Summer special offers?

[fieldfam4]

All of the special offers and deals from Disney only run from May through June 14th. Does anyone know when we could start to see any later summer offers? We would like to visit in month of August and sticker shock is killing us. I would chose not to go if we couldn't get some kind discount. Something, anything! Thank you!

 

[Marionnette]

All of the special offers and deals from Disney only run from May through June 14th. Does anyone know when we could start to see any later summer offers? We would like to visit in month of August and sticker shock is killing us. I would chose not to go if we couldn't get some kind discount. Something, anything! Thank you!

There was a summer deal that ran thru 8/13/16 (free QS at at select resorts) but it had to be booked by 2/29/16.

FL residents and AP holders have a room-only offer than runs thru 7/31/16.

Right now, there is nothing out there for Disney Visa nor the general public. This has been such an unusual year for Disney discounts that I don't know whether past discount dates can be a predictor for the future. Here's a link to historical discounts and the dates they were announced.
http://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/#codechart

 

[fieldfam4]

Thank you for the historical discount link, that was helpful. So I have some hope for April. I've been going crazy because when I price out a package now and compare it to our last trip August 3 years ago, it is actually almost double. But that was with a discount and the rooms we had gotten last time (standard view) are not even available now (they're already booked). I think this has been addressed before, but people are able to book at full price now and apply a dis count when/if one becomes available? Is this a good way to do it? I'm worrying too much, I better do a better job of not worrying or I'm going to grow a tumor.

 

[Marionnette]

Thank you for the historical discount link, that was helpful. So I have some hope for April. I've been going crazy because when I price out a package now and compare it to our last trip August 3 years ago, it is actually almost double. But that was with a discount and the rooms we had gotten last time (standard view) are not even available now (they're already booked). I think this has been addressed before, but people are able to book at full price now and apply a dis count when/if one becomes available? Is this a good way to do it? I'm worrying too much, I better do a better job of not worrying or I'm going to grow a tumor.

You can re-book under the discount IF there are rooms available at your resort for the dates that you're staying. Disney offers room discounts to fill rooms. If the resorts are already booking up without a discount, they have no incentive to offer a discount. So, ask yourself whether you are willing to pay the rack rate for your room. If not, then choose a resort that you can afford to pay full price for. You can always upgrade if/when a discount comes out.

 

[fieldfam4]

So, if the specific type of room wasn't available at the resort I booked without a discount, I could rebook at a higher level room (upgraded view) at the same resort with the discount or pick a different resort? Thing is, we have decided we only want to stay at Boardwalk, beach club or yacht club? Thank you!

 

[Marionnette]

So, if the specific type of room wasn't available at the resort I booked without a discount, I could rebook at a higher level room (upgraded view) at the same resort with the discount or pick a different resort? Thing is, we have decided we only want to stay at Boardwalk, beach club or yacht club? Thank you!

Question: Why book at rack rate if you plan to change your reservation, either by upgrading or changing the resort? Why not just wait until the discounts come out? If Disney has enough rooms booked at the rack rate, then they have no incentive to offer a discount.

There are only two reasons that I can imagine for booking at the rack rate when you plan to change your reservation.

• The first would be in order to make sure that you got the room that you want, at the resort that you prefer, and you're concerned that it will not be available at a later date.
• The other reason would be to have a resort reservation in your MDE account so that when your 180+10 ADR date arrives, you can book all of your ADRs instead of doing it one day at a time.

 

[fieldfam4]

Question: Why book at rack rate if you plan to change your reservation, either by upgrading or changing the resort? Why not just wait until the discounts come out? If Disney has enough rooms booked at the rack rate, then they have no incentive to offer a discount.

There are only two reasons that I can imagine for booking at the rack rate when you plan to change your reservation.

• The first would be in order to make sure that you got the room that you want, at the resort that you prefer, and you're concerned that it will not be available at a later date.
• The other reason would be to have a resort reservation in your MDE account so that when your 180+10 ADR date arrives, you can book all of your ADRs instead of doing it one day at a time.

 

[fieldfam4]

Those are absolutely exactly the reasons. If I reserve the room at say Boardwalk, I will have a room there already to apply the discount. Am definitely concerned that the room I want won't be there if I wait.

 

[CoP Luv]

Those are absolutely exactly the reasons. If I reserve the room at say Boardwalk, I will have a room there already to apply the discount. Am definitely concerned that the room I want won't be there if I wait.

I could be totally wrong here, but I thought that if you already had a reservation and a discount came out that you wanted to use, you needed to re-book (i.e. - cancel your existing reservation and create a new one with the discount), so you would not be applying a discount to an existing reservation, but making a totally new reservation at the same resort that you had already booked.

So, why would you make a rack rate reservation if you are only able to take a trip with a discount? As previously stated, if there are enough rack rate rooms booked, Disney will see that they don't need discounts since more people are willing to pay full price.

 

[Marionnette]

Those are absolutely exactly the reasons. If I reserve the room at say Boardwalk, I will have a room there already to apply the discount. Am definitely concerned that the room I want won't be there if I wait.

But having a room reserved there does not mean that there will be a discount available for your dates or for the view that you have reserved. By booking at the rack rate, you have taken one more of that room type out of inventory, giving the Disney bean counters the impression that the hotel has come that much closer to having their desired number of rooms booked. They don't need to discount those rooms if they think that they're mostly filled.

If BWI is an absolute must do for you, and you're willing to pay the rack rate, then book it now. If the only way that you can stay at BWI is with a discount, then you should wait for the discount to come out and try for it then. Booking at rack rate now does not give you an edge over anyone else.

 

[fieldfam4]

Ok Im pretty dense but I think I finally understand. I thought that prior booking would reserve that room for me to apply an eventual discount to, even if i needed to "rebook" it. Guess that was wishful thinking. It's not that I'm "only able to take a trip with a discount", it's just that I would prefer to save a couple thousand dollars if I could. I appreciate all the help, Thanks!

 

[Marionnette]

Ok Im pretty dense but I think I finally understand. I thought that prior booking would reserve that room for me to apply an eventual discount to, even if i needed to "rebook" it. Guess that was wishful thinking. It's not that I'm "only able to take a trip with a discount", it's just that I would prefer to save a couple thousand dollars if I could. I appreciate all the help, Thanks!

I think we all want to save wherever we can. There are some people who book rooms with the hopes that there will be a decent discount offered. If no discount comes along, or if the discount is not a very good one for them, they end up either canceling or scrambling to make different arrangements. I didn't mean to imply that you could not afford BWI, only that if you were making the reservation with the intent to cancel in the event of no satisfactory discount, you are working against your own best interests.

 

[Marlyn]

I think it's important to have a room booked for ADRs to be done at 180 days so that you get the 180+10. I had my ADRs all booked way before I was able to get my AP rate for July.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Ok Im pretty dense but I think I finally understand. I thought that prior booking would reserve that room for me to apply an eventual discount to, even if i needed to "rebook" it. Guess that was wishful thinking. It's not that I'm "only able to take a trip with a discount", it's just that I would prefer to save a couple thousand dollars if I could. I appreciate all the help, Thanks!

You could always book through Orbitz using their 15% off promo code. Just remember that for some reason, Orbitz automatically charges extra pp charges for any # greater than 2 per room. So we book 2 adults only online then use their online chat to add children under 18. I only do this during hours that Disney res phone lines are open so they can leave me on hold to verify that there is no extra fees to add kids.
I have tried to do this by phone but the rep I got didn't have good English skills and I was very frustrated. The reps at their online chat were great.
Their current promo code for 15% is BEACHME. It says select hotels but so far all of Disney's hotels have always qualified. Other hotel chains such as Hyatt, Sheraton (operating Swan/Dolphin) will not allow any promo codes.

Their website recently changed that you can't apply the discount until you get into the checkout process and it's a little harder to find but it's there prior to entering a cc number.
I have booked through them several times and my reservations have always stated free cancellation the same as Disney's room-only res policy, which is up until 5 days before check in, but I have read here on the Dis that not all of their reservations state that so I would definitely read the fine print before booking.
Also I have booked using the 15% off promo in addition to Disney's then-current promotion so it does an additional discount. They may not have Disney's promo pricing the first day that a promo is released to the public. Like many 3rd party travel sites, it may take them a few days to apply Disney's pricing to their website but they almost always have a 15% promo code. Once I signed up for their emails, they send me promo codes every time they are released.

They do sell Disney tickets also but they don't offer a Disney "package" where you can get the DP also. I've never bought tickets from Orbitz so I can't comment on that aspect. If having the DP is important to you, don't book through Orbitz. They give you their own confirmation # and then another # which is Disney's confirmation # to enter into MDE. This has worked flawlessly in the past several times for us.

 

[fieldfam4]

I think we all want to save wherever we can. There are some people who book rooms with the hopes that there will be a decent discount offered. If no discount comes along, or if the discount is not a very good one for them, they end up either canceling or scrambling to make different arrangements. I didn't mean to imply that you could not afford BWI, only that if you were making the reservation with the intent to cancel in the event of no satisfactory discount, you are working against your own best interests.

I understand and appreciate what you are saying Marionette. Thank you

 

[fieldfam4]

You could always book through Orbitz using their 15% off promo code. Just remember that for some reason, Orbitz automatically charges extra pp charges for any # greater than 2 per room. So we book 2 adults only online then use their online chat to add children under 18. I only do this during hours that Disney res phone lines are open so they can leave me on hold to verify that there is no extra fees to add kids.
I have tried to do this by phone but the rep I got didn't have good English skills and I was very frustrated. The reps at their online chat were great.
Their current promo code for 15% is BEACHME. It says select hotels but so far all of Disney's hotels have always qualified. Other hotel chains such as Hyatt, Sheraton (operating Swan/Dolphin) will not allow any promo codes.

Their website recently changed that you can't apply the discount until you get into the checkout process and it's a little harder to find but it's there prior to entering a cc number.
I have booked through them several times and my reservations have always stated free cancellation the same as Disney's room-only res policy, which is up until 5 days before check in, but I have read here on the Dis that not all of their reservations state that so I would definitely read the fine print before booking.
Also I have booked using the 15% off promo in addition to Disney's then-current promotion so it does an additional discount. They may not have Disney's promo pricing the first day that a promo is released to the public. Like many 3rd party travel sites, it may take them a few days to apply Disney's pricing to their website but they almost always have a 15% promo code. Once I signed up for their emails, they send me promo codes every time they are released.

They do sell Disney tickets also but they don't offer a Disney "package" where you can get the DP also. I've never bought tickets from Orbitz so I can't comment on that aspect. If having the DP is important to you, don't book through Orbitz. They give you their own confirmation # and then another # which is Disney's confirmation # to enter into MDE. This has worked flawlessly in the past several times for us.

Thank you ru but we are definitely getting a dining plan.

 

[Shanti]

Last year there was a general public resort-only discount for summer, and I'm sure the same discount will appear this year, just as it has for spring. Late March, early April is when it's likely to come out, so keep checking the Disney website.

Go ahead and book your dining ressies right now. I definitely wouldn't wait for that- just book them for the dates that you plan to stay.

No need to book a room in advance of the discount coming out (as someone else mentioned, that cuts into discountable inventory)- there are plenty of rooms at the World & something good will always be available. But if waiting makes you nervous, just go ahead & book now at rack rate to calm your mind, then change the ressie when the discount comes out.

 

[Shanti]

I could be totally wrong here, but I thought that if you already had a reservation and a discount came out that you wanted to use, you needed to re-book (i.e. - cancel your existing reservation and create a new one with the discount), so you would not be applying a discount to an existing reservation, but making a totally new reservation at the same resort that you had already booked.

You do not need to cancel a resort reservation to apply a discount. Click "Change Reservation" via MDE, and the Summer Resort Offer will be able to be applied in the change process. Or simply call Disney & they can make the change for you- I've changed rack rate to discount many times.

 

[fieldfam4]

Last year there was a general public resort-only discount for summer, and I'm sure the same discount will appear this year, just as it has for spring. Late March, early April is when it's likely to come out, so keep checking the Disney website.

Go ahead and book your dining ressies right now. I definitely wouldn't wait for that- just book them for the dates that you plan to stay.

No need to book a room in advance of the discount coming out (as someone else mentioned, that cuts into discountable inventory)- there are plenty of rooms at the World & something good will always be available. But if waiting makes you nervous, just go ahead & book now at rack rate to calm your mind, then change the ressie when the discount comes out.

Thanks so much Shanti. I am going to wait for those late March early April summer discounts u referred to. Actually I think that's what we used the last time we went 3 years ago. The dinner ressies are a good suggestion. Now I just have to finalize exact dates with my adult children who are coming with us. Thanks!

 

[fieldfam4]

Thanks again Shanti! Although other responders above stated that I could not apply a discount to a full price package I already booked (because I would have to cancel and rebook and the room "might no longer be available") I chose to believe what you said as you had experience doing so.