WWYD - Trip Booking Dilemma

[clappyclaps]

Hi all, having a bit of a dilemma over what to do about a 2026 holiday booking so posting on here to get some opinions please!

The trip is a 14 night holiday, split half and half between WDW and Universal. Provisionally staying at Pop Century and Surfside/Dockside, flying from the UK.

My original plan had been to do a solo holiday however a couple of friends have booked a trip and said I can go along with them, albeit I'd still be booking as a solo traveller.

The cost of this trip as a solo traveller is approx £3.8k

In addition to the above, I have another friend who would like to join us, but she cant commit to booking a holiday yet as she's waiting for a house move to go through first. The cost of the trip with my friend is approx £2.8k.

The trip is from 30th April to 14th May, and the costs above include all park tickets, flights etc.

So the dilemma is that I cant decide whether to go ahead and book as a solo traveller or wait for my friend and potentially book with her and save some money. My concern is that if I wait for my friend and she still doesnt come, will the prices for the solo holiday fluctuate really drastically over the next few months?

I'm really interested as to what others would do in this situation and/or if anyone had any insight into price fluctuations please.

Also, none of the All-Star Resorts are available to book for 7th to 14th May 2026 - does anyone know why this might be and if this might change? As I'm happy to stay at these if available as they'd reduce the price a bit!

I'm not in any desperate rush to book this trip, although was hoping to take advantage of the free quick service meals offer, so any suggestions welcome.

 

[Dave006]

Also, none of the All-Star Resorts are available to book for 7th to 14th May 2026 - does anyone know why this might be and if this might change? As I'm happy to stay at these if available as they'd reduce the price a bit!

Yes they are available but not until 11 May. Before that date the All-Stars are booked for Cheer / Dance Groups that will be at ESPN Wide World of Sports. Yes some availability may open up after the block holds are released but there is not guarantee that there will actually be availability.

Maybe shift your dates slightly to clear the overlap / conflicts at the All-Star resorts.

Dave

 

[lanejudy]

My concern is that if I wait for my friend and she still doesnt come, will the prices for the solo holiday fluctuate really drastically over the next few months?

I'm not sure how booking works from UK. In the US the hotel room rate doesn't change whether you have 1 person or 2 people staying in it. Ticket prices may increase at any time though the past few years WDW has increased ticket prices in late fall. I assume airline fares may be the biggest difference, and I don't have any experience with international flight prices (domestic US flights can vary widely).

If you book now can she be added later without impacting what you have already spent? Conversely, if you both booked now and paid a deposit (if she can swing that at the moment) can she be removed later if she decides not to go? I think those are questions to as the TA.

 

[clappyclaps]

Yes they are available but not until 11 May. Before that date the All-Stars are booked for Cheer / Dance Groups that will be at ESPN Wide World of Sports. Yes some availability may open up after the block holds are released but there is not guarantee that there will actually be availability.

Maybe shift your dates slightly to clear the overlap / conflicts at the All-Star resorts.

Aha thank you. I did wonder if there might be something on team wise but didn't do a good enough search online to find out! I'll have a look at alternative dates although going same time as my friends who will already be there limits this a bit.

I'm not sure how booking works from UK. In the US the hotel room rate doesn't change whether you have 1 person or 2 people staying in it. Ticket prices may increase at any time though the past few years WDW has increased ticket prices in late fall. I assume airline fares may be the biggest difference, and I don't have any experience with international flight prices (domestic US flights can vary widely).

If you book now can she be added later without impacting what you have already spent? Conversely, if you both booked now and paid a deposit (if she can swing that at the moment) can she be removed later if she decides not to go? I think those are questions to as the TA.

Hotel room rates dont change here either based on the number of people, although i wasn't sure if Disney change their room rates in the same way flight prices change, or if they remain static no matter when you book (if that makes sense). My knowledge of how hotel rates work, Disney or elsewhere, is incredibly poor!

I'll certainly make some enquiries with my TA, she'll be fed up of me by the time I'm done! Thanks

 

[kylenne]

i wasn't sure if Disney change their room rates in the same way flight prices change, or if they remain static no matter when you book (if that makes sense).

Disney rack rates are fixed, not dynamic. They categorize them by seasons, essentially. But rack doesn’t ever fluctuate. For example 2/19/26 rack rate will be the same regardless of when you book it. The only way prices change is when discounts are released, and those are limited inventory. But again you may have different offers in the UK and I don’t know how your TAs work over there.

 

[clappyclaps]

Disney rack rates are fixed, not dynamic. They categorize them by seasons, essentially. But rack doesn’t ever fluctuate. For example 2/19/26 rack rate will be the same regardless of when you book it. The only way prices change is when discounts are released, and those are limited inventory. But again you may have different offers in the UK and I don’t know how your TAs work over there.

Thanks so much for the info!