AP Discount

[Sihtyrk]

I've never been to WDW before, and in researching prices and discounts I've read a fair amount about the AP discounts. My question is: How do you take advantage of the discounts.

Can you book far in advance and then just call in and request the discount when it becomes available?

Or can you only book the room after the discount has been announced?

Another unrelated question: When would the weather not be warm enough for swimming at the water parks?

 

[Master Yoda]

The first step of course is planning to get an Annual Pass for your trip. You do not need it to book but you may be asked to present it at check in. AP rates are not always available and when they are there is a limited number of rooms available at the AP rate so they go quickly. Also if you are already booked you can not simply change your current reservation you must cancel and rebook. The best strategy for booking in advance and getting an AP rate is to book your resort through Kingdom Konsultants (1-866-566-7858) They do not charge you for booking and if an AP rate or any other discount you qualify for (ie Florida resident, Disney Visa etc) they will automatically rebook you. This saves you the hassle of watching the Disney fan sites waiting for AP rates to appear and then frantically trying to rebook before they disappear. I have booked all of my rooms through them for the past year or so and have never been disappointed.

Another discount you also might want to look int since you are getting an AP is the Disney Dinning Experience card. This card is available only to Florida residents and AP holders. The cost for AP holders is about $60/year and it entitles you to a 20% discount on nearly every table service restaurant on property as well as free valet at the deluxe resorts and half price tickets at PI. Here is a link to all the info you will need about DDE. You will need your AP or your AP voucher in order to order your DDE card.

 

[Monty]

You can make a room-only resort reservation up to 499 days in advance. If an applicable AP discount comes out, you can call and apply it to your reservation.

The water parks are open and in use year-round, I guess it depends on what you're acclimatized to whether it's too cold to swim or not. I've been in the water at Typhoon Lagoon in late January and thought it was fine [but I'd just arrived from a very cold Ottawa]. :shrug: The lifeguard CMs didn't look very happy to be there! :lol:

 

[wannabeBelle]

Hi there, I will try to explain a bit, some of it may sound a bit simplistic, I Am not trying to offend but I dont know what you do and dont know so I Am going to try to cover it all.
An Annual Pass ( AP) is simply an annual pass to Disneyworld. The current price for this type of pass is $462.21 unless you are a Florida resident and can prove it. One of the perks associated with having a year pass is that discunts are given on hotels, This is not done all the time, nor on every hotel or room type. As far as calling and booking a room, the answer is yes you can do that, however the AP discount ( Assuming one comes out) may or may not be available at the hotel you have selected or the room type you have selected. For example, the current AP discounts are from 6/2/07-8/4/07. They are only being offered at certain Deluxe resorts ( Yacht Club, Beach Club, Boardwalk Inn) so say you had a room at the Polynesian. The answer is you wont be able to apply the AP discount at all as currently it is not being offered there. So to obtain the AP rate you would either have to move to one of the three I named ( And hope your dates are available) or pay rack rate at the Polynesian!! The same idea goes for any hotel. Say you had a room at the Yacht Club, which is offering the discount, and you call to switch it over, a discounted room may or may not be available for all the nights you are looking at. If there is not a discounted room on some of the nights, you will have the same problem I mentioned before.
Currently one of the best deals is being offered in the way of Free Dining. This may be far more attractive to you than investing in a pretty pricey year long pass that you may not use more than the one time. Dont get me wrong, I have an AP and think they are great, but I also get to the parks a few times a year so for me it makes sense to invest in this.
Weather is always tricky. I suggest you go to WWW.Weather.com and do some research on Orlando over there. Also I wont go in the water if it is too cool even so I think a lot of that depends on personal taste too.
I hope this information helps! If you need more information on the Free Dining, please E Mail my boss, Pam@KingdomKonsultant.com as I will be out of town for a few days starting this evening!! She can certainly help you decide what package and ticketing options might be good for your group. Belle

 

[wannabeBelle]

Morning all!!!! Belle