How to get the best deal

[petra]

Hello everyone. I just returned from a 7 day land/sea cruise/WDW vacation on the 16th. We had an absolute blast. We stayed at CBR and were upgraded to a corner balcony room for the cruise.
While we thought the rooms at CBR were ok, we were very disappointed with the food. The food court was pretty lacking and Shutters was just so-so.
We are now planning another trip same time- first/second week of January but instead are doing 7 days in WDW.
I was REALLY wanting to stay in a deluxe this time around but just cant afford the rack rates (this will be our second family trip) But need some help on how to get the best price. Should I book now and wait for something to open up- or wait until the summer to book? Is there anyway to get discounts on the rooms during the value season- and if so, what percentage off can I look forward to?
Thanks to all that offer suggestions. I asked for help on planning my last trip and was so overwhelmed by the great suggestions and help I recieved- This is such a great board!
Hope everyone has a great day.
Petra

 

[cbrfan]

I think that by booking the first/second week of Jan. you would be able to get a discount when they come out. That being said, I would book a resort that you could pay rack rate if need be to ensure you have a place. Then once you get a look at any discounted rates try to snag one of them.

 

[dpic]

Welcome to the Disboards, petra

First thing, "rack rate" sends chills down the spines of everyone around here. I bet if a poll were taken, 80-99% of the people on this board use a code for at least part of their trip.

January is a good time for discounts since it's not a highly visited time (relatively). You can get a good code at WL and the CR for this time in the mid $100. What we do is make a AAA ressie for a standard room at WL. This runs around $188 in value season. Then If we don't get a code, we can live with this rate for a deluxe. If we get a code, then we upgrade from there. Although I've heard people have been asked for their AAA number, we never have (although I am a member). So, even if you don't have a AAA membership, make the ressie, then if you don't get a better code discount before leaving for your trip join at that point. The discount would cover your membership.

AAA discounts are around 10-15% (better than nothing), and codes generally are around 40% off.

Good-luck!

Edit: Thought I'd add that codes are normally released about three months ahead of time. Here's a link showing a code "history" of release dates (mousesavers.com is a great site, too). So, as suggested above I'd get a ressie in a price range you feel comfortable with now. Then play the code waiting game. If you don't get a good code, at least you'll have a room.