AP Rate NOT Guaranteed

[luvthatduke]

I had a concern about the repeated warnings re:
"Annual Pass Discount (hotel) Rates NOT Guaranteed."

I keep reading this seemingly everywhere I turn.

Do we need to worry about booking in November (during Value season, before Thanksgiving) and getting to the front desk
and learning that we'll be paying the rack rate or similar?

We'll be staying at ASMo, which historically has had a discount
AP rate of around $45 per night, which will enable us to
stay several days longer than planned.
Otherwise their rate is about $77 per night - which is good, but we're on a budget and need to know what we can count on.

Has anyone actually been burned on this?

Thanks for any help

 

[cheerdaddy]

what they mean is that there is no "gaurantee" that an AP rate will be offered....once you book with an AP rate, you will get that rate...we hae booked with AP rates several times and have never had any problems or surprises...

 

[disney queen]

never. when you book w/an AP rate you are "locked" into that rate. i have actually booked then added the AP rate after they have come out and have had no problem whatsoever.

 

[Stimpy]

Like the other posters have said, once you get the rate, it's locked in but there is no guarantee they will offer the rate for the time you are looking for.

We actually had this problem last September. We made our ressies for the Poly with AAA discount, hoping we would be able to get an AP rate. Unfortunately, they never released AP rates for Sept 2003. That was the first time that had ever happened to us, but we still went and had a great time!

 

[BrerMama]

Also, there are only a certain number of rooms available at AP rate. If you call and they're all gone, you're out of luck. What they're saying is that just because you have an AP, you're not guaranteed the AP rate. For example, it's hard to get a room at ASMovies at AP rate because they go so fast. I've also seen reports of only being able to reserve a water view room at Moderates because all the standard view rooms with AP discounts are gone. So if you're flexible, you can usually get an AP rate somewhere. You're just not guaranteed the rate.

 

[robinb]

Originally posted by luvthatduke
IWe'll be staying at ASMo, which historically has had a discount AP rate of around $45 per night, which will enable us to stay several days longer than planned. Otherwise their rate is about $77 per night - which is good, but we're on a budget and need to know what we can count on.

Has anyone actually been burned on this?

Yes, people have been burned on planing and budgeting vacations on expected AP rates that never materialized. It happened a lot last fall and there were many disappointed people. If I were you, I would not count on there being an AP rate for your time period. I would count on either paying $77 per night for all nights or spending some of your vacation off-site.

 

[bunnyfoo]

For my May trip last year, they released AP rates about 1.5 weeks before I was about to leave for Disney. I felt really lucky to get the rates because I knew if I had left a week or two earlier, I wouldn't have received any AP rates.

 

[luvthatduke]

Thanks for the info, I had totally misunderstood...
But, I will be careful too thanks to your good advice.

 

[ChairborneRangr]

Last fall they had the fairytale package (5 days for the price of 3) so they probably didn't need to offer any AP rates.

 

[luvthatduke]

Thanks for the tip, I made a note to ask reservations about
the fairytale package.

 

[Sammie]

Originally posted by luvthatduke
Thanks for the tip, I made a note to ask reservations about
the fairytale package.

There is no guarantee that a package similar to the Fairytale Package will be offered again and very unlikely it would have the same name.

The best way to know about discounts is read the forums here and check the discount site mousesavers.com.

If you are lucky enough to be able to book your reservation at a discounted rate then that is the rate you pay at check in. However as everyone else has said the discounts might not be offered during the time you want to go, or sold out when you call.

 

[luvthatduke]

I understand about not having the same package name and the same offer, but will Reservations tell me all of the specials they have for our time of visit?
I'm assuming I should call frequently after I've booked to see if there are better deals offered?
Thanks for your help...

 

[goofy4tink]

To the best of my knowledge, the CM's will not offer you any info as to any specials that may be going on. You will have to keep checking on that yourself. Try checking in at mousesavers.com or here on the dis boards. That's where you'll hear about the discounts, not thru Disney reservations!!

 

[luvthatduke]

Thanks for the help!