Question about the Kids Stay and Play FREE

[ninaeve]

Okay, first, small, petty complaint that that is a misrepresentation bc the kids stay free anyway. LOL

Second, I am absolutely so mad that after 4 years of having a Disney card with no special offers(barring the 0% for 6 months which is only good if you r charging your card...no savings up front and the free small photo at Epcot), I cancelled it just 2 months ago. Totally, my luck, that THEN they decide to make an amazing discount offer!!

Anyway, my question is about the new general public stay and play free deal. I can find the answer in the VISA deal discount, but not the general public one....We are 2 adults and 3 kids. I can find nothing that says 1 kid per paying adult or some such...only max 4 people per room...BUT when I price it online at POR(where I currently have ressies with the gift card deal), it is giving me all 3 kids free. The kids are 9, 6, and 4. I called to price it on the phone, but they said they can't make do anything with packages today until after 2pm, bc of upgrading. Should I just book it online? If we only get the 2 kids free (techinically, just the tickets), then it would be more economical to keep the gift card deal.

Also, if I call and make the ressie, can they cancel the gift card ressie, and apply that deposit to the new ressie, or will I have to wait for the refund? I know if you cancel a room only, that it can only be creditted back to your card, bc they are in a different program setup from packages, but what about switching packages? I searched, and could not find the answer to this.

TIA.

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

Just book it online if it is showing the 3 kids free. I have read no restrictions about 1 free kid per paying adult and have also seen many single parents taking 2 children and they will both be free.

If you call and cancel the gift card promo deal and swap to the kids free deal then they should be able to just change your package and your deposit would stay the same. We havn't done a package like that in a few years so I am not 100% sure but I have changed promos/resorts/dates several times and never had to give my credit card info again they just transfer the deposit.

I would book online, pay the new deposit and then just call and cancel the current reservation. That would eliminate any possible confusion with the CM on the phone when you cancel one and then start a new one or try to swap deals.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I disagree. You are always better off calling to book reservations. The terms are better. PLus they will be able to change your booking, instead fo having to rely on a refund or the original deposit. ( you could end up witha delay of the refund. It often takes about a week. If the refund and the new deposit are on different billing cycles, it could be a pain.)

However, I would caution you to price out the trip with botheh kids' discount and the room discount. With three kids ofhe proper age the kid's discount might be better, but it depends where youa re staying. Generally speaking, the kid discount is not a great one.

I also looked at it, and it is not clear up front - but I THINK - it's certainly worth checking - sometimes that offer includes free dining for the kids IF the adutls are on DDP. Kid's dining is only about $12 per day, but if it's free for the kids, then it's hard to say you'd be better off with no DDP.

The differences between over the phone and online are smaller when booking a package (as opposed to room only) but there are still slightly better terms when booking over the phone. I personally always price it out online -so I know exactly what it should cost, with exactly the specifics that I want. If the pricing comes out differently, then the CM can go through it with you. (Always watch out for trip insurance being added.)

 

[ninaeve]

Thanks for the quick replies.

I am hitting the 45 day mark this week, so I would rather book on the phone, and transfer the money directly if possible rather than have to wait for it.

We are currently 6 nights at POR with the gift card, which means full price room and tickets and dining, and $500 gift card. The percentage discounts off the room for a moderate did not equal the $500 of the gift card.
Free tickets for 3 kids @195 per ticket = $585 plus tax so that would be even better than the gift card.

Free dining for the kids would be great, but I won't count on it. $12 times 3 kids times 6 days = would save us another $216.

 

[ninaeve]

I just read that the Chase Disney Debit card can be used for the EAT, stay & play deal...did not know that. So I could open up the checking account with the $25 deposit (plus needed trip money), and make sure I deposit enough in it to make 5 transactions per month to avoid monthly fee...then cancel checking account after trip? Am I missing something here? Are they betting on people forgetting to cancel, liking Chase checking, or making money on the $6 monthly fee?!?!?

 

[3LittlePirates]

I just recently opened a chase checking account and was able to use the debit card for this promotion. Also Chase gave a 100 dollar bonus for opening the checking account (after 5 uses with debit card). So I actually made money with the bonus, and saved money with the discount!!!