Using the U.S. Disney travel agency

[Disneynutinlondon]

Ok so this comes under the heading of VERY long term planning........ 2.5 years in advance actually.

We want to go back to WDW Xmas and New Year 2017 into 2018 to celebrate Josh's 21st. On our last 4 visits we've been able to get the free DDP as we've gone in October, we found it really suits us and we certainly benefit financially from it as we are 4 adults sharing 1 room and we like having a TS meal in the evening.

I know that the Free DDP offer is not available to us in the UK during December but I have noticed it is offered on the U.S. Disney side about May time for that year i.e the offer is now available for Xmas this year.

My questions are

1) can I book my holiday with an American TA ?
2) if I do book with them as soon as Xmas 2017 is available and then they release a free DDP offer at a much later date would they apply the offer to my booking ?
3) We want to go for 17 or 18 nights. I know that they only offer 10 day tickets for the U.S. So I guess that would mean we would actually need to make 2 booking to cover the entire stay ?

Also can anyone recommend an American TA or should I use Disney directly ?

Many thanks as always for any help and/or suggestions

 

[mackay_j]

The main problem is the rooms do not seem to go on sale in the usa as soon as they do here, so you would have a bit of a wait. I can get on to the disney USA web page again in Spanish (disappeared for a while) so you can book direct that way. But as I said the dates are slower to come on line. What I have done in the past is booked through the UK for the 1st of january onwards to get free dining for that part (when I haven't been able to arrive on time to get the USA offer) . I have also got the free dining over Xmas via the USA website but the last arrival day to get it is usually the 21st (once was the 22nd). If getting the UK free dine starting on the 1st we usually head to bush gardens for the 1st week or do a more restful villa week.

 

[saintrob]

I don't particularly like free dining as it doesn't suit us. We're AP holders and have a TIW card however on occasion I have booked it when the offer has been better for Christmas. I always use an American TA and the last time I used free dining I had the deal which went up to December 21st but then also included the rest of the stay. We had to purchase a two day ticket in order to qualify for the offer which I was able to redeem against my renewal for an AP.

 

[chmurf]

1) can I book my holiday with an American TA ?

absolutely
but you'd pay in USD, face any crossborder fee, and you'd have to deal with teh exchange rate nerve wracking game ...
(unless you have a credit card in USD)
Also be aware that stays will be limited to 14 nights and tickets to 10 days

2) if I do book with them as soon as Xmas 2017 is available and then they release a free DDP offer at a much later date would they apply the offer to my booking ?

2 ways to do that.

1. book a room only. Pay one night as a deposit (balance due at check in). Once a deal is released, simply call the US CRO and upgrade that Room Only into a package. You do that simply by adding tickets and if it's a free dining offer, you'll get it simply by adding the tickets.
Note that you will then be on the package rule, which is $200 deposit and balance due at 45 days. So if you have paid a 1 night deposit, and that deposit is worth less than $200 you'll need to pay whatever difference there is between the deposit you've already paid and $200. If the stay is less than 45 days out when the deal is released, you'll need to pay the balance immediatly upon upgrading.

2. book a package like you would normally do, at rack rate. Pay a $200 deposit. There is no cancellation fee (Disney US site) at more than 45 days. When (and if) a deal is released, simply cancel your booking (and be fully refunded) then book with the deal.
But this means that if the deal pops up less than 45 days out, you'd forfeit at least your $200 deposit.
I would not go for that option for a simple reason. Disney seems to only keep payment information for 6 months, so if you book more than 6 months before the deal is released, you might get a hard time being refunded. And Disney will refund on the original payment method, so if your card were to expire or change (this can easily happen over a long time period), that would be difficult to get a refund (you'd get a cheque, and cashing a cheque in USD is expensive if you don't have a bank account in that currency)

3) We want to go for 17 or 18 nights. I know that they only offer 10 day tickets for the U.S. So I guess that would mean we would actually need to make 2 booking to cover the entire stay ?

as previously stated, US packages can only be booked for up to 14 nights. Room only can be booked for up to 21 nights, but you wouldn't be able to change it into a package to get Free Dining.

The options you have :
- book a 14 nights room only. When FD deal shows up, add the minimum tickets required for the deal (usually 2 or 3 days) and get free dining for your whole 14 nights. Buy a UK 14 days ticket on the side. This way you have your 17 to 18 nights covered as far as tickets are concerned.
your free dining credits expire at midnight on the day you check out of your hotel (you're still an onsite guest during all of the day you check out)
and book a room only for the remaining nights, where you'll use your UK tickets, but will have to pay for meals OOP

- book 2 9-nighters (or any combination of nights, allowing you to enjoy 2 resort hotels). When (and if) the deal comes out, upgrade both bookings to packages, paying for tickets (you'd get 2 sets of 9 days tickets for example).
Or you could buy the minimum tickets required for the FD deal (one set for each booking), and also purchase a 21 days UK ticket to cover your park needs.
but this will offset a bit of the savings you'd make with FD, anyway you look at it you'll have some overhead to pay for.


BUT be careful about blackout dates. Your check in date must fall inside the eligible dates to get FD for your whole stay. so you may need to tweak the stay dates (second option with a 2 FD split stay) or go for the 1 FD stay and 1 shorter non FD stay (first option which might work best re: blackout dates)

you will find a full history of Disney US discounts on Mousesavers, this might give you a rough idea of what the mouse has up his sleeve. But also consider that there might not be a deal for your period, as disney seems to phase them down a bit, year after year.
http://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/

Also can anyone recommend an American TA or should I use Disney directly ?

as they say, speak to the organ grinder, not the monkey ...

the mouse gives good service, go through disney direct, everything will link automatically to your MDX.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

We have used Dreams Unlimited before. This is the detail on the current offer from their site:-

Book a Walt Disney World vacation package that includes a 6-night, 7-day stay at a Walt Disney World resort and tickets with Park Hopper or Water Park Fun & More Option, and receive the Dining Plan for free!

• Book a Disney Value Resort and get the Quick Service Dining free!
• Book a Disney Moderate, Deluxe or Deluxe Villas Resort and get the Regular Dining free!

Valid Travel dates include:

• 8/28/15 - 10/2/15
• 10/25/15 - 10/31/15
• 11/08/15 - 11/19/15
• 12/15/15 - 12/21/15

Book by 7/10/15. Dining plans can be upgraded at an additional cost. Free dining available select nights 8/28-10/2/15, 10/25-10/31/15, 11/08 - 11/19/15, and 12/15-12/21/15. Offer excludes Bay Lake Tower, Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows, Art of Animation Little Mermaid standard rooms, Port Orleans French Quarter, All-Star Movies, 3-bedroom villas and Fort Wilderness campsites. Port Orleans Resort - Riverside is excluded from travel 10/25-12/21/15. Everyone in the room must be on the same package. Packages may be available for different lengths of stay. The number of rooms available for this promotion may be limited. All discounts are subject to availability, certain restrictions apply. Blackout dates may apply.

I would contact them (nearer the time) and explain what you want and they should suggest the best way for you to book to get the free dining if it were available. I dealt by email and my TA was quick to respond and they say they check your booking to ensure you are getting the best rate.

 

[Chilly]

Also be aware just because you have booked and then FD is offered does not mean you will get it added to your reservation. They only release a certain amount of rooms for the offer. I'm going this November and am in multiple FB groups most of whom are Americans who wanted FD. Lots of them had to change their dates and/or their hotel to be able to get the FD offer as what they wanted was not available. Plus on the day it was announced there was about an 8 hour wait time on the phone to Disney so for that reason i'd deffo get a TA to book it for you.

 

[Elise79]

Ok so this comes under the heading of VERY long term planning........ 2.5 years in advance actually.

We want to go back to WDW Xmas and New Year 2017 into 2018 to celebrate Josh's 21st. On our last 4 visits we've been able to get the free DDP as we've gone in October, we found it really suits us and we certainly benefit financially from it as we are 4 adults sharing 1 room and we like having a TS meal in the evening.

I know that the Free DDP offer is not available to us in the UK during December but I have noticed it is offered on the U.S. Disney side about May time for that year i.e the offer is now available for Xmas this year.

My questions are

1) can I book my holiday with an American TA ?
2) if I do book with them as soon as Xmas 2017 is available and then they release a free DDP offer at a much later date would they apply the offer to my booking ?
3) We want to go for 17 or 18 nights. I know that they only offer 10 day tickets for the U.S. So I guess that would mean we would actually need to make 2 booking to cover the entire stay ?

Also can anyone recommend an American TA or should I use Disney directly ?

Many thanks as always for any help and/or suggestions

We use Dreams Unlimited Travel. They will always check for any discounts and get them applied if possible. Booking through either Disney US or a US TA they have much better T&Cs and any deposit is fully refundable until late on. They will apply discounts after booking too unlike UK bookings.

I will let a TA do the work as they don't charge extra and keep on top of things so I don't have too!

Maximum stay is 14 nights so you would need to look at weather it's worth doing 2 bookings as a packages or part room only and buying minimum US tickets and getting Ultimates as well. There will be lots of combinations!

as they say, speak to the organ grinder, not the monkey ...

the mouse gives good service, go through disney direct, everything will link automatically to your MDX.

Booking through a US TA is no different to booking with disney direct. Disney take your money the TA just manages the booking and in fact a good TA is better than booking direct as they will make sure you have the best deal.

Linking US bookings don't have the same issues UK bookings suffer from!

 

[saintrob]

I agree, a good Amercian TA is worth their weight in gold. I wouldn't be without mine.