort(unless that has changed post cover) The kids love it, its like a whole new vacation and let be honest the kids only care about a whole new pool!
If it were me I would split between the the Poly and AKL. Your on the monorail, with the kids ages you will be at MK probably the most. Stay away from grand it is completely overrated. Are you American? I ask only because my German relatives loved Wilderness because of the American West feeing it has and it is also a beautiful resort.
Another thought, for the price you are paying for rooms you could rent one hell of a vacation home. But that is whole other discussion!
Just to make your head spin at litlle more,lol, our favorite is Yacht and beach. We love having the boardwalk being able to walk/skyliner to Epcot and the studios and the pool there is the ultimate.
How much cooking are you honestly going to do when you on vacation? The great part of Disney is you can take your kids everywhere without hesitation. Every restaurant besides Victoria and Alberts. If your eating offsite, how are you getting there? That would be more of a hassle then its worth to me packing up the kids, driving to eat off site. Plus outside of the Dsiney bubble it is very touristy. Have you considered the dining plan? I would think it will be back by then.
Reconsider the split stay. I have done simular trips and it was the best decision. After 7-10 days you are going to have to do laundry. We always had a resort/slow day before our switch day. Kids went swimming, did laundry, repacked and hit the parks the next day and return from the parks to out new resort. Disney picks up your bag and delivers them to the new resort(unless that has changed post cover) The kids love it, its like a whole new vacation and let be honest the kids only care about a whole new pool!
If it were me I would split between the the Poly and AKL. Your on the monorail, with the kids ages you will be at MK probably the most. Stay away from grand it is completely overrated. Are you American? I ask only because my German relatives loved Wilderness because of the American West feeing it has and it is also a beautiful resort.
Another thought, for the price you are paying for rooms you could rent one hell of a vacation home. But that is whole other discussion!
Just to make your head spin at litlle more,lol, our favorite is Yacht and beach. We love having the boardwalk being able to walk/skyliner to Epcot and the studios and the pool there is the ultimate.
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Thanks for all that info. Our original thought was to split AKL and Beach Club. I was a bit turned off by that because so much I had read indicated how difficult it was to get the rooms at BC. Because we need both 1 and 2 bedroom villas I was afraid we would only secure 1 and not the other and if renting points you can’t refuse once the request is in. Paying through Disney I see historically that the discount on room only there is only 15% so too steep for me to do it that way. I think I misspoke about dining. We intend to eat off property (meaning not at that resort) so while in parks or Disney Springs with reservations. We may grab breakfast at AKL from time to time and maybe a nice dinner in Sanaa but the rest would be elsewhere. I have really only heard great things about AKL so do you think WE would feel it’s AKL lite considering this is our first experience there?
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So AKL was our famlies number one for years when my kids were younger.
One year I booked a 2BR at Kidandi and my kids at the time ages 5.10 and 13 really missed AKL which surprised me. Now how much was nostalgia for them I couldn't really say. Personally for me, I did miss the lobby at AKL, the convience of the Mara and I missed the Arusha Savanaha we always booked. Since it's your first visit you won't "know" what your missing,lol.
Kidandi is a beautiful resort, it's just personal prefence. Every resort has there strengths, it's just a matter of finding the right fit for your family and budget. Have you priced 3 rooms at YBC in comparison? You could do the last 4 days there.
Disboards has a very active DVC community, they would be a great resource for Kidandi.
One year I booked a 2BR at Kidandi and my kids at the time ages 5.10 and 13 really missed AKL which surprised me. Now how much was nostalgia for them I couldn't really say. Personally for me, I did miss the lobby at AKL, the convience of the Mara and I missed the Arusha Savanaha we always booked. Since it's your first visit you won't "know" what your missing,lol.
Kidandi is a beautiful resort, it's just personal prefence. Every resort has there strengths, it's just a matter of finding the right fit for your family and budget. Have you priced 3 rooms at YBC in comparison? You could do the last 4 days there.
Disboards has a very active DVC community, they would be a great resource for Kidandi.
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nickys
Premium Member
First off I wanted to say I’m sorry for your loss and what a wonderful trip you are planning for the family.
However this post has confused me somewhat. If you are planning to be eating in the parks and Disney Springs for most meals, then you will be paying a massive premium for a DVC villa, let alone two.
Realistically, what will you be cooking in the villas? If you’re planning to have breakfast and dinner in the villas most days then I can see the reasoning for going with DVC villas. But if it’s really just the occasional meal and snacks in the rooms, then I think you should at least consider regular rooms even if you ultimately decide to go with the DVC villas.
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I absolutely agree with you here on many counts. The families have asked for bedrooms if possible because the children are so young and may need to have naps in the rooms while others are there. They actually begged me for a separate bedroom so they would have some privacy and quiet area for the little ones. Aside from that one of my daughters will be eating in the room a lot more frequently than my husband and I and our other daughter. So the kitchen in one will be stocked with snacks, breakfast foods and some lunch/dinners. So one family is way more frugal than the other! I expect we will also have food such as snacks and drinks in our room. On top of all that my husband is in love with the thought of AKL so I dare not move that resort. I did look at other room options but they didn’t seem to fit the bill, therein lies the dilemma....
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