When visiting a Disney (DIS) park, there are many benefits to staying directly on the property. You don't have to waste time and gas going back and forth, and the fantasy follows you even after the rides and park doors close.
The convenience and magic doesn't, however, come cheap. At an average $1,773 a night, the famed Four Seasons Resort Orlando took the 2022 spot as the most expensive hotel in the U.S. (although the high rate is partially attributed to the fact that it is designed for families and large groups to book stays in multiple rooms together.)
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The cheapest spot, in turn, was recently nabbed by the new Pixar Place Hotel in Anaheim — the site and building of the former Paradise Pier Hotel is currently being reworked to be the Disney franchise's first hotel inspired entirely by Pixar movies.
This Disney Hotel Costs $450 A Night (But Is Still Under Construction)
"When the transformation is complete, iconic images from Pixar films will be at the front desk, with characters pictured larger than life in curated artwork," Disney said in the Parks Blog post announcing the plans last year. "[...] As guests enter the hotel lobby, they will be greeted by the Pixar Lamp playfully balancing atop its ball."
The reimagined resort has been open since the winter of 2023 but is still finishing up certain features — last week, Disney revealed renderings for the lobby atrium with suspended Pixar characters from films like "Cars" and "Bao" and a 186-foot "Crush"-themed waterslide that guests can expect to see when it's finished.
While hotel rates fluctuate constantly, travel website The Points Guy first reported that rates for the Pixar Place Hotel currently start at $450 a night. While this is steep considering there are still construction sites on the property, this is actually the cheapest out of all the on-site Disney hotels.
Disney
'A Premium Brand and Luxury Amenities'
While Disney World in Orlando has more than 25 on-site Disney hotels to choose from, California's Disneyland has only two others — the original Disneyland Hotel and the Grand Californian are significantly more upscale with rooms that start at $600 a night.
"By being treated as a premium brand and offering luxurious amenities, Disney charges more which further increases the cost of staying at their well-located properties," Enoch Omolulu wrote in a blog post analyzing the cost of staying at a Disney property. "Disney hotels are expensive because they offer exclusive perks like early park access."
Throughout 2022, everything at Disney has been subject to pretty drastic price hikes. Tickets to many of the parks have risen by nearly 30% while, amid general food inflation, the notoriously-high food prices also rose even further.
While complaining about Disney prices goes back generations, the steep increases over the last few years have pushed many analysts to wonder whether Disney will backtrack slightly to keep visitor flow steady. According to the Points Guy, the $2,403 that a family of four will now spend just to attend a theme park for two days is now at an all-time peak.
"In our zeal to grow profits, we may have been a little bit too aggressive about some of our pricing," Disney CEO Bob Iger said at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in March 2023.
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