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Looking for the best deals & discounts for Walt Disney World between now and September 2023? This post offers money-saving details & travel dates on special offers for the general public, Florida residents, Annual Passholders, streaming subscribers, Visa cardholders, etc. (Updated April 8, 2023.)
Let’s start with a quick rundown of what’s not available, as we get more questions about this than any discounts that actually are available at Walt Disney World. That’s right, we’re referring to the Free Disney Dining Plan Discount, the most popular promo of the year. Unfortunately, that won’t come back until the regular Disney Dining Plan returns (see When Will the Disney Dining Plan Return? for our thoughts and predictions on when that’ll be back). Suffice to say, the absolute earliest that Free Dining will return is 2024, and even that seems unlikely in the present environment.
Speaking of which, you can subscribe to our free email newsletter for instant alerts when new discounts are released. We’ve consistently notified newsletter subscribers on the days that deals go live early in the morning, which is often a significant head start before Disney makes an official announcement. That can make a huge difference when booking–you’ll have better availability and won’t have to wait in a virtual queue or for hours on hold.
Let’s start with good news: Walt Disney World already has more discounts for 2023 than were available at any point last year. Walt Disney World has already released 10 different discounts during 2023, which follows 4 discounts released last fall. Most of these discounts have been released earlier than normal by historical standards, and offer better savings than their counterparts from the last two years.
If weak discounting and late releases were a sign that pent-up demand had still been running strong, all of this is a sign that the opposite is no longer be true as of 2023. Although this is not yet evident in attendance or crowds at Walt Disney World–the parks are still quite busy–it does suggest a corner is being turned and visitors are no longer going on spending sprees to make up for lost time.
Accordingly, we’re optimistic that there will be better Walt Disney World discounts throughout 2023. Last year’s holiday season appears to have been the “last hurrah” for pent-up demand. As that starts to fizzle out, household savings decrease, inflation stings more, and the economy slows down, it seems increasingly likely that Walt Disney World will experience its own slowdown. Again, that may not be evident in crowd levels, but that’s only because Walt Disney World is offering better deals to entice people to continue coming.
If you’re thinking about booking one of the many discounts that’s currently available for Walt Disney World, we cannot overemphasize the importance of pricing out multiple options. Don’t just look at the marketing and assume one special offer is best for you based upon its headline savings. This has always been the case with Disney discounts, but it’s even truer than normal right now–and even with apples to apples comparisons. For example, we’ve found instances of “up to 30% off” room rates actually resulting in lower savings than “up to 25% off” room rates.
If you want to help determining what discounts are available for your travel dates and which resort will work best for your family, we recommend requesting a quote from Be Our Guest Vacations, a no-fee Authorized Disney Vacation Planner. The agents there will do the math for you, booking your vacation with the best-available special offer, and monitoring your package for future discounts that can be applied retroactively. Beyond that, they help take the stress out of planning and will assist with itineraries, dining reservations, and much more.
With that out of the way, here’s a rundown of what is available for the Annual Passholders, Floridians, active or retired US military personnel, Disney+ subscribers, and everyone else. We’ll start with a look at the resort by resort savings for the general public, followed by Florida resident and Annual Passholder rates:
Save Up to 25% Off Disney World Resorts for Spring & Summer 2023 – This is a tiered discount, offering up to 25% off resort stays most nights April 10 through July 10, 2023.
This is the first general public room-only discount that we’ve seen in a while, and it works well for those who aren’t eligible for the AP or Florida resident discounts–or don’t want to book the above vacation package offers. (To each their own, but we prefer room-only discounts.)
Save Up to 30% Off Walt Disney World Resorts in Summer & Fall 2023 – Another tiered discount for the general public, this time offering up to 30% off room rates for July 11 through September 28, 2023. If you’re not eligible for the AP or Visa discounts below, this one is about as good as it gets for the general public.
Total prices can end up being slightly above $100 for the All Star Resorts and under $150 per night for Pop Century. At just over $200 per night, Caribbean Beach is also a standout (especially if the room refurbishment is finished for the entire resort by late summer). Another one that catches my eye is BoardWalk Inn for under $400 per night; we’re eager to stay in the new rooms there!
Up to 25% Off Disney World Resorts for APs in Spring 2023 – Annual Passholders can save up to 25% on rooms at select Walt Disney World Resort hotels hotels, valid for stays between now and April 30, 2023. Actual savings are tiered from 10% off the most popular resorts to 25% off the least popular ones. Availability is pretty good, and rates are really attractive during the winter off-season, when some Value Resorts are under $100/night and Moderates can be under $200/night after discount!
Save Up to 30% Off Disney World Resorts for APs in Late Spring & Early Summer 2023 – Annual Passholders can save up to 30% on rooms at select Walt Disney World Resort hotels hotels, valid for stays most nights May 1, 2023 through July 10, 2023.
Save Up to 35% Off Disney World Resorts in Summer & Fall 2023 – This discount runs immediately after the prior summer savings for Annual Passholders, with discounted rates through September 28, 2023. There are some really good deals here, as both the percentage savings is higher and the rack rates are lower for some of these travel dates. Definitely worth checking out if you’re an AP!
Up to 25% Off Walt Disney World Resorts Disney Visa Cardmembers – While this deal sounds better, the headline 25% off is only available at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Coronado Springs, and Saratoga Springs. Otherwise, it’s 10% to 20% off, depend upon the resort. This offer is valid for stays most nights through April 30, 2023 when booking using your Disney Visa Card.
Up to 35% Off Disney World Resorts for Visa Cardmembers to September 2023 – Another Disney Visa Cardholder offer, this one available for select dates between May 2023 and September 2023.
Up to 20% Off WDW Resorts for Florida Residents (Now) – Florida residents save up to 20% off most nights now through April 30, 2023. The key difference is that the discount tiers vary slightly, but almost anyone eligible for the AP discount or Disney Visa offer will come out ahead with one of those.
Up to 20% Off WDW Resorts for Florida Residents (Spring & Summer 2023) – Florida residents can save up to 30% on rooms at select Disney Resort hotels, valid for stays most nights May 1 through July 10, 2023. These two discounts might appear identical–and they are in most cases–but we’ve actually seen some pricing differences between the two, so it pays to check out both if you’re eligible!
Save Up to 30% Off WDW Resorts for Florida Residents (Summer & Fall 2023) – Another offer for Florida residents, this one coinciding with the post-peak period of summer through the Fall 2023 off-season.
Annual Passholders Save 30% Off Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser – Walt Disney World APs can save 30% off select Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser Voyages starting in Spring & Summer 2023.
Save Up to $700 on 2-Night Disney World Resort Stays + Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser Voyages – With this discount, you save money on 2-night stays at select resorts when paired with a select Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser voyage through September 30, 2023.
This discount is valid for stays immediately before or after your Starcruiser voyage, so you can extend your vacation and have both a “normal” and Star Wars stay. Whether this is a good or bad deal really depends upon whether you’re willing to pay full price for Starcruiser, which is quite expensive!
Discounts for Swan & Dolphin at Disney World – Many Walt Disney World fans dismiss these three third party hotels out of hand, but the Swan, Dolphin, and Swan Reserve are located on-site and within walking or boat distance of both EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. They also are eligible for Early Entry and Extended Evening Hours.
Aside from the Disney details and themes, these hotels offer better benefits and a superior location to most Value and Moderate Resorts. With prices starting at under $200 per night after discount, they are well worth considering.
2023 U.S. Military Salute Ticket & Room Discount at Walt Disney World – US military personnel can purchase promotional Walt Disney World theme park tickets at deeply discounted prices. Choose between a 4-Day or 5-Day Disney Military Salute Ticket (formerly the Disney Military Promotional Ticket) for visits through December 15, 2023.
Armed Forces Salute room-only discounts are also available at Walt Disney World. These are valid most nights through December 15, 2023. Precise percentage savings is not published online, and varies by season, resort popularity, and room category. Military personnel (active or retired) receive better room-only and ticket discounts than the general public, Floridians, or Annual Passholders. Call (407) 939-7830 for rates and to book. If you’re eligible for this deal, it’s your best bet. Note that blockout dates do apply around peak season dates.
Future Walt Disney World Discounts
What’s past is prologue.
That expression holds true with Walt Disney World discounts, which play out in predictable patterns every year. Or at least, did until the closure and subsequent reopening. That threw a monkey wrench in things, as pent-up demand collided with closed resorts to create a room inventory imbalance that is just finally starting to be resolved.
While special offer trends aren’t totally back to normal, they are falling back into familiar form most of the time.
Accordingly, our expectation is that the next Walt Disney World discounts will be released in early to mid-July 2023 for travel dates from September through the week of Christmas 2023. In an average year, this discount would be released in mid-July and would encompass travel dates from early September through Christmas Eve.
However, this is not a normal year. For one thing, the current discounts already run through September 28, 2023. Normally, this round of discounts would encompass July through late August or early September. Then the next round would include all of September before excluding much of October.
Consequently, it’s possible that the next round of discounts will release later this year, skip October entirely, and be available for November and December 2023 travel dates. Or, it’s possible that they’ll release as normal and also include more of late September and October.
Moreover, discounts have been releasing earlier than normal this year. That has been true of every single special offer released thus far this year. They’ve all come earlier than the historical norm.
So on the one hand, the next special offer could release later if it’s only for November through December, or earlier if it’s for September through December 2023. Not particularly helpful, I know!
For those thinking I’m offering a wide range of possibilities to cover my bases and ensure my prediction ends up being “correct,” that isn’t it at all. Just acknowledging past precedent here, and how this year is a bit awkward in that regard.
Personally, I’m willing to bet more discounts drop in late June 2023 or early July. No rumor or history to back that; just a hunch based on what we’ve seen to date thus far. I find it difficult to believe that Walt Disney World would drop so many deals early in the year, and then nothing at all for several months.
In fact, I also would not be the least bit surprised if Walt Disney World offers a ‘second-wave’ of the Free Dining Card Discount: Up to $150 Per Night at Walt Disney World. That special offer was cut short, and it’s unlikely that it was due to a lack of room inventory given the deals that have been released since. In the past, Disney used a similar strategy with Free Dining, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see it leveraged here.
Failing that, my suspicion is that room discounts will be offered for dates in late September through the entirety of October. Although those have been blocked out in the past, we’re seeing much better discounts this year, and pent-up demand is only likely to decrease more as the year continues. (That’s without even factoring a potential recession or economic downturn into the mix.)
Regardless, I doubt we’ll see any major discounts before June 2023. You can stop refreshing obsessively between now and then if you’re visiting Walt Disney World for the Halloween or Christmas seasons. The last round of special offers just dropped; the next one won’t come for a bit longer!
Whether these are general public special offers or just offers for Floridians, Disney+ subscribers, and/or Disney Visa cardholders remains to be seen and is likely dependent upon resort occupancy projections. Walt Disney World has been tinkering with more targeted discounts during the period of pent-up demand, so more of that wouldn’t be surprising–it really depends on whether that’s starting to slow or if travel is still booming.
While past is prologue, it’s also true that history doesn’t always repeat itself–sometimes it just rhymes.
Other Walt Disney World Discounts
Some of these room-only discounts can be converted to a package, which we do not recommend. The only difference with booking a package is that you’re locking yourself into paying more for park tickets and other vacation components, meaning you can’t use our Money-Saving Tips for Buying Walt Disney World Tickets or other strategies for saving.
Next, there’s the option of Renting DVC Points for Rooms at Walt Disney World. This allows you to rent use of Disney Vacation Club accommodations from a member or business. DVC rental is safe, easy, and cheaper than standard hotel reservations. It’s also a great way to “test drive” the accommodations before buying a DVC membership. Currently, there’s confirmed DVC availability for 2023, or custom-bookings for summer and beyond.
In addition to the aforementioned general public discounts, one popular under-the-radar discount among Walt Disney World fans is the PIN or Unique Offer Code targeted deal. If you’re wondering what a PIN code is and how to get one, read this. Currently, the best available PIN code offer is the same as the summer and early fall AP discount.
Another way to score deep discounts on accommodations is via Hotwire & Priceline Express Deals for Walt Disney World. These are opaque deals, meaning you can’t see the name of the hotel prior to booking, but it’s very easy to “reverse engineer” the hotel with clues provided in the listing plus good ole fashioned internet sleuthing. Unfortunately, we haven’t see any WDW hotels added to either service in months.
Speaking of deals that are not available, there would also normally be a Bounceback Deal on Walt Disney World Rooms. However, this is NOT AVAILABLE during the phased reopening. Honestly, we’re not confident this type of discount will ever return.
In a normal year, this would run from January until August (or so) and be bookable for travel dates through the following December. In August, the bounceback would switch over to Free Dining for the following fall. Booking bouncebacks discounts is a great idea and efficient way to lock-in a future stay discount.
Finally, some words of warning and generalized commentary. In addition to the standard varying rates of the discount depending on precise travel dates, some room-only discounts have incredibly limited availability, especially room-only offers with peak travel dates. Don’t be surprised if you search for an otherwise qualifying hotel and are unable to book the discount due to zero availability.
In our searches, there are a number of situations close to holidays where these “discounts” would actually cost more, due to zero availability in standard rooms, meaning you have to upgrade to a room with a view, suite, or Club Level room. In other situations, there’s just nothing, period, so Disney’s site recommends upgrading resorts. (Such helpful suggestions for “saving” money!)
On the other hand, the discounts for off-season travel dates look pretty good in terms of availability. The additional upside to those dates is that you can choose off-season times to visit when crowds are lower and rack rates are lower, which means you’ll pay even less.
For more details on the pros and cons of taking advantage of a room-only discount, read our Room-Only Discounts at Walt Disney World post. This is our favorite discount because it’s straightforward and tends to offer the best value for us, and many other Walt Disney World regulars are fans of it for this same reason. However, if you’re a first-timer visitor to WDW, there’s a good chance a better, more inclusive offer will work better for you.
Typically, the best discounts are offered in August and September, and January and February. The downside to the former is that this is the heart of tropical storm season (see our Storm Season at Disney World Survival Guide for more info), and it’s still fairly hot and humid during the fall in Florida. These months are arguably the worst of the year in terms of weather, and that’s assuming you don’t have to deal with any hurricanes or intense tropical storms.
The downside to the latter is that January and February are colder. However, both sets of months are typically among the least crowded times of the year to visit Walt Disney World. (Although that’s less true about the winter with each passing year.) Suffice to say, it’s a trade-off for lower prices and crowds.
As always, keep in mind that Walt Disney World does not offer discounts out of generosity. Discounts are offered because Disney wants to hit a target occupancy rate for its hotels–they are a way to entice people who otherwise might not do so to book a trip.
Disney only offers discounts to the extent that are needed to hit projected target occupancy rates. Once those targets are reached, discounts are not offered. Hence the lack of availability for some resorts and some room categories in any promotion.
This is all a long-winded way of saying that flexibility is important when it comes to Walt Disney World discounts, especially Free Dining. If you want to save the most money, there’s a decent chance you will need to choose your resort hotel based upon discount availability. If you’re able to be flexible on travel dates, that’s even better!
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!
Thoughts?
Have any Walt Disney World deals of your own to add for saving money on vacations or things you’ll need while on vacation? Have you had success booking any of the current room-only discounts? Any difficulties? Any questions about these deals that 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!
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