Is this an option? How would we work it?

[mommymanda]

I'm planning my trip August 2014. We are going my family of 5 ( 2adults and 3kids). We are trying to make it a great one time vacation, but still stay on a pretty tight budget. We will be getting a DDP. My parents will also be joining us with their own reservation.

At this point I've been pricing the 2nd week as my youngest will still be a 2 year old and free. I have a few concerns with this, one that it is much more crowded that week, two the discounts historically are not that great, and three he eats like a monster so we'll still be paying a chunk extra to feed him. If we move to the 3rd or 4th week however, at rack rate, we're looking at an extra $1000 which is to steep of a jump for me to consider.

My parents suggested we put one of the kids on their reservation. We are planning POP and going to request rooms near each other anyhow. Doing that would only increase the price by $425 and I can manage that. They are fine with having someone share the room so we are not planning any sneaky/squishy room swaps.

My main concern is what happens if my parents are tired long before the kids and want to head to their room for a bit. If a child is linked to their reservation can we still keep them with us for meals/tickets?

Also how difficult will it be to switch things around when discounts are released? Say if POR-riverside can be booked for the same price as our POP stay and all 5 can be in one room I would do that for my parents sanity. I'm guessing we'd have to cancel and rebook both reservations, but than we'd do that for any discount change correct?

I'm sure others have booked like this, so any advice or tips would be appreciated.

 

[dansdad]

If a child is linked to their reservation can we still keep them with us for meals/tickets?

Yup. Except for the 2 yr. old, the child on your parents reservation will have their own Magic Band linked to the tickets and dining credits on your parents reservation.

Also how difficult will it be to switch things around when discounts are released?

As long as your just changing resorts, it's really easy. They will just modify your existing reservation. It gets tricky when you are going from a room only to a package or vice versa. In those scenarios, the original would have to be cancelled and the other booked.

 

[Kimberle]

Dining credits are pooled for a room, not by guest. I think as long as you request the child's meal to be billed separate, you can use his/her room key to pay for their meal. (That's how it worked in the past, not sure how/if the magic bands will change things.)

Last year I had a TA book a reservation for me. Months later, a discount came out and she was able to apply the discount to my reservation. I didn't have to change anything. I don't know how it would work if you are switching resorts.

Also, my TA (from Dreams Unlimited, was able to obtain a 15% AAA discount for me when I made my booking. I was not able to obtain that discount on my own.