seems weird that most everyone plans on discounts?

[TDC Nala]

There are almost always discounts. Foir the most part there's no reason to pay rack rate on a room if you are aware of Disney's discounting methods. Where it becomes complicated is that there are guests who anticipate discounts of a certain type, on a certain resort or a certain type of room, on certain dates. All that has been narrowed down, so they can probably still get a discount, but possibly not the type of discount they wanted or the resort or room type they wanted.

 

[Aliceacc]

This time last year, I had 2 rooms booked: one at the Beach Club and one using the teacher's discount at the Dolphin.

When my 30% PIN came in, I cancelled the Dolphin.

Simply put, I couldn't afford the vacation we're planning (IN 10 DAYS!!! I HAD TO SQUEEZE THAT IN!!!) at rack rate.

We're using the discount, and the kids are taking YES classes. I booked airfare in January, when it was about $600 less than it is now. So, all told, we're paying a good $2000 less than we might have for the same vacation.

 

[Upatnoon]

Does most everyone on here plan on discounts most of the time? I see people book...rebook... cancel..rebook with Fd....etc etc etc....


Seems so stressful to plan that way. Im sure there are those of us that like doing it and trust me i understand why.


What if Disney just decided no FD only discounts on rooms from now on with no warning. Would that eliminate your planned trip?


It seems that i would just book and HOPE for a lucky discount OR just plan to wait and see and take whats available for that particuliar discount.

With all the construction coming up i bet discounts will be ok for this yr for those resorts. And people in the know will have already booked somewhere else before it was too late.

So i seem to see that price is more important than where to most on here?

Guess its just some OCD kicking in. I like to plan............I like to book it.. hope for magic instead of being disappointed in whats left to book. I plan to pay X amount and getting a discount would be awesome to use but dont want it to affect the great vacation planning....

i watched for months of Discounts, no discounts but FD, Fd upgrades, resort upgrades, downgrades,,,,,etc......Im not a last minute planner so id be way too stressed about last minute changes and scheduling. How do you all do it?

Id do a poll but havent figured that out......

PRICE or LOCATION? which do you think is more important? And before flames get thrown, i understand the cost of deluxe,mods, and values in the scheme of ones planning.

Isn't shopping for a deal one of the most fun things about a vacation? The thrill of the chase? Getting the best deal possible? Outwitting all those "planners" who pay more while I swoop in at the last minute for a bargain?

Some people may never haggle with a car salesmen -- just accept his price.
Others may never use a coupon at the supermarket.
Some people would never rent DVC points, only reserve a room from Disney itself.

If you don't like to play the deal game, you will pay more. If that leaves a bitter taste in your wallet, then learn to play.

 

[RedfromNL]

Not really.

OK, some might get a little obsessive in their planning But it's just people trying to get the best for the least.
I always try to do that myself

I mean, coming from the Netherlands, flying isn't cheap, especially when you don't fancy flying cattle-class for 10-12 hours.... Anything a bit better is going to cost. And even though we are pretty well off, we both have good jobs, no kids, no big expenses there ARE limits to our budget.

So it comes down to going WL WITH discount or something a bit cheaper without. Now mind you, I loved the POFQ so will be quite happy there.
But I liked the WL even better!
So yes, we like to try and get some form of discount. I mean, we DO save about 1000-1500 dollars that way. That's quite a bit of money!

But I do that anyway, for any holiday we take.
As a PP said: it is a bit of a sport getting the best for your personal budget. I won't go so far as some but further than others.

Never considered that to be so weird.

 

[Abby Wednesday]

I can't ever remember paying rack rate for any hotel, not just Disney. Do people pay the rack rate for hotels outside Disney? That seems weird to me.

I see what the OP is saying about booking way ahead and wanting to have everything planned and ready to go, but I start the actual booking process maybe 3-4 months prior to my trip, at the max. I do my research way ahead of time and I've found I can almost never get a discount more than a few months in advance. I'm ok with that, and I'm not one to get my heart set on a hotel when there is a better rate elsewhere. It probably helps that my Disney trips are in September, but that's been my experience with other trips, too. I got a great rate 1 month in advance for an upcoming trip to Williamsburg, and it's high season there.

I do think that if you absolutely must have something very specific at Disney that tends to be popular (think certain BLT, Poly, CR room types), you'd better book way ahead. I truly don't understand that mindset personally, but to each his/her own.

 

[kbknepp]

So, call me dense, but we haven't actually booked a regular trip before, so I have a question. Our first trip to DW was many, many moons ago (15 years) and I worked at a travel agency so I was able to get a very great rate. Our last trip (June this year) we went with a group and were able to get a military discount through my father who went with us.

This trip it is just my little family. We are looking at booking AofA. I'm a crazy, plan-ahead kind of gal and we figured we'd just book what we could afford. After reading this post, am I given to understand that should a discount become available after we have already booked, we can ask to have it applied to our reservation?

 

[Aliceacc]

So, call me dense, but we haven't actually booked a regular trip before, so I have a question. Our first trip to DW was many, many moons ago (15 years) and I worked at a travel agency so I was able to get a very great rate. Our last trip (June this year) we went with a group and were able to get a military discount through my father who went with us.

This trip it is just my little family. We are looking at booking AofA. I'm a crazy, plan-ahead kind of gal and we figured we'd just book what we could afford. After reading this post, am I given to understand that should a discount become available after we have already booked, we can ask to have it applied to our reservation?

Yes, you can.