Worth it to book early?

[Tehls]

Normally when I plan and book my Disneyland vacations, I book them as far in advance as possible. I like to have everything set and make sure I have my room reserved. However, after my trip last year I am questioning this. My in-laws booked a month before and where able to get a killer price, close to that of the good neighbor hotel my family stayed at.

Is it worth it to book my hotel reservation now for my trip September 23-29, or should I wait?

Dreams Unlimited Travel says that they can sometimes rebook rooms and get you the lower price, does this happen often?

Edit
We have already booked our flight for the wife, two kids and I.

 

[bleeps]

I know how maddening it is when it feels as though you're penalized for doing things in advance! In my experience, there just aren't any ways to know for certain what prices are going to do, what crowds/occupancy rates are going to be like, etc., although my guess is that you're looking at a fairly slow time of year. You just don't know what kinds of promotions or other events might be going on that could impact price and availability.

If you are really and truly flexible, and will be happy staying at any of a variety of places, then you might want to wait. But if you know exactly where you want to be, then what I'd do is book it.

To me, the peace-of-mind in knowing I'm all set outweighs the potential to save some $.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[helenb]

I like to pre-book stuff I can cancel. So call up Disney and book HOTEL ONLY. You might even be able to get a AAA discount on the room (if you qualify). Then later when the specials come out you can decide whether or not to change your reservation. At least this way you know what you've got, and you're able to change it if you find something better. You can always buy tickets separately if you end up sticking with the hotel only reservation.

 

[DizMe]

With DL, I have found that advanced booking usually gets you the highest prices! If I do want to book ahead, I only do what the PP mentioned--book something I can cancel or change to the lower rate if/when it comes along. The best prices are usually found within 3 months of your trip.

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

OMGoodness, I know how you feel. I have the same issue for our H'ween trip this year! I watched prices from May-Oct last year, and realized that I might have to wait until *August* of this year to have my trip fully booked becuase SO MANY deals came up once it got to the two-month window. Esp since you are going at a less-than-peak time, I would try and wait if you can.
BUT bleeps probably said it best: If there's something you really want (a particular hotel, a certain non-standard room type, etc.), book it and accept that part of knowing that you will get exactly what you want is that you pay a bit more for it. But if there are things that you really are flexible about (or, like me, see so many different pros and cons for different choices that it's too hard to make a final decision!), wait and see. Things will change in the summer for those Sept dates.
I totally feel like planners and people who *know* they are making a visit do get penalized for wanting to book early.

 

[Tehls]

But has anyone had experiance with Dreams Unlimited claim that they can get you a lower rate if it changes?

I am also debating if I should go through Dreams or just book it all myself. I can get a discount on park tickets that will actually make it cheaper if I do it all, but if Dreams can get me a lower hotel rate later, that would be the way I go.

 

[Geemo]

I booked through AAA travel back in 2004. The whole trip was a mess. They screwed it up big time for us (a group of 5 adults and 2 kids). I'd never go through them again!! Nothing was right.....

Now I book through WDTC. I can look at their site online and then call to make my reservation. Their cancellation and change policy is one I can work with if I need to.

When I booked our trip 7-31-11 for travel Jan 30, 2012 through Feb 3, 2012 I knew there would be special offers a few months before the trip.

I checked with the CM about this because I wanted to get the best price. They said it would be no problem to book my trip now and call back when I found a special offer.

That's what I did. Booked on 7-31-11 and called in November 2011 when the special offers came out. They modified my package for no additional cost and I save a little more than $500 buck. I think the key is not having the package PAID IN FULL. I usually pay in full a few days before their deadline to do so.

We have used WDTC five times over the years to book packages to Disneyland. Never a bad experience, they make it so easy to get a trip all set. My neighbors use them too.


I've never tried or looked at Dreams Unlimited so I can't comment on how they handle things.

Give Disney travel a call and see if it's something for you.

 

[Mommy26]

We were looking for good neighbor hotels last week for our stay in May/June.

In three days the prices went from 99 to 125 to 139 A Nite!!

Unfortunately nobody knows for sure what days they can go.

It seriously makes me sick if we had known on Monday, we could have saved a couple hundred dollars!

Apparently you cannot know too far in advance. Book it, then cancel if the rates go cheaper.

 

[helenb]

I booked through AAA travel back in 2004. The whole trip was a mess. They screwed it up big time for us (a group of 5 adults and 2 kids). I'd never go through them again!! Nothing was right.....

I'm sorry to hear that. However, you can book the AAA *hotel* rate straight through WDTC. Just ask if there are any AAA discounted rooms available. The AAA discount is usually between 10% and 20%.

 

[PrincessIM]

On our last trip (2010) we had originally booked the DLH directly. A great deal came out and I called and changed our reservation to the GCH for cheaper than what we were paying for the DLH. No questions asked, they just changed it for us. I just booked the DLH for our trip in August and was told that if a better deal comes up, I can call and get the better price. I think the trick here is booking hotel only and not a package.

 

[Aust]

I booked our hotel direct through Disney in December last year for our trip in September this year - the CM said to me if/when specials come out for our dates to call back and they'll change it to the lower rate. I booked PPH concierge and am considering changing it to GCH if the discount is good enough (and depending on how saving goes between now and then). If not I'm happy to stay at PPH and to have the peace of mind of knowing I have the room booked.

 

[skiingfast]

This will reiterate some of the things above.

It is almost always better to book offsite and onsite hotels separate from a package.

If you book through disney, you have upto 30 days prior to the trip to cancel or change without incurring a charge.

If you book through Disney(WDTC) you can change if a better deal comes out, though if you are wiithin 30 days you pay a fee, a week for onsite hotel only reservations.

For tickets, it's a bit of a gamble, prices will probably go up at the end of Spring so it may be worth it to buy them first, or hope there is a Fall special.

For offsite hotesl, many have liberal cancelation policies, especially if you aren't booking at a special rate.

It's also almost always cheaper to get an offsite hotel when not booking through Disney.

One reason to book through Disney(WDTC) is to get special perks, sometimes you can get the same perks through Cosco or AAA.