Dumb to book if still waiting for pin?

[nafrpe]

If I'm waiting and hoping to get some kind of discount PIN or free dining, is it a bad idea to book a trip? (For Dec 2010) Won't they know then that they don't "need" to send me a PIN? Or do people that are already booked get discounts and then apply them to existing reservations?

TIA

 

[myhouseofmouse]

i would book it, just to make sure you get the resort you want...you can always change it when you get the pin or another discount comes out. I think you will need to make the change when the pin or promotion comes out though, they will not just make the change.

 

[DisneyJB]

I would probably go ahead and just book it, since the cost is minimal to reserve what you want. Certainly some people have reported getting pins even though they have existing reservations, and then there are people like me who have gone often in the past five years and don't seem to get any pins. So it's hard to say.

In terms of receiving a pin or seeing a public discount on the Disney site - if you get one or there is a public discount, call WDW central reservations to see if you can apply it to your existing reservation. They may not be able to apply it if the exact resort and room category you want isn't available for use with the discount, but in that case you can alter your reservation if you want, since they'll tell you what you can book with the discount. Hope that helps!

 

[Hugpug]

You should go ahead and book and if a pin comes your way you can change you resis to the pin. I just did that today. I got 2 pins the first time in all the years I have been going and I finally got one I could use. The first one I could not use as I already had my park tickets so it would not work. But the one I got today worked for 6 nights of my 10 night trip. I was so excited when my TA was able to change everything to include the 40 percent discount. So far I have a saving of over $800.00 over rack rate.

 

[nilseks]

I would book just so you have something--you can always change resorts or upgrade if necessary, in order to use a PIN. I received a PIN over 3 months after bookiing our hotel, so yes, it does happen. In talking to a few CM's it really sounds like there will be a special for the general public, and you can always take advantage of that and have your package adjusted if a special comes out. That's one of the things I love about Disney!

 

[Mamu]

Book your trip now and wait for the pin, then they can apply it to your present ressie.

We usually book before the 180 day window for ADR. A few weeks ago I got the 20-30-40 pin in my e-mail. Contacted my dream agent with the # and it was applied to my ressie, got over a $2100 savings.

I would do a room only booking and then see what codes and pins are out and pick the one that best for you. We have AP so I rarely do packages, but if a package saved me more money I would do the package.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

I wondered the same thing when planning our Oct. trip. I waited to book until I got a PIN. It only covered part of our trip but I figured it was better than nothing. I was, however, thinking that the chances they'd send me another PIN that covered my entire stay would be pretty slim (or at least, I didn't think they'd send me another 40% off PIN--maybe it'd be a PIN for something else). But low and behold, after a couple of months I did get another 40% off PIN and this time my whole stay was covered. So yes, it can happen!

P.S. I did continue to price out/save itineraries on the WDW site for our dates after I booked but I did it under DH's email since we booked under mine. But the PIN came to my email anyway.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Yes, go ahead and book. I have been playing the waiting game as well, set up three Yahoo accounts, saved itineraries, took the Disney survey when I closed out the window, ordered the planning DVD, and so on. Haven't gotten a thing.

So I booked POR, then decided I wanted CSR, got excited about that only to find out its sold out for our October dates. But then got a CBR pirate room so I am happy about that!

But had I gone ahead and booked sooner, I would have gotten what I first wanted. So if you have a particular thing in mind or even if you don't, you should book. Availablity may be gone if you don't.

Good luck!