Two Questions

[Mouse3268]

1. How much time out is the best time to book a hotel room? Is there a specific time of the year that is better? We are planning on going the week after Labor Day.
2. When do they usually announce the park hours and extra magic hours for the upcoming year?

Thanks in advance for the assistance!

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

1. How much time out is the best time to book a hotel room? Is there a specific time of the year that is better? We are planning on going the week after Labor Day.
2. When do they usually announce the park hours and extra magic hours for the upcoming year?

Thanks in advance for the assistance!

Are you thinking 2017 or 2018? I book really far in advance as I'm a big planner. The prices won't change throughout the year but a discount could become available. If you know when you want to go, I suggest booking as soon as possible because many people have been talking about limited availability lately.

 

[belledream]

Park hours for your travel dates will be released around 180 days in advance (more or less lining up with the first day you can begin to make dining reservations). So if you're talking this year, they're already out. If you're talking next year, it would be sometime in March.

 

[Mouse3268]

Are you thinking 2017 or 2018? I book really far in advance as I'm a big planner. The prices won't change throughout the year but a discount could become available. If you know when you want to go, I suggest booking as soon as possible because many people have been talking about limited availability lately.

Sorry should have specified, week after Labor Day of 2018.

 

[crxbrett]

I am going Sep 6-17 2018 and just booked my trip if that helps you make a decision. Park hours constantly change and aren't solid until a month before. The MK just extended their hours for the week of Labor Day this year only 2 weeks ago.

 

[wwmmd]

I am going Sep 6-17 2018 and just booked my trip if that helps you make a decision. Park hours constantly change and aren't solid until a month before. The MK just extended their hours for the week of Labor Day this year only 2 weeks ago.

I see MK closing at 9 that week. Was it earlier? I'll be there then and thought the time has been 9pm all along?

 

[TiggerDad]

you should book as soon as you can lock in the dates for your trip. If a discount is released later, you can always change your reservation to incorporate it. The only difficulty is if you need to shift dates in order to avoid blackouts for a discount, that would impact flights if you don't drive.

 

[crxbrett]

I see MK closing at 9 that week. Was it earlier? I'll be there then and thought the time has been 9pm all along?

Disney just recently extended the hours for that Saturday thru Monday (Aug 26-28th and Saturday Sep 2nd) to 10p about 2 weeks ago. Those days were originally 9pm on the schedule. Animal Kingdom was also originally listed with 9pm closures up until about 3 months ago and before they extended them to 9:30pm. Its only a half-hour, but hey, I'll take it! Hollywood Studios was also originally scheduled for 8pm closures during my visit (Aug 25-Sep3), but they extended those to 9pm about 3 months ago as well.




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[LAKid53]

you should book as soon as you can lock in the dates for your trip. If a discount is released later, you can always change your reservation to incorporate it. The only difficulty is if you need to shift dates in order to avoid blackouts for a discount, that would impact flights if you don't drive.

There's no guarantee, though, that you'll be able to switch from a full rack rate room to a discounted rate room at the same resort. I've had to switch resorts. The inventory of discounted rooms can be very limited.

 

[DisAl]

As others have said, book your room as soon as you have your dates locked down, then start watching for discounts and re-book. That way you know you will have the room you want and already know the "worst case" cost. Then if the discounts come around, re-book.
As LAKid53 said, when Disney announce discounts for rooms usually the number of rooms is limited so you have to grab them quickly.
You can visit this page on MouseSavers.com at https://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/#codetrends and see this dates that discounts have been announced in the past.

 

[dreamfinder]

Unlike other hotels, the prices at the Disney hotels don't fluctuate up and down. So the rack rate price you see now is the price you can expect to pay at any time for that same night. Some nights will cost more than others, but a given room will never cost more on a given night than the posted rack rate. And the only way it will cost less is if a discount is announced that covers that room for the dates of your trip.

Now if you are going during a busy time, and have a specific room request, then you would want to book it as soon as you can. IE NYE in Contemporary Castle View tower room, you gotta go for the 495 day on the phone (at least I think that's the number of days) But if you are looking to go say mid September, and just want to stay at a moderate, then you can be a bit more lenient in making that booking. If your dates are set, the only way you can benefit from not booking now is that discounts are based on occupancy rates. If you book now, your booking could be the one that shifts that resort from "Discount Offered" to "No Discount Offered" as they hit their target occupancy. If your dates are flexible, then it's not as big a deal as you could shift a few days as needed.

Comes down to your comfort level and specific needs.

 

[wwmmd]

Disney just recently extended the hours for that Saturday thru Monday (Aug 26-28th and Saturday Sep 2nd) to 10p about 2 weeks ago. Those days were originally 9pm on the schedule. Animal Kingdom was also originally listed with 9pm closures up until about 3 months ago and before they extended them to 9:30pm. Its only a half-hour, but hey, I'll take it! Hollywood Studios was also originally scheduled for 8pm closures during my visit (Aug 25-Sep3), but they extended those to 9pm about 3 months ago as well.




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Ah, ok. I will be at MK on Sun, Sept 3 and it's still 9. Bummer.

 

[Mouse3268]

As others have said, book your room as soon as you have your dates locked down, then start watching for discounts and re-book. That way you know you will have the room you want and already know the "worst case" cost. Then if the discounts come around, re-book.
As LAKid53 said, when Disney announce discounts for rooms usually the number of rooms is limited so you have to grab them quickly.
You can visit this page on MouseSavers.com at https://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/#codetrends and see this dates that discounts have been announced in the past.

Thank you for that link with the discount dates.

One more question:

I notice that we are going in the time period that they usually offer the Disney Dining Plan for free. What is the process is for that? If you already made the purchase can you get a refund? Is it only the counter service or can you pay the difference to upgrade? This would be amazing because we want to do the Deluxe Dinning plan.

 

[DisAl]

Thank you for that link with the discount dates.

One more question:

I notice that we are going in the time period that they usually offer the Disney Dining Plan for free. What is the process is for that? If you already made the purchase can you get a refund? Is it only the counter service or can you pay the difference to upgrade? This would be amazing because we want to do the Deluxe Dinning plan.

The process is that when they announce the free dining plan or other discounts you call WDW and ask to be re-booked with whatever the "special offer" is.
If I remember correctly this fall the value resorts get the quick service plan, the deluxe resorts get the DDP, and I don't remember what moderate resorts got. I'm sure some of the other posters will have that information. I think if you are in a resort that gets the QS plan for free you can pay the difference in QS and DDP.
The key to getting the offer is to start checking the WDW web page every day once you get within a few weeks of the traditional discount announcement dates. As previously mentioned they only offer a limited number and you have to jump on them quickly.

 

[TiggerDad]

There's no guarantee, though, that you'll be able to switch from a full rack rate room to a discounted rate room at the same resort. I've had to switch resorts. The inventory of discounted rooms can be very limited.

True, but you're no worse off by already having something booked. You can decide to keep what you have or switch.

Thank you for that link with the discount dates.

One more question:

I notice that we are going in the time period that they usually offer the Disney Dining Plan for free. What is the process is for that? If you already made the purchase can you get a refund? Is it only the counter service or can you pay the difference to upgrade? This would be amazing because we want to do the Deluxe Dinning plan.

I would hold off on booking the dining plan initially and just plan on adding it later. Free dining is usually only for certain resorts that have lower than average bookings on the books at that time, so you may have to switch resorts in order to get it. As noted by others, it is theoretically possible that your early booking could be the one that kicks that specific resort over the line as to whether extra discounts are needed or if free dining is offered at that resort. I wouldn't worry about that. In the past, you have been able to pay the difference to upgrade from the free dining plan to a higher tier dining plan. I wouldn't worry about those options yet until it gets announced.

As a side note, Deluxe Dining Plan is a lot of food and a lot of time-consuming sit-down meals. If that is what you want, it's your vacation, so enjoy.

 

[DisAl]

TiggerDad makes two important points. If you have the DDDP (three full service meals) you will spend a lot of time in restaurants, and two, you almost can't eat that much. At the end of the day you may feel like Jabba the Hutt.
When we went for our 40th anniversary we did the DDDP and had a snack for breakfast, a full service lunch, and a signature for dinner every day. I would not recommend the Deluxe plan for a trip with kids, but if this is an adult trip and you want to enjoy a lot of fine dining, go for it.
When traveling with the whole family we do the DDP (one full service, one QS) plan because that lets us do a character meal for the kids every day if we want to, and have plenty to eat with the QS without taking so much time. Don't let the Quick Service designation turn you off. You can get some really nice QS meals. One of my favorites is the rib platter at Flame Tree BBQ in Animal Kingdom.

 

[dreamfinder]

I notice that we are going in the time period that they usually offer the Disney Dining Plan for free. What is the process is for that? If you already made the purchase can you get a refund? Is it only the counter service or can you pay the difference to upgrade? This would be amazing because we want to do the Deluxe Dinning plan.

It would be just like applying any other discount after the fact. You would need to call Disney back, and ask them to apply the promotion to your booking. However, the day that free dining gets announced, the reservation line gets slammed, and can take hours to get through/make the change. If there is no rooms left for the promotion for your date by the time you call you can't get dining for free. So unless you have the ability to be on the phone the second the lines open the day it is announced, and possibly have to spend hours on hold, you may want to look into using a good Disney TA as they will do that on your behalf.

The plan offered will vary from year to year, and will also depend on the level resort you are staying at. I think lately it was QS at value/moderate with the basic DDP at Deluxe. Deluxe dining should be an option if you pay the price difference to upgrade. But as a PP said, rethink it that is really what you want/need. It ends up being alot of time spent at restaurants, and alot of food. You may do better to do the regular DDP, and pay OOP for a few meals.

 

[LAKid53]

True, but you're no worse off by already having something booked. You can decide to keep what you have or switch.

I would hold off on booking the dining plan initially and just plan on adding it later. Free dining is usually only for certain resorts that have lower than average bookings on the books at that time, so you may have to switch resorts in order to get it. As noted by others, it is theoretically possible that your early booking could be the one that kicks that specific resort over the line as to whether extra discounts are needed or if free dining is offered at that resort. I wouldn't worry about that. In the past, you have been able to pay the difference to upgrade from the free dining plan to a higher tier dining plan. I wouldn't worry about those options yet until it gets announced.

As a side note, Deluxe Dining Plan is a lot of food and a lot of time-consuming sit-down meals. If that is what you want, it's your vacation, so enjoy.

Oh, before I became DVC, that was my strategy. Book now and hope when discounts come out, I can switch and get the discounted rate. I'd rather have a full rack rate room than no room at all...or the $1000/night ones that are the only thing left.....

 

[wwmmd]

Hey @crxbrett they just extended the hours to 11 at the MK on Labor Day weekend.

 

[crxbrett]

Hey @crxbrett they just extended the hours to 11 at the MK on Labor Day weekend.

Yessss!!!! Thank you!!