I booked ASMu for 82.45 a night with the Fun-Filled Escape Room Offer in January of 2018. I ended up switching to a moderate because I prefer them, but I’ve seen those rates more than once. Paid $143 for my room at Coronado instead.
Personally, I liked the room at CSR. It was clean, comfortable, the staff were nice. I didn’t think the resort was overly huge, I know a lot of people do, but it was about a ten minutes walk for me to the main building or I could hop on the bus which had a stop right behind my building and get a ride there. I know it’s not everyone’s style but I’m always surprised at the vehemence of the new styles detractors. I mean, I didn’t particularly like the value rooms pre Reno but I didn’t hate them with the fire of a thousand suns - I don’t think I’ve felt that strongly about the decor of any hotel room.
Do I find Disney cheap? Nope. It’s expensive. I travel a lot and I can often go on an international vacation for less or the same as a Disney stay. But I also live in Vancouver, which is an expensive city, so the food prices and such don’t really shock me, it’s kind of the same as at home. I mean... I just paid $1.55 a LITRE for gas today, a McDonald’s meals is going to cost me around $12 and my car insurance with the maximum safe driving discount is $150 a month. I mean, I can’t find a decent hotel room in my city for $82. So I guess what I’m saying is that, to me, it seems how ‘expensive’ Disney is, is relative to what cost of living you’re surrounded by. If you normally pay $65 a night for a hotel, I can see how $143 would seem crazy.
Still, maybe it’s me, but I have a hard time dragging up some of the outrage I’m seeing in this thread. Disney will most likely out price me at some point - and then I’ll stop going and that will be sad for me. But I don’t have some born entitlement to go to Disney or on any vacation really.
Does pricing everyone out seem smart to me? No, but it’s not my company, so it’s not my say. All I can do is decide what’s right for me and wait and see how their choices pan out in the future.