Priceline Disney World: Up to 40% Off Disney Hotels!

Learn how to get up to 40% off rack rates by booking Priceline Disney World hotels. 

It might surprise you to learn that Priceline has become my go-to site for booking Disney World hotels.

In fact, I prefer booking Disney hotels through Priceline INSTEAD of directly with Disney. 

Read on to learn the surprising benefits of booking Disney World resorts through Priceline!

Why You Should Book Disney World Hotels on Priceline

There are two main reasons I prefer to book Disney World hotels on Priceline: additional savings and ease of changing/canceling my reservation.

First, Priceline rates already include most official Disney World discounts. 

If you aren’t familiar, Disney World regularly releases discounts on its resorts that range from 15-30% off regular “rack” rates. 

These discounts are usually released three to six months in advance. 

However, Priceline almost always offers an additional 10% off the already discounted Disney prices.

This brings your discount up to 40% off in some cases. 

The second reason I prefer Priceline to booking with Disney World directly is the ease with which you can change or cancel your reservation. 

It is easy to cancel a Priceline reservation with just two clicks from the email confirmation.

And as long as you cancel at least five days before check-in, you will get a full refund!

Canceling a reservation made directly with Disney most often involves calling Disney and waiting on hold for up to two hours just to change or cancel. 

It is SO much easier to cancel and rebook with Priceline than to suffer on hold with Disney in my experience. 

Immediately after booking with Priceline, you’ll get an email confirmation. In that email, there is a link to view your full itinerary. 

There you will see a confirmation number that is different from your Priceline Trip Number. 

That is your Disney World Confirmation number which is very important!

You will need this confirmation number to link the reservation to your My Disney Experience account. 

Just log in and view your plans where you can link a resort reservation. Or click this link to go directly to the page. 

After you link your reservation it will show up in your plans just as if you have booked it through Disney. 

You’ll get all of your Disney Resort perks such as Early Theme Park Entry and the ability to book Individual Lightning Lane passes at 7 a.m. (read my post on Genie Plus and the Lightning Lanes here for more info). 

Click the image above to start booking a Disney World hotel through Priceline!

How To Use Priceline to Book Mystery Disney World Resorts

Another way to save on Disney World hotels through Priceline is to book Disney hotels as “Express Deals”. 

I have done this MANY times to get cheap Disney World hotel rooms and have even stayed at a Disney resort for $48/night.

Next, I’ll show you how to find Disney hotels in disguise on these sites and suggestions for saving even more with a promo code.

You can even link these reservations to My Disney Experience and get all of your Disney benefits.

If you’ve never used Hotwire or Priceline for booking “Mystery hotels” before, here’s the gist.

When you book one of their “Hot Rate” or “Express Deal” hotels, the name of the hotel isn’t revealed until after you pay. You’ll know it’s amenities, area, and ratings, but not the hotel.

Here are two important things to know about using these sites to find Disney World hotels:

• Your reservation is non-refundable, so you won’t be able to make any changes to after you book.
• You can usually only find Disney hotels up to 30 days in advance (however occasionally they show up as far as six months in advance). 
• You can’t add a Disney Dining Plan to these reservations since they are booked through a third party.

If you want help booking a Disney World package or guaranteed room, head here to get in touch with my travel agent partner Siera with Destinations in Florida. She can help you find the best price for your trip all at no cost to you!

Now here are all of my Priceline Disney World tips and tricks to help you save money on your Disney vacation!

How To Find Disney Hotels on Priceline

UPDATE: I haven’t seen any Disney-owned hotels as mystery hotels for some time. However the Swan and Dolphin are often available!

To find Disney World mystery hotel on Priceline, first search for Express Deals within Orlando, then narrow results to the areas Walt Disney World – Disney Springs and Walt Disney World – Bonnet Creek.

Disney World Value Resorts are 3 Stars, Moderate Resorts are 3.5 Stars, and Deluxe are 4 stars. 

After narrowing to that you’ll have to use a process of elimination to identify Disney World-owned hotels. 

For example, if any hotel offers free breakfast or a hotel shuttle as an amenity, then it is NOT a Disney resort!

Also if there is a picture of the actual room, then it is also not a Disney resort. 

Beyond that, you’ll have to compare prices and room categories to know for sure what resort you are looking at. 

Though they aren’t owned by Disney, the Disney Swan and Dolphin are almost ALWAYS on Priceline as Express Deal hotels.

They will show up as 4 star hotels in the Walt Disney World – Bonnet Creek area. 

They offer some of the same benefits as Disney-owned hotels at a lower price point – click here for my detailed review of the Disney Swan and Disney Dolphin to decide if they are right for you!

I was about 95% confident the hotel I was booking was one of the Port Orleans resorts since it matched the result on Hotwire that confirmed Port Orleans Riverside.

I booked it and thankfully I was right! Above is my receipt for two nights at Port Orleans Riverside for $233 total – the rack rate for my room was $272/night, or $544 total, a 57% savings.

I luckily had a 10% off Express Hotel booking in my inbox because I recently signed up for the Priceline email newsletter.

It saved me an additional $20 so I’m glad I saved the email!

Immediately after you book you’ll get a confirmation email from Priceline. In it, you’ll find the Hotel Confirmation Number (circled in red above).

This is the number you enter on the Disney site or app to link your reservation to My Disney Experience.

Other Things to Know About Booking Disney Hotels Through Priceline

There are a few other things you’ll want to know about Priceline Disney World hotel bookings. 

First, be sure that your travel party is correct at the time of booking as there is no way to change this afterwards. Make sure you have the right number of kids and adults in your party on the reservation. 

Second, to make a room request beyond what is offered during online check-in, you’ll have to talk to Disney World Wholesale. Call (407) 939-5277  and explain that you made the reservation with a third party and want to make a room request and need to talk to Wholesale.

Last, always check the price you see on Priceline against what you will pay when booking directly with Disney. There might be special savings you can get only through Disney, so it always pays to check!

How To Find Secret Disney World Hotels on Hotwire

To find Disney hotels on Hotwire, first do a search within Orlando for your dates.

To narrow your results to hotels that could be Disney hotels, limit the area to Walt Disney World – Bonnet Creek. 

Here is another key piece of information:  Disney Value Resort will show up as 3-star hotels, Moderates as 3.5-stars, and Deluxe as 4-stars.

You can sometimes even figure out which resort you are booking by the bed choice (if you are familiar with the offerings at the resort), location, or even guest reviews.

Here is a 3-star mystery hotel in Bonnet Creek with an airport shuttle, so we know this is a Disney Value Resort (learn what to expect at the Disney Value Resorts in this post).

Hotwire now uses Expedia ratings on their site, which means you can use this as a clue to find out exactly what resort you are booking. 

Immediately after you book the hotel the name will be revealed to you. Turns out it was what I expected – Disney All Star Sports!

A Disney hotel for $48/night is the absolute lowest price you’ll get for stays on Disney property.

That is, unless you have a promo code to get an even lower price on Hotwire. 😉

Read on to learn more…

Disney Hotwire Strategy

Using the clues provided on the Hotwire site, you can usually figure out exactly what hotel you are booking in advance. For Disney resorts use these clues:

• Room types. For example, if you see a Tower Room you’ll know it is Coronado Springs. A Royal Room is definitely Port Orleans Riverside, etc. 
• The distances to other locations are shown in the desktop version of the site (not on mobile or in the app). You can use the distance to the theme parks to figure out pretty much exactly where the hotel is located. 

If I know that I am going to Disney World and am flexible on where I stay, I try this approach to getting a discount through Hotwire. 

• Book a room-only reservation at a Disney resort with lots of availability (most often the All-Star Resorts and Coronado Springs). These reservations can be cancelled or changed up to five days before check-in. 
• Check Hotwire often for my travel dates to see my resort shows up at a better price. 
• Book part of all of my stay through Hotwire if it becomes available.
• Change or cancel my room-only reservation accordingly. 

If you find your resort on Hotwire for part of your stay, it is okay to split your visit up into two reservations.

As long as you are booked in the exact same room type (e.g. Standard View Room or Preferred Room) Disney will not make you change rooms during your stay.

It is much easier on them and better for guests to stay in the same room. 

How To Save Even More on Hotwire

Often times you can find promo codes that will give you an additional amount off a Hot Rate hotel (usually $10 to $20 off a $100 hotel or 10% off your total).

The best way to get those is to sign up for Hotwire’s email newsletter here.

To get a promo code via email, I suggest lurking on the Hotwire site for a few days and then not visiting it.

Do at least a few days before you want to book. It is almost guaranteed that Hotwire will worry that you aren’t going to book and will send you a promo code discount to entice you to book!

If you are lucky you may be able to snag a discounted Disney reservation on Hotwire or Priceline, too.

Any questions? Leave a comment below or join the discussion over at The Budget Mouse private Facebook group!