New Year's Rooms : AAA discount, Dining Plan, AP discounts

[Missing20K]

I am planning a trip for the New Year with my girlfriend as a surprise, and would like to book ASAP so I make sure I get a room. My question concerns getting discounts after the original booking. See, she is a AAA member, and last time we used her discount, and I would definitely like to again, but I can't get her membership number, etc., without her knowing and would then ruin the surprise. We have also contemplated getting an AP this year and going twice, which would also be a surprise to her, but I haven't bought them yet, so I can't get that discount either. Also, if we don't get the AP, can I add the Dining Plan after booking.

Also, I am thinking about getting a room somewhere nice (suggestions welcome) for new years eve and new years day nights, and then moving to the POP for the rest of the trip. Are there fireworks at midnight anywhere on property?? As in, should there be a reason to book a MK resort or Epcot resort for fireworks purposes? I have even thought about staying off property those first two nights at a "deluxe" quality resort, and considering we are in our 20's and enjoy hitting up the town, of which Disney doesn't really have (what with a run-down and boring PI closing:ROFLOL I have thought of doing the downtown Orlando thing. And I have some old high school friends in the area who I'm sure would like to spend the new year's with us. However, my girlfriend is a fireworks nutjob so if they are scheduled on property I'm sure she would want to see them.

Finally, am I too late to get reservations somewhere nice for New Year's Eve??, not Victoria and Albert's nice but somewhere quieter, more upscale, etc. Willing to spend money, not necessarily willing to wear a full on suit, but no sneakers kind of place...hehe.


Thanks in advance...

 

[TestTrack]

I am planning a trip for the New Year with my girlfriend as a surprise, and would like to book ASAP so I make sure I get a room. My question concerns getting discounts after the original booking. See, she is a AAA member, and last time we used her discount, and I would definitely like to again, but I can't get her membership number, etc., without her knowing and would then ruin the surprise. We have also contemplated getting an AP this year and going twice, which would also be a surprise to her, but I haven't bought them yet, so I can't get that discount either. Also, if we don't get the AP, can I add the Dining Plan after booking.

Also, I am thinking about getting a room somewhere nice (suggestions welcome) for new years eve and new years day nights, and then moving to the POP for the rest of the trip. Are there fireworks at midnight anywhere on property?? As in, should there be a reason to book a MK resort or Epcot resort for fireworks purposes? I have even thought about staying off property those first two nights at a "deluxe" quality resort, and considering we are in our 20's and enjoy hitting up the town, of which Disney doesn't really have (what with a run-down and boring PI closing:ROFLOL I have thought of doing the downtown Orlando thing. And I have some old high school friends in the area who I'm sure would like to spend the new year's with us. However, my girlfriend is a fireworks nutjob so if they are scheduled on property I'm sure she would want to see them.

Finally, am I too late to get reservations somewhere nice for New Year's Eve??, not Victoria and Albert's nice but somewhere quieter, more upscale, etc. Willing to spend money, not necessarily willing to wear a full on suit, but no sneakers kind of place...hehe.

Thanks in advance...

Why don't you sign up for AAA? I'm pretty sure she's got to be involved somewhat in the process if your using her card.

 

[Missing20K]

well to be honest, I already have all of their services except the travel agents through my insurance, and she already has it so no need for us both too. :shrug: But I was wondering if we could show her card at check-in or something like that. Oh yeah, another question, if you switch resorts during your stay, will they deal with your luggage or do you have to lug it around on the buses yourself??

 

[TestTrack]

well to be honest, I already have all of their services except the travel agents through my insurance, and she already has it so no need for us both too. :shrug: But I was wondering if we could show her card at check-in or something like that. Oh yeah, another question, if you switch resorts during your stay, will they deal with your luggage or do you have to lug it around on the buses yourself??

You have to book your trip with the AAA discount. You cannot get it credited to you by showing your card during your stay.

If you switch resorts mid-stay they will deal with the luggage move for you.

 

[mousefan1972]

You can book a room with an AP discount without having an AP yet... I did it this past May. You just need to show it (or an exchange voucher) at check in. Although I would think it's unlikely that Disney would offer any type of discount over New Year's Eve.... but they likely would after Jan. 1.

Also you can purchase the dining plan with just a room reservation if you have an AP. It does then become a package as opposed to a room-only reservation, which has different payment and penalty rules.

 

[Katybug]

The rates arn't out for December for annual passholders. You can book a discounted room using your AAA discount and you don't have to have the card number to book it. You just need it at check-in. Annual passholders discounts are definatly a better deal, that's what I'm using in December. The only down fall is that you have to wait until 60 days prior to your trip to find out how much of a discount you even get.

 

[durangojim]

It is very unlikely that there will be any AP discounts for NYE or NY Day. In the past you used to be able to arrive during a period of time when there was an AP rate and your rate would remain discounted for your entire stay. We were able to save loads by arriving on 12/25 and leaving 1/2 allowing us to have the most expensive week rate wise be at discounted value season rates, but unfortunately Disney changed their policy a couple years back and it is not possible to do this anymore. Your best bet will be to try to get a AAA rate for 12/31 and 1/1 and then try to get an AP rate starting around 1/2. Check here for historical discount rates http://www.mousesavers.com/historicalwdwdiscounts.html#rack

 

[Yankeeplex]

good luck with the rooms...for dinner, do you get much nicer than California Grill while watching the fireworks over the castle? Or Artist Point @ Wilderness Lodge, which is very warm and inviting. Just a few. Good luck.

 

[eastvillage]

The rates arn't out for December for annual passholders. You can book a discounted room using your AAA discount and you don't have to have the card number to book it. You just need it at check-in. Annual passholders discounts are definatly a better deal, that's what I'm using in December. The only down fall is that you have to wait until 60 days prior to your trip to find out how much of a discount you even get.

I've always been asked for my AAA# at the time of booking.

 

[CleveRocks]

The AAA discount is not an automatic thing ... it's not like having a coupon. DIsney only allows the AAA discount up until that particular room category at that particular resort reaches a certain secret occupancy rate. Once that occupancy rate is met/exceeded, Disney no longer offers the discount. They figure that if rooms are selling well enough and there aren't many left, they no longer need to offer a discount to sell the rest of them.

This is the situation you might well be up against for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. They are among the most crowded days of the year. Even if you can get a room, it will be very unlikely that the occupancy rate will be low enough that they'll still be offering the AAA discount.

I hope this makes sense ... please ask if it doesn't.

 

[Missing20K]

thanks for all the input. I kind of figured I wouldn't get any discount on the room for the nights of the 31st and the 1st but was hoping I could get some break on the rest of the trip.

As for an update, we have wanted to try the dining plan for the (hopefully) potential savings and convenience of paying for everything up front, but haven't because we are too much free spirits when it comes to dining. So I was thinking if we are going to split up the stay between two resorts, we would try the dining plan for half of it.

I think we would like to do the dining plan for the first portion of the trip, so that if we don't like it, we aren't stuck. However, I realize that new years is a busy time of the year so unless we can get some table service, I'm afraid we won't get a good value. Has anyone else split a trip between both resorts and a dining plan, non-dining plan?? This might be a dumb question, but if you are on the dining plan, does it kick in the first day? As in we get in on the 31st, we get to use it on the 31st? So what happens if you get in too late for the 2 and a half meals you get?? Is it just a pool of credits, so you could eat two table service meals in one day and 3 counter service the next day and the next eat nothing but the remaining snacks??

Finally, in the spirit of our trip, we don't even really plan on fighting crowds on the 31st or the 1st and possibly the 2nd. These are the days we would like to recover, relax, etc. That being said, what is the best resort for doing just that? A whole lot of nothing, but sitting by a pool (weather pending), eating, drinking, and general relaxation. Some relaxation before we go commando on the parks for 4 days.

Thanks again for all the help, and forgiving my long posts.

 

[CleveRocks]

if you are on the dining plan, does it kick in the first day? As in we get in on the 31st, we get to use it on the 31st? So what happens if you get in too late for the 2 and a half meals you get?? Is it just a pool of credits, so you could eat two table service meals in one day and 3 counter service the next day and the next eat nothing but the remaining snacks??

The DDP gives you one great big pool of credits, to use any way you wish whenever you wish. You pay for the DDP by the number of nights you are staying in the room. So if you book for 4 nights, you pay for 4 "days" worth of DDP credits per person. It starts the moment you check-in, even if you check in very very late at night. You have until 11:59 p.m. on your check-out day to use the credits.