Family Suites at the Art of Animation

[mydisneygirls]

Has anyone seen the price per night for a suite here? Is it me or would anyone else have a hard time paying $300 - $400 pn at a value resort? For that money, you could stay at a deluxe.

[MstngDrvnDsnyLvr]

Don't remember the price, but they are posted on the WDW website somewhere.

[mydisneygirls]

That's how much they are -- $300 - $400 a night. Standard rooms are value priced though.

[wdwluv]

Weird. I checked the price for the last week of August for AoA and it was $249/$279 and the same week for Contemporary garden view was $365/$390. I wonder if maybe a peak week has less of a difference in price? Or maybe when it first opens it is pricier?

[wickedgin]

Yes. I definitely wouldn't want to pay that much, but as my party of 5 outgrows one room at POR, there really aren't any cheap options left. At that point, we'll have to decide what's the best value for our money--if the theming at a Deluxe is worth more than the extra square footage of a Value, etc.

[magicofdisney]

Yes. I definitely wouldn't want to pay that much, but as my party of 5 outgrows one room at POR, there really aren't any cheap options left. At that point, we'll have to decide what's the best value for our money--if the theming at a Deluxe is worth more than the extra square footage of a Value, etc.

What will be cheaper is 2 connected rooms at a value resort.

[jonahbear2006]

The problem here is something I have been seeing for years; they are discouraging the very people who they should be encouraging....big families. The bigger families with many children typically are homeschoolers and/or are more likely to go on vacation 1-2, maybe 3x a year. It is kind of a stereotype but for the most part, it is true. the more children, in a family, the more you are forced to be family oriented. Once our last child turned 3, it forced us out of a deluxe room or a POR riverside room. So now what? You want us to stay value? We arent value people so we are either forced to buy dvc or stay off property. I dont think this is the way that Disney really wants to go, esp. since these large groups will buy more tickets, more food, more nights, etc.... The same thing with the dining plan. The prices are getting so high that it is impossible for us to afford to take everyone with those costs and most of the food is very easy to make and very low cost. I wont spend that kind of money to say value. We will either camp, use our dvc, or stay off property. Our dvc just wont suffice for every trip bc 200 pts was all we could afford to buy into. That gets us one trip a year. If we do two trips a year we will have to camp for one of them. It is too bad that they cant offer their rooms at an affordable price. The regular value rooms, alone, are getting pricey, as well. Soon they will be what a moderate room was just a year or two ago. :/ ::frustration::

[minnie04]

The Value resorts have changed nothing other than their prices. You still get the same room & food that they had years ago when the price was $49.00 a night at any value resort...Yes $49.00. That being said I THINK Disney has it all wrong when it comes to this "new" resort for bigger families. We are a family of 5 and It’s not a VALUE at all when you can get a 2 bedroom fully loaded condo close to the parks. For a lot less. I would name places, but I know people don't like that on here. Anyhow, I wish they would have thought this out a little more. I was looking at staying at the Animation "value" resort maybe once, but when I saw the price...sorry it's just not worth it. They are going to have to realize that times are tough and in order to get more people they are going to need us BIG families...So please give us reasonable prices and we will come back more often. The resort will definitely be pack for the first year and they will make a lot of money off people that just want something new and different, but when the novelty wears of it’s the same as the Music, Sports & Movies. I don’t know I m just venting, but I really wish they would have done things different... Oh well who am I..

[Melanie]

We discuss this very thing on our upcoming podcast. Definitely expensive!

[GottaLvDisney]

I really wish there were more affordable options for larger families. We have six kids and have tried both two rooms at a value as well as the family suites. I personally likes the two values better, but would love to see a nicer option without breaking the bank.

This year we opted to try off property simply bc we could get our timeshare sooo much cheaper. I'm disappointed, but at the same time I couldn't argue with DH when money is tight. At least we're going this year!

[mydisneygirls]

I'm glad others feel the same way. I could see $200 a night which would be a reasonable rate at a "value resort" for a suite. I agree, they are discouraging large families from staying on property. In the end, I think people will look off property because it's getting too expensive...especially the food. If it weren't for the DP, I wouldn't be going. Oh, and has anyone noticed that when they offer the free DP, when you go to book a room and ticket reservation you get one price but when you add the "free" DP it costs about $900 more!!! There really is no "FREE" dining, they just want you to think there is!!!! Don't get me wrong, I love going to Disney but their prices are getting outrageous.

[jonahbear2006]

I know what you are talking about with the extra costs. There is no free anything. That is why you are better off paying for food OOP and then going with a room discount. Well, we have tried several times to book and then come back later and book and weve noticed that if you do that several times on the same computer that the prices actually keep rising because the cookies that are stored on your computer. Also have noticed that it is cheaper to book online in the weeee hours of the morning. the savings are minimal but if you know you are gonna save $60 then why wouldnt you?

[AgentC]

We ran into this problem booking our Dec trip. We usually travel with my mom and now that my daughter is 3,it makes us a family of 5 and our options were really limited. I would really love to have more space but even at a lot of the villas we are forced into a 2 bed when we can get a regular deluxe room and to stay value, I would expect the rate to be substantially cheaper.

When playing around with vacation options I saw exactly what jonahbear2006 described. At 1 am, in some cases the rates at a deluxe would be significantly cheaper than at 8 am. At first I thought since it was a discount rate, it had sold out but it was back again the next night. Very strange!

[mydisneygirls]

That's funny you say about booking at 1 a.m. I don't know how I did it, but I got a great rate at the WL (we'll be there in 3 weeks) and it was later in the afternoon. I called and booked it. The next day I went to check the price again and it was about $500 higher!! I originally was looking to stay at CB, but I got the WL for just about $600 more and the convenience of the boat to the MK/monorail it was worth it for me. I'm not a good bus person!!! I know some will say that staying at a deluxe is waste of money because it's just a room, but when I'm on vacation I like a place with an atmosphere and I just don't get that feeling at the value resorts.

[BrerGnat]

After seeing the images of the room mock ups online, you couldn't PAY ME $300 a night to stay there.

That said, although I think the pricing is high, I am willing to be that resort will be close to fully occupied most of the year. There are enough "big families" who will pay it. And honestly, I don't even think this resort is geared to the "big families" with more than 3 kids. This seems to be what DVC is supposed to be for. In all honesty, these rooms were probably meant more for families with 2-4 kids and maybe additional family tagging along (like a grandparent or something). The rooms can still only accommodate 6, and that's not huge. This place will be a draw for those who like to stay all together in one room, and who typically choose a moderate or deluxe. There is a real value when you can do one room vs. two in a moderate/deluxe.