New AP holder - when to book later trip

[Pdollar88]

Hi all!

I recently purchased my AP for activation when I go down in March 2018. Since I'm interested in going at least two more times on the AP, I wondered about when I should book.

It seems like everything booked up remarkably fast for the spring, so if I'm looking to go back in September 2018 and again perhaps in December 2018 or February 2019, what should my "deadlines" to reserve a room be at.

And if I booked that early, could I still take advantage of bounceback offers? I know I could call and get a discount applied, but I have no experience with bounceback offers.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Hi all!

I recently purchased my AP for activation when I go down in March 2018. Since I'm interested in going at least two more times on the AP, I wondered about when I should book.

It seems like everything booked up remarkably fast for the spring, so if I'm looking to go back in October 2018 and again perhaps in December 2018 or February 2019, what should my "deadlines" to reserve a room be at.

And if I booked that early, could I still take advantage of bounceback offers? I know I could call and get a discount applied, but I have no experience with bounceback offers.

No real hard/fast rules as to when to book. Really depends on what you want to book, where you want to book, and when you want to book.

There are some isolated cases of resorts/room categories/times of year that do tend to be in high demand, so if you are absolutely he** bent on getting XX room category on XX date, you should go ahead and book as soon as you can. Examples would be Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc.

But if you can be flexible with all of the above there’s really not much reason to book ‘too’ far ahead of time, in my opinion.

For me, I tend to wait until I can book with a discount, either a general public or AP discount. When discounts are released I’ll finalize a plan and get something booked. I sometimes will make my resort choice based on whatever has the better discount at the time, hence one reason I tend to wait.

Does that make sense?

You’ll hear different perspectives on your question but the above is what works for us.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Hi all!

I recently purchased my AP for activation when I go down in March 2018. Since I'm interested in going at least two more times on the AP, I wondered about when I should book.

It seems like everything booked up remarkably fast for the spring, so if I'm looking to go back in October 2018 and again perhaps in December 2018 or February 2019, what should my "deadlines" to reserve a room be at.

And if I booked that early, could I still take advantage of bounceback offers? I know I could call and get a discount applied, but I have no experience with bounceback offers.

I've had great luck getting a passholder discount for dates in January, February and March. I remember seeing passholder discounts for the summer months. Right now I can get a passholder discount for a few days in November. But October is a real popular month and I wouldn't count on geting one that month.

 

[Pdollar88]

For me, I tend to wait until I can book with a discount, either a general public or AP discount. When discounts are released I’ll finalize a plan and get something booked. I sometimes will make my resort choice based on whatever has the better discount at the time, hence one reason I tend to wait.

Does that make sense?

That does make sense. I have a few resort options in mind for the rest of my trips, but nothing is set in stone -- just more on the value end of things, even if it's just a standard vs. garden room type. I'll wait and book -- I really want to go in September 2018. Haven't been there for those low crowds since I was a CP.

 

[Pdollar88]

I've had great luck getting a passholder discount for dates in January, February and March. I remember seeing passholder discounts for the summer months. Right now I can get a passholder discount for a few days in November. But October is a real popular month and I wouldn't count on geting one that month.

Curious about your spring discounts experience. Have you seen discounts that are higher than 35% off for a deluxe resort? I managed to snag that for Yacht Club for Visa card holders and wondered if I should even bother to try for an AP discount for my March trip.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Curious about your spring discounts experience. Have you seen discounts that are higher than 35% off for a deluxe resort? I managed to snag that for Yacht Club for Visa card holders and wondered if I should even bother to try for an AP discount for my March trip.

35% is usually the top discount for a deluxe resort. That is what we got for the WL this past March. They offered 37% a few years ago, but I haven't seen that lately. I think the 35% Visa offer is great.

 

[Pdollar88]

35% is usually the top discount for a deluxe resort. That is what we got for the WL this past March. They offered 37% a few years ago, but I haven't seen that lately. I think the 35% Visa offer is great.

Yay! That makes me happy. Thanks for the info (and validation lol).

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Yeah, 35% is the most you’re (likely) to see with an AP discount. That Visa discount going around has been pretty stout...I’m a bit jealous actually!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

BTW, I should add that the 35% AP discount is usually at only 1-2 resorts at any given time period. Most of my AP discounts this year have been more like 20-25%, or LESS. :-(