Should We Book Now or Wait?

[Jigs]

My family will be travelling to Disney the 2nd week of February.This will be the first trip for our daughters who are four and nine. We are planning on staying at the Floridian for three nights. We intend to use the CAA discount when we book the room next week. Do you think we will get a better price by waiting or should we book now?

Thanks

 

[lcsrig]

That's about the same time we are planning our third visit in 3 years. I really don't know what a CAA discount is, but i can tell you that I usually book in Oct as soon as my flights get to where I want them. Then I book the rooms. We have seen ads for better discounts a month or two before we go but I get nervous waiting to long. Our first year I book through Expedia but last year we went with Disneyworld.com and got about the same price. PLus they have payment plans, if you need them.

 

[Jigs]

lscrig,

Thanks for the response. CAA is the Canadian Automobile Association, sister company of AAA. They provide a 15% discount on rooms. Do you stay at the Floridian?

 

[DisneyWood]

My family will be travelling to Disney the 2nd week of February.This will be the first trip for our daughters who are four and nine. We are planning on staying at the Floridian for three nights. We intend to use the CAA discount when we book the room next week. Do you think we will get a better price by waiting or should we book now?

Thanks

I made our reservation for our family about a year in advance. I recently viewed an advertisement that mentioned discounted rates for when we staying. I called WDW reservations to inquire and I received the discounted rates. We have reserved 3 cabins at Fort Wilderness. The rate originally quoted was $229 + tax (around $300). The discounted price is $168/night. Naturally, we were ecstatic.

My sister in law just mentioned that she was able to get standard savannah rooms at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for $185 + tax. I don't really know what we are going to do. ( probably AKL). I would make the reservations, then be on the lookout for specials.

48 days to go until we land in WDW!!! :sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy:

 

[ClemsonTigger]

Check with Pam

The options can be very confusing, and with different special deals coming all the time, you can go nuts.

I suggest getting in touch with Pam at Kingdom Konsultants (advertizer here on the site). If you are not fully up to speed with all the discount options, she can help a lot.

 

[DisneyPhD]

I was wondering the same thing (not for myself, but for our friends who are going with us in early march.) We are DVC and I almost forget how to handle normal ressies for WDW. We are staying at BCV and they want to stay at BC. No one has an annual pass this year, but we do both as Disney Visa (and have a running contest to see who will have more points by the trip!)

She is thinking of booking through AAA, but I have never done that.

 

[Jigs]

I received this rate from a travel agent this morning. Is the quote in the ballpark or not?


In regards to your conversation earlier today with ***, the following are
your best options for a three-night stay from February 7-10 at the Grand
Floridian. All rates include tax and are for the entire family.



CAA/AAA has packages with Disney at a discounted price that also give you
preferred parking, discount card for dining, merchandise and entertainment.
These are the packages listed here. Just so you know, the package w/ passes
rate is already sold out at the AAA discounted rate, so space is filling up.



1. Tower Room, Concierge Floor (lagoon view request)

$1719.00USD

-with "length of stay" Ultimate Park Hopper plus tickets and one Magical
Wish per room

$2892.00USD



2. Tower Room No Concierge Service

$1438.35USD

-with "length of stay" Ultimate Park Hopper plus tickets and one Magical
Wish per room

$2306.00USD





There are also rates in Canadian funds, but you would not receive the above
benefits.



3. Tower Room, Concierge Floor (lagoon view request)

-$2271.27CAD



4. Tower Room, Concierge Floor with "length of stay" Ultimate Park
Hopper plus tickets and one Magical Wish per room

$3531.27CAD



5. Tower Room, No Concierge

$2124.09CAD

- with "length of stay" Ultimate Park Hopper plus tickets and one Magical
Wish per room

$3384.09CAD





Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Otherwise, I
look forward to assisting you with your Disney Vacation.

 

[lcsrig]

No Jigs. We stayed at the Port Orleans French Quarter in 2003 and the Carribean Beach Resort in 2004. POFQ is much smaller and reminded us of home seeing as we had escaped Mardi Gras. CBR is more spread but lots more to do....more pools, beaches for the kids w/ slides, and watercraft rentals. We are debating this year (for Feb 2005) whether to do AKL or WL b/c the prices will still be on Value season OR whether to save a little money and go back to CBR. Let me know what you decide. We'll be there at the same time.

 

[wdwdave09]

This doesn't answer the "when to book" question but is a response to Icsrig. Both the AKL and WL are very nice resorts. My family (me, wife and 6 and 10 yr old) has stayed at WL the last two times at WDW (2002 and 2003) and we absolutely love it! I have a good friend who stayed at AKL and her family loved it as well. IMO, the choice depends on two things: 1) theming and 2) restaurant choices.

WL:
a) If you like the Pacific Northwest, WL is the better choice.
b) I think WL has a more pleasantly themed pool
c) Artist Point (at WL) is very expensive but you can eat some interesting game dishes. Also, the cobbler is to-die-for!!!
d) WCC is fun with generous portions of OK food
e) Roaring Forks (fast-food court) has a pretty good selection of tasty food but the prices are outrageous (IMO).
f) rooms are small by Deluxe resort standards
g) quiet resort - very relaxing in the morning when Aaron Copeland and other "western" music is played outside the resort
h) very pleasant boat ride to MK, contemporary and Ft. Wilderness

AKL:
a) If you would like to see exotic animals, AKL is the way to go.
b) larger pool than WL but not as themed
c) Boma (buffet style) has great selection of African-inspired dishes which are delicious. The desserts will wow you!!
c) Jiko consistenly recieves high marks as one of best restaurants at WDW
d) resort theming is very nice, especially being able to see zebras, giraffes, etc. grazing out the window
e) VERY far removed from rest of WDW (except AK)

I apologize for the long post but I couldn't resist the topic.

Best of luck in making your choice!

 

[Jigs]

First of all, I would like to thank everyone who chimed in with info. These fourms are a great tool to source information and will be seeking more in the future months.

We booked the room ourselves at the GF. Save $200.00 by doing it ourselves directly with Disney as opposed to a travel agent. We decided to skip the Concierge service. Seemed pricey for what you get. I called the GF and talked directly to guest services. They were very helpful and answered questions that the disney call center could not. I would recommend doing this if you are not sure on some details.

lscrig,

Keep in touch, as well will I.

Once again
Thanks.

 

[GaryT977]

As a general rule, you should make your reservations as soon as you know when you're going. This assures you'll get the room you want at the resort you want. You can always call back later and ask to have any discounts applied. The reservations people have always been extremely nice to me about it.