Category — w. Most Recent Stuff

FALL BREAK CROWDS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD?

One of the things you’ll see now and then on blogs and discussion boards is the claim that “fall breaks from school crowd Walt Disney World.”

“Fall breaks” are multi-day school holidays before Thanksgiving, and if material, would have an effect on Disney World—because Disney World is most crowded when it’s easy for kids to go.

If you check the facts, though, you’ll find that fall breaks are both uncommon and scattered across October and early November—other than Jersey Week and the Columbus Day weekend. [Read more →]

DISNEY WORLD PIN CODES FOR 2014 ROOM RATE DISCOUNTS

I’ve been getting lots of cards and letters over the last 48 hours about a wave of new Disney World pin codes for 2014 going out—especially from the “Mysterious B.” (Not the same person as the “Mysterious J” of Monday’s Free Dining post!)

Here’s the story: pin codes with room rate discounts well into April 2014 are going out, with the following details:

For most dates from January 5 – March 2, 2014 and March 16 – April 12, 2014

• Save 30% at select Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts
• Save 30% at select Disney Deluxe Resorts
• Save 25% at select Disney Moderate Resorts
• Save 20% at select Disney Value Resorts

One of my sources has the “Book By” date as July 28.

For what a pin code is, and how to see if you have one—or even talk your way into getting one!—see the second half of this.

Now frankly, I find the dates on offer here curious.

They include the wildly busy Presidents Day week, exclude the pretty low-crowd first week of March, but then include the first day of the unbelievably busy week before Easter.

So maybe—and I’m thinking of the week before Easter in particular here–these are inclusive dates, rather than, as is common on these deals, arrival dates?

Or maybe I’m just thinking too much.

…and thanks again, “Mysterious B”!

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For lots of people, Disney World’s online dining reservations system works just fine.

But for others—especially those who are staying in a Walt Disney world resort, especially if they have the Dining Plan, it can be a major pain, as crack commenter DisneyDiningAgent pointed out the other day in a couple of comments–here and right below it, plus in some email exchanges we had.

Here’s the problems:

• All too often, the dining reservations part of Disney’s “My Disney Experience” website is just down
• It it’s not down, it doesn’t always correctly get that you have the dining plan
• Whether or not that it gets that you have the dining plan, it doesn’t always recognize that you are a resort guest and thus can book out ten days after your arrival date—a major problem if you are beginning to reserve dining at the 180 day mark
• For the meals that require full pre-payment—Cinderella’s Royal Table, Hoop Dee Doo Revue, etc.—it won’t always recognize that if you are using the dining plan, it doesn’t need to charge your credit card—and charges you anyway

The advantage of the on-line system is that it opens each day at 6a, an hour before the Disney phone lines open at 7a (both Eastern).  So if you can successfully use it then, this gives you an advantage in booking high-demand restaurants at the 180 day mark compared to those calling in an hour later.

But if it doesn’t work, then you are wasting your time…

SUGGESTIONS FOR COPING WITH THE FAILURES OF “MY DISNEY EXPERIENCE” DINING RESERVATIONS [Read more →]

FREE DINING AT DISNEY WORLD FOR THE REST OF 2013

Crack insider the “Mysterious J” emailed me last night to let me know that a free dining deal for the rest of 2013 at Disney World for visits booked from Europe and South America will come out on August 1st.  

This deal will have book-by dates of November 15, and will cover arrival dates of

• September 29 to October 2, 2013
• October 18 to November 2, 2013
• November 11 to November 23, 2013
• December 12 to December 22, 2013

At or near the same time, a room rate deal will come out as well.

The “Mysterious J” has given me the heads up on such items weeks before they appear before, and has never yet been wrong.

Moreover, what typically happens is that these deals come out outside the US first, and then soon get released for the North American general public.

So this news bodes really, really well for general public free dining to come out in early August as well!

I’ve been frankly skeptical about such a deal and am oh so glad that it appears that my forecasts of no more general public free dining in 2013 might be wrong!!!

Walt Disney World has now released prices for the key components of 2014 visits–tickets, resort hotels, and the dining plan.

Prices have generally gone up–but not all of them, and less so than last year.

DISNEY WORLD 2014 PRICE INCREASES IN CONTEXT

Disney World ticket prices went up (effective immediately) in June.

The actual increase varied by which ticket type and number of ticket days you are targeting, but for the most commonly bought options, prices went up about 6%. Last year, these same prices went up about 9%.

In later June, Dining Plan prices went up–also, in a change from past practice (when plan increases went in effect the next January) effective immediately.

Prices again vary by plan, but the “regular” dining plan prices went up about 6.5% for those 10 and older, and 10% for those younger than 10.  Last year, the prices went up 14% and 8% respectively.

Wednesday, resort hotel prices for 2014 were announced. These are more complicated–but the story is the same–generally, less of an increase than last year.*

Last year value resort prices went up (as an average across all the seasonal prices) about 7.5%.  But at the same time, mini-fridges, which had been a $10 optional upcharge, became standard and built into the price, so that for those who would have paid to get the fridges, prices actually went down.

This year, with a couple of minor weekend exceptions in one or two price seasons, value prices are unchanged–that is, not increased–at the four older value resorts (Pop Century and the All-Stars).

Art of Animation is a different story–Little Mermaid room prices are up across the board, from 3-5%, and so are Family Suites, up 4.6-5.3%

At the moderates, prices are also largely unchanged compared to 2013, except for the fall season, up 2.5% on weekdays and 5.6% on weekends. (By the way, the combination of these last two points–moderates unchanged, and standard Little Mermaid rooms at Art of Animation going up, is bringing Little Mermaid prices awfully close to moderate prices–see the chart here.)

Last year, moderate prices went up on average 3.5%.  So this year’s no price increase–for most seasons–is a big deal.

Deluxe resort prices in 2014 are up across the board–but again less than last year, when prices went up ~3%.  For 2014, prices are up in every season, but only 1.4% to 1.9%.

So the net effect is that while a Disney World vacation is now more expensive–no surprise there–many components didn’t go up at all, and pretty much everything went up less than last year.

WHY THE MODERATION IN DISNEY WORLD PRICE INCREASES COMPARED TO 2013?

“Moderation” is kind of a funny word to use for Disney World’s grab at your wallets, but for comparisons with 2013 prices announced in the summer of 2012, it is fair.

My guess is that there’s a couple of thing behind Disney World’s relative restraint (another funny word to use…) in pricing, and both are related to changes in the competitive terrain.

When Disney set prices last year, it knew New Fantasyland was opening, and hoped Fastpass+ would be in place for much of 2013.  It both expected these to create value for guests and needed to recapture its return on investment in them.

So prices were bumped accordingly. Moreover, none of its major competitors was opening anything nearly as significant, creating no competitive reason to moderate price rises.

In 2014, the competitive terrain is very different.

Universal Orlando will be opening its first new hotel in years, and Harry Potter will see a major expansion sometime in the summer. While Disney World will be opening the last elements of the Fantasyland expansion and implementing Fastpass+, both of these are largely already priced in, given the increases for 2013.

So that’s my take–moderate price increases because of increased competitive pressures in 2014…

What do you think?

*Resort price conclusions are based on standard rooms at a sample of 8 resorts covering 8 or so major price seasons each.

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DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: JULY 13, 2013 TO JULY 21, 2013

The material below details operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.

The same stuff is in the table, but organized by park, not by topic.

(And for more on July 2013 at Walt Disney World, see this.)

[Read more →]