Paying for your Resort Stay and Tickets etc

[Oz-kateer]

Hi All,

Planning my second on property WDW stay as we loved last months's trip so much, have booked for Sept 2010.

Question I have concerns deals that may come up that may apply to me between now and when we are actually there.

I know our TA at DU has advised us if any deals come up that apply to our dates she will apply them to our package but I was wondering if this has actually ever happened to anyone, and whether, if they had already paid, they actually got any money back? If yes, was it paid to you in cash (or credited to your card) or paid in some sort of "Disney Dollars" or vouchers way?

I have paid my deposit but would like to go ahead and pay for the whole thing next month when we get our annual bonuses (yes! we must be one of the last companies in the world able to afford this, minor miracle) - have booked a Magic Your Way package with all the bells and whistles for 12 days.

Any experiences concerning this would be appreciated.

Many thanks.

[jmartinez1895]

This happened to us and the proce did change on the dinning package. They refunded the overage ( only like 15.00, but every penny counts sometime) to the card we used to pay the package. Another good thing about booking and paying for your trip in whole is that if for somereason the prices go uo you are already paid for and ( last time i booked) you don't have to pay the difference. Have a great trip.

[Oz-kateer]

Originally Posted by jmartinez1895

This happened to us and the proce did change on the dinning package. They refunded the overage ( only like 15.00, but every penny counts sometime) to the card we used to pay the package. Another good thing about booking and paying for your trip in whole is that if for somereason the prices go uo you are already paid for and ( last time i booked) you don't have to pay the difference. Have a great trip.

Wow, I would have thought even if you paid a deposit but not the whole thing, you were locked in - if prices went up you'd be safe from being asked to pay more? How disappointing would that be?

Imagine telling your kids when you had paid $2000 already and were down to what you thought was your last $200 instalment or whatever that the trip had to be cancelled because the prices went up and you had to pay more?????

[Sue M]

yes, I've had price adjustments when WDW released a discount that applied to my trip, and the credit applied to my Visa.
Even if you haven't paid in full, if rates for something do go up-you are locked in with what you booked, I've never heard of anyone being told their price went up after they booked.

[Missytara]

I was able to get an upgrade with the 4/3 deal, even though I had paid off my package months earlier.

[snykymom]

Once you've booked, your rates can only go down by applying a code. The rate you've booked is the maximum you can be charged, unless you alter your reservation materially. So, for example, if you booked a package 2 days before the ticket prices went up, you would still pay the old price for the tickets. Now, if you change your reservation by adding another room or another person who needs tickets, you may have to pay the new price. Otherwise, you're locked in.

Disney will, however, allow you to apply a deal to your reservation, if it is available for your dates in your resort and type of room (each deal has a limited number of rooms available in each resort). You may need to modify your reservation by changing resorts, changing room types, etc., but Disney will allow you to do so and lower your costs.

[brentalex]

Originally Posted by snykymom

Once you've booked, your rates can only go down by applying a code. The rate you've booked is the maximum you can be charged

The only time this is not true is if you book a room before the rates for the year are released. Right now you could book a room for Jan 2011, and the rate you are quoted would be the 2010 rate. Even if you paid off the entire amount today based on the 2010 rate, when the 2011 rates are released and the rate for the room is higher than the 2010 rate, you would owe the extra amount.

[princessmom29]

We got a refund credited to our card when we added the FD code for our stay this year.

[snykymom]

Originally Posted by brentalex

The only time this is not true is if you book a room before the rates for the year are released. Right now you could book a room for Jan 2011, and the rate you are quoted would be the 2010 rate. Even if you paid off the entire amount today based on the 2010 rate, when the 2011 rates are released and the rate for the room is higher than the 2010 rate, you would owe the extra amount.

Good point. This would only happen, however, if you're booking for 2011 in the highest season (not in, say, January). When you book for 2011 before rates come out, you can book a room-only, not a package. They will quote you the highest rate for the highest season (generally Christmas) and that's what your 1 night deposit will be. Then once rates come out, the 2011 rates will apply. In almost all cases, except for people booking for that most expensive season, the price you actually pay will be lower than the price you were quoted.

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Another question related to this:

If I book on Monday for a room with 1 base ticket for everyone (we are getting homeschool tickets separately) and use a PIN for 20% off the room rate and then free dining comes out, can I just apply the FD (this is a sept. trip) and pay the rack rate on the room?

Or would it be better to just reserve the package without the PIN and wait for FD to come out???