How to book?

[eeyoreguy]

How do you book all these discounted rates that people are posting on here? Is there a chart showing which work out better for people and can anyone book them or are they only for people with certain cards or passes? thanks!

[Taja]

Okay, I'm going to take a stab at this.

If you go to allearsnet.com and look under room rates (you'll need to navigate a bit), they have charts of 2008 and 2009 rack rates posted. You'll need to do some homework regarding resorts and dates, the the information is pretty easy to read.

The discounts. Well, Bounceback offers are available only to people who are staying onsite when they are offered and have to be booked while they are staying there. That's why they provide the extension number rather than a telephone number.

General discounts are available to anyone. They tend to be a bit more limited than the other discounts, only because the other groups have had first chance at them.

Disney Visa cardholders are offered room only discounts first, then AP passholders. Remember, you don't have to have an AP in hand to book the AP room only discount rate, but you will need to do it by telephone. If you want to book online, you will need the AP or voucher in hand to have access to the AP passholder website. However, according to Disney policy, you will need to have a valid AP in hand when checking in using an AP discount or rack rate will apply. They frequently will allow you to purchase the AP and return to the front desk with it within 24 hours.

I believe you have to book all of these through US Disney Travel, but don't take my word for it. Another option is to use a Disney certified TA. They are the ones who stay on top of all of the discounts and will apply them for you when possible. The average TA--who is quite likely excellent with certain types of holidays--usually doesn't understand the Disney system.

If anything is incorrect, I'm sure one of our members who travels to WDW regularly will be along to correct it soon!

[Taja]

Forgot to add:

There really aren't any comparison charts, since the rates vary and Disney doesn't necessarily disclose all of them in their announcements.

Here's what you need to do:

Determine rack rate for the resort(s) that interest you during your time period.

Separately add cost for tickets, dining plan (if interested) or anything that might be included in a package.

You need to know what the base price of the visit would be before you can determine if any of the offers might work for you.

My planned visit for December has 7 different scenarios--and I kept the original one. It wasn't the cheapest (one was slightly less expensive, but only about $50), but it worked best for me.