Category — e. What to Budget for Walt Disney World

Disney World ticket prices went up on Sunday, and at the same time Disney announced that later this year it would begin charging different seasonal prices for multi-day tickets—no details on that yet, but I have some speculation below.

I’ve finally had time to analyze the correct prices (they are all here; incorrect prices were all over the place earlier, including on this site, as the leaked prices included the $21.30 extra charge for not getting tickets in advance).

Here’s the short version:

• Shorter tickets went up substantially
• The longer tickets that I would recommend for most went up hardly at all
• My guess is that—particularly because of this last point—that what we are seeing now is the lowest level of ticket prices in the new seasonal price scheme

Details follow.

SHORTER DISNEY WORLD TICKETS INCREASE BY $11 TO $32

Here’s the scoop on shorter tickets for those ten and older. (Tickets for those younger than ten went up by the same dollar amount, but off a slightly lower base, so saw slightly higher percentage increases.)

• 2 day tickets: up $10.65 or 5.0%
• 3 day tickets: up $17.04 or 5.5%
• 4 day tickets: up $31.95 or 8.6%
• 5 day tickets: up $26.63 or 6.8%

The obvious observation is that all these are substantially higher than inflation, so Disney seems to be extracting value—especially at the 4 and 5 day levels—to get returns on its investments in the Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, which many still prioritize after Epcot and Magic Kingdom.

LONGER DISNEY WORLD TICKETS MOSTLY INCREASE BY $5.33

Longer tickets show a remarkably different pricing pattern, with all but 6 day tickets showing an increase of less than inflation.

• 6 day tickets: up $15.98 or 3.8%
• 7 day tickets: up $5.33 or 1.2%%
• 8 day tickets: up $5.33 or 1.2%%
• 9 day tickets: up $5.33 or 1.2%%
• 10 day tickets: up $5.33 or 1.1%%

The combination of changes also means that its costs the same to add a day–$10.65—for all tickets 6 days or longer. This returns Disney largely to the pricing pattern it had before 2016. The combination of these two factors—lower prices to add a day, and price increases of less than inflation (that means in real terms ticket prices went down) suggests an enhanced emphasis by Disney on guests staying of longer.

Or at least during the times when these tickets are valid….

THOUGHTS ON SEASONAL TICKET PRICING

Those who buy at the current price can use these tickets at the price they paid until 12/31/2019. (Unless you change the tickets–e.g. add a day.)

Those who buy their tickets after the seasonal pricing structure comes out will, I believe, have to pay more. I believe this because the low increases on longer-day tickets leave little room for less-expensive tickets, which makes me think the pricing level we are seeing now will be the lowest level offered in 2018.

There’s two different reasons for seasonal pricing. One is to incent those with flexible dates to attend during lower-crowd periods. This can yield better experiences both for those who shift away from crowded times, and for those who remain in them (because crowds will be lower from those who did change their dates). The second is to extract more value from those who cannot change their dates but who are going during more popular periods. All of Disney World recent strategic language is about the first reason.

Unclear is what the seasons will be and when they will be announced—and the new prices come in. Disney currently has a calendar for the seasonal pricing of one day tickets for which it has been charging seasonal rates for a couple of years now. Go here, click 1 day tickets, and a calendar will show up of lowest “Value,” middle “Regular,” and highest “Peak” price days.

If you play with this you’ll discover there are no value priced days from May 4 through August 26. While Disney may not exactly follow this one day calendar for its multi-day tickets, surely it is relevant. So I would expect the new price levels to kick in for visits in May or—maybe–June, and to be announced shortly after the opening date for Toy Story Land is announced.

I may be wrong about the current set of tickets being the lowest prices we’ll see in 2018–I’m wrong 20 times before breakfast. But if I am right, it can’t hurt to buy your tickets now, as, especially if your dates are out of the current “Value” ticket season, you might save some coin.

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DISNEY WORLD DEALS FOR EARLY 2018

Today a Disney World room rate deal covering most nights from February 18 through June 10 2018 came out.

Discounts can vary by booking date, stay date, resort and resort class, and are not available in all booking categories. The deal structure in some instance is complicated, with as many as three different savings rates for the same room depending on when you book and when you stay.

Overall savings are so-so, ranging from 10% to 20%, but at the deluxe hotels in particular that range from $500 to almost $1000 a night, 20% is not a bad thing!

Other, more complicated, deals came out today as well.  The best way to sort through your savings and choose the best is to work with my travel agent, Kelly B–she will do all the math for you.

Kelly B. has been the travel agent partner of this site for years. To book your vacation through her, contact her at KellyB@DestinationsInFlorida.com or 980-429-4499. (She may take a bit to get back to you, as she’s busy this morning trying to get the best deal for the clients she’s already serving!)

VALUE RESORT SAVINGS

At the Disney World values resorts, Little Mermaid Rooms at Art of Animation are excluded. The other value resort options are 10% off, and there’s no difference in savings by when you book or stay.

At the values, the week before Easter is excluded from the eligible dates.

MODERATE RESORT SAVINGS

At the moderates, Port Orleans French Quarter is not in the deal.  Other moderate options offer savings of 10% to 20%, depending on when you book and when you stay.

DELUXE RESORT SAVINGS

At the deluxes, the Contemporary, Polynesian Village, and Wilderness Lodge are 10% off, and the rest are 20% off.

DISNEY VACATION CLUB RESORT SAVINGS

At the DVC resorts, Bay Lake Tower, the Villas at the Grand Floridian, Bungalows at the Polynesian, and Cascade Cabins at Copper Creek are excluded. Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, and the BoardWalk Villas are 20% off. The other DVC resorts are 10% off. Note the typo–Copper Creek is listed twice…

The deal needs to be booked by either March 7 or April 7. Reviews of all these resorts are linked to on this page.

Disney’s page on this deal is here, and you can reach Kelly at KellyB@DestinationsInFlorida.com or 980-429-4499, or use the quote form below.

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My friends at the Official Ticket Center are offering a great deal for those on shorter trips.

Through February 4th, if you buy your two or three day tickets through them, you get a park hopper for each ticket for free! That’s a savings of about $65/person, or more than $250 for a family of four!

Park hoppers allow you to visit more than one park in a day. On shorter tickets they can be quite valuable, permitting you, for example, to see the evening shows and/or have dinner at a different park than the one you spent the day at!

To get the deal–and arrange delivery–call The Official Ticket Center at 1-877-406-4836 (or local at 407-396-9020). And tell them that Dave from yourfirstvisit.net sent you!

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DISNEY WORLD DEALS FOR EARLY 2018

Today, after some troubles with Disney’s IT system, three Disney World deals for early 2018 came out.

Kelly can book you into the best of these deals for your plans—she’s been the travel agent partner of this site for years. To book your vacation through her, contact her at KellyB@DestinationsInFlorida.com or 980-429-4499. (If you’ve already booked with Kelly, she’s been busy this morning trying to get the best deal for you!)

ROOM RATE DEAL FOR EARLY 2018

The room rate deal covers most dates from January 1, 2018 through April 14. Discounts vary by resort and resort class, and are not available in all booking categories.

• At the values, Little Mermaid Rooms at Art of Animation are excluded. All-Star Movies is 10% off, and the others are 15% off.
• At the moderates, Port Orleans Riverside and Port Orleans French Quarter are 10% off, and the rest are 20% off.
• At the deluxes, the Contemporary, Polynesian Village, and Wilderness Lodge are 10% off, and the rest are 25% off.
• At the DVC resorts, Bay Lake Tower, the Villas at the Grand Floridian, and Bungalows at the Polynesian are excluded. Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, and the BoardWalk Villas are 25% off. The other DVC resorts are 10% off.

Reports are that Disney Visa holders can call to get additional savings, but I haven’t been able to document the full extent of this yet.

This deal needs to be booked by January 2.

Disney’s page on this deal is here, and you can reach Kelly at KellyB@DestinationsInFlorida.com or 980-429-4499.

PLAY STAY AND DINE PACKAGE FOR EARLY 2018

The Play Stay and Dine package offers savings of of a combined room, ticket and dining plan package. It covers most arrival dates from January 1 through March 10 and needs to be booked by December 22.

Disney’s website hopes for savings of $300-$500 based on its examples, but as with the next deal, actual savings are hard to calculate without test-booking some reservations. The basic concept seems to be savings of 40-45% off the dining plan–quick service at the values, and regular at the other resort types–plus maybe a bit more at the deluxes. This can be the best deal for larger parties at the moderates in particular.

Excluded from this deal are

• Little Mermaid rooms at Art of Animation
• Fort Wilderness campsites
• Bungalows at the Polynesians and Cabins at Copper Creek at the Wilderness Lodge

Disney’s page on this deal is here, and you can reach Kelly at KellyB@DestinationsInFlorida.com or 980-429-4499.

FAMILY MAGIC PACKAGE FOR EARLY 2018

The Family Magic Package deal covers most dates from January 1, 2018 through April 14. Discounts vary by resort and resort class, and are not available in all booking categories. The “example” discounts shown on Disney’s page on this deal exclude the highest-priced dates.

Actual savings are very hard to calculate without running actual reservations through the system. The best way to choose is to try each option and pick the one with the best savings. You also want to compare your offer with the lowest-priced undiscounted rooms, as these offers recently have put you into higher-priced rooms. This is where a travel agent like Kelly is a godsend.

It looks like the following resorts/room types are excluded from the Family Magic Deal:

• Little Mermaid rooms at Art of Animation
• Fort Wilderness campsites
• Bungalows at the Polynesians and Cabins at Copper Creek at the Wilderness Lodge

This deal needs to be booked by January 2.

Disney’s page on this deal is here, and you can reach Kelly at KellyB@DestinationsInFlorida.com or 980-429-4499.

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Disney World released a new deal today. I’m on the road, so my friend Kelly wrote the following about it for you:

NEW DISNEY WORLD DEAL

Well, Disney is at it again. They just released a “Wicked Good” offer for everyone. The new discount will provide a savings of up to 20% on select Walt Disney World resort hotels.

Here’s what you need to know:

• The discount is available most Sunday through Thursday nights for 10/8-11/16/2017 and for stays most nights 11/17-11/21/2017 and 11/25-12/24/2017
• Book by 10/7/2017 (For stays 12/8-12/24 book by 12/24)
• As always there are exclusions–for example campsites, Cabins at Copper Creek, Bungalows at Polynesian, and Little Mermaid rooms.

So far, this discount seems to have extremely low availability.

But you have no need to wait on hold for hours with Disney.  When you book your vacation with KellyB@DestinationsInFlorida.com, all of my services (dining planning, fastpass reservations, etc) services are free including future discount watch.  I’m Kelly, the dedicated Destinations In Florida Travel Agent for YourFirstVisit.net. Contact me today at KellyB@DestinationsInFlorida.com or 980-429-4499 to book your Magical Disney Vacation.

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2018 RESORT PRICE SEASONS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

The material below shows resort price seasons at Walt Disney World at different times of the year in 2018.

(For 2019 Disney World resort prices, see this.)

Although this will change shortly, currently only one-day ticket prices vary over the course of the year. Resort prices, however, can be almost twice as high during some periods as they are at others.

In the material below, “X% Higher” means compared to the lowest prices of the year.

In addition to the details listed below, Disney ups prices even more during certain weekends and holidays–particularly over the Martin Luther King Day weekend, President’s Day weekend, Memorial Day weekend, Columbus Day weekend, and Veterans Day weekend.

The images give an overview of the year, with specifics in the lists.

2018 DISNEY WORLD PRICE SEASONS: VALUE RESORTS

• 30-40% higher–the peak season–begins 1/1/2018
• 15-25% higher–Marathon rates–begin 1/2/18
• Lowest of year–the value season–begins 1/7/18
• 20-25% higher–the regular season-begins 2/11/18
• 30-40% higher–the peak season–begins 2/15/18
• 20-25% higher–the regular season–begins 2/25/18
• 30-40% higher–the peak season–begins 3/9/18
• 55-65% higher–the Easter season–begins 3/25/18
• 20-25% higher–the regular season–begins 4/8/18

• 30-40% higher–the summer season–begins 5/25/18
• 20-25% higher–the regular season–begins 8/12/18
• 5-10% higher–the fall season–begins 8/26/18
• 20-25% higher–the regular season–begins 9/16/18
• 5-10% higher–the fall season– begins 10/28/18
• 30-40% higher over Thanksgiving begins 11/17/18
• 5-10% higher–the fall season—begins 11/24/18
• 20-25% higher–the regular season–begins 12/9/18
• 30-40% higher–the peak season–begins 12/14/18
• 60-70% higher–the holiday season–begins 12/21/18

2018 DISNEY WORLD PRICE SEASONS: DELUXE RESORTS

• 20-40% higher–the peak season–begins 1/1/18
• 15-20% higher–Marathon rates–begins 1/2/18
• Lowest of year–the value season–begins 1/7/18
• 10-20% higher–the regular season–begins 2/11/18
• 20-40% higher–the peak season–begins 2/15/18
• 10-20% higher–the regular season–begins 2/25/18
• 20-40% higher–the peak season–begins 3/9/18
• 30-50% higher–the Easter season–begins 3/25/18
• 20-40% higher–the peak season–begins 4/8/18

• 10-20% higher–the regular season–begins 4/15/18
• 5-15% higher–the summer season–begins 5/25/18
• 5-10% higher—near-lowest of year–the value season 2–begins 7/6/18
• Lowest of year–the value season—begins 8/24/18
• 10-20% higher–the regular season 2–begins 9/21/18
• 5-15% higher–the fall season–begins 10/14/18
• 10-20% higher–the regular season–begins 11/2/18
• 5-15% higher–the fall season–begins 11/12/18
• 25-40% higher during Thanksgiving begins 11/20/18
• 5-15% higher–the fall season–begins 11/24/18
• 10-20% higher–the regular season–beings 12/9/18
• 20-40% higher–the peak season–begins 12/14/18
• 55-75% higher–the holiday season–begins 12/21/18

2018 DISNEY WORLD PRICE SEASONS: MODERATE RESORTS

• 20-25% higher–the peak season–begins 1/1/18
• 15% higher–Marathon rates–begins 1/2/18
• Lowest of year–the value season—begins 1/7/18
• 15-20% higher–the regular season-begins 2/11/18
• 20-25% higher–the peak season–begins 2/15/18
• 15-20% higher–the regular season-begins 2/25/18
• 20-25% higher–the peak season–begins 3/9/18
• 30-45% higher–the Easter season–begins 3/25/18
• 15-20% higher–the regular season–begins 4/8/18

• 10-15% higher–the summer season–begins 5/25/18
• 15-20% higher–the regular season–begins 8/12/18
• 10-15% higher–the fall season–begins 8/26/18
• 15-20% higher–the regular season–begins 9/16/18
• 10-15% higher–the fall season–begins 10/28/18
• 20-25% higher over Thanksgiving begins 11/17/18
• 10-15% higher–the fall season—begins 11/24/18
• 15-20% higher–the regular season–beings 12/9/18
• 20-25% higher–the peak season–begins 12/14/18
• 35-50% higher–the holiday season–begins 12/21/18

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