To Book or Not to Book...Fall

[UPbeekeeper]

Looking for suggestions for my Fall trip. I am agonizing over whether I should book now or wait. I absolutely know there is no guarantee for a FD offer, but I am hoping for one. With a family of four, which includes 2 constantly hungry teens, this will save me a great deal of money.

Looking at historical FD offers, I am tentatively looking to visit Sept 28 through Oct 7. I am open to tweaking those dates to fall into the FD parameters if offered.

Is it guaranteed that I can change existing booked dates to take advantage of a special offer or can it only be done as a courtesy? Someone suggested to me that if I wait, I may not get a room because they will fill up quickly and there are only a limited number of rooms for special offers anyway.

I guess my bottom line question is, will there be any problems with booking in advance that would prevent me from taking advantage of a special offer later if one becomes available?

 

[Figgy1]

Looking for suggestions for my Fall trip. I am agonizing over whether I should book now or wait. I absolutely know there is no guarantee for a FD offer, but I am hoping for one. With a family of four, which includes 2 constantly hungry teens, this will save me a great deal of money.

Looking at historical FD offers, I am tentatively looking to visit Sept 28 through Oct 7. I am open to tweaking those dates to fall into the FD parameters if offered.

Is it guaranteed that I can change existing booked dates to take advantage of a special offer or can it only be done as a courtesy? Someone suggested to me that if I wait, I may not get a room because they will fill up quickly and there are only a limited number of rooms for special offers anyway.

I guess my bottom line question is, will there be any problems with booking in advance that would prevent me from taking advantage of a special offer later if one becomes available?

Unless they've changed policies I don't see a problem!

 

[UPbeekeeper]

I'm a first timer staying on property. All of my other trips have been off property to so all of these planning aspects are new to me. I'm so worried about doing everything right. I'm sure I will worry until the second I check into my room. I'm a worrier by nature...lol.

 

[Figgy1]

I'm a first timer staying on property. All of my other trips have been off property to so all of these planning aspects are new to me. I'm so worried about doing everything right. I'm sure I will worry until the second I check into my room. I'm a worrier by nature...lol.

Breathe, relax, breathe, relax it's going to be ok your going to Disney! This coming from someone who already has a few things packed for June!! Just remember to get your dining reservations in at 180 days and being on property you have +10.

 

[lunchbox1175]

Looking for suggestions for my Fall trip. I am agonizing over whether I should book now or wait. I absolutely know there is no guarantee for a FD offer, but I am hoping for one. With a family of four, which includes 2 constantly hungry teens, this will save me a great deal of money.

Looking at historical FD offers, I am tentatively looking to visit Sept 28 through Oct 7. I am open to tweaking those dates to fall into the FD parameters if offered.

Is it guaranteed that I can change existing booked dates to take advantage of a special offer or can it only be done as a courtesy? Someone suggested to me that if I wait, I may not get a room because they will fill up quickly and there are only a limited number of rooms for special offers anyway.

I guess my bottom line question is, will there be any problems with booking in advance that would prevent me from taking advantage of a special offer later if one becomes available?

No, they pretty much let you change your reservation up to 5 days before you arrive without any loss of money, so if a better offer comes along, they are always happy to help you change it, i have done it a few times with no issues at all.

 

[DisneyDelirious]

+1 on getting your reservations in early and changing course as necessary later ie adding discount, etc.. If they offer up Free Dining or some other perk later this site and the official WDW site will list the special offers. As long as you catch it in a timely manner you can add it to your reservation easily. May require a change of room type or resort worst case scenario. The plus of getting your ressie in now is you can make the reservations so you can enjoy the free dining in restaraunts you would like instead of what's left by the time the offer comes out.

@figmentfan423 when are you going in June?

 

[Figgy1]

+1 on getting your reservations in early and changing course as necessary later ie adding discount, etc.. If they offer up Free Dining or some other perk later this site and the official WDW site will list the special offers. As long as you catch it in a timely manner you can add it to your reservation easily. May require a change of room type or resort worst case scenario. The plus of getting your ressie in now is you can make the reservations so you can enjoy the free dining in restaraunts you would like instead of what's left by the time the offer comes out.

@figmentfan423 when are you going in June?

Park and DTD 9-19. We're going to make the last day of SWW!!!!!!!!! YEA

 

[DisneyDelirious]

Park and DTD 9-19. We're going to make the last day of SWW!!!!!!!!! YEA

I'll be there May 30-June 9. I'm a huge SWW fan maybe I'll see you. I'm the goofy guy with the red shirt rocking the 3-D glasses at It's Tough to be a Bug in my avatar.

 

[Figgy1]

I'll be there May 30-June 9. I'm a huge SWW fan maybe I'll see you. I'm the goofy guy with the red shirt rocking the 3-D glasses at It's Tough to be a Bug in my avatar.

I'll be the one with a red headded Aniken Skywalker!

 

[UPbeekeeper]

Ok, you folks have put my mind at ease. Thank you! I will be booking my package this weekend. I can't believe I am actually saying that. It makes my dream feel like more of a reality. I am driving my family completely nuts.

 

[Pooh Lover]

Breathe, relax, breathe, relax it's going to be ok your going to Disney! This coming from someone who already has a few things packed for June!! Just remember to get your dining reservations in at 180 days and being on property you have +10.

Making your ADRs are almost the most important thing to remember, especially during a Free Dining period. I think I'd rather forget my clothes than forget to make my ADRs...LOL.

 

[UPbeekeeper]

I am so obsessive I already scheduled a day off from work on April 1st, which will be my 180 day mark, so I can be online, ready and waiting for 6 a.m. Fingers are crossed for a free dining offer. Of course if my arrival date needs to change to accommodate FD parameters, I can make that happen as well.

My trip will happen regardless of whether or not FD is offered, but the dynamics will change tremendously, so I really hope this happens.

 

[Pooh Lover]

I am so obsessive I already scheduled a day off from work on April 1st, which will be my 180 day mark, so I can be online, ready and waiting for 6 a.m. Fingers are crossed for a free dining offer. Of course if my arrival date needs to change to accommodate FD parameters, I can make that happen as well.

My trip will happen regardless of whether or not FD is offered, but the dynamics will change tremendously, so I really hope this happens.

It will probably only take 15 to 20 minutes to make your ADRs online, assuming you have no problems. The only problems I've ever had were with my own computer. You'll get immediate email confirmations (a must for us obsessives.)

While I can't say Free Dining will definitely be offered, I think I've taken advantage of it during September for at least the last 7 years, so the odds are pretty decent it will be offered again this fall. The offer normally comes out in March or very early April, a little earlier for Disney VISA holders.

 

[JillC LI]

Ok, you folks have put my mind at ease. Thank you! I will be booking my package this weekend. I can't believe I am actually saying that. It makes my dream feel like more of a reality. I am driving my family completely nuts.

There's definitely something to be said about booking your reservation and making it feel real. I insisted on booking in August 2011 for December 2012 to make it feel real! I, too, hoped a free dining offer would be released for the dates of our trip (which I planned based on historical FD offers), and it was! In fact, I was booked at Pop Century, but when FD came out, it was only for quick service at a value resort, so I upgraded at that time to a moderate because it turned out to cost only $25 more to upgrade to CBR and get the regular free dining plan vs. staying at Pop and upgrading from the quick service to the regular DP. Great deal all around!

 

[Bama14]

I always go through a Disney travel agent and she keeps up with the specials. If I book a vacation and a special comes up, she always adjusts everything for me with no problems. You shouldn't have any trouble adding the special or changing the dates based on my past experiences.

 

[Poofiesdream]

What are you waiting for? Book now! You can always have the discount put on your reservation when one comes out.

 

[Figgy1]

I am so obsessive I already scheduled a day off from work on April 1st, which will be my 180 day mark, so I can be online, ready and waiting for 6 a.m. Fingers are crossed for a free dining offer. Of course if my arrival date needs to change to accommodate FD parameters, I can make that happen as well.

My trip will happen regardless of whether or not FD is offered, but the dynamics will change tremendously, so I really hope this happens.

Hopefully they will have the bugs out of the computer system by then, I called mine in to be sure1

 

[pixiesteno]

I would go a head and book, but see if you can check on the date cutoffs from last year so you aren't planning a trip for a timeframe that has previously not had FD. Hope that made sense. I seem to recall the previous FD deals ending around the end of Sept. Just my .02 worth. It is a really nice time to go, it is still quite warm, great swimming weather, all the halloween decor is up, and numerous MNSSHP scheduled.

 

[UPbeekeeper]

I would go a head and book, but see if you can check on the date cutoffs from last year so you aren't planning a trip for a timeframe that has previously not had FD. Hope that made sense. I seem to recall the previous FD deals ending around the end of Sept. Just my .02 worth. It is a really nice time to go, it is still quite warm, great swimming weather, all the halloween decor is up, and numerous MNSSHP scheduled.

Yes, I looked up historical data and it looks like it has been offered in the past for that time frame, ending in very late September, which is why I picked the last Saturday in the month as my arrival date. My fingers are crossed...hoping for that elusive FD offer.