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!
My son is a Chief Petty Officer in the NAVY he is a Single Dad and stationed at NAS Lemoore, Ca, he has served his country for 14 years and deployed several times. He has 3 great children. They are 10, 7, and 4. The kids favorite place is Disneyland. It would be great to reward this family with a overnight stay in the Castle.
I am a teacher who has devoted decades of her life to educating children from economically disadvantaged families. It would be so great to for once feel appreciated and be treated like a queen/princess. Disney World ? I am anxiously awaiting for your call š
Money should not determine who stays. The suite should be reserved for deserving kids who are fighting life threatening illnesses and their families via Make a Wish & Give Kids the Workd.
The Suite should Not be for privileged celebrities.
Money should not determine who stays. The suite should be reserved for deserving kids who are fighting life threatening illnesses and their families via Make a Wish & Give Kids the Workd.
The Suite should Not be for privileged celebrities.
My daughter will be six next October when we are planning our Disney trip of a lifetime! I havenāt been since I was 7, pre -Epcot! We would LOVE the opportunity to stay a night in Cinderellaās Castle! Ć¢ā¬ĀĆ¢ā¢āĆÆĀøĀ
I would think that some sort of use of this suit would help them with the financial issues. They could charge almost anything. I don’t have a clue on logistics, but they could even sell some nights, auction others for charity and give away a few randomly. Great optics on some, and great money on others.
I think it would be a great idea to reward a first responder with this prize. I love Disneyworld! It represents love for everyone not just the rich and famous.
It is really not that fair for the regular people who donāt have that kind of money,
I would spend big bucks to hang out there with John Stamos!!
$124,687.
I wish them luck.
And there is a tiny room adjacent to the suite for the cast member to stay in over night in case anything is needed. And the walls are thin…
You could take a second vacation just from the credit card points!
Hi I am sheila from liverpool it would be amazing to be able to afford such luxury but I myself and my family do not have that sort of money we can just about afford to save and go every two years I think you should have a raffle at an affordable price may be every month I am sure you would get lots of people buying them
Although this benefits a charity, I prefer the lottery type competitions (such as Omaze) as they are inclusive and the winner is not dependent on personal wealth. In this case the winner will definitely be a millionaire. They would raise more money with a lottery competition rather than highlighting how the super rich get extra benefits (again).
I generally agree with you, and also think the lottery style is a ābetter lookā for Disney.
However, in this one case, thereās a small part of me (okay, actually a big part) thatās oddly curious about just how much a night in this suite is worth to people.
I think that’s certainly something they should do – just do another fundraiser that’s the lottery style (maybe with not so many add-on perks – the $2,000 gift card would not need to be part of it for one. The V Foundation fundraiser has always been this type of big-dollar auction. I don’t really watch/listen to ESPN much any more, but I remember 10-15 years ago when some of the shows, particularly the radio shows, would really push this fundraiser auction. There would be a lot of different experiences people could bid on and special memorabilia as well. For this particular fundraiser, it’s far more than this one item and it’s about the total they raise each year across all of their auctions, not necessarily about an individual one.
Like I said though, that would be a good idea for an additional charity fundraiser they could do for another cause.
Definitely gonna hit $100k. My guess is about $150-160k. All you gotta do is make a Venn diagram and look at the intersection of stupid, rich, and Disney superfans. Pretty fertile grounds there.
Oh, and take into account it’s ‘for charity’ (lol), and I’ll up my estimate to $190k.
My guess is $115,000. Someone who just wants to donate to charity.
As a lifelong Disney fan, this makes me want to go to Universal!
And this is one of those instances where a stupid internet person (me) didnāt read the whole article! I take back this comment!! Once I realized it was for charity, this was a whole different thing!
I know someone who won the night there during the year of a million dreams! Dhe said they had you locked up tight in there so there was no escape…almost like prison..but would still be the best thing that could happen to me.
UPDATE (SUNDAY, JULY 7): Current bid – $70,300.00
What’s interesting (maybe only to me), although I could be wrong about this, but I think the $10,600+ figure also means that anything paid beyond that will be tax deductible. If you’ve got that kind of money, I guess that could be important.
That is correct. Anything beyond the value of goods/services received is tax deductible as a donation to the charity. So anyone who was planning to make a big donation to the organization anyway could just see this as a high-profile perk. It’s a great cause, and I don’t begrudge anyone who has the ability to donate that much the chance to win the package. It’ll be fun to see how high it goes!
The current bid is $30,900 with 3 days left so around 100 grand for the final bid sounds about right. The thing that made laugh was a shipping cost of $7.75. Really?? For all that money someone is going to schill out they still have to pay shipping? Too funny.
I laughed about the same thing to my wife.
My guess $106,501….but it won’t be coming from my eBay account!