Question about booking Disney Through Expedia

Knuckleball

Earning My Ears
Joined
Sep 4, 2006
I am looking for a room only reservation at Disney World for August. I always have booked directly through Disney but this time, I decided to check out Expedia. I was surprised to find that I could get a value resort room for about $25 less and a moderate room for almost $40 less through Expedia. I have never used Expedia and was wondering "what's the catch?". Is it just as fine to use Expedia in stead of booking directly through Disney?
 
No reason not to use a TA like Expedia. Just be sure that you're comparing apples and apples. Some places quote the basic room rate, others include the taxes.
 
I would be very careful when booking threw them.read very carefully,sometimes you think your getting a better deal but the view is only a standard view or there is some catch. They are sometimes difficult to make any changes with them. So if your 100% sure on what you want and ate not going to make any changes or add ons I would say go for it. If you are un sure then I suggest go with disney directly. They would own your reservation until they release your reservation to disney.
 
We booked through Expedia for our upcoming trip in October. Got a garden view room at Beach Club for only $200 more (over the 4 night trip) than the standard view POFQ room we'd originally booked through Disney. When I called to cancel the Disney reservation, the CM was completely understanding. She claimed the price difference is because companies like Expedia book a room block, and then if bookings are slow they'll discount the rooms to sell them off. The CM said there would be no difference with the rooms, etc. The main difference is that Expedia "owns" the reservation until a couple of days before arrival, so any special requests or changes have to be made through them. However, Expedia did send us our Disney confirmation number 2-3 days after we booked, and we were able to use that to book Magic Express.
 


We booked through Expedia for our upcoming trip in October. Got a garden view room at Beach Club for only $200 more (over the 4 night trip) than the standard view POFQ room we'd originally booked through Disney. When I called to cancel the Disney reservation, the CM was completely understanding. She claimed the price difference is because companies like Expedia book a room block, and then if bookings are slow they'll discount the rooms to sell them off. The CM said there would be no difference with the rooms, etc. The main difference is that Expedia "owns" the reservation until a couple of days before arrival, so any special requests or changes have to be made through them. However, Expedia did send us our Disney confirmation number 2-3 days after we booked, and we were able to use that to book Magic Express.

Very helpful. Thanks!
 
I also would make sure you are comparing apples with apples, same room type, tax & fees included, using Disney room discounts for August? Expedia is reliable, I'd just make sure the rates are correct.
 
One other thing to check. I believe you have to pay for the room in full at the time of booking with Expedia. Disney and other TA's take deposits. I have never booked through Expedia though but seem to recall others mentioning this.
 


One other thing to check. I believe you have to pay for the room in full at the time of booking with Expedia. Disney and other TA's take deposits. I have never booked through Expedia though but seem to recall others mentioning this.

Yes, paying up front was the one other difference. They say you can cancel and get a full refund, but we've never tried.

As for the "apples to apples" - yes, it's a good idea to make sure you know exactly what you getting, but it really is possible to get a bizarrely good deal...I know we did. No idea why the room was really that much cheaper through Expedia, but it was. Who am I to argue with them? :grin:
 
I have booked with Expedia for Disney and changed my mind about the hotel. It was no problem getting a refund. I called in to get the cancellation and then booked the new hotel online. I did notice that currently they have POFQ in October for cheaper than the Disney website so it's always good to check them out.
 
Similar experience here. All changes do have to go through Expedia, but their customer service department is extremely helpful. They also have the ability to call Disney wholesale (their contact for Disney) and enter special requests onto the reservation.

The only other item to be cautious on is booking activities/tickets with places like Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity. If activities are included in the original reservation, this may alter the reservation to a "package" that has different cancellation restrictions. It's a great deal and I've booked a few times without any problems. Just make sure to read the fine print.

Also, check out online coupons prior to booking. You can save an extra 5% to 15% on top of the reduced listed rate. Another alternative is to use ebates to get to expedia and get cash back.

Hope everything goes well!
 
Used expedia for CSR a few years ago without issue. Remember saving a ton of money- room only, we had tix.

Linda
 
similar to other replies, I booked a room for AoA in Feb through Expedia. there were no issues. and I even managed to get it a lil cheaper than the Disney site! :)
 
Always always read through ALL of the info, especially cancellation/change policies, so you KNOW what the situation is.

And if you're booking Magical Express, doing all that reading ahead of time will let you know that the way to book it is right there on the WDW hotel's page on expedia, once you scroll down to Policies&Fees, Checkin. :)
 
I booked through Expedia for our trip in January, and it worked out well. I actually booked and cancelled the rooms once or twice because our dates and number of people coming changed.

I think Expedia shows the price without tax and then when you go to the payment page, it adds in the tax. So watch that.

Also, you can usually find a coupon for Expedia as well - I think I got a pop-up on Tripadvisor giving me 7-10% off an Expedia booking. Also I went through ShopDiscover and Expedia was giving 5% cash back, so saved there as well.

Every little bit helps. :thumbsup2

I did have problems with the Magical Express - but anybody could have had those. They kept sending me tags with the wrong names on them (Jane instead of James, etc.). In the end, it didn't really matter, but that was frustrating. And I had to call them when our dates changed, etc. But that can happen when booking through Disney too.
 

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