Buying a Night in Cinderella Castle Suite?
“How much does a night inside Cinderella Castle Suite cost?” That’s a surprisingly common question from readers who have seenĀ photos from inside Walt Disney World’s most lavish “hotel” room. This answers that, with the sale price a rare 1-night stay in Magic Kingdom’s Cinderella Castle Suite. We’ll cover how this room works and is used, and what additional magical extras the suite stay includes. (Updated December 19, 2022.)
We’ve visited the Cinderella Castle Suite in Magic Kingdom twice, and it’s incredible–definitely the coolest accommodations (if you can even call it that) at Walt Disney World. For those unfamiliar with it, the Cinderella Castle Suite was created by Walt Disney Imagineering a little over a decade ago. Its purpose at that time was to serve as a daily prize for randomly chosen guests during the Year of a Million Dreams.
Prior to that, it was a utilitarian backstage storage space; before that, Walt Disney World phone operators used it as a workspace. (Talk about the ultimate office!) The Cinderella Castle Suite is seldom used these days, save for giveaways about once per year or when celebrities like Mariah Carey or Tom Cruise make a special visit.
December 19, 2022 Update:Ā There have been a couple of recent sweepstakes for stays in the Cinderella Castle Suite, with one for the general public and another for Cast Members as part of the “Magic Backstage” program. However, there has not been a regular general public giveaway program or any auctions last year or in 2022.
OurĀ hopeĀ was that there would be another option for the World’s Most Magical Celebration a la the Year of a Million Dreams. Unfortunately, the Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary celebration has been fairly muted by comparison, an underwhelming event given its historical significance. The good news is that the Disney company’s 100th Anniversary festivities kick off on January 27, 2023–so it’s possible more giveaways will occur then. The bad news is that celebration largely seems centered around Disneyland. Either way, we’ll keep you posted.
As for the cost of a stay in Cinderella Castle Suite, a stay was previously auctioned off by ESPN during V Week (although not during the 2022 event, which just concluded on December 11). This is part of the Walt Disney Company’sĀ annual fundraising auction with 100% of the proceeds going to the V Foundation.
V Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to saving lives by helping to find a cure for cancer by generating broad-based support for cancer research and urgent awareness among all Americans of the importance of the war against cancer. (V Foundation has a 94.69 out of 100 on Charity Navigator.)
However, the auction was not just for a single night in Cinderella Castle Suite. It also included a vacation package for three nights and four days at Walt Disney World, including the following:
- Four round trip coach airfares
- Ground transfers between Orlando International Airport and Walt Disney World
- Room accommodations consisting of one standard room for two nights at a Walt Disney World resort hotel, selected by Disney in its sole discretion.
- Four 4-Day Theme Park Tickets with Park Hopper Plus
- One Disney Gift Card with a value of $2,000.
One night stay inside the Cinderella Castle Suite in Magic Kingdom with select food and beverage snacks - Disney VIP Tour Guide for 8 hours one day
There are a bunch of other disclaimers, rules, and requirements (including the necessity of pre-qualifying to bid) that can be found in the auction listing.
The most important two things are that the estimated retail value of the vacation package is $10,644.80, which is the estimated value of all of the Walt Disney World vacation package add-ons.
This means that we can take the final winning bid and subtract $10,644 to determine the per night fair market value of a night in Cinderella Castle Suite by itself.
With that said, this ultimately a “for fun” exercise to answer the age old question of “how much is a night in the Cinderella Castle Suite worth?” In actuality, it won’t even be able to provide a definitive answer. For one, this goes to charity, so bidders might be more generous than if the sole beneficiary were Disney.
For another thing, there’s the matter of scarcity. To my knowledge, this is the first time since the Cinderella Castle Suite opened that you could buy your way into it. There’s likely a lot of demand and disposable wealth that would evaporate quickly if the Cinderella Castle Suite were available to be booked 365 days per year.
Prior to the auction ending, my prediction was that the winning bid would be $64,499.49.
That’s an obscene amount of money, but there are plenty of incredibly affluent Disney fans willing to blow their money. Of course, if the Lopez brothers and John Stamos catch wind of this, it could result in a six-figures bidding war!
In the end, there were 114 bids placed on the Cinderella Castle Suite auction and the winner paid $75,600 (plus $7.75 for shipping…for some reason). Not too far off from our original guess!
We’re guessing that if a night in the Cinderella Castle Suite were auctioned off every single day, the average price would drop considerably below that…but still likely around $10,000. After all, there are suites at the Grand Floridian and Four Seasons Orlando that fetch nearly that nightly rate!
If you want to see more glimpses of the rooms inside the suite, check out our Cinderella Castle Suite Photo Tour post (that bathroom is beyond belief!).
In that, we cover why it’s not realistic for Walt Disney World to use this on a nightly basis for Make a Wish families or even cash bookings. Nevertheless, it feels almost criminal that it just sits empty most nights.
It’d be cool if there were a more egalitarian approach to Walt Disney World offering nights in the Cinderella Castle Suite on a regular basis, such as the random giveaways like during the Year of a Million Dreams. It was always incredibly exciting to see someone who was randomly selected return from their trip and post about it. You couldn’t help but feel happy for the winners, albeit with just a bit of good-natured jealousy.
With the Walt Disney Company’s 100th Anniversary starting in January 2023 and running through 2024, it seems like a golden (or perhaps diamond is more apt?) opportunity to revive the Year of a Million Dreams type giveaway. The Disney Diamond Dreams Jubilee has a certain ring to it. Perhaps add some flourishes for the occasion, and make a big deal of it. Few prizes at Walt Disney World are quite as exciting as a night in the Cinderella Castle Suite!
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 would YOU pay to spend a night here (assuming no budgetary limitations)? Do you wish that Walt Disney World bring back random, daily giveaways of the Cinderella Castle Suite? Think it could happen for the company’s 100th Anniversary? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedbackāeven when you disagree with usāis both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
$76,747
I wouldāve guessed they would use the suite for the celebrity readers over Christmas, surprised those dates appear to be available!
My guess is $98,000. Now what would really be special is if someone wealthy donated the prize to a needy kid or something like Make a Wish. Sort of feels weird conceptually to be donating to charity but getting an amazing vacation for yourself.
One more thought: imagine how much they would have raised if they had sold $10 raffle tickets . Probably millions.
It’s really not weird though. This is how almost all charity is facilitated. When I donate to my local public radio station I get a tee shirt or a tote bag I won’t use. This is the same idea except this is a really awesome tote bag and the donation is a lot bigger. š
Exactly! I donāt understand why anyone would think itās āweirdā to receive this great incentive after being the highest bidder for charity. Common sense dictates that the recipient charity benefits the most when bidders WANT the experience or prize which is the subject of the bidding. Thatās what drives up the bidding.
Business 101.
I’m a huge Disney fan, but being held Rapunzel-Style in the tower seems a little creepy. Maybe I’m just a claustrophobic at heart…
My guess for the winning bid is $155,000.00.
Not so much a guess as a wish… I wish the bid would be over a million dollars… not for the chance to stay in the castle ( although that is awesome) but for the chance of your āmoneyā finding a cure! I believe in Disney Magic but the magic of beating cancer once and for all is bigger than anything I can imagine!
$76,299.69
I think it will go for $125,000. As for the blackout dates…, I think that is more of Disney just covering themselves legally, if another need for the suite is scheduled at the same time as the winner of the auction chooses. Or they are going to block out Christmas. lol
My favorite part about the listing is the āplus $7.95 shipping.ā
I canāt imagine what needs to be shipped. Travel documents, I guess. But cāmon man.
If someone plops down $250k for this experience, canāt Disney eat the eight bucks?!?!
Sheesh
Best comment….
How is it only at 30k?? Not sure how long the bidding has been going on for but my guess is $56,755.00 with 3 days left?
Who wants to go to Disney over Christmas or New Years? Unless for the donation you get unlimited Fast Passes.
I learned on the Keys to the Kingdom tour
That my mom and me took last year on Oct 29th. That you can not see out the windows in the Cinderella’s suite
Also once you are in the suite
You are stuck there and not allowed to go into the closed park. They post a guard outside the door.
I was lucky enough to win a night in the Dream Suite at Disneyland during the Year of A Million Dreams. They gave us a full breakdown of cost for the room for taxation purposes; however, if I remember correctly they billed the nightly stay as zero dollars for the sweepstakes. Staying there was, needless to say, incredible. I am assuming the Magic Kingdom suite functions the same way that Disneyland does. At Disneyland they had a CM that functioned as concierge who was always at the suite in a separate office. They buzzed you in and out of the suite during park hours and remained available to assist you after the park closed. Once the park closes you are asked to remain in the suite and not to leave. The doors are locked externally but are unlocked from the inside so technically you may leave at any time; however, Cast Members will be alerted and will nicely ask you to remain in the suite.
This is amazing! What a dream experience it must have been!
Scott,
The suite does have 6 windows and you can see out of all of them. Three face the carousel and three face Liberty Square. They aren’t the best views from that perspective but they are clear and easy enough to see out of. If I was able to add an image I would attach one that I took from inside the suite.
175,000
For charity… $300,000
Wait, you only get 3 total nights of rooms at Disney for a 4 day park hopper pass? Am I reading that right? That seems incredibly stingy.
tough one – my guess $125,000.
Definitely six figures. I’ll guess $197,110
Iām guessing $250,000. Itās for charity after all!
And read the fine print, blackout dates may apply. Read good luck at christmas or new years..
Regardless once again catered to the rich.
So youāre complaining about something where all the proceeds go to charity?
And so.what? It’s for charity, for crying out loud. I never get being jealous of people who have tons of money. Trust me when I say they have their own issues.
If it’s already at $30,000 I think the winning bid will be 6 figures for sure. I know someone who would bid up to $100,000 for this and he’s not even in celebrity-wealthy realm.
I recently saw earlier this year that OMAZE was doing a similar thing. With OMAZE you donate to the charity and based on the size or your donation you get so many “entries” into the drawing to win. I just tried to look back at it, but it ended on May 17th of this year. So maybe Disney is starting to do this type of charity based rental more often. I agree with you about offering people chances to win stays there. It would be truly incredible!
ha.
hahaha.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
thanks, i really needed a good laugh.
Do you think they might block dates – like New Year’s Eve for the winner??
Although if you just outbid everyone else to win and paid $40,000+ for that privilege, I would NOT be happy if they blocked New Year’s Eve for my trip!