Paying off the trip

CatNipRules

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 16, 2008
Okay, so I'm just wondering if everyone waits to pay off their trip until right before the 30 day mark or do you do it in advance?

I've finally decided on the final hotel and dining. So, all that's left is to make the final payment. Any thoughts?
 
I waited till right before the 30 day mark in case something happened and we had to cancel.

I don't really see the benefit of paying early.
 
before I moved here, I was doing it about 2-3 days early just in case there was some card issue or website issue to ensure nothing got lost...

Generally I'm also adjusting the discount option up to that point as well and if I can get some money back, i'd rather pay less than wait up to 15 days for my credit to come over. that's the big one, you never know what life is going to throw you. it takes 5-15 days to get your money back if you have to cancel.
 


I only book room and the payment is due at check in, but I still make payments here and there and by check in the amount due is very small.
 
I waited till right before the 30 day mark in case something happened and we had to cancel.

I don't really see the benefit of paying early.


You can still cancel up to 30 days and get a full refund. The only thing is that you have to wait for it to be credited to your credit card. Disney always says that it may take a full billing cycle but I usually see it show up within a week.

I have several clients who like to purchase gift cards and pay off the trip a little at a time and I have even had one pay in full at the time of making the reservation.
 
Paying early is kind of like giving Disney a loan. They don't need it. However I might need that money at some point before my vacation so I'll pay them when it's due but not before.
 


I pay when I have the money. I don't care that they're earning interest off me. What I do like is knowing that my trip is squared away and paid for. Plus, having it paid for well in advance makes it feel almost free when the trip actually occurs.
 
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It's our practice to put down $500 and pay off the rest when it's due. I'm not sure why we do it this way tbh.
 
We pay it in full at time of booking. We usually only book 4-6 months in advance, so we just pay it all at that time. We do the same thing with our other vacations - so just standard procedure in our household.
 
I think I put $1000 down first, then I divided the rest of it over the remaining months until it was required to be paid. Then I just made monthly payments.

Ultimately it doesn't really matter to Disney so I guess you can do it however you like. I just felt that my way was a good compromise. A few extra cents of interest each month in my bank was better than theirs :)
 
I generally pay the $200 package deposit then nothing else until the due date. We are doing this much differently this year. We go end of September - 3 day cruise - paid in full (got a crazy good exchange rate last week -still think it was a mistake), 9 nights on rented points paid in full, passes on CDN deal paid in full. We have left to buy DDP and our flights but I have the cash put aside for both. It is weird to have everything done, but i am enjoying it.
 
With the way Amazon stock is going, they may be paying for my trip. Opportunity cost, folks. Psychologically it makes sense to pay it off. Financially, there are vehicles that will earn you money until Disney comes for your knee caps.
 
We travel from the UK so with everything included it ends up being a very expensive trip for us.. with that in mind we pay what we can when we can, trying to spread it out throughout the year
 
I'd rather have it recorded and taken care of like a budget line item. Documented and done! I understand waiting as long as possible for the discounts, but once you gotta pay, you gotta pay! I do not want any surprises I haven't already "cleared" in my mental banking totals added on after we arrive at Disney! From landing at MCO, I just want to start thinking, "Okay tips for airport and MDE and after that, maybe an adult drink?" But that's all on the MB account at that point!
 
I waited until the last minute just in case. We will be booking our wedding stay as a bounceback at the end of the month though, and will slowly pay it off over the next 10 months.
 
I like letting my money gain interest for me in my savings account before I fork it over.

If anyone is curious, I use Smarty Pig.
 
We paid in full, since we didn't like the "prices may change until paid in full" clause we saw when booking. It made us nervous. In reality, does that ever happen to people?

From the booking:
Prices
  • All prices are in U.S. dollars and are subject to change until package is paid in full.
 
I pay everything when it is due. Maybe a week or so early so I'm not late. The longer the money stays in my account, the better as far as I'm concerned.
 

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