Who do you book with - UK or US Disney Travel?

[kylieh]

We're travelling to DW from Australia. I've had a look at both the US and UK Disney Travel agents and with current exchange rates and free dining for the period we're going UK site works out a lot cheaper.

My question is do you all normally book with Disney UK or with US? Both will book Australian customers, and I thought I might get the opinion from our Ashes winning friends

 

[2Tiggies]

Hi

welcome! Always great to have a visitor pop in.

The answer is It Depends! Great help

The offer dates vary so if you are tied to certain dates, it is a case of pricing up what is best for your dates and length of stay.

Also, regarding length of stay, the US will only let you book for a max of 14 nights You can do a second booking if you want to stay longer, but this means buying another set of park tickets if you want the DDP in the mix, whether free or paid for.

A major factor for us is that the US offers tend to be released around 6 months or less away from check in so if flight prices and availability are a gamble then the UK is a safer bet.

Also to keep in mind if you are paying off your holiday is fluctuating exchange rates. A sharp fall in your currency between booking and paying off can have a serious impact.

For those who like to do a typical stay of more than 10 days, book well in advance and know how much it is going to cost from the outset, the UK site often wins. But it does depend what you want and how flexible you can be.

When are you thinking of going, how many and for how long? If you want to post some details on here we have some members who are incredible at helping out with price comparisons and options. That isn't really my big strength - I like meeting and welcoming the new folks and visitors

Edit:

I thought I might get the opinion from our Ashes winning friends

It's late here and this didn't sink in until I hit the submit button.

 

[Goofyish]

Can't really compare booking with the UK and US sites, but for my trip this year I booked with the UK Disney site. Was very straightforward and I got free dining and 14 day pass for the price of 7 so can't complain

 

[fuse04]

Book with whoever is the cheapest, we have used the Disney uk twice and they have been very efficiecnt

 

[grantforrest]

US worked out cheaper for us this year - got a 20% room only discount which was not offered on the UK site and that swung it.

 

[crabbie1]

Havent decided either as like tiggs said the US dont bring out there offers till around 6 months of date so I would have to wait till around may/june to compare mine. Tempted to book with UK to def get free DDP but then might be cheaper to wait to see if US bring out an extension of there Free DDP or a good room discount. One good thing about the US site is you can cancel a lot later (about a week before I think but someone may correct me) where as the UK site if you have to cancel within a certain time you can loose the deposit.They will however let you carry it forward to another booking.The UK also charge an amendment fee of £25 for each change. Its swings and round abouts but if you definatley know your dates,when you want to go etc then at the moment I would say UK site. I can never see discount codes or these room discounts on the US site.I know sometimes the amount you pay on the room with the discount outways the cost of the DDP so you may get a higher hotel catagorie(deluxe for moderate) pay for DDP OOP for the same price as the moderate with free QSDP if tht makes sense
Also as mentioned you need to weigh up the exchange rate unless you are fortunate to be able to pay in one go with the price your quoted. Good luck and feel free to keep asking us any questions.

 

[crabbie1]

US worked out cheaper for us this year - got a 20% room only discount which was not offered on the UK site and that swung it.

did you go directly to US site for this or did they send you a pinI never seem to find anything on the US site and when the UK site says 15% off on deluxes they dont tell you what dates its just hit and miss.Can someone enlighten me

 

[2Tiggies]

did you go directly to US site for this or did they send you a pinI never seem to find anything on the US site and when the UK site says 15% off on deluxes they dont tell you what dates its just hit and miss.Can someone enlighten me

If there are available promotions there will be a Special Offers link. You HAVE to click through that. For example, say it is 30% off deluxe resorts for your dates. If you don't actually go through the link, you end up paying rack rate. Many people have booked thinking they have free dining because it was valid for their dates, only to check in and find they didn't have it - they didn't go through the offers link.

One of the reasons is the US usually runs more than one type of discount at the same time so you have to pick and choose your offer. Just a heads up.

I get pin codes emailed to me and some of them are really good. Only trouble is with flights, I can't book so late - would cost me more, courtesy of VA & Co.

 

[crabbie1]

If there are available promotions there will be a Special Offers link. You HAVE to click through that. For example, say it is 30% off deluxe resorts for your dates. If you don't actually go through the link, you end up paying rack rate. Many people have booked thinking they have free dining because it was valid for their dates, only to check in and find they didn't have it - they didn't go through the offers link.

One of the reasons is the US usually runs more than one type of discount at the same time so you have to pick and choose your offer. Just a heads up.

I get pin codes emailed to me and some of them are really good. Only trouble is with flights, I can't book so late - would cost me more, courtesy of VA & Co.

Thanks Lee.Never had a code and stayed onsite for last 6 years.Answer most there silly surveys hoping one day I may get one. Can you send me one of yoursWe arnt going till novmber so flights a bit better normally and willing to fly indirect as not paying more than £500 each for 4 of us!!!! Will keep looking.Give me a shout if you see the poly come up for $100 a nightWhat are we doing sat on here on a saturday morning!!!! I have 4500 and 2000 word assignments to do.

 

[kylieh]

Thanks everyone. I just walked through booking with Disney UK and I found out International Customers means EU only

So I'll stick with US Disney travel. But I'm thinking that free dining may come back to the US site as time progresses - looking historically offer one comes to a close in the UK than it is offered in the US. As I can make changes without penalty that way I'll book now for POFQ with a 20% discount then change later on if it becomes worth it.

 

[2Tiggies]

Thanks Lee.Never had a code and stayed onsite for last 6 years.Answer most there silly surveys hoping one day I may get one. Can you send me one of yoursWe arnt going till novmber so flights a bit better normally and willing to fly indirect as not paying more than £500 each for 4 of us!!!! Will keep looking.Give me a shout if you see the poly come up for $100 a nightWhat are we doing sat on here on a saturday morning!!!! I have 4500 and 2000 word assignments to do.

Pin codes can't be transferred. You can't even give it to your mum as it is locked into your own details. Did you subscribe to the newsletter on the US site? Pricing up bookings seems to help generate them Wish I could give you one, but the best ones come out about 4 months out so very short notice

 

[disneyholic family]

Pin codes can't be transferred. You can't even give it to your mum as it is locked into your own details. Did you subscribe to the newsletter on the US site? Pricing up bookings seems to help generate them Wish I could give you one, but the best ones come out about 4 months out so very short notice

yes, this is what i was going to say...
in order to get the emailed pin codes, it seems you have to register for the newsletter and then when you go into the US site, log in when you play with the pricing....
then if you don't actually make a reservation, a few weeks or months later, they send you a pin code...
it's happened to me twice now...
i just got one a few weeks ago that was the cheapest they've ever sent to me....35% off the values and moderates....i was stunned as usually they only send me 15% off the values and moderates, but in this email it was 35% off....
i still didn't book, so maybe they'll up the ante next time? here's hoping!!

 

[2Tiggies]

Thanks everyone. I just walked through booking with Disney UK and I found out International Customers means EU only

So I'll stick with US Disney travel. But I'm thinking that free dining may come back to the US site as time progresses - looking historically offer one comes to a close in the UK than it is offered in the US. As I can make changes without penalty that way I'll book now for POFQ with a 20% discount then change later on if it becomes worth it.

Keep an eye on the restaurants board. TDCNala usually puts a sticky up as soon as a new announcement is made. Also check on the Resorts sub forum for codes and rates where they also monitor new specials. It has always been extended in recent years once they have an idea of what their occupancy levels are.

And just because you book through US doesn't mean you can't pop in and say hi to us now and then

 

[grantforrest]

did you go directly to US site for this or did they send you a pinI never seem to find anything on the US site and when the UK site says 15% off on deluxes they dont tell you what dates its just hit and miss.Can someone enlighten me

I actually just phoned US reservations and told them I wanted to use the public code that was advertised fro 20% - think its down to 15% now but that is for values....the moderates and above were even better discounts if I remember correctly.

 

[crabbie1]

Pin codes can't be transferred. You can't even give it to your mum as it is locked into your own details. Did you subscribe to the newsletter on the US site? Pricing up bookings seems to help generate them Wish I could give you one, but the best ones come out about 4 months out so very short notice

I was only joking Lee I knew they couldnt be transferred.Iv had a look at my account and I hadnt said yes to recieve the news letter and special offers so done it now.Just looked did a dummy run for 6 nights at poly end sept as doing a 35% discount and it was still over $2300 Thats room only.Nearly £1500 for 6 nights

 

[disneyholic family]

there's another newsletter that you can get that will notify you as soon as the free dining begins...what's the name of it...
just a sec, i have to go find it...

i think it's mousesavers.com....
they send out newsletters with new codes as soon as they open up...
they're your best bet for being notified the moment the US free dining is released...

 

[2Tiggies]

Just looked did a dummy run for 6 nights at poly end sept as doing a 35% discount and it was still over $2300 Thats room only.Nearly £1500 for 6 nights

aaah yes, but once you get into the ins and outs of the US site, you will discover that you never have to pay rack rate .... That is what is says on the site, but if you start phoning them nearer the time and asking about special offers they will answer specific questions. They are not allowed to point you in the direction of an offer that has not been officially advertised, but they do have specials on. You can also give them your details as they are on the US website where you registered and ask if you are eligible for any current or pending pins/discounts. Just a little heads up if you are thinking of it. The flights were the deal breaker for me. I could not have sat and waiting until June/July to try and get affordable flights. I may have done so, and would have come out better off on the US site with one of their discounts, but if I hadnt, I woud have had to cancel. I just can't gamble like that. It is worth watching the codes and rates thread. They do a code watch (including speculation) for every month so you just keep an eye for the November code watch thread. Here's wishing you a great deal!

 

[torsie24]

I've booked with both.

Very little difference in the process etc.

Just go with the better deal! Have a great trip!

Xx

 

[crabbie1]

there's another newsletter that you can get that will notify you as soon as the free dining begins...what's the name of it...
just a sec, i have to go find it...

i think it's mousesavers.com....
they send out newsletters with new codes as soon as they open up...
they're your best bet for being notified the moment the US free dining is released...

Thanks Beth.