AP for Jan. And beyond?

[Gina Starr]

I don't know what to do! The AP discount isn't available for my check in day at my resort. I played around with dates and thought about doing a split stay but because I check in marathon weekend everything is either super expensive or not available. I guess I will have to call later since I have to head to work soon

 

[melanielll]

I don't know what to do! The AP discount isn't available for my check in day at my resort. I played around with dates and thought about doing a split stay but because I check in marathon weekend everything is either super expensive or not available. I guess I will have to call later since I have to head to work soon

Definitely call. I am staying at The Contemporary that weekend. There are no rooms available now, but I had them apply the discount to my existing reservation. Now - it took getting to 4 people before I got someone who could do it. But it was worth it.

 

[AngiTN]

Thanks! I hadn't gotten to check yet this morning.
Now I have a predicament. We have the Visa offer for a room at YC, which is great since they did 35% off there. But, the AP offer also gives us Boardwalk for about the same %off. I love Boardwalk, it's my favorite of the Epcot resorts, by far. But, DH hasn't seen the new rooms at YC. DD, DGD and I stayed there in October but it was before DH joined us that trip, so he missed out. I love the room, even if I don't love the resort as much. So now I have to decide, keep YC to show DH or move to Boardwalk where I know we love it

 

[MDH]

Angi, do you mind if I ask why you like Boardwalk so much more than yacht club? I've never been to either let me be clear, but this January I'm going to yacht, my family includes 2 girls 6 and 12, and a boy 10. My wife and my parents will be there as well. Any pictures of boardwalk I'm able to see makes it look .... boring? Thanks for any info.

 

[patink]

So I was waiting for the AP discounts to come out for March, but now that they are out I realized the room at Pop with the AP discounts is the same price as the "Gift of Magic Room Offer" I already have booked. Aren't the passholder discounts usually better than the general public offers? Or am I just remembering wrong?
Good Luck to everyone looking for discounted rooms!!

 

[AngiTN]

Angi, do you mind if I ask why you like Boardwalk so much more than yacht club? I've never been to either let me be clear, but this January I'm going to yacht, my family includes 2 girls 6 and 12, and a boy 10. My wife and my parents will be there as well. Any pictures of boardwalk I'm able to see makes it look .... boring? Thanks for any info.

I honestly can't tell exact reasons why I love Boardwalk over all other resorts.
Most of it is the intangibles like service and overall feel of the resort.
We feel very at home at Boardwalk (despite the fact that I've never see a real Boardwalk anywhere)
Some of it may be the era it's trying to vibe, the Big Band/Swing era is one of my favorites. The staff here has always been extremely wonderful, never had a single moment where we felt let down. The entertainment along the Boardwalk (which you could easily come watch from Yacht Club too) is very fun.
We've stayed at YC prior to the refurb and it's always been a more stuffy, less appealing resort. DH really dislikes the vibe there, and at BC even more. We haven't any complaints about service at either YC or BC. Though BC was our least favorite club level stay. Boardwalk's the most favorite (they even called and gave us an upgrade to the Club Level during our trip in August)

 

[AngiTN]

So I was waiting for the AP discounts to come out for March, but now that they are out I realized the room at Pop with the AP discounts is the same price as the "Gift of Magic Room Offer" I already have booked. Aren't the passholder discounts usually better than the general public offers? Or am I just remembering wrong?
Good Luck to everyone looking for discounted rooms!!

Some are, some aren't. They don't usually give you a flat percentage on the AP rooms so you are stuck figuring it yourself. Most of the other offers tell you what the percentage is. But yeah, the AP rates usually are better, just can't say they always are. The lower the resort level, the lower the discount and the better chance the discount is the same. Deluxe tends to be different most often, though for a couple of resorts, the Visa discount is as good as the AP one. Both are better than the Magic Room offer.

 

[honeymo78]

No AP rate available for my Jan stay at Pop. I’ll keep checking and hopefully it will be a couple dollars cheaper than the gift of magic offer. Found a couple of nights within my stay at the AP rate and it appears to match the other offer. Oh well, I’m just glad for any discount and $115 average per night is fine. Sports is about $100 less but we were just at pop and my mom knows her way around the resort now so it’s worth it to stay put.

Now to wait and see if there discounts for the end of April/early May and early July.

 

[Mome Rath]

AP rate trumped my UOC rate for Riverside royal rooms, so saved a couple bucks. Definitely worth checking.

 

[georgina]

I saved $24 a night for my 3 night stay at Coronado Springs in Feb with the passholder rate. Pop wasn't available at any rate when I originally booked with the public discount, and still no availability. I like CS and I will have a car, so happy for now. Now waiting for Universal AP rates to come out!

 

[Gina Starr]

I called tonight and got no help. I had to hang up before a supervisor got on the line. I was told my only option is to make two separate reservations: one for my first night and one for the rest of my trip (another 8 nights) When I expressed my concern about having to check out and back in plus moving rooms she actually said to me "I guess you have to decide what's more important convenience or the discount." I don't expect the first night to be discounted but why can't they just put it all on one reservation? Ughh we will see if $150 is worth my frustration. (I work in a call center doing tech for a cell phone company. The last thing I want to do after work is be on the phone with customer service!!)

 

[AngiTN]

I called tonight and got no help. I had to hang up before a supervisor got on the line. I was told my only option is to make two separate reservations: one for my first night and one for the rest of my trip (another 8 nights) When I expressed my concern about having to check out and back in plus moving rooms she actually said to me "I guess you have to decide what's more important convenience or the discount." I don't expect the first night to be discounted but why can't they just put it all on one reservation? Ughh we will see if $150 is worth my frustration. (I work in a call center doing tech for a cell phone company. The last thing I want to do after work is be on the phone with customer service!!)

We've done continuing stays several times and haven't had to move rooms yet. They keep you in the same room if at all possible. Saves them from turnover for 2 rooms for new guests. Cleaning a room for a continuing guest cost less. Sometimes they can't manage to keep you in the same room but it's more rare than staying in the same room.
For room only, unfortunately, they can't apply promo to some dates but not others so they can't put it on 1 reservation.
You just have to call and tell them you have a continuing reservation and they can note it in the system well before rooms are assigned, which will help them keep you in the same room when possible. You can remind them when you arrive too

 

[MDH]

So I phoned back to check again for Yacht club AP rate, still nothing, however the cast member was able to find a pool view room at Beach club at an AP rate! Comes out to the same price as my standard view at the yacht club My wife is pumped, she always wanted the beach club instead of yacht, but the discounts were never near as good. Plus we get the added benefit of lagoon or pool view which my kids will love. Oddly there was nothing at Caribbean beach resort for the 19th to 26th, with all the construction I was guessing they might need to get people there and would have higher availability. I can't really complain, what with the 75 gift card and other discounts it's down to about 80 a night anyways, I'm guessing a lot of people must have taken advantage of that deal. Good luck to everyone else!

 

[Gina Starr]

We've done continuing stays several times and haven't had to move rooms yet. They keep you in the same room if at all possible. Saves them from turnover for 2 rooms for new guests. Cleaning a room for a continuing guest cost less. Sometimes they can't manage to keep you in the same room but it's more rare than staying in the same room.
For room only, unfortunately, they can't apply promo to some dates but not others so they can't put it on 1 reservation.
You just have to call and tell them you have a continuing reservation and they can note it in the system well before rooms are assigned, which will help them keep you in the same room when possible. You can remind them when you arrive too

Thanks for the info! I would feel better about it if I was arriving Saturday at a decent time. We probably won't be there until 10pm or later. We drive 14+ hours and usually stay somewhere on the way down but this year we decided to just drive straight through. The whole reason we decided that is because we want to just wake up in Disney on Sunday and not worry about anything else. Even if there's a 99% chance we won't have to move, the extra discount isn't worth the 1% chance we will have to move.

 

[georgina]

Now to wait and see if there discounts for the end of April/early May and early July.

There are at least bounce back rates for those dates that you can book while you are there in Jan.

 

[Euby]

Every time I try to look at the AP rates that start in Jan, I get sent to the screen to purchase an AP. I bought an AP this morning via AAA and got my confirmation email. I've linked the ticket to my account, so it shows on MDE under Tickets & Passes. I'll be validating it on my trip in Jan. Any ideas? Can I not see the AP rates because it's not validated?

 

[focusondisney]

Every time I try to look at the AP rates that start in Jan, I get sent to the screen to purchase an AP. I bought an AP this morning via AAA and got my confirmation email. I've linked the ticket to my account, so it shows on MDE under Tickets & Passes. I'll be validating it on my trip in Jan. Any ideas? Can I not see the AP rates because it's not validated?

Yes, that's it. You have to have an active AP to access the AP sections of MDE. However, you can call to get rates & book the discount before you activate your pass. If you haven't activated it before check in, you might have to go back to the check in desk after you do & show it. They usually give you 24 hours to validate the pass & return to show it. If you don't they could possibly charge you rack rate.

 

[desertbloom]

Yes, that's it. You have to have an active AP to access the AP sections of MDE. However, you can call to get rates & book the discount before you activate your pass. If you haven't activated it before check in, you might have to go back to the check in desk after you do & show it. They usually give you 24 hours to validate the pass & return to show it. If you don't they could possibly charge you rack rate.

I haven't activated my AP and I can see the AP rates on the website just fine. I bought it a couple months ago but won't be activating until January.

 

[DisFam4]

Yes, that's it. You have to have an active AP to access the AP sections of MDE. However, you can call to get rates & book the discount before you activate your pass. If you haven't activated it before check in, you might have to go back to the check in desk after you do & show it. They usually give you 24 hours to validate the pass & return to show it. If you don't they could possibly charge you rack rate.

I do not have an "active" AP right now. I purchased the AP vouchers for my January stay and have them linked in MDE and I am showing the AP room discounts. Maybe it's too soon for @Euby ? Maybe it takes some time for the linking to take. It took ~3 days before my MagicBands showed up for customizing after linking a reservation.

 

[focusondisney]

I haven't activated my AP and I can see the AP rates on the website just fine. I bought it a couple months ago but won't be activating until January.

I do not have an "active" AP right now. I purchased the AP vouchers for my January stay and have them linked in MDE and I am showing the AP room discounts. Maybe it's too soon for @Euby ? Maybe it takes some time for the linking to take. It took ~3 days before my MagicBands showed up for customizing after linking a reservation.

Thank you both for the more up to date info! This is a change from what had happened in the past. I haven't read any reports of this before now.