Walt Disney World is offering a new “Stay, Play and Save” discount of up to $200 off per night for select dates next year all the way through Summer 2025. This post shares discount details, who will save the least & most with this promo, best dates for the biggest savings, and other commentary.
This “Stay, Play and Save” discount is one of several being released for 2025, and the most high-profile of the bunch. If you’re looking for deals this year, see All Current Walt Disney World Discounts (2024). There have been a lot of discounts released in the last 18 months, and we’re anticipating a repeat of that (and then some) for 2025.
To that point, this is part of the first batch of special offers available for the first half of 2025, aside from Future Stay Offers. In addition to this, there are several room-only discounts that may be better deals even if they aren’t as exciting. We have a lot of commentary to share about this save up to $200 off deal–and there’s a lot to know before you take advantage of this special offer. With that said, let’s start by dispensing with the core details…
Per Walt Disney World, here are the deal details: Save up to $200 per night on a 3-night, 2-day Walt Disney Travel Company room-and-ticket package at select Disney Resort hotels, valid for arrivals most nights from February 26 to June 30, 2025.
View the chart below to explore eligible Disney Resort hotels, “Stay, Play and Save” values and arrival dates:
If you want to help determining which discounts are available for your travel dates and which resort will work best for your family, we highly recommend requesting a quote from Be Our Guest Vacations, a no-fee Authorized Disney Vacation Planner. The agents there will do the math for you, booking your vacation with the best-available special offer, and monitoring your package for future discounts that can be applied retroactively.
In particular, they can help you determine whether this room-only discount or the “Stay, Play & Save” is the better deal for you, given your party size, resort preference, and eating preferences. Beyond that, Authorized Disney Vacation Planners help take the stress out of planning and will assist with itineraries, ADRs, and much more.
If you want to ‘do it yourself’ but aren’t sure which resort to book, check out our new Rankings of ALL Resort Hotels at Walt Disney World from Worst to Best. Several of the resorts with the biggest savings are in the top 10!
Here are the details of the “Stay, Play and Save” special offer at Walt Disney World…
Here are other important details about the “Stay, Play and Save” special offer, per Walt Disney World:
- The number of packages allocated for this offer is limited.
- Savings based on the non-discounted price of the same package.
- Everyone in the same room must be on the same package.
- Theme park tickets are valid for admission beginning on date of check-in and must be used within a limited number of days, depending on length of stay and ticket.
- Minimum 2-day theme park ticket required.
- Minimum 3-night length of stay required.
- Advance reservations required.
- Cannot be combined with any other discount or promotion.
- Offer excludes the following room types: Campsites; 3-Bedroom Villas; Deluxe Resort Suites; Club Level Rooms; Cabins at Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge; Tower Studios at Disney’s Riviera Resort; and Bungalows and Island Tower 2-Bedroom Penthouses at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows.
This special offer has a minimum length of stay of 3 nights, and maximum length of stay of 14 nights. (Although if, for whatever reason, you wanted to stay more than 14 nights, you could always do a split stay. You just need to make sure each met the minimum 3-night requirement–there’s no way to go below that requirement.)
For those who follow Walt Disney World discounts, the “Stay, Play and Save” deal is not completely unprecedented.
In fact, a similar name has been used in the past: “Stay, Play, Dine and Save.” That was an alternative to the popular Free Dining offer and offered a per night savings for guests who purchased full priced packages that included tickets and the Disney Dining Plan.
More recently, this is also incredibly similar to the Free Dining Card Discount: Up to $200 Per Night at Disney World. This discount has been offered each of the last two years, getting progressively better. This “Stay, Play and Save” special offer is basically the 2025 version of the Free Dining Card deal. It’s better in some ways and worse in others.
I would argue that the “Stay, Play and Save” promo is better because the discount is not being offered in rebate form as a gift card for food. I’m not sure whether this will be a meaningful difference for a lot of families, but it’s a lateral change at worst.
I personally far prefer the up-front savings as opposed to the dining card rebate. For one thing, it lowers the overall cost of the trip when booking. This is good for guests and, I suspect, also good for Walt Disney World at a time when there are concerns about pricing out the middle class. (I suspect this is precisely why Disney is going this route–because surveys or something revealed they were losing bookings by doing the discount as a dining card rebate.)
For another thing, this approach is far more flexible. The dining card might be a distinction without a difference for Value and Moderate Resort guests where the nightly denominations are lower, but I’d hazard a guess that many Deluxe Resort guests (and who knows, maybe some Moderate ones) would prefer not to spend $200 per night on food.
If we were visiting Walt Disney World like normal humans instead of bloggers with insatiable appetites, we certainly wouldn’t need $200 per night earmarked for dining. Especially if saving money were our top priority–we could easily get away with a $100 nightly food budget. Of course, if you’re booking a Deluxe Resort, saving money isn’t your top priority…but you get the idea!
With that out of the way, here’s what we found for best available rates for this discount:
This search is for May 18-21, 2025, which is part of the regular rate season at Walt Disney World. On the rack rate chart spectrum, this is a below-average time of the year to visit Walt Disney World in terms of costs.
This season occurs from late April (post-Easter and Spring Break) through late May 2025 (the lead-up to Memorial Day). The least expensive nights are Sundays through Thursdays, but even the weekends are not terrible as compared to other dates during the deal. Once June rolls around, prices go up slightly–but there’s even less of a weeknight versus weekend distinction.
In general, Friday and Saturday will be the most expensive days of the week, with Sunday through Thursday costing less–but still more than Monday through Wednesday nights. Holiday weeks are also more expensive. Basically, room rates are higher any time when kids are out of school.
For more on timing your trip to coincide with the lowest prices, see When’s Cheapest to Visit Walt Disney World in 2024-2025? That covers price increases and other variables that impact the cost of a vacation beyond just room rates.
If you’re looking for the very best dates to take advantage of this special offer, they are as follows for most WDW resorts:
- March 2 to 6, 2025
- March 9 to 13, 2025
- March 16 to 20, 2025
- March 23 to 27, 2025
- March 30 to April 10, 2025
- April 27 to May 22, 2025
- May 26 to 31, 2025
- June 2025 (full month)
One thing you might notice about this deal, as contrasted with last year’s Free Dining Card Deal, is that started in early January and ran through early March. It’s noteworthy that this discount is not starting until the end of February 2025, after the popular Presidents’ Day holiday and Mid-Winter Break or Ski Week. There are a couple of potential explanations for this.
The simplest is demand. The first two months of 2024 were very busy, as you can read about in Winter (Still) Is Not Off-Season at Walt Disney World and Re-Revenge Travel at Walt Disney World. We theorized that there was a second wave or reverberation of pent-up demand, as January and February reversed a downtrend in wait times and were on par with 2022 when pent-up demand was running hot.
As you’re likely aware, that didn’t last long. I don’t want to say crowds fell off a cliff as that would be hyperbolic…but it was pretty close. The first half of Spring Break and Easter week were busy, but the parks have been slow since (it’s been almost 6 consecutive months of below-average crowds at this point).
The reasons for this are beyond the scope of this post, but the bottom line is that January and February were busier year-over-year (and on par with 2022!), whereas every month since then has been down as compared to the same timeframe last year. And that’s after a pretty slow 2023 that also saw a downtrend in comparison to the high highs of 2022.
Walt Disney World forecasting higher crowds in January and February 2025 is one explanation for the deal starting later. But not the only one, because if it were, there would be no deals for Winter 2025, and that just isn’t the case. In my view, there’s a better rationale…
Pricing. January and February are, on average, the two cheapest months of the year at Walt Disney World.
There are dates throughout both months when the rack rates at Value Resorts are ~$50 less per night than the “good” dates we’ve identified above in late April to late May 2025. This is significant because the “Stay, Play and Save” special offer is a flat rate discount and not a percentage savings and, as explained, you’re better off when booking it at the least expensive resorts and dates.
Conversely, Walt Disney World is worse off when guests book this promo for the cheapest date and resort combos. It would thus make sense that they wouldn’t start this special offer until rack rates tick upwards, and would only have room-only discounts for January and February since those are percentage savings. The room-only discounts thus aren’t as attractive for the cheapest dates.
This is where the “Stay, Play and Save” offer is worse than the dining card deal from last year. If you were purposefully picking dates to optimize for savings, you could’ve booked Animal Kingdom Lodge during the value season and scored savings amounting to roughly 40% off. As with all “loopholes” (real or perceived), Walt Disney World learns how power users are leveraging various promos and works to eliminate those exploits. My guess is that’s what’s happening here–and that it has less to do with winter being busier.
With that said, my assessment of this deal is that it’s better than the last dining card deal outside of January and February, and is consistent with the recent general public discounts we’ve seen recently–all of which have been varying degrees of good to great. This continues that trend into the first 6 months of 2025.
That’s no longer a low bar, as deals for the last 18 months have been the best we’ve seen in several years. There’s a reason we’ve been saying that Walt Disney World is pulling from the 2019 discount playbook. The difference here is that this is better than what was offered back in 2019. At least, from the perspective of percentage or package savings.
Of course, it’s kind of silly to look at discounts in that kind of a vacuum. Keep in mind everything else that has changed since 2019: rack rates are up significantly since then, FastPass is now paid, Disney’s Magical Express met its demise, etc. If I could take this discount (slightly better than 2019) or the 2019 experience as a whole (significantly better than 2025), I know which I’d pick–without hesitation. But I digress.
A lot of Walt Disney World visitors were very satisfied with the previous incarnations of this discount when it maxed out at a $150 to $200 dining card. Getting that in the form of an upfront savings (except during the first two months of 2025) is even better. The promo once again being significantly better on the high end, but only slightly improved on the low end reflects lagging occupancy for Deluxe Resorts, and Walt Disney World likely trying to entice visitors to book those.
Another thing I find interesting about this ‘lineage’ of discount is that, in my anecdotal experience, it seems to have surpassed OG Free Dining in popularity. Honestly, I was surprised by the lack of buzz around the return of Free Dining. Part of that could be because it was targeted at Disney+ subscribers and Disney Visa cardholders, but it’s not like that’s exactly a huge barrier to entry. Disney+ costs like seven bucks for a month.
More likely, there’s less interest in the Disney Dining Plan as a whole–even when it’s “free.” With sticker prices on the DDP increasing, what’s included decreasing, along with more rules and exclusions, this shouldn’t be a huge surprise. It’s cumbersome and clunky, becoming almost the antithesis of the “convenient” approach to eating that Walt Disney World advertises.
Again, all of this is entirely anecdotal, but I know readers of this blog used to be hardcore fans of Free Dining and the hype has largely fizzled out. By contrast, there was a lot more interest in the dining card deal last year. Many readers indicated this was because it was more flexible and worked better with their eating habits or preferences. Well, this version of the deal is even more flexible!
Speaking of Free Dining, the biggest thing that I dislike about this type of promo is that it’s a flat-rate dollar amount off rather than a percentage savings. That puts those in higher rate seasons at a disadvantage. (Conversely, that’s an upside if you simply choose the cheapest dates, as listed above.)
For Free Dining diehards, there’s similarly the obvious distinction that this is a flat-rate amount per room rather than a variable amount based on party size. This is a huge blow for larger parties who crammed into a single room–the demo that typically loved Free Dining. Instead of receiving the Disney Dining Plan, worth ~$60 per person, they’re receiving $60 off in total when staying at Pop Century. For those parties, this promo is inferior to the real Free Dining.
It’s likely a better deal for couples or solo travelers staying at Moderate Resorts or above. This group that routinely called Free Dining a “bad deal” because it didn’t work well for their circumstances. Just as subjective assessments of Free Dining being “good” or “bad” were not true across the board, the same holds true with this special offer. It really depends upon a mixture of resort/room availability, party size, and the total package pricing that DisneyWorld.com spits out when searching for your dates.
Another thing to be mindful of is that the percentage savings vary widely, especially if you’re looking at pricey rooms at the Deluxe Resorts or Deluxe Villas. Because the savings are capped at a dollar amount, it doesn’t matter whether you book a standard no-view room or a swanky suite.
It’s not as noticeable at the Values and Moderates, but there are instances of huge spreads at those hotels based on your travel dates and room choice. For example, All Star Sports has room rates as low as $176 per night during this promotion. By contrast, the Finding Nemo Family Suites at Art of Animation can cost over $700 per night during this promo. Despite that, both would receive the exact same dining card amount per night–$60. I’m sure I could find similar contrasts between Gran Destino Tower and Port Orleans Riverside.
The spreads are even more significant at the Deluxes. Old Key West has dates that are around $550 during this, and you can likewise book sub-$600 rooms at the lodges. And no single resort is a better example than the Contemporary, which has rooms for as low as $667 along with rooms that are over $3,000. It should be stating the obvious, but always take the percentage discounts when you’re looking at rooms that are that expensive.
This is why doing the math for your travel dates, preferred resort, and room category is essential. I could tell you that this amounts to 17% off Pop Century, 21% off Coronado Springs, or 26% off Contemporary Resort. However, that would be based on the parameters I’m choosing at random–and likely would not reflect your savings unless you’re traveling during the same dates and booking the same room categories.
This is why I like the room-only discounts. They’re more transparent, rely less on marketing puffery, require less up-front out of pocket outlay, and don’t demand the purchase of things you don’t actually want. While it’s absolutely true that all deals are YMMV, it’s also true that room-only discounts tend to offer the best and most straightforward savings to the greatest number of people. (And yet, this will likely be significantly more popular since it’s easier to promote!)
As always, a final thing to keep in mind if you’re debating between this and staying off-site is perks. This includes the restoration of free parking at Walt Disney World resorts. Most off-site hotels still charge for parking, so that’s something to consider if you’re debating Disney hotels or something at Universal Orlando, Flamingo Crossings, Disney Springs, Bonnet Creek, etc.
Speaking of on-site perks, don’t underestimate the value of Early Entry and (potentially) Extended Evening Hours. We’ve found that many fans dismiss the former due to it being “only” 30 minutes, but we’ve found Early Entry to be incredibly advantageous (see our Guide to Early Entry at Walt Disney World). For those who are eligible, Extended Evening Hours is absolutely fantastic (see our Guide to Extended Evening Hours at Walt Disney World for strategy and other info).
Finally, the return of the on-site advantage of ride reservations. If you’re going to purchase the new line-skipping service, having the 7-day window (plus length of stay–up to 14 days) is huge. It’s probably going to be make-or-break when it comes to booking Slinky Dog Dash, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, and other headliners. See our Lightning Lane Multi-Pass at Walt Disney World FAQ.
Ultimately, this is another discount that’s considerably better than what we were seeing in 2021-2022, which continues a trend that began at the start of this year and really accelerated with the last round of discounts. As with the Free Dining Card deals, this is a YMMV type of discount that’ll be awesome for some WDW tourists and mediocre for others–all depending upon the variables discussed above. As always, plan on being flexible with your hotel choice, room category, and even travel dates if this “Stay, Play and Save” promo is a must-have for you.
Walt Disney World offering more discounts to the general public is great news. Consumers now appear to once again have more leverage, and companies need to entice them to visit. This should be an interesting saga to follow, and it’s almost certain that we haven’t seen the end of Walt Disney World’s efforts to woo back former fans and pull “levers” to incentivize more demand and guest spending.
We didn’t discuss it here, but one very big variable is that Walt Disney World has no new attractions in 2025. At present, it appears that the marketing campaign will revolve around the Disney Starlight Night Parade and not much else. Meanwhile, Disney’s crosstown rival is opening a brand-new theme park that they’re trying their darndest to push people to stay on-site (and purchase multi-day tickets) to experience. Somehow we doubt this is the best WDW discount that’ll be released for 2025 given that! We will be closely monitoring what’s released and will notify subscribers of our free email newsletter when any Walt Disney World discounts are released or rumored!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of this “Stay, Play and Save” Walt Disney World deal for Spring and Summer 2025? Disappointed that it’s a flat rate savings instead of a percentage off, or just happy that something is being offered? If you’re trying for this deal, what travel dates are you aiming for? Are you ‘sitting out’ Walt Disney World this year, doing Universal Orlando and Epic Universe instead? Any questions? Hearing your feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts or questions below in the comments!
