Up to 40% Off Disney World Hotels in 2021!
Walt Disney World has released strong new room-only discounts for winter and Spring 2021. In this post, we’ll share the details of these special offers, compare & contrast them with this year’s room-only discounts, and share analysis as to how much money you’ll actually save with each.
As you might recall, Walt Disney World released a slew of room-only discounts at the beginning of last month, including extensions of the up to 40% off “Rediscover the Magic” discount for Annual Passholders and Florida residents, plus the “Southerner Savings” for residents of certain states, with solid deals lasting through Christmas 2020. (These deals can still be booked for holiday travel dates.)
However, the only general public offer was the abysmal Magic Is Here “deal” (air quotes around deal) which was a discount in name only. Following that, there was the widely-targeted PIN Code, but still nothing for everyone, which resulted in a lot fo vocal fan frustration. Well, it appears that Disney has heard your complaints, and is now answering–as there is an excellent general public discount in addition to the Florida Resident and Annual Passholder deals!
This is a tiered discount, with each category of guest (Annual Passholder, Florida resident, general public) receiving different discount levels. Obviously, you should apply the best deal for which you qualify.
Let’s start with the Annual Passholder options.
Here are the official details: Annual Passholders can save up to 40% on rooms at select Disney Resort hotels for stays most nights January 3 through April 17, 2021. Walt Disney World’s winter and spring AP discount is available for booking through April 17, 2021.
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. Maximum length of stay under this deal is 14 nights.
Here are the resort by resort savings rates:
For all of these discounts, 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 April 30, 2021.
This is consistent with Walt Disney World’s temporary new cancellation policy, applicable to anything booked. It’s not unique to this offer, but this an extension of the policy through at least April 2021, so that bodes well. We’re guessing that this policy will be the norm until at least 2022. There’s simply too much uncertainty for many people to feel comfortable booking travel without incredibly flexible modification and cancellation policies.
Next, the discount chart for Florida Residents:
Terms and conditions are pretty much identical for the Florida resident deal. Same exclusions, stay limitations, and extra guest fees. The only material differences are that this is available to all Florida residents, not just APs, and you save 5% less across the board.
Finally, the general public discounts:
Here we start to see additional differences, with the noteworthy one being that Friday and Saturday nights save less most dates in January and February.
This makes complete sense. First, weekends are currently significantly busier at the hotels due to Floridians and other Southerners doing long weekends. (It’s honestly surprising that the same limit isn’t being imposed on the other deals–but perhaps Disney is weary about discouraging too many bookings.) Second, those dates encompass the long weekends of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Valentine’s Day, and Presidents’ Day. Those have become increasingly popular travel times, so reducing the incentives for hotel stays then also seems appropriate.
Benchmarking these discounts as compared to historical offers is pretty easy, as a very similar slew of room-only discounts was released last year on October 4 that encompassed travel dates of January 1 through April 25 of this year with the same exclusions and hotel options. (Obviously, there were slight differences since some hotels are currently closed and there’s a new cancellation policy, but you get the idea.
That winter/spring discount offered 15%-25% off room-only rates for general public, 20%-30% off room-only rates for Florida Residents, and 25%-35% off room-only rates for Annual Passholders. In other words, this deal offers an additional 5% off across the board for most dates, but 5% less to the general public on select Fridays and Saturdays.
All things considered, we’d call that a win for Walt Disney World deal-seekers. Even though you can save more with DVC point rentals or Priceline Express Deals, the flexible cancellation policy here (which neither of those offer) is huge.
Of course, value for money still depends upon what crowds, wait times, and entertainment offerings are looking like inside Walt Disney World’s parks, but comparing the apples to apples of the resorts, these 2021 discounts are better than their 2020 counterparts.
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.
Despite that, we’d encourage you to book this deal ASAP, especially if you’re considering one of the Deluxe Villas. Walt Disney World doesn’t have much inventory for those Disney Vacation Club resorts, so those rooms in particular are likely to book quickly.
In fact, with limited availability due to the ongoing resort closures and the potential for Walt Disney World “Revenge Travel” in 2021, you might want to book whatever you’re eyeing sooner rather than later. With that generous cancellation policy, it doesn’t hurt to lock something in now–you can always cancel what you have, but you cannot book what’s gone!
In any case, here’s a look at what should be the best per night prices at all of the eligible resorts:
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 deal (pending availability and eligibility). Since this is the best deal Walt Disney World has released for these travel dates, you will definitely save more money–unless your room category isn’t available and you have to do a forced/unwanted upgrade.
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 for Winter and Spring 2021 at Walt Disney World are pretty attractive. 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. Several great options under $300 per night there–including some Deluxe Villas under $250 per night.
Even the Value and Moderate Resorts are good options. We criticized this deal in the fall because Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort was ~$180 per night for most dates. Now, both it and Coronado are in the ~$140 range for many dates. Art of Animation and Pop Century around $100 per night is also pretty good, especially with the upgraded rooms in both. Ditto the soon to return All Star Movies Resort. If you’re eager for an escape to Walt Disney World in the coming months and don’t mind the in-park sacrifices and need flexibility on the cancellation policy, these price points are pretty attractive.
Hopefully, Walt Disney World will release more 2021 discounts for the general public in the coming months. It’s good to see Disney getting back on track with general public discounts, and also reopening more hotels and restaurants. By the way, if history repeats itself, the next major round of discounts would be released at the beginning of January 2021, and would include a room-only offer and Free Dining! While that is probably premature for a return of the Disney Dining Plan and that highly-coveted deal, Walt Disney World has already surprised us countless times during the reopening process. 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 room only discounts for the general public, Annual Passholders, and Florida residents? If you booked this, do you think you ended up with a good price? What was available or unavailable for your dates? Is 35-40% off enough to convince you to book a trip, or is too much still missing from the full Walt Disney World experience to justify even those 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!
Thank you much
Just booked Saratoga Springs with the AP discount for our spring break week the last week of March/first week of April. Yay! Also with a heavy heart finally canceled our December trip. I love Disney at Christmas but it’s just not going to happen this year, for various reasons. Maybe next year!
03/14/2021-03/19/2021 Pop Century Standard Room ‘reduced’ to $174 per night from standard rate $217 (what?) saving $44 is not any sort of motivation for me in these times,..
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could stack those discounts? FL resident plus AP would be pretty nice.
Up to 40% Off Disney World Hotels in 2021!
Is this true, I can’t find anything that reference 2021 40% off.
Please let me know.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/special-offers/
This what you’re lookin for?
Has there been any conversation of opening back up park hopper?
Playing around on the site, they seem to make Park Hopper an option starting with tickets purchased for January 2021. They allow the Park Hopper Plus option to be added to tickets starting in March 2021. I haven’t heard any announcements, just started adding things to the cart. I did not attempt to purchase, so I don’t know if there would be changes once you do that.
They’ve allowed Park Hopper to be added to ticket purchases for 2021 since packages went on sale in June. I’m presuming the + option Lori mentioned is because one of the water parks will be opening in March.
However, there is no official word yet on when PH will be available. If you purchase it and it’s not available when you travel, request a refund before you go. Though, you’re probably better off waiting and adding it on later if they do make an announcement that it is back.
My reservation had to be split to take advantage of the discount on the latter half of my trip. The phone rep couldn’t promise I’d be able to stay in the same room, but that seems silly as both bookings are for the same resort and room type. Has anyone had experience with this before? Did you have to move?
This happened to my family once. Before the “switch over” day, I went down to the front desk and explained the situation. They were able to keep us in the same room. Hopefully you have the same luck!
I appreciate the response! Fingers crossed we have the same lick
NO EDIT?! Ugh – luck.
Normally I would get excited and book a short trip with these kids of discounts, but I am sitting in MCO now with my husband and we both agree we are done with Disney for a bit. We just did a short trip and felt like we didn’t get to do anything except wait in lines all day, had no real evening entertainment, and the resort restaurant closures/limited menus were frustrating. When you consider that the general public offer is not that much lower than the usual discounts (especially on weekends when it is easiest to get away for a short trip) the value/price proposition is not there. They’ll have to start bringing back fastpass and fireworks or start discounting a lot more to bring us back.
This is exactly what I am worried about!! Every time I check ride wait times on the Disney app, I am super disappointed by the wait times with no fast passes in sight!! Combined with no fireworks or parades I just can’t really justify going! With a trip scheduled for the first week in December, I was hoping to take advantage of less crowds at Christmas but what’s the point if lines are always long. With these “decent deals” coming out for Spring and the return of All Star Movies, I just canceled and booked our trip for the first week in March since I LOVE the Flower and Garden Show. Wasn’t really any cheaper than the first week in Dec I had booked at All Star Sports, even with 35% off, which is why I only call it a “decent deal”. It is by no means what I would consider a great deal given how much less the parks are offering combined with long wait times and bad transportation issues. Crossing my fingers that fastpass (or something), parades, and fireworks are back by then!
This is what I am worried about. I have a trip booked first weekend in December but I think I might cancel. The waiting’s on the app worry me and with no fast passes I’m not sure it’s worth going. I might cancel, as much as I’d hate to, I’d hate to waste the money to wait in line all day.
I doubt any of that will be coming back in 2020. I have to imagine that should restrictions be lifted Disney will announce that well in advance of doing so. Right now, Disney has taken the (smart) attitude that it’s better to have people in socially distanced lines than milling about the park waiting for their FastPass windows. Also, shows and entertainment that will create clustering aren’t on the menu anytime soon for the same reason. Finally DDP can’t make sense until enough dining venues can be open to accommodate guests (that’s probably both a mix of cost-cutting and safety, but it still makes sense) It’s not ideal but that’s the price for having Disney remain safe during a pandemic.
I agree with Tom’s repeated take that you need to seriously consider whether or not a trip to Disney is worth it under these conditions and choose whether to go assuming all current restrictions will remain in place. Certainly many people have gone since reopening and have had great trips, but if you don’t think that will be the case for you with current restrictions, it’s probably best to cancel or reschedule.
We feel the same way. The lines last time we were there ranged from 65-120 ish min. for most rides, not just the latest/greatest attractions (and these were accurate wait times that we had to wait in). With no FP, that translates to standing in lines all day.
Also, even within the deluxe tier, they didn’t offer 40% for the nicer resorts! An AP discount for next spring shows Pop at $187/night and a Poly studio at $588/night – THIS IS NOT A DISCOUNT EVEN WITHOUT ALL OF THE LIMITED EXPERIENCES! As an out-of-town AP holder, I can’t justify an off-property stay either since we would only be able to reserve 3 parks at a time and then would run the risk of not having park reservations for our stay. Looks like the APs for us are finally going away – no need to renew with this nonsense going on!
We just returned and we won’t be back for a while. The masks were no big deal and made us feel safer, but the lines and the lack of food availability were really frustrating. No fast passes. Tough to get a coffee or a drink or snack to entertain you while you walk to the next thing or wait in line. There were some things that were great about being there right now, but so many things we missed out on. We won’t be back until Fastpasses and Park Hopper return.
How do I get a code for Florida resident discount?
Nevermind. I figured out just have to have my preferences correct. It’s not letting me apply any discount online for Pop Century that we already have booked. Calling in. Wish me luck.
Weirdly, the general public discount link was showing fine earlier this AM but now gives me a popup that says a Canadian billing address is required to take advantage. Was there an error earlier and it’s only supposed to be for CA residents?
My family likes to use the dining plan. We already have tickets from a covid cancelled trip. If I book this room only deal, is it possible to add the dining plan on??
Dining plans aren’t available at this time. If they become available before your trip, you should be able to add it on.
Should the DDP come back, I can’t think of a reason you wouldn’t be able to add it to this rate. Disney only restricts your ability to combine room only discounts with Free DDP, and typically whenever FD is offered they offer a choice between that and a room only discount. That said, until Disney can justify the costs of opening enough restaurants to accommodate DDP people it’s not coming back anytime soon.
I do think, however, of all the things Disney has cut DDP will be one of the first to come back. Disney makes a ton of money off of DDP, both because it keeps people in the Disney bubble, but also because the vast majority of people on the DDP end up paying more than they would have than if they went without it and payed out of pocket (even if all of their meals were within the Disney bubble). Disney is not going to leave that money on the table if they feel they can open enough restaurants to make it work.
This is just my luck. They have discounts for the GF spring and winter, we’re booked for the fall. Haha! Oh well, I’m very excited to stay at the GF for the first time. And this will be my husband’s first time staying deluxe level.
Unless you are going around the 50th anniversary, I wouldn’t be surprised if fall discounts come out later.
We are going September 6th-13th
Thank you Tom. Because of your notification, I was able to save almost $2000 on our trip that had already been booked for March!
Yacht Club has been coming up on Priceline for $264 a night for a week in December. That’s pretty epic.
Yeah, definitely. We’ve been watching/updating those (https://www.disneytouristblog.com/tips-priceline-express-deals-disney-world-hotels/) and have seen some great prices pop up. The problem there, as with DVC point rental, is the risk and hassle.
We are willing to take that gamble, but I don’t know whether that’s the case for a lot of families. The no-hassle cancellation that Disney is offering helps level the playing field, so to speak.
I hope this is a sign that bouncebacks and AP sales will return soon too.
Would you expect a new version of the Florida Resident Flex tickets for this timeframe? We are planning to go at the end of January and I’m debating whether to buy tickets now or wait for cheaper tickets.
Does the current cancellation policy apply only to room only reservations or to packages with tickets too? Usually I would buy tickets from one of your recommended websites, but this time I wanted to include the tickets so I could go ahead and make park reservations. I have looked and looked for an answer to my question on Disney’s website but can’t find anything but the usual cancel by X date for full refund with the X date about a month prior to check in date.
FWIW, I also received a PIN code this morning for the up to 35% offer, but valid on dates through 6/30/2021.
We, too, received a PIN code for 25/30/35/35% off through June 30, 2021 with a book-by date of March 15, 2021.
I received this pin as well. Got one earlier this year as well for fall dates.
I also got one – book through 3/15/21 for stays through 6/30/21. I got my first ever pin code in the last round too – and used it for a stay 2 weeks ago, so maybe that’s why I got another one?
Thanks!
Any thoughts on the retirn of the Dining Plan? We are currently due to fly from Uk to Coronado 6th July, delayed from this past August. We transferred dates via Tui (Travel agent here in Uk) & wondering whether to cancel & rebook via Disny to take advantage of theroom discounts. However when we transferred, they also transferred our dining plan we paid for. Now, if we rebook with Disney, do you think we might be able to add DP at a later date?
Sorry for long post!
I wouldn’t do anything yet. These deals are only good for stays through April right now so they won’t apply to your July trip, and who knows when the dining plan will come back. I’d keep what you have and keep an eye out for if/when deals are released for the summer.
Wow, the rates in your screenshot are way better than the deals I found for updating my vacation package. I still saved $200 when I updated my AoA package starting Jan 7. Looking forward to Festival of the Arts starting that weekend as well.
Forgot to mention, I am in the Little Mermaid rooms at AoA. I know those are usually overlooked for discounts, but they are included this time around.