Please help clarify the daily rate/ season rate schedule

[Whiskers]

Sorry if this has been answered already - I can't seem to get the search to work for this topic.
We are going on our first WDW Christmas vacation this Dec 07:cool1:
When we booked it many months ago, it seemed that if you started your vacation on a value date, you would continue at the value rate through the vacation (even if it became "holiday season"). At least that is what I think I remember, because I had to change it and we are now arriving during holiday season anyway.
So today when I called reservations to book for Christmas 2008, I was told holiday season starts Dec 19, 2008. I asked her if we arrive Dec 18 (value season) if we get value rates all the way through. She said no - it will change Dec 19 to holiday rates.
Is this true? Part of their new rate program - weekend rates etc? So if we stay past Jan 1 it will go back down to value and we don't have to do a spit stay reservation type thing anymore?

[AllyGirl_79]

Yes, that is the case. Anyone going in 2007 will use the old system: the rate on the day you check in is the rate for the whole trip.

The new system starts in Jan 08. You pay a charge per night of your trip. Every night during value season has a value season rate, every night during a holiday season has a holiday season rate, and so on. And the weekend rates during some seasons are higher than the weekday rates for that same season. (This is not the case all the time, however.) So, hypothetically, if your vacation crossed over two seasons and included a weekend, you could see three separate prices for the same room during one trip.

The upside is that if you were planning a trip on, let's say, December 30, and staying until January 5, your price per day would actually go down during the latter part of your trip. You wouldn't be stuck staying the whole trip at holiday rates, for example. And you'd get that benefit without doing multiple reservations.

Basically, they closed the arrive-during-value-season loophole.

[Whiskers]

Thanks so much for the info - I understand it now!