ClapYourHands
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 2, 2018
Short version:
I'm looking for the best strategy to book now with discounts through Disney, while preserving my chance to take advantage of possible Priceline bookings later.
Long version:
I booked Best Western DS for a good (refundable) rate through Priceline for 6 days. Then the new Disney Discounts came out. I plan to get an AP, so I booked 2 days at AS Music at the start of my trip to give DD some time at a Disney-themed hotel. Magical Express will help me recoup some of the cost of the more expensive room. But I think my daily rate will go up for my remaining BW days if I cancel the first two days at BW (first two days are weekdays), so doing the whole trip with the AP rate might work with my budget, if I call back and book the next 4 nights at AS Mu.
BUT, complicating things a bit is that I'm also hoping I might be able to score something on Priceline when (if?) some onsite opaque deals show up closer to my dates. I realize that Priceline might not have availability for the whole stay, so I also want to hold on to my ability to use the discounts that are currently available.
My understanding is that if I book through Disney, I can't really MODIFY a reservation; I can only cancel and rebook a different reservation at the same hotel, and it's dependent on current availablity. Therefore, if there are no rooms left at the AP rate when I want to modify, I would lose the AP rate I have now. So, does it make sense to call back and try to book two separate 2-day reservations, for a total of 3 separate reservations over the course of 6 days? Then I could drop a block or two if I'm able to get a better rate on Priceline.
Would Disney let me do this (assuming availability)? Can I get them NOT to merge the reservations at this time, even though it's for the same people on consecutive days? I don't have the AP yet, so it has to be done on the phone. Anyone have experience with this?
I'm looking for the best strategy to book now with discounts through Disney, while preserving my chance to take advantage of possible Priceline bookings later.
Long version:
I booked Best Western DS for a good (refundable) rate through Priceline for 6 days. Then the new Disney Discounts came out. I plan to get an AP, so I booked 2 days at AS Music at the start of my trip to give DD some time at a Disney-themed hotel. Magical Express will help me recoup some of the cost of the more expensive room. But I think my daily rate will go up for my remaining BW days if I cancel the first two days at BW (first two days are weekdays), so doing the whole trip with the AP rate might work with my budget, if I call back and book the next 4 nights at AS Mu.
BUT, complicating things a bit is that I'm also hoping I might be able to score something on Priceline when (if?) some onsite opaque deals show up closer to my dates. I realize that Priceline might not have availability for the whole stay, so I also want to hold on to my ability to use the discounts that are currently available.
My understanding is that if I book through Disney, I can't really MODIFY a reservation; I can only cancel and rebook a different reservation at the same hotel, and it's dependent on current availablity. Therefore, if there are no rooms left at the AP rate when I want to modify, I would lose the AP rate I have now. So, does it make sense to call back and try to book two separate 2-day reservations, for a total of 3 separate reservations over the course of 6 days? Then I could drop a block or two if I'm able to get a better rate on Priceline.
Would Disney let me do this (assuming availability)? Can I get them NOT to merge the reservations at this time, even though it's for the same people on consecutive days? I don't have the AP yet, so it has to be done on the phone. Anyone have experience with this?