Favorite way to book a Disney resort

[raddisneyfan]

Disney online..quick and easy.

 

[mickeynut1]

I always book directly by calling. We've been surprised a couple of times with a lower quoted rate than what was online. And besides, I just find it so exciting to be on the phone with Disney and booking a vacation! To me, the slightly more personal touch you get from calling to book rather than doing it online just gets the magic going.

I'm the same way. I usually book other hotels/trips online, but for Disney, I enjoy talking with the CM .

I even enjoy the hold music!

Me too .

 

[dansdad]

I price everything out online and then I call to book. I find it really fun when the phone CM is as excited as I am that I'm booking a trip. Plus I can put in my room requests right then and there and be done. The options during Online Check In are not applicable and useless in our case.

 

[kiford]

We book though a TA. I provide the information on what I want to book (hotel, tickets, PIN codes, DME, insurance, room requests) and the dates and leave it to them to do all of the legwork. Flights we usually take care of ourselves and I'll book the ADRs and fastpasses myself. I don't mind doing the reservations but I'm too lazy to spend the time on the phone or site to do the bookings myself. And I prefer to have someone I can contact for everything in the event of any issues.

 

[Missymoe4]

I've always booked direct with Disney.
If you look at a Disney Reservation Confirmation you'll see something like. "Magic Your Way" package and on your MDE site it shows up as an "MYW package"
A good friend, who was in Management at WDW, told me that those are key words that CM's look for when guests check in.
The inference is that people booking through Disney can potentially get more positive attention from Disney resort employees.
I'm not saying that's the right way to treat people, but it is good business to reward those who give their patronage directly to the company as opposed to someone who goes through a third party to save a couple of dollars.
And God knows Disney is all about getting those few extra dollars for themselves.

I have always wondered if there was a perk to booking through Disney.

 

[buzznina]

We have did it ourselves through WDW, we look online, but would always call to make the reservation. We did DVC once(not a fan of studios with 1 bed and no daily towels, and they are the only category that you really save $$ on), and the last 2 trips has been an exclusive TA special which beat all discounts that I could find on my own, including stacking with Orbitz.

 

[Sue M]

I've always booked direct with Disney.
If you look at a Disney Reservation Confirmation you'll see something like. "Magic Your Way" package and on your MDE site it shows up as an "MYW package"
A good friend, who was in Management at WDW, told me that those are key words that CM's look for when guests check in.
The inference is that people booking through Disney can potentially get more positive attention from Disney resort employees.
I'm not saying that's the right way to treat people, but it is good business to reward those who give their patronage directly to the company as opposed to someone who goes through a third party to save a couple of dollars.
And God knows Disney is all about getting those few extra dollars for themselves.

You can book a MYW pkg thru a TA too. I've done both, booking myself and booking thru TA and never been treated differently.

 

[100acreHiker]

Our first three trips we booked directly with Disney (using seasonal discounts), but for our upcoming trip we decided to try a TA with the not-to-named-magical-agency because she could get me a room at the resort I wanted (which was otherwise full on Disney's site) at a better price than I could get even with Disney's discount. I handle all the details of our trips, obsessively, otherwise. Also, because we prefer to stay deluxe, I always book with some sort of discount.

 

[Ambehnke]

Our first three trips we booked directly with Disney (using seasonal discounts), but for our upcoming trip we decided to try a TA with the not-to-named-magical-agency because she could get me a room at the resort I wanted (which was otherwise full on Disney's site) at a better price than I could get even with Disney's discount. I handle all the details of our trips, obsessively, otherwise. Also, because we prefer to stay deluxe, I always book with some sort of discount.

This is what we are most considering doing. Besides DVC it seems like the most $$$$ conscious option. We aren't sure about DVC because we want to be flexible with our dates in case there are problems with having my husbands vacation approved at his new job or with getting southwest flights for the day/price we want.

 

[100acreHiker]

This is what we are most considering doing. Besides DVC it seems like the most $$$$ conscious option. We aren't sure about DVC because we want to be flexible with our dates in case there are problems with having my husbands vacation approved at his new job or with getting southwest flights for the day/price we want.

I know it works for a lot of folks, but I would personally not feel comfortable renting DVC points because there are too many working parts in our family that would possibly require date changes, and Disney proper and TAs that work with Disney are usually responsive and flexible to changes. I have school age kids that are often bringing home bugs, a chronic illness of my own, not to mention the fact that we live in the northeast and winter weather is often a factor. The bit of savings between renting points and using a Disney discount or agency exclusive offer is usually not that great, and not worth the stress for me, personally. Plus, I like housekeeping and would opt to pay for the extra visits and that would erase the savings.

 

[gogo]

If you book a villa through Disney, do you get housekeeping, etc? Looking at BWI one bedroom villa.

 

[dansdad]

If you book a villa through Disney, do you get housekeeping, etc? Looking at BWI one bedroom villa.

Yup, daily housekeeping.

 

[Eastern]

I've always booked direct with Disney.
If you look at a Disney Reservation Confirmation you'll see something like. "Magic Your Way" package and on your MDE site it shows up as an "MYW package"
A good friend, who was in Management at WDW, told me that those are key words that CM's look for when guests check in.
The inference is that people booking through Disney can potentially get more positive attention from Disney resort employees.
I'm not saying that's the right way to treat people, but it is good business to reward those who give their patronage directly to the company as opposed to someone who goes through a third party to save a couple of dollars.
And God knows Disney is all about getting those few extra dollars for themselves.

Interesting but the one time we got a ridiculous upgrade was the time I used a TA cause it was cheaper.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Usually I call and book myself. Unless there's a better deal elsewhere, which is rare.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Interesting but the one time we got a ridiculous upgrade was the time I used a TA cause it was cheaper.

Yeah, we never have MYW packages because we typically have AP's. And we have gotten some generous upgrades recently. Even when booked through a TA.

 

[PrincesCJM]

How was online booking? I always call, but have already worked out the cost online.

It went smoothly. I was afraid I'd have to pay for the entire trip but it does allow you to pay less (I did the $200 deposit since it was a room and tickets). I can't recall but you may have been able to choose another amount to pay.

 

[katriscari]

We love renting DVC points through an owner we found on DisBoards We did 2 successful trips in 2015 and are planning another for May 2017 after our second child is born in June!

 

[ffdjs]

We love renting DVC points through an owner we found on DisBoards We did 2 successful trips in 2015 and are planning another for May 2017 after our second child is born in June!

Who is the owner that you rent through?

 

[SwanVT2]

Used to call to book, which is very magical. However, to be able to afford deluxe, we rented DVC through an outside company the last time and have done so for our upcoming trip. We always spend the little bit extra for trip insurance.

 

[MsThumper]

I've always booked direct with Disney.
If you look at a Disney Reservation Confirmation you'll see something like. "Magic Your Way" package and on your MDE site it shows up as an "MYW package"
A good friend, who was in Management at WDW, told me that those are key words that CM's look for when guests check in.
The inference is that people booking through Disney can potentially get more positive attention from Disney resort employees.
I'm not saying that's the right way to treat people, but it is good business to reward those who give their patronage directly to the company as opposed to someone who goes through a third party to save a couple of dollars.
And God knows Disney is all about getting those few extra dollars for themselves.

Not true for us. We were at the Grand Floridian in February. I booked through Orbitz because Disney was only offering a 10% room discount. I was able to stack an Orbitz discount on top of the room price which was the same as being offered by Disney, resulting in a 30% discount which was more than a couple of dollars. When we checked in, we were surprised to find that we had been upgraded from a standard garden view to the deluxe garden view.