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!
I honestly wish Disney WOULD sell a limited number of nights per year for extravagant prices as a way of bolstering a sort of “magic moments” fund. Then hold a lottery for families who are staying in the least expensive properties to get a Disney gift gard, or a chunk of their vacation expenses waived. I’d always hoped that things like the new Club 33 memberships would be used to help stabilize costs for average guests, but…public companies really struggle to balance the needs of the customer with those of shareholders.
I’ve stayed in several expensive hotel accommodations and honestly, I just don’t get the hype. I’m sleeping and dressing in my hotel room, that’s it. While on vacations, all my time is spent out exploring the parks or whatever location I’m at. I’m definitely not one of those people that want to hang out inside their room, so for me it’s just a room. I will pay for location but at Disney World my ideal location is not secluded in the Magic Kingdom.
Also, my in-laws have basically decorated their home in the medieval / Disney style, so I’m more than use to this type of living space.
Interesting they say the retail value was around $10K. Airfare x 4, I assume Deluxe resort x 3 nights, $2K giftcard, VIP tour, 4 day hopper tickets… I’d put that more like $15-20K without the Cinderella Castle.
Oh my word it would truly be amazing! The architectural details and the storyline that goes with the making of this room are breathtaking. I donāt even think I would be able to even sleep! I imagine it would be what Iād imagine heaven to be like beautiful beyond my imagination . Of course I have better chances getting to heaven than a night at The castle!
Looks just like I remember. I had the pleasure of slbeing able to stay one night. t’s been more then 10 years, I was young maybe 11, and my grandma won a giveaway to stay a night. Well she took her 4 grandkids, and gave us a memory I will never forget. I even wrote a paper in college about this experience. Truly unique, they made you feel like a celebrity. Got to skip the lines for rides cause the staff would bring us through the exit and we’d just hop right on. I’ll probably never step foot in a place as luxurious as the suite again.
Would be a dream come true however like I said Iām battling stage 4 cancer and my last name is u fortunately not depp or stamos os the costs would be way out of my price range but it truly was a magical thought! Thank you Angel Garcia
Let Make a Wish foundation know that it is your wish to stay there. They made my Disney wish come true
Hello I would love to be able to share all the Disney magical treasures that are stored inside of Cinderellaās Castle with my dad who will be turning 80 years old on feb 6 also my granddaughter Mia would be so amazed by this I and my husband took them all when they came for her2nd birthday however her father had a seizure while waiting in line at the jungle cruise at Disneyland in Anaheim and we were asked to leave she only rode the merry go round I was heartbroken. The next year we were going to book fl but turns out I ended up w/breast cancer 2016 and I have been battling ever since now itās 2022 & I have stage 4 lung both kidneys bone liver & brain cancer Iām doing cemo and praying for a miracle so I can get to take my little Mia and my family of 10 but with all my hospital &medical bills the money tree is beyond bare & my time looks very unlikely but itās so nice to wish & dream! Thank you for reading my wishes perhaps if I hit the lottery I can send them I wonāt be there but I believe every little child should believe in magic! Kids are forced to grow up too fast these days & itās sad!
My name is Selbin Guerra. If I ever win the lottery Iāll make sure you guys are the first ones to make your dream come true.. best wishes.
This is too expensive.
We spent a weekend at the castle I have all sorry of picture of our family staying there if anyone at Disney would love to see them. You truly made our dreams come true and we still go to Disney at least twice a year we live in Florida and Disney is for us the happiest place on earth. Thank you. CATHI Shearer