Walt Disney World has released more new resort room-only discounts during Summer and early Fall 2023 for the general public. This post shares the details of these special offers, which are very good as compared to last year. Plus, commentary about the sudden spike in savings, sample pricing, analysis & other info.
This isn’t the only new discount to drop. If you’re eligible for them, there are also discounts of up to 30% off for residents of Florida and up to 35% off for Annual Passholders. Of course, many of you don’t reside in Florida or flat-out cannot purchase APs right now (or wouldn’t want to even if you could), so this is your best bet. And thankfully, it’s a good one!
With that said, these new discounts aren’t the only deals available for booking right now–there are over a half-dozen different offers. For everything else, see All Current Walt Disney World Discounts (Spring to Fall 2023). There are promos available for pretty much all dates between now and Fall 2023, so that’s worth checking out if you’re debating a trip in the next several months…
When it comes to the current state of discounts at Walt Disney World, the situation has turned a corner in a major way! Improvements started about midway through last year, after many dates prior to that were not discounted at all. Many other dates had nothing for the general public, and only a scattering of savings for Annual Passholders and Floridians.
The big change came after the start of the 2023 fiscal year, when 4 different discounts were released in October. At that point, Walt Disney World released discounts running through March or April 2023, and did so far earlier than normal by historical standards. With the new calendar year, we’ve seen more and more discounts released.
That trend continues with this new special offer, the start of which coincides with the back half of the summer season when crowds typically start slowly declining as families prepare for schools to go back into session. From there, prices only get better as Walt Disney World enters the true off-season beginning in mid-August 2023.
On another positive note, the discounts that Walt Disney World has released thus far in 2023 have had better availability than pretty much all special offers last year and the year before. That may not be the case with the most popular spots (e.g. Magic Kingdom or Skyliner resorts) or peak travel dates (e.g. the week after Independence Day), but options are generally better.
This is especially true if you’re flexible, or are simply looking to take advantage of a targeted offer at the the cheapest resorts in each tier, such as the All Stars or Coronado Springs. To this point, we were actually able to book a last-minute staying during the heart of spring break season–only about a week in advance–and were surprised by just how many options were available. Just something worth keeping in mind as we run through this new room-only discount for mid-July through September 2023!
Here are the official details: Stay in the magic this summer—and make delightful Disney memories to last a lifetime.
- Save up to 25% on stays most nights July 11 to August 20, and September 15 to September 28, 2023
- Save up to 30% on stays most nights August 21 to September 14, 2023
Here’s the resort by resort savings chart provided by Walt Disney World:
Offer excludes the following: 3-bedroom villas, Cabins at Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, and Bungalows at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows.
Additional per-adult charges may apply if more than 2 adults per room at Value, Moderate and Deluxe Resorts and Studios at Deluxe Villa Resorts. Maximum length of stay under this deal is 14 nights. Cannot be combined with any other discount or promotion.
Reservations may be made online, by phone, or via your Authorized Disney Vacation Planner. (Click here to request a FREE no obligation quote from an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner–especially useful if you want to save time or have personalized assistance throughout the planning process.)
As with most discount release days, Walt Disney World’s phone lines will be jammed and the online system will likely slow to a crawl at peak times, with Stitch eating the occasional page here and there. Even when we began searching for availability at 6 am EST, the “We’re Almost into Orbit” virtual queue was not yet in use to access the discount page and search, but that could change.
This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, as it’s more or less par for the course on Walt Disney World discount release day. Things will only get worse as more people wake up and try to book. This is to say you will want to book ASAP for the best chance at scoring the resort and room you want.
Here’s what we found for best available rates for this discount:
This search is for the night of September 5, 2023, which is part of the “Value 2” rate season at Walt Disney World. On the rack rate chart spectrum, this is the second-least expensive time to visit Walt Disney World in 2023. Similarly-priced dates can be found throughout August and into September 2023, and slightly higher (but still relatively reasonable) rates are available in May.
For more on timing your trip to coincide with the lowest prices, see When’s Cheapest to Visit Walt Disney World in 2023? That covers price increases and other variables that impact the cost of a vacation beyond just room rates.
Note that this deal is substantially similar to the Disney Visa Cardholder Deal for late Summer 2023. The first difference is that this runs through late September, whereas that ended earlier in the month.
The second difference is that the savings are smaller here. This is up to 25% or 30% off, depending upon the month, whereas the Visa deal for most of the same dates offers 5% more for each tier. So if you qualify for that promo, you’ll probably want to book that instead of this. However, there are a couple of potential exceptions. It can be worth pricing out all of the offers if you’re eligible to see where you come out ahead–sometimes there are surprises.
Another thing to keep in mind is the restoration of free parking at Walt Disney World resorts. For those who are driving or renting a car, not only are these savings more significant than discounts during the same timeframe last year, but there’s also the added bonus of not having to pay for parking. That should amount to a fairly hefty year-over-year decrease in total prices, which is exceedingly rare for Walt Disney World!
Anyway, here’s the rack rates for standard rooms as illustrated below in the rate chart for Disney’s Pop Century Resort:
Contrast the rates in August or September 2023 with those in late June or July, which is the heart of summer season, and you’ll see it’s a fairly significant difference.
We’ve had readers ask about finding these rate charts whenever we post them. Rather than going off-topic here, refer to 2023 Walt Disney World Resort Hotel Price Increases (the step-by-step process is towards the bottom).
One very pleasant surprise here is that all of the Value Resorts, including Pop Century, are in the 15% or 20% off tier, and Caribbean Beach Resort is in the 20% or 25% off tier.
Total prices can end up being slightly above $100 for the All Star Resorts and under $150 per night for Pop Century. At just over $200 per night, Caribbean Beach is another standout (especially if the room refurbishment is finished for the entire resort by late summer). Another one that catches my eye is BoardWalk Inn for under $400 per night; we’re eager to stay in the new rooms there!
Some of these rates are the best we’ve seen since late 2020, and a sharp contrast to what was available last summer. Often, the Skyliner Resorts were excluded entirely or offered only ~10% off and had very limited availability.
So this is quite the departure from that! If you missed it, be sure to check out our new Rankings of ALL Resort Hotels at Walt Disney World from Worst to Best. Several of the resorts mentioned above–and with the biggest savings–are in the top 10!
For each of the past few discounts, we’ve offered commentary that it’s debatable whether the discounts are truly good or if it’s a matter of moving the goalposts and being conditioned to expect higher prices over the last two years. I don’t think there’s any debate here: these are truly good deals.
Some Walt Disney World fans may dispute that, thinking back to 2013, 2008, or some year in the distant past. And it is true that rack rates have gone up in the last several years. But not as much as everything else at Walt Disney World. (To the contrary, rack rates have increased by relatively modest amounts since 2020. It’s the lack of discounting that has made the effective prices people pay much, much higher!)
If you don’t believe me, just price out a non-sketchy third party hotel near Walt Disney World. Prices at the Swan & Dolphin, Bonnet Creek, Disney Springs, Grand Cypress, and Flamingo Crossing hotels have all gone up. Of those, the best rates that we’ve seen are at the Disney Springs and Flamingo Crossings hotels.
After this discount, there are many nights when the cheapest option at one of the Value Resorts is less expensive than anything at Flamingo Crossings and Disney Springs. That’s before factoring in the value of transportation to the parks and other on-site perks.
In many cases, you’re going to be hard-pressed to do better than the rates Walt Disney World is offering if you can find availability for your travel dates. For instance, ~$100 per night for the All Stars–with the new rooms, perks, transportation, and free parking–is a very fair price, in our view. (If you can find it, Pop Century is a great pick, even at ~$150 per night.)
Of course, rooms are not as cheap as what you would’ve paid this same time in 2019, let alone 2016. Back in my day, the All Stars had off-season rates that were routinely $79 per night or less! Unfortunately, it’s impossible to book those past prices. (If you do have the means to time travel, I hope you’re using it for something better than saving an extra ~$20 on a Value Resort!) Even with that in mind, this isn’t too far from that when adjusted for inflation.
Speaking of on-site perks, don’t underestimate the value of Early Entry and (potentially) Extended Evening Hours. We’ve found that many fans dismiss the former due to it being “only” 30 minutes, but we’ve found Early Entry to be incredibly advantageous (see our Guide to Early Entry at Walt Disney World). For those who are eligible, Extended Evening Hours is absolutely fantastic (see our Guide to Extended Evening Hours at Walt Disney World for strategy and other info).
Since reopening, many benefits have been eliminated–either permanently or temporarily–and that has led many guests to conclude there isn’t as compelling of a reason to stay on-site. In some ways, that’s right. In other ways, it’s very wrong. Read about this in Is Walt Disney World’s On-Site Advantage Disappearing…or Reappearing?
If your travel dates are flexible and you’re wondering which dates are best, check out our 2023 Best & Worst Months to Visit Walt Disney World. In case you don’t want to read all of that, September 2023 is our #1 month of the year, which comes down almost entirely to crowds.
Mid-August through late September is basically the last bastion of the true off-season at Walt Disney World, which is precisely why Disney ‘sweetens the deal’ with the better percentage savings for those dates. This comes with the colossal caveat of worse weather those two months as compared November through April, but if you can tolerate the heat, humidity, and potential for hurricanes, that stretch is unbeatable.
Also notable is that mid-August is the start of “fall” at Walt Disney World. Seasons don’t really work the same way in Florida; no one follows the astronomical calendar, Farmer’s Almanac, or whatever. Summer runs 9 months of the year, but there are also “seasons” delineated by tourism as well as special events.
In this case, the start of fall is marked by the return of the 2023 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. That’ll kick off in mid-August, occurring multiple nights per week in Magic Kingdom through Halloween.
As we’ve written several times in the last few months, we’re optimistic that there will be better Walt Disney World discounts throughout 2023. Among other things, we wouldn’t be surprised to see a second wave of the “Free” Dining Card Discount of Up to $150 Per Night at Disney World in Summer & Fall 2023. That promotion ended prematurely, and could make a comeback (as used to happen with Free Dining).
At least domestically, pent-up demand has started to fizzle out due to decreased household savings, inflation stinging more, and the economy slowing down. International travel is still going strong, fueling a second wind for Walt Disney World to some degree, but international visitors make up a small percentage of all guests. It thus seems increasingly likely that Walt Disney World will experience its own slowdown.
Although this is not yet evident in attendance or crowds at Walt Disney World, which remains quite busy, the fact that a dozen different discounts have already been released in 2023 suggests a corner has been turned and forward-looking occupancy for Summer and Fall 2023 is already softer.
On top of that, this also follows several discounts that for 2023 that have been released earlier than normal by historical standards. If weak discounting and late releases were a sign that pent-up demand had still been running strong, all of this is a sign that the opposite may no longer be true.
Ultimately, there are some pretty good savings for Walt Disney World in late Summer and early Fall 2023, with these deals continuing the trend of increasingly good discounts–especially for the general public. To each their own, but even though these room-only discounts are more boring, we far prefer them to the “free” Disney Dining Card promo, which is now gone but could return as a “wave 2” promo. While that has more eye-catching marketing, this will be the better deal for most people.
You can still do better with Disney Vacation Club Point Rentals, but this still might be as good as it’ll get for you. If you’re on the fence, definitely do NOT wait for something better. Availability is already limited, and it’s much more likely that rooms will sell out rather than better discounts will be released. We will be closely monitoring what’s released and will notify subscribers of our free email newsletter when any Walt Disney World discounts are released or rumored!
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 these Walt Disney World Summer and early Fall 2023 room only discounts? If you booked this, do you think you ended up with a good price or do you feel like you’re overpaying? What was available or unavailable for your dates? Is this deal enough to convince you to book a trip, or can you not justify these prices? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments? 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!
