Disneyland Hotels Deal Question

[vettegirl]

Does Disney ever offer special deal on their hotels at DL in the value season. We are going Dec 2-5 and was just wondering.

 

[Sherry E]

Does Disney ever offer special deal on their hotels at DL in the value season. We are going Dec 2-5 and was just wondering.

I don't know what they will do this year, but last year there were a couple of different offers floating around up until about early/mid-December. There was a PIN offer (which you have to receive in your name from Disney) and then I remember they also put something up on their website after a while for discounts - both of these extended through Fall to about, I'd say, probably December 17th or somewhere in there. After mid-December, they get swamped with guests so discounts are almost non-existent. Even the special AP rates hike up at that point. So IF there are any discounts this year and IF you can get hold of them (by way of getting a PIN offer in the mail or by e-mail) or they advertise them on the website, then I am ceratin your dates would be included in the time frame. It is just a matter of whether there will be any discounts offered. More and more people are staying offsite these days, so I think DLR has been trying to crank out the discounts to lure in guests.

 

[bumbershoot]

I agree. IF there's something, your dates will be in it. I only remember AP rates from the last couple years, but if Sherry remembers a PIN code then it was there. The only code I got for DLR last year was for the Jolly Roger! Um, no thanks!

 

[DTDkettleCORNfan]

Who gets the PIN codes? Do they only send them out to APs? Thanks....

 

[Sherry E]

Who gets the PIN codes? Do they only send them out to APs? Thanks....

No. It seems like the PIN codes are sent out very randomly based on what the computer system selects. It doesn't seem to be AP-specifc or non-AP specific, because the AP holders get their own special rates during the year. I remember a bunch of us here were trying to figure it out last year - the rhyme or reason behind who received them and who didn't - and it seemed like somehow or other, everyone who got them had made it onto a DLR mailing list of some kind (either from previously staying onsite through the WDTC, or from ordering the free Vacation DVD or from starting an online account on the DLR website, etc. - maybe). And sometimes the offers are e-mailed, while others are snail mailed. Even more confusing is that some of them have different cut-off dates, i.e., one person's PIN offer could extend to, let's say, October 2nd, while the next person's offer goes to October 5th! And one person's offer may say $149 for the PPH, and the next person's offer could say $169 for the PPH!!! It is really crazy!

For example, there was PIN code offer that floated around last year in the summer, and its dates extended to Fall. I used that for my PPH stay in October, before I got my AP. Then, as the PIN I had was about to expire in October, another PIN offer showed up in an email from Disney Destinations, I think, and it lasted from early October until mid-December. Then, at some point or another, DLR finally put up some discounted rates (for non-AP holders) on the Special Deals portion of their website, and those hotel rates were about $20 more than the ones advertised in my PIN offer, and they also extended to mid-December, but with a slightly different cut-off date.

So far this year, I have one PIN offer I am sitting on right now which lasts until September 30. I know others have gotten the same one. Prior to that, I had one that expired on May 30, which I could not use. I expect that there will be another PIN after the current one expires on 9/30, or maybe an overlapping PIN offer, and that next one would be the one that probably lasts up to mid-December - IF they do another PIN this year, that is. Last year, the offer drew so many people to DLR in October that the hotels were booking up faster than they did for December.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

The end of your stay is the weekend that the CP will probably be perfromed. Last year the AP discounts excluded that weekend and other discounts may exclude it as well. Of course, the we were able to use teh Ap discount on the CP weekend, so anything is possible.

Another option may be to rent DVC points from a DVC member to stay at the new Grand Californian Villas. Check out the information on the DVC boards on this site.

Hope you find something that works -- Suzanne

 

[vettegirl]

What is the CP weekend? We will only be there that Thursday and Friday as I know the locals swarm the place on the weekends.

 

[DisneyIsMagical]

No. It seems like the PIN codes are sent out very randomly based on what the computer system selects. It doesn't seem to be AP-specifc or non-AP specific, because the AP holders get their own special rates during the year. I remember a bunch of us here were trying to figure it out last year - the rhyme or reason behind who received them and who didn't - and it seemed like somehow or other, everyone who got them had made it onto a DLR mailing list of some kind (either from previously staying onsite through the WDTC, or from ordering the free Vacation DVD or from starting an online account on the DLR website, etc. - maybe). And sometimes the offers are e-mailed, while others are snail mailed. Even more confusing is that some of them have different cut-off dates, i.e., one person's PIN offer could extend to, let's say, October 2nd, while the next person's offer goes to October 5th! And one person's offer may say $149 for the PPH, and the next person's offer could say $169 for the PPH!!! It is really crazy!

For example, there was PIN code offer that floated around last year in the summer, and its dates extended to Fall. I used that for my PPH stay in October, before I got my AP. Then, as the PIN I had was about to expire in October, another PIN offer showed up in an email from Disney Destinations, I think, and it lasted from early October until mid-December. Then, at some point or another, DLR finally put up some discounted rates (for non-AP holders) on the Special Deals portion of their website, and those hotel rates were about $20 more than the ones advertised in my PIN offer, and they also extended to mid-December, but with a slightly different cut-off date.

So far this year, I have one PIN offer I am sitting on right now which lasts until September 30. I know others have gotten the same one. Prior to that, I had one that expired on May 30, which I could not use. I expect that there will be another PIN after the current one expires on 9/30, or maybe an overlapping PIN offer, and that next one would be the one that probably lasts up to mid-December - IF they do another PIN this year, that is. Last year, the offer drew so many people to DLR in October that the hotels were booking up faster than they did for December.

Sherry, I think I had the same pin offer you have...I think it was 35% off, don't forget if you have already booked and then recieve the offer, call reservations and let them know. I was able to use mine after I had already booked, which saved us $1200.00!

 

[Sherry E]

Sherry, I think I had the same pin offer you have...I think it was 35% off, don't forget if you have already booked and then recieve the offer, call reservations and let them know. I was able to use mine after I had already booked, which saved us $1200.00!

Yes, that's the current one I have. I can't remember what the PIN offer discount was that expired on May 30. I haven't booked anything yet for this year. The AP rates are generally better than the PIN offers, but if I don't renew my AP in October, then I may be using a PIN if another one comes along that extends past 9/30!

I did that discount/reservation switcheroo last year in December!! I was scheduled to stay at the GCH on the weekend of 12/26 through 12/29 (no PIN offer for that time). Once I saw the AP rates for December, I switched us over to the PPH for 12/19 - 12/22, and applied the AP rate to it. A new, totally different reservation based on a discount - but it was worth it!

 

[SuzanneSLO]

What is the CP weekend? We will only be there that Thursday and Friday as I know the locals swarm the place on the weekends.

CP is the Candlelight Professional, a presesentation of Christmas music by a massed choir and orchestra with a celebrity narrator of the Christmas story. It is traditionally staged in front of the train station on Saturday and Sunday nights on the first weekend in December. It is free with admission to DL, although there are reserved seats if you are lucky enough to book a dining package. Many locals come for the CP either as part of a traditional holiday celebration or because they have a friend or relative participating in the choir. -- Suzanne