You can efficiently “guess” which on-site Walt Disney World resorts are discounted by way of Priceline Express Deals and Hotwire Hot Rates with these tricks to rating a terrific deal. This covers how to economize on Orlando, Florida lodges with hacks & matching tips. (Updated September 22, 2024.)
Priceline Express Deals and Hotwire Hot Rates are much like the favored “Name Your Own Price” function or bidding on lodges primarily based upon facilities and a basic space. You can rating a deep {discount} on a terrific lodge (or not-so-great one, if that’s extra your fashion), however the tradeoff is that don’t know the title of the lodge till you pay. In different phrases, it’s a shock…however like youngsters snooping underneath the Christmas tree, there are specific methods to ‘spoil’ that shock!
Hotel chains, together with Walt Disney World, do that to dump unsold stock on the final minute whereas concealing to most people that they’re unloading rooms at such an affordable price, which could tarnish their model or irritate visitors who paid considerably extra. Let’s begin by having a look on the present Priceline Express Deals for Walt Disney World…
At their greatest, Priceline Express Deals and Hotwire Hot Rates provide deep reductions of as much as 60% off, not only a “deal” of 10-15% off a room-only price. We’re speaking $60 per evening or much less for Values, ~$100/evening for Moderates, and ~$200/evening for Deluxe Resorts. We primarily focus our searches to Priceline right here (which regularly has extra availability), however the under offers can typically be replicated on Hotwire with the identical technique.
Inventory Update: Holidays 2024
Three years in the past, reductions dried up at Walt Disney World. There was completely nothing in the way in which of Priceline Express Deals and Hotwire Hot Rates for Disney-owned resorts from September 2021 till Spring 2024. That was the longest Walt Disney World had gone in recent times with out dumping any unsold stock onto Priceline and Hotwire.
In retrospect, it shouldn’t have been shocking. It was the time of revenge journey and pent-up demand. It was only a sharp distinction to the considerable offers that had existed for the prior year-plus in the course of the gradual phased reopening period when journey had grinded to a halt. For the following yr, not solely had been reductions tough to attain, however so too had been full-priced room reservations. That was pushed by a confluence of circumstances, from sturdy bookings for Walt Disney World’s fiftieth Anniversary to not all lodges being open or working at 100% capability to staffing shortages.
Fast ahead over 2 years, and a lot has modified. Pent-up demand has been exhausting itself for over a yr now and Walt Disney World has been pulling from what we name the “2019 discount playbook,” which is to say that just about the entire similar offers provided then–together with extra obscure ones like PIN Codes and Bouncebacks (to not point out fan-favorite Free Dining) have all made their triumphant return.
Suffice to say, Walt Disney World has as soon as once more opened the tap on reductions after that prolonged dry spell, and this continues to incorporate Priceline Express Deals. Since these blind reserving offers first returned in the course of the coronary heart of spring break season earlier this yr on the All Stars and Coronado Springs, we’ve seen an increasing number of Priceline Express Deals at Walt Disney World.
The newest replace is that the All Stars and Coronado Springs as soon as once more have availability, but it surely’s not almost as scattered and it’s fairly constant between now and the tip of December 2024. In some instances, this consists of peak vacation dates and weekends, that are excluded from the previously-released basic public deal.
The newest twist is that the Art of Animation Family Suites now even have availability by way of Priceline Express Deals (above), typically for lower than $300 per evening in November. As at all times, the best means is to match the ‘blind’ itemizing to the ‘naked’ one on every website. The giveaways listed here are matching the situation (Bonnet Creek), lodge class (3-stars), rating (8+), and variety of critiques (300+). You may also slender that additional, should you want peace of thoughts, by evaluating the earlier than value (~$460) to the precise itemizing for Art of Animation Family Suites, which is under.
This is the primary time we’ve seen the Art of Animation Family Suites in…I don’t even know the way lengthy. More notably is when it’s showing–in the course of the closing three months of the yr, that are amongst Walt Disney World’s hottest. If Art of Animation is showing now, it’s secure to anticipate different stalwarts of Priceline Express Deals within the 2025 low season.
I’m pondering we’ll in all probability see Yacht Club (as soon as conference season is over) and Animal Kingdom Lodge. Those are the tried and true choices, and with nothing new on the horizon and Disney executives already warning that demand will probably proceed slowing in 2025, these resorts look like a given to me.
For these conserving rating at house, I dug into the DTB Archives and located that the entire different resorts additionally had Priceline Express Deal availability in 2021, which was the final time choices had been actually good:
- Wilderness Lodge
- Old Key West
- Grand Floridian
- Fort Wilderness Cabins
- Caribbean Beach
- Pop Century
The final two didn’t have nice offers, however they had been obtainable (and abundantly so). I wouldn’t essentially anticipate a repeat of that–but when Art of Animation is already on Priceline, possibly Pop Century isn’t so far-fetched. Two extra probably choices are Port Orleans Riverside and French Quarter. They was frequent fixtures of Express Deals, however aren’t on the checklist above for 2021 solely as a result of they weren’t open.
So keep tuned–I’m going to be checking this much more repeatedly and, fingers crossed, reporting again with much more for early 2025! Or maybe not. Maybe this was a one-off blip and also you gained’t see one other replace to this submit for one more 2.5 years. Who actually is aware of anymore!
In addition to Disney-owned lodges, listed here are the third-party choices on-site that you simply may discover on these opaque reserving websites…
Another choice that repeatedly seems on Priceline Express Deals is the Swan & Dolphin Resorts. Keep in thoughts that there’s additionally a compulsory resort payment, so what you see is just not the ultimate value–however each of those resorts nonetheless are usually far cheaper than anything within the Crescent Lake space.
We love the Swan & Dolphin for a number of causes. Namely, they’re inside strolling distance of each Epcot and Hollywood Studios–excellent for rope dropping Slinky Dog Dash earlier than going again to the pool for a mid-morning break. For essentially the most half, Swan & Dolphin visitors have comparable benefits to visitors staying in Disney lodges. They even provide entry to Extended Evening Hours, which Moderate and Value Resorts don’t even provide!
The JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort & Spa can be a frequent fixture of Priceline Express Deals. We reviewed this new on-site lodge and gave it typically favorable marks.
The one massive factor it lacks as in comparison with different luxurious resorts close to Walt Disney World (together with different Bonnet Creek properties) is a sprawling pool and lazy river. While the JW Marriott is completely family-friendly, it’s not catering to youngsters like among the different lodges within the space.
There are normally additionally scattered choices at Disney Springs. We don’t do in depth analysis into these, however the traditional suspects are as follows: B Resort & Spa (quickly to change into Marriott Renaissance), DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando, Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista, and so on. We have Hotel Rankings for the Disney Springs Resort Area should you want additional assets that can assist you select a type of properties.
We’ve additionally seen availability at Flamingo Crossing, which is a couple of 10-minute drive from Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. These lodges are fairly engaging as a result of they’re all brand-new.
Keep in thoughts that Priceline Express Deals stock adjustments continuously, which means you may discover lodges we didn’t checklist should you search later at the moment or subsequent week, and also you may not see what we’ve discovered. We’ll hold you posted as we proceed to scour Priceline for brand spanking new Express Deals! For now, right here’s every thing else it’s essential learn about reserving these discounted rooms…
How to Book Priceline & Hotwire Deals at WDW
For starters, Hotwire and Priceline Express Deals actually can quantity to substantial financial savings at Walt Disney World–that’s not simply advertising fluff. Priceline advertises the service as providing financial savings of “up to 60% off” however we’ve saved greater than that on Deluxe Resorts (and, to be truthful, considerably lower than that on others).
In reality, for a number of weeks round our keep on the Poly, throughout which we acquired a free improve to the King Kamehameha Club Level, the Polynesian was underneath $300/evening by way of Priceline Express Deals…and the rack price ‘value’ of our room was over $800/evening. Obviously, that’s an excessive instance with super luck concerned, however even “just” 60% off is just not unusual.
With the reward of considerable financial savings comes threat. Priceline Express Deals is a “semi-opaque” reserving website, which means sure particulars and facilities are revealed prematurely, however not the lodge title. Fortunately, these particulars slender issues down significantly, to the purpose that web sleuths have made the method fairly predictable for anybody prepared to do their homework.
Of course, there nonetheless are not any ensures. You’re locked in to a non-refundable lodge earlier than understanding the precise property for positive. That means there’s some threat and uncertainty inherent to the method. It’s actually not for everybody. Another downside is that these offers are principally last-minute. Walt Disney World lodges are sometimes added to Hotwire or Priceline’s Express Deals round 1-2 months previous to journey dates, generally a bit longer.
Finally and alongside these traces, Priceline Express Deals are provided to fill unsold rooms. If you’re attempting to e book a Christmas keep, you’re unlikely to have success. You’ll have a tricky time discovering good charges for multi-night stays throughout peak vacationer seasons; the perfect choices are usually brief, weeknight stays within the low season.
It also needs to be famous that the ‘hacks’ for revealing lodges are always in flux. Internet deal spotters have been nice in serving to to uncover which lodge corresponds with which amenity units and descriptions. Unfortunately, Priceline (and different bulk wholesaler websites) are at all times one step behind, which means that profitable technique for uncovering a deal may work someday and cease working the following.
The greatest choices for narrowing lodge decisions your self is deselecting every “Neighborhood” besides “Walt Disney World – Bonnet Creek” and “Walt Disney World – Disney Springs.” Every official Walt Disney World resort is situated inside these areas on the Priceline map.
Additionally, Walt Disney World lodges could have an amenity set of solely Free Internet Access, Restaurant, and Swimming Pool. To my information, this amenity set is a latest change (and inaccurate as in comparison with what WDW resorts truly provide).
In phrases of star ranking, Values are 3-star, Moderates are 3.5-star, and Deluxes are normally 4 or 4.5-star.
The massive bummer is Priceline’s elimination of the one-line descriptions, corresponding to “enjoy jazzy evening entertainment at this well-designed resort” for Port Orleans French Quarter. These had been the decisive ‘clue’ in figuring out which lodge you had been reserving. With the outline, accuracy was 100%. The Hotel Canary extension now not works, which is one other massive blow.
Now, you’ll have to do a bit extra legwork to match lodges by yourself. Consequently, the arrogance price is much decrease. You’ll need to match up the next:
- Number of critiques (rounded up or down)
- Guest scores (rounded off)
- Rack charges (the pre-discount value vs. {discount} value, additionally rounded off)
- Other clues along with the amenity set and site.
Basically, this implies evaluating the conventional Priceline itemizing for a selected lodge with the itemizing. If you aren’t snug doing this by yourself, assets like BetterBidding.com might help–however even then, know that you simply’ll be rolling the cube a bit.
Here are some observations I’ve observed whereas looking out. First, Moderate Resorts are fairly widespread, however Coronado Springs is essentially the most prevalent, particularly exterior of peak conference season. While costs fluctuate extremely primarily based upon season and occupancy charges, I’d say a “good” price for a Moderate is $150/evening or much less.
Second, the Deluxe Resort you’ll see most continuously is Animal Kingdom Lodge, with charges within the neighborhood of $200 to $300. Other Deluxe Resorts have appeared on Priceline Express Deals. I’ve seen virtually each single one, together with the Polynesian and Grand Floridian. I’d say Yacht Club–one other conference lodge–might be the most typical after Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Finally, Value Resorts even have appeared on Priceline Express Deals with a point of regularity, with widespread choices together with the Little Mermaid Rooms at Art of Animation and All Star Sports (Movies and Music have been much less widespread). Of all resorts, the All Stars seem mostly, and we’ve seen them for costs as little as the mid-$60 per evening vary. However, that was additionally a number of years in the past–and costs have shot up since then!
Overall, Priceline Express Deals is a good choice for saving some huge cash on Walt Disney World lodges, but it surely’s positively not for the faint of coronary heart. It’s now not the ‘sure thing’ that it as soon as was, however with a little bit of legwork, you’ll be able to slender down the chances and nonetheless have a excessive diploma of certainty earlier than reserving.
If you’re prepared to gamble and don’t thoughts the potential for getting a 3rd get together lodge just like the Dolphin or Wyndham Bonnet Creek (each nice choices which might be on par with Walt Disney World Deluxes), we’d extremely advocate utilizing Priceline Express Deals for financial savings which might be far superior to room-only reductions straight from Disney.
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Learn about lodges on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To lower your expenses on tickets or decide which kind to purchase, learn our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets submit. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips submit takes a singular have a look at intelligent objects to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, the perfect place to begin is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for every thing it’s essential know!
Your Thoughts
Have you tried any of those hacks or instruments to e book on Priceline Express Deals? Any different methods you utilize? If you’ve used it, what’s the perfect price you’ve scored? Do you agree or disagree with our recommendation? If you’ve but to e book, any questions we might help you reply? Hearing your suggestions–even whenever you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!