2024 Walt Disney World vacation packages and resort reservations are now available! We’ve spent significant time on DisneyWorld.com, mostly waiting to ‘orbit’ in the virtual queue…but also comparing 2023 vs. 2024 hotel room rack rates to see what’s changed. This shares our “recalculations” on price increases, plus commentary about the significance of the rates, discounts, best times to book, and more.
While we’ve been looking at a variety of hotels, our primary focus has been the most popular options at each tier–Value, Moderate, and Deluxe Resorts–among readers. Personally, I’m most interested in prices for the lower end of the spectrum; in particular, the cheapest resorts (All Stars) plus the other less-expensive options on the Skyliner (Pop Century and Caribbean Beach).
At some point–and Walt Disney World is arguably well past that–stated room rates almost become meaningless, like they’re priced in Monopoly money. Unfortunately, that’s not true in the literal sense, but rather, figuratively. Many resort rates long ago crossed the line of reasonableness, and those willing to pay full price Deluxe Resorts or Villas probably aren’t particularly price sensitive. If you’re cool paying $690 and up per night for Grand Floridian probably aren’t fixating on the price tag before booking. Raising rates another $20 or $40 probaly isn’t going to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.
Walt Disney World’s low-end resort prices are more interesting, and more of a litmus test of vacation affordability than the high-end rates. At least, that’s what I think, and since I’m the one who had to hassle with doing all of this, that’s where we’re going to focus most of our attention.
With that in mind, let’s jump right in and start our analysis with the cheapest hotels at Walt Disney World, the All Star Resorts:
For 2024, rate rates for the All Stars during the two least expensive months of the year increase to $117 per night, up by $4 per night.
On the higher end of the spectrum, room rates are up even more. You can compare for yourself by consulting the 2024 rate chart above and 2023 chart below.
Rack rates actually dropped at these motels for 2023. The All Star Resorts fell to new low prices of $113/night in the winter off-season this year, down from $123/night in 2022. Meaning that All Star prices for 2024 are above this year’s levels (across the board), but still below 2022 prices for some nights, mostly in the winter and fall off-seasons.
This year’s rates are actually the lowest the All Stars have been since 2020, when Walt Disney World lowered rates to $99 per night in order to advertise a starting rate below $100. (Our strong suspicion at the time was that Walt Disney World was trying to compete with the then-new Endless Summer Resort at Universal Orlando, which offered suites starting at under $100 per night.)
As a general matter, if you’re trying to find the Cheapest Times to Go to Walt Disney World, they are mostly in January and February 2024. From what we can tell, this is true across all hotel tiers, and the off-season weekday rates during these two months are better than even August and September 2024.
With that said, effective prices might end up being lowered in August and September than January and February depending upon the timing of price increases and degree of discounting. That’s especially true if Free Dining is offered in late summer or early fall of next year, which is possible if there’s an economic downturn or Walt Disney World’s slowdown worsens.
For the remainder of the comparisons, we’ll be looking at September and October of this year versus Fall 2024, all in standard or regular rooms. We like this 2-month snapshot, as it shows a wide range of prices, from value season lows to holiday weekend highs.
Above are this year’s rack rates during those months at the All Star Resorts. As you can see, rates range from $130 to $219 per night. Here’s a look at September and October 2023 at the All Star Resorts:
For September and October 2024, prices range from $135 to $231 per night. This is pretty comparable to the increase between last year and this year at the All Star Resorts.
While premium pricing for the Disney name and location is common at on-site resorts, you’d be hard-pressed to find a non-sketchy hotel room in Orlando for the low end of this price range–let alone one with refreshed rooms, plus perks like Early Entry and theme park transportation. All of this and more is covered in Are Walt Disney World’s Cheapest Hotels Actually Good?! (Spoiler: the answer is yes, and I’ve stayed at All Star Sports more than any other hotel in the last year!)
Now let’s move over to Disney’s Pop Century Resort and look at September and October 2023:
Pop Century’s standard room rates start at $173 per night and reach $271 per night.
Reasonableness of these prices is in the eye of the beholder. As someone who loves the Skyliner and having non-bus transportation to 2 parks, my limit for the “Pop Premium” is about $30 per night. It’s still around that many nights when comparing rack rates to the All Stars.
However, that’s not always the case–and the gap can grow larger when the All Stars offer a higher percentage savings or standard rooms aren’t available at Pop Century. That’s exactly how I’ve found myself staying at All Star Sports so many times in the last year, while only doing one stay at Pop Century!
Above are Pop Century’s standard room rates for September and October 2023. Prices start at $182 and hit $289 per night.
That’s “only” $9 difference at the low end, which isn’t terrible for a single year. The only asterisk I’d add is that Pop Century has seen price increases on par with this for the last several years, plus a big jump when the Skyliner debuted. If you compare today to 5 years ago, the difference is much more pronounced–Pop Century has seen one of the largest percentage increases during that time.
Moving to Moderates, we have Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort rates for September and October 2023:
The line above indicates that Pop Century has seen “one of” the largest percentage increases for a reason. That reason is Caribbean Beach Resort. I still remember when we booked discounted rooms here for a little over $100 per night, which may seem like ancient history, but was not that long ago. Just pre-Skyliner, Sebastian’s Bistro, and Disney’s Riviera Resort.
If you’ve noticed that we’ve done far fewer stays at Caribbean Beach Resort in the last 3 years, that’s why. It went from being our ‘home resort’ for several years to a place we stay fairly infrequently. An extra $100+ per night will do that! With that said, we’re excited to be going home very soon…
Anyway, prices range from $276 to $354 per night this fall at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort.
For Fall 2024, rack rates range from $288 to $373 per night at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort. As much as we love CBR, that’s yet another brutal year of price increases–a huge cumulative jump since ~2018. These rates for 2024 are comparable to Deluxe Resort pricing in the recent past. Again, we love it, but Caribbean Beach is no Deluxe Resort.
Finally, we move from the off-brand Poly with CBR to the real deal with Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort…
In our opinion, Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort is an interesting one.
This is mostly because it was excluded from almost every single discount last year. Consequently, it’s effective rates are lower for most nights this year than they were last year, as it has offered general public discounts of up to 25% off, whereas prices only increased by 3-4% on average. In our anecdotal experience, the Poly has also been easier to book this year despite the better deals. (Some of this can probably be explained by construction of the Poly tower, but not all of it.)
Above is the Poly in September and October 2024, with prices ranging from $627 to $907.
Those are some pretty hefty increases on certain nights. It’ll be interesting to see whether discounts get even more aggressive next year to once again bridge the gap. We’re guessing that won’t be the case, but here’s hoping that’s wrong. (Outside the scope of this post, but our concern is that guests of that new tower will put a strain on the existing resort infrastructure. So construction ending is a plus, but worse crowding is a minus.)
Since it’s a common question, you can find the rate calendar I used for these comparisons by searching for availability on DisneyWorld.com. Start by navigating to one of the resort pages that shows the rates for different rooms, like below:
Make sure to select “room only” (rather than a vacation package or discounted rate) on the far left, then click the “Rate Details” button on the resort/room combination that interests you. (See above.)
From there you’ll see a weekly breakdown. For the calendar view, click “View Rate Calendar.” (See below.) Hope that helps!
If you want to see pricing for the entirety of 2024 and choose your travel dates on that basis (not a terrible idea given the strong correlation between lower prices and lower crowds), you can do that via the rate calendar.
With that said, Walt Disney World often misses the mark with its resort rates, which is precisely what special offers seek to address. We’ve already seen that this year with the return of room-only discounts of up to 35% off and the ‘free’ dining card deal that offered substantial savings for some guests. Hopefully, 2024 will see the return of the (real) Free Dining promo.
Accordingly, the true test is going to be in terms of what discounts end up being released–or not released. If bookings are down because pent-up demand has fizzled out, the economy has slowed down, and who knows what else, these rack rates could end up being like Kohl’s sticker prices.
That’s to say more or less meaningless, as discounts are so ubiquitous that no one is paying full price. Nevertheless, 25% off a room that costs $200 per night is still better than 25% off a room that costs $250 per night. Obviously. So the rack rates do matter, it’s just that the broader context also matters. Again, this year has been a great example of that, with the return of more aggressive promos after almost two years of ‘deal drought.’
As always, Walt Disney World’s discount strategy for 2023 will depend upon demand. When Disney increases prices, the company does so not at the rate of inflation or because its costs are increasing at a commensurate level, but because they can. When Disney offers discounts, it’s out of necessity, not corporate benevolence. Walt Disney World is an extremely savvy and sophisticated business—they are going to maximize profits to the greatest degree economically feasible.
So…what price points will be economically feasible in 2023? That depends upon a mix of variables, some of which are simply unknowable right now. Will consumer confidence deteriorate in 2023? Is pent-up demand still going to be a factor? Will household savings be further depleted? Are we on the precipice of an economic slow down…or is that just a minor blip?
Will Walt Disney World’s additions garner positive reviews and strong word of mouth? Are more ‘corporate controversies’ on the horizon? Will international travel make a strong comeback? Will Orlando regain its place as a hot convention destination? It’s possible to hypothesize about all of these things, but nothing is certain yet.
Ultimately, the resort rack rate prices for most dates in 2024 at Walt Disney World are not a huge surprise. These are the type of incremental increases of around 3% to 7% that we’ve seen for each of the past several years. Cumulatively, that does add up–especially at the Skyliner resorts, which have been at the higher end of that increase range since 2018.
If anything, it feels a bit like Walt Disney World is more out of step this year than in the last two. Previously, pent-up demand was running hot, room availability was low, and the gap had narrowed between Disney-owned properties and off-site hotels near the parks. Not only were there no discounts, but those hotels sold out at full price many nights.
In other words, Walt Disney World left money on the table by not pricing many resorts higher in 2021-2022. From that experience alone, erring on the side of aiming higher with rack rates and discounting as necessary might’ve been the pragmatic move for Disney. (Of course, hindsight is 20/20 and it was difficult to foresee the degree of pent-up demand back when those prices would’ve been set.)
By contrast, the more modest increases last year now seem less justified in light of discounts. Assuming that’s the start of a trend or normalization heading into 2024, it seems like that’ll be even truer next year. Similar to hindsight being 20/20, so too is foresight. Just because we’re expecting the current trend to continue doesn’t mean it will. The economy could heat up or that new Figment meet & greet could cause bookings to skyrocket by 982%.
Basically, that’s all a long-winded way of saying that the Kohl’s approach to setting rack rates makes sense. In normal or tough times, those prices are rendered almost meaningless by nearly perpetual discounts. When the economy is going strong (or there’s a new Figment offering to drive occupancy), the prices are very meaningful, but no one cares because they have ‘bonus’ money or, I guess, imagine that they do. (The power of Figment!)
As always, we’d recommend booking sooner rather than later. If you’re definitely visiting Walt Disney World in 2024 irrespective of discount status, lock something in now. Booking early is essentially hedging your bets against the resort/room tier you want selling out, while still having the flexibility of applying future discounts as they’re released. If you want someone to monitor your reservation and apply discounts as they’re released, we recommend booking via Be Our Guest Vacations, a no-fee Authorized Disney Vacation Planner. Those travel agents will book your vacation and help take the stress out of planning.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
What do you think of the 2024 Walt Disney World hotel room and package prices? Anything surprise you? Are you paying noticeably more (or less) for your trip next year? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments here? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
