Booking NOW vs. WAITING for a discount

[DznyDreams]

In my recent experience I have NEVER been able to get a CM to apply a general public discount to an existing reservation. With the old reservation system it was never a problem to secure a newly-released discount (either AP or GP - I've done both). I would simply call and book an entirely new reservation and then cancel my original one. With the new system it is impossible to do that - they know EVERYTHING about you once you give them your home phone number and they only want to work with the ressie you already have.

Even if general public discounts are available come this Aug/Sept/Oct for my post-Thanksgiving trip, I am now beginning to wonder if I will even be able to get a discount at all since I have an existing reservation. I think it's too risky to cancel the existing reservation first and then try to rebook with the discount, but is that the only way around this now?

What's your experience? If you were lucky enough to get a discount on an existing ressie, did you have to call A LOT or did you get lucky on your first try?

Sometimes I think work for Disney Reservations.

TIA

 

[rhiannonwales]

ive never had a problem applying a discount after the fact... the only thing is sometimes i would have to hang up and call back as the phones were just overloaded, but i always got what i wanted foirst try. I think it depends on when you find out about the code and when you go... if you dont read about a code until 3 days after it released and then call youre not going to have as much chance.

 

[DznyDreams]

ive never had a problem applying a discount after the fact... the only thing is sometimes i would have to hang up and call back as the phones were just overloaded, but i always got what i wanted foirst try. I think it depends on when you find out about the code and when you go... if you dont read about a code until 3 days after it released and then call youre not going to have as much chance.

Just goes to show you - different people have different experiences. I too have always called the 1st day a discount was made available. I may not post much, but when I'm trip planning, I watch these boards and mousesavers.com faithfully.

 

[jnorth1007]

I just used a discount that I received for a reservation I made in December and it was no problem. I have the same confirmation number and everything. Only difference is the price. HTH.

 

[DaisyD]

I always book what I want ahead of time. That way I know I get it whether I get the discount or not. What I don't agree with is booking something you only intend on keeping IF you get the discount. Book what you can afford or truly want and expect to pay full price. Getting a discount is just a bonus. If you don't care where you stay then wait for discounts and take what is available. We are picky and only stay at the Poly which means we will pay rackrate if we have to if we want to stay there.

 

[mking624]

What I don't agree with is booking something you only intend on keeping IF you get the discount. Book what you can afford or truly want and expect to pay full price. Getting a discount is just a bonus.

I agree and disagree with this. Sometimes people book and only intend on keeping if a discount is applied because the discount is the first opportunity they have to stay at a particular resort. For example, a person might only be able to afford moderates, even at rack rate prices. But with a discount, they're able to afford a deluxe resort and this might be their one opportunity to finally stay at one. In that sense, I think it's perfectly acceptable to book something they only intend to keep IF they get the discount. Now people who CAN normally afford it and would go anyway shouldn't be too disappointed if a discount winds up normally working out.

 

[DaisyD]

I agree and disagree with this. Sometimes people book and only intend on keeping if a discount is applied because the discount is the first opportunity they have to stay at a particular resort. For example, a person might only be able to afford moderates, even at rack rate prices. But with a discount, they're able to afford a deluxe resort and this might be their one opportunity to finally stay at one. In that sense, I think it's perfectly acceptable to book something they only intend to keep IF they get the discount. Now people who CAN normally afford it and would go anyway shouldn't be too disappointed if a discount winds up normally working out.

Sorry but I don't agree with the last part. No one should book unless they can afford to pay rackrate. What they end up doing is letting Disney think those rooms are booked and then Disney doesn't offer the discount. I don't care if this might be their only chance to stay in the resort. If they can only do it with the discount then don't book the room. Believe me, I know this isn't a popular opinion! LOL!

 

[mking624]

Sorry but I don't agree with the last part. No one should book unless they can afford to pay rackrate. What they end up doing is letting Disney think those rooms are booked and then Disney doesn't offer the discount. I don't care if this might be their only chance to stay in the resort. If they can only do it with the discount then don't book the room.

Part of what Disney hopes by offering these discounts is that so people will upgrade. And the thing is...they KNOW people will upgrade with discounts. We see it here all the time...so to say that people shouldn't upgrade resorts just because of a discount kind of goes against the marketing scheme of Disney.
Just because someone can't afford rack rate doesn't make them any less deserving of a discount. If Disney allows them to use the discount, then what difference does it make to anyone here if they book the room or not? Case in point, we are discussing staying at AKL. We would not be able to stay there without our discount. So you're telling me that I don't have a right to be there because we can't afford to pay rack rate but we CAN afford the discount Disney is offering us? Sorry, not buying that. I don't see it as any different than the people who come on here saying that they will only book rack rate until a discount pops up (even though they CAN afford rack rate but just don't want to). Either way, it's still holding a room without the guarantee that it will actually stay booked until arrival. No booking is guaranteed until arrival...be it booked via rack rate or discount.

 

[DaisyD]

Part of what Disney hopes by offering these discounts is that so people will upgrade. And the thing is...they KNOW people will upgrade with discounts. We see it here all the time...so to say that people shouldn't upgrade resorts just because of a discount kind of goes against the marketing scheme of Disney.
Just because someone can't afford rack rate doesn't make them any less deserving of a discount. If Disney allows them to use the discount, then what difference does it make to anyone here if they book the room or not?

Maybe we aren't talking about the same thing here! LOL! I don't think it is right to book a week at the Poly in advance and only plan on keeping the reservation if a discount comes up. I don't care if they book what they can afford but then when a discount shows up they then upgrade to the better resort.

 

[mking624]

Maybe we aren't talking about the same thing here! LOL! I don't think it is right to book a week at the Poly in advance and only plan on keeping the reservation if a discount comes up. I don't care if they book what they can afford but then when a discount shows up they then upgrade to the better resort.

Ok I think I'm understanding now...bear with me as I walk through this....

You're ok with a person booking an otherwise unaffordable resort if they are offered the discount.
What you're not ok with is someone booking an unaffordable resort and then hoping a discount to come their way, and if not, they cancel.
Is that correct?

In that case, I agree. If you book something you know you can't afford with just the hopes you get a discount, you shouldn't book it. It runs the risk of taking away a room from someone who CAN afford to stay there since you don't know if you'll ever get a discount or not. However, if you ARE offered the discount and the once unaffordable resort now becomes affordable, they are free to book and more power to them! This is probably why Disney has those "safety nets" regarding packages...you have to have paid in full by 45 days out. I, myself, have a courtesy hold on an otherwise unafforable resort (but my discount makes it affordable)...but in this case, I only have 14 days to decide to actually put a deposit down or not. Another safety net...it only holds the room for 14 days.

 

[DaisyD]

Ok I think I'm understanding now...bear with me as I walk through this....

You're ok with a person booking an otherwise unaffordable resort if they are offered the discount.
What you're not ok with is someone booking an unaffordable resort and then hoping a discount to come their way, and if not, they cancel.
Is that correct?

In that case, I agree. If you book something you know you can't afford with just the hopes you get a discount, you shouldn't book it. It runs the risk of taking away a room from someone who CAN afford to stay there since you don't know if you'll ever get a discount or not. However, if you ARE offered the discount and the once unaffordable resort now becomes affordable, they are free to book and more power to them! This is probably why Disney has those "safety nets" regarding packages...you have to have paid in full by 45 days out. I, myself, have a courtesy hold on an otherwise unafforable resort (but my discount makes it affordable)...but in this case, I only have 14 days to decide to actually put a deposit down or not. Another safety net...it only holds the room for 14 days.

Yes, that is exactly what I meant. We did agree afterall.

 

[DznyDreams]

Whoa . . .

(Picking myself up and dusting myself off) oops...

Wow, DaisyD and mking624. You two had my head spinning for a bit.

So I wonder how you feel about me. Either DH, DD & I go to WDW and stay in the WL, which I have booked (Woods view), with discount or without discount, or we simply don't go at all.

A discount would, of course, solidify our stay, but the lack of one does not necessarily break the deal. It all depends on what happens with the rest of this year. One never knows what financial pitfalls lie ahead, and you can only plan ahead so much. (Four months salary in savings doesn't always get you out of every financial bind that comes your way.) All I'm saying is: Right now, we can afford it - with or without the discount. But I digress . . .

What I'm really wanting to know is: Are there really that many people out there who have NEVER had problems adding a discount to an existing reservation, or are most (or at least some) like me and never gotten one added to an existing reservation?

 

[mking624]

Whoa . . .

(Picking myself up and dusting myself off) oops...

Wow, DaisyD and mking624. You two had my head spinning for a bit.

So I wonder about how you feel about me. Either DH, DD & I go to WDW and stay in the WL, which I have booked (Woods view), with discount or without discount, or we simply don't go at all.

A discount would, of course, solidify our stay, but the lack of one does not necessarily break the deal. It all depends on what happens with the rest of this year. One never knows what financial pitfalls lie ahead, and you can only plan ahead so much. (Four months salary in savings doesn't always get you out of every bind that comes your way.) All I'm saying is: Right now, we can afford it - with or without the discount.

I view your situation entirely different. I agree, you never know what will happen in the future. That's why no booking is guaranteed until the day you actually check in...because you never know what will happen between the time you reserve it and the time you arrive. The difference is that you're booking it with the knowledge you can afford it...and if a discount comes along that you can apply, wonderful! What we were disagreeing with (when we finally understood each other ) were the people who would go ahead and reserve a room knowing full well they could not afford it...and just pray a discount comes along. I'm not talking about those who do get a discount and then book (or they upgrade), but talking about those who book at rack rate but have no intention of staying if they wind up having to pay rack rate because their "hope to receive a discount" never actually happened. It's a little confusing, which is why I at first misunderstood. So I guess here's a walk through for me of how to explain how *I* feel...
1. People book rack rate, can afford rack rate, and intend to stay at the resort regardless of discount or not: okay
2. People who book rack rate at one resort, get a discount and upgrade to an otherwise unaffordable (or maybe it is affordable) resort: okay
3. People who book discounted rate (no previous ressie, so it would not be considered an upgrade but a straight out ressie) at an otherwise unaffordable resort: okay
4. People who book rack rate at an unaffordable resort not knowing that they'll ever receive a discount, but are in the hopes they one day receive one so they can apply it, otherwise they cancel: not okay
FYI to those who read the above, this is merely my opinion...and quite honestly, I'm not going to criticize anyone on here should they do something I would not do myself.

 

[DaisyD]

Sorry to hijack your thread OP! To answer your question: Yes I have had trouble getting a discount on an existing reservation. That is because we always stay at the Poly and the discounts there can be limited. I imagine it depends on how popular the resort is.

 

[DznyDreams]

Sorry to hijack your thread OP! To answer your question: Yes I have had trouble getting a discount on an existing reservation. That is because we always stay at the Poly and the discounts there can be limited. I imagine it depends on how popular the resort is.

Hey, it's really okay! I found it all to be very interesting and enlightening. Some may not have considered your point of view before.

So, you've probably hit the nail on the head with my problem! DH & I the WL, and it certainly is popular.

I posted my circumstances for this year's trip, but I might as well 'fess up to my past experiences. DH & I fell in love with the WL when we took our first trip with our daughter in 1998 (stayed in the CR tower on that trip). As we were walking around the CR property one evening, we saw the WL lights in the distance and decided to boat over and check it out. Since 1999 I haved ALWAYS (with the exception of 2000 when I could not get a room there at all) booked the WL. BUT--it ALWAYS turns out that I have to cancel those reservations around the time discounts come out. This is not because we cannot afford a room there, but it is because our needs change. You see, other family members almost always want to go with us and force us to change our plans. (We sing WDW's praises so often - - we must make it sound too good!) Anyway, we have frequently had to cancel or change existing reservations because they (the other family members) will hear me talking about the GP discounts and, at the last minute, decide they would like to join us. (I say "last minute" because I personally book MONTHS in advance.) This has always been okay with us because DH, DD & I LOVE to share our favorite place in the world with our family; however, the downside is that NONE of them will ever commit to a trip as far in advance as we do. The decision to join us never comes about until they learn about these discounts. They are suddenly so amazed by how affordable it can be, and of course, they always want us to be with them wherever they stay. As you can see in my signature, we normally wind up canceling our original plans (WL) and booking multiple rooms at a discounted moderate or renting points from a DVC member for a villa. And to answer the question that I KNOW is on everyone's mind: Yes, I have suggested separate resorts before, but they always seem hurt by this.

BUT NOT THIS YEAR!! THIS YEAR DH & I have decided that we want to be selfish. Either we go and stay in the WL as we have always dreamed, or we simply will not go. THIS YEAR, we are just not mentioning our trip. Now that all of my family and my inlaws have had the opportunity to go with us at least one time, we are calling it quits. I'm not going to be their free TA and tour guide any longer!