resort help

[Beast2Prince]

I am planning a trip for May 2003 and I am trying to decide which resort to stay in. My wife told me it's up to me, "whatever you think we can afford." I am budgeting for $1500 for 7 nights on site and would like to know which resorts I should be looking at. I plan on joining Disney Club, but also looking for discounts when they come available. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[mrsltg]

$1500 will get you anything up to and including all Value and Moderate resorts, and depending upon the codes available, the Wilderness Lodge and the AKL (standard rooms). The Disney Club definitely helps and is well worth joining.

Enjoy planning your trip!

Erin

 

[Beast2Prince]

Thanks mrsltg!

We have stayed at CBR and All Star Movies. We would stay at either again, but may like to try others. Which resort would you choose either Value or Moderate?

 

[mrsltg]

Hmmmm... I've only stayed at CSR on-site, and I loved it. There are a couple of people on these boards with wonderful websites on this resort. I am staying (for 1 night) at ASMo this November, and then moving to either POFQ or something else (I'm totally up in the air!). At any rate....

I guess it depends on what you and your DW like. Do you have kids? If not, I'd go for the moderate. The theming is a little more adult. Being that you've tried CBR, I'd definitely give something else a shot. You should be able to get a pretty decent rate on any of the properties as your vacation draws closer. Just choose a theme you like!

Erin

 

[Beast2Prince]

Thanks.

Anyone,
Can I book a room now and then call and get a discounted rate on my room, or even change resorts, if a discount comes available?

 

[MJames41]

Yes, you can book now and then get a reduced fare later should it come out. I have a question - is that $1,500 for the whole trip or just for hotels? If for the whole trip, does that include tickets, transportation, and food? For how many people? I don't mean to put a damper on your plans, and it probably can be done for $1,500 total, but it would probably have to be a value for 7 nights (I don't think Disney World has ever been accused of being inexpensive). Hope this doesn't burst your bubble.

 

[Beast2Prince]

$1500 is for the room only. I have another budget set aside for tickets, food, and either plane tickets or gas money depending on how we go. It will just be my wife and I, but since we won't be spending a lot of time in the rooms, a value resort wouldn't be bad. We liked the All Stars, but we're glad we were at CBR in September. We just happened to be on our honeymoon the week of 9/11, so the activities at CBR really came in handy with the parks closed. We may just stay at ASMo again to save money.

 

[Christi 2002]

I think it can easily be done at almost any of the resorts. I got the Contemporary for this June for 6 nights for $1000 (including tax) and could of gotten the Poly for $1500 (including tax), but decided to save the $500 for something else and go with the Contemp. I used a code I found on Mousesavers, but I would guess there will be discounts next year as well.
Christi

 

[Beast2Prince]

Like everyone, I would like to stay at the best resort for the smallest amount of money. The other two times we've gone, we used packages through Disney. This time we just want a room and UPH passes. We don't need the flex features. I figure I'll save some money this way using either the Disney Club discount or an advertised discount. We have actually received discount cards in the mail, but haven't been able to use them. It will be nice to receive one for our upcoming trip. Does anyone know if you can use your Disney Club discount and a discount code?

 

[eeyore0062]

Book a moderate (PO-R or PO-FQ are great), and then wait and see what may come up in the discounts for next May...when you find that out, just switch your ressies.

 

[Beast2Prince]

Who should I use to make my reservations? I've used a local travel agent the other two times, but should I use them for room only reservations?

I'm not sure I trust DU, but would like to know how others usually make their reservations.

 

[dcedwards]

For our first 8 trips or so I did everything myself. On the last trip I used DU and they were great. Got me discounted rates every time they came out. They looked for me...and then let me know. It worked great. The did all my priority seatings and everything. We are using them again for our December trip this year. We have an AAA rate (better cancellation policy than DC and same price) and are waiting for the AP rate or other codes that might come out. You can do it either way. You should do what is most comfortable for you. But, we haven't had any problems with DU. When there were some real complicated issues last year with the closing of POFQ our DU agent called me on the phone a couple times. Worked great.

 

[Beast2Prince]

Can some one fill me in on how DU actually works. I've looked at their web page and it looks like you give them your info, they get you a quote, and then you reserve it if it's ok. Do you have a deposit to put down? And, how do you do the deposit?

 

[dcedwards]

Du is really simple. You are right in that you give them all the necessary information to get you a qoute. Usually within 24 hours you will hear back from them as to what was available including the total cost for your package or room reservation. At that time you decide if you want to accept the reservation. If you do, at that time you will be asked to give a deposit. The deposit is the same as if you booked the reservation directly. The cancellation policy is also the same. You will then be assigned an agent who will email you with a bunch of information. You will always have access to your reservation via the internet as they give you a customer number and password. If you have any questions you can email your agent and they typically respond within 24 hours. They also monitor rates, etc. and if a cheaper rate comes available they let you know. And in many instances just switch you over to the cheaper rate.

 

[annemariec]

For $1500 you could stay anywhere you want with a good code including the GF! We stayed for $199 a night at the GF, Sept. of last year. Loved it. Is May considered off-season? (I think it is.)

Can't remember the travel agency name we used. (It's mixed up with all of our vacation papers filed away.) We did our homework and booked through them. (Fla. agency --- 1-800 number) Used them for 2 years and haven't had a single problem! Even with changes to our ressies. Always got timely confirmations and polite, friendly help. After what I've been reading about CRO, we'll be staying with them!

Good luck planning!
Annemarie

 

[eeyore0062]

We always book everything ourselves... it is so easy! We do it through CRO at Disney reservations... the phone number is 1 (407) WDisney. We book our flights, PS and everything. That way we don't have to go through the middleman.