When to Book?

[chttyangel]

Good morning,

How far in advance should you book your vacation plan? I would like to visit 6/1-6/8. I have already made all the ADR and have my vacations saved in my online account priced for Art of Animation and All Star Movies. I want to spread out my payments between now and June BUT I havent pulled the trigger because there are no specials right now. I am hoping for a rocking deal from Disney after the first of the year OR for a pin to help with the dining. Not sure how long I should play the waiting game for; new to all of this...

THANKS!

 

[Sue M]

My opinion is that I wait till there's a promo out to book. The theory being, Disney is watching carefully, and they will only now put out discounts on resorts that need filling. Some resorts have been excluded or reduced discount in the past few promos. If resorts are filled enough, Disney sees no need to offer incentive to book. IE: POFQ & AoA have been excluded. Sometimes WL too or AKL.

You can go on mousesavers.com to see when WDW has put out past promos for your dates. They have a chart of Historical Discounts. But again, WDW has varied in release dates so it's just for an idea of timeframe.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Good morning,

How far in advance should you book your vacation plan? I would like to visit 6/1-6/8. I have already made all the ADR and have my vacations saved in my online account priced for Art of Animation and All Star Movies. I want to spread out my payments between now and June BUT I havent pulled the trigger because there are no specials right now. I am hoping for a rocking deal from Disney after the first of the year OR for a pin to help with the dining. Not sure how long I should play the waiting game for; new to all of this...

THANKS!

There are rumors of a new discount coming out on Jan 3rd. I don't know how reliable the rumor is, though. I would reserve the room only soon before the room you want is no longer available. They will only charge you for one night to hold the reservation. Then you don't have to pay the rest until you check in. If a discount comes up between now and the time you go, they will apply it to your reservation if you call them about it. You can add park tickets later. But once you make it a package by adding tickets, you have to have it paid in full forty five days ahead of time.

 

[WizardLarz]

I would go ahead and book now if a deal shows up you just call and change you're ressie. Be aware you are hitting the start of summer season so the chances of a 'Deal' are small.

 

[dis_guy]

Personally, I like to book as far out as possible because we are usually limited to peak times (summer or Christmas).

For us, the real issue is getting decent prices on our flights. If I get a good price on flights I typically book those first and once we've got that confirmed, go ahead and book the resort. Usually we see our best fares soon after they are released, at around 11 months out. I then take the total of our Disney package, divide by the number of months and pay that amount each month. If any special pricing is announced, I get that applied to our reservation then.

Of the two times we've gone at Christmas, we've gotten some sort of discount both times, usually for days before the 24th or after New Years day. You will never see a discount between Christmas and New Years, lol!

 

[CanadianGuy]

There is a strong likelihood that any future discounts won't apply to the AoA rooms ... Keep that in mind as you plan.

 

[chttyangel]

Thanks for all the great replies. I think I am going to wait until the first part of Jan and then book. This will give a little time to do some more research and check with a travel agent (never use one but have heard lots of positives on here and other articles, so why not!)

I am happy with the current rate I was quoted but saving a little extra might give me the funds to upgrade to a mod hotel or add extra time to visit Universal. Fingers crossed!!