momtimesone now that you know about deals it just gets more confusing from here on!
You can book ahead and then check every deal that shows up to see if it's a better way to go money wise, or wait to see what comes out. Besides the personal PINS/codes some people get, there will be other deals that show up that you can use - like these last year for September dates:
For check ins 8/26/07-9/22/07 package discounts ("
free dining") for general public became available on 4/12/07, exp 6/24/07
For check ins 7/29/07-9/29/07 room-only discount for general public became available on 6/28/07, exp 7/28/07
For check ins 7/29/07-9/29/07 package discounts for general public became available on 6/28/07, exp 7/28/07
For check ins 8/5/07-9/29/07 Annual Passholder room-only rates became available on 6/20/07, exp 9/29/07
For check ins 8/12/07-9/29/07 package discounts ("free dining") for UK residents became available on 8/25/06, exp 11/6/06
For check ins 8/26/07-9/22/07 package discounts ("free dining") for Disney Rewards Visa cardholders became available on 4/9/07, exp 6/24/07
I've been many times but even I don't know that I've ever received the absolutely best deal that I could get. Even with "free" dining, remember that for that you have to pay rack rate (most expensive rate) for your room, everybody with you has to be on the same exact package and you all must have at least a one day ticket, so sometimes when you price all this out it might be less expensive to go with a room discount.
Since you say you are not math-wise you might look at a sponsor here "
Dreams Unlimited" at the top of the page. A lot of DISers use them to book their reservations (it's free to book with them) because they have a program that "watches" deals and they will automatically re-price your res to make sure you are getting the best deal (no, I don't work for them, just have read lots of smug reports where people say their agent had already checked a newly announced deal for them while the rest of us were on the phone to WDW for an hour! Here's a link to them:
http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/packages/index.htm#boards-top-packages
Good luck whatever you decide, and remember there's plenty of us sweating the $$$ details right along with you!
Oh and always be sure when you go to the WDW website to check prices to click on "Special Offers" to be sure and get any deals that might apply to your dates- if there are any, the codes are already "built in" if you go in that way.
