Why does Disney charge so much?

[Dave B]

Edit: oh shoot you’re right, woo I’m an idiot. I went To double check after you sent that... I thought I deleted just the hotel but it was the package. Disney still lists that we have park reservations though so there’s a glitch in their system.

Fair play. And thanks. Either way though, Cabana Bay’s suite is still SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than a suite at art of animation. Package or not.

If you take the cost of the tickets out, they are pretty much the same price

 

[WondersOfLife]

If you take the cost of the tickets out, they are pretty much the same price

A suite at art of animation is the same as a suite at cabana bay? Now THAT I’m not sure about.

 

[WondersOfLife]

Cabana Bay is a much cooler hotel and worth more than the Disney values, IMO.

There are still benefits to staying on-site at Disney, and I think the overall experience at Disney is much better than Universal (at least partially because there are far more attractions I enjoy at Disney than at Universal), but their resort pricing has become absurd.

We’re staying at Cabana Bay but going to Disney World. Still a better hotel. Better staff.

 

[Dave B]

No the cost off cabana bay and the cost of POP are similar?

 

[WondersOfLife]

No the cost off cabana bay and the cost of POP are similar?

Correct. But I needed To upgrade to a suite because we have four people now. That was the main issue. We needed the extra bed.

Basically I would have had to upgrade to AOA to get a suite which was what was ridiculous in the long run.

 

[Dave B]

You could do connecting/adjoining rooms at POP

 

[WondersOfLife]

You could do connecting/adjoining rooms at POP

Which doubles the price, does it not?

 

[HouCuseChickie]

For the heck of it, I compared a week at AOA in the cheapest suite options compared to a week at Cabana Bay in their cheapest suite option for our upcoming trip dates. No tickets or anything else special was added. The week in a Cabana Bay suite was $860.07 cheaper than the week at AOA in the base suite offering.

So, as for why...again, it's because they can, but I don't think the AOA suite is just a convenience factor of being onsite. We avoided Universal when our kids were younger because there weren't a lot of top attractions they could enjoy. So, my guess is that Disney knows that families with younger kids are more likely to come to them vs. Universal, and their research probably showed enough evidence that that part of the market would really like heavily character themed suites...especially if it's a first/special trip. I guess I'm saying that Disney has them priced higher because they feel they have a greater chance of attracting that market that would want these rooms and wouldn't mind paying more.

 

[UNCgolf]

We’re staying at Cabana Bay but going to Disney World. Still a better hotel. Better staff.

I more or less said it above, but to me, Cabana Bay is what Pop Century should have been. Don't just throw some random stuff around that's somewhat reminiscent of the decade and call this section 1950s. Build something that actually looks and feels like it belongs in the 1950s, which Cabana Bay does.

 

[WondersOfLife]

I more or less said it above, but to me, Cabana Bay is what Pop Century should have been. Don't just throw some random stuff around that's somewhat reminiscent of the decade and call this section 1950s. Build something that actually looks and feels like it belongs in the 1950s, which Cabana Bay does.

Oh, yes. I was agreeing with you

 

[wdwfan22]

Universal does offer more in the value resort option than Disney does. However in my opinion Disney’s deluxe resorts are better than universals. I’m sure down the road Universal hopes to be able to charge the same rates as Disney does. It’s supply and demand. Disney has the majority of the market

 

[UNCgolf]

Universal does offer more in the value resort option than Disney does. However in my opinion Disney’s deluxe resorts are better than universals. I’m sure down the road Universal hopes to be able to charge the same rates as Disney does. It’s supply and demand. Disney has the majority of the market

Disney's deluxes (at least the best of them, like Animal Kingdom Lodge -- not so much something like the Riviera) are better than Universal's deluxes because they are more committed to a theme. With that said, if you ignore the theming aspect, the Universal deluxes are probably nicer overall than the Disney deluxes at this point. The Royal Pacific is as nice and maybe nicer than anything available at Disney in terms of comfort, luxury, etc. but costs significantly less.

I think the theming is important, so I agree with you that something like the Animal Kingdom Lodge or the Grand Floridian (at least before the recent changes...) is better than anything at Universal, but it's concerning that Disney seems to be pivoting towards less theme.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Disney's deluxes (at least the best of them, like Animal Kingdom Lodge -- not so much something like the Riviera) are better than Universal's deluxes because they are more committed to a theme. With that said, if you ignore the theming aspect, the Universal deluxes are probably nicer overall than the Disney deluxes at this point. The Royal Pacific is as nice and maybe nicer than anything available at Disney in terms of comfort, luxury, etc. but costs significantly less.

I think the theming is important, so I agree with you that something like the Animal Kingdom Lodge or the Grand Floridian (at least before the recent changes...) is better than anything at Universal, but it's concerning that Disney seems to be pivoting towards less theme.

I desperately hate Riviera but I don't think it's appropriate to say it isn't themed. It's themed to be a fancy European hotel and it feels a lot like a fancy European hotel.

 

[Robbiem]

I more or less said it above, but to me, Cabana Bay is what Pop Century should have been. Don't just throw some random stuff around that's somewhat reminiscent of the decade and call this section 1950s. Build something that actually looks and feels like it belongs in the 1950s, which Cabana Bay does.

I agree I could never understand why the value resorts were so tacky. After all as the imagineers like to quote ‘bad taste costs no more’! Just because people want a more affordable vacation doesn’t mean they dont have taste and wouldnt enjoy a decent theme to their resort. The carribean beach which was WDWs orignal budget hotel in the 80s managed a decent theme with, at the time, affordable accommodations

 

[UNCgolf]

I desperately hate Riviera but I don't think it's appropriate to say it isn't themed. It's themed to be a fancy European hotel and it feels a lot like a fancy European hotel.

It looks like a fancy European hotel on the surface (not so much when you look deeper IMO because a lot of stuff on the Riviera looks tacked on/somewhat cheap), but I don't think it really feels like a luxury European hotel.

Regardless, I wasn't insinuating it didn't have any theme; my point was more that the theme isn't very good/well executed. The whole hotel feels generic to me -- like it could be any relatively high end hotel scattered around the country.

 

[ilovelabs2021]

Universal does offer more in the value resort option than Disney does. However in my opinion Disney’s deluxe resorts are better than universals. I’m sure down the road Universal hopes to be able to charge the same rates as Disney does. It’s supply and demand. Disney has the majority of the market.

On our last trip in August 2019 we stayed at Beach Club for a week and Hard Rock for three nights after. I love, love Beach Club, but Hard Rock had a luxury feel that Beach Club just didn't quite have.

 

[Weather_Lady]

Disney's deluxes (at least the best of them, like Animal Kingdom Lodge -- not so much something like the Riviera) are better than Universal's deluxes because they are more committed to a theme. With that said, if you ignore the theming aspect, the Universal deluxes are probably nicer overall than the Disney deluxes at this point. The Royal Pacific is as nice and maybe nicer than anything available at Disney in terms of comfort, luxury, etc. but costs significantly less.

I think the theming is important, so I agree with you that something like the Animal Kingdom Lodge or the Grand Floridian (at least before the recent changes...) is better than anything at Universal, but it's concerning that Disney seems to be pivoting towards less theme.

I agree! ...and don't forget the huge Universal deluxe hotel benefit of "Unlimited Express Pass," the WDW equivalent of having unlimited Fastpasses for nearly every single attraction in every park. The availability of 30% off room rates for Universal passholders (when a seasonal annual pass barely costs more than a 4-day 2-park ticket!) can drive the cost of a Universal deluxe down into the Disney moderate range, or less. Now that Disney charges hotel guests for parking and won't be offering complimentary ground transportation after this year, many of the reasons to choose Disney over Universal (beyond location and depth of theming, which as you mentioned, is also starting to suffer - insert "First, they came for the bed scarves" parody here) are vanishing.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I feel like we’re being punked with a rhetorical question here?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I desperately hate Riviera but I don't think it's appropriate to say it isn't themed. It's themed to be a fancy European hotel and it feels a lot like a fancy European hotel.

Agreed...the theme is obviously “continental blande nouvea”

I’ll defend bon bini tower to anyone...what a fantastic idea for both DVC and the whole complex. Couldn’t have worked out better.

 

[WondersOfLife]

I feel like we’re being punked with a rhetorical question here?

You could view it that way. But it’s a legit comparison to Universal’s offerings