Would you bid or not?

[2timer]

We are going in Dec. the 23-28th. Yep! Really busy and the most expensive time of year. We are thinking of bidding for rooms in the Disney resort area. http://www.biddingfortravel.com has listed hotels that are considered "disney" friendly like the swan, dolphin, wyndam palace...hilton in DD Disney. We may save a TON of money by going this route...what are your thoughts?

There are 3 families going together! I really need advice..I am in charge of reservations!

 

[Ratpack]

In the past, your check in day is considered value season at the deluxe resorts and you may be able to get a code rate. This past Christmas, we stayed at the Poly for $170/night.

 

[2timer]

Did you get a code after you had reserved? What time of year did you make your reservations? Did you reserve early and keep checking? I am trying to make these for 3 families and we need to save as much as possible. THanks!


WDW- 1999- ASMO and WL- 10 days!

 

[disney queen]

i have always book as soon as i knew the dates. since you are going during christmas, the sooner the better. you can always add the code later when they come out. good luck!

 

[stacy6552]

we stayed at the wyndham palace last easter, because it was a pretty good deal for a busy time. We were miserable. Dont do it. If you want to go, stay with disney because they wont abuse the fact that there are so many guests they dont need your business. Pay whatever they ask. Id stay anywhere with disney than anywhere (on or off property) that isnt Disney, especially at the crazy travel times.

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by 2timer
We are going in Dec. the 23-28th. Yep! Really busy and the most expensive time of year. We are thinking of bidding for rooms in the Disney resort area. http://www.biddingfortravel.com has listed hotels that are considered "disney" friendly like the swan, dolphin, wyndam palace...hilton in DD Disney. We may save a TON of money by going this route...what are your thoughts?

There are 3 families going together! I really need advice..I am in charge of reservations!

The hotels you mention are all very nice. However, there is no guarantee that you will get one of them. No way to know ahea of time which hotel you will get, either. As you probably know, there are no refunds and you can't change your mind or cancel later. Be sure you understand all the ramifications and possibilities before you bid.

Personally, I would not be comfortable doing this for other families unless we were very, very,very close and they all understood what was happening. Sometimes, people get funny about money, LOL.

Also, the time you are going is so busy, that there is even more value to staying at an on site resort if you can swing it.

Good luck!

 

[dijid]

Like someone said, there's no guarantee you'll get one of the Disney-friendly hotels. Take a look at www.betterbidding.com as it will give some info on hotels available from hotwire. Maybe not as good of a deal as going priceline, but you'll have a better chance at getting what you want. I've used hotwire twice (not for Disneyworld, though) and have been pleased.

 

[hellokitty]

we bid on hotwire for a week in july and got the dolphin
for $96, our AP rate was $160 , yes we got lucky and got the dolphin, but the other resorts would have been just as good to
us!

hotwire you can go to and put in your dates and select a location and see what it comes up with before you have to make a purchase, look and see what amenities are there the dolphin/swan had these when we bid



dining, pool, gym, business center, golf, tennis , laundry..

we have been trying for novemeber but this isnt coming up
for us..

good luck
and let us know what you end up doing.

 

[Ratpack]

Originally posted by 2timer
Did you get a code after you had reserved? What time of year did you make your reservations? Did you reserve early and keep checking? I am trying to make these for 3 families and we need to save as much as possible. THanks!


WDW- 1999- ASMO and WL- 10 days!

That was the Annual Pass rate. Normal rate for that time is $470 a night. You can book all three rooms under one Ap which means only one of you would have to have the Ap, not everyone. The Ap rate may be worth buying one even if you do not use it again. We had three rooms for three nights so that is 9 nights total at a savings of $300 a night = $2700 AP cost was $392

 

[Scoootch]

Originally posted by Ratpack
You can book all three rooms under one Ap which means only one of you would have to have the Ap, not everyone.

Are you sure about this? It is my understanding that to get the discount, the AP holder must be actually staying in the room booked. Meaning that you would therefore need 3 AP's - one for at least one person for each room. I could be wrong, but that is how I understood it to work.

Anyone know for sure?

 

[maggiew]

I would book a room only reservation at Disney now for those dates. As you get closer, see if some codes come out for your time frame. If not, cancel those reservations and bid on priceline or hotwire. Since these reservations are non-refundable, you should do it as close to the dates as you can so your plans don't change, etc. and you lose out.

We have used hotwire for stays at Disney and elsewhere. We were happy. The gigantic savings we got on the room allowed us to have more fun at the parks - sit down meals, character meals, MVMCP, etc. It depends on your situation and what you like to do, can afford, etc. If paying more to stay on Disney property means doing less at the parks, I would do priceline and live it up at the parks. You can get Sheraton Safari, some DTD hotels, etc. for $35 or so! Those savings are worth it TO ME (my opinion only - but that's what you wanted).

Maggie

 

[dmaz]

Scootch
Yes you can book 3 rooms on one AP. The person whose name is on the ressie should have the AP and it will all be on one bill.
The only thing that is different is you have to do some manuevering with the room charging since you can only put down one credit card for all of the rooms.

 

[hellokitty]

we had one reservation for two rooms, connecting and they
charged my card for one and my dad's for another -- we did
use my AP for both rooms. the second room was in his name.

but we didnt have a problem.

 

[lizziepooh]

A friend of ours stayed at the Wyndham on Universal Drive this past Christmas week. One night it took him 2 hours to get home from Magic Kingdom due to traffic. If parks are at capacity, they are sometimes closed to visitors staying offsite. Considering the dates you are going, I would stay onsite it at all possible.

 

[Anne MN]

We are going around christmas. I looked and value season is till 12/19. That is the day we are checking in so we get the better rate for the whole stay. we will be there for like 10 days. I will be getting an AP and apply discounts when they come out. We will also need 2 room, 7 people total. We are still trying to decide between POFQ and ASMo.