New Passholder Best Rate Program

[Jekyll Baker]

Just saw this topic on another site/forum and didn't know if anyone here knew about it yet.

This is from the Passholder page:

Planning a vacation in a few months? Then it's time to try our Passholder Best Rate Program! Now Passholders booking a Disney Resort room online under the Passholder Best Rate Program at disneyworld.com/passholders can rest easy knowing they have received our best room rate offered to the general public* at that time for the room and nights booked. And, if we subsequently reduce our room rate to the general public for the same room and nights you booked online under this Program, we will automatically reduce your room rate to match that lower rate.

Rooms must be booked at least 120 days in advance and, unlike our normal cancellation policy, a non-refundable deposit of 1-night's room charge and tax must be paid at the time of booking. Currently this program is only available for arrivals through 12/19/05. The number of rooms and nights available for this Program is limited and rooms are not available every night. This Program is subject to change or discontinuance at any time and without notice.

* Does not include group rates, auction rates or rates conditioned on group/club memberships or other specified eligibility requirements.



It's access through the passholder section of disneyworld.com, and let's you book through what looks like the regular booking engine. I looked at it briefly, but since AP rates for 120 days away haven't really been announced, it gives rack rates. So you'd be leaving it up to Disney what price you end up paying.

I dunno 'bout 'dis. What ya'll think?

 

[JPVonDrake]

Who will benefit from the Passholder Best Rate Program?

Answer: The guest who knows that they travel the same times every year, they know they are going from xx/xx/xx to xx/xx/xx because the go every year at this time. They know that they are bringing their spouse and their two little angel children, because they come as a family every year. Now instead of calling long distance to booking at a standard rate 4-6+ months out, then having to watch and hope for a passholder offer, check back each month for the date it is released, call back early in the morning on that date and hope you can get the discount, hoping you can still stay at your favorite resort A where you booked 6 months but knowing that you may now need to move to resort B because the discounts is may not available on resort A. Then keep calling back to see if you can switch back to resort A. Now you made dozens of long distance calls, and had 6+ months of worrying how much your vacation is going to cost? and will I be able to stay at Resort A?? (you see you don't realize how much our family LOVES resort A, it has the best pool, and my little angel did the cutest thing at the pool, and....) :lol:

With the Passholder Best Rate Program, you can see and book a passholder discount through 12/19, that is almost 6 months in advance! Compared to the about 2-3 months advance notice for a Passholder offer in the past. Now you book your vacation 6+ months in advance, see what discount you got right away, and forget about it until you arrive, knowing that if Disney releases another offer to the general public you don't have to watch out for it, you don't need to call back and see if you can apply it, you know Disney will automatically reduce your rate to match the BEST RATE available to the general public. Your rate can only go down, your vacation budget is set, your dates are set, your favorite resort is set, you know you are going anyway (you go every year at this time) so who cares if your deposit is non-refundable. Worry-free vacation planning at its finest thanks to the wonder of the internet and disneyworld.com for the average American family.

If this applies to you, GREAT use the Passholder Best Rate Program and enjoy your guaranteed savings. If not, nothing has changed, you can book by phone the old standard way. Who know maybe JPVonDrake will book your room for you!

Hope this helps! :sohappy:

 

[fjm777]

As of tonight...

The Passholder "Best Rate" for the PO Riverside in December in $94. Not bad but I think last year in December it was $79.

I am thinking of booking using the web site but I am still too scared and keep talking myself out of it.

 

[tigger1968]

JP....Can you possibly shed any light on codes for October 5th thru the 18th? I am stuck with only being able to travel during that time frame, so I am doing the "wait and hope" dance at the moment...Do you recall when discounts are typically released for the Oct - Dec period? And to that end, if bookings are up, would I be advised to book now and watch for codes to come out? We are planning a grand gathering (12 of us!) and will need four rooms at an All Star resort, and I'm a little worried about crowds being up vs. LY. Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated!

 

[AEfx]

Several "Mouse"-related sites now have written articles about this, full of incorrect assumptions. When I called CRO to modify a current ressie I asked about the "Best Price" system yesterday, they confirmed that indeed I shouldn't expect the "old" system to go away and told me exactly what JPVD has said here.

I really enjoy some of these - but I wonder if they actually called CRO and asked and were given incorrect information, OR if they didn't bother to call at all? If a layman like myself could confirm this information - why are they having such a hard time, so uniformly? Maybe they all just got unlucky and talked to less-than-informed CM's and I got a "good" one?

No matter what, Disney really did drop the ball on getting this information out - either intentionally or not. It's entirely possible they wanted the confusion to gauge reactions - marketing has done more sinister things.

The true test will be when/if we see rates for the rest of October and November. I'm just glad we have JPVD here, because the other Disney sites all seem utterly lost.

AEfx

 

[MinnieSummer]

I'm still confused. My understanding was that the rates were "general public" rates. If I book this way and a AP rate comes out for my trip in December will that rate then be applied to my reservation? Or is it only if the General Public rate drops that my rate will drop? No where in the WDW site does it say anything about AP rates. And is the December 19th cut-off going to be extended as time goes on? Our family is planning on going December 22nd and haven't made any reservations yet as I've been waiting for the AP rate to come out. Now I keep hearing all of these things and I'm afraid to do anything as I'll get stuck paying rack rate, which we can't afford.

 

[wannabeBelle]

Hi there Minnie, Part of the confusion is that AP rates ARE considered General public rates as opposed to say AAA rates which require membership to use. Once you realize that General Public rates and AP rates CAN be the same thing, the whole mess makes a LOT more sense. As far as the December 22nd check in date I can tell you that that is the single HIGHEST priced period of time in Disney's calendar!!! The first half of December (up till the 19th) is considered Value season for all resort which is the lowest pricing tier. From the 20th on through the New Year is considered Hoiliday Season which is the HIGHEST pricing tier. Check out this page on All Ears Net. I selected the Port Orleans Riverside resort just because I like it, but the idea is look at the room rates as broken down by Season on the chart in the resort FAQ
http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/faq_dxl.htm
If you have any questions, post them and I will do my best to answer!! Belle

 

[MinnieSummer]

Belle: Okay the first part now makes more sense. As for the Christmas trip we have gone the last three years and, even though it is considerred peak season, by coming in two or three days before Christmas we have always been able to get AP discounts. Last year we got WL for $129 a night coming in on the 23rd. I just waited until the day I got the e-mail and then called. That's what has me concerned. If they only have a limited number of rooms available at that rate and they have to give them to the on-line bookers, then I may not be able to afford my Christmas tradition of staying in a delux. And since the on-line thing isn't up for past Dec 19th I can't do it on-line yet. I'm very worried about this actually working out for my family.

 

[wannabeBelle]

Hey there Minnie, I am afraid I just dont have all the info Id like to reference for ya on this one, but my understanding is that once you hit Holiday season the chances of getting any discount is slim to none. I have looked at all of the websites I know and I dont have any record of when Holiday season started for 2004. Anyone else out there have this information, please post it!! I am thinking that you may have checked in just before that season hit and if that is the case and you cant move your trip back a few days for this year, you may be out of luck on this one!! Belle

 

[JPVonDrake]

JP....Can you possibly shed any light on codes for October 5th thru the 18th? I am stuck with only being able to travel during that time frame, so I am doing the "wait and hope" dance at the moment...Do you recall when discounts are typically released for the Oct - Dec period? And to that end, if bookings are up, would I be advised to book now and watch for codes to come out? We are planning a grand gathering (12 of us!) and will need four rooms at an All Star resort, and I'm a little worried about crowds being up vs. LY. Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated!

I myself do not have any access to when any future discount offers will be released and marketing is known to never do the same thing twice. My best advice is, if you know you are going to go regardless, book the rooms (by phone) now to ensure the availalibility, and call back to modify if and when a discount offer is released. Also, since you stated you need 4 rooms, be sure you have at least 2 Adult Passholders in your total party to discount all of your rooms.



Lastly since your group will qualify as a Grand Gathering, let me also advise, to ensure the most accurate booking of your rooms, that before you call you know the following:

*Have the full legal names of everyone in your party and the ages of all children under 18. Know who will be in what room.
*Choose 1 adult in each room as the lead guest and have the full address (including zip code) and phone number of each of your lead guests.
Choose a fun name to call your Gathering, this name will appear on all mailing and confirmations regarding your vacation.
*Insist that you are booked as four separate reservations and linked together as a Grand Gathering. This way you or the lead guest can control each room's dates, room charges, payments, etc. separately and changes to one will not negatively affect the other rooms.
* Make sure the agent listed your name as a contact (ask that your full name is being listed in notes) so you can still modify all rooms if needed.

Trust me on this, you NEVER want more then 1 room on a single reservation unless the size of one family exceeds the bedding for 1 room (i.e. Mom, Dad, and 3 kids at a Value Resort would required 2 rooms) Multiply rooms on a single reservation can cause system and booking errors and delays each time you call back to modify, make payments, or otherwise check an existing reservation. Once you check in, separating payments and rooms charges also can cause major delays in checking in and checking out. It may take a little longer to book at first, but will save many a headache later for both you and your gathering.

Hope this helps! :sohappy:

 

[JPVonDrake]

I'm still confused. My understanding was that the rates were "general public" rates. If I book this way and a AP rate comes out for my trip in December will that rate then be applied to my reservation? Or is it only if the General Public rate drops that my rate will drop? No where in the WDW site does it say anything about AP rates. And is the December 19th cut-off going to be extended as time goes on? Our family is planning on going December 22nd and haven't made any reservations yet as I've been waiting for the AP rate to come out. Now I keep hearing all of these things and I'm afraid to do anything as I'll get stuck paying rack rate, which we can't afford.

If you use the online Passholder Best Rate Program, be sure you are seeing and booking a passholder discounted rate before you commit. If the offer states you are booking at a standard rate, you are NOT on the Best Rate program and your rate will not change.

If a lower General Public* Offer is released for your room and dates, your rate will automatically be reduce to match that lower rate. Disney is also guaranteeing that a lower Passholder rate offer WILL NOT be released. Any future passholder offers released for the same room and dates, will be at least a slightly higher rate then what was availiable to book online with this program.

* Does not include group rates, auction rates or rates conditioned on group/club memberships or other specified eligibility requirements.

Hope this clears up the disclaimer! :sohappy:

 

[JPVonDrake]

.....Part of the confusion is that AP rates ARE considered General public rates as opposed to say AAA rates which require membership to use....

I have recently found out that technically, Passholder offers and Florida Resident offers are not a General Public Offer. Both would fall under the heading of needing specified eligibility requirements.

:sohappy:

 

[wannabeBelle]

<----------Is back to being confused again!!!! I am going to go sit in the corner!!! Belle

 

[fjm777]

Hey JP,

I have been messing around with the Passholder Best Rate Program and cannot find anywhere where it says it costs $50 to modify.

<i>Passholder Best Rate Program - Rooms must be booked at least 120 days in advance and a non-refundable deposit of 1-night room charge and tax must be paid at the time of booking. Currently this Program is only available for arrivals through 12/19/05. The number of rooms and nights available for this Program is limited and rooms are not available every night. This Program is subject to change or discontinuance at any time and without notice. Passholder must present valid Pass at check in. Please check our Terms and Conditions for important information. </i>

Is that something I would find out later or am I just missing it? I sure would be upset if I was charged $50 and had not seen that rule before I booked my room.

Thanks

 

[islandbeachnut]

Help please

OK, I am soooooooo confused. I read every post in this thread and two opposing statements have been made regarding this new plan. One view is that when you book with this plan you have to find a "passholder discount" at time of booking and the other view is the you book online with this new plan and your rate will be lowered if availability is there at some point in the near future.

I had a stay booked at the Boardwalk Inn at $334/ night. I cancelled it and rebooked with this plan on Monday (6/20) at $334/night because it is 120 days away and I thought my rate would be lowered when the "passholder rates" became available. We can afford to stay at thoses rates, but a discount is always welcome! Am I screwed because I booked at this rate or will it be lowered if "passholder rates become available??

Please Help with my confusion.

 

[fjm777]

OK, I am soooooooo confused. I read every post in this thread and two opposing statements have been made regarding this new plan. One view is that when you book with this plan you have to find a "passholder discount" at time of booking and the other view is the you book online with this new plan and your rate will be lowered if availability is there at some point in the near future.

I had a stay booked at the Boardwalk Inn at $334/ night. I cancelled it and rebooked with this plan on Monday (6/20) at $334/night because it is 120 days away and I thought my rate would be lowered when the "passholder rates" became available. We can afford to stay at thoses rates, but a discount is always welcome! Am I screwed because I booked at this rate or will it be lowered if "passholder rates become available??

Please Help with my confusion.

The rates I saw were already discounted for example the PO Riverside is regular $134 a night but I could book at $94.

But I will let JP give you an official answer

 

[gullyf]

I have recently found out that technically, Passholder offers and Florida Resident offers are not a General Public Offer. Both would fall under the heading of needing specified eligibility requirements.

:sohappy:

Which means what to those booking via the "best rate" system and expecting their rate to drop if lower rates are released (which I don't think is going to happen, but let's be hypothetical here) ...?????

 

[surfsupdon]

Hey there Minnie, I am afraid I just dont have all the info Id like to reference for ya on this one, but my understanding is that once you hit Holiday season the chances of getting any discount is slim to none. I have looked at all of the websites I know and I dont have any record of when Holiday season started for 2004. Anyone else out there have this information, please post it!! I am thinking that you may have checked in just before that season hit and if that is the case and you cant move your trip back a few days for this year, you may be out of luck on this one!! Belle

Hi Belle!

I know Holiday season in the past started around the 20th or 21st of December, and AP discounts were given until December 26th for 2002 and 2003. AP discounts went until December 25th for 2004.

We always checked in on the 26th (my bday) and garnered the AP rate for the duration of the trip. ($545/night water view at Yacht for less than $200) This past year, instead of paying a HUGE rack rate price for a 12/26 check in, we booked starting at 12/25 knowing that we wouldnt arrive until the next day. The discounts were so deep we could afford to book an extra night not needed just to get the cheaper rate, and Disney was happy to help us in that manner.

So I am nervous b/c, so far, this Best Rate Program only goes through Dec. 19th, which is about a week earlier than in years past. Hopefully, regular APs will go until Christmas Day or the day after. I have faith in Disney.

 

[JPVonDrake]

Hey JP,

I have been messing around with the Passholder Best Rate Program and cannot find anywhere where it says it costs $50 to modify.

<i>Passholder Best Rate Program - Rooms must be booked at least 120 days in advance and a non-refundable deposit of 1-night room charge and tax must be paid at the time of booking. Currently this Program is only available for arrivals through 12/19/05. The number of rooms and nights available for this Program is limited and rooms are not available every night. This Program is subject to change or discontinuance at any time and without notice. Passholder must present valid Pass at check in. Please check our Terms and Conditions for important information. </i>

Is that something I would find out later or am I just missing it? I sure would be upset if I was charged $50 and had not seen that rule before I booked my room.

Thanks

I'm not sure were on the website the $50 modification fee is listed (I can't enter the Passholder website as I personally don't have an annual pass) but it should be on your confirmation, and you would also be told when you called to modify your reservation. For us at DRC it is listed on the policy notes for this offer.

Hope this helps! :sohappy:

 

[JPVonDrake]

OK, I am soooooooo confused. I read every post in this thread and two opposing statements have been made regarding this new plan. One view is that when you book with this plan you have to find a "passholder discount" at time of booking and the other view is the you book online with this new plan and your rate will be lowered if availability is there at some point in the near future.

I had a stay booked at the Boardwalk Inn at $334/ night. I cancelled it and rebooked with this plan on Monday (6/20) at $334/night because it is 120 days away and I thought my rate would be lowered when the "passholder rates" became available. We can afford to stay at thoses rates, but a discount is always welcome! Am I screwed because I booked at this rate or will it be lowered if "passholder rates become available??

Please Help with my confusion.

Remember, the “The number of rooms and nights available for this Program is limited and rooms are not available every night.”

If you book a stay with the Passholder "Best Rate" Program offer, your rate quote WILL be a discounted rate. If right above the rate quote it states:

A Passholder rate is not available for the date and resort you selected and we have returned a standard rate below. To search for the Passholder rate, please modify your date or resort

Then you are NOT booked with the Best Rate Program offer, as the offer was "not available for the date and resort you selected." You are booked as a standard room reservation and your standard or rack rate will not change.

You either need to check online for other dates / resorts until a Passholder rate is displayed with the Passholder Best Rate disclaimer, OR you can just play the old game of calling to modify your reservation yourself IF and when a passholder offer is released for your dates.

*it has been mentioned that clearing your cookies does help in finding discount availibility with this online program, I could not verify officially if this is true, but it can't hurt :hammer:

Hope this helps! :sohappy:

 

[JPVonDrake]

Which means what to those booking via the "best rate" system and expecting their rate to drop if lower rates are released (which I don't think is going to happen, but let's be hypothetical here) ...?????

The "official speil" to your question:

To those booked on the Passholder Best Rate Program:

"Yes it will be automatically lowered if a rate to the general public goes down. However, this willl not likely happen as the Passholders have recieved the lowest rate currently available."

We also have been told that with this program offer, Disney is also guaranteeing that a lower Passholder rate offer WILL NOT be released. Any future passholder offers released for the same room and dates, will be at least a slightly higher rate then what was availiable to book online with this program.

* and yes, at DRC we do have "official spiels" and "reactive statements" for certain guest questions and concerns. :hammer:

Hope this answers your question! :sohappy: