Need advice from all the Deluxe experts re: best discounts

[jpessa]

Hi everyone! So I'm thinking a WDW trip is a good idea for 2018. Haven't been since 2014 as I moved west and go to DLR all the time now. In the past, I've stayed at Values and Mods, never Deluxe due to price. However, now that I don't go to WDW often (and am used to seeing on site prices at DLR - sheesh!) I'd like to do a Deluxe or 2 next visit.

I'm very flexible about when and where so far, but my question for the experts is this: am I better off going with a room only discount, free dining or renting points? Or some other discount I'm not aware of? What's the best savings for Deluxe category?

It's just DD6 and I so a studio would do, or a regular room, and we wouldn't use a kitchen even if we had one.

Trying to plan early enough so that if I need to rent points I can do it 11 months in advance.

Thanks!

 

[MillauFr]

Go in late August/early September. My TA was selling rooms for a 55% discount at the Poly.

 

[patty57]

I don't think you can say which discount is the best, but have to crunch the numbers when you decide your actual dates. For example, a DVC rental can certainly be a savings, but not always the best savings. Many DVC owners are asking $16 and above for their points for an 11 month priority window. If you look at the historic discounts on MouseSavers, and there is a likelihood of a discount during your time...what is the savings then? You can also wait for Orbitz/Cheaptickets to discount their inventory to be in line with WDW, and often apply their own 15-18% discount promos on top of that. As an example, there was a VGC studio for rent on another site for Oct. 30-Nov. 2...the exact dates I needed. I knew the price per point was really high...$20 per point. I waited for Disney to discount the room, then waited for Cheaptickets to discount their rooms to keep up with Disney, then applied Cheaptickets 18% promo. I ended up getting a room for less than the rental, without all the restrictions of a rental.
I have found that a WDW discount can be just as good, or better a savings than a DVC rental, and I am someone who has rented a number of times. The point is...you have to run your own numbers when you get your dates so you can make an informed decision.

 

[wench]

Traditionally room discounts will save you more money than free dining. So, if you have to choose between the two, I'd go for the room. Renting DVC points is a great option though, so definitely look into that before deciding.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Note that DVC rental has a lot of restrictions (no cancel, pay up front) and depending on your dates you need to be realistic about availability. Do not price out AKV Value, BLT Standard or BWV Standard much of the year; you are unlikely to be able to book them. Understand that DVC high season is late September through early January, and for those dates near-park resorts book within the 11 month window and private owners tend to charge premium rates for the most popular resorts; brokers do not always have owners with the points for the most popular resorts in these periods.

 

[patty57]

Note that DVC rental has a lot of restrictions (no cancel, pay up front) and depending on your dates you need to be realistic about availability. Do not price out AKV Value, BLT Standard or BWV Standard much of the year; you are unlikely to be able to book them. Understand that DVC high season is late September through early January, and for those dates near-park resorts book within the 11 month window and private owners tend to charge premium rates for the most popular resorts; brokers do not always have owners with the points for the most popular resorts in these periods.

These are excellent points. If renting through a broker, they may not have points at the resort you want, and if you wait for some to become available...the room you want may be gone. The inventory at DVC is very different than traditional WDW inventory, and the busy season can be different than the regular WDW rooms. If I wanted a specific DVC rental that was difficult to get, I would have an owner lined up to get it. As mentioned by auroraborealis, the standard and value rooms get taken quickly.

Also agree with wench that for deluxe resorts, a room only discount tends to be better than free dining at full rack rate.

 

[MsThumper]

As mentioned above, there is no one best discount, because the same rooms are never offered at the same discount.

By the end of this year, we will have been on four visits to WDW, all deluxe stays, and they were all booked by various methods. We already have 1 stay booked for next year.

We are two adults, and we always book room only and never get the dining plan, because it just doesn't fit our eating style. We feel we can do better OOP.

Probably renting points would be the most economical. We tried it once, went through a broker, but they didn't have anything available for our time frame. Also, I don't mind having to pre-pay in full, but i wouldn't rent DVC without having travel insurance, in case we must cancel. For us, that seems a little too much of an added cost, since we are only 1.5 hrs away from WDW and I am comfortable with Disney's cancellation policy.

 

[jpessa]

Thanks everyone, this is really great advice and exactly what I was hoping for.

 

[MsThumper]

Even though this forum is an excellent source of information, if you have'nt already done so, www.mousesavers.com is an excellent website for information on getting discounts. I'm sure there are others, but it is my favorite.

 

[jpessa]

Even though this forum is an excellent source of information, if you have'nt already done so, www.mousesavers.com is an excellent website for information on getting discounts. I'm sure there are others, but it is my favorite.

Yes thanks, I've used it to look up the historical discounts. I'm leaning towards waiting for a room only discount, and checking with Orbitz in case they come out with the same promo plus their 15% coupon.

 

[patty57]

Yes thanks, I've used it to look up the historical discounts. I'm leaning towards waiting for a room only discount, and checking with Orbitz in case they come out with the same promo plus their 15% coupon.

This is what I did for my trip this weekend. I used Cheaptickets for 18%. When Disney discounted the rooms, it took Cheaptickets and Orbitz almost a week to discount their rooms to match the Disney price, so you will need to keep checking the Orbitz site. Once that appeared, I was able to piggyback the extra 18%.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

It's all pretty personal in the end as to what works for you. If you are looking for pure savings, then yes it is cheaper to get a room discount over the free dining but at the same time, we book the free dining because we love having that out of the way and with 3 kids that are considered 'Disney adults', well the food adds up and I would rather know that that is over and done with as far as being paid for and we stay concierge level, so that usually takes care of breakfast for us.

 

[Claudia Kellenberger]

I am an "older" woman who goes to WDW solo. For me, it is much better to get the "room only" discount. I don't even want the free dining discount because it would encourage me to eat way more than I actually need. Also ... two of my close older relatives have some health issues, which may, or may not, mean I might have to cancel my vacation. A room only reservation, in itself, has a much better cancellation policy. I also use my Disney VISA all through the year, I'm collecting points for my WDW vacation. So for this December, I have a 30% discount on a one bedroom villa, courtesy of a snail mail code. I've got plenty enough points from my Disney VISA to pay for most of my food for vacation, so it is almost like having the free dining, too.

 

[kboo]

I do think it depends on when you go. And a lot of luck! Our first stay at CR was with a snail mail special code of 30-35% off. We got the code about 8-9 months before our trip and I just made a placeholder reservation since, as PPs have said, room-only reservations are easy to change/cancel. our May 2015 trip (BWV) was booked with WDW on the very day that a new deal came out (also, thanks to Mousesavers I had been on the lookout), and even then I needed to call and speak to a live person because the prices kept changing every time I refreshed my screen. Then we got lucky and got a free upgrade to a 1BR villa at check in, and we paid a deeply discounted studio rate. For BLT we rented points privately, which turned out to be about half the cost of doing the same room reservation through WDW. And finally, for GF last April, we made a few reservations with the orbitz-matching-WDW + Orbitz' extra discount, plus Orbitz points (?) to get a lagoon view at almost 50% off rack rate. But I remember that process involved checking Mousesavers' historical info, and then checking ALL the sites every morning and night for a few days in a row. I remember missing out on a good deal at BCV because I waited until the next morning to try to book and it was gone, almost booked at AKV and then got a good deal at GF. Oh - for this last one, being flexible with travel dates also helped. Sometimes changing date of arrival/departure by even one day can get you some different deals.

We booked our pre-cruise stay next August thru renting points privately at 10.75 months before; now watching for deals for post-cruise.

ETA: our kids are still young (5 and 1) and our older daughter is a bit of a foodie and princess fan, so DDP never seemed like a good value to us, as we usually end up going to a 3-5 signature/princess dinners for a week long trip, and not very many QS meals. The last 3 trips were within 12 months of each other so we got APs and TIW, which was a much better value for us.

 

[cutigerlady]

You need to take into consideration that slow times for regular hotel bookings isn't necessarily the slow times for DVC bookings. For DVC, people want to use their points when it costs the fewest points, so those times are going to be harder to get as a rental possibly. I have had good luck finding discounts when I'm flexible about which resort to stay at for Deluxe hotels. For two people, the room only discount usually is the best option.

 

[CountyMounty]

This is what I did for my trip this weekend. I used Cheaptickets for 18%. When Disney discounted the rooms, it took Cheaptickets and Orbitz almost a week to discount their rooms to match the Disney price, so you will need to keep checking the Orbitz site. Once that appeared, I was able to piggyback the extra 18%.

I have used Orbitz (or other similar booking sites) to stack discounts in the past and save quite a bit on room only. However right now it appears that Disney has not or is not releasing rooms to those sites for booking. I hadn't checked for one in a while, is this a new thing or has it been that way, anyone have any idea why and when/if they likely to be available.

 

[maryj11]

I have used Orbitz (or other similar booking sites) to stack discounts in the past and save quite a bit on room only. However right now it appears that Disney has not or is not releasing rooms to those sites for booking. I hadn't checked for one in a while, is this a new thing or has it been that way, anyone have any idea why and when/if they likely to be available.

I'm not sure but I do know the discount we were quoted from our TA was higher this year. I think Disney is wanting more money, or it seems that way.

 

[Tucker24]

I would also get several quotes from various Travel agencies. When using a room discount or free dining discount you also have to purchase a park hopper ticket which is a higher ticket cost than the base ticket. Park hopping is fantastic but we have small kids and don't always utilize it so we got a better discount through a TA. Some TA's will give you a good price on the room only and you can also price tickets off of parksavers or mousesavers

 

[MsThumper]

... When using a room discount or free dining discount you also have to purchase a park hopper ticket which is a higher ticket cost than the base ticket. ...

Maybe I am misunderstnding this statement, but just to be clear, room only discounts do not require purchase of any tickets, which is why it is called "room only".

 

[Marionnette]

I would also get several quotes from various Travel agencies. When using a room discount or free dining discount you also have to purchase a park hopper ticket which is a higher ticket cost than the base ticket. Park hopping is fantastic but we have small kids and don't always utilize it so we got a better discount through a TA. Some TA's will give you a good price on the room only and you can also price tickets off of parksavers or mousesavers

You don't have to purchase any ticket in order to get a room-only discount (hence, the name). For *free* dining, the rule for the past few years has been that you need to purchase at least a 2-day hopper or 2-day ticket w/water park fun and pay the rack rate for the room in order to get the dining plan included at no additional cost. Many people find that these terms are still a cost-saver for their family when they stay at a Value or Moderate but if they choose to stay at a Deluxe Resort, it often is not the case.

OP, if you belong to any kind of professional association, it's a good idea to check to see where they are having meetings. We've done quite a bit of discount travel by attending meetings and conventions. We have a trip coming up in December and our room rate for GF is $219/night.