Question/Comment about the latest discount

[Tribe]

Maybe those out there that are familiar with the newest discount for Jan-Feb of 2013 could let me know if I am correct. When I called Disney the CM said there are 2 discounts: one for room only and another for the entire package with dining plan. So I got a quote for everything. According to my math there really only is a room discount. I would save 25% off the rack rate for WL (and I believe up to 35% for other Deluxes). But when adding park tickets and dining plan, they appear to be full price. I believe I could get AAA tickets cheaper. I kind of feel like the CM's may be stretching the truth a little to try and get people to book a complete pakage. Thoughts?

 

[princessap]

I got two quotes as well and it actually works out to be cheaper for us to do room only discount and then add tickets and DDP on to it after. Did you check it that way?

 

[Maggie'sMom]

The % off discounts only apply to the room portion even if you are booking a package. The only time a discount will apply to the dining or tickets is when the promotion is specific to that, e.g. free dining (rack rate on room but you get dining plan for free) or Kids Stay and Play for free (which essentially amounts to free park tickets for kids).

Any time you see a promotion for 25% off, 35% off, etc. that % only comes off the room rate. And that's the way it's always been.

What the CM may have meant is that there are two different booking codes they use, one if you are booking a room only reservation and one for if you are booking a package. It's more a technical distinction for them because they have to input a different code if you are booking a package.

 

[Tribe]

I was told that I could not simply add tickets and DP later on. CM said he would have to cancel reservation in order to add on and we could lose our hotel ressie. But he said we could always subtract items. So I booked everything with the idea of doing the math after and probably subtracting tickets and DP.

 

[smitch425]

The two deals out now are a room only code and a stay/play/dine offer. For the s/p/d/ offer, adults (as well as kids) will pay kid prices for both tickets and the dining plan. Depending on the number of people in your party, the room only code at a deluxe may work better for you. It is all about the math. What works for one person's reservation, may not work for another. The more people you have in your room, the higher the s/p/d discount amounts to. You always need to run the numbers for both and see which way saves you more money.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I was told that I could not simply add tickets and DP later on. CM said he would have to cancel reservation in order to add on and we could lose our hotel ressie. But he said we could always subtract items. So I booked everything with the idea of doing the math after and probably subtracting tickets and DP.

This is correct, somewhat. If you book a room only reservation, it cannot be simply modified to include tickets and dining. It must be cancelled and rebooked as a package. And that can cause an issue if the promotion is no longer going on when you decide to make the change. It's not impossible for it to be worked around, but it's not as simple as just adding on the package components.

 

[princessap]

The two deals out now are a room only code and a stay/play/dine offer. For the s/p/d/ offer, adults (as well as kids) will pay kid prices for both tickets and the dining plan. Depending on the number of people in your party, the room only code at a deluxe may work better for you. It is all about the math. What works for one person's reservation, may not work for another. The more people you have in your room, the higher the s/p/d discount amounts to. You always need to run the numbers for both and see which way saves you more money.

I wasnt aware that was how it was supposed to work. Ours worked out cheaper with the room only discount and adding dp and tickets after but I am wondering why when there are four of us??
Is there a minimum number of nights for s/p/d??

 

[lanejudy]

I was told that I could not simply add tickets and DP later on. CM said he would have to cancel reservation in order to add on and we could lose our hotel ressie. But he said we could always subtract items. So I booked everything with the idea of doing the math after and probably subtracting tickets and DP.

A room-only reservation does have to be cancelled and re-booked if you wish to convert it to a package (with a new reservation number). You can remove or modify parts of a package, as long as the minimum requirements remain - for example, to add the DDP you must have at least 1 day tickets, free dining typically requires at least a 2-day ticket. However, if you subtract both the DDP and all tickets from your package, you will not necessarily be left with a room-only discount.

Discounts or special pricing on packages will always depend on availability at a certain resort and specific room/view/tier - if the rooms allotted for that discount or package are already booked, then it will no longer be available to you if you decide to change down the road.

 

[smitch425]

I wasnt aware that was how it was supposed to work. Ours worked out cheaper with the room only discount and adding dp and tickets after but I am wondering why when there are four of us??
Is there a minimum number of nights for s/p/d??

Not sure about a minimum, but there are some blackout dates.

 

[lanejudy]

I wasnt aware that was how it was supposed to work. Ours worked out cheaper with the room only discount and adding dp and tickets after but I am wondering why when there are four of us??
Is there a minimum number of nights for s/p/d??

It might depend on your dates, or maybe the resort. Room-only discount is almost always the better deal at a deluxe resort. Also, if you are 4 people but 2 are children, the S/P/D is not really giving any discount to them. A family of 4 "Disney adults" would save more.

 

[princessap]

Thanks for explaining that. That would explain why adding it to room only is better deal. However, I already have tickets so not sure it it worth it to buy one day tickets to get dining plan

 

[lanejudy]

Thanks for explaining that. That would explain why adding it to room only is better deal. However, I already have tickets so not sure it it worth it to buy one day tickets to get dining plan

Maybe not. Take a look at what the dining plan will cost you. Also try to think about the type of dining you like to do on vacation - do you like a lot of sit-down meals, keeping to a reservation schedule, and spending 1+ hours each meal? Or do you prefer to eat when hungry, grab a quick bite wherever you are? The dining plan does not work for my family, though if free I won't turn it down. Our eating habits just don't fit the DDP well and it wouldn't be a cost-saver for us. You can check menu prices on allears.net to get an idea of what out-of-pocket would cost you - compare that to what the DDP will cost.

 

[Spunky946]

I wasnt aware that was how it was supposed to work. Ours worked out cheaper with the room only discount and adding dp and tickets after but I am wondering why when there are four of us??
Is there a minimum number of nights for s/p/d??

We are staying at Akv and got a 35% discount which was a much better deal then the s/p/d. We have 2 adults and 2 kids ages 8 and 4. I think if you are staying at a mod or value and have kids that are Disney adults, the package discount would work better. You can price both out online and see which is better.

 

[bluehawaii19]

We are staying at POR and when I compared the room only discount (with tickets) and the SPD deal, it ended up costing a lot less for the SPD deal (about $500 less).