I so totally agree with the poster who said the problem is that everyone seems to book ahead (not intending to really have to pay that rate) and then hope that later they can apply a discount instead of just waiting to book when the discount comes out!
I mean think about it. Disney will offer the great deals to fill unfilled rooms ... not to give a discount to those who have already booked a room.
If you book a room at rack rate or AAA rate or whatever ... you are telling WDW that you are WILLING to pay that rate. When they have enough people that appear willing to pay that rate they are not going to need to intice people (like me) who are not willing to (or can't) pay that rate!
Like I stated before... I was told by my TA (a very reliable WDW TA) that they changed the "deal" due to the fact that it broke on the internet. With all these people who have already booked waiting with baited breath to re-book with savings it may have altered the deal.
For those who are already booked a $135 or something around that discount may be great because you were going to pay more anyway. But for those who know what the real savings are it's not enough to plan a last minute vacation!
I do agree that the $999 is ingenious ... the average Joe will not know any better and that it's really not cheaper in the big scope of things. Any one that could afford $999 could afford another $135 without much sweat.
So by offering a smaller discount ... they will intice the average Joe and increase business but will not loose too much on everyone "in the know" cancelling and re-booking at the cheaper rate.
Just my opinion.
I will have to wait and see tommorrow if the deal is good enough to intice my family down in December. I do not have a booked trip already.
Maybe UNIVERSAL is not so bad.
Evil Grin
WDWO