There’s been a lot of good talk online about the new promotion that Disney announced yesterday to get folks into the parks over the first half of the new year. I first read about this deal over at MousePlanet, but since then WDW Today has done a show about it and Jim Hill also has some speculations not only about the promotion itself, but also some of the other economic factors that Disney World is currently facing.
The deal itself is pretty straightforward – book a 7-day vacation for select dates from January – June 2009 at the cost of a 4-day vacation, and you also receive a $200 gift card if you book a trip between January and March. The package automatically includes park tickets, and you also have the option of adding a dining plan on as well, although I’m not entirely sure if they follow the same Buy 4, Get 3 Free rate concept that the room & park tickets do. I won’t even try to go into any of the math because MouseSavers already has some great examples up to show how much you could save at each of the resort levels.
Honestly it looks like a pretty decent deal with upwards of 43% savings depending on where you stay, and MouseSavers even has an example for Passholders where only a 1-day ticket is purchased, but the package still reflects the Buy 4, Get 3 Free rate for the rooms. Granted, Passholder and Florida Resident rates can also be comparable, depending on the details of your trip, but I think the real kicker with this promotion as a whole is that it has to be booked by December 20th. With the economy as crazy as it’s been, clearly this is a means of testing the waters to see if Disney is going to have to be even more aggressive next year with its pricing to fill rooms and keep attendance up…
Still, if you can afford it, there’s nothing like getting part of your vacation for free!