~*~*~The Oct 2014 waiting patiently (or not so) for a discount thread ~*~*~

[scard192]

Is it worth it to apply for a Disney Visa? Do you have to book your trip on the Disney Visa?

About ten years ago, I pared down my credit cards and now only have cards with *real* advantages and book everything, except trips to Target, on my Southwest Visa. The Southwest Visa rewards cover about one trip a year for our family.

So I hate to get another card unless there is a very good reason for it.

surprisingly, when the Fall FD offer came out on August 1 last year there was no 3 day advance booking for DVisa holders.

the 3 day advance is helpful if you want to stay at a popular resort or room category. for some resorts you might not need the advance booking window.

next trip the kids want to stay at POP, I won't be too concerned about the 3 day advance but will take advantage of it.

what resort (s) are you interested in?

 

[wdwmaw]

This is true, I think...but you can't do 180 days prior unless you have a reservation, so don't know what the benefit is.

Everyone can do 180 day, on property or off. You need a reservation to book 180 + 10 days of dining reservations. If you don't have a reservation you will need to call or go online every day each day hits your 180 day mark. Just a little unconvinced to help get discount for your trip.

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[TWK]

Does anyone know how to override the room size? Our youngest is 2, and would be in a pack n play... so I should be able to get a 4 occupancy room, but all my searches aren't letting me put them into my cart, because it says our family is too big. Am I not going to be able to book online? Should I leave him off if I have to book at midnight? And then add him on the next day?

 

[Karlzmom]

Joining in for the ride. I currently have a bounce back booked, but am wondering if I can do even better with a promo or AP rate. Please don't hate me for being greedy!

This is just a quick trip for my Mom and I - a re-scheduled girls weekend [we were supposed to go to NM 2 weeks ago but a health issue caused a cancellation at the last minute]

Anyway, this will be completely different kind of trip for me, as no kids and my mom has only been to Epcot years ago. She has never done F&W and really isn't sure she will like "Disney' - so I'm going to be planning a "grown up trip" to show that its not all just standing in lines for rides.

 

[lazer]

surprisingly, when the Fall FD offer came out on August 1 last year there was no 3 day advance booking for DVisa holders. the 3 day advance is helpful if you want to stay at a popular resort or room category. for some resorts you might not need the advance booking window. next trip the kids want to stay at POP, I won't be too concerned about the 3 day advance but will take advantage of it. what resort (s) are you interested in?

We booked three days early for a September stay and Free Dining ( a public offer). Can't remember when that offer came out. We wanted POR, which helped because it books up fast during offers. We've once tried to get FD at pop during October and weren't able to, during a FD public offer. But, a week later got a pin. So, who knows how this year will go. Today we got the pin for free park hopper, must use by September...so no help to us!

 

[ChicagoMom]

surprisingly, when the Fall FD offer came out on August 1 last year there was no 3 day advance booking for DVisa holders.

the 3 day advance is helpful if you want to stay at a popular resort or room category. for some resorts you might not need the advance booking window.

next trip the kids want to stay at POP, I won't be too concerned about the 3 day advance but will take advantage of it.

what resort (s) are you interested in?

I think our first choice resort is AoA but I know they are usually excluded from FD. Second choice would be POFQ which was also excluded from FD last year. Based on the choices offered last year, our first choice would be Pop and second would be POR. The order of Pop vs POR would be based on whether it's worth it to upgrade to a moderate to get the DDP. I haven't crunched the numbers yet so don't know if it's worth it to us yet.

 

[scard192]

I think our first choice resort is AoA but I know they are usually excluded from FD. Second choice would be POFQ which was also excluded from FD last year. Based on the choices offered last year, our first choice would be Pop and second would be POR. The order of Pop vs POR would be based on whether it's worth it to upgrade to a moderate to get the DDP. I haven't crunched the numbers yet so don't know if it's worth it to us yet.

POP and POR are big resorts,I guess you would need to decide if you really want to get another credit card just to utiltize the advance 3 day booking window for Disney Visa card holders and what another credit card will do to your credit if that is an issue.

 

[rdearth]

Just wanted to slightly clear up all this fall break stuff for those not familiar with it.

Many schools are now going to a "balanced" schedule which is different from "year round."

In a balanced schedule, kids go to class for nine weeks and then get two weeks off. So...

9 week grading period
2 weeks off (fall)
9 week grading period
2 weeks off (winter)
9 week grading period
2 weeks off (spring)
9 week grading period
10 weeks off (summer)

Schedules vary, obviously, but a lot of schools try to be finished by Memorial Day (the last Monday in May). That means the 10 weeks of summer start the last week of May and school starts back up again the first week of August.

Starting the first week of August, puts the beginning of the fall break at the first Friday in October.

Schools might end the week after Memorial Day because there are still staggered spring break weeks, but that would still mean the second week in October would start a fall break for many families (and Columbus Day), so I would guess that second week is way worse than the first one, if you had to make a choice, and the third week and beyond would almost always be better than the first two (although most schools do usually have a day or two teacher conferences later in October).

We have noticed pretty major changes in park attendance in the past few years...comparatively speaking, but not approaching summer crowds. Still, if you're looking forward to light crowds in the first two weeks of October, you probably won't get it. I realize crowd calendars still show otherwise, but that hasn't been our experience the past few years.

Another thing that might impact things (and there's little you can do about it) is the weather. A few years ago when we went in October it was CROWDED. I think a big part of it was because the forecast was for summer like weather with no chance of rain, which drew a lot of locals and near locals to the park while they were on break.

All that said, October is still a great time to go and it's not overcrowded by any means, it's just more people than you're probably used to if you are used to going in October say five or more years ago.

 

[wdwmaw]

Just wanted to slightly clear up all this fall break stuff for those not familiar with it. Many schools are now going to a "balanced" schedule which is different from "year round." In a balanced schedule, kids go to class for nine weeks and then get two weeks off. So... 9 week grading period 2 weeks off (fall) 9 week grading period 2 weeks off (winter) 9 week grading period 2 weeks off (spring) 9 week grading period 10 weeks off (summer) Schedules vary, obviously, but a lot of schools try to be finished by Memorial Day (the last Monday in May). That means the 10 weeks of summer start the last week of May and school starts back up again the first week of August. Starting the first week of August, puts the beginning of the fall break at the first Friday in October. Schools might end the week after Memorial Day because there are still staggered spring break weeks, but that would still mean the second week in October would start a fall break for many families (and Columbus Day), so I would guess that second week is way worse than the first one, if you had to make a choice, and the third week and beyond would almost always be better than the first two (although most schools do usually have a day or two teacher conferences later in October). We have noticed pretty major changes in park attendance in the past few years...comparatively speaking, but not approaching summer crowds. Still, if you're looking forward to light crowds in the first two weeks of October, you probably won't get it. I realize crowd calendars still show otherwise, but that hasn't been our experience the past few years. Another thing that might impact things (and there's little you can do about it) is the weather. A few years ago when we went in October it was CROWDED. I think a big part of it was because the forecast was for summer like weather with no chance of rain, which drew a lot of locals and near locals to the park while they were on break. All that said, October is still a great time to go and it's not overcrowded by any means, it's just more people than you're probably used to if you are used to going in October say five or more years ago.

We have always had fall break and we don't have balanced calendar. Theory is if we can have a spring break we need a fall break also. We start first week in August, get week fall break, 3 days thanksgiving, 2 weeks Christmas, week spring break, and off end of May. Our kids go 185 days in a school year. Our fall break is 2nd week in October.

Love October but boy it has increased in crowds the last few years. It will feel more crowded than the crowd levels, I think it's the shorter hours you find in October. In the summer all ride lines will be open and in October they are not, making the lines appear longer and so forth. Also in October you will find more people staying on property and eating in restaurants so bus lines and restaurants will be full so linger waits to get in at times. That will change if free dining is not offered this year to the public. Free dining has been a huge push for families during fall break.

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[Frozen2014]

So, we're coming the 3rd week in Oct on the 19th. That week will be ok?

 

[emksmama]

We are also going to be there the third week, Oct 20-24, which is our fall break. It's the first time we've had a full week, and I think we are moving towards a balanced calendar eventually. Our first day is Aug 4, last day May 28 next year. Our break is weird, it's two weeks into the new grading period but I'll take it!

 

[DisneyCate]

How would I upgrade my quick service free dining to regular free dining?

 

[aaarcher86]

How would I upgrade my quick service free dining to regular free dining?

You'd tell them when applying the discount and pay the difference between the two plans.

 

[lazer]

Anyone nervous about going in the fall and experiencing any of the fp+ negative experiences (that seem to be everywhere)? We went last September and loved fp+, but that was during limited testing. We'd be going for 8 days, but with two little ones I don't want to wait forever for non-headliners (lines we've never had to really wait it).

Maybe I should stop reading the posts about crowds, fp+ and standby waits

I am just not as excited as I usually am! But, still booking dining at 180!

 

[DisneyCate]

You'd tell them when applying the discount and pay the difference between the two plans.

Would it be cheaper to do that or probably the same price as staying at a moderate resort?

 

[lazer]

Would it be cheaper to do that or probably the same price as staying at a moderate resort?

When we priced last September (we booked with FD), it was under 200 extra to stay at a moderate than to upgrade the ddp and stay at pop. We chose POR.

 

[Ozzygirl]

Anyone nervous about going in the fall and experiencing any of the fp+ negative experiences (that seem to be everywhere)? We went last September and loved fp+, but that was during limited testing. We'd be going for 8 days, but with two little ones I don't want to wait forever for non-headliners (lines we've never had to really wait it).

Maybe I should stop reading the posts about crowds, fp+ and standby waits

I am just not as excited as I usually am! But, still booking dining at 180!

We're going the end of October and I'm not worried. I think we'll see FP+ parkhopping and maybe an additional FP or two by then. At the very least most of the bugs should be worked out of the system in the next 6 months.

 

[Ceryssa]

Anyone nervous about going in the fall and experiencing any of the fp+ negative experiences (that seem to be everywhere)? We went last September and loved fp+, but that was during limited testing. We'd be going for 8 days, but with two little ones I don't want to wait forever for non-headliners (lines we've never had to really wait it).

Maybe I should stop reading the posts about crowds, fp+ and standby waits

I am just not as excited as I usually am! But, still booking dining at 180!

I just made up my mind I'm not going to worry about any of that. It's our first trip so we won't know anything different, and there's nothing we can do about the crowds or the system. So we're going to cross our fingers for a good discount and try to enjoy it the best we can and worry about the money , crowds and weather as little as we can

 

[Hallfam726]

Also planning Oct 2014, but I dont know anything about these codes...where should I be looking for them?

 

[peppermintpatty]

My daughter just got home on Sunday (her high school orchestra/band went) and talking about it to my son, I realized he was 4 when we went to Disney (went to Universal a couple years ago) but doesn't remember any of it. So we are looking at Oct30-Nov4