Hi guys began looking for next year and with uk travel agents prices seem to have risen sharply since our visit in november. Por is roughly 5000 dollars for the fortnight and deluxe range from roughly 7000 to a whopping 11000 for our dream destination , The polynesian. This is before any park tickets have been added. Does anyone know if getting flights only and then booking in direct would be much cheaper?
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are resorts cheaper direct
- Thread starter saddisneyfan1972
- Start date
Kingoglow
Well-Known Member
I cannot say that I understand the in's and out's of how the UK discount rates are structured so I am no authority, but I think it is worth exploring the option of booking flight and package direct.
IMO, this website is great for planning international flights http://matrix.itasoftware.com/ And booking a package through Disney is usually a painless process. Given your geography though, it might be worth it to call them and talk about UK package discounts.
IMO, this website is great for planning international flights http://matrix.itasoftware.com/ And booking a package through Disney is usually a painless process. Given your geography though, it might be worth it to call them and talk about UK package discounts.
Deno
Well-Known Member
I don't know what the rules are on this board for mentioning Travel Agents but i'm in the UK and got a 24 night stay at the Poly for an average of just over $2,000 per week from a US based travel agency for August this year. It's the second time i've used them and done it this way and could not even think about paying the prices direct from the WDW UK website.
Oh, and we fly via JFK this year (3 hr stopover) and that was less than £2,500 for 4 of us. Half the price (and more) than flying direct with Virgin
Oh, and we fly via JFK this year (3 hr stopover) and that was less than £2,500 for 4 of us. Half the price (and more) than flying direct with Virgin
BigRedDad
Well-Known Member
What you are seeing is no different than what we see in the States. Staying onsite is ridiculously expensive. We are staying offsite for 2 weeks ($1,100) with APs (~$2,650). The same stay for 1-week at Pop ($2,266) and 1-week at AS Sports ($2,584). Those 2-weeks are with 7-day Park Hoppers. It would be ridiculous not to buy APs which would cut the price down by about $500. I am still saving an additional $600 on top of that for a 2BR resort condo with amenities better than anything on Disney property. I also get free MM and parking.
dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
Best bet is for you to run the numbers yourself. Some UK TAs get deals that you can't get on your own, especially if they end up doing a big flight buy. And some US TAs will do group buys on rooms that let them offer rates that are better than elsewhere. But they all depend. Some are going to be certain times of the year, or even just a single week.
UpAllNight
Well-Known Member
Sorry for bump...seemed most relevant here.
To what extent are prices revised downwards for Disney from UK travel agents when the Dining Plan deal isn't on? I know it's meant to be a deal, but in reality do they just put the overall prices up to cover the costs of this 'deal'?
Prices showing at the moment are inclusive of dining plan. When that deal is over, will prices fall, or is is actually a good deal, is what I'm getting at.
We are really toying with the idea of staying in the Epcot resort area next time but we need to know more on pricing. It's a massive step up from the usual price we pay for staying offsite...which is fine as we understand the benefits, but there's still potential savings to be made.
To what extent are prices revised downwards for Disney from UK travel agents when the Dining Plan deal isn't on? I know it's meant to be a deal, but in reality do they just put the overall prices up to cover the costs of this 'deal'?
Prices showing at the moment are inclusive of dining plan. When that deal is over, will prices fall, or is is actually a good deal, is what I'm getting at.
We are really toying with the idea of staying in the Epcot resort area next time but we need to know more on pricing. It's a massive step up from the usual price we pay for staying offsite...which is fine as we understand the benefits, but there's still potential savings to be made.
s&k'smom
Well-Known Member
I worked with a TA and made a reservation. She then watched for discounts that should could apply as there year went by. We did change from YC to WL and when free dining became available, she was able to add that discount and we saved over $2500. Which covered our flights and still had $ left over. Good luck.
dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
Is it free dining? Or just a package that includes the dining plan? A free dining offer is essentially WDW paying for the dining plan out of their profits. As you need to pay full price for the room, it's essentially covered (to a point) by not giving you a room discount. So in theory once the deal is over the package would cost the same, just not include dining.
If it is a good deal or not is really specific to you. If you are from the UK you may have access to other discounts/packages that could be a better deal if free dining doesn't appeal. Depending on your party size and resort class, a party of 2 might save more taking a room discount at a deluxe resort than by taking free dining, but a party of 4 staying at a value might save more with free dining over a room discount. And I believe that some UK agents can get good rates on the overall package by guaranteeing certain numbers of rooms/plane tickets sold. But those are packages that the TA puts together, and not rates from WDW themselves. Check the numbers on the WDW site itself and see how it compares.
UpAllNight
Well-Known Member
Thank you for this,
It does say free dining, but I am sceptical that they've just put the prices up to cover their shortfall. I'll just monitor it over the next few months. I suspect I could get the room cheaper around Christmas...but if this makes it worthwhile over the free dining offer remains to be seen.
I'd love to hear off anyone in the UK who has experience of how these things work. I know Virgin Atlantic don't appear to have an obvious pricing structure in general, but I've never looked for Disney resorts.
dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
As I suggested before, compare to what Disney would charge you direct. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_GB/ should help, and there is a link at the bottom that mentions free dining. Think it redirects you to disneypackages.co.uk which covers all the freebies. Do the legwork yourself and see if it works. Free dining is offered by WDW themselves, and not a TA. A party of 4 (2 adults 2 kids) staying at a moderate would get $135 per night worth of free dining, which is a hefty cost for the TA to absorb out of their cut or to raise the prices by. Every TA will be slightly different, and if you are bundling in your airfare, that could greatly affect the price as well.