Booking a trip....how far in advance?

[caroline1851]

We're planning our trip for 9/21-9/27/08 (hoping for free dining)

We want to stay at CSR. Family of 4.

How far in advance to we NEED to book? Can i just wait until April when, hopefully, free dining will be annouced? If i wait that long, is there a chance that CSR would be filled up?

Thanks!

 

[DisneyJimbo]

If staying at CSR is extremely important to you and your family, then I would book now.

I don't know if you need to book now, but if staying there is really important then you will be assured a room if you book now.

Another consideration...CSR is a convention hotel, so it would stink if a convention came along and took all the rooms before you booked!

 

[iluvdizknee]

I just booked our 14 night POP stay for next July...(July 7-21..2008). I went through Disney Travel. This is the way we alway do it. I pay it off like a car payment ( a wdw payment..woohoo).
Its the only way to go. Then in January,,,I call and make all the ADR.

 

[mmbrad02]

Oh, I'm glad someone posted it, as DH and I are in the exact same dilema! Basically we are going next year on a pretty much "Free" trip (through rewards on our Disney Visa) and if we go in September we can do a Moderate/Deluxe resort, IF they offer free dining. Last year we went and stayed in Port Orleans Riverside, so we were thinking of trying CSR this year. If they do not offer free dining, I would like to go in December just to see the Christmas decorations and we would stay in a Value resort.

That all beings said, if I book now, and free dining does become available, will they add it to your current reservation, or do you have to cancel it and rebook? If the later is true, do you have to wait for all your payments to be refunded to you, or can they transfer those to the new reservation?

 

[disneydreamer1970]

I just booked our trip to POFQ for October, 2008!!! It makes the trip seem all that much more real to us and we have a full year to pay off the balance. We just love having everything paid for when we check in and all we have to worry about is play money!! When I made our reservation I asked it I could call and apply a code if one were to come out next summer for our stay and the answer was yes.

Oh, I even started purchasing Disney Dollars this weekend. (I'm going to try and get some each week) and DS (16) thinks I am crazy!! When he said: "I can't believe you are buying those now" I said "Just think of how much I will have when we go next year?"....DH and I would love to do some Christmas shopping while we are there next year and it seems like a great way for us to save.

Have fun planning!!

Trish

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

We're planning our trip for 9/21-9/27/08 (hoping for free dining)

We want to stay at CSR. Family of 4.

How far in advance to we NEED to book? Can i just wait until April when, hopefully, free dining will be annouced? If i wait that long, is there a chance that CSR would be filled up?

Thanks!

We booked room only for CSR in June, before the rates came out. Our dates are April 5-12, 2008. On the day rates were released this month, there were no AAA rates available and no rooms except suites were showing on the website. If I play with the dates, I can get standard rooms to show up (e.g. April 6-12 instead), but we are still more than seven months out and the standard rooms are gone for my first choice of dates. I am very glad we booked when we did! There are not even any conventions showing on Buzz2001's master list for CSR conventions, so I don't know why it is so crowded that weekend.

Bottom line: as a PP said, if you have your heart set on a particular resort, go ahead and book it. You either pay one night's deposit for a room only or $200 deposit for a package.

If you are only going if free dining is announced, you might as well wait. If you are going no matter what, I would book and make sure I had a room. If you are going to do a package, book a package now. Apparently you have to have your deposit refunded and you have to pay another one if you switch from room-only to package.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

Oh, I'm glad someone posted it, as DH and I are in the exact same dilema! Basically we are going next year on a pretty much "Free" trip (through rewards on our Disney Visa) and if we go in September we can do a Moderate/Deluxe resort, IF they offer free dining. Last year we went and stayed in Port Orleans Riverside, so we were thinking of trying CSR this year. If they do not offer free dining, I would like to go in December just to see the Christmas decorations and we would stay in a Value resort.

That all beings said, if I book now, and free dining does become available, will they add it to your current reservation, or do you have to cancel it and rebook? If the later is true, do you have to wait for all your payments to be refunded to you, or can they transfer those to the new reservation?

If you book a package now, you can call to see if any promotional codes can be applied when they come out. Just because you have a room or package doesn't mean that you will get the code if you ask - they are capacity controlled. If you have booked a room-only, you will have to cancel and book a package for free dining if available. I have read here that you have to pay the package deposit and they refund the room deposit instead of transferring it. I have not ever done that, so I am repeating what I've read. If you plan to book a package no matter what, you can book it and hope for a code. If you won't go in September unless there is free dining, I don't think there is any advantage to book now.

 

[iluvdizknee]

I hear you all talking about FREE DINING. My family and I would love to try the DP, but we figured out that it would actually not benefit us. If it were FREE...well that is another story.
Do they ever offer Free Dining in summer months? Just wondering

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

I hear you all talking about FREE DINING. My family and I would love to try the DP, but we figured out that it would actually not benefit us. If it were FREE...well that is another story.
Do they ever offer Free Dining in summer months? Just wondering

It has historically only been offered from mid- to late August through September - typically a slow time as well as hurricane season.

 

[momofthreekids]

We booked room only for CSR in June, before the rates came out. Our dates are April 5-12, 2008. On the day rates were released this month, there were no AAA rates available and no rooms except suites were showing on the website. If I play with the dates, I can get standard rooms to show up (e.g. April 6-12 instead), but we are still more than seven months out and the standard rooms are gone for my first choice of dates. I am very glad we booked when we did! There are not even any conventions showing on Buzz2001's master list for CSR conventions, so I don't know why it is so crowded that weekend.

Bottom line: as a PP said, if you have your heart set on a particular resort, go ahead and book it. You either pay one night's deposit for a room only or $200 deposit for a package.

If you are only going if free dining is announced, you might as well wait. If you are going no matter what, I would book and make sure I had a room. If you are going to do a package, book a package now. Apparently you have to have your deposit refunded and you have to pay another one if you switch from room-only to package.

How do you find out if AAA rates are available. We are planning on going for 12 days in June 2008.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

How do you find out if AAA rates are available. We are planning on going for 12 days in June 2008.

If you are booking room-only, you can call Disney or AAA to ask for the discount. If you are booking a package, you have to book with AAA directly to get a AAA discount.

 

[winterman]

I would like to point out to the many people who book rooms hoping that free dining will become available that Free Dining is a promotion intended to fill rooms during a slow period. If the rooms are already booked by those hoping for free dining, then there is no need to run this promotion. The free dining period this year was about three weeks shorter than in the previous 2 years. Do you suppose this had anything to do with the fact that many people had already booked rooms?

I agree with the disers who have said 'if the resort is important to you go ahead and book it now.' But you will go only if free dining happens then you should wait til the announcement is made.

 

[caroline1851]

I would like to point out to the many people who book rooms hoping that free dining will become available that Free Dining is a promotion intended to fill rooms during a slow period. If the rooms are already booked by those hoping for free dining, then there is no need to run this promotion. The free dining period this year was about three weeks shorter than in the previous 2 years. Do you suppose this had anything to do with the fact that many people had already booked rooms?

Good point!!

I guess i'll just wait until April to book my trip. IF i can handle waiting that long