Booking a hotel- Online vs Phone

[819mac]

Hi all,

We are starting to get ready to book next years trip, hoping to stay at GCH.

In the past, we have had APs and we just booked our hotel over the phone. This time, we won't have APs so we will be booking our tickets along with the room (more expensive way to do it we know, but this way we don't have to worry about trying to purchase MaxPass every morning). From what I can see, this means this becomes a "vacation package" and not just a hotel booking.

A few questions:
-If hotel discounts come out closer to our, can we apply them to an online booking? When booking over the phone in the past, we just called up and got them applied to our booking.
-The website mentions a "Magical Extra Savings Card" with vacation packages. Anyone know anything about what discounts this card gives?
-Do you guys usually book online or over the phone? What do you find easier? We are based in Australia but the international calls aren't an issue for us.

Thanks in advance!

 

[gottalovepluto]

You can purchase them direct from Disney online separately if you don’t want to be stuck in a package. Also 3rd party ticket sellers now have access to tickets that include MaxPass. Sorry I don’t book packages so I can’t help with your actual questions

 

[819mac]

Thanks for your reply, I didn't realise that 3rd party sellers can book Maxpass now.

In that case, I will book just the room with Disney. Is there any difference between booking online and booking over the phone? Can I still make changes to the booking (e.g. if a discount deal comes along further down the track) if I book online? Can I manage my booking over the phone if I book online? The only downside with booking over the phone is that they sometimes get things wrong thanks to the Australian accent.

 

[Where's Wall-E]

Thanks for your reply, I didn't realise that 3rd party sellers can book Maxpass now.

In that case, I will book just the room with Disney. Is there any difference between booking online and booking over the phone? Can I still make changes to the booking (e.g. if a discount deal comes along further down the track) if I book online? Can I manage my booking over the phone if I book online? The only downside with booking over the phone is that they sometimes get things wrong thanks to the Australian accent.

Yes. We always book online but make payments by phone, as DLR does not allow online payments yet.

 

[twodogs]

Thanks for your reply, I didn't realise that 3rd party sellers can book Maxpass now.

In that case, I will book just the room with Disney. Is there any difference between booking online and booking over the phone? Can I still make changes to the booking (e.g. if a discount deal comes along further down the track) if I book online? Can I manage my booking over the phone if I book online? The only downside with booking over the phone is that they sometimes get things wrong thanks to the Australian accent.

There is no difference between booking online versus the phone on the price (unless you need something like a military discount applied, which you can only do by phone currently). Yes, you can do all of those things that you listed. If a discount comes out, you will either have to call to get it "applied" (they really just make a new reservation under the discount and transfer your deposit, as I understand it), or you will have to book a new reservation online for the discount, pay a new deposit, and then cancel the full priced reservation (and get a refund of the deposit). I always book the room online, then closer to the trip, I buy the tickets online as well (with MP, directly from Disney). This keeps my room as Room-Only, and not a package, which gives a much more generous cancellation policy (room-only is full refund if cancelled 5 days before check=in)

 

[819mac]

Excellent, thanks so much for the replies, I really appreciate it

 

[MrsD.Duck]

Yes. We always book online but make payments by phone, as DLR does not allow online payments yet.

I don’t know if it makes a difference because you are out if country, but I booked online and made every payment online also including the final payment. We did a package thisbyear but two years ago just did hotel thru Disney and maid payments online both times.

 

[Where's Wall-E]

I don’t know if it makes a difference because you are out if country, but I booked online and made every payment online also including the final payment. We did a package thisbyear but two years ago just did hotel thru Disney and maid payments online both times.

Must be. Even though the option appears to be presented, once we enter our reservation number, it gives us an error message and tells us online payments are not available.