Any Disney deluxe tips?

[Beer Me]

We've stayed at value resorts on all but one trip where my employer hooked me up with some free nights at the Swan. On our last trip we had dinner at Boma and exploring AKL I made up my mind. The next time we come to Disney we're staying in a savannah room at AKL. Fast forward a few years and my wife and kids are hitting me up for Disney. AKL simply isn't in the budget. We're staying at CBR and I'm very much looking forward to it but the promise I made to myself is nagging me.

So the NEXT time we come I want to go deluxe. AKL is first priority but I'm also interested in WL, Contemporary and Beach and yacht. I'm not looking to do it cheap but I am looking to do it for the best price possible.

What are some tips for getting the best rates on Disney deluxe resorts? When to book, what time of year to go, the best way to find out about special offers, anything.

Hope this isn't the wrong place to post. Thanks for any tips or advice.

 

[OhMari]

Rent points for the Animal Kingdom Villa's. With today's economy it is easy to find an owner willing to rent out their points. When are you going? The DIS has a thread where you can look for owners of Disney Vacation Club that are willing to rent out points. I am renting from an owner that has points for the Beach Club. My husband loves staying there. We are going in February and we are paying less than we did when we stayed at Coronado Springs Resort, which is a moderate. The only thing you do not get is daily maid service, they come every 4th day. If you want more towels you can ask. If you get a value, it has one queen bed and a pull out. If you get a 1 bedroom, it holds up to 6 people and you get a washer and dryer, so you can do your own towels.

 

[Marionnette]

We've stayed at value resorts on all but one trip where my employer hooked me up with some free nights at the Swan. On our last trip we had dinner at Boma and exploring AKL I made up my mind. The next time we come to Disney we're staying in a savannah room at AKL. Fast forward a few years and my wife and kids are hitting me up for Disney. AKL simply isn't in the budget. We're staying at CBR and I'm very much looking forward to it but the promise I made to myself is nagging me.

So the NEXT time we come I want to go deluxe. AKL is first priority but I'm also interested in WL, Contemporary and Beach and yacht. I'm not looking to do it cheap but I am looking to do it for the best price possible.

What are some tips for getting the best rates on Disney deluxe resorts? When to book, what time of year to go, the best way to find out about special offers, anything.

Hope this isn't the wrong place to post. Thanks for any tips or advice.

The best prices that I've seen for deluxe resorts are for convention/meeting attendees. I've seen YC for $199 and CR as low as $160 per night during this past year. Other convention resorts would be BC, BWI and GF.

Another option would be to find a TA that books blocks of rooms and then runs "specials" that include steep discounts on those rooms. Quite often, the rooms are at deluxe resorts.

Every once in a while, you will find a discount code for Orbitz which can be used on Disney resorts. These discount codes stack on any discounted rates that Orbitz might already have.

Expedia.uk also has some pretty good rates compared to the US website. You do not need to be in the UK to book those rooms but you will have to pay some sort of currency conversion fee if your credit card does not waive it.

And of course, as a PP mentioned, you can also rent DVC points and get a studio at DVC resorts for about the rack rate of a room at a moderate resort.

 

[Beer Me]

Rent points for the Animal Kingdom Villa's. With today's economy it is easy to find an owner willing to rent out their points. When are you going? The DIS has a thread where you can look for owners of Disney Vacation Club that are willing to rent out points. I am renting from an owner that has points for the Beach Club. My husband loves staying there. We are going in February and we are paying less than we did when we stayed at Coronado Springs Resort, which is a moderate. The only thing you do not get is daily maid service, they come every 4th day. If you want more towels you can ask. If you get a value, it has one queen bed and a pull out. If you get a 1 bedroom, it holds up to 6 people and you get a washer and dryer, so you can do your own towels.

I'm clueless about DVC points but sounds like I should learn.
What kind of views can you get with AK villas?

We're booked at CBR in a couple of weeks. It'll be at least a year before I book again. Just planning ahead.

 

[misskari]

Definitely look into DVC! If you want a low investment, look at a contract with 100 points or so a year, then you can go every other year. That is of course if your family would be interested in Disney vacations for a long time.

 

[ellochka]

Google 'dvc point chart' and see the point prices for rentals. Then google 'rent dvc points' and read about it. We have rented DVC points for our first vacation in January. You want to rent ahead of time - up to 11 month before your travel if the points you are renting are at AKV or 7 month if in other resorts. Points go anywhere from $11 to $13 depending on the resort and time (further out is actually a little more expensive).

This is not for everyone because of the low flexibility and having to rent far ahead of time, but the savings are substantial.

 

[IceSkatingPrincess]

The best prices that I've seen for deluxe resorts are for convention/meeting attendees. I've seen YC for $199 and CR as low as $160 per night during this past year. Other convention resorts would be BC, BWI and GF.

Another option would be to find a TA that books blocks of rooms and then runs "specials" that include steep discounts on those rooms. Quite often, the rooms are at deluxe resorts.

Every once in a while, you will find a discount code for Orbitz which can be used on Disney resorts. These discount codes stack on any discounted rates that Orbitz might already have.

Expedia.uk also has some pretty good rates compared to the US website. You do not need to be in the UK to book those rooms but you will have to pay some sort of currency conversion fee if your credit card does not waive it.

And of course, as a PP mentioned, you can also rent DVC points and get a studio at DVC resorts for about the rack rate of a room at a moderate resort.

I'm pretty sure this is a dumb question, but can people not attending a convention get the rate by staying at convention time? I'd love to stay at the contemporary but it is usually (even with mil discount) way out of budget. Probably because I want the tower.

 

[uccats97]

Look for a bounce back offer in your room on your next trip. It should be in the folder on the table. If you don't see one just call housekeeping and ask for one. Dates are limited but you may find something that works. You have to book the bounce back offer from your room before you check out and put down the first night's rate as a deposit.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Look for a bounce back offer in your room on your next trip. It should be in the folder on the table. If you don't see one just call housekeeping and ask for one. Dates are limited but you may find something that works. You have to book the bounce back offer from your room before you check out and put down the first night's rate as a deposit.

Which is a lower room rate, the bounce back offer, or the annual passholder rate?

 

[Aliceacc]

We're both teachers, so we only go over the summer.

The worst deal I've gotten in the past 4 trips was 30% off rack rate, in 2012.

This year, it was 30% off, plus an additional 5% off if you stay for more than 6 nights... we're staying for 7.

The only caveat is that we book when the rates are released, fully prepared to pay full price... but crossing our fingers, toes, eyes and kidneys that there will be a deal.

Also, our travel agent is phenomenal. She's on the lookout for any deal she can find. When the current summer special was released, I checked my email at 10:30 from work to find that she had booked the special and saved us $1000.

Keep an eye on www.mousesavers.com to find the deals as they're released.

 

[Marionnette]

I'm pretty sure this is a dumb question, but can people not attending a convention get the rate by staying at convention time? I'd love to stay at the contemporary but it is usually (even with mil discount) way out of budget. Probably because I want the tower.

Yes, you have to be attending a meeting or staying with someone who is. You could probably google Disney meetings to find some, but the Disney people will check to make sure that you are registered to attend the meeting.

ETA: A lot of professional associations have meetings at Disney. If you belong to a group, or if you need to attend continuing ed for your work, chances are good that there's a meeting at Disney at some point during the year. It's a popular destination for meetings because families can travel with the person attending the meeting.

Look for a bounce back offer in your room on your next trip. It should be in the folder on the table. If you don't see one just call housekeeping and ask for one. Dates are limited but you may find something that works. You have to book the bounce back offer from your room before you check out and put down the first night's rate as a deposit.

Bounceback offers are no longer in your room. They are in your welcome package when you check in. Right now, the bounceback offer doesn't go beyond the current calendar year.

 

[Beer Me]

Some good suggestions. I'll look for a bounce back offer when we go in a could of weeks.

In the mean time I checked out dvc point rental. Looks like I could book an AK savannah view studio for nearly half off the hotel rate. Does that sound right? If I can plan ahead, realizing the dates aren't flexible, this seems like a no-brainer. What's the catch?

 

[disney212]

Some good suggestions. I'll look for a bounce back offer when we go in a could of weeks.

In the mean time I checked out dvc point rental. Looks like I could book an AK savannah view studio for nearly half off the hotel rate. Does that sound right? If I can plan ahead, realizing the dates aren't flexible, this seems like a no-brainer. What's the catch?

DVC owner here and yes, it is about half. The catch is that you are trusting a stranger. You can rent through a service like David's if you want to remove some of the risk. We rented before we purchased with no issues at all.

 

[iheartdisney123]

Some good suggestions. I'll look for a bounce back offer when we go in a could of weeks. In the mean time I checked out dvc point rental. Looks like I could book an AK savannah view studio for nearly half off the hotel rate. Does that sound right? If I can plan ahead, realizing the dates aren't flexible, this seems like a no-brainer. What's the catch?

The catch... No daily mouse keeping or towel service until the 4th day of your trip. If you need more towels before then you have to pay for them.

If you want the dining plan or DME you need to have the owner add them to your reservation. You can't change it yourself.

 

[Marionnette]

Some good suggestions. I'll look for a bounce back offer when we go in a could of weeks.

In the mean time I checked out dvc point rental. Looks like I could book an AK savannah view studio for nearly half off the hotel rate. Does that sound right? If I can plan ahead, realizing the dates aren't flexible, this seems like a no-brainer. What's the catch?

DVC owner here and yes, it is about half. The catch is that you are trusting a stranger. You can rent through a service like David's if you want to remove some of the risk. We rented before we purchased with no issues at all.

The catch... No daily mouse keeping or towel service until the 4th day of your trip. If you need more towels before then you have to pay for them.

If you want the dining plan or DME you need to have the owner add them to your reservation. You can't change it yourself.

Other things to consider with a DVC rental is that you never own the reservation. The DVC member always retains control of it.

In most cases, you cannot cancel or change it. You will pay for it completely at the time of the reservation if you go through one of the agencies (like David's). You cannot get a refund from them, although you might be able to get one if you go directly through an owner.

In order to get the resort and room that you want, you need to book early. Some resorts are small and have high demand. AKV should be fine unless you want a concierge or value villa/studio. You'll want to have an owner lined up with 11 months to go before your trip. And that owner would need to have your chosen resort as their home resort.

 

[Beer Me]

Other things to consider with a DVC rental is that you never own the reservation. The DVC member always retains control of it.

In most cases, you cannot cancel or change it. You will pay for it completely at the time of the reservation if you go through one of the agencies (like David's). You cannot get a refund from them, although you might be able to get one if you go directly through an owner.

In order to get the resort and room that you want, you need to book early. Some resorts are small and have high demand. AKV should be fine unless you want a concierge or value villa/studio. You'll want to have an owner lined up with 11 months to go before your trip. And that owner would need to have your chosen resort as their home resort.

Ok, so not quite a no brainer! Looks like there's tons of info available so I'll do more research. Thanks.

 

[ellochka]

In the mean time I checked out dvc point rental. Looks like I could book an AK savannah view studio for nearly half off the hotel rate. Does that sound right? If I can plan ahead, realizing the dates aren't flexible, this seems like a no-brainer. What's the catch?

Yes, that sounds right.
The catch is in the economics of the DVC. Many people bought the timeshare thinking they will go every year, but every year a good number of them end up not going for one reason or another. They pay $5 to $6 per point in annual maintenance (sunk cost at this point), so they can rent the points out fairly inexpensively. The demand is not large, so the market price is $11 to $13 now. And timeshare owners are usually willing to put up some free time (booking) to make the transaction work for you. It's a great bargain, so book early.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We've stayed at value resorts on all but one trip where my employer hooked me up with some free nights at the Swan. On our last trip we had dinner at Boma and exploring AKL I made up my mind. The next time we come to Disney we're staying in a savannah room at AKL. Fast forward a few years and my wife and kids are hitting me up for Disney. AKL simply isn't in the budget. We're staying at CBR and I'm very much looking forward to it but the promise I made to myself is nagging me.

So the NEXT time we come I want to go deluxe. AKL is first priority but I'm also interested in WL, Contemporary and Beach and yacht. I'm not looking to do it cheap but I am looking to do it for the best price possible.

What are some tips for getting the best rates on Disney deluxe resorts? When to book, what time of year to go, the best way to find out about special offers, anything.

Hope this isn't the wrong place to post. Thanks for any tips or advice.

Don't beat yourself up about getting the savanna at AKL. I paid a LOT for it last Sept (for free dining promo) and found out after the fact that to see giraffes and zebras you would need to book Arusha view (see Disney's website for more info) but it's more expensive than the regular savanna view. So we saw lots of elk type creatures but nothing that the average person could identify. Plus there's great views all over the resort so I felt the savanna view was a complete waste of money. Also we had an evening arrival and by the time we got to the hotel it was dark. Within 5 mins of standing on our balcony, eyes adjusting to the dark, we could see animals, ahem, doing natural things that married animals do. Dh thought it was hilarious but all I could think was I paid extra to see THIS!?

Also others may disagree but we felt that the ride to other resorts was looooong to/from AKL. The theming was well done but we prefer WL or Epcot resorts that are an easy walk to Epcot (BC, BW). The good thing for us is that these also have DVC units. We have rented points many times and never paid more than $11 per point. (We have even gotten $9 pp but that was for 2 very short pre-cruise stays of 1-2 days when ppl just want to be done with renting very few points.) I wouldn't count on getting rates this low for a week-long vacation.
We love renting points and it's actually cheaper than getting 30% off.

To give you an example, we had Yacht Club booked 1 night before our Sept 2014 cruise. We booked YC through Orbitz who offered an additional 15% promo code off Disney's discounted prices (30%off.) It came to $242 including tax which we thought was a great deal. We decided to squeeze in an evening at Epcot/EMH despite our 4pm arrival so to help offset the cost of 3 1-day tickets, I decided to give up our beloved YC/BC area and rent DVC points. Because autumn means Food & Wine at Epcot, all of DVC was sold out for our night except SSR. I got our 1 night stay for $136, no tax. To me this is a great deal: deluxe resorts at moderate prices.
To be honest, if you're a family of 4 or more or if your kids are teens, I'd go for a 1BR. When all 4 of us go, we get a 1BR for the extra space and larger kitchen. I have teen boys and think we would be very cramped to have all 4 of us in a studio.

Good luck!! Once you go deluxe, it's hard to go back. I used to think just dh was a hotel snob but now even my kids ask to not stay at moderates.

 

[fairy8i8]

We rented points for a Savannah View at the AKL a year ago. It was truly magical! We found someone who would rent for $10/point, so we paid $190/night for the weekend (it's $170/night for weekday during that time). That also includes taxes! This last May we booked at the Beach Club Villas for about the same. What are you paying for a night at CBR? I bet it's not too much more to rent points for AKL.

Also, when you do online checkin, you have the choice of choosing an Arusha view as your preference. It's not guaranteed, but we got it, and it was amazing! We booked in the Jambo house.

The other thing is that when I book with someone, I enter my confirmation number into MDE right after they book it to ensure that I actually have the reservation and that all the information about our family is correct before sending payment through Paypal. Between that and online checkin, I feel like I have plenty of control over the reservation. Also, the DVC owners I have worked with have been more than happy to add things to the reservation like Magical Express or the Dining Plan, even later than when I first booked. For Beach Club, originally it wasn't available, so he put in a waitlist request for Beach Club. A few weeks before we left, we got the waitlist!

The only thing with DVC is that refunds are usually not accepted, so your dates need to be solid. But for me, that is worth the 60% savings on the hotel room. Same is true of Hotwire and Priceline deals, so why be so worried about it for renting DVC points?

AKL is SOOO magical! You should definitely stay at least once. Once you rent DVC, you won't want to go back to spending the same kind of money at a moderate resort. We only plan to visit Disney World every 3-4 years in the future, so buying a contract does not work out to financially benefit us, especially with the large up front investment, but renting is the best deal I have found.

 

[leebee]

Renting DVC points is the way to go if you want to stay at a Deluxe. I currently have a reservation at Boardwalk Villas through a DVC owner, for our upcoming trip to celebrate DD's 21st birthday; we are going to the Food & Wine festival! Anyhow… I am paying the owner $209 a night (including 6% PayPal fees- I pay the 3% they charge the owner, and also pay (PayPal charge) 3% for using my credit card- my choice, no additional fee if I were to link to my bank account but don't want to do that). Anyhow, Disney's charge for this same room, same time, was $405 per night PLUS taxes. I can make my own bed and hang towels to dry for $248 a savings PER NIGHT (if 13% is correct for the taxes!)

Everyone charges a different amount for their points. I made my October reservation back in January, for $13 a point. IME, as it gets closer to your reservation date (or closer to the time when the owner will lose HIS/HER points), they will drop the rate on the points. I have seen them go for as low as $9, but the closer it is to your travel date, the harder it is to find availability. The owner with whom I am dealing asks for a 50% payment at the time of making the reservation, with the balance paid by the 60 day-out point (same day as I can make my FP+ reservations, LOL).

AKL savannah view is still my dream vacation. We are doing BWV because of F&W. As we are value/offsite people (can't justify $200 a night for a hotel room) I don't' know if I'll ever get to AKL, but if we DO consider it, renting DVC points will be the way to go!