Explain to a newbie how to make sure I can get a discount

[mommymanda]

When I started looking into this trip 4 years ago, I thought it was crazy people were talking about booking at full rate and hoping for a discount. WHAT there is no way I can even dream of booking unless there is some deal to save me money and it is applied as soon as I book.

Well as mentioned above this trip has been in the planning for FOUR years , and each time something comes up to postpone it.

This time UH UH NO WAY we are going August 2014! Nothing will hold us back, including pricing!

If I am booking my trip in December, for August. I know discounts are not released until around May. What will I have to do come that time to make sure I can get a discount.

I know that it all varies, where your staying, what you've booked etc. Yet from keeping an eye on pricing over the years it seems there is always something of a discount no matter what you book/where you stay.

When I read that people are on the phones for hours waiting is this what I have to look forward to (I do plan to book myself)? Do you have to get in touch right away? I work 8-4, is that going to mess up my chances if I don't start that phone call until 4 or 5pm when I am home? I guess if need be I can take a personal day to spend on the phone, but not sure work would appreciate it

Any tips to help make sure I am able to apply the discount when/if it is released? I may be planning this trip no matter what the starting cost, but in honesty life will go a lot smoother for us if I can apply a deal or two.

Thanks

 

[AThrillingChase]

I called this past Saturday and waited maybe 20 minutes. I have never really waited all that long. But, they are open weekends as a last resort so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

People book now to reserve a room and start paying towards it. Disney does not make you pay in full immediately. You will either owe one nights rate or $200 deposit at booking, depending on if you do room only or a package. So, basically it does no harm to book now and call to have the discount applied when it is released. And yes, disney very steadily gives room discounts. You can search for historical discounts and when they were released via google. This process is fairly commonly done with disney so you shouldnt have trouble.

Make sure you watch here and get the dis email news everyday. They will announce new discounts in it. Then, just call, say "my reservation" at the prompt and tell them to add the promotion for you. They do have limited rooms for most promotions, but general room discounts are not usually that hard to snag. Free dining is the one that is more difficult sometimes. GL!

 

[mommymanda]

I called this past Saturday and waited maybe 20 minutes. I have never really waited all that long. But, they are open weekends as a last resort so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

People book now to reserve a room and start paying towards it. Disney does not make you pay in full immediately. You will either owe one nights rate or $200 deposit at booking, depending on if you do room only or a package. So, basically it does no harm to book now and call to have the discount applied when it is released. And yes, disney very steadily gives room discounts. You can search for historical discounts and when they were released via google. This process is fairly commonly done with disney so you shouldnt have trouble.

Make sure you watch here and get the dis email news everyday. They will announce new discounts in it. Then, just call, say "my reservation" at the prompt and tell them to add the promotion for you. They do have limited rooms for most promotions, but general room discounts are not usually that hard to snag. Free dining is the one that is more difficult sometimes. GL!

Thanks that is good to know. So far the plan is AOA 7 day package with DDP. So I know I'm not going to see a huge savings, but even a few hundred off the total would help us out in the end.

A dream would be a FD package open up when we plan to go. I'd even take the day off work if need be to wait for that one . I figured realistically though I'll most likely find a 10-15% room discount or if luck be some type of package discount since we are planning to get it all.

 

[TammyC]

If you are a member of AAA there may already be a room discount available (average 10-20%). You must call Disney reservations and ask them to check availability for it. Those discounts would be in the sytem by December if not now. You can book that and change to something better if it comes out later.

For the last promotion, I got online the first day around 7:15 am and completed my discounted room only ressie in less than 10 minutes. Easy!

Tammy