Not sure what I should do, Help!

[Deborah_Mary]

Hello! I was just looking for some feedback as to what others think I should do. I posted a few days ago regarding which resort my family and I should stay at when we go (either the WL or PO-FQ) and really found all the information quite useful, thank you all for letting me know your experiences. I greatly appreciated it.

But now on to my new dilemma... dh would prefer for us to go to DW in May but is being difficult about waiting for the deals/discounts to come out (to see what kind of price we can get) before even talking about specifics (e.g. possibly even booking a room/trip!) Talk about frustrating. So my question is, IF we were to book a room (or package) for a specific time in May for full price and then the deals/discounts come out for May after we've done that, could we call back and get reimbersed the extra money OR maybe even switch around where we stay? For example, if we were to book a room at an All Star for 5 nights, but then the discounts came out and we could then afford to stay at a Moderate for 4 or 5 nights (depending on the deal) or even stay at a deluxe for 3 or 4 nights for roughly the same price, could we do that if the particular resort(s) in question had rooms available?

I think dh is a bit apprehensive to make a commitment to a price for a vacation before the deals come out (if they ever do for the time we want to go!) and then get stuck with the full price. Thinking if we just wait for the deals, we could've saved XX dollars (that's how we booked last year's trip.) But one of my concerns is room availability AND I really wanted to try hard to get us priority seating for Cinderella's Royal Table and I've heard numerous times how hard it is to do that.

So anyway, what do you guys think we should do? I'm hoping to convince him SOON since we want to go around this time in May and every day counts now. I just wish those discounts would just come out already, it would make things so much easier on us and probably a LOT of other people here too.

Thanks for any words of wisdom you can offer...

Deb*

July '89 - Polynesian with parents
July '90 - Disney Cruise/Polynesian with parents
August '95 - Honeymoon w/dh @ the Contemporary
July '02 - First time with dd & dh @ the Contemporary
May-August '03 sometime - Still planning...

 

[kdibattista]

Go ahead and book. Just make sure to get the cancellation policy clarified. We booked our trip in January 2002 for an October 2002 trip and ended up rebooking in August with great codes. We saved $1,000!!!!!

 

[Colexi's Mom]

I would book also (but I'm going regardless if the codes come out or not). We are currently booked with a Disney Club discount, and I'm waiting for the AP codes to come out so hopefully I can save even more money. To me, it's not real unless you have the room already, so we booked our room last September!!

 

[twinmomto3boys]

We ALWAYS book ahead of time directly through CRO for room only. Then when the codes come out, we call back and say we want to try and alter a current reservation and apply the codes. If you call early enough you might be able to change resorts and they will apply your deposit to the new reservation - we have done this too. We just wait to buy airfare until we are sure about the trip.

 

[soccer mom]

I always call to get a better price on a room I already have booked. Usually start with a AAA or DC discount, then have a code applied, and then call again to get AP rate applied when it becomes available. Book now!

 

[Minnie's Mate]

I booked our spring break trip in January using a code from Mary's website. The AP rates came out later in the month. I called and had the rate changed (same hotel) and kept the same reservation number. The CM called the AKL directly to make sure the AP rate was applied while I was on the phone.

In the past people would make a new ressie to make sure they didn't loose a room at the hotel of their choice and then cancel the earlier ressie. This required a new deposit and a refund of the old deposit.

Under the new system, the CRO pulled up the ressie when I called the second time based on the phone number I gave them, and I didn't have to tell them the reservation number. They didn't cancel the first ressie, just changed the rate.

I guess this will save a lot of refunding deposits and charging new ones. I'm sure there is a transaction charge for each and this save Disney money in the long run, and it keeps us from risking loosing the resort we want in the shuffle.

 

[DisneyFan79]

I have a questions after reading all of this and just want to make sure I have it right. If I book with the DC discount, I can call back and get the "anyone can use rate", and then call back again to get the "AP" rate without ever having to cancel the first DC reservation? If thats the case it will be soooo much easier. Thanks for the help.

 

[HM]

Just to throw another wrench in this....
I am also going in May (late) and haven't made reservations yet. I am semi-patiently waiting to see when the codes come out and will make my reservation then. They were out by this time last year, so it does weigh on me as well.
I just don't want to go ahead and reserve a room at full price/or AAA/DC discount when I know I don't plan to pay those prices. I don't want to make it look like there is one more filled room, possibly making them discount fewer rooms because they have one filled already. This is just my take on it. But I feel pretty confident that codes will be available, its just a waiting game. -HM

 

[kda]

Just a reminder that you can change your current reservation IF the discount rate is available for your dates, or if you're able to be flexible. In many cases, it's easy to switch to the lower rate, but there's no guarantees. Sometimes there's a problem with 1 or 2 days not being available.

And definitely be sure you're not booking through WDTC, where you may have to pay a penalty.

Good luck!

 

[Disney Doll]

I always do that. I book a room just to make sure I have something. Then I watch these boards, and mousesavers.com and rebook when the discount codes come out.

 

[Minnie's Mate]

It looks like you don't have to re-book now, just call with the code and request that they change your rate. This is so much simpler than having to re-book and cancel the old ressie.