Book now or closer to September?

[Aurora_Disney]

I am planning a trip to WDW in September and want to know if I would be better off waiting to book the trip to see if any deals become available, i.e. free dining or x% amount off the resort price? Or if I book with Dreams unlimited will they be able to match the price and refund the difference should a sale occur between now and vacation time?

Thanks for the help!

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

Book now and have it adjusted. It is possible the particular room you want could be sold out prior to any deals coming out.

 

[DisneyMaleficent50]

Book NOW!!! September usually has free dining and big room discounts. I always use a travel agent when booking during Fall as most will automatically update your reservation with the discount code. Good travel agents will check the math and tell you if you get a better discount using the free dining or the room discount and adding the dining plan. Surprisingly i have had time where it was cheaper to pay for the dining plan and take the room discount. However once discounts are announced rooms fill quickly. If you have a reservation you do not need to worry about your chosen resort not being available. Exclusions tend to be the same year to year so ask the agent if the room you are looking at typically qualifies for these promotions.

 

[Aurora_Disney]

Can anyone recommend a travel agent? Will a dreams unlimited travel agent be able to do all of this?

Thanks!

 

[DisneyMaleficent50]

I have used

Brock Taylor
Personal Vacation Planner
brockt@mei-travel.com
Nashville 615-823-2126
Toll Free 877-216-4612
Fax 815-550-1800
www.mei-travel.com

www.mousefantravel.com

www.universalfantravel.com

affiliated with MEI & Mouse Fan Travel®

 

[TwoMisfits]

I am planning a trip to WDW in September and want to know if I would be better off waiting to book the trip to see if any deals become available, i.e. free dining or x% amount off the resort price? Or if I book with Dreams unlimited will they be able to match the price and refund the difference should a sale occur between now and vacation time?

Thanks for the help!

You should wait. Any discount, especially free dining, would require a full rebook anyway. You would almost be shooting yourself in the foot by taking your desired room out of the inventory. The only caveat is if you are willing to go today at the price you can book today. If you are, then you should book.

 

[DisneyMaleficent50]

I have no idea how you would be shooting yourself in the foot by booking early.
The whole point is to take your desired room out of inventory so you are assured a room at the resort you want to stay.
If you book with a travel agent, they handle the rebook for you so no action is required by you. You just get an email saying that you now have free dining or they booked the room discount saving you $$$$. And travel agents cost you NO extra fees so why not let them handle the work for you. And since it is their livelihood they stay on top of the latest discount releases so you don't have to. Work smarter not harder!!!! If not using DVC points I always use a travel agent.

 

[gottalovepluto]

@TwoMisfits nailed it. If you can afford the today's price book it. Will a TA be able to match and refund the price? Ehh, no way to know but these q's will help you... Ask the TA what their policy is if your room goes on sale, do they monitor for the sale? Will they handle re-booking? How do you get the price difference back? Those policies can vary TA to TA. Also, be aware that just because your desired hotel and room type are on sale for the dates of your stay you still might not be eligible for the discount. Disney only releases "X" number of rooms at each resort at the discount price, if all those rooms are gone you'll be out of luck even if the resort shows availability at rack rates.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I have no idea how you would be shooting yourself in the foot by booking early.
The whole point is to take your desired room out of inventory so you are assured a room at the resort you want to stay.
If you book with a travel agent, they handle the rebook for you so no action is required by you. You just get an email saying that you now have free dining or they booked the room discount saving you $$$$. And travel agents cost you NO extra fees so why not let them handle the work for you. And since it is their livelihood they stay on top of the latest discount releases so you don't have to. Work smarter not harder!!!! If not using DVC points I always use a travel agent.

The shooting in the foot theory comes from the idea that Disney releases discounts based on how many rooms are still open for sale at each resort. If your desired resort is almost full then Disney will release a smaller discount, if any at all. I have no idea how accurate any of that is but that's the theory.

 

[DisneyMaleficent50]

@gottalovepluto makes a great point
Make sure you are using the right travel agent. Mine is awesome and always stays on top of discounts and rebooks for me quickly so I get one of the "X" rooms available. I forget not all are created equal......
And I usually am only required to put down a deposit of 1 nights stay. So it makes my final deposit payment less....

 

[DisneyMaleficent50]

The shooting in the foot theory comes from the idea that Disney releases discounts based on how many rooms are still open for sale at each resort. If your desired resort is almost full then Disney will release a smaller discount, if any at all. I have no idea how accurate any of that is but that's the theory.

AAAHHHH, I see the logic there.....
but how many years now had Disney run free dinning and room discounts in Sept and Oct??? Anybody know? At least the last 2 as I have used the promotions...
And once they release those discounts you could spend HOURS on hold for booking or rebooking. And those "X" rooms go very fast. Personally I just don't have that kind of patience...

 

[TwoMisfits]

AAAHHHH, I see the logic there.....
but how many years now had Disney run free dinning and room discounts in Sept and Oct??? Anybody know? At least the last 2 as I have used the promotions...
And once they release those discounts you could spend HOURS on hold for booking or rebooking. And those "X" rooms go very fast. Personally I just don't have that kind of patience...

October actually was pretty much dropped last year...so dates have changed and changed recently...the rumor this year is that some of September may also fall out of free dining, but we'll have to wait and see...

 

[Aurora_Disney]

I think I will give it some time before I book. I am really hoping that free dining is not dropped for September. If it is I suppose that I will have to decide on whether or not to include the dining in with my reservation. Not sure if adding it saves any money.

 

[scard192]

I have used

Brock Taylor
Personal Vacation Planner
brockt@mei-travel.com
Nashville 615-823-2126
Toll Free 877-216-4612
Fax 815-550-1800
www.mei-travel.com

www.mousefantravel.com

www.universalfantravel.com

affiliated with MEI & Mouse Fan Travel®

DIS Boards is sponsored by a TA, posting about other TAs is not allowed

 

[Marionnette]

DIS Boards is sponsored by a TA, posting about other TAs is not allowed

Actually, you can mention other businesses as long as they have not been banned from the boards. If you see ********** instead of the business' name, then it's been banned. Otherwise. It's supposed to be okay to mention them.

 

[Marionnette]

Book NOW!!! September usually has free dining and big room discounts. I always use a travel agent when booking during Fall as most will automatically update your reservation with the discount code. Good travel agents will check the math and tell you if you get a better discount using the free dining or the room discount and adding the dining plan. Surprisingly i have had time where it was cheaper to pay for the dining plan and take the room discount. However once discounts are announced rooms fill quickly. If you have a reservation you do not need to worry about your chosen resort not being available. Exclusions tend to be the same year to year so ask the agent if the room you are looking at typically qualifies for these promotions.

There's only one reason that I can imagine for booking before any discounts come out. That would be if you are very determined to stay at a specific resort and in a specific location within that resort. If that's the case, you don't want to risk the room being sold out later.

There Are plenty of reasons NOT to book now.

• Disney offers discounts to fill rooms. If your resort is already booked up, or close to being full, Disney has no reason to offer your room at a discount.
• A TA doesn't have access to a different pool of rooms than the general public. They might be able to access the reservation system more easily but if the room you already booked is not available under the discount, they can't do anything about it.
• You may end up playing telephone or email tag with your TA as you sort out options for a different resort or dates.
• If you don't use a TA, booking now and hoping for a discount will entail essentially canceling the first reservation and booking the new one. That involves a phone call to Disney (with long wait times) while others are booking online and the inventory of discounted rooms is being depleted.

IMO, it's better to wait to book unless you're dead set on a certain room and you're willing to pay for it without a discount.

 

[scard192]

Actually, you can mention other businesses as long as they have not been banned from the boards. If you see ********** instead of the business' name, then it's been banned. Otherwise. It's supposed to be okay to mention them.

interesting, I did not know this. There is one agency that no one is allowed to mention or refer to.

 

[Pkltm]

I think I will give it some time before I book. I am really hoping that free dining is not dropped for September. If it is I suppose that I will have to decide on whether or not to include the dining in with my reservation. Not sure if adding it saves any money.

If you use the bounce back offer as a guideline, Free Dining may only be offered up until Sep 9, for September. IF you want to go regardless of a discount or want a specific resort book now. If your going hinges on a discount, don't book until what you want to pay pops up. There are very few "slow" times anymore and no discount is guaranteed.

If you use a travel agent, they should do their best to secure you any discounts that come out. It is also not a guarantee. They will not take the hit to gove you a discount that Disney does not have.

 

[Eastern]

I would book now. I have been looking at the third week in September and a lot of room categories are unavailable.

 

[ncc1701]

OP you didn't say what resort but POFQ is rarely included anymore. Plus with the work going on at both CBR and CSR Disney may not feel the need to offer discounts at POR either.
If you are going without the discount book now so you can get what you want.