June/July/August 2006 Code watch

[ADisneygirl]

I for one have given up and we're going in may instead with the pre 6/3 code. It would be MUCH more convenient for several reasons for us to go in June, but I just don't know if the codes are going to happen. I already had a May trip planned, but I'm having to really switch things around to get to go. We were hoping for June. Oh well. Glad I didn't cancel my may trip. POR here we come.

PamNC

I changed our plans too because even though later in June was the most convenient I still wanted a good rate. Now I watch this thread, but not quite as anxiously. I would try and get a few days in July if codes are released, but at least now even though my trip is sooner than I wanted, we are still getting to go!

 

[EEyorelover22]

I have been flamed before by not having my AP yet and trying to get codes.(even though I fully intend to buy one IF codes come out) now I am soo glad I havent bought one. I am waiting till next Friday then I am going to the disney store to buy tickets but by the looks of it it wont be aps.

I haven't renewed mine yet that's for sure!

 

[MAKmom]

I wonder if they are going to skip the 4th of July this year also. Start the code July 7. If they skip June- July 4th will be skipped over. That being said I'm going June 20 to June 28 to the Beach Club. I told DH weeks ago they may not have a code. We have our airfare & are using our AP from the last trip. We have the DDE card too. Well maybe it will not be as crowed

 

[PamNC]

What dining plan are you speaking of? The one I know of starts August 13th. I am hoping that there is something out there that I do not know about.

Sorry to confuse. I'm talking about the one that starts on the 13th. My theory is if bookings in June really are at 92% as I've read on another thread someplace, then maybe they will skip June and offer a July discount that runs up until the dining plan start date of 8/13. I know nothing for sure, I'm just speculating. I have no inside information.

PamNC

 

[boomhauer]

Ay - ASMovies is only available with a preferred room, which is an extra $200 more than a standard room. I could get Pop, Music or Sports, but don't want any of those.

Eh, I'll go with Movies Preferred, save about $500 over Port Orleans. That's what I was hoping to save with the AP discount, so that's OK.

 

[tripplanner2]

Sorry to confuse. I'm talking about the one that starts on the 13th. My theory is if bookings in June really are at 92% as I've read on another thread someplace, then maybe they will skip June and offer a July discount that runs up until the dining plan start date of 8/13. I know nothing for sure, I'm just speculating. I have no inside information.

PamNC

Thanks for the reply. I am hanging on every word around here. I also do not like to call too much which is why I check here way too often. I am always hoping but I am really getting frustrated and not sure what to tell my kids at this point. Even to stay value is more expensive than our moderate stay last year.

 

[boomhauer]

Even to stay value is more expensive than our moderate stay last year.

I know what you mean.

I just stayed at ASMovies in February for $49 a night, and if I switch over to there, it'll cost me $99 a night.

I REALLY wanted to stay at Port Orleans, but my kid is more important to me than scenery or the size of a room, and I'd rather spend that $500 I'll save on him.

 

[DVCkidsMOM]

We're going June 21-30 to accomodate DHs business trip. The first 4 nights are on our $ which we hoped would be less than rack with AP discount. Since we have flight tix and DH must attend conference anyway, I won't cancel the June trip. If, however, we spend more than we planned in June, then the vacation budget will have to be adjusted and I'll have to cancel our September free dining trip we thought we could afford
I know nothing is guaranteed for discounts or magic, but we've been tolerating the decrease in CM knowledge, customer service, and magic over the last couple years because WDW was still a good deal. Now...
At least my kids are both adrenaline junkies and will probably love switching to Universal. I will cry every day at Universal, thinking of my happy childhood memories from WDW back when it was still top notch. I wonder if I should sell our DVC before "service" gets even worse and our points and any WDW vacation become less valuable? I'm so sad, though it's partly due to being up 3 hours before the kids hoping for an AP code this morning to apply to our rezzie

 

[tripplanner2]

I just checked the DW site and got $111 plus tax for ASM. It was a preferred room but that was all that showed available.

I know what you mean about the kids. My 3 girls are dying to go and were looking through a guidebook last night and saw the pool at ASMu and went nuts. I am thinking to myself, am I crazy to try and get a better resort when they may be more happy at a value? I am not sure, have never stayed at a value so I do not know what to expect but I thought that POFQ felt like a motel so I can just imagine that the value will feel the same.

I am going to wait until next week to bail but I can understand where you are coming from. I will definately give it this weekend but that is it. By next Wednesday I will have alternate plans booked and cancel my current reservations. I am a grand gathering so that is a lot of revenue that they will lose.

 

[boomhauer]

I've stayed at Values many times (as you can see by my signature) - Don't fear. They're FABULOUS!!! You feel like you're right in the middle of the Disney Magic (especially at Movies.) I simply wanted to stay someplace a bit different this time, which is why we went with Port Orleans. However, $175 a night I simply can not justify with the limited amount of time we spend in the room.

 

[tripplanner2]

Thanks for the encouragement. If it were just me and the kids I probably would have booked ASM is the first place but my parents, DS and DBF, are also coming so EVERYONE has to be happy including my DH who is not in favor of this trip in the first place but majority rules. DH really wants AKL but I am not paying rack for that hotel. I say stay offsite but DH wants the transportation. I am ready to throw in the towel over the whole trip because it is becoming more of a frustration at this point. Good luck for the rest of the week and I hope you get everything you want when you rebook.

 

[Winnie Pooh Fan]

I'm getting my flame suit on.....

I think that Disney really did try to make everyone happy with the Best Rate program & for reasons that I still can't figure out, many here hated it & were very vocal to Disney about their feelings......

Well, Disney got rid of the BRP and I'm sure, are becoming a bit more stingy about discounted rates because tourism is up......

So, all those who told Disney that they didn't want the BRP are getting what they asked for......

VERY EASY to make comments such as this when you are staying at a DVC which doesn't have a thing to do with codes

 

[Lesley]

I don't think it means much that only preferred is available at ASMo....every time I've looked into booking a value resort on shorter notice preferred is the only thing available at Movies, if anything. A few years back I had an AP rate on a ASMo preferred room because that was all they had available.

I've decided we'll be staying a Pop regardless...never stayed there before and if we can get a AP rate eventually that will be all the better for us. I wish my dh and ds were more flexible with our dates though. We could go the previous weekend and get an AP rate...or the weekend before that, or the weekend before that.... But they want to meet Boba and Jango Fett at Star Wars Weekends Maybe they'll change the schedule. LOL

 

[Enna]

ASMo just reclassified two sets of buildings from Standard to Preferred as of 5/1/06. Prior to the reclassification, ASMo was showing both Standard and Preferred available.

We stayed in ASMo with a Grand Gathering group last fall, and it does have that motel feel. The kids loved the giant character icons and the Fantasia pool with sorcerer Mickey. The negatives (IMHO) were the double beds, limited room space compared to the more costly resorts (not a big deal if you're not in the room much) and transportation (long waits for busses, very, VERY crowded busses).

Could you work out a compromise with your hubby to do a split stay with the first days at a value and the last day or two at AKL?

 

[Jalva22]

I have been flamed before by not having my AP yet and trying to get codes.(even though I fully intend to buy one IF codes come out) now I am soo glad I havent bought one. I am waiting till next Friday then I am going to the disney store to buy tickets but by the looks of it it wont be aps.

It's absolutely ridiculous for anyone to flame you for not buying an AP until codes come out. That's simply a smart economic decision if the only reason you want an AP is for the room discount. It's exactly the same thing Disney does when they withhold offering AP codes because bookings are up. They do what's best for their bottom line as well they should, and you should do the same. If you plan to keep the room you have already reserved whether or not codes come out, then what you're doing has no impact on potential code releases at all.

I understand booking early and making the resorts more heavily occupied discourages code releases, but if you really want a particular resort you need to go ahead and lock in the room. Now if you can't afford the room without codes, I think that's different. But if you're going to keep them either way, there's nothing wrong with booking early and waiting to purchase your AP until codes come out.

 

[Minnie]

I called yestreday to make a ressie at Alfredo's at Epcot (which now, I'll be cancelling), and the CM I spoke to, while not rude, certainly didn't have that Disney magic I'm so used to.

I called the othe evening to make an ADR and spoke to a woman that had screaming kids in the background. She never excused herself or anything there was just silence on the line to me and hollering in the background. Then she came back and acted like nothing. Very odd....

 

[cjsmith]

Sorry to confuse. I'm talking about the one that starts on the 13th. My theory is if bookings in June really are at 92% as I've read on another thread someplace, then maybe they will skip June and offer a July discount that runs up until the dining plan start date of 8/13. I know nothing for sure, I'm just speculating. I have no inside information.

PamNC

I don't think that June isn't at 92% for all resorts, it's at 92% occupany at the hotel that poster was staying at he was told. According to every CM that I've spoken to as well as a friend that works for Disney, June is a "soft month" for many Disney hotels as far as bookings are concerned.
I've tried various dates for stays since we live only 3 hours away and could be flexible and every time I've had no problems finding rooms for us in many resorts. If I was willing to come in on June 3, the Florida resident discount is also still available. Further proof of soft bookings is that Disney was willing to place rooms on Priceline, a move they've never made before. There are people getting the All Stars in May and June for $36. If the resorts were near capacity, Disney would have left them in inventory at full price and they would have sold.

Not sure why Disney hasn't released any discounts, even when there isn't an AP discount I have at times found a resident discount available. I wonder if Disney is eventually going to do away with discount codes in favor of the packages, especially the packages that include the free dining since it seems to work so well for them. As they open up other items, they do seem to take away or limit discounts. For instance, when the DDE was open only to Florida residents, there were no black out dates. Now that they've opened it up to passholders, they've set limits on it.

I guess we can all just keep our fingers crossed and hope that they finally do release something. If not, I guess it's up to us as consumers to decide whether or not full price is worth it to us or we want to take our business elsewhere like Universal where they're willing to offer great deals.

 

[tekmom]

VERY EASY to make comments such as this when you are staying at a DVC which doesn't have a thing to do with codes

While I understand your disappointment with the (so far) non release of AP codes, I am an AP holder, with a vacation booked for July and I agree with the poster in regard to Best Rate. With Best Rate you were at least pretty much guaranteed a discount. It eliminated people who did not have AP from obtaining a discount and helped to get rid of these nail biting waits between computer and phone. My only problem was that you couldn't pay your room off in advance. We booked our upcoming trip last summer when we got back from WDW. While I hope an AP discount will come out as well, my stay at AKL is paid off and I used a AAA discount. The AP is getting my money's worth because it is doing what is was really intended....more than one visit within a year. Good luck to everyone waiting for a discount but if one doesn't come out, maybe WDW finally decided to start exercising the fine print.....'periodic' discounts at WDW resorts.

 

[tripplanner2]

ASMo just reclassified two sets of buildings from Standard to Preferred as of 5/1/06. Prior to the reclassification, ASMo was showing both Standard and Preferred available.

We stayed in ASMo with a Grand Gathering group last fall, and it does have that motel feel. The kids loved the giant character icons and the Fantasia pool with sorcerer Mickey. The negatives (IMHO) were the double beds, limited room space compared to the more costly resorts (not a big deal if you're not in the room much) and transportation (long waits for busses, very, VERY crowded busses).

Could you work out a compromise with your hubby to do a split stay with the first days at a value and the last day or two at AKL?

My DH does not want to switch hotels. Where we are when we arrive is where he wants to stay. He is making it pretty difficult but also taking out a lot of alternative thus narrowing my options.

 

[Winnie Pooh Fan]

maybe WDW finally decided to start exercising the fine print.....'periodic' discounts at WDW resorts.

Comments like the one above and the "book what you can afford without a discount" really tick me off.

They are made by those that do not have to worry about how much they are spending on vacation and are quite to rude to those that have to be concerned about it.

Really this thread is for those of us that are trying for a discount not for those that don't need one in the first place. Comments like doing away with the discounts, ect belong in a totally different thread.

This one needs to be for spreading in hopes that the codes come out soon.

My best to those of you waiting so patiently (well okay not so patiently anymore come on Disney get with it already) for the codes to come out. I really do hope those that need them get them