By the co-author of The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit 2020, the best-reviewed Disney World guidebook series ever.

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Most Disney World Resorts Show Surprisingly Low Price Increases for 2017



By Dave Shute

Disney World’s 2017 resort hotel prices were released on Tuesday.

You can book them by contacting Kelly B at KellyB@DestinationsInFlorida.com or 980-429-4499. Or click here to receive your free quote for 2017.

The Disney Word price seasons for 2017 are here.

I’ve been analyzing a sample of resorts since Tuesday, and the upshot is that compared to hefty price increases that we’ve seen for all components of a Disney vacation going back to the 2016 room prices, the price increases for 2017 are quite restrained.

Some Shockingly Low 2017 Price Increases at Most Disney World Resorts from yourfirstvisit.net

Only Art of Animation, Port Orleans French Quarter and Port Orleans Riverside see hefty increases. (Reviews of all Disney World resort hotels mentioned in this pricing round-up are linked to from here–I’ve stayed in more than 125 different Disney World hotel rooms, and my reviews are based on these stays.) Other resorts see just low or moderate price increases–including a whole slew of deluxes that see no increase for most or all of 2017.

Analyzing Disney resort price changes is difficult—there’s more than 20 hotels, many differently-priced room and view types within them, seven to nine different major price seasons over the course of the year, additional weekend and holiday upcharges, and more. As a result, unless you have a LOT of time on your hands you need to sample, and that’s what I’ve done.

In general I sample the lowest-priced rooms at all of the resorts and add one higher-priced room type at each deluxe resort, and then analyze:

  • Season price increases across all the major Disney World price seasons—e.g. “Regular” season prices for 2017 compared to 2016
  • Changes in the dates covered by price seasons that have an impact on price levels—a lot of that happened in 2016, and it’s mostly maintained in 2017
  • Changes in the relative price levels of hotels in a single price class—a lot of that happened in 2016, and it’s largely maintained in 2017

For 2017 I sampled 24 room types across the seven major price seasons at the values and moderates and the nine major price seasons at the deluxes.  This yielded 396 points of comparison between 2017 and 2016 prices. The detailed results follow.

DISNEY WORLD VALUE RESORTS PRICING IN 2017

Price season structure changes

For 2016, price seasons for later August through the end of October changed from the old “Value 2” to “Fall” in later August and earlier September, and from “Fall” to “Regular” from mid-September to almost the end of October.

In both cases the switch was from a lower-priced season to a higher priced season, in effect substantially raising prices for this period.

In addition, for earlier in 2016, two short periods became “Regular” that used to be “Value” or “Value 2”—in early February and mid-August.

2017 largely maintains this new seasonal structure at the values, but with a couple of twists:

  • The early February insertion of a few Regular seasons days has been abandoned, and these days go back to being Value season in 2017–in effect a price cut
  • The August Regular season goes on a week longer in 2017 than it did in 2016 before Fall season kicks in–in effect a price increase
  • A few mid-December dates that in 2016 were Peak season are Regular season in 2017–in effect a price cut

Price level changes

The basic pattern among value resort standard rooms of Art of Animation Little Mermaid rooms being most expensive and the All-Stars being least expensive continues in 2017.

Building 8 Little Mermaid Area at Disney's Art of Animation Resort from yourfirstvisit.net
Art of Animation rooms show the highest price increases among these standard rooms in 2017, and the All-Stars the lowest, extending this gap, and putting Little Mermaid rooms shockingly close to standard moderate room prices some dates (especially in the Summer season).

The three Family Suite areas at Art of Animation—Finding Nemo, Cars, and Lion King—had the same prices until 2016. In 2016, Finding Nemo suites became more expensive than the other two, which are priced the same. This price structure among the family suites stayed the same in 2017.

Season price increases

Prices in the All-Stars in 2016 showed no to very low increase compared to 2015. For 2017, average prices in the All-Stars are up a little less than 3%,  with the lowest increases in the Summer and Fall seasons and the highest in the Value and Easter seasons. Family Suites at Music are up a little less but show the same seasonal patterns.

Pop Century standard rooms showed no price increases for the Summer or Fall seasons in 2016, and increases of 2-4% in the other 2016 seasons. Increases are higher in 2017, averaging 5.5%, with only the Summer season not showing a moderate or substantial increase.

Little Mermaid rooms at Art of Animation increased 3-5% in the major seasons in 2016, and show much higher increases in 2017–an average of almost 9%, with increases of more than 7% in every major 2017 price season.

Art of Animation Family Suites at Cars and Lion King are up on average 7% for 2017 after low increases in 2016. Peak and Summer prices are up less than 4%, with all other major seasons up 7% to 9.5%. Finding Nemo Suites show an average increase of 9%, with 7% to 10% increases in all major seasons.

DISNEY WORLD MODERATE RESORTS PRICING IN 2017

Price season structure

The moderates saw the same price season structure changes in 2016 as the value resorts did, and the same minor changes to them for 2017. See the material above for more on this.

Disney's Port Orleans Riverside Resort from yourfirstvisit.net (3)

Price level changes

Until 2016, Caribbean Beach, Port Orleans French Quarter, and Port Orleans Riverside standard rooms had the same prices, while Coronado Springs tracked them some nights and other nights was $3-5 more.

In a major change, in 2016 Riverside and French Quarter became the most expensive moderates. In 2017, after the price changes noted below, Riverside and Port Orleans became even more expensive than the other moderates, and Caribbean Beach and Coronado Springs most seasons are priced the same.

Season price increases

Coronado Springs shows average price increases of 2.5%, with the biggest increases in the Fall and Summer Weekend rates.

Caribbean Beach prices increased an average of 3.8%, putting its rooms at the same prices as those at Coronado Springs in all seasons except the Value and Peak season, when Coronado Springs remains higher.

Prices at Port Orleans French Quarter and Port Orleans Riverside rocketed up 7-9% across all the major seasons, with an average increase of 8%, widening the price differential with the other two traditional moderates that we first saw in 2016.

DISNEY WORLD DELUXE RESORTS PRICING IN 2017

Price season structure

The deluxe resorts run to a different price season calendar than the values and moderates, especially from early July through mid-November.

They did not have the major seasonal date changes that the values and moderates had in 2016. Rather, in 2016 they had only two small seasonal changes, with a few days in early February shifting to Regular instead of Value, and a week in early November shifting to Regular instead of Fall.

2017 shows

  • The brief period of Regular prices in early February has been abandoned, in effect a price cut
  • There are two extra weeks of Value 2 in August before prices shift to Value, in effect a small price increase
  • A few mid-December dates that in 2016 were Peak season are Regular season in 2017–in effect a price cut

Price level changes

There’s a bewildering plethora of price points at the deluxes—many view options, with “Club” service options as well. I only sampled the full set of price changes in fifteen deluxe room types, and based on that saw no material change among the overall resort price standings.

The Grand Floridian is still the most expensive, and standard rooms at the Wilderness Lodge are still the least expensive.

Season price increases

Price increases at the deluxes are shockingly restrained for 2017, so much so that I initially wondered if they were typos.  But, at least as of yesterday, these low increases still stand, and people are booking at these rates (Kelly B at KellyB@DestinationsInFlorida.com or 980-429-4499 can book them for you).

Of the 15 deluxe room types I analyzed, the average price increase was less than 2%. Six had average increases of 1% or less, and only one (Wilderness Lodge Standard View rooms, which saw hardly any increases last year) showed average increases greater than 3.5%.

Polynesian Village standard view room prices are unchanged all major seasons except for a 1% increase in the Fall Season. Poly Theme Park view prices are up an average of 1%–prices are unchanged in many seasons, up 1% in a couple, and up 3% in the Easter and Fall seasons.

See, for example, late August through early November 2016 and 2017 standard view room prices at the Polynesian:

Polynesian Standard View Room Prices 2016 vs 2017 from yourfirstvisit.net

…and Theme Park view prices:

Polynesian Village Theme Park View Room Prices 2016 vs 2017 from yourfirstvisit.net

You see across these five seasons (Value, Regular 2, Columbus Day, Fall, and Regular) no change to tiny changes in prices…

Contemporary Resort Tower Bay Lake view rooms are unchanged for 2017 in most seasons, showing only a small (<1%) uptick in the Holiday season.  Theme Park view Tower rooms here are up more substantially, averaging 3.4%, with the Peak, Summer and Value 2 seasons showing the lowest increases of around 1% and the Fall and Holiday seasons showing the highest increases of 5.5% to 7%.

Grand Floridian standard view rooms show an average increase of 1.3%, with no or low increases most seasons and 3% to 5.5% increases in the Easter and Holiday seasons. Theme Park view rooms at the Grand Floridian are up an average of 3.4%, with the lowest increases of around 1% in the Peak, Summer and Value 2 seasons, and the highest increases of 5.5% to 7% in the Fall and Holiday seasons.

Wilderness Lodge standard rooms, after next to no increases in 2016, are up an average of 5.4%, with 5% to 6.5% increases across the board except for the Value 2 season, when increases are about 2.7%. Courtyard view rooms here average a 1.3% increase, with most seasons seeing no or less than 1% price increases, but prices up 2.5% to 5.5% in the Value and Fall seasons.

BoardWalk Inn standard view room prices are largely unchanged in 2017, with only the Fall Season seeing a slight increase. Water view rooms here show the same pattern–unchanged in all seasons except for Fall.

Standard view rooms at the Yacht Club and Beach Club are up 3.2% on average. There’s no price changes in the Easter and Holiday seasons, a <1% increase in the Value 2 season, and increases of 3% to 6% in the other seasons. Water or Lagoon View rooms here are up on average less than 1%, with no price increases in the Value, Regular, Peak, and Holiday seasons, and ~1% increases in the Summer, Value 2, and Fall seasons. Only the Easter and Regular 2 seasons see price increases above 1%.

Animal Kingdom Lodge standard room prices are up an average of 2%.  The Regular, Peak, Easter, Summer, Fall and Holiday seasons show no changes to less than 1% increases. Value and Value 2 prices are 4% to 7.5%, and weekday prices in the Regular 2 season also increased at that level. Savanna view rooms are up on average almost 3%, with some seasons seeing low increases but the Value, Easter, Value 2, Fall and Holiday seasons seeing increases of 2.7% to (most of the remaining seasons) 5%.

Lava Pool Disney's Polynesian Village Resort from yourfirstvisit.net

MORE ON THE DISNEY WORLD RESORTS

I’ve stayed in more than 125 different Disney World rooms, suites, villas, and such. Reviews resulting from these stays are linked to here.
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