The only drawback is that you can not get the dinning plan through orbitz, correct?
Correct, no dining plan. You can't book packages through Orbitz and dining plan can only be purchased with a package.
Other things folks might consider drawbacks:
You pay in full, up front. Fully refundable though, based on Disney's parameters for room-only reservations (refundable up to 5 days before arrival, after that cancellation penalty is the equivalent of the first night's stay, rack rate)
You have to arrange for DME yourself if you want it, but it can be done online or by calling DME directly.
If you want to apply a different discount or change resort, dates or length of stay, you have to cancel and rebook.
Orbitz has an issue where it charges extra for all persons past the first 2 in the room, regardless of the age of those persons. You have to arrange to add children under 18 later (thru Orbitz who will do the booking through Disney) in order to have them added without extra charges.
There are varying reports on how to deal with room requests or anything you wish to put on your reservation. In theory, Disney will not deal with you because that reservation belongs to Orbitz. On the other hand, some have reported that they called Disney directly and were able to do such things. It helps if you can somehow retrieve the 12 digit Disney official reservation number.
UGH! I am on hold right now with Orbitz. I told them 2 adults and 2 kids for the room and, if it is supposed to be a 30% discount for Beach Club, we were charged an extra $300.
You may have to explain to them that the children should be added via Disney without any extra charges for the 3rd and 4th persons in the room.
Oh good! I was trying to book a room with 4 adults and 2 kids. Disney let me but cheaper with orbitz so I should book 4 adults 1 child and call in to add infant?
Make sure you are booking a room with a capacity of 5 persons plus one infant. Book the 4 adults, you will be charged for them anyway. Call AFTER you have made the reservation to add the child and infant. Tell them they need to add them by calling Disney because you should not incur an extra person charge for them.
Always remember that while Disney charges "adult' prices for anyone 10 and older regarding park tickets and dining, when you are booking a resort room and nothing else a "child" is anyone under the age of 18. You should be able to add anyone to your reservation (without exceeding room capacity) between the ages of 0 and 17 without being charged the per night fee for having more then 2 persons in the room.
I was under the impression to book 2 adults and then call to add the 2 kids. Any advice would be good on this issue.
