January 2013 Discounts

[cutigress]

That's what we had to do too. We are bringing the WHOLE family along this time (DH, DD, and I, plus both of my parents, plus DH's mom, aunt, and grandmother). Coordinating work schedules (I'm a nurse who has to put in for leave way in advance) and school schedules (two teachers in there) meant we had to have firm dates. So we went ahead and booked. Hopefully things work out for us to add on some dining. *fingers crossed* But if it doesn't work out, oh well.

 

[CindyNewYork]

I want to bring my four grandchildren (and their parents) to Disneyworld for their first visit, in January! I think I'm going to book the airfare now, because I'm worried the prices will go up by the time any January discounts come out. I think I'll hold off on the rooms for now...we're going to stay in a Value Resort.

It's going to be a surprise for them and I'm so excited about it!!

 

[momof2gr8kids]

We've booked our flights Jan 30-Feb.8.

Hoping for FD as we are a family of 5 - 4 disney "adults". Otherwise I think we will stay offsite. Who knows, I change my mind daily.

But, at least the flights are set and I can get down to some serious planning.

 

[loveshak22]

I want to bring my four grandchildren (and their parents) to Disneyworld for their first visit, in January! I think I'm going to book the airfare now, because I'm worried the prices will go up by the time any January discounts come out. I think I'll hold off on the rooms for now...we're going to stay in a Value Resort.

It's going to be a surprise for them and I'm so excited about it!!

That'll be a fabulous surprise!!!!!

 

[Sue M]

I've got a pile of 2012 discount emails and postcards from Disney it seems.

Been crossing my fingers for a room-only discount for January value season dates. Should I just book a room somewhere now and hope to dump it/adjust it if discounts come out? We have a very limited window in which we can travel so I'm afraid we won't get a resort we want - am I just being hyper here?

The thing is, just because you already have a reservation, it doesn't guarantee that you'll get a discount at that resort if one comes out. It will guarantee you'll get a room at your chosen resort at rack rate, that's all.

 

[yooperfan]

I just called for Magic Rewards Visa or annual pass discounts for January and she said January discounts probably won't be out until November. She was very nice, so I don't think she was trying to be flip about it. She said their definitely would be discounts. Maybe people wouldn't be holding dining ressies they might not need if they'd release the discounts and eligible dates in a timely manner. It would fit into the 3 mo. before time period mentioned in another post for release timing of discounts. I'm still holding out for end of September though. I believe, I believe, I believe!

 

[yooperfan]

The thing is, just because you already have a reservation, it doesn't guarantee that you'll get a discount at that resort if one comes out. It will guarantee you'll get a room at your chosen resort at rack rate, that's all.

But... If your trying to save money, you may not be able to get a standard room (the cheapest) or resort you want if you wait. If discounts don't end up fitting into your plans and it's not that far out when you find out, your choices may be more limited for room categories.

 

[loveshak22]

The thing is, just because you already have a reservation, it doesn't guarantee that you'll get a discount at that resort if one comes out. It will guarantee you'll get a room at your chosen resort at rack rate, that's all.

I'm not sure I understand?? So if I book a room now, a discount comes out that applies to my dates of travel and the resort where I booked my room there's a chance I wouldn't get the discount?

 

[yooperfan]

I'm not sure I understand?? So if I book a room now, a discount comes out that applies to my dates of travel and the resort where I booked my room there's a chance I wouldn't get the discount?

They allot a certain number of rooms and room categories per deal. Sometimes they don't even include some resorts and rooms if their occupancy doesn't warrant it. If available, you can switch to the deal from room only. If it isn't and you haven't reserved what your willing to go with, you may end up having to upgrade if room only you wanted is sold out.

 

[loveshak22]

They allot a certain number of rooms and room categories per deal. Sometimes they don't even include some resorts and rooms if their occupancy doesn't warrant it. If available, you can switch to the deal from room only. If it isn't and you haven't reserved what your willing to go with, you may end up having to upgrade if room only you wanted is sold out.

That makes sense - thanks! For me, I'd take any discount over my resort choice. If it came down to staying at AKL (where I've reserved for January) and getting a discount at say WL then I'd be going to WL!

 

[Sue M]

But... If your trying to save money, you may not be able to get a standard room (the cheapest) or resort you want if you wait. If discounts don't end up fitting into your plans and it's not that far out when you find out, your choices may be more limited for room categories.

True, but poster said they were def. looking for discounts, and as we know, booking a room doesn't mean you will get a discount on it, and will prob. Work against you booking at rack rate. Because if resort or room category is full enough at rack rate, it won't get a discount.

I wonder how many people actually keep their reservations at rack rate if their resort didn't get a discount, like WL and POFQ during summer discounts. And if this selective discounting is working for wow. Personally if I booked FQ at rack rate with hopes that the 25% mod discount would be available but wdw only discounted FQ 5% I'd move to another resort and cancel FQ.

 

[loveshak22]

True, but poster said they were def. looking for discounts, and as we know, booking a room doesn't mean you will get a discount on it, and will prob. Work against you booking at rack rate. Because if resort or room category is full enough at rack rate, it won't get a discount.

I wonder how many people actually keep their reservations at rack rate if their resort didn't get a discount, like WL and POFQ during summer discounts. And if this selective discounting is working for wow. Personally if I booked FQ at rack rate with hopes that the 25% mod discount would be available but wdw only discounted FQ 5% I'd move to another resort and cancel FQ.

me too!

 

[DQUIN5340]

Have rooms booked, just hope the discounts are out by December 1 (final payment date), but are going even if they aren't. Have booked flights for the 7 of us. Plus have already told my 5 year old granddaughter we are going. And that we are having dinner in Belle's castle. Her face was priceless.

 

[scjo68]

I think the question is how flexible you are, and what your priority is.

If being in a certain resort is a priority, and you want a certain category within that resort, and can afford to pay the rate offered, then I would book room only before a discount comes out. The discount may or may not apply later. You can make changes later, if you need to.

This would not be the best way to get a discount, because the more total bookings they have at a certain resort, the less likely they will include it in discounts. Also, if you have a reservation booked, in my experience, you are less likely to get sent a pin code.

If you are not picky about where you stay, but are more interested in paying the lowest price possible, you have more leverage, and can wait, IMO. As long as you aren't going in high season, there should always be something available- maybe even off site.

We always know where we want to stay ahead of time. In the past, we got PIN codes very early on and booked with them from the beginning. But when no pins came out for us this year, we knew we wanted to stay in POFQ in Aug., so we were willing to book with only a AAA discount, even if it meant we would never get any additional discount. We are not free-spirited, "We will stay anywhere for a good price" folks.

For our January trip, we are booked at POR, because that's where we want to be, and will pay for it without a discount if we need to. If a really good discount comes out later, we may keep POR or even upgrade to BC. I am not willing to pay rack or AAA rate for BC. So no sense booking a room there now. Either way, I know we have a room already reserved for our trip.

 

[Momto2PrncChrmgs]

I just called for Magic Rewards Visa or annual pass discounts for January and she said January discounts probably won't be out until November. She was very nice, so I don't think she was trying to be flip about it. She said their definitely would be discounts. Maybe people wouldn't be holding dining ressies they might not need if they'd release the discounts and eligible dates in a timely manner. It would fit into the 3 mo. before time period mentioned in another post for release timing of discounts. I'm still holding out for end of September though. I believe, I believe, I believe!

Like a previous poster said, I don't want to book before discounts are out in case Disney thinks they don't need to offer them since rooms are filling, HOWEVER, I can't wait until November. I'm giving in after the first of October. I just can't hold out any longer.

C'mon,free dining!!!

 

[Sue M]

I think the question is how flexible you are, and what your priority is.

If being in a certain resort is a priority, and you want a certain category within that resort, and can afford to pay the rate offered, then I would book room only before a discount comes out. The discount may or may not apply later. You can make changes later, if you need to.

This would not be the best way to get a discount, because the more total bookings they have at a certain resort, the less likely they will include it in discounts. Also, if you have a reservation booked, in my experience, you are less likely to get sent a pin code.

If you are not picky about where you stay, but are more interested in paying the lowest price possible, you have more leverage, and can wait, IMO. As long as you aren't going in high season, there should always be something available- maybe even off site.

We always know where we want to stay ahead of time. In the past, we got PIN codes very early on and booked with them from the beginning. But when no pins came out for us this year, we knew we wanted to stay in POFQ in Aug., so we were willing to book with only a AAA discount, even if it meant we would never get any additional discount. We are not free-spirited, "We will stay anywhere for a good price" folks.

For our January trip, we are booked at POR, because that's where we want to be, and will pay for it without a discount if we need to. If a really good discount comes out later, we may keep POR or even upgrade to BC. I am not willing to pay rack or AAA rate for BC. So no sense booking a room there now. Either way, I know we have a room already reserved for our trip.

We booked for January with 20% AAA discount at POFQ which was better then recent wdw 5% POFQ discount. Wdw doesn't seem to be releasing many discounts for FQ lately. So we can live with 20%

 

[haPevraftr]

True, but poster said they were def. looking for discounts, and as we know, booking a room doesn't mean you will get a discount on it, and will prob. Work against you booking at rack rate. Because if resort or room category is full enough at rack rate, it won't get a discount.

I wonder how many people actually keep their reservations at rack rate if their resort didn't get a discount, like WL and POFQ during summer discounts. And if this selective discounting is working for wow. Personally if I booked FQ at rack rate with hopes that the 25% mod discount would be available but wdw only discounted FQ 5% I'd move to another resort and cancel FQ.

In the past, when we travel at spring break, I have always booked a value early because it is all we can afford without a discount. I book it to be sure I have what I want regardless of discount. The last few times we have traveled, we were later sent pin codes for % off mods or deluxes which allowed us to upgrade. When we travel this January, our cost at Bonnet Creek was so much lower than a Disney resort w/ a discount that we committed to stay offsite regardless of discount offerings.

 

[lucas]

Waiting for AP or Florida resident discount for January. Right now we have AOA booked with a AAA rate.

 

[lucifie]

We're booked for 1/21-1/27. I'm prepared to pay what we were quoted, but it would be really nice if it was less. I'm hoping for free dining, but I'll take what I can get. We might extend it a day or two if it's a good enough deal.

 

[lucifie]

I want to add that we booked already because we don't have a lot of flexibility with our dates and there's a fairly limited number of affordable places that can accommodate my family of 6. We are booked at POR since the little one is still young enough to not count as a person. We're going whether or not we get a discount, but depending on what's available we might change resorts or extend our trip by a day or two.

We're arriving on MLK Day. Does anyone know if they usually offer discounts that week? I saw a chart somewhere that says that week is considered "value", so I'm hoping they do, but last year they didn't offer any discounts MLK week. I couldn't tell if thee was something else going on that week, though. If you just look at the dates, they offered free dining on the corresponding week last year.