CM told me this(Expedia.com)

[JayBee]

I saw that Expedia.com had the BAT codes for 2 of the days I'm at WDW, but the CM didn't have it. She said expedia actually BUYS blocks of rooms, and if they don't "sell" the rooms, they DON"T revert back to Disney Reservations. This is SOOOO aggrivating.

 

[ValerieK]

Maybe this is were a lot of the discounted rooms went.

 

[poohkinandpiglet]

Expedia requires a three night minimum on their Disney bookings too. It makes it difficult if you're just trying to add one or 2 extra nights.

 

[lark]

I had always understood it was something close to that, but not exactly. What expedia really has purchased is an option on rooms. It pays a certain amount -- say $50 per room -- for the right to buy the room, and to use the $50 toward the purchase. If the options expire unused, expedia is out the option price, and disney can rebook the room.

Expedia's cancelation policy is pretty liberal. You can cancel up to 5 days prior to the visit (subject to a 25 dollar penalty); you also only get hit with a one night payment for later cancelations.

I imagine that expedia doesn't do so well on getting out new reservations for rooms that get canceled 5 days before the trip. Expedia would be taking a pretty big gamble, which is why the option system sounds right to me.