Save Up to 40% Off Disney World Hotels Now to Christmas 2020!
In addition to the “Magic Is Here” deal, Walt Disney World has released awesome new room-only discounts for now through Christmas 2020. In this post, we’ll share the details of these special offers, and share some analysis as to how much money you’ll actually save with each.
There are actually three “new” room-only discounts as of today. Two of them are simply extensions of the “Rediscover the Magic” offer that was released back in July for Annual Passholders and Florida residents. There are obviously some differences (which we’ll get to below), but those discounts are not nearly as interesting as the brand-new deal, which we’re dubbing Walt Disney World’s Southerner Savings.
For the Southerner Savings room-only discount, residents of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, or West Virginia, can “Rediscover the Magic” with great savings on hotel rooms when taking advantage of this special offer…
Here are the official details: save up to 30% on rooms at select Walt Disney World resort hotels for stays most nights September 4 through December 25, 2020. Walt Disney World’s Southerner Savings discount is available for booking through December 25, 2020.
This special offer excludes the following room types: 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 Disney Value, Moderate and Deluxe Resorts and Studios at Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts.
Here are the resort by resort savings rates:
Walt Disney World is touting that guests can “book with confidence.” For extra peace of mind, know that if your plans change, any Disney-imposed change and cancellation fees will be waived up to the date of check-in for reservations with arrivals through December 31, 2020.
This is consistent with Walt Disney World’s temporary new cancellation policy, applicable to anything booked. It’s not unique to this offer.
Next, the discount chart for Florida Residents:
Finally, the Annual Passholder “Rediscover the Magic” discount chart:
From the best I can tell, the Annual Passholder and Florida resident offers are identical to the prior “Rediscover the Magic” rates and terms.
The critical difference is that they’ve been extended beyond their previous September 30, 2020 expiration date and now instead end on December 25, 2020.
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.
If you’re at all flexible about your resort choice or room preferences, consider waiting until later this evening when things calm down a bit. You might save yourself some headache and frustration. In any case, here’s a look at what should be the best per night prices at all of the eligible resorts:
Depending upon the resort and what room categories are available, this rates can end up being slightly cheaper than the previous round of “Rediscover the Magic” discounts.
That’s simply because the rack rate charts are generally better for these months than they were for summer and early fall 2020. If your travel dates are flexible and you want the cheapest possible rooms, here are the date ranges that are generally the best: October 25 to November 4, November 8 to 20, and November 28 to December 5, 2020.
Not so coincidentally, those date ranges will also be the lowest in terms of crowds. The lone exception to that is Veterans Day week, which for some reason has lower rates (aside from the weekend) but should have elevated crowds.
If we had to choose dates among those ranges to visit, we’d pick November 28 to December 5, 2020. That’s likely to be the sweet spot in terms of lower crowds, Christmas decorations & entertainment, and better weather (assuming “better” is slightly cool, which is what we favor).
As before, there are some atypically aggressive discounts in here—not by a huge margin, but 5-10% more than normal for this time of year—and some of these deals will not have a ton of inventory allocated to them.
This is especially true of the Deluxe Villa Resorts (aside from Disney’s Riviera Resort), simply because Walt Disney World doesn’t hold many rooms at these DVC properties. In some cases, we’re seeing some pretty attractive and fairly unprecedented deals.
The best we’ve spotted is ~$200 off at Yacht Club and Contemporary Resort, with both at or below $300 per night for some dates. That may still seem expensive (and it is!) but it’s also considerably less than you would’ve paid for the same date ranges last year.
It’s also far superior to what Walt Disney World is offering to the general public via the “Magic Is Here!” discount that also just dropped. That discount is downright pathetic.
Keep in mind that if you already have a resort reservation booked under another discount (or no deal at all), you can modify your reservation and apply this “Rediscover the Magic” deal (pending availability and eligibility). Since this is the best deal Walt Disney World has released for these travel dates, you’ll almost certainly save more money.
If you want to help determining what discounts are available for your travel dates and which resort will work best for your family, we recommend requesting a quote from Be Our Guest Vacations, a no-fee Authorized Disney Vacation Planner that we recommend. The agents there will book your vacation and help take the stress out of planning.
Overall, some of these room-only rates are pretty attractive if you’re among the guests eligible to book them. As always, Deluxe & Villa Resorts are going to offer the best savings–we’d skew towards the standalone properties rather than the add-on wings for maximum savings.
Deals elsewhere are less of a draw. We love Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, but there’s no way we’re paying ~$180 per night when Pop Century is significantly cheaper and some Deluxe Resorts aren’t that much more expensive. Regardless, though, this is significantly better than the general public offer, so here’s hoping you’re eligible to book this trio of discounts!
Hopefully, Walt Disney World will release more 2020 discounts for the general public that are not targeted to specific states or a region of the country in the coming weeks. If Florida’s case numbers continue to fall and hotel occupancy remains low, that seems likely. We will be closely monitoring what’s released and will notify subscribers of our free email newsletter when any general public Walt Disney World discounts become available!
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 room only discounts for Annual Passholders plus Florida & Southern state residents? If you booked this, do you think you ended up with a good price? Can you think of any circumstances that would make the “Magic Is Here” discount somehow better than this? 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!
If we already have reservations during this time period: Pop Century, 7 nights. Can we call and “re-book” to get the 20% savings??? I’d wait on the phone for 2 hrs. if needed.
But, does it mess with our confirmation number and any of the other plans like Park Tickets, Dining and Park Reservations???
You can change it yourself in MDE. Click on change reservation. If there are discounted rooms available for your stay you will be able to change to the lower rate. It only took me a few
Minutes and I received a new confirmation email. My online check in and everything else remained the same.
I was excited until I realized that being from Wisconsin Im out. So non regional travel spends the most to get there, and then you get there and realize the family in the room next to you paid 30% less because they could drive there quickly. NO thanks, which makes me sad.
Disney’s fiscal year ends in September. Year-to-date overall stock price is down a little over 10 percent. This has been significantly supported by the “Wall Street” perception of the success of Disney+. When Disney announces (mid-October?) both 4th quarter and yearly results are off 30 percent or more I would expect a slew of vacation discounts.
Personally, and this is considering that I’m have access to retired military discounts which reduce my overall vacation cost at Disney World by about 40 percent (note that I have other options that would increase the above discounts like driving in, staying off-resort or at Shades of Green, etc.). Military discounts also decrease Universal tickets costs by over 60 percent (buy one day get a three-day ticket (take note Disney). I will not be returning to Disney World, and vacationing elsewhere, until masks are not longer required and the park experience (less the crowds – lol) returns to close to normal.
Great news Tom! I have been waiting for these rooms only discounts to come available. Question for you… Is the magic is back for southern states, the best deal? That is the only deal I’m seeing on the Disney experience website. Let me know if there’s a better deal than that we live in North Carolina. You’re the bomb!
Well being from Texas and maybe booking a trip for Thanksgiving being off the southerners discount I definitely feel left out.
We are from Texas too and were disappointed not to be included in the Southern states discount!
I am from Texas and got the discount… Booked through an agency though. Do you think that has something to do with it?
As a Texan, we took the general discount, but it isn’t as much as the one residents of specific Southern states were offered.
Yes, Tom is right regarding DVC rental points at this point in time (be cautious). My research showed that with insurance and all said and done on days out (must cancel 45 days prior to check in or significant drop in money back on your points rented). Given cost per point potentially lost and insurance fee the savings was not significant enough to prompt me to book DVC rental. This would not necessarily be true true at another time of course. WDW is offering a very generous policy without any loss at all if the need arises to cancel or they close again this calendar year. I hope that helps someone looking into the current situation and Fall/Holiday Travel 2020. That was my search on all two bedroom villas during our scheduled dates. Flexibility was not there for me on dates, though so someone else may get different results on other room types.
You might even be able to book a DVC resort directly with Disney using these discount and you get the ability to cancel for almost any reason at almost any time.
The Southern State discount is not appearing in any searches even though I live in one of the included states. I am logged in and my address is in file. Very odd. I even went to the discount page and searched from there and it only pulls up the Magic is Here discount. Apparently, I’ll have to call. Ugh.
Christy, when clicking on places to stay, then click on the specials offers tab. It should be there just below the military offers. Hope that helps!
Geographically, Texas is about as south as it gets, but not included? That is a disappointment.
P.S- I am from Arkansas and updated my room and ticket package to the “Magic is here- Room and Ticket package deal” Looks like it is open to anyone
Hello! I just seen your post and went online and updated my Disney package reservation for October. You saved me $421.88 on my reservation!! I was booked at standard price and I have been watching for a discounted rate.. Thank you SO much for the heads up.
I am really disappointed with this deal. We leave in Missouri and were going to drive down in early December. So we are not eligible for the deal. We were waiting for some ticket discounts as it seems a little off to be paying full price for a diminished product, but we were balancing that against reduced crowds. This deal just makes the crowds larger and the whole thing a worse deal for us and now we are rethinking the whole trip.
Yes it is typical they add extra person charge(s) on Deluxe Studios and not on the 1-3 bedroom villas. The savings do appear better than last year, however room types and availability lower at the upper deluxe and villas. Luck of the draw and definitely have to be flexible on dates from what I found.
I was happy to get a discount on a FW Campsite which almost never happens. We just made a reservation last week and I was able to go on this morning and modify it quickly to apply the discount. This 15% campsite discount seems to only be on the Magic is Here promo and not on any of the other charts.
Southern discount seems odd to me. Don’t want my money as a New Yorker? Alright I guess.
I think it is less about not wanting your money and more about encouraging regional travel to FL.
It’s simply the conservative/cautious approach. People from Southern states are more likely to drive, and are not subject to quarantine rules upon returning to their home states.
What about the “rediscover the magic” discount? Could you not take advantage of that one??
My guess is they are trying to attact guests within driving distance.
What is the logic behind certain Southern states getting a discount? Why the discrimination? Are they planning to remove the mask mandate?
So I read a lot of your posts, including DVC info. We have never bought or rented points. I’m looking at the first week of October and it seems we can do better renting pets at AK or the one of the Epcot resorts than today’s pass holder rates. Opinion? Do you have an article already on rentals? Thanks Tom.
https://www.disneytouristblog.com/renting-disney-vacation-club-points/
The one thing to be mindful of is cancellation and refund policies, which apply not just if you cancel but if for some reason Walt Disney World closes again. That seems highly unlikely at this point, but it’s still worth keeping in mind. If the savings are minimal by renting DVC points, I’d stick with the AP discount. If savings are greater, it’s worth renting. All about your personal risk tolerances.
I’m not happy with the Southern discount. I live in another southern state that borders discounted state. It seems wrong to exclude us.
We live closer to Disney that some
Included discounted states!
We’re coming from Texas for a late Sept trip. Very odd to be excluded. Still worth a call you think?
I think they owe us money for Park Hopper and the Halloween party too, so I’m going to have to call anyways.
I can see West Virginia from my home in Pennsylvania, but I’m not eligible. Very frustrating.
I happen to watch the Animal Kingdom Lodge prices and although I’ve never looked at it for Christmas time, I have looked in September and the lodge is never $700+ per night! I was stunned to see that as the “rack rate” in November. It seems to me that no matter what discounts are added, AKL is always about $400 a night. Are they messing with rack rates to make this look like a good discount?
They’re not messing with rack rates–it’s all about which room categories are available. Animal Kingdom has a range of price points due to the views and variety of room sizes.
This comment surprised me. “Additional per-adult charges may apply if more than 2 adults per room at Disney Value, Moderate and Deluxe Resorts and Studios at Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts.” So more than two adults (18 or older) will pay an extra adult fee in Studios, but not in one and two bedroom villas. Plus the discount is available on Tree House Villas at Saratoga Springs, but not Cascade cabins, Polynesian bungalows or any Grand Villa.
The first part of that is normal. I’m not sure about the lack of additional per adult charges for the larger rooms. Neither are really applicable to us, so I don’t generally check. (Anyone know if that’s normal or not?)
This is normal. We have stayed multiple times at Port Orleans with 3 adults before and been charged for an additional guest. However, when we’ve stayed in a 2 bdrm at Sarasota Springs with 5 adults they do not charge extra for more than 2 adults in the room
Considering these discounts have been released for AP and Southern States, does it follow that general discounts for the rest of the US will appear in 2021 or later in the year FOR 2021?
Normally, those would be released towards the beginning of October–right after the start of Disney’s new fiscal year.
That could still happen this year, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t drop until right around Christmas.