How Soon To Book Room

[WDWannabe]

Hey, Just wanted to thank everyone with all the advice! It has made me decide on our trip. We will be going the week before Mem. Day. My question is should I make a resv asap or wait till or if they post codes? Also, we may get APs, what if we make resv and then get APs at park or should we get before?
Thanks

 

[disneyfreakjackie]

BOOK IT NOW!!!! Why wait!!! You can apply a code when one comes out!!

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

No reason to wait. If you know when you are going and where you want to stay book now.
Last year we used (for the first time) a Disney specialist we found on mousesaver.com. WDWVacations.com booked us with a AAA discount originally and then changed our reservations two more times as discounts came out later on. We saved around $800.00. They will continually look for discounts they can apply to your reservation (including AP) right up until your trip. They also made our priority seatings for us. Great service and FREE!!!!
Why worry about codes, discounts, etc. Let the Disney specialists do it.

 

[susy]

I'm going the same weekend and I'm waiting. The more rooms that are booked ahead of time, the less the rooms that will be discounted. I did get a discount for exactly what I wanted for last year (same weekend). Codes are not "applied" to your room. Your room is sold when you book it (at rack rate). When you get a discount, it's on a room that has not yet been sold. So, if there are no rooms available at the code rate, you pay the rate you agreed to.

 

[d96j97]

Now wait a minute...from what the CM told me when I booked with a AAA rate, he said that when/if codes come out it would be applied to my room with no problem. From what other DISers said, they had no problem with this also. Has anyone ever had a problem applying a code to an existing reservation?

 

[weluvpluto]

I wait until the codes come out for the same reasons susy posted.

Also, we can not afford to pay rack rate at the moderates or deluxes, so I'm not going to make a reservation at that rate if I'm going to cancel it if there are no codes or there are no rooms available at that resort at the AP rate.

d96j97 - there has to be a room available for the discount at the resort you made the reservation for in order for you to get the discount. Two years ago I made a reservation at POR without a code, then when the codes came out I tried to get it applied and there was no availability at that resort, so I had to make a new reservation at CSR and cancel the one for POR.

 

[d96j97]

Thanks for the information. Now I don't know what to do because we were honestly planning on canceling if no codes came out. Even with the AAA discount, the woods view room was $238 + tax. That is crazy when in the past we have gotten WL for $139 with codes. Now I'm confused on what to do. I never get those wonderful email codes or postcards...I usually just wait for Mousesavers.com codes to be published.

 

[airjoe]

If you have no intention of keeping a rack rate reservation don't bother making it.

You just take the room out of availability and make it less likely that the rooms at that resort will be discounted.

The whole purpose of discounting rooms is to make sure that they are occupied. If they are all sold at rack they will not offer discounts.

 

[genetic jackhammer]

Susy is right. last year we had reserved a room at the Polynesian with the AAA rate. When the codes came out..I tried to apply the code to my room but they said couldn't do that, could only get a code specific room (vacant room) and the Polynesian was sold out. Could have stayed at AKL but didn't want to. So be careful in your advance booking, since depending on what is happening the time you are going, there may not be many code specific rooms. Just so I don't depress anyone out there, last year was the first time in 3 years I could not apply a code to a previously booked room. Just our luck, the time we were going was also the dates of a major mcDonalds convention at Disney and that caused the scarcity of available code specific rooms. Naturally the time we are booked this year is May 3-9..who knew that would be the time of the 50th Celebration?? I can't win!!

 

[TheIncredibles]

I guess we've been lucky; we usually book 8-10 months out and have reduced our total room cost each year. As the code release date approaches, we watch weekly, then daily for the codes and call relentlessy until we have discounted our package.