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!
Hello,
I just booked a 4 star room for $209 (which includes taxes and fees) and it ended up being AKL, which was showing on Disney for over $400! However this is a problem I’ve ran into… the room is only allowing me 2 adults. I’ve called Priceline and Disney several times and neither will adjust my room for 4 people, even with me asking to pay the extra charge for them. Has anyone else ran into this issue? Please help! I’m considering just asking for two beds and hoping it work out okay, but now one couple won’t be able to use the magical express. This part has been frustrating to say the least 🙁
I am having the same problem with just adding our mom to the reservation. It would be three people in the room. Priceline says in the fine print it says the room is guaranteed for two people.
From what I’ve read, you cannot add on more than 2 adults per room. The other couple will have to get a different ride than Magical Express. They will also not be able to get fastpasses until 30 days without a resort reservation in their name. That is huge depending on what time of year you go. They will not be able to access the room with their magic bands either. There are just too many hassles. Since you already saved on the room, you should just book another room in their name.
This isn’t necessarily true. As long as you are friends with the other people on MDE, you will be able to book their fastpasses when you book yours at the 60 day mark.
I personally was not able to book any fastpasses at the 60 day window for someone not on my reservation even though they were linked with My Disney Experience. Maybe it was a glitch?!
K & J, I was recently able to book FastPasses at 60 days for members of my party that aren’t on property by linking them to me, but in fairly confident it was a glitch because I’ve never be b able to do that before and Disney policy is that they can’t.
I had this exact problem and unfortunately was not able to add the two adults. I did have one Disney rep tell me to add the people as 17 year olds and that it “should be fine” for FP and Magical Express reservations. I did set it all up, but in the end I cancelled the reservation (it wasn’t an express deal, just a normal refundable room through Priceline) because I was just too nervous about it.
When i first read this last week, i was intrigued but not convinced. I am not a risk taker. After Tom’s update last night and seeing all the comments of you guys getting AKL, i went for it at 1 am. My husbands dream stay was AKL and we got it. We wanted to go mid-late jan for our boys bdays. We switched to the 1st weekend in Feb and found it. My heart was pounding when i clicked to book it. We saw amazing deals, one we barely said no to for the week before, either contemporary or beach club for $182/night(66% off). If i was sure it would be contemporary i would have gone for it, but i think it was most likely beach club. Coranado $82/night all 3 weekends. Just check rating, stars, review count, and only 3 amenities (no bed choice). Also people said make sure no resort fees but i have no clue how. Taxes/fees seemed high on all and i didnt see any where resort fee was a seperate price. That worried me, but it all turned out okay! Thank you Tom and all commenters here for giving me the courage. My boys are gonna be so excited. They love staying in “Mickey’s houses”.
Congratulations. It definitely does get your heart pounding a bit if you are really hoping for a particular place.
As for the hotel fee, there will be a separate line, on the checkout page below the nightly rate and taxes that says hotel fee (due at hotel). For example, in the Bonnet Creek area, the Wyndham has it. The official Disney Resorts don’t have an extra resort fee, so if you see that fee at checkout, you know it isn’t a Disney Resort.
Have a magical time.
If I book on Priceline will we have access to magical express?
Yes! You can set up your Magical Express via the online form or calling the Disney wholesale number. You just need the resort reservation #.
Can you please share the Disney Wholesale number? We booked AKL for $233/nt over our Spring Break: March 9-12, 2019. We originally had POFQ for a total of $842 for 3 nights in a garden view with the Passholder discount, so we saved $15 and are staying deluxe by using Priceline and rolling the dice! Thanks so much for the tips, Tom!
I think that someone previously posted the number to Disney Wholesale as 1-407-939-7671. I personally have not called it so I don’t know for sure. When I called Disney’s general number and told the woman that I wanted to add my kids to my reservations made via Priceline, she was less than pleasant and told me that I could not do it. I told her that I wanted to link my reservations to My Disney Experience so she connected me with their tech department, and she was very nice. She connected me directly to the wholesale department where I was able to add my kids (even though the man in that department was not friendly either.) As a side note, I noticed that once my reservations were linked to My Disney Experience, I could have added my kids onto the reservation myself online.
https://secure.reservations.disney.go.com/ibcwdw/en_US/dme/dmeform
this links you to the DME form. I filled out my information with my reservation number and got a confirmation email…so fingers crossed!
I called the Magical Express directly at 1-866-599-0951. A recording stated that if you made your reservation through a third party, contact that third party to make a reservation on the Magical Express. However, I just stayed on the line and eventually a live person came on and said that she would make the reservation with the Magical Express for me. I gave her my reservation numbers and she was able to pull up the information and book the Magical Express. I was told that I would get the paperwork in the mail in about 7-10 business days.
This is the form I filled out and it worked!
Just booked a 3.5 star Bonnet Creek resort for $84/night for 2 rooms (only one night because we have a DVC reservation starting the next day). Got Caribbean Beach – 2 rooms for $208.04 after taxes and fees! We had originally booked one room at Caribbean Beach (2 Q w/the 5th sleeper) for around $280, so we got 2 rooms – more space for us – for less! Yay! Thanks Tom!
BTW – this is for 4/29/19-4/30/19
Just booked 3.5 star Bonnet Creek express deal for $111 plus taxes/fees for a total of $155.97. Says I saved 78%. The only 3.5 star in Bonnet Creek that showed on the main search was Bay Lake Towers so I ASSUMED it had to be Bay Lake. I got Coronado Springs for Friday, February 8th. So happy, since the only resorts available through the Disney site for this night are $300+…I didn’t know there was a cheerleading fest going on which has taken all the value and moderate rooms, according to the DCM I spoke to yesterday. Thanks Tom and thanks Priceline! Went through Ebates for 10% cashback!
I’ve spoken to Disney and Priceline now 8 times in an attempt to adjust my room “type”. When I contacted Disney to link this reservation to my Disney Experience I was informed that I could not stay in a “king” room with 3 guests. I explained how I had not chosen a king room but had simply done an express deal on Priceline. Disney said contractually they could not change the room type that had been booked. Had Priceline booked me in a “double” room this wouldn’t be a problem. Disney does not allow 3 people in a king size room for fire code/safety reasons. My husband says I should just show up, have the kids watch the lobby tv, check in myself, take my king room, and be done with it. I would like things to be straightened out before I arrive. So, word of advice…you may encounter a problem if you have more than 2 travelers and are assigned a “king” room. I’m still waiting on Priceline’s “escalation team” to call me back with a resolution since express deals are non refundable.
So sorry to hear about your dilemma. I hope that it works out for you. I guess if a resort has the king bed option, you could get stuck with only being allowed 2 people in the room total. WOW! That is risky for all of us who have kids and want to add them later. Thanks for sharing.
Update…Priceline issued me a one time courtesy refund on my non refundable express deal since I was booked in a king room and no other room types are available for this night at Coronado springs. The CSR tried to tell me that before you finalize your express deal purchase somewhere in fine print it will state if the room accommodates 2 or 4 guests…I never saw that but will look again if I’m ever traveling with just 2 adults.
I’m glad that they made an exception for you. I booked the Coronado and never noticed any fine print regarding room type. Thanks for that information.
Thanks! I just booked Art of Animation through the express deal for $90 a night (5 nights)! Though it was blind, I guessed it was AOA because it was 3 stars, in Bonnet Creek zone at Walt Disney World, rated 8 with 70 verified reviews. No other hotel in that area matched all the criteria but AOA.
Was it for a family suite or little mermaid room?
Little Mermaid. Still very pleased.
I used Priceline last summer too book at Coronado Springs. It was a normal booking where I saw the rate. Now, every time Coronado comes on as an Express Deal, it shows it to me as an unlocked deal because I have stayed there before. That takes the risk out for me because I know what hotel I am getting.
In October, Coronado Springs popped up for 123.00 a night December 22-26. And yesterday, I booked there July 23-30 for 98.00 a night. Now, I wish I had seen this article first to maybe try to see Express Deals at another hotel.
Just booked AKL for WDW Race Weekend – $161/night!! Thanks Tom!
I also want to book for race weekend? Can you explain how you knew it was AKL? I want to do it right now.
There’s really no way to be 100% sure. In addition to using what Tom mentions in the article, you can use the ratings and the number of ratings, which is shown on the initial listing page. AKL has 4 stars and a Priceline rating of 8.9 and has 283 ratings. On the Express Deals page, you can see that the hotel has 4 stars, at least a Priceline rating of 8, and at least 200 ratings. I also look at whether the hotel is charging a resort fee — something that Disney does not charge. All the Disney Springs hotels charge a resort fee.
Is AKL listed at Bonnet Creek?
After you search Lake Buena Vista, you want to narrow your search by filtering the neighborhood to “Walt Disney World – Bonnet Creek” only for the AKL.
Emily,
You may also want to submit a request to betterbidding.com and ask them what they think the express deal might be. Before I made my reservations yesterday, I was hesitant for about 2 weeks because I did not want to get a non-Disney resort. I checked the express deals myself and when I was finally confident and willing to take the risk, I submitted a request to betterbidding.com and verified what I thought with them. They got back to me right away. They may be able to help you and ease your mind a little bit. Of course, there are no guarantees. Priceline also told me that they can pick a resort which is not even in the current database, which scared me. I read a post about that on betterbidding and they said that it can happen, but it is rare. Good luck!
Tom –
What about if you are a family of five? For the most part, for “standard” room, we are limited to PO, CB, BC, YC…without having to increase to suites / 2 bd room, etc – so how would that work for using the Priceline Express deal as it does not ask your party size? If I buy more room, but then my party is larger than Disney allows – what happens? I lose that money? Disney upgrades me? I pay the difference? I know you travel as a party of two, so you many not know the answer to this…
I just booked an Expeess Deal at the Grand Floridian (!!) and was about to add one adult and two children to the reservation no problem (total of 4). The reservation is for two adults, but as long as the other guests fit in the room and are under 18 you can add them through Disney no problem. If y’all don’t fit you would have to book a second room or you’re just out of luck, and I am fairly confident you can’t upgrade your room. I would just double check to see how many people are allowed in the rooms at the hotels you might end up at, and if it’s possible you might get a room for 4, you’ll have to decide if you can afford a second room in that scenario.
Whoops filled with typos! Haha I meant I WAS ABLE to add one adult and two children.
I booked an unlocked deal at Coronado for this summer because I booked last summer at Coronado the regular way. This time a much more amazing deal at 98.00 a night. This time we have three people going instead of 2. Of course there is no way to put how many people with Priceline.
Yesterday, I called the Wholesale departmental add a 3rd person but they say it had to be through Priceline. I called Priceline, they called Disney whole I was on hold. Disney told them they had to fax the third person request in. It’s a 3rd adult for a girl’s trip. It still just shows 2 people on my reservation. Did the people you add show up immediately? I wonder if I need to call back?
Amanda, I’ve had trouble with priceline adding adults (18+) in the past. The people I added onto my reservation this time were added through the Disney wholesale number because I only had 2 adults which the reservation allowed already. I would definitely call Priceline back, because if you’re not seeing the adult on the reservation, they likely didn’t follow through adding them.
Becca, thanks for your fast response. When you said you had trouble adding a 3rd adult, did they finally do it? Or, do you think it won’t be possible at all? It’s just the three of us. I don’t mind paying an extra person fee per day. I am wondering if Disney disallowed the fax request or something but Priceline hadn’t told me. Lol
Amanda,
I had to call Priceline probably half a dozen times and the issue was never resolved. Priceline told me they wouldn’t fax Disney. It’s “not something they do”. I wanted to pay the fee, but they basically told me too bad. One Disney rep actually told me to add the guest as a 17 year old since she was 18, but they told me it “should be fine” though they’re not supposed to recommend that. In the end I cancelled the reservation because it made me nervous. Every Priceline rep I talked to had a different answer though, so maybe you’ll have better luck and get someone helpful!
I have a larger family as well. I recently booked two rooms with an express deal. I wouldn’t want to take the risk of not getting a five person room because Disney can put you in a room at CBR (or the other ones) with just a king, two queen beds, or two queen beds with the extra little pull down bed. Express Deals are based on availability. You don’t know what you are going to get. You will know once you call Disney and have them link the reservation with My Disney Exoerience. It will then show you how many people are allowed per room. If it doesn’t show 5, it is up to the whim of Disney. I just didn’t want the hassle. If Disney won’t give you a five person room, you are stuck with buying another room. If you are okay with that, I would take a chance. If you need the five person room and only want the one room, I would book directly through Disney.
Amanda, I’ve had trouble with priceline adding adults (18+) in the past. The people I added onto my reservation this time were added through the Disney wholesale number because I only had 2 adults which the reservation allowed already. I would definitely call Priceline back, because if you’re not seeing the adult on the reservation, they likely didn’t follow through adding them.
Whoops! I’m so inept haha that reply was for the above comment.
Thank you for the helpful hints on Priceline express deals. Was able to get Animal Kingdom Lodge for $142/night plus taxes for 3 days the first week of February. It ended up being the same price I had booked for Caribbean Beach. Time to cancel that reservation.
Did you have any clue it would be animal kingdom lodge? When I outnumber in the filters for any time in February and then use canary it pops up and says hurry and book someone else just booked Wyndham or the B hotel. Did you also get that message?
I was 95% confident it was AKL. I didn’t even use hotel canary. Like others have said, by looking in the Disney world-Bonnet Creek area, I knew the hotels in play, by seeing it was 4 stars, amenities were pool, Free internet and restaurant, at least 80% guest score, the choice of rooms were similar to AKL, no extra resort fee in the final totals on the checkout page, and finally took the percentage of savings and the express price to get a rough estimate of what the room normally goes for.
Hi. Can you tell me how you were able to figure out it was animal kingdom lodge before you booked it? I would love to take my family there in February. Thank you so much.
I was just able to book Animal Kingdom lodge for $152 night and Coronado Springs for $76 a night. If anyone is traveling in January, Priceline just released a bunch of express deals! For dates 1/28-2/2 I saw POR for $89 a night, AKL for $140 a night, All Star Sports for $49 a night, and Coronado Springs for $79 a night.
But how do you see what they are? I don’t understand how you know the resorts you are choosing.
You don’t know for sure until after you book. But you limit your search to Disney Springs and Bonnet Creek, and open a regular Priceline window on the side. Use the Hotel Canary, and compare the rating and number of verified guests, you will have a good idea. Only look at hotels that list “restaurant, Pool and Free Internet”
Would this mean animal kingdom you think?
4-Star Hotel
Walt Disney World – Bonnet Creek
8
Guest Rating
Bed Choice Available
EXPRESS DEAL
58% Off
We choose the hotel, you save 58%
$152
Idk. What are the amenities?
Choice of beds
Restaurant
Internet access
Swimming pool
John, from what I understand the Disney resorts have only three amenities, so if “bed choice available” is one of the listed amenities it isn’t Disney.
Is there a resort fee?
Some Disney properties are coming up with bed choices. I booked CBR and had a choice of 2 Queens, King or 2 Doubles. The doubles were the most expensive option (Pirate rooms). The bed choice made me nervous, but it was in fact CBR. I have seen people getting a bed choice at AKL on the disboards thread as well. So tricky!
Thanks a lot you guys. No resort fee. Everything is pointing me to think that it is Disney. But if I get it and it is not, I will have one unhappy wife. I’m hoping it’s animal Kingdom Lodge which would usually be too expensive but for this price, it’s great!
It says TAXES AND FEES but doesn’t
say RESORT FEES.
If it says Bed Choice I wonder if it’s somewhere besides Disney. The Disney express deals I have gotten haven’t offered bed choice but I saw some of the off properties did.
Thank you posting. I was able to change my (already reasonable) $74/ night at ASMusic to $48/night for Feb 11-14. It wasn’t even a blind choice, but it was returning customer deal–or so it said. The ability to cancel is the only loss.
I recently got AKL, and I had a bed choice as well. You could choose between 2 Queens or 1 Queen, or 2 Queens or 1 King. The 2 Queens or 1 King option was about $60 more a night than the other option.
Thanks to this post I just booked Caribbean Beach for August for $88 a night!
How many people do you have in the room? Was it difficult to add guests?
I called the Disney Wholesale dept 1-(407) 939-7671) and added my husband and children on without an issue. If you added a third adult, I believe there would be a fee.
Thank you so much for posting the wholesale number. I spent way too much time on the phone with priceline. They were worthless. The wholesale fixed me up immediately!
Hi Tom,
I saw you mention the Priceline express deals in one of your articles in the summer and have been looking forward to this article ever since. I ended up doing a lot of research a few weeks ago and was able to get 4 nights at Coronado Springs for $97/night the week before Christmas. Thanks for the tip!
Are you able to link the express deal reservation right away with My Disney Experience?
I was able to link it right away, though it took a call to Disney’s Wholesale and about a day to link the profiles/FastPasses on MDE.
Tom,
Thanks for another great post! I’m a religious follower of your blog (my wife picks on me for it, but now she reads too). I was able to book Coronado Springs for Dec. 20-21 just now! I ran a parallel search on Priceline where I could see the prices, and it was easy to compare those visible prices to the little box that pops up in express deals stating “You found a great price! Someone just booked this for $_____.” I matched the prices to narrow it down to Coronado Springs.
I only searched in the Bonnet Creek area, and all of the possibilities that Hotel Canary brought up were Disney resorts, so I was able to book with confidence.
Hotel Canary is not working for me. The extension is not visible. I use a Mac. Any suggestions?
On a Mac it only works after you click through to the booking screen. On that screen click on the bell and it should generate suggestions.
I don’t understand why Hotel Canary comes into this?? Why not just Priceline Express through Priceline? Did I miss something?
I want to see the name of the hotel before I go thru the process of booking and paying.
Hi Tom,
I have used betterbidding website in the past as well. One other trick I use is to open a 2nd window on Priceline and search for the hotel I want or suspect is the hidden deal. If you add back in the discount, so the price of the express deal + whatever the discount they are boasting, you can then see what hotels in that neighborhood and star level are available of their regular priced hotels with name revealed at that price. It’s usually accurate within $1 or $2. I haven’t tried this with Disney but have had 100% success rate in other cities that we traveled to.
I do the same thing with 2 Priceline windows open and look at star rating and total customer review counts, this has worked for every one I have booked.
Have you used this for Disneyland hotels as well, or do you prefer Hotels Tonight there?
I want to know if this will work for Disneyland as well? Just got back from WDW and heading to Disneyland in 2019.