caveat: this is all, really, date dependent.
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well, you could try looking on places like orbitz/expedia/hotels.com for Disney resorts. depending on the season and expected availability, Pop and other resorts are featured on those websites at a modest discount, though booking through any of these is basically like booking through a TA with respect to how the reservation is managed. as reference, I find the Annual Passholder discount (if there is one offered at the same time) is always better. If there is a seasonal discount offered directly through Disney, that'll be better too; but if there are no discounts available direct... that's one way to go. The best time is when these websites have internal promos, like "use code ZZZZ to score $30 off $100+ bookings!" that you can apply to the purchase. ***but keep in mind, all of these booking sites will have some percentage of fees bundled in with taxes at the end, which may or may not actually net any savings. Sometimes, the savings after all is said and done is so negligible, I'd rather just book rack rate thru Disney and save the headache.
so, 3rd party booking, seasonal discount, AP discount. Having an AP or any of the other associations (DVC, FL) will often produce the best discounts when booking directly through Disney -- though they are all limited and book so quickly. What month are you going?
There are a number of other things you could do if you like to live dangerously and don't mind trying offsite, like using Hotwire or Priceline not long before you need a room to book at a discount. It'll be an opaque booking, but with some research and googling, you can have certainty about which property you book. If you prefer to keep it a mystery, you can still control for area/amenities/star rating/guest rating, and more. Disney resorts used to sometimes be on here at fantastic prices in the depths of an off season. This has changed, recently.
Or you can use an app like Hotel Tonight to book, which is similar to Hotwire/Priceline services, but is 100% transparent about which property you're getting. But the catch with this app is you can only book within 7 days, so you are very much subject to whatever availability pops up. On Hotel Tonight, I've only seen POFQ as a Disney resort there, and never at a *great* discount - just very minimal. The Disney Springs area hotels are often featured through the app.
If the issue is that there's only rack rate availability at Pop for the night you're set to go, I would probably suggest an offsite, nearby hotel, like one of the Disney Springs area hotels. They often compete well price-wise (like $75-89/nt + tax is not unheard of, but "resort fees" are the worst). The hotels themselves each have fans and detractors. Of course, they also lack benefits like EMH, luggage resort transfer and Magical Express, so we come back again to the idea that rack rate might be a tidier way of spending what you would spend anyway in a more fragmented fashion elsewhere, e.g. offsite hotel + Uber there + Uber again the next day to move resorts, etc.
If you're going right around Thanksgiving or Christmas time (in the next 2 months), forget most of what I said -- I'd book the rack rate at the cheapest value ASAP. Availability is bleak.
