booking in advance and then changing resorts to the one we really want

[dminnie]

We want to stay at POR for the PHM in February. If they don't have a good room discount though, we would stay at maybe POP.

I'd like to make the reservation before the 180 day mark so I can get our dining reservations just a few days ahead of people staying off-site. If I book POR and they don't come up with a good discount, can I switch to POP without paying a fee? How easy is it to switch resorts? Also, if they really don't come up with a decent price for the room and we go off-site, is there a penalty for cancelling the reservation altogether?

WWYD? Book the one you want and hope for the discount...then switch to POP if there isn't a discount. Or, book POP since that is really the price point we'd be willing to pay.

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

If you do a package, then you can make changes more than 45 days out without a penalty. So, you can change resorts or cancel. If you do a room only then you can cancel up until a week before

You can make changes to a resort reservation and it is fairly simple. I have done this a bunch.

 

[Robbi129]

It's easy to do as long as you do it before 45 days out. I had originally booked us at POP with reg dining plan. The free dining came out for the dates we are going to be there and I was on hold for over an hour and had to get to work. I logged in online and POP wasn't avail for the free dining so I booked POR. I had to pay the deposit again, but when I got home I called and cancelled the first reservation and they refunded me the deposit I paid on that one.

 

[Sue M]

I'm not sure, but I think they've changed and room only is 5 days? Without penalty.

It depends what discount you're looking for at POR. Does the PHM give discounts booking at certain resorts? I've never booked for a marathon, but don't they give you booking options at certain resorts?

You can look on the Mousesavers.com web site, they have a chart of historical discounts to see what was offered in past years.

If you have AAA, you can sometimes get up to 20% discount for room only. You book with Disney and just ask for aaa discount.

 

[mickeynut1]

If you do a package, then you can make changes more than 45 days out without a penalty. So, you can change resorts or cancel. If you do a room only then you can cancel up until the day before check in.

You can make changes to a resort reservation and it is fairly simple. I have done this a bunch.

This is sort of correct for packages, but incorrect for room only cancellations. Any changes made to a package 45 days or more prior to arrival can be done at no charge. Any changes made 44 days or less from arrival will incur a $50 change fee if the total cost decreases; if the total cost increases, the $50 fee is usually waived. Also, any changes made 14 days or less prior to arrival for either package type, will incur a $15 fee, regardless of what it does to the total cost. Cancellation of a package must be made 45 days or more prior to arrival to avoid a $200 penalty.

For room only reservations, cancellations must be made at least 5 days prior to arrival, otherwise a penalty of 1 night's room rate + tax will be charged. Changes can easily be made as long as the resort/room type you want to change to is available.

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

This is sort of correct for packages, but incorrect for room only cancellations. Any changes made to a package 45 days or more prior to arrival can be done at no charge. Any changes made 44 days or less from arrival will incur a $50 change fee if the total cost decreases; if the total cost increases, the $50 fee is usually waived. Also, any changes made 14 days or less prior to arrival for either package type, will incur a $15 fee, regardless of what it does to the total cost. Cancellation of a package must be made 45 days or more prior to arrival to avoid a $200 penalty.

For room only reservations, cancellations must be made at least 5 days prior to arrival, otherwise a penalty of 1 night's room rate + tax will be charged. Changes can easily be made as long as the resort/room type you want to change to is available.

I changed my post because I meant a week before (they do charge a one night stay if you can do within six days). ADRS can be can be cancelled within one day of check in. I was doing two things at once and not paying attention

 

[dminnie]

We may just try to keep it simple and buy our tickets separately. We don't do the dining plan...just doesn't fit with our spending/eating habits.

So, with room only, I could cancel completely or change to a different resort with no fee. Just need to pay attention and do it before we get too close to arrival date?

From what I'm hearing they are not giving RunDisney discounts like before. (Of course, this is our first race there and we didn't enjoy the discounts before) I think they used to give a substantial ticket discount. Now there isn't one at all. The room discounts have historically been not as good as GP discounts (according to other threads I've read). So, we had hoped for discounts to make this more reasonable. It's going to be a bit pricey for just a weekend and we can't get more time off work to make it a weeklong trip.

 

[kmb584]

So, with room only, I could cancel completely or change to a different resort with no fee. Just need to pay attention and do it before we get too close to arrival date?

Correct! If you're going to change resorts or cancel the reservation just be sure it's done no later than 5 days before your arrival to avoid cancellation fees.