New here! Qs about changing existing reservations to apply discounts

[CanadianEmily]

Hi everyone! I'm planning my family's first WDW vacation, and am trying to figure out what makes the most sense on our limited budget. My biggest concern is how you go about changing your reservation if a later discount appears. We want to stay at Pop Century. I was going to book the room tomorrow as long as their site doesn't crash, ha. (I know I could have booked over the phone earlier, but the least amount of calling I have to do, the better.) However, I've been reading a lot of threads from previous years, and I understand there will likely be a Play, Stay and Dine deal that will come out in the fall. This, of course, is past the 180-day ADR time frame. So, I have a few questions. If I make a room only reservation, and then want to switch to a package to get that deal, do they just cancel the room reservation and make a whole new reservation? If you've already made ADRs, will they be cancelled? I'm hesitant to book a package in advance, because if there ends up not being the same kind of deal as in previous years, I wasn't planning on getting a dining package at rack rate. Also, do you have to get your theme park tickets included in the Play, Stay and Dine package? I also heard about packages having worse terms in terms of cancellations, refunds, etc. So I'm not sure if I'd go with that package anyway. I might just do the room discount one if it becomes available again, though it's historically only been 10% on value resorts. I'm anxious to have everything settled! But this is a process, haha.

 

[SG131]

When a new discount comes out sometimes you can modify your existing reservation online. With Disney IT it is hit or miss. Sometimes people end up having to book a new reservation then calling Disney to cancel the first one. But even if your first reservation is canceled, you won’t lose your dining reservations once they are made.

For packages you have to cancel 30 days out for a full refund. For room only it’s 5 days out.

When in 2020 are you looking to go? Depending on when the second Star Wars ride opens that could have a noticeable affect on crowds and in turn decrease Disney’s need to offer discounts. The discounts this year have not really followed the usual trend so I would plan/book assuming one won’t be able released and then be pleasantly surprised if you are able to get one.

 

[CanadianEmily]

When a new discount comes out sometimes you can modify your existing reservation online. With Disney IT it is hit or miss. Sometimes people end up having to book a new reservation then calling Disney to cancel the first one. But even if your first reservation is canceled, you won’t lose your dining reservations once they are made.

For packages you have to cancel 30 days out for a full refund. For room only it’s 5 days out.

When in 2020 are you looking to go? Depending on when the second Star Wars ride opens that could have a noticeable affect on crowds and in turn decrease Disney’s need to offer discounts. The discounts this year have not really followed the usual trend so I would plan/book assuming one won’t be able released and then be pleasantly surprised if you are able to get one.

We are planning on going the last week of February. I've seen that historically it hasn't been too crowded then, but you're right, Star Wars could have a major impact on it. It's unfortunate because my son really loves Toy Story, but it's going to be so hectic going into that park this year. My next thing will be to figure out how we'll manage to get on the rides in Toy Story Land without waiting all day, ha.

 

[lanejudy]

I also heard about packages having worse terms in terms of cancellations, refunds, etc.

That may depend on your perspective. Yes, the package final payment is due earlier than a room-only (30 days vs on arrival). But it includes your tickets, so if you cancel you can cancel the tickets as well; with a room-only you have to purchase tickets separately and those must be paid in full at the time of purchase and are non-refundable (except in very few situations). So each has it's trade-offs in as far as of better/worse terms. Also, a "package" can mean room+tickets+dining OR room+tickets OR room+dining.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[LovesTimone]

You should book what you really want. Booking room only, is much easier, if you want to switch up and/or add in tickets or dinning packages to your trip... We have booked room only, then later on decided to move to another resort and take the FD offer, and It worked out almost the same cost wise...

 

[CanadianEmily]

Well, after months of me researching and deciding to book room only, and then booking room only, that's when my hubby decided to get involved and decided he really wanted the quick service dining plan and really wanted to lock everything in. So we cancelled and rebooked same room type in a package. I do like having it all there and being able to pay online in increments. Hopefully we can still take advantage of any package discounts that come out. If it requires changing room types though, we probably won't. I have no desire to have a preferred room at Pop, based on what I can see on the map. I'd much rather have a lake view than be close to the action. We have our own car, anyway, so other than needing to use the restaurant, I don't think preferred would help us much.