Category — e. What to Budget for Walt Disney World

Update: for 2012 dates, the book-by window has been extended to December 17.  See this for more.

Disney World’s current free dining offer covering periods from now through March 2012 expires soon!

This deal must be booked by October 29th. For more, see this.

Other current Disney World deals have later expiration dates.  See this for more.

WALT DISNEY WORLD OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2011 ROOM DEAL

Disney World has announced a new room rate discount for 2011 dates 10/30 to 11/18 (or 11/21–see below), and 11/26 to 12/23/2011.

To get this deal, you need to book by November 19.

Discounts off of standard rates include

• 15% off of All-Star Movies, and 20 percent off of the rest of the value resorts
• 15% off of Port Orleans French Quarter Resort and 20 percent off the rest of the moderate resorts
• 25% off of the Animal Kingdom Lodge and Polynesian Resort, and 30 percent off the rest of the deluxe and DVC resorts

For the values and most moderates, the first discount period ends 11/18.  For the rest–the Cabins at Fort Wilderness, the deluxes, and the DVC resorts–this first discount period ends 11/21.

For the official Disney World page on this deal, click here. For other discounts, see this.

WALT DISNEY WORLD ROOM DEAL

A new Walt Disney World room discount program covers dates from January 2, 2012 until February 20, 2012, and needs to be booked by 12/21/2011.

Discounts off of standard rates include

• 20% off of All-Star Movies, and 25 percent off of the rest of the value resorts
• 25% off of Port Orleans French Quarter Resort and 30 percent off the rest of the moderate resorts
• 30% off of the Animal Kingdom Lodge and Polynesian Resort, and  35 percent off the rest of the  deluxe and DVC resorts

For the official Disney World scoop on this deal, click here. For other discounts, see this.

(This page is part of the series The Tightwad’s Guide to Walt Disney World)

THE CHEAPEST NIGHT OF THE WEEK TO CHECK IN AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

Carl at Dad’s Guide to WDW has a great post here on which night to check in most weeks to make your total hotel bill the lowest.

Carl’s suggestion works most weeks, unless, as he notes, your trip is exactly seven nights long, or a multiple of 7,  such as 63 nights. [Read more →]

DISNEY MILITARY DISCOUNT 2012

The military discount for Disney World in 2012 is up and detailed on Disney’s special offers page.

The Disney Military Discount for 2012 is in effect an extension and doubling of Disney’s military discount for 2011.

Eligible personnel may buy and activate a total of twelve 4-day tickets for $138 each over the period from the beginning of the 2011 program to the end of the 2012 program.

The 2012 program ends September 30, 2012.  There’s a different program that begins October 1 2012 and extends into September 2013.  Click here for more on the FY13 military salute.

ONE MILITARY DISCOUNT PROGRAM FOR 2011 AND 2012

There is in effect just one military discount program that covers the period ending September 30 2012.

So families that already bought some military discount Disney World tickets in 2011 can now buy more, up to a total of 12 including those already bought; families that have not yet bought any can buy, activate and use up to twelve between now and September 30, 2012.

However, only 6 tickets can be activated or used in any 7 day period.

The price is a savings of ~$100 per ticket compared to Disney’s normal 4-day ticket prices.

Those eligible to purchase these Disney Military Salute tickets include active and (career) retired members of the US Military, including the National Guard, Reservists, and the Coast Guard, and their spouses.

My friend Steve of MilitaryDisneyTips.com notes that permanently disabled veterans with military ID with a DAVPRM status are also eligible for this offer.

Valid military ID is required at the parks themselves to activate the tickets.

For more, see this page.

DISNEY MILITARY ROOM RATE DISCOUNTS

Disney World is also offering discounted room rates to service families.  See this page for more.

ANSWERS TO COMMON QUESTIONS

Steve’s MilitaryDisneyTips.com is a great resource for military families.  He answers frequently asked questions about these programs on this page.

LINKS FOR MILITARY FAMILIES AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

• Military Families at Walt Disney World
• Deals and Discounts
  • Military Discounts and Deals
  • Other Walt Disney World Discounts and Deals
• Shades of Green
  • Review of Shades of Green
  • Splitting Your Stay Between Shades of Green and Another Resort
  • Overflow Rates at Shades of Green
  • Shades of Green website
• Other Resources for Military Families
  • DisneyMilitarySales.com
  • Disneyworld.com/military
  • MilitaryDisneyTips.com

DISNEY WORLD FREE DINING DEALS OFTEN ACCOMPANIED BY ROOM RATE DISCOUNT DEALS

Disney World currently has a free dining deal with dates into March 2012.

In the recent past, it’s been unusual for Disney World to have a dining deal out and not also have a room rate discount out for at least the first part of the dining deal period.

Disney World’s room rate discount deals are typically in the 15%-40% range, depending on the price of the hotels offered, and typically also have fewer blackout dates than the free dining program.

RUMORS SUGGEST A DISNEY WORLD ROOM RATE DEAL MAY BE ON THE WAY

Rumors are out that a new set of pin code deals are out–e.g. see Dawn Tinnirello’s article here.

It suggests pin code discounts of up to 35% for the period September 18, 2011 to December 22, 2011, excluding Thanksgiving week.

Deals available to the general public often first come out as pin codes or Disney Visa cardholder offers, and then to the rest of us!

There’s no guarantees, but keep your fingers crossed!