Hotwire & Priceline Deals for Disney World Hotels
You can successfully “guess” which on-site Walt Disney World resorts are discounted via Priceline Express Deals and Hotwire Hot Rates with these tips to score a great deal. This covers how to save money on Orlando, Florida hotels with hacks & matching tricks. (Updated March 8, 2024.)
Priceline Express Deals and Hotwire Hot Rates are similar to the popular “Name Your Own Price” feature or bidding on hotels based upon amenities and a general area. You can score a deep discount on a great hotel (or not-so-great one, if that’s more your style), but the tradeoff is that don’t know the name of the hotel until you pay. In other words, it’s a surprise…but like children snooping under the Christmas tree, there are certain ways to ‘spoil’ that surprise!
Hotel chains, including Walt Disney World, do this to dump unsold inventory at the last minute while concealing to the general public that they’re unloading rooms at such a cheap rate, which might tarnish their brand or irritate guests who paid significantly more. Let’s start by taking a look at the current Priceline Express Deals for Walt Disney World…
At their best, Priceline Express Deals and Hotwire Hot Rates offer deep discounts of up to 60% off, not just a “deal” of 10-15% off a room-only rate. We’re talking $60 per night or less for Values, ~$100/night for Moderates, and ~$200/night for Deluxe Resorts. We primarily focus our searches to Priceline here (which often has more availability), but the below deals can often be replicated on Hotwire with the same strategy…
Inventory Update: Spring 2024
February 8, 2022. That’s the last time this post was updated before today, and that was basically to address reader questions and explain how “discounts have dried up at Walt Disney World.” Although pent-up demand had already entered the vernacular, it didn’t occur in full force until Spring 2022. (Our first post about the topic was “Revenge Travel” at Walt Disney World, published August 15, 2020…which seems way too early to have been talking about that. Very much wish I would’ve been wrong with those predictions!)
For the next year or so, not only were discounts difficult to come by, but so too were full-priced room reservations. Another popular topic at the time was Limited Hotel Availability at Walt Disney World in 2022. That was driven by a confluence of circumstances, from pent-up demand to strong bookings for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary to not all hotels being open or operating at 100% capacity to staffing shortages. But it’s unnecessary to recap all of that in full. You either lived through it and remember (or have blocked it out), or didn’t and don’t care.
The moral of the story is that there was absolutely nothing in the way of Priceline Express Deals and Hotwire Hot Rates for Disney-owned resorts from September 2021 until some point in Winter or Spring 2024. Back then, we remarked that this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened, but it is the longest Walt Disney World has gone in recent years without dumping any unsold inventory onto Priceline and Hotwire. However, we also attributed it to the lack of inventory, and said that we expected it to change by later in the year as demand dropped and supply improved. How young, how naive.
Fast forward over 2 years, and so much has changed. Pent-up demand has been exhausting itself for over a year now and Walt Disney World has been pulling from what we call the “2019 discount playbook,” which is to say that almost all of the same deals offered then–including more obscure ones like PIN Codes and Bouncebacks (not to mention fan-favorite Free Dining) have all made their triumphant return.
Up until now, all but one niche discount was back–the Priceline Express Deals and Hotwire Hot Rates. Well, there are once again signs of life on that front after a 2.5 year absence! So that’s the very good news. The bad news is that in spot-checking dates on Priceline Express Deals throughout March and early April 2024, the only resorts I could find were the All Stars and Coronado Springs. (The hotel above is almost certainly one of the All Stars; Bonnet Creek, 8+ score, 600 ratings, and 3-star hotel are the big giveaways. See below for tips & tricks on identifying the resort.)
The good-within-bad news is that we’re entering the heart of Spring Break 2024 Season at Walt Disney World (literally–it starts today!), so it’s wholly unsurprising that I can’t find much. It’s a miracle that there’s anything, and makes me wonder what I might’ve missed over the last couple of months. Since these last-minute deals are only added a few weeks out, my expectation/hope is that there will be more during shoulder season (approximately mid-April through Memorial Day 2024).
So stay tuned–I’m going to be checking this a lot more regularly and, fingers crossed, reporting back with a lot more in about a month! Or perhaps not. Maybe this was a one-off blip and you won’t see another update to this post for another 2.5 years. Who really knows anymore!
In addition to Disney-owned hotels, here are the third-party options on-site that you might find on these opaque booking sites…
Another option that regularly appears on Priceline Express Deals is the Swan & Dolphin Resorts. Keep in mind that there’s also a mandatory resort fee, so what you see is not the final price–but both of these resorts still tend to be far cheaper than anything else in the Crescent Lake area.
We love the Swan & Dolphin for a few reasons. Namely, they’re within walking distance of both Epcot and Hollywood Studios–perfect for rope dropping Slinky Dog Dash before going back to the pool for a mid-morning break. For the most part, Swan & Dolphin guests have similar advantages to guests staying in Disney hotels. They even offer access to Extended Evening Hours, which Moderate and Value Resorts don’t even offer!
The JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort & Spa is also a frequent fixture of Priceline Express Deals. We reviewed this new on-site hotel and gave it generally favorable marks.
The one big thing it lacks as compared to other luxury resorts near Walt Disney World (including other Bonnet Creek properties) is a sprawling pool and lazy river. While the JW Marriott is perfectly family-friendly, it’s not catering to kids like some of the other hotels in the area.
There are usually also scattered options at Disney Springs. We don’t do extensive research into these, but the usual suspects are as follows: B Resort & Spa (soon to become Marriott Renaissance), DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Orlando, Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista, etc. We have Hotel Rankings for the Disney Springs Resort Area if you need further resources to help you choose one of those properties.
We’ve also seen availability at Flamingo Crossing, which is about a 10-minute drive from Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. These hotels are pretty attractive because they’re all brand-new.
Keep in mind that Priceline Express Deals inventory changes frequently, meaning you might find hotels we didn’t list if you search later today or next week, and you might not see what we’ve found. We’ll keep you posted as we continue to scour Priceline for new Express Deals! For now, here’s everything else you need to know about booking these discounted rooms…
How to Book Priceline & Hotwire Deals at WDW
For starters, Hotwire and Priceline Express Deals really can amount to substantial savings at Walt Disney World–that’s not just marketing fluff. Priceline advertises the service as offering savings of “up to 60% off” but we’ve saved more than that on Deluxe Resorts (and, to be fair, significantly less than that on others).
In fact, for a few weeks around our stay at the Poly, during which we received a free upgrade to the King Kamehameha Club Level, the Polynesian was under $300/night via Priceline Express Deals…and the rack rate ‘value’ of our room was over $800/night. Obviously, that’s an extreme example with tremendous luck involved, but even “just” 60% off is not uncommon.
With the reward of substantial savings comes risk. Priceline Express Deals is a “semi-opaque” booking site, meaning certain details and amenities are revealed in advance, but not the hotel name. Fortunately, those details narrow things down considerably, to the point that internet sleuths have made the process pretty predictable for anyone willing to do their homework.
Of course, there still are no guarantees. You’re locked in to a non-refundable hotel before knowing the exact property for sure. That means there is some risk and uncertainty inherent to the process. It’s certainly not for everyone. Another drawback is that these deals are mostly last-minute. Walt Disney World hotels are typically added to Hotwire or Priceline’s Express Deals around 1-2 months prior to travel dates, sometimes a bit longer.
Finally and along those lines, Priceline Express Deals are offered to fill unsold rooms. If you’re trying to book a Christmas stay, you’re unlikely to have success. You’ll have a tough time finding good rates for multi-night stays during peak tourist seasons; the best options tend to be short, weeknight stays in the off-season.
It should also be noted that the ‘hacks’ for revealing hotels are constantly in flux. Internet deal spotters have been great in helping to uncover which hotel corresponds with which amenity sets and descriptions. Unfortunately, Priceline (and other bulk wholesaler sites) are always one step behind, meaning that successful strategy for uncovering a deal might work one day and stop working the next.
The best options for narrowing hotel choices yourself is deselecting each “Neighborhood” except “Walt Disney World – Bonnet Creek” and “Walt Disney World – Disney Springs.” Every official Walt Disney World resort is located within those areas on the Priceline map.
Additionally, Walt Disney World hotels will have an amenity set of only Free Internet Access, Restaurant, and Swimming Pool. To my knowledge, this amenity set is a recent change (and inaccurate as compared to what WDW resorts actually offer).
In terms of star rating, Values are 3-star, Moderates are 3.5-star, and Deluxes are usually 4 or 4.5-star.
The big bummer is Priceline’s removal of the one-line descriptions, such as “enjoy jazzy evening entertainment at this well-designed resort” for Port Orleans French Quarter. These were the decisive ‘clue’ in determining which hotel you were booking. With the description, accuracy was 100%. The Hotel Canary extension no longer works, which is another big blow.
Now, you’ll need to do a bit more legwork to match hotels on your own. Consequently, the confidence rate is far lower. You’ll want to match up the following:
- Number of reviews (rounded up or down)
- Guest ratings (rounded off)
- Rack rates (the pre-discount price vs. discount price, also rounded off)
- Other clues in conjunction with the amenity set and location.
Basically, this means comparing the normal Priceline listing for a particular hotel with the listing. If you aren’t comfortable doing this on your own, resources like BetterBidding.com can help–but even then, know that you’ll be rolling the dice a bit.
Here are some observations I’ve noticed while searching. First, Moderate Resorts are pretty common, but Coronado Springs is the most prevalent, especially outside of peak convention season. While prices fluctuate highly based upon season and occupancy rates, I’d say a “good” rate for a Moderate is $150/night or less.
Second, the Deluxe Resort you’ll see most frequently is Animal Kingdom Lodge, with rates in the neighborhood of $200 to $300. Other Deluxe Resorts have appeared on Priceline Express Deals. I’ve seen almost every single one, including the Polynesian and Grand Floridian. I’d say Yacht Club–another convention hotel–is probably the most common after Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Finally, Value Resorts also have appeared on Priceline Express Deals with some degree of regularity, with common options including the Little Mermaid Rooms at Art of Animation and All Star Sports (Movies and Music have been less common). Of all resorts, the All Stars appear most commonly, and we’ve seen them for prices as low as the mid-$60 per night range. However, that was also several years ago–and prices have shot up since then!
Overall, Priceline Express Deals is a great option for saving a lot of money on Walt Disney World hotels, but it’s definitely not for the faint of heart. It’s no longer the ‘sure thing’ that it once was, but with a bit of legwork, you can narrow down the possibilities and still have a high degree of certainty before booking.
If you’re willing to gamble and don’t mind the possibility of getting a third party hotel like the Dolphin or Wyndham Bonnet Creek (both great options that are on par with Walt Disney World Deluxes), we’d highly recommend using Priceline Express Deals for savings that are far superior to room-only discounts directly from Disney.
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
Have you tried any of these hacks or tools to book on Priceline Express Deals? Any other strategies you use? If you’ve used it, what’s the best rate you’ve scored? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? If you’ve yet to book, 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!
I’ve had great success with Marriott properties at Disneyland using their “Look no Further” guarantee. If you find the exact same room listed elsewhere for less than direct, they will beat it by 25%. There are conditions that have to be met, but it’s fairly straight forward. We booked The Anaheim Marriott for $62-$67 a night during our last trip. That was far less than any of the cheap motels in the area. It’s great for the Fairfield Inn and Courtyard Themepark entrance as well.
I definitely understand the negative reviews for Hotel Canary. I went primitive and did a new install of Chrome and HC and it does nothing on the page. When I hover over the icon in the top right it does nothing and if I click it the drop down menu has no choices related to viewing anything. There needs to be more instruction or error codes put in by the developers so that the user will know if it is working or not. The best I get is a link back to their page at the Chrome store.
You have to go all the way to the book page for it to work as explained in the article. The book page is the one where you see the total including taxes and any fees, not the one with “more info” on a specific the hotel.
THANK YOU!!! I just booked a 3-star for $69/nt in Bonnet Creek Dec. 19-22 with those 3 amenities & got ALL Star Sports . I didn’t even use Canary. All I could get via Disney was Movies for $146 which I had already booked. I cancelled it & am thrilled I am now staying for HALF PRICE!!
Add’l info: I booked one night (a Thurs.) & it was $69 first to see what I’d get. Then I added a night, but since it was a Fri. it turned out to be $92. It then showed All Star Sports at $73/nt & I added a Wed. I think I may have gotten all 3 nts @ $69 if I had booked them together, but I wanted to test it first to make sure I got a Disney resort.
Thanks for the details on Canary. I thought I’d tried every iteration after the change. I did discover an IOS app called ExpDeals that does a pretty good job with hotel names. It lacks (as far as I can tell) the neighborhood filter, but one may choose the star ratings. I couldn’t find anything for Android.
Wow. Thanks a lot for showing us how to do this. Yes is going to help out so much.
I have two questions. Does Swan and dolphin county is staying on site? Do you get the 60 days FastPass+?
Do you non-Disney hotels ever sneak into these to “neighborhoods“?
Thanks again, this is awesome.
If I were to go through PLE and get dolphin or Wyndham, are there any transportation options to the parks from there? I don’t really have a need to rent a car, but don’t want to get stuck with no transportation. Thanks!
There are Disney buses to and from the swalphin hotels and they run on the same schedule as to and from the Disney hotels, plus you can walk to Epcot and HS from them. There are also boats, though closed right now I think but should reopen soonish . No magical express to or from the Swalphin hotels. There may be a shuttle service for Wyndham but if so, I doubt it runs as often and it may be an additional fee. There is good info on the disboards dot com.
Tom, does the Disney Campground fit into this plan at all?
PS Thanks for the great articles. I feel like we are having a conversation when I read them.
Hi Tom! I also was told by An Uber driver once that you can compare reviews. If you have a general idea what hotel they are describing – see if the reviews and ratings match up. Seems worth a try â€â™€ï¸
Tom, thank you so much for this! Got AKL for 184/night THIS DECEMBER! Also used the code RMNSAVE7 which took 7% off of my total bill.
Great article Tom! I’ve used priceline express and ‘name your own pricehttps://www.betterbidding.com/index.php?app=hotel_lists&tid=78&location=Orlando-FL#ffmenuWB’ but never on Disney trips. There is a website that has helped me narrow down results, and people also post their winning bids with hotel results. It is http://www.betterbidding.com. The format is very outdated but once you get used to it, it’s not that bad. I found Priceline express hotels in the 2 Disney areas here:
https://www.betterbidding.com/index.php?app=hotel_lists&tid=78&location=Orlando-FL#ffmenuWB
Maybe this can help someone!
I used betterbidding years ago (even then it was pretty outdated), but haven’t used it in a while. Thanks for the reminder!
Tom, following your instructions, my search pulled up a lot of “condos”. Are all Disney World properties classed as “rooms”, or are some classed as Condos (example: the Cabins at Fort Wilderness or the Tree Houses at Saratoga Springs? Or should I avoid the “condo” designation if I want to get into a Disney hotel?
Also, there is a one line description, but not a very helpful one, if you click on the “photos” icon in the lower right hand corner of the photograph.
Narrowing it down by the two neighborhoods listed in the article should eliminate all of the condos. (None of the Disney hotels will display as condos.)
Hi Tom! I’ve had trouble in the past adding guests to Priceline Disney World bookings. Do you know if it’s possible to book an express deal for 4 people?
I’ve never tried to do that, so I wouldn’t be the authority. I do know that a lot of people have had this issue, and the only consistent seems to be inconsistency, unfortunately.
Thanks! Yeah, that’s been my experience. I booked Port Orleans this year and they really gave me the run around even though I indicated the reservation was for four. Every rep had a different answer. They ended up adding the two extra adults as children. I’m hoping this doesn’t cause problems…
Over this past Summer, we were lucky enough to get the beach club for 207 a night for 3 nights. I also got French quarter for (I think) 108 for several days later in summer. I haven’t tried hotel canary but have been able to pretty accurately narrow down a disney hotel by the amenities you listed andt then making sure there there were no added hotel fees at the end
Beach Club for $207 is even better than the Poly rate over the summer–too bad we didn’t see that one!
French Quarter was in the range of $110/night for almost 3 consecutive months, so $108/night seems plausible.
Hi Tom, thank you for these money saving tips. We are a family of 6, 4 kids ages 12 and under. We have booked 2 rooms at AS Movies with guaranteed connecting rooms for our upcoming January trip. My question is, if I would find and book 2 rooms on Priceline, could I get them as connecting rooms? At the prices in your article, we could book 2 rooms at a moderate resort for the same price as we are paying for a value resort.
Once you have the bookings via Priceline, you can call Disney to make room requests. It won’t be a guarantee, but they most likely will accommodate you.
Are you able to add Magical Express and Dining plans to rooms booked on Priceline?
Magical Express – YES
Dining Plans – NO
Why can’t you add dining plans? That seems like it doesn’t make sense. Once you put your reservation into the seem, why wouldn’t they allow you to add dining?
No dining plan because these rooms are booked through group rates like conventions.
Yes, exactly. In order to add a dining plan to your reservation, you would need to purchase your resort stay directly with Disney and your reservation then becomes a package with different restrictions/payments. If you purchase through a 3rd party site, it is considered wholesale and Disney will not allow you to add on the Dining Plan.
No dining plan because these rooms are booked through group rates like conventions.
I only learned of Disney on Priceline like a month or 2 ago. I already had a stay booked for Coronado for the week before Christmas and decided to try express deals. Ended up with Coronado for $98/night. That’s about half the cost per night as my passholder discount! Because I already had stay booked, I already had and was able to keep my fast passes and pick magic bands (after linking the new reservation/before deleting old of course)
I’m trying to go in March, but was only getting Swolphin and others. I’ll keep checking though. Hotel canary is a little weird with some of it’s “very likely” results…it’ll be sure it’s one thing, but amenities/rating/price would suggest otherwise.
This sounds like a nice “workaround” to the fast pass option! Book your trip first and reserve everything, then go looking for a cheaper option 🙂
I booked Dec. 20-23 with Priceline Express, and Hotel Canary accurately predicted All-Star Sports. Deal was so good, we booked two rooms so we have two bathrooms and more space. One thing not mentioned above: Once you book an Express hotel, if you go back to search for Express Deals again, Priceline automatically shows the name of the hotel if it’s the same one. (In our case, got the same Express price for the second room, and Priceline showed me it was still All-Star Sports).
That’s really helpful to know and for booking more than one room, thanks! Did it show it for only your original trip dates?
Thanks for sharing this information! I was wondering – I know many of the Disney Springs hotels (as well as others, but for the point of this article…) charge an additional “resort” fee on top of the nightly rate. If you book via Priceline Express deal and you get a hotel that typically adds a resort fee – are you stuck paying that on top of the deal you purchased or will that always be bundled in the amount indicated to begin with?
Resort fees are shown in Priceline Express Deals. The lack of them is actually another good way of narrowing down your results to an official Walt Disney World resort, as Disney hotels don’t charge resort fees (yet), whereas many other popular hotels in those two neighborhoods do.
Do swan and dolphin charge resort fees?
Hi Tom, have used Priceline in the past for some great deals but didn’t see a way to make sure I was getting a Good Neighbor hotel or a wdw hotel. Any thoughts on that or just to hope Hotel Canary gets it right?
No further insight beyond what’s here. I haven’t booked via Priceline Express Deals since the descriptions were removed. I’d probably still do it after limiting the neighborhood, cross-checking amenities, and using Hotel Canary. That’s good enough for me, but I also don’t really care if I get the Dolphin or Wyndham–it’s more about the price for me.
Tom, do you know if you can add a loyalty program to your reservation once booked (if you end up with a 3rd party hotel)? i.e. if you purchased on Express Deals and then discovered your reservation was at Dolphin, could you enter your Mariott/SPG account info?
I’m not entirely sure with this particular method, but I’ve had mixed results doing that in the past when booking the Dolphin via Hotels Tonight. I suspect the same would hold true here, but perhaps someone else can provide a more definitive answer.
I have done that in the past for Priceline deals and gotten upgraded into a suite as a result. So definitely try!
Nice! I have been recognized/thanked as a member, but never any upgrades or other stay benefits.
But like I said it’s been a while.
Thanks for the info, Rochelle! Definitely good to know. I have Gold Member status through all the major hotel chains, so having the ability to enter my member numbers is definitely a plus!
I haven’t used PL/Hotline for a while (couple years), but the rule was you most definitely CANNOT earn points off your stay. Doubt if the hotels have changed that. I’m sure it’s in the fine print on SPG somewhere…
It is in the fine print. You can add your Marriott/SPG number and get the property benefits like upgrades but you can not earn points/nights on 3rd party bookings.