Paying in full right before a code comes out?

[DrGirly]

Hi all,

Just booked our first stay as Annual Passholders for Mid-October, and the date that I have to pay for my package in full is early September. Looking back historically, AP discounts have come out in early September right after the date that I am due to pay for the whole vacation. If I pay for the vacation in full, and the AP discount comes out afterward, will I be able to get credited back the money I paid?

Also, when I booked my vacation over the phone, the CM booked me for a “basic package” without tickets or dining, mainly because most of my party has APs and the DDPs don’t work for our dining style. I believe she did this in the ‘hopes’ that we would add these things on at a later date, but I am 100% certain we won’t be doing so. Will the fact that I have this ‘package’ interfere with my applying the AP room-only discount when it comes out? Should I call Disney now and try to switch to a room-only reservation to avoid hassle later (and the possibility of having to cancel my ‘package’ reservation only to find that there are no room-only discount rooms available at the Yacht Club where we’re staying)? How will the $200 deposit that I’ve put down be handled if the reservation is switched to a room-only reservation? Any guidance would be appreciated. We’ve taken several Disney vacations, but are new to understanding the discounts game. Thanks!

 

[mickeynut1]

Hi all,

Just booked our first stay as Annual Passholders for Mid-October, and the date that I have to pay for my package in full is early September. Looking back historically, AP discounts have come out in early September right after the date that I am due to pay for the whole vacation. If I pay for the vacation in full, and the AP discount comes out afterward, will I be able to get credited back the money I paid?

Also, when I booked my vacation over the phone, the CM booked me for a “basic package” without tickets or dining, mainly because most of my party has APs and the DDPs don’t work for our dining style. I believe she did this in the ‘hopes’ that we would add these things on at a later date, but I am 100% certain we won’t be doing so. Will the fact that I have this ‘package’ interfere with my applying the AP room-only discount when it comes out? Should I call Disney now and try to switch to a room-only reservation to avoid hassle later (and the possibility of having to cancel my ‘package’ reservation only to find that there are no room-only discount rooms available at the Yacht Club where we’re staying)? How will the $200 deposit that I’ve put down be handled if the reservation is switched to a room-only reservation? Any guidance would be appreciated. We’ve taken several Disney vacations, but are new to understanding the discounts game. Thanks!

If a room discount comes out and the resort/room type you have booked is available under that discount, you can have it applied to your existing reservation. Sometimes you have to be flexible with your resort and/or room type as not all resorts are included in discounts and having a reservation already in place does not guarantee a discount can be applied. Also, if you make any changes after the 45 day mark, you could incur a $50 change fee. With that said, I'm not sure how you have a package with no tickets or dining as it should be a RO reservation with a deposit equal to 1 night's room rate + tax and the balance due at check in. If the room is somehow booked as a package and you decide to change it to a RO reservation, the package will have to be cancelled/refunded and RO booked, requiring a new deposit equal to 1 night's room rate + tax. Since RO and packages are different reservation systems, money paid toward one cannot be applied to the other.

 

[Tink415]

Something doesn't sound right. The annual pass holder discount for rooms is out through August 27, so not available yet for your dates. I never heard of a "basic" package without tickets?? Look at your confirmation carefully!!

 

[tinka-belle]

There is such a thing as a "basic package", $200 deposit and goes by all the same cancel rules and final payment dates that other packages do. If you apply an AP discount to the room portion (actually the only component) of this package after the 45 day mark there will be a $50 reduction penalty. Better to book a real "room only" reservation by phone, not online as those still go by the package rules if I remember correctly, unless that's changed recently with all the system updates. The real room only res will have a one night + tax deposit requirement and can be cancelled or changed up to a week (or 5 days, forget which) before your trip.

Cannot switch deposits between the two, they are booked on separate systems that don't transfer the information.

 

[Tink415]

That's interesting. Seems like an upsell. What does the Basic package include besides room, anything? I booked room only pass holder discount online this year, didn't see an option to book a package.

 

[DrGirly]

Apparently, my "basic package" will just include that little booklet that has the discounts off of things like mini-golf, Planet Hollywood, and Disney Quest, if I remember correctly (things we never use, anyway). I did speak to a phone CM about my ability to apply the room-only AP discount for my stay if/when an AP discount for my dates/hotel comes out, and she said that they will be able to do it; she said that on the "back end" (whatever that means), they will be able to turn my package reservation into a room only reservation. I told her that I was concerned that I might have to cancel my reservation and rebook in order to get the discount to apply, and that I was afraid that I might lose my rooms at the YC in that process. She assured me that I wouldn't have to do that, and that guests often have changed their package reservations to room only reservations, and vice versa. Thinking about it now, I do want to crunch the numbers and make sure that I wasn't upsold anything by having my reservation be a 'package,' because I'm not really getting anything (and don't want anything) other than the room. Thank you for the food for thought!

Edit: I just priced out a room-only reservation for the exact same hotel/dates, and the stay came out 2 cents cheaper. I think I'm going to sit on the reservation as it stands now, and just wait until the late fall AP discounts come out!