Annual passholder room deals not working?

[liko]

Long time lurker, first time poster (go easy on me!)

My wife and I are annual passholders, and part of the reason for getting those was to get the discounted room rates. It worked great last year, as we were able to stay at Pop Century for $59/night.

We've been planning a trip back for early Feb 2007 for a while now, and I saw on the Passholder site that the discounts down to $59/night were in effect again. We got really excited to see that the prices were so good, and that time of year is supposedly one of the least crowded (everything is relative). Once we finally got airfare that we wanted, we went to book the room. Much to our chagrin, all rooms (except for the Animal Kingdom Lodge with all sorts of niceties) were booked!

We were shocked & dismayed, especially since the airfare isn't easily refundable and my wife can't change her time off. We called to confirm that what we saw online was correct, and the person we spoke with said that they had a lot of convention business that week which booked the rooms. She said the parks should still be less crowded even though the rooms were booked.

Luckily, I called back and got a different person who said that we should try at 12am and 7am every morning, as that's when their cancellations get put into the system and the rooms get freed up. Within a few days, we were able to find a room at Pop Century, but it was only a preferred location room. When we called to get that sorted, the preferred location room doesn't qualify for the annual pass discount.

So I guess I'm just looking for any advice that anyone has in this regard...I still love Disney, I'm still excited about going, just a little miffed that we can't get our discount. I'm also really shocked that all the rooms are booked during a supposed slow time of year.

Thanks all!

 

[typhoonguy]

Long time lurker, first time poster (go easy on me!)

My wife and I are annual passholders, and part of the reason for getting those was to get the discounted room rates. It worked great last year, as we were able to stay at Pop Century for $59/night.

We've been planning a trip back for early Feb 2007 for a while now, and I saw on the Passholder site that the discounts down to $59/night were in effect again. We got really excited to see that the prices were so good, and that time of year is supposedly one of the least crowded (everything is relative). Once we finally got airfare that we wanted, we went to book the room. Much to our chagrin, all rooms (except for the Animal Kingdom Lodge with all sorts of niceties) were booked!

We were shocked & dismayed, especially since the airfare isn't easily refundable and my wife can't change her time off. We called to confirm that what we saw online was correct, and the person we spoke with said that they had a lot of convention business that week which booked the rooms. She said the parks should still be less crowded even though the rooms were booked.

Luckily, I called back and got a different person who said that we should try at 12am and 7am every morning, as that's when their cancellations get put into the system and the rooms get freed up. Within a few days, we were able to find a room at Pop Century, but it was only a preferred location room. When we called to get that sorted, the preferred location room doesn't qualify for the annual pass discount.

So I guess I'm just looking for any advice that anyone has in this regard...I still love Disney, I'm still excited about going, just a little miffed that we can't get our discount. I'm also really shocked that all the rooms are booked during a supposed slow time of year.

Thanks all!

This is true, January and February are EXTREMELY booked, especially when compared to previous years. March and April are already filling up too. It looks like this is the "year to visit Disney World". As far as the passholder discounts, those are 'subject to availability, change, ect ect". Which basically means there's a certain amount of them available and when they're gone, they're gone. It's certainly best to check room availability before checking airfare, or even at the same time since both WDTC and Kingdom Konsultants can check airfare. Good luck with future vacation plans and do be sure to keep those things in mind,

Typhoonguy

 

[Master Yoda]

When it comes to AP discounted rooms there is not much you can do. There are only so many at that rate at each resort so when they are gone that's it unless someone cancels. We were recently trying to book AP or FL resident rooms the first weekend in February and wound running into the same problem you had. We wound up having the option of staying at a value at rack rate or POFQ at an AP rate. We elected to spend the extra $20 a night and stay at POFQ. About all you can do is keep checking back and hope someone cancels.

There are couple of strategies you can use to help you avoid this in the future.

The first would be to plan ahead and book at the regular rate with Kingdom Konsultants. If and when a discount becomes available you will be automatically re-booked at the lower rate.
Lastly subscribe to the news letter at mousesavers.com. You will get a little advance warning about upcoming discounts so you can call at 7:00 AM on the day they become available which will maximize your chance of getting a discounted room.

Also there are no longer any really slow times at Disney so the days of last minute AP rates and deserted parks is pretty much gone.

 

[kiawahman]

Always minimize the page you have your airfare price set to, book your room, THEN buy your airfare.

 

[Vernonpush]

You could also split your trip up to smaller segments to find AP rates, stay and one resort for "x" amount of days (with AP discount, where available) , then move to another resort. Sometimes when you want to stay is only off for a day or two of availability, and if you can be flexible in your stays it can help.

 

[bayoutinkbelle]

I'll count my lucky stars, then. I booked a room at Pop on Dec. 29 for Jan. 19-22 with no trouble using the AP discount. I was worried that I would be locked out since I was booking so late (for me, anyway).

 

[justducky78]

Like others said, I would recommend booking at the regular rate for the dates you need and then if an AP room rate becomes available, you'll be in luck!

Next time, you may want to book your room first, and then airfare.

Good luck - hopefully it works out for you. Either way, you're going to WDW!

 

[lcsrig]

We booked a pool view room at CBR but when AP rates came available yesterday we were able to get a pool/bunkbed room at AKL for about $75 more! We LUCKED out!
We always go for Mardi Gras so I book airfare as soon as it hits a price I am willing to pay then we plan the rest from there.
I hope you are right about conferences. I've heard Presidents' Week can be crowded.
Have Fun!:wave:

 

[liko]

Thanks for all the great info folks. I knew I should have asked here for advice first (or read through all the boards). I'll let you know how things turn out - perhaps the conventions didn't use all the rooms and we'll be able to get a passholder deal after all. Y'all were right though, we're going to Disney, so we're still excited!

 

[ClemsonTigger]

Still keep checking back, things do occasionally open up. You can also contact Kingdom Konsultants (a sponsor of this site...who I don't get a commission from) They are great at keeping up on all the price breaks, be it AP, AAA, Disney Visa or whatever...and you don't pay anything for their booking service! I use them regularly and am always pleased.

The other option as was suggested is look for minor variations of your days, say look at first day being a day later, or leave a day early. Some of the room blockings are funny and you may get lucky that way, then just book another hotel or even the same (at a higher rate) for the one day. Oh, be sure you book before cancelling your existing ressie!

 

[Master Yoda]

Still keep checking back, things do occasionally open up. You can also contact Kingdom Konsultants (a sponsor of this site...who I don't get a commission from) They are great at keeping up on all the price breaks, be it AP, AAA, Disney Visa or whatever...and you don't pay anything for their booking service! I use them regularly and am always pleased.

The other option as was suggested is look for minor variations of your days, say look at first day being a day later, or leave a day early. Some of the room blockings are funny and you may get lucky that way, then just book another hotel or even the same (at a higher rate) for the one day. Oh, be sure you book before cancelling your existing ressie!

This is very true. Our December dates were booked out but we moved are trip up one day and a bunch of options opened up.

 

[imamouse]

It's never too late to contact Kingdom Konsultants. They have worked magic for me before!

http://www.kingdomkonsultant.com/index.html