Non-Disney hotels availability from the UK

[osian]

In my experience it's only very occasionally that it is possible to get non-Disney hotels in a search result on the Disney UK site. Most of the time there is absolutely nothing. But then suddenly they all appear. At this moment in time, I can't find any availability for any non-Disney hotels, e.g. Swolphin, any time for the remainder of this year nor for the whole of next year.

At what time of year do they usually appear, is there a predictable schedule or timing for this?

I can't believe that there is no availability at all, so if the Disney site isn't returning any results what would you normally do - book directly with the hotel at, e.g. swandolphin.com (which seemingly goes to a Marriott URL for availability)? A few random checks on that site does turn up availability. Are there any advantages/disadvantages with going directly to the hotel?

 

[jaklgreen]

Try using a different browser and a VPN. Sometimes when you are trying to access another Country's websites, it gets wonky.

 

[osian]

Try using a different browser and a VPN. Sometimes when you are trying to access another Country's websites, it gets wonky.

Thank you, but I'm in the UK! This is simply a problem with Disney not including non-Disney hotels at this moment.

 

[nickys]

Thank you, but I'm in the UK! This is simply a problem with Disney not including non-Disney hotels at this moment.

What @jaklgreen was meaning is if you want to book there and are happy to book it as room-only, you can do so via the US site even with a UK address.

Using a vpn you can go through the booking process via Disney. Or you can book directly with the hotel.

The UK site acts a travel agency when we book through them. They can only book the rooms and resorts that Disney “release” to them. They can’t just use the same availability of room inventory as the US site shows. It isn’t unusual for them not to have all resorts or room types.

But you can still book via the US site, you just won’t get the UK deals.

 

[osian]

Do you mean that the US site always has availability for all hotels? And if you go room-only via the US site, I assume that's no different from booking with the hotel directly, so need for VPNs etc.

But is there a schedule or timescale for when the UK site shows them? I see them occasionally, but I don't know if it works on a predictable schedule, e.g. after the free-dining etc UK deals have ended, or just before the packages are released, etc.

 

[nickys]

Do you mean that the US site always has availability for all hotels? And if you go room-only via the US site, I assume that's no different from booking with the hotel directly, so need for VPNs etc.

But is there a schedule or timescale for when the UK site shows them? I see them occasionally, but I don't know if it works on a predictable schedule, e.g. after the free-dining etc UK deals have ended, or just before the packages are released, etc.

The US site won’t always have availability because they do sell out. But there can be different availability.

Booking Swan / Dolphin through Disney vs direct can have different pricing. It’s a good idea to check both.

I don’t know if there is a pattern to the availability on the UK site. They tend to focus on packages though. I’m not sure if it does room-only rates even. I couldn’t book the resort I wanted last time until maybe 5 months out. We had booked an All Stars Music family suite and then switched to an OKW 1-bed when I saw it pop up. The resorts available changed week to week, with resorts added and removed.

 

[Tigger&Pooh]

It may be due to the package you are searching. Only limited rooms are available for booking under each package offer and once those are sold the system may show no availability unless you change to a different package. I believe the Swan/Dolphin/Reserve can only be booked as packages through Disney, not as room-only; so yes there is different availability if searching directly through the hotel itself vs through Disney. And yes the Swan and Dolphin are run by Marriott so they can be booked via Marriott.

 

[jaklgreen]

Thank you, but I'm in the UK! This is simply a problem with Disney not including non-Disney hotels at this moment.

Don't try to book them through Disney if they are not owned by Disney. Book them through their company websites. You don't need to make a package of it, you can book your hotel and tickets separate. And as nickys explained, sometimes your browser is an issue. Using a VPN will show that you are in the US and can access these sites better.
Unless you have a specific UK package that you want, then I would ask a travel agent if they can see any availability. That way you will know if it is a browser issue or if they are available. But I did a quick check of the Swan and Dolphin and there definitely are rooms available, even for later this year.

 

[osian]

Don't try to book them through Disney if they are not owned by Disney. Book them through their company websites. You don't need to make a package of it, you can book your hotel and tickets separate. And as nickys explained, sometimes your browser is an issue. Using a VPN will show that you are in the US and can access these sites better.
Unless you have a specific UK package that you want, then I would ask a travel agent if they can see any availability. That way you will know if it is a browser issue or if they are available. But I did a quick check of the Swan and Dolphin and there definitely are rooms available, even for later this year.

Just been looking at the Marriott site for Dolphin, for dates next year when I would be wanting (not actually for next year, just concocting plans for a "special" holiday in 2027!), and OMG those prices are doable compared with Disney-owned deluxes!

 

[nickys]

Just been looking at the Marriott site for Dolphin, for dates next year when I would be wanting (not actually for next year, just concocting plans for a "special" holiday in 2027!), and OMG those prices are doable compared with Disney-owned deluxes!

Yes, their rates are more in line with Disney moderates. They also do guaranteed connecting rooms.

The main differences between them and Disney owned hotels are a) you can’t use magic bands;
b) buses to MK go to the TTC;
c) there are parking fees (I think).

Also there can be issues linking the stay to MDE. There are periodic reports of reservations dropping off the app, which caused issues with VQs, early entry etc.

 

[Tigger&Pooh]

In addition to the parking fees there is also a resort fee. Make sure you are looking at the final price. But yes, it is generally considerably less expensive than WDW Deluxe resorts.

Regarding MBs -- you can use the MB for tickets, such as park entry and LLs. But no charging/payment with the MB and it won't open your hotel room door.

 

[Laurenciaa]

Have the same experience but for disney hotels.. can’t see any availability for the Wilderness lodge/Yacht Club/GF for a period between April-September.. anyone some info on this? As mentioned here we could use VPN but then we miss the UK-IE deals

 

[osian]

Have the same experience but for disney hotels.. can’t see any availability for the Wilderness lodge/Yacht Club/GF for a period between April-September.. anyone some info on this? As mentioned here we could use VPN but then we miss the UK-IE deals

I always knew that Walt Disney Travel Company International, aka Disney UK, was "just another" travel agent and only sell deals that they are allocated. Not all hotels participate in the UK packages at the same time herefore very often entire hotels are unavailable for many months of the year, and even if they do participate it is very often very limited room types.

I just didn't know whether this applied to the non-Disney hotels too.

 

[Laurenciaa]

I always knew that Walt Disney Travel Company International, aka Disney UK, was "just another" travel agent and only sell deals that they are allocated. Not all hotels participate in the UK packages at the same time herefore very often entire hotels are unavailable for many months of the year, and even if they do participate it is very often very limited room types.

I just didn't know whether this applied to the non-Disney hotels too.

Sad because there are a lot of people who want to spend money and actively want to use their channel as a source of booking..

I send an email to check but it’s frustrating that the US site shows all availabilities in my research period

 

[osian]

Sad because there are a lot of people who want to spend money and actively want to use their channel as a source of booking..

I send an email to check but it’s frustrating that the US site shows all availabilities in my research period

When I first started going, I was frustrated because the iconic hotels that I'd known about for decades and were symbolic of WDW (Contemporary, Polynesian) were never avaiable to book, it's still very rare even now for Disney UK to offer them. But I've got past that now, they have gone way beyond even bucket list hotels for me, I'm basically at All Stars level now!

Yacht and Beach are my new bucket lists ones but those are rapidly going out of reach too. Most of the time, Disney UK only seems to offer concierge level rooms at prices of £20,000 for 10 nights!

 

[nickys]

When I first started going, I was frustrated because the iconic hotels that I'd known about for decades and were symbolic of WDW (Contemporary, Polynesian) were never avaiable to book, it's still very rare even now for Disney UK to offer them. But I've got past that now, they have gone way beyond even bucket list hotels for me, I'm basically at All Stars level now!

Yacht and Beach are my new bucket lists ones but those are rapidly going out of reach too. Most of the time, Disney UK only seems to offer concierge level rooms at prices of £20,000 for 10 nights!

Virgin, BA and other well-known travel agents sell the same UK deals and often have most of the resort hotels included.

 

[Laurenciaa]

When I first started going, I was frustrated because the iconic hotels that I'd known about for decades and were symbolic of WDW (Contemporary, Polynesian) were never avaiable to book, it's still very rare even now for Disney UK to offer them. But I've got past that now, they have gone way beyond even bucket list hotels for me, I'm basically at All Stars level now!

Yacht and Beach are my new bucket lists ones but those are rapidly going out of reach too. Most of the time, Disney UK only seems to offer concierge level rooms at prices of £20,000 for 10 nights!

Yes they only seem to allow UK-IE bookings to be in lower/mid tier hotels while there is a bunch a people who actually want to book these iconic hotels.. we’ll see what they answer but probably there will be no rooms available just AFTER the deal expires and it’s at full price^^

 

[Laurenciaa]

Virgin, BA and other well-known travel agents sell the same UK deals and often have most of t to he resort hotels included.

Yes I saw that too but as Belgians going first to the UK is another layer of complication that’s why we already looked on the Ireland sub-website but alas no results

 

[Tigger&Pooh]

As mentioned here we could use VPN but then we miss the UK-IE deals

To the point I raised upthread, if say 100 rooms are allotted to the UK promo, it doesn’t matter if there are still 400 rooms available at the hotel “rack rate” they won’t be sold for the promo price. Only the first 100 got that special promo rate. I don’t know if the resorts you mentioned are sold out from the promo you want, but it sounds like that is a possibility. Others booked it first and there are no rooms left for the offer.

 

[jaklgreen]

I always knew that Walt Disney Travel Company International, aka Disney UK, was "just another" travel agent and only sell deals that they are allocated. Not all hotels participate in the UK packages at the same time herefore very often entire hotels are unavailable for many months of the year, and even if they do participate it is very often very limited room types.

I just didn't know whether this applied to the non-Disney hotels too.

But that is standard though, that each special rate has limited availability. They can't hold all of the rooms at a resort for one special group, in this case the British deal. Even deals that they put out in the US are limited quantities. It is best to watch for when these deals get released and book immediately.