AP Rate Questions

[spacemouseneer]

Me again,

The way I understand it, you can book room without an AP pass as long you buy it when you check in.

When do the rates comes out every year?

Is it usually around the same time every year?

We are thinking about going at the beginning of December, does anyone have any examples of rates last year for the DLH?

Do the rooms go quite quickly after the rates are released?



We are planning to spend 7 or 8 days at the park so I figured I might get an AP for the hotel discount, not to mention I am booking 2 other rooms at the HoJo and you get 20% off there. Plus all the meals, etc. I figure the little extra I pay from an 8 day hopper will be worth it. When we stayed at the DLH last December, it was around $249 a night. What kind of savings could I expect?


Any help is greatly appreciated.



Thank you,



Spacemouseneer

 

[abby]

The first week of December last year we got a rate of 189 a night at PP for concierge. Regular rooms were less. We puchased our AP when we arrived.

The fall AP specials were announced in July last year, around the 11th I think, (I know because I am wiating for them to be announced again) you need the AP code when you call to make the reservations, but keep your eye here and someone will post it when it comes out.

 

[bethy]

I'm waiting for them to come out, too! I check the AP website everyday. I've got to think that they'll come through for us b/c the economy isn't exactly encouraging people to travel.

 

[ploeb]

I would love it, if they site said AP Rates for Summer! That would help alot! Nothing so far this year though, I still check every single day, and this will be the first year in 6 that I haven't gotten a discounted rate with my AP. The rules have gotten more strict, you now have to know the discount code/ ie:AP6. Ugh... I hate that, with the cost of gas etc, I thought they powers that be would cut us some slack!

 

[bethy]

I would love it, if they site said AP Rates for Summer! That would help alot! Nothing so far this year though, I still check every single day, and this will be the first year in 6 that I haven't gotten a discounted rate with my AP. The rules have gotten more strict, you now have to know the discount code/ ie:AP6. Ugh... I hate that, with the cost of gas etc, I thought they powers that be would cut us some slack!

I've done a fair amt of research on this and haven't seen mentions of previous great AP rates for summer - more for Fall. However it is my understanding that you should at least be able to get 10% off.

 

[WendyT]

I am watching and waiting too. We are going in October and the cast member at reservations said to watch for the Fall discounts to be announced late August or early September. With the recommendations in this post I will start looking in the early part of July and continue on until they announce the rates!

 

[kaoden39]

Looks like I want to be an AP. Now for a dumb question do I want to buy the better one or will I get by with the cheaper one?

 

[DangerMouse]

Any AP gets you the hotel discount rates.

 

[kaoden39]

Any AP gets you the hotel discount rates.

Thank you. It's so funny i just read your location. I love it!

 

[bumbershoot]

Looks like I want to be an AP. Now for a dumb question do I want to buy the better one or will I get by with the cheaper one?

Is your city eligible for the so cal rates? If so, and if you can live with all the blocked out dates, then go for one of those 2 (might want to check out monkey monkey's post about the difficulty in not going all summer though)! If you want to plan trips during other times, then look at the Deluxe, and if you don't even want to think about whether things might be blocked out, go for the big one.

 

[kaoden39]

Is your city eligible for the so cal rates? If so, and if you can live with all the blocked out dates, then go for one of those 2 (might want to check out monkey monkey's post about the difficulty in not going all summer though)! If you want to plan trips during other times, then look at the Deluxe, and if you don't even want to think about whether things might be blocked out, go for the big one.

Unfortunately we live in Northern California. Well unfortunately for the ticket thing not because I want to live in southern California.

 

[bumbershoot]

Unfortunately we live in Northern California. Well unfortunately for the ticket thing not because I want to live in southern California.

We're up in WA (though I grew up in San Jose so it's pathetic that I don't know where Fairfield is) and we have the deluxe, but frankly, I'm wishing that we had sprung for the Premium. We could still upgrade, but it seems kinda silly at this late date (ours expire 9/18) unless we absolutely had something planned over at least three blocked dates.

 

[kaoden39]

Don't feel bad most people don't know where we are. Now if I say Travis AFB everybody knows where that is. I prefer to say that we are half way between Sacramento and San Francisco on I-80.

 

[kaoden39]

Don't feel bad most people don't know where we are. Now if I say Travis AFB everybody knows where that is. I prefer to say that we are half way between Sacramento and San Francisco on I-80.

 

[DizMe]

Questions: if you already have room reservations (Oct), can you change them if/when the AP rates come out? Will they switch your room over to the discount rate or do you have to make a new booking and hope there's a room?

And do the AP rates ever include concierge at DLH? I'm considering this as a surprise for the fam.

 

[kaoden39]

Oooh good questions. I'd like to know that too.

 

[bumbershoot]

Questions: if you already have room reservations (Oct), can you change them if/when the AP rates come out? Will they switch your room over to the discount rate or do you have to make a new booking and hope there's a room?

And do the AP rates ever include concierge at DLH? I'm considering this as a surprise for the fam.

I remember reading of problems in switching last year, when the whole original reservation wasn't totally covered by a special AP rate. The one I recall was that the person had a special rate b/c of how many days were booked, then they needed to cancel only *some* of those dates, and of course it destroyed that special rate. So they could get the AP rate for the dates it was available, but the rise in the other days was way too much. I don't remember how it was resolved.

Last Fall they did include concierge with all of the hotels, I believe. For some reason I remember 189 as being a concierge rate for DLH; PP concierge was 169, I think.

 

[bumbershoot]

Adding on...and last year the reservations were easier, in that nothing was charged up front, and you could cancel shortly before the stay, unlike now with a deposit being charged and having a much longer time to cancel without penalty. Wait that doesn't sound right. I'm not sure what the cancelation period is now...4 days? Something like that? Last year it was 1, I believe, so you could switch things around easier. This year it's already harder to do.

 

[DizMe]

Thanks, Bumbershoot! I plan to keep my current reservations and hope the sale rates come out, at which time I can either switch over or rebook if it applies. I don't have a package like I did last year so switching is relatively easy. I'm kind of glad they charge the one night's deposit to hold a room because it seems like it will make it less likely people will just randomly hold rooms.

 

[ploeb]

I've done a fair amt of research on this and haven't seen mentions of previous great AP rates for summer - more for Fall. However it is my understanding that you should at least be able to get 10% off.

You mentioned that you have not seen previous "great Rates" for summer.. Where were you looking?? Before the whole "AP" site existed you had to call the resort, unless of course somebody posted it on a "Disney" site, or it was in the News Letter-thats always late. However, I have gone for a week, every year(June 22-28th), for 5-6 years, and have "always" received great rates- last year it was $99.00 first 2 nights and $159-$179 every night after. I have never booked thru Disney travel, or thru AAA, always from hotel reservations. The rules for booking have changed in that, you must now pay 1 night upfront and hold with a credit card.