How can I tell if a pin code is really a good deal?

[PrincessAnnabell]

How can I tell if a pin code is really a good deal? Are the special offers I get in the mail, really special? Is there a board to discuss the deals going on right now? I got an offer of 20% off value, 25% mod, and 30% deluxe. There are 9 of us and we have only been once before. Is this a good deal?

 

[NotUrsula]

A bit of research, and a bit of math. A "good deal" is subjective; it depends on what factors are important to you in a vacation.

Go to the reservations website and WITHOUT your code, plug in your preferences to price out the trip you want for the dates you are considering. That will give you a rack rate baseline to work from.
Then do the same thing with the code to determine what the real savings are.

Offsite may be fine for you and save you still more; again, it's all about what is important. For instance, if you REALLY want to be able to go to EMH, then offsite will not be for you.

Also, read up on sites like Mousesavers, which have lots of comparison info to help guide you.

 

[eyor44]

The discount you recieved is 5% more than the general public. Plus your dates are probably better.

 

[Sagginit]

yup was just gonna say that. the 5% more is good i think if you planned on not booking rack rate over say free dining discount.

we got free dining. i think its the same as the general public offer, but we got it a few months before it went public. it worked out b/c we got the security of booking our meals before the rush and we had more time to lock in a lower airfare.

so technically it may not seem better than the deal that went public, but i know we got an advantage.

 

[eliza61]

The discount you recieved is 5% more than the general public. Plus your dates are probably better.

Really? I pretty much stay deluxe and they always seem to be discounted by 30%. I am a dvc member so maybe that's why but I don't get interested unless it's 30% off.

In fact if you go on the disneyworld website they have a 30% off room discount to the general public from 9/29-11/22 and 11/30-12/20 if you book by september 15th.

I really thought 30% is rather routine.

 

[Bete]

With 9 people going on vacation to Disney World it just depends what the dynamics are with everyone. If you want to stay all together then a rental home will probably be your best bet. You may have to have someone sleep on a sofa bed to keep costs down. This option will probably be better off site. Having a car when you are off site is usually a better way to go.

The perk of getting extra magic hours in the parks can be a real incentive to stay on site. It's only an incentive if you use it. Many do not like to get up early or stay up real late to take advantage of it.

A pincode deal has to be under the person who received it when making all the reservations. All the resort rooms you get must be under the pinholder's name and they become financially responsible for all those reservations.

We have stayed both off and on site and we really like the amenities for the money off site. Having an included breakfast has always been a good perk staying off site. You can get many places close by. Having your own car is the way to go if you are off site. There are hotels with shuttle service, but the schedules back and forth to the parks are pretty restrictive. Also, you get left off at a certain location like Epcot and then it's up to you to get to whatever other park you need to go to.

Most pincodes are a better deal or at least the same as what's offered to the general public. Sometimes, there are multiple offers available to the general public. Right now, the general public can choose from a resort discount or free dining. If you stay at an expensive deluxe resort often times the room savings trumps free dining especially if there are one or two people to a room.

By going to Disney's website for reservations you can plug in dates and resorts and see what the price is without your pincode. You may have a link to do the same with your pincode. Then you can compare to see the difference. As others have stated pincodes will usually be a better deal than a general public offer and you get a jump on most on available rooms. There are only a limited amount of these offers available and getting a head start over any other offers can be beneficial.

If pincodes weren't a better offer one way or the other they wouldn't be so sought after.

 

[eliza61]

W
By going to Disney's website for reservations you can plug in dates and resorts and see what the price is without your pincode. You may have a link to do the same with your pincode. Then you can compare to see the difference. As others have stated pincodes will usually be a better deal than a general public offer and you get a jump on most on available rooms. There are only a limited amount of these offers available and getting a head start over any other offers can be beneficial.

If pincodes weren't a better offer one way or the other they wouldn't be so sought after.

I always thought they were a dis "prize" like all the stories about getting upgraded to a suite.


But I'm still confused, how is a 30% pincode better than a 30% general offer. Isn't 30% still only worth 30%? I've never gotten a pincode so I truly don't know.