IF you’ve long put off your kids’ entreaties to take them on a Disney vacation because of an aversion to long lines, high prices and throngs of mouse-eared fans, you may soon be running out of excuses.
What amusement parks are you planning on visiting? Have you found any good bargains? Share your thoughts.
Attendance at Disney’s theme parks in the United States began to slip in the last part of 2008, dropping about 5 percent compared with a year earlier. To keep guests coming through the turnstiles in 2009, the company is rolling out deals not seen in years.
In Florida, the Walt Disney World Resort is offering a seven-night vacation package at one of its 23 on-site hotels for the price of four, including admission to the park itself. That means a family of four could stay at a Disney-value resort like the Pop Century Resort for $1,375 in late April — a savings of $416. While there are a few blackout dates, the bargain has recently been extended for travel through Aug. 15. Guests who book the deal for travel in early or late March also receive a $200 gift card for Disney merchandise or dining.
In California, Disneyland is offering multiple vacation packages from two-night stays that include gift cards and adult tickets at the children’s price to a children-fly-free deal through Alaska Airlines. Both Disneyland and Disney World are offering free admission to active or retired United States military personnel and to people who visit on their birthdays this year.
Not to be out-done, some of Disney’s main competitors have introduced packages to lure visitors. This month, Universal Orlando Resort extended its five-nights-for-the-price-of-three offer to families that book by March 29 and stay by Oct. 8. Packages begin at $689 for a family of four, including accommodations and park admission. Families that book a four-night package, starting at $789, get three nights free. And if you stay in one of Universal’s three on-site hotels, the Royal Pacific, the Hard Rock or the Loews Portofino Bay, for $1,144 and up with the package, you get front-of-the-line access to all Universal Orlando attractions.
Worlds of Discovery, the theme park group that includes SeaWorld and Busch Gardens, has joined with nearly 20 hotels in Orlando to offer a buy-three-nights-get-two-free package that includes admission to any two of three parks — SeaWorld, Busch Gardens or Aquatica, But this year, with the seven-nights-for-four package, a family of four can stay at even the most upscale Disney hotels — the deluxe villa resorts — for just $2,611 in March or roughly $373 a night, including admission tickets.
Farther-flung hotels are offering some of the cheapest rates. A recent search on Expedia.com, which maps out hotels near Orlando theme parks by region, showed average rates at three-star properties in the first week of March as low as $56 a night in the Maingate West area, which lies west of Interstate 4 and directly south of Disney’s Wide World of Sports area, and $84 a night in Downtown Disney. But with Disney offering such compelling deals, Ms. Waring said, “people are thinking ‘if I can stay at Disney, why not?’ ”
Walt Disney World Resort owns and operates 23 hotels ranging from motel-style accommodations to an upscale hotel with views of the Cinderella Castle and a full-service spa. The main benefit of staying at one of these places is convenient transportation to the parks, via buses, monorails or boats. Though there are other perks like airport transfers that eliminate the need for a rental car for families who plan to only visit Disney World parks. And each day, one Disney theme park opens one hour early for resort guests and stays open three hours after the posted park close.
There are only a few options, however, for a family of five or more looking for suite-style accommodations with a kitchenette and separate living room at a hotel owned and operated by Disney. As an alternative, there are several Marriott hotels in the area with suites that are offering a fourth-night-free deal, with rates from $89 a night at the Fairfield Inn & Suites. MouseSavers.com offers special negotiated rates as low as $199 a night for a two-bedroom villa that can sleep up to eight people at the Caribe Royal Orlando in May and $89 a night at its sister property, Buena Vista Suites, for a one-bedroom suite that sleeps six, including breakfast.
But you don’t have to go far to find more affordable amusement park options this year. Regional parks, which rely heavily on drive-to traffic, including Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, and Six Flags with 20 parks across the United States, Mexico and Canada, have frozen admission rates. This summer, Cedar Point will offer one-day adult tickets for $43.99, the same price as at the end of last season, and roughly $1 less than in 2005. Admission varies by location for the Six Flags theme parks, but can be as low as $39.99 per adult at Six Flags Over Georgia in Atlanta. Season passes, perhaps the best value for repeat visitors, have been discounted to $49.99 at three parks: Six Flags Over Georgia; Six Flags Great America, near Chicago; and Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, near San Francisco.
“We recognize families are watching their budget more than ever before,” said Sandra Daniels, a spokeswoman for Six Flags, “We want to be an economical value.”
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