Category — Disney Specials, Deals and Discounts

DISNEY WORLD DEALS

Disney World itself rarely offers deals on tickets, sometimes offers deals on dining, and commonly offers deals on rooms. Major current deals available to the general public can always be found here.

While timing varies, most Disney World deals are announced well after the hotel rooms and dining venues open for booking.

So the basic decision is whether to book your trip anyway well in advance at non-deal rates to maximize your ability to book our preferred hotel and dining choices, or to wait for a deal.

Waiting for a deal may mean you are shut out of your preferred dining or lodging options. If you can only afford to come if a deal emerges, then of course wait for it to be announced; otherwise, if you are committed to a certain set of dates whether or not a deal emerges, go ahead and book those dates, and then try to get the deal—not guaranteed—once it comes out.

Small ticket savings are usually available from places like the Official Ticket Center, and you can get major savings on lodging either from picking a less expensive time to attend, staying in a less expensive Disney-owned hotel class than your first preference might lead you to, or by staying in a hotel not owned by Disney, particularly offsite—although I don’t recommend this last option for first-timers.

DEALS ON DISNEY WORLD TICKETS

For many families, the largest Orlando expense of their Disney World trip will be their theme park tickets. A family of four with five day tickets will spend more than $1,400 on tickets. (Ticket prices are here.)

Right now, multi-day tickets don’t have seasonal pricing—you pay the same amount all year long if your ticket is longer than one day. That will end shortly.

Those doing longer-range planning should avoid in 2019 and later the week that includes Presidents Day, all of March but its first week, the weeks before and after Easter, the period from the Friday before Memorial Day until late July, Thanksgiving week, and the weeks that include Christmas and New Years. These high-crowd weeks have never been great choices; likely higher ticket prices during them would make them even more painful…

Until another US recession happens, you will have a hard time finding big discounts on tickets unless you are a Florida resident or are eligible for the Disney Armed Forces Salute. (See Disney’s website for Florida deals, and my friend Steve Bell’s MiltaryDisneyTips.com for deals for military folks and their friends.)

Everyone else should check the Official Ticket Center for ticket deals that may save them a few percentage points on tickets.

Any current general public deals that might have Disney World ticket savings will be noted on this page.

DEALS ON DISNEY WORLD DINING

Dining at Disney World is for many families their second-biggest on site expense after tickets. Disney dining prices are the same most of the year, but prices do get bumped up in the busier weeks.

Several Disney World package deals have commonly been offered which enable reduced dining costs in return for buying other elements of a package (a Disney-owned hotel room and park tickets) at full price.

The most valuable of these is free dining, which recently has been offered for much of September, and parts of October, November and December. The scoop on free dining is here. If offered for 2019, it likely will be announced in late April or early May. Smaller families staying in more expensive rooms may find that a room rate deal—almost always offered at the same time—may save them more than free dining.

The least expensive way to dine is to prepare some or most of your own food (note that these days it’s easy to get your food, etc., delivered), and the next least expensive choice is dining off site. However, unless your lodging is already off site, these will cost you time that might be more valuably spent in the parks, napping, or at a pool. More on saving money on dining at Disney World is here.

Any current general public deals that might have dining savings at Disney World will be noted on this page.

DEALS ON DISNEY WORLD HOTELS

Both the widest variety of price points and the broadest expense savings are available on your lodging costs. Hotel rooms most times of the year are available from $100/night to close to $1,000. The widest range of affordable options are off-site. Moreover, savings for higher levels of amenities are quite substantial at off-site lodging options compared to Disney-owned ones.

I’ve written extensively here about why I recommend that first timers in particular should stay in a Disney-owned hotel, so the rest of this focuses on the Disney-owned hotels.

Substantial savings come simply from picking a lower-priced time to visit, as Disney prices for standard rooms vary by a factor of over 50% at different times of the year. Details of the Disney World hotel price seasons, which vary by resort type, are here.

In addition, Disney offers room discounts—called “room-only” deals—on top of these rates for most weeks of the year except the very busiest ones. Typical savings are 10-15% for value resort rooms, and 20-30% for deluxe rooms, with the moderates in between.

Like most other Disney World deals, these are not usually offered as far in advance as you’d like them to be. But if you are committed to a certain time to go, go ahead and book your room, and then compete for the discount if/when it comes out. (“Compete” because not all resorts or room types may be in the deal, and some that are in the deal may sell out quickly.)

Eligible military families will find even better deals as part of the Armed Forces Salute, and should also check out Shades of Green and its very low year-round rates.

Any current general public Disney World room rate deals will be noted on this page.

DISNEY WORLD DEALS FOR RETURNING VISITORS

The options that follow actually apply to everyone, but returning visitors will be in a better position to judge their value and manage their complexity than first-timers.

Buy an Annual Pass.

Disney World’s Annual Passes—the least expensive, at around $800 per person, is now called the “Platinum Annual Pass—include unlimited admission to the four theme parks for 366 days beginning on the date of activation, including the ability to see more than one park in a day.

They also give you access to other benefits—an additional set of room discounts beyond (but usually not a lot better than) those available to the general public, some dining and shopping discounts, and the ability to access additional dining savings from buying a “Tables in Wonderland” card.

Only one member of the party need have a pass to be able to access these discounts. Families that plan two longer trips within the window of the pass may find value to buying passes for everybody.

Buy a Tables in Wonderland card.

Annual Passholders, Disney Vacation Club (DVC) members, and Florida residents are eligible to buy Tables in Wonderland cards, which grant 20% discounts (subject to some block-out dates) at more than a hundred different Disney dining venues. Current pricing is $150 for the first two groups and $175 for Florida residents.

Some of these restaurants already offer a 10% discount to passholders, so the math of the incremental value of a Tables in Wonderlands card for those with a Pass as well can be opaque. But there’s no question that those on long or repeat visits with lots of cash-paid dining in their plans can come out ahead. The restaurant reviews in The easy Guide to Your Walt Disney World Visit indicate which discounts are available where.

Rent DVC Points

The Disney Vacation Club spaces are available to DVC members using their points, to the general public for cash—and to the general public who have rented unused points from DVC members. Renting points is an especially economical way to access deluxe-level spaces for a surprisingly low cost. See this for more on renting DVC points at Walt Disney World.

MORE ON SAVING MONEY AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Major current Disney World deals available to the general public are here.

If you book your Disney World vacation with my friend Kelly, she’ll be constantly on the lookout for new deals that might apply to your reservation and save you money.

You’ll find more ideas in my Tightwad’s Guide to Walt Disney World. The WDW Discount Club is a new offering run by some friends of mine with real promise. Mousesavers.com has always had the widest range of material on deals and saving money at Disney World. Military folk and their friends should check out MiltaryDisneyTips.com.

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NEW DISNEY WORLD DEAL!

Disney World announced this morning a deal where, if you book at least three nights and two days of tickets per person in a value resort this summer, each person 3 and older will receive per night one free quick-service meal.

Eligible dates are May 29 through June 30, 2016 and July 5 through August 13, 2016.

The deal must be booked by February 29, Little Mermaid rooms at Art of Animation are excluded, and availability elsewhere may be thin.

Nightly savings will vary based on family size and structure, as meal prices vary  by age, and in general, the more and the older the people the more you will save.

A good travel agent (like Kelly B, contact her at 980-429-4499 or kellyb@destinationsinflorida.com) can help you sort this out.

Here’s my estimated savings per night by family size and age (based 40% of the cost of the quick service dining plan).

Note that depending on your size and age structure, nightly savings will vary from around $17 to a little over $100.

I’d expect this deal to be accompanied by a room rate deal with savings of at least 15%, so the question is–do you do better than 15% in this deal??

As always this is complicated by the fact that while the savings are the same every night, room rates aren’t–they are higher Fridays and Saturdays.

Moreover, for families that can fit 4 person rooms, the All-Stars cost less per night than Pop Century, and for families that need a six-person family suite, those at All-Star Music are a lot less expensive than those at Art of Animation.

So I’ve calculated approximate percentage saving per night for families at All-Star Music for both weeknights and weekends.  Percentage savings will be the same for 4 person rooms in the other All-Stars, and less at more expensive Pop Century.  Savings will also be less in the more expensive Art of Animation family suites.

Here’s All-Star Music weeknight percentage savings. I’ve noted saving less than around 15% in red:

Note that families with just one person ten or older often do better or about the same on the room rate deal that I expect to come out for these same dates.

Families with an older age structure generally do better with the Free Meal deal announced today.

Weekends have a similar overall story, but with lower percentage savings:

Percentage savings will be not so high for those aimed at the more expensive 4 person rooms at Pop Century or Family Suites at Art of Animation. (Reviews of all these resorts are linked to from here–I’ve stayed in them all, and multiple times.)

And note that my savings are estimates.  You should work with a travel agent to see if this deal makes sense for you, as the agent will be able to get you exact savings.

I recommend Kelly B.  Contact her at 980-429-4499 or kellyb@destinationsinflorida.com –she can help you sort this out.

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Frequent readers of my disclosure page 🙂 will have noted that I’ve just finalized a partnership with The Official Ticket Center.

The Official Ticket Center is best known for being one of the few legit sources of discounted Walt Disney World tickets, and one of the best.

It’s also one of the few legit sources that’s actually based in Orlando, and has such quaint features as an actual office and experts who will answer the phone and help you with any problems you might have, upgrade your tickets, etc.

They also have discounted tickets for other Orlando area attractions–check out the Official Ticket Center’s whole offering here.

The Disney World ticket discounts offered by the Official Ticket Center often aren’t that big–Disney will significantly discount hotels frequently, but very rarely tickets. But for larger families or those who need to squeeze every penny that they can, the ticket savings can be meaningful.

They first hit my radar as a result of this post on TouringPlans.com. I then met Patrick, the boss, at a Disney World event  a year or so ago sponsored by the WDW Magazine folk, and since have collaborated with him in a bunch of settings, including the Get Down to Disness on-line live Q&A.

Here’s the word from Patrick:

“Here at The Official Ticket Center, we are proud of our ability to provide you with the lowest prices available for Orlando theme park tickets.

“Being a local business minutes from Walt Disney World, we feel that gives us a huge advantage to other online ticket sellers. We actually have physical location where you can come in and talk with one of our informative vacation planners while on vacation, not a faceless text like other online companies. You know itineraries change at a moment’s notice while on vacation, so it is much easier and reassuring when you have a friend that is in town to help!

“Being in business for over 15 years has earned us a few unique advantages like access to Disney E-Ticketing abilities as well as special discounts when purchasing in person at our guest service location. We have the best discounts on theme park tickets and take pride in our Meet or Beat deals!”

He continues (probably only the last para is relevant, so I’ve bolded it):

“I have been a big fan of Dave’s for many years now and love reading all he can throw at me on yourfirstvisit.net, The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit, and everywhere else!

“His vast knowledge of the Walt Disney Resort area has helped me to better inform and educate my guests with their vacations while making me a more informed vacation planner.

“After hanging out and chatting with Dave at a few parties at Disney, I knew he was the real deal! We both share a deep love of Disney and routinely dabble with others in underground Mouse culture!

“I highly value Dave’s friendship and I look forward to helping his readers save time and money while visiting the Walt Disney World Resort.

“Mention Dave sent you from yourfirstvisit.net and receive a free welcome gift while supplies last!”

Patrick S. Pulliam

Owner ~ The Official Ticket Center

And as a result of the partnership, if you buy stuff from the Official Ticket Center via a link from this site, then they share a little pixie dust with me, which helps compensate for all of the time I put into it…

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Yesterday Disney World released a new discount for 2016.  Great news for those of you who booked your eligible vacations with Kelly B–she’s already saved you folk $2,509.49 by applying the new deal to your reservations!

Ummm, that’s in total, not for each of you…

Kelly is the dedicated team member for travel agent inquiries from the readers of this site.

One of the services she provides is to check existing reservations she is helping with when new discounts come out.  She can also sign you up with a new reservation into yesterday’s deals!

Want her to set up your Disney World trip?  Then contact her at 980-429-4499 or kellyb@destinationsinflorida.com.

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DISNEY WORLD ROOM RATE DEAL ANNOUNCED

Disney World announced this morning a room rate deal that extends into June 2016, with savings of 10% to 30%.

Other special offers are also available, and a good travel agent (like Kelly B, contact her at 980-429-4499 or kellyb@destinationsinflorida.com) can help you sort this out.

The room rate deal is available for stays between 3/15/16 – 6/11/16, and needs to be booked by 3/31/16.

Value Resort Savings (Little Mermaid Rooms at Art of Animation are excluded)

• For stays March 15, 2016 – April 13, 2016: 15% off, except 10% at All-Star Movies
• For stays April 14 to June 11, 2016: 20% off

Moderate Resort Savings: (Port Orleans French Quarter is excluded)

• For stays March 15, 2016 – April 13, 2016: 20% off
• For stays April 14 to June 11 2016: 30% off the Cabins at Fort Wilderness, 25% off the other  included moderates

Deluxe Resort Savings 

For travel 3/15 to 4/13/2016:

• 15% off at Beach Club, Contemporary, Grand Floridian and Animal Kingdom Savanna View
• 25% off of the rest

For travel 4/14 through 6/11/16:

• 20% off at Beach Club, Contemporary, and Animal Kingdom Savanna View
• 30% off of the rest

DVC Savings 

• Excluded: the Villas at the Grand Floridian, Bay Lake Tower, the Bungalows at Polynesian Bungalows & Villas

For travel 3/15 to 4/13/2016:

• 15% off: Beach Club Villas, the Villas at Wilderness Lodge,  and Animal Kingdom Jambo House Villas and Kidani Village villas
• 25% off: the rest

For travel 4/14 to 6/11/2016:

• 20% off: Beach Club Villas, the Villas at Wilderness Lodge,  and Animal Kingdom Jambo House Villas and Kidani Village villas
• 30% off: the rest

Recently it’s been at times hard for people to actually find rooms in these Disney World deals, so it’ll work best for those with flexible dates and flexible targeted resort hotels.

You can find reviews of all the Disney World room options here. (I’ve stayed in them all…)

BOOKING THE DISNEY WORLD ROOM RATE DEAL

As noted above, Kelly B can book this deal for you. Contact her at 980-429-4499 or kellyb@destinationsinflorida.com.

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DISNEY WORLD ROOM RATE DEAL ANNOUNCED

As expected, Disney World announced this morning two new deals for winter 2016—a room rate deal and a “Play, Stay, Dine, and Save” deal.

The savings from the Play Stay Dine and Save deal are pretty hard to quantify, but generally those looking at value or moderate resorts–especially in January and February–will do better with it than with the room rate deal.

Those staying in the more expensive deluxe and Disney Vacation Club rooms should run the numbers both ways.

A good travel agent (like Kelly B, contact her at 980-429-4499 or kellyb@destinationsinflorida.com) can help you sort this out.

The room rate deal is available for stays between 1/2/16 – 4/13/16, and needs to be booked by 12/23/15.

Value Resort Savings (Little Mermaid Rooms at Art of Animation are excluded)

• For stays January 2, 2016 – February 29, 2016: 15% off on weekdays except 10% at All-Star Movies, no discount on weekends
• For stays March 1, 2016 – April 13, 2016: 15% off, except 10% at All-Star Movies, including weekends

Moderate Resort Savings:

• For stays January 2, 2016 – February 29, 2016: 20% off on weekdays except 15% off at Port Orleans French Quarter, no discount on weekends
• For stays March 1, 2016 – April 13, 2016: 20% off except 15% off at Port Orleans French Quarter, including weekends

Deluxe Resort Savings 1/2 through April 13: 

• 15% off at Beach Club, Contemporary, Grand Floridian and Animal Kingdom Savanna View
• 25% off of the rest

DVC Savings 1/2 through April 13:

• Excluded: the Villas at the Grand Floridian, Bay Lake Tower, the Bungalows at Polynesian Bungalows & Villas
• 15% off: Beach Club Villas, the Villas at Wilderness Lodge,  and Animal Kingdom Jambo House Villas and Kidani Village villas
• 25% off: the rest

Moreover, recently it’s been pretty hard for people to actually find rooms in these Disney World deals, so it’ll work best for those with flexible dates and flexible targeted resort hotels.

You can find reviews of all the Disney World room options here. (I’ve stayed in them all…)

BOOKING THE DISNEY WORLD ROOM RATE DEAL

As noted above, Kelly B can book this deal for you. Contact her at 980-429-4499 or kellyb@destinationsinflorida.com.

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