Rack Rate?

[Dsnymouse]

What is a rack rate and how do you get them?
thanks

 

[InstImpres]

Rack rate is the base non-discounted rate. Disney publishes them usually in late Spring for the following year. Most likely you are after code or discounted rates as rack rate is what everyone gets automatically when calling central reservations.

 

[mamacatnv]

To the best of my knowledge:

Rack rate is the standard, non discounted rate that is available to anyone and everyone. It is the rate that is generally found on the website or the rates you see listed on this site or others.


Rack rate is not something you want. You want a discount or code special.

 

[deekaypee]

To the best of my knowledge:

Rack rate is the standard, non discounted rate that is available to anyone and everyone. It is the rate that is generally found on the website or the rates you see listed on this site or others.


Rack rate is not something you want. You want a discount or code special.

Ditto! And if you're interested in information on different types of Disney savings, you might like Mousesavers.com.

 

[jenseib]

So how do you find discounts?? I see you said to look on Mousesavers. Is that the only place? I thought the rates on the site wern't to awful to begin with for the value resorts, but if I can go cheaper, I would love it!

 

[dollcollector1]

So how do you find discounts?? I see you said to look on Mousesavers. Is that the only place? I thought the rates on the site wern't to awful to begin with for the value resorts, but if I can go cheaper, I would love it!

We got a bargain through Liberty Travel Agency and since we booked our trip with them in Aug, nobody has been able to touch the price we were quoted, for a family of 5. Not AAA, not southwest.com, not Smallworld Vacations, not Walmart Travel, not Boscov's Travel,not disney.com, not expedia.com, not aa.com. Our trip is about $2-4K less than what we expected to pay . Smallword Travel gave us the HIGHEST quote and this was without airfare. We were able to save money ,also by forgoing the Water Park option, because our trip is in Feb. We were able to get a non stop flight that arrives in 2hours at 10:20AM , so we got what we wanted! You have to shop around. I looked for about 4 weeks straight until I found what I was looking for.

 

[mamacatnv]

So how do you find discounts?? I see you said to look on Mousesavers. Is that the only place? I thought the rates on the site wern't to awful to begin with for the value resorts, but if I can go cheaper, I would love it!

Personally, I booked this upcoming trip thru Magical Journeys and when the AAA rates came out my TA got me the discount. Unless Disney comes out with something better soon I will be keeping the AAA discount which was a 20% discount on the room rate.

Also, keeping an eye on these boards is a great code finding tool. If you read of one you can call WDW and ask them to apply it to your reservation if you booked thru them.

The advantage to some of the TA's is that they will apply any discounts that become available automatically if you qualify.

 

[jenseib]

Thanks for that info. We don't have a triple A membership. How much is one usually? Would it be worth buying one? I mean would I save more than waht I spent on a membership?
I will ahve to look into the travel companies you guys have stated.

 

[mill4023]

AAA typically costs around $50 for a year long membership.
So whether or not it would be worth the discount depends on which resort you want to stay at and how many nights you are staying.

Occasionally, you may find a good deal through a particular travel agency, but it's very rare that these will be better than what you can get directly from Disney.
Here are the most common discounts that you can find on Disney resort rooms:
AAA - The discount amount varies depending on which season it is and which kind of resort you want (value, moderate, deluxe). It ranges from 10%-20% off and it is almost always available.
Annual passholder - To get these, you have to have an Annual Pass, but sometimes they are good enough discounts that it's worthwhile for one person in your party to buy an AP just for the discount. Last spring, I bought an AP for this reason. It cost me about $230 more than a 7 day ticket, but it saved us about $500 off our rooms for our 2 week trip.
Florida Resident - Usually similar to the AP rates, but of course, you have to be a FL resident.
General Public - Disney runs special promotions and puts out discount codes from time to time.

Typically, you can get the AAA rate far in advance. The other discounts are usually available a few months in advance. For instance, right now, there are AP rates, FL rates, and general public room and package discount codes available through December.

If you know when you want to go and what you can afford, your best bet is to go ahead and make a reservation now, then keep you eye out on these boards and on Mousesavers for any news of a discount for your time period. You'll see that most upcoming months have a code watch thread here. Those are full of all the people who have trips for that month and are waiting to see if there will be any discounts.