Need advice with room rate

[Katie's Mom]

Looking for some guidance. I booked a room for Feb 24-27 at BWI (paid in full) with the run discount because no rooms were available via the website. Now I check and there are rooms online with the 30% off that would save me $200. Is there anything I can do?

Thanks,
Jacqueline

 

[minnie mum]

If your existing reservation is room-only, then you are far enough out that you should be able to cancel and re-book using the new discount. I would do this by phone (JMO). If you booked a package, I think you're now inside the 45 day window, in which case they will most likely charge a change fee. I think it's $50, but don't hold me to that.

ETA: I just realized I was wrong. If you initially booked a package you would have to cancel and rebook since you would be going to a room only rate. Sorry. In that case you would likely lose your deposit.

 

[Katie's Mom]

If your existing reservation is room-only, then you are far enough out that you should be able to cancel and re-book using the new discount. I would do this by phone (JMO). If you booked a package, I think you're now inside the 45 day window, in which case they will most likely charge a change fee. I think it's $50, but don't hold me to that.

ETA: I just realized I was wrong. If you initially booked a package you would have to cancel and rebook since you would be going to a room only rate. Sorry. In that case you would likely lose your deposit.

Thanks! I booked room only and I am within the 45 days so I believe it would cost me $100 but that would still be a savings of $100.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

If your existing reservation is room-only, then you are far enough out that you should be able to cancel and re-book using the new discount. I would do this by phone (JMO). If you booked a package, I think you're now inside the 45 day window, in which case they will most likely charge a change fee. I think it's $50, but don't hold me to that.

ETA: I just realized I was wrong. If you initially booked a package you would have to cancel and rebook since you would be going to a room only rate. Sorry. In that case you would likely lose your deposit.

This is not entirely correct. You can ALSO book the room only discount as a package; it's just that there is no discount on the dining or tickets. I'm pretty sure. Disney is pretty 'good' about letting you add both nowadays.

One potential way to avoid any fees, in your case, would be to 'up' your entitlements. Instead of paying a fee, and getting your package for less......you could add a feature to your vacation, and keep the price the same. You'd have to consider which option you want to add, and what the costs are for your family. One idea might be to add hopping to your park tickets perhaps, or a different dining plan, adding days to your tickets, upgrading to a better room view or club level...You'd have to look at which appeals to you and what it does to the price.

Another factor if you make changes this late...where are you in your cc billing cycle? If you have to 'rebook,' it may take a bit for the refund to go through on your cc. Not disney's fault, your cc's fault. Mine usually go through in about a week, but yours might not go through until the next billing cycle, Disney quotes up to 45 dys. The rebook could show up as a charge this month, but the refund of the original package might not go through until next month's billing cyle. In which case, you might have to float the cost of your package until the refund comes through. Though if that happens, you may be able to negotiate with your cc, as the refund would likely come though before the end of the next billing cycle. Hope that makes sense.

 

[Katie's Mom]

Thanks. I just read the fine print and I would be charged a $200 cancellation fee, so I cannot incur any savings.

I guess I am just a bit disappointed that the run discount is less than the general discount offered to all.

 

[bowbat]

Thanks. I just read the fine print and I would be charged a $200 cancellation fee, so I cannot incur any savings.

I guess I am just a bit disappointed that the run discount is less than the general discount offered to all.

You know what? If I were you, I'd call Disney reservations and ask. We always book with room-only discounts, and several times I've called to apply a higher discount to our reservation. I don't believe they cancelled & rebooked me, because my reservation number stayed the same. Also, the cancelation timeframe for room-only bookings is 5 days out, not 45.

 

[DekrRini]

I was wondering about this as well. I'm going to DW in Nov/Dec 2012 and there are no discounts as yet. If I book now, can I get a discount later or do I take a risk and wait to book my vacation?

 

[Katie's Mom]

I was wondering about this as well. I'm going to DW in Nov/Dec 2012 and there are no discounts as yet. If I book now, can I get a discount later or do I take a risk and wait to book my vacation?

I called and had to speak with someone in the Sports division. Because the "run rates" are determined a year out there is no consideration for any promotionals that Disney may launch during the year. I was hoping that I could get the difference applied to my April trip but they are two different divisions. I couldn't even speak to the normal CMs (no access to Sports packages). I could have cancelled the reservation for the run discount and rebook on the Disney site, but it would have cost me $200 for a $231 difference. Lesson learned: The "run rate" is not always the best discount and they do not match any additional promotions.

Regardless it will be a great trip!