Received a PIN, first time going, need some help

[Dong]

I've spent some time planning a WDW trip last year with my gf, but we did not end up going.

But, I received a postcard from WDW a few days ago with this offer:

$165* per night, plus tax in a studio at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa and Disney's Old Key West Resort for stays most nights 8/3/08 - 9/27/08.

I did a quick search online and the rates appears to be going for around $286 per night during this time. I then decided to plan a trip to WDW in August-Sept and I'm glad that I came across this forum and learned about this occasional postcard that WDW send out every year.

Since this is the first time I received this postcard and will be my first time going to WDW, I've a couple of questions that I would like answers for. I thank all for helping me out.

1. Are all of these PIN discounts restricted to certain WDW resorts? Mines says Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa and Disney's Old Key West Resort so I assume that I can only stay in these two resorts for this rate? Also, is it possible to upgrade the room?

2. Does WDW mail out these postcards every month? Do they usually mail it out 2 months prior? (because I received mines about a week ago). After reading a bit more it appears that some people receive the postcard in January with August codes??? In general, when should I be expecting a postcard if it is to show up?

That's all for now, thank you all. This is an awesome forum.

 

[Aliceacc]

If you're thinking of going during the latter part of the promo, do your math first. The Free Dining promo kicks in on August 24th and MAY be a better deal for you. (Here's how to do the math, from a math teacher:

Free dining: Figure $38 per adult per night, $10 per child (ages 3-10) per night, kids under 3 are free. Add totals for your potential savings.

PIN: Find the difference between rack rate and the quoted rate, and multiply by the number of nights you're staying.

When you call, be sure to ask about any other resorts you may be interested in.

I think the PIN postcards are a whole lot more rare than people suspect; if you CAN use this one, you may want to jump on it.

Also, if you're going during free dining, make those ADRs ASAP-- they may be hard to get!

 

[Dong]

Hi Aliceacc, thanks for the reply.

After doing some further research I realized that Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort and Old key West Resort are 2 of the 6 DVC resorts with the point system. I also realized that I can reserve a room through one of the DVC members at this forum. With the average rate of $10 to $11 per point, I can get a little upgrade for $165 per night.

I think the deadline for free dining is today, so it would be difficult since I am still planning. I think I am just going to use the points and simply pay for meals.