Booking now or waiting for Deals

[April Steinke]

Hi, I'm planning my first trip for my 4 year old twins for next year. I'm looking at around April/May 2016. When can I book a hotel? If I can book soon, what happens if a deal comes up? Can I call them and get the deal or do I have to re-book or should I just wait for the deal to book? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!
April

 

[Master Yoda]

You can book a room only as far as 499 days out, but there is really no need to do that unless you are looking for a very rare, very popular room time during peak or holiday season.

Packages (room + tickets and/or dining) come out I think roughly August the year prior, but it can vary a good bit.

The best thing to do is book with a a travel agent that specializes in Disney vacation like the travel sponsor of this site, Kingdom Konsultants.

They do not charge for their services and they will keep track of all of Disney promotions and will automatically re-book you if something better comes out. Disney offers no such service. You will have to keep track of the promotions on your own and then call and re-book yourselves.

I have been using them for years and never have to worry about keeping track of all of Disney's promotions or wondering if I got the best deal. I seed my agent Marie (@wannabeBelle ) an email and I am done.

 

[wannabeBelle]

 

[BigRedDad]

Book with the right TA and they will automatically change your reservation to the better pricing when they are announced to TA's first.

 

[Courtney6682]

AAA also adjusts any package you buy thru them for discounts that may pop up after you make your deposit. They are actually REALLLYYYYYY on top letting you know...they called us twice to inform us of changes in our favor 2 trips ago!

 

[dreamfinder]

Book when you feel comfortable with the prices. Don't book anything you wouldn't want to pay just hoping they offer a discount. Once room rates are announced for the year, they won't change. Tickets or dining plan could change price. Once you have them booked, your price is locked in unless you modify your booking. Remember that discounts are offered only if they perceive a need, so booking your room in advance could theoretically be the room that causes them not to discount that property, or to discount it less. Some book early as they absolutely must have a MK view room at the Contemporary for NYE, while others simply want a value room midweek in January, so they are comfortable waiting til a few months out to see if there are any discounts. You need to make the call based on your comfort level.

AAA also adjusts any package you buy thru them for discounts that may pop up after you make your deposit. They are actually REALLLYYYYYY on top letting you know...they called us twice to inform us of changes in our favor 2 trips ago!

Just throwing this out there, it depends completely on the AAA agent. Some could care less and still don't understand about ADRs and FP+. Most of the Disney specialist TA's will rebook, @Master Yoda has his favorite....

 

[TXDisney]

Don't you have to pay in full when booking with a travel agent though. When booking through disney on the phone you just have to do the $200 deposit to hold the reservation then pay it off by 45 days out.

 

[wannabeBelle]

Hi TXDisney, Absolutely not true through Kingdom Konsultant Travel at all, we use the same payment schedule that Disney does for packages, which is the $200.00 deposit at booking and the full payment at the 45 day prior to your arrival. Payments can also be done in between if that is good for you, however they are NOT required. If you choose to do payments with us, an e mail or phone call from you indicating how much you want to pay and what date you want that payment to be made and we can certainly do that, but that is only at your direction. Marie

 

[TXDisney]

Well i might have to use a travel agent when ibooknext week then.

 

[wannabeBelle]

Feel free to check out our website at WWW.KingdomKonsultant.com We have a listing of all of our agents on there so you can select whichever agent appeals to you! Marie

 

[Courtney6682]

Don't you have to pay in full when booking with a travel agent though. When booking through disney on the phone you just have to do the $200 deposit to hold the reservation then pay it off by 45 days out.

AAA is the same as Disney...all they need is the $200 dep

 

[Courtney6682]

[
Just throwing this out there, it depends completely on the AAA agent. Some could care less and still don't understand about ADRs and FP+. Most of the Disney specialist TA's will rebook, @Master Yoda has his favorite....[/QUOTE]

Awww...that stinks! I just assumed they were all as good as the lady we deal with...she knows us by name when we stop in lol...we love to travel!

 

[wannabeBelle]

Awww...that stinks! I just assumed they were all as good as the lady we deal with...she knows us by name when we stop in lol...we love to travel!

That is great that you found someone that work well with you and your family. AAA has a LOT of agents. Some I Am sure are excellent, some maybe not so much. Most of the agencies that I know that specialize in Disney are very strict about the quality of agents they hire. I know every agent in KK is personally known by the owner and has a proven proficiency in Disney, specifically. I have no idea what AAA's hiring policies or training updates consist of. Your agent is probably a fan, as we are and that what makes her so great to deal with!!! Marie

 

[Courtney6682]

That is great that you found someone that work well with you and your family. AAA has a LOT of agents. Some I Am sure are excellent, some maybe not so much. Most of the agencies that I know that specialize in Disney are very strict about the quality of agents they hire. I know every agent in KK is personally known by the owner and has a proven proficiency in Disney, specifically. I have no idea what AAA's hiring policies or training updates consist of. Your agent is probably a fan, as we are and that what makes her so great to deal with!!! Marie

Thanks for the reply! I've been curoius about KK, as I have only booked thru Expedia, AAA and Disney. We are planning on going April 30-May 7th and just havent booked it yet for no other reason than being lazy lol. I like AAA because of the discounts...does KK offer discounts?

 

[Master Yoda]

[
Just throwing this out there, it depends completely on the AAA agent. Some could care less and still don't understand about ADRs and FP+. Most of the Disney specialist TA's will rebook, @Master Yoda has his favorite....

Awww...that stinks! I just assumed they were all as good as the lady we deal with...she knows us by name when we stop in lol...we love to travel![/QUOTE]
Unfortunately not. I got both extremes the only 2 times I dealt with AAA. The first one could tell you what species of grass was used in the hub at MK. The second was pretty sure WDW was somewhere in Florida.

 

[wannabeBelle]

Thanks for the reply! I've been curoius about KK, as I have only booked thru Expedia, AAA and Disney. We are planning on going April 30-May 7th and just havent booked it yet for no other reason than being lazy lol. I like AAA because of the discounts...does KK offer discounts?

We offer the same discounts as Disney themselves does and our pricing would be identical for the same packages. AAA previously had a deal with Disney that they were able to offer discounts that no one else had access to for a full year at a time, but those discounts were not better than the discounts offered by Disney itself. The deals from Disney were released at different points in the year and did not cover all date ranges though. As of the beginning of this year AAA and Disney have dissolved their relationship so AAA only has access to the same discounts we do. Currently there is a Spring discount offer that is available for your dates, so drop us a call at 1866-566-7858 or an e mail for a free no obligation quote. As with AAA we do not charge our clients for our services in booking and helping you plan your up and coming trip. Marie

 

[Courtney6682]

Thank you for the info!!! Emailing you now!

 

[wannabeBelle]

I will be in the office this evening. Please include the number of people traveling, the ages of the children under 18 and anything else such as resort choices, questions about any of the resorts, ticket options or anything else that may help me give you the best possible options for your family. Thanks!!! Marie