That is the case most of the time but it's not always true. If you want a specific hotel, inventory sometimes comes in later for the same deal. For example on the day the UK deal for 2024 arrivals came online in 2023, some rooms and some entire resorts weren't showing, including CSR which we wanted. We booked POFQ Garden room instead (which was the only room type showing), but two months later CSR started to show up under the same deal so we switched.
I think this has been my experience too, there's no actual pattern that can be explained with a simple "not all hotels and rooms are available under a specific deal". It's like the attractions, there are different "drops" throughout the year! Also, in the case of non-Disney hotels, they are not available under Room Only either, separate from the package deals, even when there's no particular discount on Room Only.
Its a waiting game until the current deals come to an end and new ones come up so we can then book the room + tickets...
But don't you still have the option to just rent a room on it's own and then buy tickets? You don't HAVE to book a package deal. No different than anyone in the US. We either luck out on a deal or we don't.
This is where we came in! In particular, the Swan & Dolphin are not available as Room Only, inside or outside a package deal, at the moment from Disney UK. And not all Disney hotels are available either. For example, a search for 27th April 2025 to 7th May 2025 (11 nights), room only, is currently showing only Movies in the Value category, and the only Poly option costs £16,492. The only Wilderness Lodge option is £7,867.
Did you use a VPN?
Nothing that is available on the website.. we also don’t want the current promotions but just booking a room and tickets.. nothing visible of the hotel that we want.. might have to call again and ask but the info they give is limited.
No. You mean to access the US site, not Disney UK? Are all hotels always available on the US site? (I think we've been here before...)
Use a VPN to "fool" the internet into thinking that you are in the US. And yes, there is plenty of availability for the dates that you listed. You can then book a room only reservations and then just buy tickets.
Try using a VPN because I can see availability here in the US.
For all hotels and all room types? Are there any disadvantages for UK visitors not using Disney UK or any other UK-based travel agents? Do you use UK-based sites for the "cheap" UK tickets?
I know what VPNs do. Could you recommend a good free one? And does the US site have all hotels and rooms available or does it have a selection?
The US site can be searched, all resorts and room types, all offers available to the US as well as "rack rate." However it is subject to algorithms that may limit what appears available because the computer system thinks it can sell that room for a different length of stay. For example, say you want a room for 4 nights but nothing shows available; however if you search for 6 nights (that include the same original 4 nights) then rooms pop up. Logically those rooms are "available" for the shorter stay but just don't show. But it does sound like the US site shows more availability in general than maybe the UK site does. Note that at this time, the US site is only loaded through October 2025 while I believe the UK site extends to December 2025.
I am in the US so don't use VPNs. But for what you want to do, any free one will work. And when I checked, there were many room types available for most resorts on property. I did not check off site properties as there are way too many. But I doubt that every hotel room in Orlando is booked.
