I’m looking at a mid-September trip this year, I figured going before all the 50th anniversary hullabaloo would be lower crowds. Yikes! For my selected dates the WDW website says only one hotel (AofA) has any availability at all, and even MVT is quoting over $200/night for Pop, my preferred hotel, I’ve never paid that much before.
DFB had an interesting post a while back pointing out that with the current lack of perks, WDW hotels really aren’t as valuable anymore. I’ve only stayed at a non-WDW hotel once 20+ years ago, very much liking to be in the bubble, but now waffling. Not sure i trust it, but I can get a quote for the Waldorf Astoria for less than the Pop! Adding to the dilemma is that while we normally fly, I will be driving this time, so have a car. No value to DME and have to pay for parking. With those rates, lodging is 50% of the entire trip cost.
This isn’t just a rant (but clearly starting off that way!), just curious if I’m doing something wrong or looking at this the wrong way somehow. Is this the reality of this fall? I see a few other posts with folk in a similar situation. I figure three options, bite the bullet and book the Pop, try an outside hotel (which I may find out isn’t so bad), or just skip this year. Seems as though Disney feels they have enough people already. I truly thought going the month before the 50th would be a slow/cheap time to go.
There is so much pent up demand from staying at home, combined with a bull market/stimulus money I’m not surprised prices are high. Plus lots of Disney hotels aren’t open yet, they are trying to make the most they can from loyal customers (it’s a business, this is the way it is). But there are hundreds of other lodging options in Orlando. If the Waldorf is the same as pop, then lesser hotels are way, way less. There are so few perks for on property right now, the “is it worth it” argument is hard to make.
I paid to stay on property in May (Fort Wilderness is definitely not cheap) mainly because I had a stack of gift cards from a cancelled cruise. Not sure I’d make the same decision next time paying out of pocket, I don’t care one bit about this upcoming early entry access as my DD will not make rope drop anytime soon.
The next year would have been nuts regardless of the 50th. People have revenge travel to do. Many promised their kids a Disney vacation. People are reserving the hotels even at the expensive prices.
They have promised 30 minutes early entry for every on-site guest at every park. That hasn’t started yet. But I have read that they are doing things at Epcot that seem to be the start of that, i.e. holding people back for a real rope drop.
Then there is the 60+ ADR’s rather than 60 ADR’s. But, for $100 a night hotel difference you go offsite and have a whiz-bang dinner.
So, it is up to you if it is worth it to go stay on-site, or to go and stay off-site. But, I’d assume 100% of whatever capacity is set at.
If I had a car and was not an AP there is absolutely no way I would stay onsite and pay these prices right now. Unless Disney starts the 30 minute early entry before you go there really isn’t a detriment of staying offsite.
That was the price of Pop when I booked my May 2020 trip. I moseyed on over to ASMo at that point. ASMo was about $40-50 cheaper a night. The skyliner wasn’t worth the price in my opinion. Our November/December 2021 trip will probably be our last on-site trip.
I’m really curious to see how that all shakes out. I guess the good thing is all the parks are open early for all resort guests vs just 1. I just wonder how much of that 30 minutes is going to be wasted trying to figure out who should or shouldn’t be there and where to go and how to actually get in and to some place that it’s useful.
I think Disney has learned that just being in the bubble is enough of a benefit to make people willing to pay more. And so offering additional benefits becomes unnecessary.
They may change their strategy if people start shifting to off-site enough that they can’t fill their hotels. As of right now, that isn’t the case. So what incentive does Disney have in offering on site guests anything special? At the moment, there is none.
I do like that it is ALL parks open 30 min for Resort guests. I remember for early park morning a dedicated entrance for resort guests. There were a lot of ppl there for RD but I don’t remember it being too difficult to figure out how to get in or who was allowed. Sometimes they have an AP tapstyle…but they let anyone through it.
Thanks all for the feedback so far! I am very much a rope drop person (and so is my DSDS24 [Son with Down’s Syndrome]), so if that were to come back, I’d be in a lot bigger dilemma. I did see the posts about possibly testing EMH at Epcot.
It does seem as though Disney has all the people they either want or need given no hotel availability at all, save one hotel.
I do hope that isn’t the “new normal” price for the Pop, that’s been my favorite hotel since the beginning and the Skyliner is certainly nice, but would be a shame if that made it unaffordable long term, not just short term. In a weird way I do hope this is just the post pandemic surge mentioned. That at least makes sense to me and gives some hope the problem is temporary.
After recovering a bit, I think I will ask the MVT folk if there is a better time to go. I fear not. I’m pretty flexible on dates fortunately. If not, then it is choosing between offsite or waiting a year and picking some other place for this year.
Prices are high indeed. I mean I knew going into it it would be expensive. I am staying at POP but would much rather stay at a mid or Deluxe. Whenever I go on a weekend getaway my wife always says why do I pick the bigger room, or room with a view or whatever- we just sleep in it, but I just like it. POP looks like a Motel. But for my kids they will enjoy the atmosphere. I could probably swing a mid- but for the extra 1000 for Caribbean for the week I would rather use that 1000 for some nice dinners, snacks and souveniers -sp?. If I were doing more pool days and resort dining I’d probably splurge on the mid. But for a first timer I think staying on property is nice for the 60 day ADR and for the skyliner, and just the overall atmosphere of being immersed in Disney.
As far as the deluxe, nicer pools and dining, having a monorail access and being so close to the parks are all huge perks , but now you’re talking doubling the price of the trip- and on 2 teacher salaries that’s tough. Maybe if I ever go back just me and my wife that would be a nice splurge.
I leave inva few days and am staying offsite in Windsor hills in a 3BR 3 bath townhouse with its own pool for about $100 a night. It’s 10-15 min drive to all parks, so the idea of paying $175-200 per night at ASmovies movies or Pop seems crazy lol
Shades of Green is nice. I’ve stayed there twice with my father-in-law who has the ability to book there. Very nice place and certainly do recommend it if available! This is just my DSDS24 and I. Well, by then I guess he’ll be a DSDS25!
cfm7658: Looks like my comfort zone is one below you, Pop is my comfort place, but since it is already a value, nothing lower to go to on property! This is a 10 night trip, so that room rate adds up very quickly. My son isn’t into fancy foods, so the budget is hotel, park tickets, and counter service meals, hence why the hotel suddenly becomes half the total trip cost. Usually food is more when more of the family is going and restaurants are more important.
For something to do, I’ll go poke around on the WDW website to see if other times have more hotel availability.
We used to stay at Pop- But I rented 3 rooms for us, my daughters and their families, so that really added up. Our last Disney trip in 2019, we got a 5 bedroom/ 5 bathroom house with a pool in Windsor Hills. It was so nice to have space and saved so much money that we used for dinners, etc. We had done the dining plan before, but I figured out that we saved enough to do dinners when we wanted to. I have just booked a house there for February - I don’t think we will go back to on property. We love the location, too. We always drive into the parks, so the transportation wasn’t an issue for us either.
I’m not hawking for them, but I’ve been looking at them again more seriously.