October 2011 Code Watch

[partypa]

Rack Rate = Regular Price/Room Rate, without any discounts

 

[myhoney]

We were staying offsite, but decided this weekend to stay on. We have a hold on POFQ with dining. Called AAA, but all the discounted rooms are gone for our week, so we will be paying rack. If we could get a 15% discount, we'd end up where we were going to be offsite so I'm crossing my fingers!

However, we already have tickets from Undercover Tourist. DH and I are debating keeping them and paying for food oop instead of doing the dining plan. I don't expect them to offer FD since it will just be ending - any thoughts?

 

[LisaTC]

I think I got our AAA based soley on the fact we booked a MYW pkg w/tix, etc. It amounted to the 10-15%. Otherwise, not sure if we'd have gotten much of anything. But hey, I'll take it.

 

[ClaudeGobet]

Am I the only one not booking yet? (DH wants to move our trip up to this year) I hate the thought of making a ressie and then changing it if a code becomes avaliable.

Dh is bugging me to book and I just can't do it, yet. Without a decent code/discount (we can get AAAs) I am seriously thinking of jus saving $$$ and going offsite. I have registered for maps, a DVD and even Dh registered for some things. (I am quite shocked since he has never done anything to book a vacation besides say yes.)

i'd like to chime in on this one. during my recent pin code call-in, the cm was unable to provide me with a worthwhile discount. yet she said something to me that a different cm said to my wife on a previous call, and that i've seen numerous people post was stated to them as well. "why don't you just book now, and later, when a deal comes out your rate will be adjusted". "this way, you're all locked in". i agree, "locked in" is the way i would describe this rationale. if these cast members can convince a large enough amount of people to "play it safe" and book, will they need to release a deal? if i'm reading these boards correctly, most people seem of the opinion that deals are released based on substandard occupancy. sure, if you are of high principles, you can probably cancel in time with no penalty, but i think by early booking, you are hedging their bets, not yours. if this really is the "october discount" group i think everyone should stick together and follow the historically based suggestions of waiting until mid-august, or the final booking date of the current offer (end of august?) before seriously considering jumping ship.

 

[LocaRoja]

"why don't you just book now, and later, when a deal comes out your rate will be adjusted". "this way, you're all locked in".

Crazy....that is EXACTLY what the CM said to me when I booked a 2 night stay a few nights ago for October 2011 without a pin code or Disney discount (we did get AAA 15% off).

 

[Dynamite626]

i'd like to chime in on this one. during my recent pin code call-in, the cm was unable to provide me with a worthwhile discount. yet she said something to me that a different cm said to my wife on a previous call, and that i've seen numerous people post was stated to them as well. "why don't you just book now, and later, when a deal comes out your rate will be adjusted". "this way, you're all locked in". i agree, "locked in" is the way i would describe this rationale. if these cast members can convince a large enough amount of people to "play it safe" and book, will they need to release a deal? if i'm reading these boards correctly, most people seem of the opinion that deals are released based on substandard occupancy. sure, if you are of high principles, you can probably cancel in time with no penalty, but i think by early booking, you are hedging their bets, not yours. if this really is the "october discount" group i think everyone should stick together and follow the historically based suggestions of waiting until mid-august, or the final booking date of the current offer (end of august?) before seriously considering jumping ship.

I was told the same thing today! Still waiting and hoping for a better, guaranteed deal.

 

[Bell30012]

I'm taking my chances holding off... If no code comes out and there are no rooms left in the resorts, I guess there is always <cough, cough> off property.

 

[PaulaSue]

Have you called to see if a PIN is attached to your or your DH's name? I have had one and not known until I called, so it is possible.

I did but Thank you anyway. This is why I LOVE the disboards. (Others helping others) I did call a few weeks ago and since I did the maps, dvd and Dh did some things trying to trigger a code.

 

[esmetutu]

i'd like to chime in on this one. during my recent pin code call-in, the cm was unable to provide me with a worthwhile discount. yet she said something to me that a different cm said to my wife on a previous call, and that i've seen numerous people post was stated to them as well. "why don't you just book now, and later, when a deal comes out your rate will be adjusted". "this way, you're all locked in". i agree, "locked in" is the way i would describe this rationale. if these cast members can convince a large enough amount of people to "play it safe" and book, will they need to release a deal? if i'm reading these boards correctly, most people seem of the opinion that deals are released based on substandard occupancy. sure, if you are of high principles, you can probably cancel in time with no penalty, but i think by early booking, you are hedging their bets, not yours. if this really is the "october discount" group i think everyone should stick together and follow the historically based suggestions of waiting until mid-august, or the final booking date of the current offer (end of august?) before seriously considering jumping ship.

Can packages with discounts "run-out"?
What about room-only discounts?
What is the purpose of "locking in"? To only just offset the threat of a resort completely filling up?

I'm "locked in", waiting for a discount, but now think I want to cancel, and take my chances... maybe I just don't understand how the discounts actually work. So basically you are suggesting canceling now and waiting until mid-August to make the final decision, with or without a discount. I understand your reasoning but am trying to understand mine. Why do I feel like I have to be "locked in"?

 

[ClaudeGobet]

Can packages with discounts "run-out"?
What about room-only discounts?
What is the purpose of "locking in"? To only just offset the threat of a resort completely filling up?

I'm "locked in", waiting for a discount, but now think I want to cancel, and take my chances... maybe I just don't understand how the discounts actually work. So basically you are suggesting canceling now and waiting until mid-August to make the final decision, with or without a discount. I understand your reasoning but am trying to understand mine. Why do I feel like I have to be "locked in"?

this is a choice everyone must make based on their own needs or fears. i notice you like POFQ (as do we). i'd say a plus of "locking in" here is that if and when a general deal is released you should still be able to get lodging here, and not be forced to use riverside. not that there's anything wrong with the place, but i've noticed them try to force this choice with past general offers. this statement of waiting i made is for those who can. i simply fear the idea that the cm's have seemingly been told to say this. are they being told to say this because there is a deal coming out? or because they are aware of how many people are banking on and waiting for the deal, and want to take advantage of your current nervous state with the possibility of not having to offer a deal at all if enough people succumb to "trust me". i don't know if "trust me" is possible with disney. the only thing i know about disney is you never know with disney. i can say for myself that this "weening" is not a game for me. i need this discount. i'm not the Don and concerned with "the art of the deal". it's been a rough year, and we need a substantial discount to make this vacation happen. with no deal will we go? we'll try, but if disney really wants to lock the deal, they know how to get us. we're all ready and waiting.

 

[abminer]

"why don't you just book now, and later, when a deal comes out your rate will be adjusted". "this way, you're all locked in".

Crazy....that is EXACTLY what the CM said to me when I booked a 2 night stay a few nights ago for October 2011 without a pin code or Disney discount (we did get AAA 15% off).

Same here! That's what the phone CM told me when I booked. But, my situation is a bit different. We're attending a wedding there Oct. 2 so our dates are. not. flexible. I needed to lock something in and used a PIN to book Pop at $67/night (refundable). FD (QSDP) would only save us about 10-15%, but every little bit will help us get to WDW on a year we hadn't planned to go at all.

What happens if FD or a better room discount comes out AFTER my final payment is due ? Would we miss out? A mid-August deal would be cutting it very close, but if we can't get FD, it'll be tix through UT or AAA and food OOP for us.

 

[esmetutu]

this is a choice everyone must make based on their own needs or fears. i notice you like POFQ (as do we). i'd say a plus of "locking in" here is that if and when a general deal is released you should still be able to get lodging here, and not be forced to use riverside. not that there's anything wrong with the place, but i've noticed them try to force this choice with past general offers. this statement of waiting i made is for those who can. i simply fear the idea that the cm's have seemingly been told to say this. are they being told to say this because there is a deal coming out? or because they are aware of how many people are banking on and waiting for the deal, and want to take advantage of your current nervous state with the possibility of not having to offer a deal at all if enough people succumb to "trust me". i don't know if "trust me" is possible with disney. the only thing i know about disney is you never know with disney. i can say for myself that this "weening" is not a game for me. i need this discount. i'm not the Don and concerned with "the art of the deal". it's been a rough year, and we need a substantial discount to make this vacation happen. with no deal will we go? we'll try, but if disney really wants to lock the deal, they know how to get us. we're all ready and waiting.

Thank you for explaining your mindset. I'm still not sure what we should do. We are like you... no discount, no staying on site. Unfortunately, our trip was initially based on rack rate at POP with plenty of $ to spare, but due to some unexpected health issues a moderate would be better suited. I can also do an AP rate as my DL AP is set to expire and I can get a Premiere AP but THOSE rates aren't out yet either! Ugh, so confused. This is really no fun at all.

I don't want to be the guy who tips the scales over to "no discount" by booking now, but I'd also like to book my preferred resort in hopes a discount will come. Damned if I do, damned if I don't!

 

[LisaTC]

I get what some of you are saying, however, here's one thing. If you book room only your "back out" date is much closer to departure than if you book a pkg. Many people only book a room and can cancel I think 5 days prior to departure without penalty and have to put down only one nights room as payment. People with pkgs are locked in to the final payment 45 days prior, have to put down $200 initially, which would be lost if they cancelled 44 days or less prior to departure. If changes were made 44 days or less prior, it is a $50 fee. However, I do know many who have changed their reservation and weren't charged anything due to unforeseen circumstances. I need to pay for ours all by 8/31. Even if FD came out after, it would be worth the $50 change fee to add it since out AAA discount is only about 10% anyway.

I guess it depends if you really want to go at a specific time, stay at a specific place, in a specific room type. This is my first trip as I mentioned before, so our planning began long before I booked in Jan. I booked in Jan because that is when AAA has their "Disney days." I think we got a decent rate considering there was not a promotion during the time we were going. We are at 2200 for Sat - Sat, park hoppers, 2 adults 1 child, waterview at POR.

I didn't really know what to expect the cost would be. I do know for me, I could never go during the summer, I'd perish. Dec/Jan & even Feb is risky for us because you never know when the airports will be inundated with held over passengers because we can really get ravaged with snow and it's unpredictable. So, we knew we were going and we knew when and we booked. Our T/A gave us the same "locked" in spiel. I got what she was saying in some ways. I know many AAA rates rooms are now gone for the week we are going in October. Some resorts don't have availability for varying reasons -- the Epcot resorts seem to have a lot of rooms booked for the mid weeks in October.

If we return, would I book as soon...may be not. I may take the wait and see approach. I don't know. Our window of opportunity for going is smaller than most.

I think Disney does know, however, that a reservation isn't necessarily a done deal, especially for room only. Reservations get cancelled.

 

[morepsi1]

Exactly how does the AAA rates work? I mean, do you have to be a member to get their rates? And is there some sort of discount to book with AAA? Sorry, I'm just not at all familiar with booking with them.

 

[sjs314]

It seems to me this new "speel" the CM's are using about "locking in" your choice of hotel etc is just that a speel or marketing ploy to get people to book now rather than later. Disney is a buisness first and formost and has monthly, quarterly and yearly fiscal end dates. If they can boost their bottom line to show more of a profit the shareholders are happy and getting people to book now rather than hold out for that discounts next month or the month after makes them look better financially when these fiscal periods end.
Finding ways to inflate the bottom line to put a company in a better light is a common business practice.

All that being said there is some logic to "locking in" the resort or room type you want to book for specific dates although at this late stage in the game I do not think in many cases it makes sense.

I know for my dates mid-October there is no availability at CR, BLT, very very limited at GF and the Poly, mostly CL , the same is true of the Epcot resorts and AKL, WL still seems to have most catagories other than standard available. Not sure about the Mods or Values but I would suspect POP might be full as it seems to sell out early.

If you have your heart set on CR MK view your too late you would have had to "lock" that in before now for October.

Another thing to remember is if and when the discounts do come out only a certain number of room are allotted for each promo and if a resort is booked or certain catagories already booked they will not be included in the promotional offer.

What this means is if you have a room booked at CR MK view and Disney offers 35% off Deluxe Resorts when you call to see about having the "discount offer" applied to your reservation, you may find the CM telling you there is NO AVAILABILITY under the promo but she has XXXXXX available.

If your willing to change your resort or room catagory you can get that coveted discount if not then you will keep your current reservation that you "locked in" at rack rate.

So in the end it is all a matter of personal choice

 

[LisaTC]

It seems to me this new "speel" the CM's are using about "locking in" your choice of hotel etc is just that a speel or marketing ploy to get people to book now rather than later. Disney is a buisness first and formost and has monthly, quarterly and yearly fiscal end dates. If they can boost their bottom line to show more of a profit the shareholders are happy and getting people to book now rather than hold out for that discounts next month or the month after makes them look better financially when these fiscal periods end.
Finding ways to inflate the bottom line to put a company in a better light is a common business practice.

All that being said there is some logic to "locking in" the resort or room type you want to book for specific dates although at this late stage in the game I do not think in many cases it makes sense.

I know for my dates mid-October there is no availability at CR, BLT, very very limited at GF and the Poly, mostly CL , the same is true of the Epcot resorts and AKL, WL still seems to have most catagories other than standard available. Not sure about the Mods or Values but I would suspect POP might be full as it seems to sell out early.

If you have your heart set on CR MK view your too late you would have had to "lock" that in before now for October.

Another thing to remember is if and when the discounts do come out only a certain number of room are allotted for each promo and if a resort is booked or certain catagories already booked they will not be included in the promotional offer.

What this means is if you have a room booked at CR MK view and Disney offers 35% off Deluxe Resorts when you call to see about having the "discount offer" applied to your reservation, you may find the CM telling you there is NO AVAILABILITY under the promo but she has XXXXXX available.

If your willing to change your resort or room catagory you can get that coveted discount if not then you will keep your current reservation that you "locked in" at rack rate.

So in the end it is all a matter of personal choice

Well said. As for the PP with a question about the AAA rates, here's the "spiel" You do need to be a member. AAA ticket prices are less than the gate - comparable to UndercoverTourist and include tax. The % discount is around 10-15 depending on resort and it is on the room portion. You can view the pkgs generally at http://www.disneywebcontent.com/?SiteID=2144 That being said, as indicated by the PP before mine, there are limited number of those rooms/pkgs and may not get what you prefer.

 

[snykymom]

Exactly how does the AAA rates work? I mean, do you have to be a member to get their rates? And is there some sort of discount to book with AAA? Sorry, I'm just not at all familiar with booking with them.

Yes, you must be a member to get their rates, but you can ask what the rates are before you join. The AAA discount is a room discount, either for a room-only or on the room portion of a package. To book room-only, you can call Disney or go through AAA. To book a package with the discount, you must go through AAA directly; Disney cannot do it.

I currently have a room-only AAA discount reservation on an AKV studio with a savannah view (paying cash, not on points). My discount is about 20%.

 

[nrpofp]

It seems to me this new "speel" the CM's are using about "locking in" your choice of hotel etc is just that a speel or marketing ploy to get people to book now rather than later. Disney is a buisness first and formost and has monthly, quarterly and yearly fiscal end dates. If they can boost their bottom line to show more of a profit the shareholders are happy and getting people to book now rather than hold out for that discounts next month or the month after makes them look better financially when these fiscal periods end.
Finding ways to inflate the bottom line to put a company in a better light is a common business practice.

All that being said there is some logic to "locking in" the resort or room type you want to book for specific dates although at this late stage in the game I do not think in many cases it makes sense.

I know for my dates mid-October there is no availability at CR, BLT, very very limited at GF and the Poly, mostly CL , the same is true of the Epcot resorts and AKL, WL still seems to have most catagories other than standard available. Not sure about the Mods or Values but I would suspect POP might be full as it seems to sell out early.

If you have your heart set on CR MK view your too late you would have had to "lock" that in before now for October.

Another thing to remember is if and when the discounts do come out only a certain number of room are allotted for each promo and if a resort is booked or certain catagories already booked they will not be included in the promotional offer.

What this means is if you have a room booked at CR MK view and Disney offers 35% off Deluxe Resorts when you call to see about having the "discount offer" applied to your reservation, you may find the CM telling you there is NO AVAILABILITY under the promo but she has XXXXXX available.

If your willing to change your resort or room catagory you can get that coveted discount if not then you will keep your current reservation that you "locked in" at rack rate.

So in the end it is all a matter of personal choice

From what I have read on these boards the cms get credit for sales. If you modify or change the original cm still gets the credit. That could be why they try to get you to book then. I believe they are required to meet a certain quota. I doubt its some devious ploy. They are probably just trying to meet thier quota and keep there jobs.

 

[sjs314]

From what I have read on these boards the cms get credit for sales. If you modify or change the original cm still gets the credit. That could be why they try to get you to book then. I believe they are required to meet a certain quota. I doubt its some devious ploy. They are probably just trying to meet thier quota and keep there jobs.

I know that they have to meet sales quota or in some cases lose there jobs, that is one reason why some get irritated taking calls to look up pins when that time could be spent getting a booking instead.

I do not know where you got "devious" from ? But since it seems people here are reporting the CM saying the same line about "booking to lock in" to me it sounds like they are being prompted to say it to get additional bookings.

I worked for 25 years in various retail positions some which dealt directly with sales and promotions and it was quite common to have associates try to get customers to put large tickets items on layaway to boost sales for the week to meet or exceed the LY figures for the day, week or month with the incentive to the customer being if it goes on sale you will have the "item" put aside and can then get it for the sale price. Similar concept nothing devious about the practice, just good business sense.

 

[Lajolla]

So I booked 6 days at BLT Oct 2011 one bedroom in Feb and its $4800 with park hopper tickets for a family of 4. BLT one bedrooms are booked for our dates, so if a discount comes out, I guess I can't apply it to our reservation?

I thought this sounded so expensive but it was the resort I was interested in because we can walk to and from MK, have two bathrooms, w/d and separate space for dad and I.

I got the same spiel from the cm to book now and watch for a discount. But now that I'm watching, I'm starting to question the cost and it seems a discount won't apply.

I have started looking off site, because I don't know if I can do a standard hotel room with our kiddos for 6 nights. I can book the Waldorf Astoria one bedroom suite for SEVEN nights + air+ 8 day MYT with park hopper for $4600, but since we live in California and won't get back easily I liked the idea of staying on property.

Ahh...disney limbo.