Category — w. Most Recent Stuff

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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DISNEY WORLD PLAY STAY DINE AND SAVE 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.

However, based on how it worked last year (I’ll get started updating the numbers for this offer after I’m out of a two-day strategy retreat I’m facilitating today and tomorrow), Play Stay and Dine will be better than the room rate deal for most families aimed at value and moderate resorts—especially in January and February, when the room rate deal applies only to weekdays for those staying in one of these two classes of rooms.

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.

To be eligible for the Play Stay Dine and Save deal, you must book a vacation package with at least 3 nights, a dining plan, and at least 2 days of tickets.

This deal must be booked by 12/23/15 and eligible check-in dates for it are 12/13/15 – 12/19/15 and 1/2/16 – 3/7/16.

The following resorts seem to be excluded from this deal

• At the values: Little Mermaid rooms at Art of Animation
• At the moderates: Some have reported that Port Orleans French Quarter is excluded for the whole deal, and that Riverside is excluded in December. If you are able to book one of these, let me know in the comments!
• At the deluxes and DVC: the Villas at the Grand Floridian, Bay Lake Tower, and the Bungalows at Polynesian

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 PLAY STAY AND DINE 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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2017 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 2017.

(For 2018 Disney World resort prices, see this, and for 2019 Disney World resort prices, see this.)

Although this may change at the next ticket price increase, currently only one-day ticket prices vary over the course of the year–multi-day tickets do not, although they typically have an annual increase during the year. See this for more on ticket prices.

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.

The image gives an overview of the year, with specifics in the lists that follow.

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

2017 DISNEY WORLD PRICE SEASONS: VALUE RESORTS

• 40-45% higher–the peak season–begins 1/1/2017
• Lowest of year–the value season—begins 1/2/17
• 40-45% higher–the peak season–begins 2/16/17
• 20-25% higher–the regular season-begins 2/26/17
• 40-45% higher–the peak season–begins 3/10/17
• 55-75% higher–the Easter season–begins 4/9/17
• 40-45% higher–the peak season–begins 4/21/17
• 20-25% higher–the regular season–begins 4/23/17
• 30-45% higher–the summer season–begins 5/26/17
• 20-25% higher–the regular season–begins 8/13/17
• 5-10% higher–the fall season–begins 8/25/17
• 20-25% higher–the regular season–begins 9/17/17
• 5-10% higher–the fall season– begins 10/29/17
• 20-40% higher over Thanksgiving begins 11/18/17
• 5-10% higher–the fall season—begins 11/25/17
• 20-25% higher–the regular season–begins 12/10/17
• 40-45% higher–the peak season–begins 12/15/17
• 60-75% higher–the holiday season–begins 12/22/17

2017 DISNEY WORLD PRICE SEASONS: DELUXE RESORTS

• 25-35% higher–the peak season–begins 1/1/17
• Lowest of year–the value season—begins 1/2/17
• 25-35% higher–the peak season–begins 2/16/17
• 15-20% higher–the regular season–begins 2/26/17
• 25-35% higher–the peak season–begins 3/10/17
• 35-55% higher–the Easter season–begins 4/9/17
• 25-35% higher–the peak season–begins 4/21/17
• 15-20% higher–the regular season–begins 4/23/17
• 10% higher–the summer season–begins 5/26/17
• 0-5% higher–near-lowest of year–the value season 2—begins 7/7/17
• Lowest of year–the value season—begins 8/25/17
• 5-20% higher–the regular season 2–begins 9/22/17
• 5-15% higher–the fall season–begins 10/15/17
• 15-20% higher–the regular season–begins 11/3/17
• 5-15% higher–the fall season–begins 11/13/17
• 20-25% higher during Thanksgiving begins 11/21/17
• 5-15% higher–the fall season–begins 11/25/17
• 20% higher–the regular season–beings 12/10/17
• 25-35% higher–the peak season–begins 12/15/17
• 40-60% higher–the holiday season–begins 12/22/17

2017 DISNEY WORLD PRICE SEASONS: MODERATE RESORTS

• 20-25% higher–the peak season–begins 1/1/17
• Lowest of year–the value season—begins 1/2/17
• 20-25% higher–the peak season–begins 2/16/17
• 15-20% higher–the regular season-begins 2/26/17
• 20-25% higher–the peak season–begins 3/10/17
• 45-50% higher–the Easter season–begins 4/9/17
• 20-25% higher–the peak season–begins 4/21/17
• 15-20% higher–the regular season–begins 4/23/17
• 15-20% higher–the summer season–begins 5/26/17
• 15-20% higher–the regular season–begins 8/13/17
• 10-15% higher–the fall season–begins 8/25/17
• 15-20% higher–the regular season–begins 9/17/17
• 10-15% higher–the fall season–begins 10/29/17
• 20-25% higher over Thanksgiving begins 11/18/17
• 10-15% higher–the fall season—begins 11/25/17
• 15-20% higher–the regular season–beings 12/10
• 20-25% higher–the peak season–begins 12/15/17
• 50-55% higher–the holiday season–begins 12/22/17

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Coming out any day now–the 2016 edition of the best-reviewed Walt Disney World guide book series, ever.

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DISNEY’S ARMED FORCES SALUTE IN 2016

Miltiary families and their friends will be delighted to know that my friend Steve Bell has broken the news at Military Disney Tips that today Disney’s Armed Forces Salute has been extended into late December 2016.

There’s two parts to the Armed Forces salute

• A steep discount on Disney World park tickets, and
• Discounts on eligible Disney World resort hotel rooms.

Eligible military families can select one or both, but can’t combine them with any other deal. You can also use the Military Salute tickets and stay at Shades of Green.

My friend Kelly B can book the room-rate part of this deal for you. Contact her at 980-429-4499 or kellyb@destinationsinflorida.com.

(The image, by the way, is of General Colin Powell, USA (Ret.) saluting Captain America at Disney’s Contemporary Resort!)

EVEN BETTER NEWS: WALT DISNEY WORLD FOR MILITARY FAMILIES

Eligibility for these and other Disney military deals has always been complicated, and the process for getting and using some of them even more so.

Steve’s Military Disney Tips has always been the go-to site for military families looking to make the most out of their Disney World vacations.

But like every other website (especially mine), finding exactly what you need to know, in the right order, sometimes isn’t as easy as you’d like it to be.

So the great news is that Steve has just published a Disney World guidebook for military families.

With entire chapters devoted to the 2016 salute, to Shades of Green, and to other deals and perks available to military families, I can’t recommend it enough!!

It’s available as a PDF–probably the most convenient format–here, and on Amazon.com here.

This book will be a great help to military families contemplating a Disney World visit in 2016!!

BOOKING THE DISNEY MILITARY SALUTE

As noted above, Kelly B can book the room-rate part of this deal for you–but not the discounted tickets.

Contact her at 980-429-4499 or kellyb@destinationsinflorida.com.

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Welcome back to Fridays with Jim Korkis! Jim, the dean of Disney historians and author of Jim’s Gems in The easy Guide, writes about Walt Disney World history every Friday on yourfirstvisit.net.

THE CHESTER AND HESTER STORY

By Jim Korkis

Perhaps one of the most misunderstood stories at the Disney World theme parks is the theme behind Chester and Hester and their dinosaur store and amusement venue in DinoLand at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Here’s the backstory of this unique land, where a beaten-up looking parking lot is actually a key part of the theme!

In the 1940s, Diggs County, which later became the home of the Dino Institute, was a quiet rural location with just a few cabins and a fishing lodge. Newly married Chester and Hester, who grew up in the area, decided to open a business since they reasoned that there would be an influx of traffic with Route 498 (from April ’98– the opening date of Disney’s Animal Kingdom) becoming part of the fabled Route 66.

They put their life savings into building a service station. Since they were the only stop for gasoline for miles, they had made a wise investment. However, in 1947, amateur paleontologists discovered a fossil and it was speculated that the area might be rife with even more fossils of scientific interest.

These researchers bought the fishing lodge and turned it into the first Dino Institute. (Eventually, the project grew so large they moved into a new institute building in April 1978 and now the fishing lodge is inhabited by college students who use it both as a dormitory and a commissary.)

Chester and Hester even found some fossils themselves after digging in their backyard and sold them to passing tourists. It proved so popular that the couple began selling more and more dinosaur related souvenirs and found they made more money from that endeavor with less effort than selling gas. So the establishment evolved into Chester & Hester’s Dinosaur Treasures.

However, the couple didn’t have enough money to start over fresh so they repainted over many of the things from the gas station. They still have cans of oil, fan belts and other automotive supplies that they continue to sell as well.

One photo of the couple that is in the shop suggests to sharp-eyed guests that the two look almost exactly alike as if the same person posed for both characters.

The Dino Institute discovered time travel and there was a huge flood of people coming to participate. Chester and Hester took over the cracked parking lot across the street and turned it into the kind of small roadside attraction popular in the old days.

Classic roadside attractions featured statues, mini-museums, quirky architecture, gimmicky signage, unique exhibits, carnival-style attractions, and more, designed to separate a curious tourist from the money in his wallet as he traveled along America’s roadways. Many of those attractions included massive cement dinosaurs.

Chester & Hester’s Dino-Rama proclaimed that it showed “Dinosaurs the way they were meant to be: big, green and fun” (although some are orange…).

Of course, money was tight for such a major investment so they had to purchase “off the shelf” amusement rides and carnival games that were re-themed to dinosaurs. These are not rides of distinction, but rather “rides of extinction” as one highly colorful sign states.

To compete with the Dino Institute’s technological achievement, Chester & Hester offered guests a trip on Primeval Whirl which, like the ride DINOSAUR, sends guests back in time and has them confronting an asteroid at the end.

The name of this “wild mouse”-style ride is an homage to the Primeval World, Ford’s 1964 New York World’s Fair attraction designed by Disney that featured a glimpse at audio-animatronics dinosaurs which was later installed as the grand finale of the Disneyland Railroad.

*  *  *  *  *

Thanks, Jim. And come back next Friday for even more from Jim Korkis!

In the meantime, check out his books, including The Vault of Walt, Who’s Afraid of the Song of the South?, and The Book of Mouse, and his contributions to The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit, all published by Theme Park Press.

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