The Value Season at Walt Disney World

THE WALT DISNEY WORLD VALUE SEASON

The only prices at Disney World that change a lot over the course of the year are Disney resort hotel prices.

Theme park admission ticket prices are the same all seasons of the year–although they often have an annual increase in the summer.  Dining prices go up in the peak spring break, summer, and Christmas seasons, but only a little–a few dollars per person per night.

Hotel prices, however, are all over the map–sometimes changing three times in a month–and can vary as much as 95% for the exact same room depending on when you go to Walt Disney World.

Disney has names for these seasons: value, regular, summer, peak, fall, pre-holiday, holiday, mile long, thumper, etc.

However, most people can’t remember any of the names of these seasons except for the value season and the peak season, so this site’s material on Disney World resort price seasons mostly just ignores these names and presents the numbers and the dates.

TYPICAL DATES FOR THE DISNEY VALUE SEASON

Until 2011, there were three value seasons during the year, when Disney World resort standard hotel prices are as low as they get:

• Early January through the Thursday before President’s Day weekend
• Mid-summer through September–the deluxe resorts begin this value season in mid-July, while the value resorts and moderate resorts begin it in August
• The Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend through mid-December–which beginning in 2011 has been eliminated and replaced with the fall season (see below.)

CHANGES TO THE VALUE SEASON FOR 2011 AND LATER

Beginning in 2011, Disney changed things around a bit.

Most importantly, it has eliminated the third value season–the December value season–and changed these dates to a new pricing season, the fall season.

Prices in this fall season season are still low (low enough to preserve my recommending early December for first time visitors), but are higher than the old December value season prices.

The 2012 Value Season:

• 2012 Value season dates for the moderate and value resorts are 1/2/2012 through 2/15/2012, and 8/4/2012 through 9/27/2012. (Some weekend and holiday nights are higher.)
• 2012 Value season dates for the deluxe resorts are 1/2/2012 through 2/15/2012, and 7/15/2012 through 9/27/2012. (Some weekend and holiday nights are higher.)

For more on 2012 price seasons, see this.  For forecasts of  2013 price seasons, click here.

MORE ON WHEN TO GO TO WALT DISNEY WORLD

• For when to go to Walt Disney World, see this
• For the next best dates, see this
• For the best and worst times to visit, see this
  • For 2012 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
  • For the 2012 Week Picker, see this
  • For 2013 weeks to visit, ranked in order, see this
• For forecasting crowds at Walt Disney World, see this
  • For the 2012 Crowd Calendar, click here
  • For the 2013 Crowd Calendar, click here
• For seasonal pricing at Walt Disney World, see this
  • For 2012 price seasons, see this
  • For 2013 price seasons, click here
• For weather at Walt Disney World, see this