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Priceline Express Deals: Coronado on Priceline for December

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Well, the hidden deal arms race appears to be in full swing now. A few weeks ago we reported on some Coronado Springs Hotwire deals in December and now, Voilà! (that’s French for Voila!) there are a whole batch of similar deals on Priceline Express.

At this time there are Express Deals for Coronado Springs every day in the month except for December 5th. The rates all seem to be a few dollars less than the Hot Rate deals – although using the Hotwire app often adds a little savings over their web site pricing.

When it comes to deals, a good technique with any service is to sign up for their email newsletters in the hopes of receiving good coupon codes. In the past, I’ve gotten some up to 15% off of Express Deals, which can add up to a pretty penny and I’ve seen some decent 5% off codes recently. Currently you can also click through the Priceline page on RetailMeNot to use their 7% off coupon.

The Nitty Gritty

To find Coronado on Priceline Express, you’ll want to look for a 3.5-star 8-guest rated resort in Bonnet Creek with 400 reviews. The only other 3.5-star resorts in that location are Caribbean Beach (321 reviews right now) and Wyndham Bonnet Creek (21 reviews). For comparison, here’s how Coronado appears in both hidden and regular deal results.

More Nitty Less Gritty

We’ve also gone the extra mile here at Touring Plans HQ and once again run a comparison of these Express Deals to the current Disney direct pricing. As you can see, even with Priceline’s additional fees tacked on these Coronado prices are a really nice savings.

All Gravy

Here’s a birds-eye view of the deals, assuming your bird understood time-based scheduling concepts.

If you have any questions, comments, or interesting bird-intelligence stories (extra points for French), let us know in the comments!

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John Tierney

Security. Genealogy. Dad. Husband. Securigenealodadsband. Also: Disney fan who likes deals. and numbers. and churros. You can find his tweeter @JJT and his Instagram is @johnjtierney

11 thoughts on “Priceline Express Deals: Coronado on Priceline for December

  • Ahh trying to figure this one out and stressing! And thank you for the tips! Just anxious!!

    5-Star Hotel, 8+ guest rating in Bonnet Creek Area. Currently at $167 a night with Additional Mandatory Fee* $225.00.

    Reply
    • Hi Noey,

      Deeps breaths… deep breaths… 🙂

      This one is an easy one! There are only two 5-star resorts in Bonnet Creek: Waldorf Astoria and Four Seasons.
      Last time I checked, Waldorf has a 4.5-guest rating and a $45 resort fee.
      Four Seasons is a 4.8-guest rating. (No resort fee.)

      You don’t say how many days you are looking at, but I’m going to guess 5 days, since the $45 resort fee divides into $225 that many days. 😉
      So, we’re looking at a clear case of the Waldorfs.
      Good luck!

      Reply
  • Hi John,

    Looking for the Coronado from Christmas to New Years. I see a 3.5 star 8+ with 400 views, however the picture shown is different. Any way to know if this is the Coronado? This is our first Disney trip and looking to save a little on the room. Shows is was $308 now for $138 per night.

    Reply
    • Hi Jarrod,
      Sure thing: a deal with those values is a solid Coronado. The only 3 resorts in Bonnet Creek that are 3.5-star and 8-guest are Coronado (Currently 499 reviews), Caribbean Beach (325 reviews) and Wyndham Bonnet Creek (22 reviews.) Even if you didn’t have the review counts to compare, you could discount Wyndham as a possibility because it shows up as a “3.5-star Condo” on Priceline Express.

      Another good way to check is to search for all deals at once – when you see the hidden deals, scroll down and look for the same resort and compare the rate there. There can be wiggle room, but in this case we are spot on: the non-hidden rate for CSR is listed as $308.

      Just for comparison: Disney’s own Magic is Here rate for the end of the year has Coronado about $250 for standard, so even with some Priceline fees tacked on you’re likely to save a bundle.
      Hope you have a terrific trip – let us know how it goes!

      Reply
  • Thanks for the info I’m looking at CSR and my husband pointed this out And I figured it was the Swan but wanted to check with the expert
    Thanks again…

    Reply
  • Hi John
    Priceline express is also showing a 4.5 hotel in bonnet Creek for 126 a night on express deals do you have any idea what hotel that could possibly be?
    Thanks
    Sandra Glieden

    Reply
    • Hi Sandra!
      Sure, that’s an easy one: If the resort you are looking at in Bonnet Creek is both a 4.5-star and 8-guest rated then it will be the Swan. It is the only resort in that location with those ratings. (The Grand Floridian and Animal Kingdom Lodge Jambo are also 4.5-star, but have 9-guest ratings.)

      As a tip off, you should also see an extra $30 per night mandatory (resort) fee added in addition to the other taxes/fees line on the booking page.

      But BEWARE: There has been a glitch lately with some dates for the Swan and Dolphin on hidden deals where that resort fee is mistakenly 4 to 5 times more per night than it should be. So, triple check them fees.

      I also suggest you check out the current deals on the Swan & Dolphin’s own site – sometimes the Bonvoy or AAA rates can be close to the hidden deal pricing. But there’s another gotcha there too: I noticed starting this summer that oddly many deals over there are non-refundable too.

      If you’d like to see some more detail on identifying the Swan, check out my August post about them. Good luck!

      Reply
  • People give the Swan and Dolphin good ratings, but I’ve never stayed. One day! Would love the proximity to parks there.

    My only gripe with them is the resort fee added on to the rate you see – so if you think staying at a Deluxe is worth, say, $122 + $30 per night (probably is in many cases!) then definitely a nice option.

    BUT – be sure to check the current rates at the Swolphin’s own web site, there have been deals there lately that were very close or better than the hidden deals. Also, be sure to triple check the refund policy on anything you book over there, not all deals are refundable!

    Reply
  • Thanks so much for the tips! Went ahead with your advice and have us booked at Pop through Disney and I will keep my eye on these deals. Any opinion on Disney Swan and Dolphin? I have seen Swan pop up on Hotwire anywhere from $99-115 a night before the resort fee and tax.

    Reply
  • Hi John! Thank you so much for all of these amazing tips- I have been reading your blog every day getting ready for my first trip in January. In your opinion, do you expect to see these deals in January? Maybe something for Pop or CSR? We are looking to stay under $150 a night using Priceline or Hotwire, just want to get the best experience with these deals!

    Reply
    • Hi Kayla, glad the posts are helpful! 🙂

      This Fall they seem to be rolling out deals 3-5 weeks out from the booking dates, but I’ll temper that info by warning that in general it is hard to guess what either Hotwire or Priceline are going to do at any given time.

      I’ve been tracking from Caribbean Beach deals on Priceline Express in January already – but I haven’t posted about them yet because after you tally all the fees and taxes they are about the same as Disney’s current Early 2021 discount. In fact the AP room rate is better than the hidden deal rates for those deals.

      So, my two suggestions for January: if actual deals are going to drop, they will likely happen soon so I’d keep checking every day. With Priceline Express you can set up a search for your dates etc then bookmark it – then the bookmark will get you there quickly without having to re-enter filters etc. (Sadly, you can’t do the same on Hotwire with all the filters, it clears them out every time you refresh.)

      Also: I am seeing Pop as low as $115 with Disney’s Early 2021 discount in January – which is pretty decent IMHO. You could book those refundable deals and and keep checking for hidden deals to see if something better does appear.

      BTW, using discounted Disney gift cards can shave some money off that rate. You can also book Pop at that rate on regular Hotwire and/or Priceline and apply one of their coupon codes to lower them a bit there as well.

      Of course, if I see anything new I’ll post them as soon as I can get them scoped out… Good luck!

      Reply

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