Disney resort reservations dept caught wind of this thread and are adjusting pricing accordingly
kidding, but perhaps increased bookings across the board at Disney (direct and third party) because of all the late-summer discounts offered played a part.
I was prowling Hotwire last night (when am I not?
) and saw a lot of stark price jumps around 12/1 AM PDT. But I've seen variation today when playing with dates. My theory is that if this is all Disney experimentation, they're pushing back on when they release the best offers to within a week or so of arrival, and making any past that only *slightly* better than rack rate. Over the last couple of weeks, it looked like booking around two weeks out was the sweet spot (e.g. POFQ for $98 rather than $176), but even that really caters more to the crowd of last-minute vacationers and seriously not risk-averse people. I think some people, if they're looking on HW casually, will see *probably POFQ* for $170 about a month in advance -- definitely a discount over rack rate -- and book it immediately rather than wait. And then Disney doesn't have to slash deeper as dates draw nearer if there's less inventory (or none, as appears to have happened with GF for my dates).
Still, I'm glad I got CSR when I did, even if I can't get anyone to give me the damn hotel conf number
in other news, lots of "deals" (not nearly as nice as these deals were, but definitely something compared to rack rate) with the enchanted escape room-only offer, though they are dwindling too. still a Hotwire convert, but you know. more variety, peace of mind, ease, etc.