If you are thinking about visiting Disney World for the 50th anniversary, you’ve probably started making plans.

Plans for a 2021 Disney World visit typically include park passes, hotel reservations, and theme park tickets. But with the 50th Anniversary being a BIG event, you’ll want to get started on that trip planning very early. So, recently we took a look at Disney World resort hotel availabilities and pricing for the 50th anniversary, right around October 1st, 2021. What does hotel availability look like right now? What spots are already booked up and what’s still available (if anything)? We’re breaking it all down for you here!

More Disney World hotels have reopened recently, and some are set to reopen soon. But, some hotels remain closed with no reopening date in sight and Disney World is increasing capacity in the parks. Couple all of that with the added draw of the 50th Anniversary celebrations (including new fireworks, a new cavalcade, a new daytime show, and more) — we expect a LOT of people will all be vying for a room at the hotels that are open.

So, if you haven’t already booked your hotel reservations for the kick off of the 50th Anniversary celebrations, what’s available for you to book right now?

Current Availability

When we checked for a potential reservation for 2 adults from September 30th through October 3rd, we found a lot of resorts were already unavailable, including many moderate resorts like Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort and the Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort.

Even some deluxe resorts, like Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, didn’t show any availability.

When we checked on the value resorts, all of them were unavailable, including the Fort Wilderness Campsites. The value resorts are a great option if you want to save money, so you might have to adjust your hotel budget or dates a bit if you planned on staying at a value resort during this time.

The resort hotels that were still available when we searched were on the pricier end and mostly in the deluxe category. We sorted the list by price and (as of when we checked on June 25th) this is what was available from least to most expensive.

The cheapest option we found was Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, which was priced at an average of $540.67 per night. There was also some availability at the Animal Kingdom Villas (Kidani Village) and Saratoga Springs.

Want walking access to EPCOT for the anniversary celebrations so you can check out the park’s new nighttime spectacular, Harmonious, when it debuts on October 1st? Then you could stay at the Yacht Club Resort but it’ll set you back about $762.00 per night. Coronado Springs, the Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa…

…and the Grand Floridian itself also had some availability.

Granted, these hotels have their advantages. Disney’s Grand Floridian, for example, can be one of the best non-in-park locations to view Magic Kingdom fireworks. Staying there could get you some great (non-in-park) views of Magic Kingdom’s NEW 50th anniversary fireworks show, Enchantment. But, it’ll cost ya!!

Basically, when we checked recently, availability was extremely low, especially for anyone looking to stay at Disney World on a tighter budget.

What to Do If You Haven’t Booked Yet

So, if you haven’t booked your trip yet and you aren’t willing to pay the price for any of these hotels what can you do? 

Well, there are a few options. First, you could keep a close eye on Disney’s reservations page to see if anything opens up. It’s possible that more rooms will become available in the future if Disney opens more hotels, people cancel their trips, or Disney is otherwise able to open up more rooms.

Second, you could look at hotels near Disney that are not owned or operated by Disney. You could still have walking access to EPCOT, for example, if you decided to stay at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resorts. Or, you could check out the Disney Springs Resort Area hotels, which can often provide you with great Disney benefits at a cheaper price.

Click here to see how Disney World hotel prices compare to off-property resorts.

Third, you could look at hotels that are a bit further away from Disney World or consider renting a place through services like Air B&B.

Fourth, you could look at staying at a Disney Vacation Club hotel by renting points (as opposed to booking through Disney directly). We can’t speak to what availability is with that or the exact cost, but you could reach out to our friends over at David’s Vacation Club Rentals to see what’s available (tell them we say “hello!”).

Finally, to help with all of this planning you could work with a travel agent. A travel agent can take a look at what options are available for you, see if there are any discounts you can take advantage of, and make helpful recommendations.

We recommend our friends over at Small World Vacations. Their agents have a wealth of knowledge about Disney World and their services are also totally FREE so it won’t cost you anything extra to get their fantastic help!

Also, keep in mind that Disney World’s 50th Anniversary celebrations will be kicking off on October 1st, but the celebrations will last for 18 months!! So even if you can’t plan a trip for October 1st, you might be able to book a vacation for another time within the celebration time span so you can still experience all the extra anniversary magic.

If you are planning a trip to Disney World for the debut of the 50th anniversary, be sure to start planing your trip ASAP! Keep checking back with us here at DFB for ALL the tips and tricks you need to conquer your next trip to Disney World.

Click here for 3 HUGE tips for snagging hard-to-get reservations in Disney World!