booking rooms at Disney ?

[mmaria]

Hi everyone ,Ive just booked us a after-xmas 12 day holiday !! ohh yesssss but I need help with getting rooms .
we have never booked our own rooms before ,we are going out 29 december comming home 9 january ,Id love to stay at a disney resort ,maybe stay at at daysinn etc until the 1st of January ,so as not to pay high holiday rates ,so any ideas ? where ? how much ?
should I book the rooms now and try later to apply any discount codes ? who do I phone ? what do I ask for ? and do you know the phone number ?
I have annual passes and a disney club card at the moment ,so can manage getting new ones at xmas

thank you inadvance
!

 

[Goofyish]

For booking rooms at WDW I would recommend using a company called Dreams Unlimited. They are associated with this site and are base in the US.

The will book a room at WDW on your behalf, and will check for discounts codes, AP discounts etc. right up until you depart and apply the best rate to your booking. You are assigned an agent how works with you to get the best deal and will even plan your itinerary if you wish. They don't charge for this service, they make their money from commision direct from Disney. They don't even take any money off you - you basically give them your credit card details and all money goes direct to Disney.

Check out their website:

http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/

 

[bubblefactory]

Just to posting to agree with the above. I have used Dreams for our trip in Oct this year and got a great AP deal at The Swan.

Did it all from the website with ease and got fast responses with confirmations etc. Just had to pay 1 nights deposit by c/card then balance on arrival.

I would recommend a look - the online quote is instant and even gives the discount at a click !

Alec.

 

[Hilary]

You can count me in the Dreams Unlimited Fan Club too

It's a very easy way to make sure you get the best deals available, without the hassle (or expense) of international phone calls to Disney's Central Reservations Office.

 

[mmaria]

wow thats seems almost to easy ! right ,so next where would you suggest ? and also should I booked in a off site until 1st January ,as I beleive the rates in the holiday season are very high ? we're going 29/12 until 9/01 don't fancy all the messing around for the value resorts so either moderates or a very good deal in the posh ones ?

 

[bubblefactory]

Not sure which hotel to suggest, I have picked the Swan because of the good AP deal at the time I checked.

We toyed with the polynesian but read some reports about paper thin walls and were put off.

A hotel choice is a very personal thing - it depends exactly what facilities you consider make your holiday.

There is loads of information on all hotels on the Dreams website so you can choose carefully.

When you get an online quote it shows the price for each night separately with total for the stay at the bottom so you can then decide whether the "New Year" rate is good or not.

hope this helps

Alec

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

We've only stayed onsite once, last October - at the AKL. FANTASTIC. And cannot recommend Dreams Unlimited highly enough - go for it and enjoy

Let us know how the planning's coming along

 

[SimonV]

I would echo all of the above. When it comes to resort choice, the options are so varied and inviting it is hard to get your head round it all! Do you have kids, mmaria, and if so what ages? AKL is wonderfully child-friendly, but the Swan and Dolphin are also good in their own way too. Coronado Springs often gets overlooked as an excellent resort at a great price, and my boys (4 and 6) just loved the Contemporary for the monorail running right through it. You pays your money......! However, I would definitely recommend studying the Dreams Unlimited site and seeing the kinds of discounts they offer, and then letting the price be some sort of helpful guide. I would suggest that a big discount on somewhere like AKL is worth more than a regular price at Coronado. Have fun!

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

Another vote for Dreams Unlimited. We used them last year and had very good service, saving a fortune of trans-atlantic phone calls and endless hassle of looking for good deals.

Why not ask DU for advice about getting the best value for money over the New Year holiday - I'm sure they be able to offer some tips. Don't forget, DU are happy to change your hotel bookings as many times as necessary to get the best deals (we changed four or five times in the 12 months up to our August holiday), so you can chop and change as you work out your priorities.

Regards

Rob

 

[Fantasia Sam]

Yeah I love Dreams too and it does make it all sooooo easy

I think you're right to stay off-site until after the Peak prices and then I could also suggest AKL as it's a real interactive resort with so much to do there and very peaceful, it's good fun and different and also usually cheaper than most other deluxes but some people do find it's a bit out of the way but I have to tell you I never waited more than 5 minutes for a bus and didn't feel out of it at all, and I was a solo traveller

I've never stayed at a moderate resort but I like the look of Carribean Beach Resort and the PO Mansions (they look so pretty).

Dreams Unlimited also do good deals on Swan and Dolphin and I have to say these are great resorts - the rooms are divine and the beds really are heavenly and the location is THE best, in my humble opinion.

Seriously you have so much to pick from I don't envy you haveing to make your choice. Once you put in for a quote with Dreams they can check other resorts for you and give you quotes on them too and as Rob said they give very good impartial advice, and unlike when you ring Disney direct the DU agents have an opinion and will volunteer info on good deals

 

[mmaria]

thanks for the in site guys ,Ive been on dreams-unlimited and sent them a request thingy .however there form only goes up to the end of the year ...so I add a note , I let you know what they say about it all when I hear back from them .
I am taking 2 of my daughters we me and Hubby too !!

 

[richard3330]

Hi

We have never used Dreams Unlimited, but by the look of it they are very good!!

Sorry to be the odd one out, but personally we as a family didn't particuarly 'feel' for the AKL. We felt it was too far 'out of the action' and during our visit the transport was appaling, lots of things seemed to of went wrong and the resort was just FULL of people 24/7. However, this may of been a one-off of course.

Anyway, we LOVED the Wilderness Lodge. Our 4 year old also enjoyed this resort. The theming is fantastic, the swimming pool and geyser are just great and the lobby is breath-taking, as is being 'flag family' for the morning. I cannot reccomend WL enough!

We also enjoyed The Polynesian Resort - especially the monorail location.

Have fun choosing!

Richard.

 

[mmaria]

Hi DU have been great and have told me they can only book the room for 2004 at what they call guess rates as Disney haven't released there 2004 prices (which is far enough ) ,so they have given me the following as a guide

Hi Maria,
As I said, the prices are subject to change when they become official, but we can hold these for a one night's deposit of:

$294.36 Contemporary
$266.49 Wilderness Lodge
$160.56 Coronado and Caribbean Beach

These are all standard rooms with arrival on 1/2.
so my next question is how much do annual pass discounts cut these prices down by ??
thanks

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

This is a difficult question to answer as AP discounts are never guaranteed, and do vary depending on how many empty rooms Disney have to fill. As you would expect, quieter times of the year get larger discounts. A good website to look at for discount tips is www.mousesavers.com This may have historical information. You might also find some useful experience can be gained from the DIS Resorts forum here. This always gets lots of discussions about AP rates.

In the past I've paid $84 (plus tax) per night for a moderate resort (Dixie Landings, same category as Coronado) and last summer we paid $180 for the Animal Kingdom Lodge with AP discounts. Can't offer any guidance for prices over the New Year period as we've not visited then.

Regards

Rob

 

[Goofyish]

I think the discount depends on demand. If Disney have a lot of spare rooms the discount will be more. I think the AP discounts can be as much as 40% off.

 

[mmaria]

ok another question people
what happen at Disney on New Year eve ? would we get in by defualt if we are staying on site ,is it worth the high price to check 31 dec ?
thanks

 

[bubblefactory]

As a guide to the possible discounts available we have reserved a Club level room at the swan For Oct 03 and the rate dropped from $240 +tax per night to $212 + tax per night with AP discount.

I belive ( someone correct me If I'm wrong please ) that on-sight guests are guaranteed admission to parks .

Alec