BUY 4 GET 3 FREE - how do you make your booking?

[angelkk]

Just curious how do you make the booking for this deal? Anyone book on Disney.com (website) directly and then call to add room requests?

Just wonder if there will be any difference in calling Disney to book, booking via a TA, or booking at their website.

I had a scenario (two years ago) that the price quoted by Disney on the phone was slightly cheaper than the price quoted on the web site ~ not sure if I did anything wrong though.

Any comments?

 

[catne]

you can either book through a travel agent (I booked through my AAA agent) or you can go to Disney website.

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/index

there's a box "Buy 4, get 3 free" click on that for details. There's a link to book the package on-line in the details.

I've booked all three ways-through my AAA gal, on-line & on the phone. I always price out my vacays online first. It's always been the same...the only thing that changes is sometimes the AAA discount is higher or lower depending on the time of year & type of resort. Hope that helps.

 

[Baltazar]

If you're not sure, call Disney on the phone. We booked our December trip on line but still had to call them to fix one of our goof ups. I've actually called them three times so far.

I didn't see a way to add the food plan on the B4G3 if you book on line but I didn't look real hard.

 

[angelkk]

Thank you. I was just a bit lazy ~ my friend told me that there was quite a bit of wait time on the phone so I am thinking if I should do it online ~ yes I want dining plan and the gift card too

 

[Disneydreamer5]

I was told last night by a CM that there is actually a fee for booking on line. Don;t know how true that is but that is what she said. Just an FYI

 

[Baltazar]

Thank you. I was just a bit lazy ~ my friend told me that there was quite a bit of wait time on the phone so I am thinking if I should do it online ~ yes I want dining plan and the gift card too

Call first thing in the morning, minimal to no wait time.

Just write everything down that you want before you call. You might forget about the "Whatchamacallit".

 

[suzcruz]

i was able to book the dining plan online, did not see anything about a fee, if there is one, it was pretty well hidden. the one thing i did see was if you bought the travel insurance, you can't get a refund on that so i left it out for now, thinking i could always add it later.

 

[SplashMtnCrew]

I looked online before contacting my TA. After we decided what we wanted to do we called her, she told us that the deal couldn't be applied to the ressie we already had and that the other option we wanted wasn't available I told her it showed up online, she got aggitated with me, and said she'd call back. After talking to DH he told me to call Disney myself and book the room we wanted, I did, and had no problems. TA finally got around to calling me back and I told her to cancel the original ressie we had booked w/her b/c I booked our stay myself and got exactly what we wanted. She then told me that I needed to write a letter to Disney and tell them I wanted her to take over the ressie I had just made That's not going to happen, she couldn't do anything for me to begin with. I'm not sure that I'll actually use a TA again.

I say just call Disney yourself, I didn't have much of a wait time at all, certainly worth it.

 

[angelkk]

i was able to book the dining plan online, did not see anything about a fee, if there is one, it was pretty well hidden. the one thing i did see was if you bought the travel insurance, you can't get a refund on that so i left it out for now, thinking i could always add it later.

Thanks suzcruz. Do you have to call up Disney to make requests after booking online? Did you get an email confirmation?

 

[pampam]

Say, for example I want to stay for 3 weeks. Can I make a reservation for 1 week, get 3 nights free and $200, make another reservation for the next week, 3 nights free and another $200, and another week again with 3 free and $200 gift card? I believe you get the gift card at check in, so if I stayed at the Poly one week, GF the next week and ASMu the third, could I get 3 gift cards?

 

[rt2dz]

There is no fee for booking online. You have package cancellation restrictions for a room only ressie if you book online, but that's it. NO changes for the package.

Go to tickets and reservations online. Click on special offers in the upper left side. Click on the buy 4 get 3 deal (doesn't matter which resort category). Click on book your stay now--a goldish button. Punch in your information (dates, traveling party). The resorts will pop up; pick the one you want to try or the category. Availability will show up. Click on the resort and proceed to booking.

Right below the resort will be rate type--make sure it says Magic Your Way January-June offer after the number of your nights. Below that is room type, click on what you want and then hit update. The below that is park tickets options. Click open and decide on your days (3 max free with purchase of 4 days)--hoppers, water park, etc. Then click update. And so on and so forth until you get to the bottom.

Then click on select this offer. Check everything over to make sure it is correct. If something is wrong or you change your mind, click edit now and you'll go back to choosing options. Remove the insurance. If you want insurance, you can add it later, preferably from a broker who covers more and charges less. See mouse savers or the Unofficial Guide for a couple of good ones they recommend. Then click book it now and follow through with payment. If you have room requests (location), you'll have to call back, but can do so at your leisure--'till about a week out. Some requests (like crib) can be made online right then and there.

You will get an email confirmation. Generally a heck of a lot faster than if you book via phone. I book online if a package (and no previous ressie that I'm adjusting). I book room only via phone. Exceptions may be if they don't have availability in one or the other--the CM computers for phone bookings can have different availability v. online. Disney does this to give the different type of bookings each a fair chance.

 

[rt2dz]

Say, for example I want to stay for 3 weeks. Can I make a reservation for 1 week, get 3 nights free and $200, make another reservation for the next week, 3 nights free and another $200, and another week again with 3 free and $200 gift card? I believe you get the gift card at check in, so if I stayed at the Poly one week, GF the next week and ASMu the third, could I get 3 gift cards?

Yup. As long as it is 3 reservations.

 

[biggroofy]

If you're not sure, call Disney on the phone. We booked our December trip on line but still had to call them to fix one of our goof ups. I've actually called them three times so far.

Baltazar - may I ask what went wrong with the online booking? I am trying to save some pennies (long distance calls from Canada) and hassles (never receive email confirmation from Disney) if online booking works fine

 

[Baltazar]

Baltazar - may I ask what went wrong with the online booking? I am trying to save some pennies (long distance calls from Canada) and hassles (never receive email confirmation from Disney) if online booking works fine

When we got the confirmation email it said "Preferred" room. When you make a reservation the default setting is "Preferred" and my wife swore she changed it to "Standard" but is not sure. I called Disney on our cell phone (Free long distance calls) and changed it to "Standard". Everything else was fine, the other calls we made were about ME.

When we made the reservation we had to take off the Ultimate Hopper and Water Parks fun and more options. Seeing as we are not getting in untill 9PM, we decreased the ticket days to 5 days.

Just double check everything on your reservation before you submit.

 

[DanceRC28]

I got quotes from two different TA's and then checked their price against that of booking directly through disney.com...it turns out they are exactly the same! I booked through the disney website with no problems and can't wait for our PO- FQ stay!!!!

 

[biggroofy]

Thank you very much Baltazar and DanceRC28 I really appreciate your response - so I will go ahead and booked online now.

I guess once I have booked online I can print out the confirmation. At a later time (I guess no rush??) I can call Disney to add my room requests (I am booking two rooms, so requesting adjoining rooms, cribs etc - I think I cannot do them online).

P.S. Does standard room = Garden view?

 

[rt2dz]

What standard view = depends on which resort you choose.

You may link rooms together online (it's one of those requests, like cribs, that are allowed/have check boxes for that I was talking about), but I'd call to double check that one and impress upon them the need for connecting, if needed. Remember that connecting and adjoining are two separate things in WDW resort lingo.

 

[biggroofy]

Thanks! Just booked online (two rooms)and received emails.

There was a checkbox for "crib" and I have selected it for one room. There was a also a special request section to indicate other parties traveling with you - I put my dad's Initial there and requested connecting rooms. However, there was no space for me to input my dad's reservation number so I will call them in the next few weeks to make sure our files are cross-referenced.

 

[Baltazar]

P.S. Does standard room = Garden view?

PO-FQ Standard view room may face a courtyard or a parking lot. when you get a parking lot view, it means you may see the parking lot through the trees and bushes. They mask undesirable views very well.

 

[paper1225]

I think the online fee may have stemmed from a few years ago disney did not ask about the travel insurance, they automatically charged it when you booked online..........there now is a page that asks if you would like to decline! So no un-needed fees