good news Walt Disney World has resurrected its buy-four-get-three-free

Walt Disney World has resurrected its buy-four-get-three-free hotel-night promotion, in a move likely to cheer consumers but which also suggests the giant resort expects travel demand will remain sluggish well into 2010.

The new hotel discount isn't quite as deep as the previous version of the promotion, which ran from January to mid-August, when it was replaced by a free-dining deal. For example, only customers who book rooms in Disney's mid-priced and most-expensive resorts can get seven nights for the price of four; people booking the resort's cheapest hotels, such as Disney's Pop Century Resort, can only get seven nights for the price of five.

But the offer covers travel for nearly five months — from Nov. 1 until March 27 — with a three-week blackout period around Thanksgiving and a week-and-half blackout around Christmas. Once this booking period is complete, Disney World will have been heavily discounting for 15 months straight.

Earlier this week, when announcing Disney's 2010 "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day" volunteer promotion, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Jay Rasulo acknowledged that the company would have to continue discounting to get consumers to travel in the midst of a still-struggling economy.

"We made the decision to promote volume over price," Rasulo said. "Frankly, we know that conditions haven't changed that much in the economy."