saving $$ by NOT doing Magic Your Way...

[minandmick]

I changed my ressie today. My husband and I are buying AP and going in January 2011. Originally it was for the free dining...but in order to get free dining, we HAD to buy at least 2 day tickets for each of us. After doing some calculations, I realized that we could save more money by using the AP room discount and buying the same dining plan ourselves. The AP room discount for that month isn't out yet (probably end of October) but I used the room discount special they have going on right now and can change it later when they release the AP discounts. By doing this we saved over $300!!!

Also, I was a day over the 14 day mark for canceling the trip protection service and they were going to keep my $130 something dollars...but I asked very nicely if the supervisor could do something about that and they WAVED it! I know that people are always looking for Disney magic..and to me that is magic!

Just thought I'd share in case it can help anyone else out!

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

It depends on the family size and what your looking for. We used a 40% off room code so free dining didnt make sense for us.

 

[disneyfan55]

I changed my ressie today. My husband and I are buying AP and going in January 2011. Originally it was for the free dining...but in order to get free dining, we HAD to buy at least 2 day tickets for each of us. After doing some calculations, I realized that we could save more money by using the AP room discount and buying the same dining plan ourselves. The AP room discount for that month isn't out yet (probably end of October) but I used the room discount special they have going on right now and can change it later when they release the AP discounts. By doing this we saved over $300!!!

Also, I was a day over the 14 day mark for canceling the trip protection service and they were going to keep my $130 something dollars...but I asked very nicely if the supervisor could do something about that and they WAVED it! I know that people are always looking for Disney magic..and to me that is magic!

Just thought I'd share in case it can help anyone else out!

just so you know you can upgrade the 2 day tickets required for FD to an AP. Did you work the numbers doing that? Just wondering.

 

[minandmick]

No! I didn't know you could do that! How would I work the numbers for that anyway?

 

[princesspeach]

I think you would just deduct the price of the 2 day tickets from the price of the AP and thats how much you would pay for the AP, but you might have to buy one AP before hand to get the room discount I'm not really sure. I think you can get a 20% on food and alcohol if your an Ap holder so maybe you don't need the dining plan.

 

[minandmick]

I don't know. I'm going to try to look it up.

Thanks everyone for your help/suggestions! This is my first time staying on property so it's a new planning experience for sure!

 

[disneyfan55]

No! I didn't know you could do that! How would I work the numbers for that anyway?

You will pay rack rate for the room during FD. When you book the package, you have to pay for at least a 2 day pass, but you can just get whatever pass you like (or the 2 day if you don't want to prepay any more cost). Once there, go to the hotel guest services and have your ticket removed from your key card. Make sure they check that all your dining credits are still intact. Take the ticket and go to guest services at a park or DTD. They will charge you the difference between what ever ticket you purchased with your package and the price of the AP. That's it. You can get room discounts in the future but since you will have FD, no room discount anyway for that stay. You can't double up or stack discounts. Just another idea to bounce around.

 

[minandmick]

So, if I'm understanding correctly, the AP would still cost the same amount with the upgrade as if I just bought it outright? The real saving comparison would come into play between the room discount vs free dining? Just trying to figure it all out.

 

[honeydiane1953]

It depends on the family size and what your looking for. We used a 40% off room code so free dining didnt make sense for us.

Same here 40% off deluxe room makes more money sense to me as we r a small family. Buy tix at undercover tourist and pay meals OOP. I come out financially to the good this way.

 

[robinb]

So, if I'm understanding correctly, the AP would still cost the same amount with the upgrade as if I just bought it outright? The real saving comparison would come into play between the room discount vs free dining? Just trying to figure it all out.

You got it! Your Free Dining discount is equal to 2 adult DDPs per day which is $46 per person per day or $92. Rack rate at POR is $154, so the "discounted" rate (rack rate minus the value of the DDP) is $62. I don't think that an AP rate will beat that!

 

[Sue M]

We are staying at POR in Jan. There are 2 of us. We have APs. I've booked free dining with the 2 day park tickets. When AP rates come out, I'll see which discount is better for us. Then I'll change to AP rate and pay for dining, if that works out best. Either way, we like having the DDP. Having an AP doesn't get you 20% off all dining. Just a few places.

If the free dining works out best, you can save your 2 day park ticket for another trip if you have an AP. Usually 10 days is the break even point for an AP. If you plan on going to WDW over 10 days in a 12 mo period it would make sense to buy APs.

One more thing, if you book room only, and switch to AP + dining pkg(assuming you are buying the dining plan if you book AP rate) they will have to cancel your room only, refund your $ paid, and re-book as a package.
I've done it that way and it's kind of a hassle. So now, if I'm booking a room discount, while waiting for AP rates, I'll book the room only discount as a basic pkg (no park tickets) then when AP comes out I can just switch to AP + dining pkg easier.

Hope this makes sense!!