February 2019 Discount Watch

[meremac]

Something has to be going on. My TA friend is on Facebook, and she is posting how she and her TA friends have coffee cups and coffee all set up and ready to go. I do know the 2020 cruise itineraries are being released.

Cruises don't come out until Thursday though, right? And bookings won't be available until a few days after that. So maybe the coffee is for something else?? It's rare, but discounts have come out on Wednesdays occasionally in the past!

 

[Laurelinarien]

Mind my newbie-ness, what's TA?

 

[krauh]

Mind my newbie-ness, what's TA?

Travel agent

Also, welcome!!

 

[sanapp]

Cruises don't come out until Thursday though, right? And bookings won't be available until a few days after that. So maybe the coffee is for something else?? It's rare, but discounts have come out on Wednesdays occasionally in the past!

What time of day are the discounts announced?

 

[shoes99]

The princess half marathon is 2/21/19 to 2/25/19. I have an accessible king booked at POFQ. Now POFQ is not even available to book at all.

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

Historically PSD are released early October (once saw it released even end of Sept). I am staying PO as well (flights booked Feb 27 to Mar 6) and watching to see if PSD would work out better than what I have which is currently park tickets and accommodations at PO and going OOP for food. I went 3 years ago that time frame and paid $4,044 for PSD for 2 adults & 2 children at CBR and it included TS dining. My hope is DW doesn't downgrade it to QS vs TS.

Ughh really makes me think that we will not see any discounts until 10/16 or later!!!!!

If last year is any indication, the first week of October 2017, they put out a play, stay, dine offer for January and February travel. I went towards the end of January and stayed At Coronado springs and updated to the regular Disney dining plan. My guess is that a similar offer will come out after October 16th. Hoping so

What time of day are the discounts announced?

SHARING THIS AGAIN AS THERE'S CONTINUED SPECULATION ON WHEN THESE MAY BE RELEASED...This is the entire history of the SPD and corresponding room only offer release dates. Of course the past may not be an accurate predictor of the future (especially this year with the ticket change occurring very soon too...

Also worth noting, when (if) discounts are released they will become available in the early AM. I believe phones open at 7am. They sometimes can appear online BEFORE then, sometimes it's after (no rhyme or reason on why)...

Here's a list of historical release dates for Stay Play Dine & Room Only Discounts:

2018 Travel - released 10/3/17 VISA, released 10/3/17 PUBLIC *(no early Visa release although there were add'l discounts for Visa cardholders)
2017 Travel - released 9/28/16 VISA, released 9/30/16 PUBLIC
2016 Travel - released 9/24/15 VISA, released 9/28/15 PUBLIC
2015 Travel - released 10/6/14 VISA, released 10/9/14 PUBLIC
2014 Travel - released 10/3/13 VISA, released 10/7/13 PUBLIC
2013 Travel - released 10/4/12 VISA, released 10/10/12 PUBLIC

And just to add info here for those that stumble across this post, 2011 & 2012 were the last 2 years where Free Dining was offered during Jan/Feb/Mar. For 2013 and onward it's been Stay, Play & Dine. There's been rumors EVERY year since then that free dining is coming, and then it ends up being StayPlayDine so if you hear that rumor again, take it with a grain of salt.

Also if you want to know more about how this deal has worked in the past and how to calculate what your savings might be check this out:https://www.disboards.com/threads/stay-play-dine-2018-calculation-thread.3638155/ *(there are also threads for '15, '16 and '17 linked in the first comment on the 2018 thread)

 

[SouthFayetteFan]

From the previous year's PSD discussion it looks like the dining plan is discounted 40% and a possible small discount on rooms (I think the range was $1.75-$20 off rack rate, mostly on deluxes.) I ended up pricing out every meal for our complete stay and comparing it to what the dining plan would cost with the discount. It was pretty close, but by paying OOP we would save $100. Combine that with $200 in savings by buying tickets from UT our decision was made.

I would run the numbers to see what your OOP dining costs would be compared to a discounted dining plan.

Yeah - I did see that's basically what the discount is. We are doing several character dining experiences and will have a 4 year old and 2 year old and when I ran the calculators before to decide if we should do the dining plan it was around a $100 savings or us to do the regular dining plan over paying out of pocket so I think regardless we will do the dining plan. I'm just trying to decide if PSD will end up saving us the most money or if a room-only discount with tickets purchased from undercover tourist will yield the biggest savings. And not knowing what ticket prices will look like under this new structure - its hard to know what to do.

I'm hesitant to provide any recommendations on comparing Room Only vs. SPD for a few reasons: (also FYI I still use the old abbreviation of SPD...it's in my blood, LOL!)

• EVERY year SPD has come out it has gotten worse. They lower the savings...and every time they do that, the pendulum swings further in favor of the room only discount.
• Availability (including room categories, resorts, dates) will vary between the RO and SPD discount...So it's almost impossible to figure out which will be better ahead of time. You may have to book a Water View to get RO and need to book a Garden View to get SPD and that difference could swing the savings in one direction or another. OR you may find that there is no SPD for your dates at your resort and RO is your only option.

I know this post sounds somewhat negative, lol...but I'm just trying to be honest. It is SO hard to figure out what's best and what will be available ahead of time.

You think this is tough...try running the dozens of scenarios necessary to isolate how the deal works LOL - that's the fun I'm looking forward to

 

[garrsmom]

Waiting and watching and hoping and praying for a good discount for Mardi Gras week!!

 

[Magicalcarpetride]

Mind my newbie-ness, what's TA?

Travel agent

 

[unrequited23]

Discounts live!!!

There's a PSD and a room only claiming up to 25%.

 

[Billyboy25]

Discounts live!!!

There's a PSD and a room only claiming up to 25%.

Not much of a discount. Not PSD

Give the Gift of a Magical Stay – Book Early & Save Up to 25% on Rooms at Select Disney Resort Hotels


Offer Details

Book Through

January 2, 2019

Valid Travel Dates

Stays most nights January 1 through April 27, 2019

Important Details

• The number of rooms allocated for this offer is limited.
• Savings based on the non-discounted price for the same room.
• Additional per adult charges may apply if there are more than 2 adults per room at Disney Value, Moderate and Deluxe Resorts.
• Advance reservations required.
• Offer excludes the following room types: campsites, 3-bedroom villas, Cabins at Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, The Little Mermaid Standard Rooms at Disney's Art of Animation Resort and Bungalows at Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows.
• Cannot be combined with any other discount or promotion.
• Valid admission is required and not included in this offer to enjoy the theme parks.

 

[unrequited23]

Kick off 2019 by getting the most value and excitement out of your Disney vacation! With this offer, a family of 4 can play, stay, dine and save up to $500 on a 5-night/6-day room, Magic Your Way ticket and dining plan package at a select Disney Resort hotel most nights January 1 through March 9, 2019.

View sample rates based on a 5-night stay in a standard room or studio with 6-day Magic Your Way base tickets for a family of 4—based on 2 adults, 1 junior (ages 10 to 17) and 1 child (ages 3 to 9)—within the chart below.

Select Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts Save Up to $500 USD
Arrivals most nights 1/1/19 - 3/9/19

Select Disney Deluxe Resorts Save Up to $600 USD
Arrivals most nights 1/1/19 - 3/9/19

Select Disney Moderate Resorts Save Up to $500 USD
Arrivals most nights 1/1/19 - 3/9/19

Select Disney Value Resorts Save Up to $300 USD
Arrivals most nights 1/1/19 - 3/9/19
Important Details

• Cannot be combined with any other discount or promotion.
• Advance reservations required.
• Offer excludes the following room types: campsites, 3-bedroom villas, The Little Mermaid Standard Rooms at Disney's Art of Animation Resort, Cabins at Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Bungalows at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows.
• Excludes gratuities.
• Children ages 3 to 9 must choose from the children’s menu, if available.

 

[Minniemoo15]

OMG!!’ Thank you!! I can’t believe we had zero warning!!

I was able to reduce our nightly rate at BCV from 553 - 400. That’s $200 a night in Canadian dollars - a HUGE savings for us!!

So happy right now !

 

[Chris Rivera]

Just booked PSD for our trip, POR from January 27 - Feb 2, 2 Adults, 1 13 Year old, and 1 4 year old. Dropped the price from $5984 to $5205.

 

[dakotix]

Waiting until 7am to call and apply to our reservation. Just did a quick test to see how much we save. Before SPD total was $7500. With SPD the total goes down to $6700. Was hoping for a more substantial discount but I'll take it.

 

[unrequited23]

Waiting until 7am to call and apply to our reservation. Just did a quick test to see how much we save. Before SPD total was $7500. With SPD the total goes down to $6700. Was hoping for a more substantial discount but I'll take it.

$800 is $800.

I booked POFQ for a savings of $92 total over the rate I got from UT. I'm hoping for a Disney visa discount on my dates and will be calling while the kids are in school. I just hope the 2 hrs the youngest is at preschool is enough time to complete the call.

 

[dakotix]

$800 is $800.

I booked POFQ for a savings of $92 total over the rate I got from UT. I'm hoping for a Disney visa discount on my dates and will be calling while the kids are in school. I just hope the 2 hrs the youngest is at preschool is enough time to complete the call.

So I just tried the calculation for the room discount and its a way better deal. Total dropped from $6700 (PSD Offer) to $6592.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

My super TA already applied the discount before I ever woke up this AM!! Saved $273 off my preferred CSR room for Presidents Weekend. I’m pleased

ETA: we are going for 6 nights, with Presidents Day in the middle. The Friday & Saturday rates aren’t discounted at all but all others are.

 

[dakotix]

So here's the scoop for us... The Magic Room offer took off way more than PSD. We saved $1050! However when I called the cast member said that every time she tried to apply the Magic Room offer it would remove our park tickets.

So we decided to book a second reservation on-line since I had the reservation for the Magic Room Offer ready to checkout on my end. So now I have two trips reserved. She said that I could hold for 20+minutes to be transfered to someone who could cancel out the old reservation and move our payments for that trip to the new reservation. They also have to do something special to remove the trip insurance from the old reservation. She said i could also call back tomorrow when there is lighter call volume. I will just call back tomorrow to finish things up. Excited that we saved so much dough! Too bad I have to call back to do some reservation clean up but its all good.

 

[Disney Diva Mom]

Argh...woke up late and now I'm on hold.........patiently on hold...........