AP advice

[todd1108]

Hi, I am new to the board and I have some questions about the passholders discount on rooms. I will be in WDW on 4/22/06 and I am confused about the process involved in booking a room and whether it is worth it(hoping for a discount)? Is this a week that disney normally discounts? Do they discount all the resorts or only certain ones? Any help will be appreciated

[Cheshire Figment]

WDW has a new procedure for people with APs who are booking room only via the internet. You have to make the reservation at least 120 days out. If there are any downward price changes they will automatically be attached to your reservation.

If you are making the reservation less than 120 days out your go through telephone reservtions but you do not get the automatic price reductions.

[Drince88]

Also, this is a pretty new thing for Disney, so I'm not sure people know too much about what it's really going to mean. The first trips on this new plan haven't happened yet, either.

[hersheythecat]

You are suppose to still be able to get AP room discounts via phone you just may not get the best one. I had someone from Disney call us about it when I sent an email complaining about it. This new system is suppose to be a better way for them to figure out how many people are going to be there to cut down on last minute bookings.

[MinnieSummer]

The program via the internet is only valid through December 19th 2005 at this time. It has not been determined whether they will extend this program or not. You can still book the old fashion way and call them up. If you have an AP and want to get an AP rate for the time of your trip you will have to wait until the beginning of the year as any codes (the code indicates the type of discount you are requesting) that come out now wont include that time frame. Is it worth waiting for the code to come out? Definitely! You can save a bundle on hotels. Just be ready to call the day the codes come out or you may not get the resort you are looking for. If you are daring you can make the reservation now and try to apply the code when it comes out but it doesn't guarantee you will get the discount as they only have a limited number of rooms available at the rate for each code. The codes usually do cover all hotels though.

[redmonster]

We always go ahead and book a room at the resort we want right away.
Ask for any discounts they have, sometimes there aren't AP but there is AAA. Check MouseSavers.com for anything in your time span. Once I know I have a room then I keep watching to see if any specials come out. Call and rebook it under that code. I have saved hundreds of dollars doing this and not had to worry about not having a room at all. As long as you cancel in the time alot there is not charge-I believe it is one week. As we recently purchased DVC I haven't had to deal with the new AP discount rules. I believe they are stricter with the booking/canceling dates.

good luck....

[dizbang]

We just got an AP for our April trip and used it in June for the Wilderness Lodge. We saved about $300.00. After we got back we booked the Grand Floridian for September and got a $1000.00 discount on the room. We called, gave our AP number and were told just to show it when we checked in. Our Grand Floridian trip will be from September 30th to October 8th. We booked it only 95 days in advance. You might also try the Disney Dining Experience. An AP discount brings the cost down to $50.00 with discounts for just about every restaurant at WDW.
Hi, I am new to the board and I have some questions about the passholders discount on rooms. I will be in WDW on 4/22/06 and I am confused about the process involved in booking a room and whether it is worth it(hoping for a discount)? Is this a week that disney normally discounts? Do they discount all the resorts or only certain ones? Any help will be appreciated

[cocoabeach]

After we got back we booked the Grand Floridian for September and got a $1000.00 discount on the room. We called, gave our AP number and were told just to show it when we checked in. Our Grand Floridian trip will be from September 30th to October 8th. We booked it only 95 days in advance. You might also try the Disney Dining Experience. An AP discount brings the cost down to $50.00 with discounts for just about every restaurant at WDW.
May I ask how the timing of this worked for you? I've had a dickens of a time getting other accommodations on the Annual Pass discount other than at the average hotels.

I do the same as Redmonster and I book the hotel I want, long before the AP discount comes out. Then when it does, I call the day that they release the AP codes to change the resort (around 7-8 AM pacific time). But by the time I call I ask for any availability for a discount room at the deluxe resorts and the only one they have availability quote: "at the discount rate" is Wilderness Lodge. Boy you got a treasure trove to get Grand Floridian. Then, just to make sure that it isn't just a really busy season, I ask if there are any rooms available "not at the discount rate" and there usually is. Clearly they have a max quota on how many discount rooms they have available for each resort and I simply assumed that they don't have any for GF, Poly, etc.

Am I calling too late? Is it because of the season of the year I'm traveling? Maybe I'm calling too early (only when rooms open up later is it possible to get a deluxe moderate)?