Good Idea? Anyone tried this??

[FairyDust27]

Hey, I was wondering if any budget families have thought of this:

We are taking our Disney vacation the last week of March for my daughter and husbands birthdays. Like many people we are using a good chunk of our tax refund to do this. The only issue is that we wont receive our refund until later in February. I was worried about making a hotel reservation so late and not being able to get a room. I looked up how much it would be to put a down payment on our entire trip and it just wasn't what we are able to do this week. So, I booked a room with two beds with just my husband and I as guests. I didn't purchase any tickets, add our kids or add the meal plan yet. I just wanted to make sure our room could be booked a soon and cheap as possible.

Next month I want to add our two kiddos, dining plan and tickets. How hard would this be?? Could I run into any obstacles?? Thanks!!

 

[Marionnette]

Hey, I was wondering if any budget families have thought of this:

We are taking our Disney vacation the last week of March for my daughter and husbands birthdays. Like many people we are using a good chunk of our tax refund to do this. The only issue is that we wont receive our refund until later in February. I was worried about making a hotel reservation so late and not being able to get a room. I looked up how much it would be to put a down payment on our entire trip and it just wasn't what we are able to do this week. So, I booked a room with two beds with just my husband and I as guests. I didn't purchase any tickets, add our kids or add the meal plan yet. I just wanted to make sure our room could be booked a soon and cheap as possible.

Next month I want to add our two kiddos, dining plan and tickets. How hard would this be?? Could I run into any obstacles?? Thanks!!

You could have added your children and it would not have cost you anything more. Children are free when staying in their parents' room as long as they are age 17 or under.

For some people, it's cheaper to put a deposit on a package ($200, regardless of the level of resort, the number of people, length of stay, or the addons such as tickets and dining plan) than it is to put down a deposit for a room-only reservation. Room-only reservations require the equivalent of one night's stay to hold the room and even the moderate resorts can cost more than $200 for one night.

But since you want the dining plan and tickets, that will turn your room-only reservation into a package when you change the booking. At that point, the terms for payment change. With a room-only reservation, you pay your deposit and then the balance is due when you check in. When you have a package, you pay your deposit and then the balance is due 45 days prior to your arrival. IOW, you will most likely have to pay the entire amount when you call to change your reservation into a package, since you're going in March.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

This is what I always do. Although I usually include everyone who will be in the room in the booking because I think there might be a charge to add or change people. I add on everything else much later.

TP

 

[POOHsie]

I'd be worried about availability of rooms if you change from room-only to package. Disney would not be modifying your room-only reservation. They would be booking a completely new reservation. They would cancel your room-only and send you a refund for the deposit. That close to your arrival date, it's very possible that the booking rate you had for room-only wouldn't be available. Quite honestly, there's little-to-no reason to get the dining plan. You will probably come out ahead to pay OOP for all food at WDW. You could charge your expenditures on your MagicBands to a room-charging CC, which would be just as convenient as paying for food with your MagicBand by accessing dining credits. And you can get tickets online, separately, for making FP+ reservations.

 

[bjscheel]

If you had a Disney Visa, you could put the deposit/package on it and have 6 months interest free to pay it off. You could make minimum payments until you get your refund. If you don't have one, I don't know how long it would take to get it, but it might be worth looking in to.

 

[MSSANDRA]

If you know you are getting the amount needed with your refund, I would cancel the room only and book what you want and need now. BTW- We like the DDP. I like having it all paid for and not having anyone feel like they have to order the cheapest meal or skip dessert to save money. It just works for us.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

You would be moving from a room only ressie to a package ressie. Those are 2 different reservation systems at Disney.

I would book the package now and pay the 200.00 deposit and have what you want.

Then you can pay it off when you get your refund - it sounds like it would arrive before the 45 day payment deadline.

 

[tzolkin]

There isn't much of a difference between a deposit on a room only reservation (cost of one night) and a package ($200). The package deposit may actually be less. I see rates for March at Pop are $197+ tax, so the deposit would be over $200.

 

[Donnainnj]

If you are going to change from a room only reservation to a package your're risking your reservation number changing and loosing any fastpasses you have reserved. At least that is something I have read about people experiencing in the past. Donna

 

[mommyjam]

Just be aware the IRS is warning that there could be delays this year in getting your refund due to budget cuts. I heard it could be up to a month delay for some people.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

The deposit on a full package is only $200. Is that what you're having trouble scraping together to put down?

 

[msmama]

I think the current offers run through March, but you could end up missing out on any discounts, too, if they change before you switch from room only to package. Additionally, if there are any price increases between now and when you change you'd be paying the higher prices.

That said, I often do room only reservations because for my family, the discount is better. I can then call and add tickets at any time (dining plan doesn't work for my family so we don't do it).

Also, if you're really that tight financially (even temporarily) you might want to look into skipping dining plan and buying disney gift cards instead. That way the food is still "prepayed" but you're not locked into the dining plan.

 

[willowsnn3]

If I'm not mistaken the dining plan can be added up until 3 days before your trip. So I would call and add everyone to the reservation with maybe 1 ticket each (you can upgrade that once you get there) and then ask if you can add dining later.
We love the dining plan when we take kids with us. If you are doing a lot of character meals it is way cheaper than paying out of pocket.

 

[dpswift]

If I'm not mistaken the dining plan can be added up until 3 days before your trip. So I would call and add everyone to the reservation with maybe 1 ticket each (you can upgrade that once you get there) and then ask if you can add dining later.
We love the dining plan when we take kids with us. If you are doing a lot of character meals it is way cheaper than paying out of pocket.

I agree with adding the DP later. Our family likes DP and it works best for us.

I think that you need to buy all your tickets in order to make FPs. When my kids went to Disney they did not have tickets for one day and they were unable to schedule FPs for that day.

 

[Disneefun]

Just be aware the IRS is warning that there could be delays this year in getting your refund due to budget cuts. I heard it could be up to a month delay for some people.

Yep. They've had to layoff a lot of people and are warning about extreme delays in refunds, inability to get through on the phones, etc. (The head of the IRS even begged people not to call for tax help, to get their answers online, because they just don't have the manpower.)

So I'm not sure I'd be counting on a refund this year to plan a trip with, unless that trip were going to be much later in the spring/summer.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

I wouldn't worry too much of a delay if you're filling electronically. And it's not that bad if you're filling by mail.


From: http://money.cnn.com/2015/01/13/pf/taxes/tax-refund-delay/

IRS warns of tax refund delays
January 16 NEW YORK
The IRS normally issues taxpayer refunds quickly. But this year, some filers are going to have to wait.
Due to budget cuts, people who file paper tax returns could wait an extra week for their refund — "or possibly longer," wrote IRS Commissioner John Koskinen in a memo to employees Tuesday. And filers with errors or questions that require additional review will also face delays.
The agency still plans to issue 9 out of 10 refunds within 21 days. But refunds for paper returns - which normally take four to six weeks - could take at least 7 weeks, the agency later announced.