When to Book?

[JoannaTN7]

I tried posting this on the strand for the specific resort I'd like to stay in and got nowhere, so I decided to try asking in a new thread here instead!

So my trip is forever from now, but I'm actually seeing a lot of people that have trips pending for up to two years from now. My question is now that I know where I want to stay and how long we want to be there, when should I book this puppy? I know that the rates will be higher in 2017 and those rates have not been released yet, but I also know that it's recommended that we book the rooms we want as early as possible. Should I try booking the room now? Can I even book the room now? Should I wait until I'm at least a year out from the trip? I mean, I know a lot can change in 20 months (give or take)...

Thanks for any advice offered or any light you can shed on this particular topic! I haven't been on a real vacation in about 7 years, so I'm kind of green as they come!

 

[verleniahall]

you can book a "room only" package 499 days out - but if you want to book a package, you will have to wait until they are released sometime in July.

We go every year (skipping this year due to medical appointmetns for DH) but we have 2017-2021 trips planned and set so we know how much they will be -

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Room only isn't a package. If what you really want is a package, you'll have to change the reservation to a package when packages are available to book. A room only reservation doesn't act as a place-holder for a package.

If you want to purchase items other than the room - like tickets or a dining plan - as part of the same transaction, then you want a package. You can purchase tickets separately without a package reservation, but not a dining plan. If you buy tickets separately, you can't cancel the tickets should you decide to cancel the resort, although you can transfer them to other persons.

 

[JoannaTN7]

Ooookay...

So if I'm reading this right, it sounds like I'll have to wait until July? Because I want to do a complete package and try to minimize the confusion by not buying tickets separately and adding in the dining plan later and whatnot. Just get the whole shebang booked right off the bat. And then later, as discounts are promoted, I can add the discount to the existing package. Right?

So let me ask this: Say one day I wake up and there's this great 30% off room discount and I call Disney and say, "Please apply this to my package." Then a month later I wake up and I'm all, "FREE DINING, WHAT?!" and I run some quick numbers and find out that that will save me even more than the other discount will. Can I then call Disney and be all, "Change my promotion to the new promotion!" or would that, like, ruin everything?

Thanks so much for helping me out!!!