How long is maintenance??

[jcw2]

I finally got ready to book my trip and the disney booking engine is down for maintenance...grr!! Does anyone know how long this usually lasts?
Thanks!!!

 

[wannagoback]

I don't know, but I'm pretty sure that I was able to take advantage of a glitch today. I checked prices online and the different between a 5-night package and 5-nights of hotel only at the DLH was $1200. The cost of tickets would only have been $800 so I called to ask why the huge price difference. It was giving me 5 nights in a upper-level view room at DLH for $1300. When I called, the package price was the same (as online) but the hotel quote on the phone was $2200! So I booked online. I wasn't necessarily ready to book, but the CM couldn't explain the nearly $1,000 price difference so I thought that I better take advantage! Maybe they are fixing it...

 

[bumbershoot]

Could be short, could be long...disney sites are so ridiculous you never totally know.

Maybe you could take some time while they're down, look into other options! Member of Costco or AAA, could check them out, see if price and perks are better/more fun. Could price it out separately if the package things don't matter to you (lanyard, etc...though with Costco Travel the price is often the same AND they through in a character breakfast voucher for each person)....

 

[jcw2]

Thanks bumbershoot for the tip...I did continue to do more research. I'm not really sure if it's a good thing...I'm very indecisive. I'd probably be better to just book it and be done, but at least it's fun reading!!! I think I'm driving DH crazy...just so excited for the kiddos (ok, and me)!
Now...I'm gonna check out Costco!!
Thanks!

 

[bumbershoot]

That's how I was too, and that's how I just decided "eh, book it!" though I used Costco Travel.

And then later I realized that since were planning to upgrade our APs anyway, if I'd looked at the special AP rates for the time we were going (falltime in 2007 they had some incredible onsite rates), I could have saved some money just booking the AP rate and not doing the package.

But we stuck with the package, and it's nice to know what you do and don't like from the package, it was worth the few hundred...

So it's all up to you and your personal definition of value (for us that's ever-changing, I feel like I'm doing algorithms in my head sometimes). And sometimes it's nice to just get it DONE.

But having the character breakfast from Costco Travel is nice, if the prices are otherwise the same or really close.

 

[jcw2]

Thanks bumbershoot so much for the advice. After much deliberation and changing my mind a million times, I booked the FFI thru Costco at the same rate as the Disney website and got the free breakfast, a $20 gift card and the MTMM passes.
And thanks to the Disney website for doing "maintenance"...it got me about $130 of extras. I love the Disboards!!!
21 days til Disneyland!!!