Cheapest way to stay at a Moderate?

[Disney44please]

We used cheaptickets last year without issue and saved quite a bit on a last minute trip using stacked discounts. Free Dining is the cheapest way as long as they are several people in the room, but that does depend on how you eat, etc. etc. Our discount last year was 20% off the discounted disney price.

With Cheaptickets we actually went with a deluxe (WL) and paid $1900 for the week. (just looked it up)

 

[StrwLady]

The advice given by others to research is absolutely sound.

The cheapest way to stay in a Value or Moderate Disney resort is almost always to book room-only with a Disney percent-off discount, plus any stackable discounts you can get. Currently Orbitz/Cheaptickets have been running the best stackable discounts. By next year, that could change. The same basic advice applies to Deluxe resorts, but you should first look at the Deluxe Villa (DVC) resorts because you often get almost identical rooms and benefits for less money via renting DVC points. Well, the cheapest over the long term is to buy into DVC, but that's a much larger commitment and isn't particularly cheap in terms of up front costs.

Renting DVC points to stay in Studios is a great savings, but be aware that there are some differences with staying on a cash reservation. DVC Studios don't usually have two beds; they have a Queen bed and a Full pull-out sofa (and a pull-out or pull-down single bed in some units). You also don't get daily housekeeping when staying on points. And typically the cancellation policy when renting points is very inflexible. Getting third-party trip cancellation insurance is a good idea.

Booking with a TA is not primarily about savings, it's about getting superior service, though many people do save money with a TA via the TA finding them deals they didn't know about, or using various booking tricks to get equivalent accommodations which cost the client less. It's more about knowing the system and being able to work the angles. People who know Disney inside and out may pooh-pooh these kinds of advantages, but TAs can really do amazing things sometimes, like find ways to book a room with a discount that's showing as having no discounted rooms available. Knowledge is power, and a great TA has a lot of knowledge. If you're a "go it alone" kind of person, though, a TA might not be the right choice.

I've been reading everything I can find about ways to save money when booking a Moderat.

Well I have the little issue of being a control freak to deal with when I book a trip. So I always directly book through CRO so I can make any ans all changes. There has always been a discount code. Then i but Disney Gift cards from Target. You can still get 5% off when you use your Red card. I pay my reservations with the gift cards. 5% is not a lot but it's something.

Good Luck.

 

[KSR0330]

or our family, the best deal BY FAR is still Free Dining!!! I know many people will argue against it. But for our family--Me, DH, DS14, DS12--it can't come close to being beat by any of these discounts.

That makes a lot of sense. I looked at the history of free dining, and it's typically not offered in the spring (when we'll be traveling). If it were available, I think we would also make out best taking advantage of it over room discount. I'll keep my eyes open. You never know...

 

[msb578]

OK I am answering my own question: I found a Mousesavers code valid for Disney hotels 15% off, that works through Orbitz. However their rack rate is a little higher for my dates and hotel so it only works out to a few dollars less than on the Disney site. I still would be curious to know if Cheaptickets ever has Disney rooms though...

This may be true, but also remember not to include children in your Orbitz search. You'd be charged extra for them. Children get added later in the process.

 

[tstottle]

Yes, thanks, I have read that tip! Also I signed up for Orbitz rewards (haven't booked anything yet, free signup) and now have a $25 credit towards an Orbitz purchase, hopefully to use when I book some Disney resort rooms through Orbitz!

 

[wehrengrizz]

Thanks for all the info already in here! I've been searching through these Orbitz threads but can't find my question/similar.
We're traveling around Thanksgiving 2015 (woohoo!!!), and will be needing two rooms. I'm looking to do 2 standard Pop rooms. Our party is: My DH and myself, my Mother, our DS(turning 10 while we're there!), 6 yr old DS, 4 yr old DD, 2 yr old DD, and a will-be-4ish-month old baby ...sooo, party of 8, but 2 under 3, still needing 2 rooms.

On Orbitz, etc. anyone have luck getting 2 separate rooms and then calling the resort to request adjoining rooms? I've read about only getting the 2 adults/room and calling Orbitz to add kiddos...but no idea on if it's worth a discount if we can't get adjoining rooms.

Thanks for any help!

 

[tstottle]

Hi! I used Orbitz to book my Disney resort, I need two rooms (and needed to add my kids later). I made my res over the phone and he added in my connecting room request. I plan to use a fax or call again about 6 days out to put that request in again, as this seems to be the recommended method on this board. I also am going to use online check in and will put NO requests on there, because people say that will wipe out what I have already requested. With Disney, I will have just as much chance with connecting rooms as anyone else, upon availability. With Universal, however, I have learned that you get guaranteed connecting rooms if you call Universal direct and they tell you they are available. If you book a Universal resort through Orbitz you can request it but it isn't guaranteed (so it's kind of like Disney). I know you are only asking about Disney, but thought I would throw that Universal info in there because it is important, and I didn't know about it when I chose to go with Orbitz/Cheaptickets (but I am very happy with my discount and service through them).

Hope this all makes sense! Bottom line, using Orbitz won't increase or decrease your chance to get connecting rooms at Disney, I don't think, based on what I have read about it (haven't taken a trip yet that required connecting rooms so have no experience with seeing if I get them or not). I have heard about Orbitz getting a "block" of rooms, perhaps that could increase/decrease the chances but who knows...that's guesswork to me!

 

[Flamingeaux]

Free Dining

 

[amw]

We go in March almost every year. In the past, Disney has sent out Free Dining Pins for the time period. This year (March 2015) there were no pin offers sent out. The best deal I found was orbitz when Disney spring discounts were released. At the time Orbitz was offering a 20 percent code on top of Disney discount! I booked this in October. I found all this info on this board. There are plenty of posts when these specials occur. The experts are here. October is usually the time to book for March.

The only thing is you have to be willing to pay in full at booking, but you can cancel it if you get a pin later on.