Book resort early or late?

[laurap614]

The last two times we went we booked less than 3 months before we went. I want to go again next year (9 months from now) what are the advantages for early booking?

 

[Wood Nymph]

The only reason to book early is if you really want a certain resort and you are afraid it won't be available if you wait too long. I know that there weren't any standard or garden view rooms at the BC for the time period I wanted in December, and that was when I was looking at them back around March or April.

 

[mickeynut1]

The last two times we went we booked less than 3 months before we went. I want to go again next year (9 months from now) what are the advantages for early booking?

I agree with the pp to book early if there's a certain resort/room type you want that you're afraid might not have availability if you wait.

 

[dminnie]

Isn't booking early also the only way to do the 180 plus 10 thing for dining reservations?

 

[kddisney502]

Isn't booking early also the only way to do the 180 plus 10 thing for dining reservations?

yep! Which is handy if you're going during a busy time of the year and you don't want to eat really early or really late. No 9pm dinners for us!

I agree with the pp to book early if there's a certain resort/room type you want that you're afraid might not have availability if you wait.

Agreed! I actually went last November when at least 1 day of my vacation was sold out months in advance at every resort except the cabins. Of course there was tons of stuff going on that weekend (marathon, holiday weekend, food & wine, convention). So I was happy I made reservations 6 months in advance plus getting a discount.

 

[disney2014plan]

And if subsequently there is a discount/offer, can you get that applied to your room?

 

[mickeynut1]

Isn't booking early also the only way to do the 180 plus 10 thing for dining reservations?

As the pp said, it is nice to be able to make ADRs for your whole trip at the 180 day mark if you are going at a busy time. But, with that said, we have resort stays before and after a cruise in December and while I haven't booked the resort stays yet, I didn't have any trouble getting the ADRs I wanted at the times I wanted by making them 1 day at a time (and my dates are 12/17 through 12/19 and 12/22 through 12/24). BOG was about the only one I saw with no availability, but that isn't one I wanted anyway, so I was happy. But, IMO, with the cc guarantee needed for a lot of places, that helps with people thinking about it more before booking, which maybe makes those places more available than they used to be .

And if subsequently there is a discount/offer, can you get that applied to your room?

Yes, as long as there is availability under the discount for the resort/room type you have booked, the discount can easily be applied to your existing reservation .

 

[Disneymommyof4]

I would definitely book early. You can always apply a promotion if it comes out and you don't have the stress of worrying if your resort will be avalible.