Why Are Prices so much Lower on Other Sites??

[riogirl]

I have my reservations made for the Wilderness Lodge for 1 week in August....the total cost for my room is about $700 more than other sites are charging for an even better room. I noticed that Expedia, Hotels.com, etc have courtyard view for $233 per night when I paid $285 per night for standard view! I did get free dining but I wanted to know if I call Disney (who I booked through) will they honor those other prices OR do they jack up the prices to make it "seem" like you're getting free dining? It is really upsetting to think I am paying so much more for a lesser room. All advice and opinions appreciated! Thanks:shrug:

 

[LilSuzy]

I'm sure they would honor it. They are ALL about Guest service. It also depends on who you get....good luck:animwink:

 

[timeman]

When you get Free Dining you are going to pay full rack rate for the room. If you want a lower room price than you can get a room discount if they are offering them, but you will not be able to get the Free Dining. You can not combine two discount offers together. The rate you are seeing on these other sites is a discounted room price but you would be unable to get Free Dining with them.

 

[wizards8507]

I wanted to know if I call Disney (who I booked through) will they honor those other prices OR do they jack up the prices to make it "seem" like you're getting free dining? It is really upsetting to think I am paying so much more for a lesser room. All advice and opinions appreciated! Thanks:shrug:

You pay full price if you want free dining. That's just how it is. Disney isn't "jacking up" the price compared to the others. Rather, the others are offering an unseen discount.

 

[Zummi Gummi]

This is exactly why, many times, free dining doesn't work out to be a "deal" at all.

You really have to sit down and run the numbers. Figure out what food you'd be ordering and how much you're spending on it, and then see if that more than makes up for the difference in price between a discounted room rate and the rack rate.

 

[erstwo]

Yes. You pay full price for the room if you want free dining.

This is VERY rough math, but if you have the Disney Dining Plan for free (1 snack, 1 Counter Service Meal, and 1 Table Service per day per person in the room) AND you have a family of 4 AND you are staying for 7 nights, you are going to potenially save *slightly* more by having Free Dining.

This is based on the following -
Roughly $40 per night per adult x2 x 7 nights = $560
Roughly $20 per night per child 9 & under x2 x7 nights = $280
Total potential savings = $840

I say potential, because as others have mentioned if you weren't going to eat all the food provided on the Dining Plan (ie you would normally eat more counter service and less table service) you might be better off with a room discount.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Does anyone really think they are eating for free?..........Does anyone think in any business sale?......other resorts?.any trip?... you really think that new sofa you got, it was FREE delivery?.......somewhere we all pay for whatever we get!:goodnevil

The *deals* only have value to each person, if it works for thier particular needs and likes.

It any case.....have a great trip!

AKK......

 

[PJean710]

All hotels offer sites like expedia and orbitz a certain number of their inventory to sell at a discounted rate. As far as the free dining vs room discount is concerned, I figured it to be that if you want free dining stay at a value because the room discount percentage ends up being less money than the free dining. If you want the room discount stay moderate tor deluxe. The actual dollars saved is more. Now I have no kids so thats how it works for me. My wife and I always set our budget then plan the trip around the budget. Instead of picking hotel then seeing how to make the discounts work.

 

[riogirl]

Thank you all for the advice, I guess you have to budget both ways to see the best value. I do think the Free Dining with paying full price for a room pays off because last year when I got free dining I did notice that the meals would definitely be a big expense and we do use all our credits.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

It's not exactly accurate to look at the checks at the restaurants when you're on free dining and think "Wow, that's how much I saved" unless everything ordered was the same as what you would order if the food wasn't free. Like for my family, when on free dining our counter service meals would total up like $75 because we would order 4 drinks, 4 entrees, & 4 desserts. I can honestly say if we weren't on free dining we would never order desserts at a counter service restaurant. Sometimes the hubby & I share a meal. Generally, without free dining we would spend more like $50-$60 for our family of 4. Here's a big indicator for you. We've been to WDW 8 times. 2 of those 8 trips we were on the dining plan. The 2 trips we did the dining plan the hubby and I each gained 10-15 lbs. during our trip. The other 6 trips we either stayed the same weight or lost a little. That's the difference in how much food the dining plan gives us that we wouldn't normally eat.
The best way to figure up if the free dining is worth it for you is to run out a total budget with free dining then one with a room-only discount. When doing
the numbers for the room-only budget take the time to glance at the menus or the restaurants you plan to eat at and go meal to meal adding up some numbers according to how you would normally eat. Figure on snacks and counter service meals the way you normally might eat throughout a day.

Also, the depth of savings vs. room discount can vary depending on how many people you have and what resort you're staying in. I have 2 teenagers. If I was to pay for the dining plan out of pocket it would cost me twice what it would for say a young couple with no kids. Room-only percentages off at a deluxe resort would amount to a larger savings than at a value resort. For example, 40% off a room that costs $500/night would amount to a savings of $200/night. The dining plan for my family of 4 w/teens would cost around $180/night. Obviously we'd be better off taking the room discount.

Just crunch your numbers so you know where you stand. That's the best way to ensure you get the best deal you can.

 

[DisneyJoe]

Be sure you read all of the fine print with Expedia and other sites - many will have a cancellation or even a booking free that booking with Disney directly won't have.

Also be sure that tax is added in - many other sites don't show the tax until the very end.

 

[DisneyJoe]

I have my reservations made for the Wilderness Lodge for 1 week in August....

When are you traveling? How many adults and children?

Saw it in another post of yours, WL, 8/20 - 8/28.

Using the Disney late summer room discount offer:

WL Courtyard view
Date Rate per Night
Sat, Aug 20 $ 249.00
Sun, Aug 21 $ 229.00
Mon, Aug 22 $ 229.00
Tue, Aug 23 $ 229.00
Wed, Aug 24 $ 229.00
Thu, Aug 25 $ 229.00
Fri, Aug 26 $ 239.00
Sat, Aug 27 $ 239.00

Total $1,782.00
Tax $222.71
Grand Total (includes tax) $2,004.71

Using rack rates, no discount, direct from Disney:

Sat, Aug 20 $ 330.00
Sun, Aug 21 $ 305.00
Mon, Aug 22 $ 305.00
Tue, Aug 23 $ 305.00
Wed, Aug 24 $ 305.00
Thu, Aug 25 $ 305.00
Fri, Aug 26 $ 315.00
Sat, Aug 27 $ 315.00

Total $2,485.00
Tax $310.61
Grand Total (includes tax) $2,795.61

There is your $700-$800 difference.


Using Expedia:

WL Courtyard view

Courtyard view-Special
wk 1 $249 $229 $229 $229 $229 $229 $239 $234.00
wk 2 $239
Same Rates as WDW Late Summer room only above

BUT
Expedia totals:

Room rate 8/20: $249.00 per night
Room rate 8/21 - 8/25: $229.00 per night
Room rate 8/26 - 8/27: $239.00 per night
Taxes & Service Fees
(where applicable): $31.60 per night Details

Total room cost:
$2,124.76 Expedia Special Rate

The Expedia rate is actually $120.05 MORE due to their Taxes and Service Fees!


I see no advantage of booking directly with Expedia.

 

[DisneyJoe]

Rather, the others are offering an unseen discount.

Not true - the others are offering the same discount as Disney itself, just using a different special - Late Summer Room Only offer vs Free Dining.

 

[dizzney]

Does your package include your Park Hoppers? Or are you paying for admission seperately

 

[WDW Vet]

Well done Disney Joe!

 

[gonetowdw]

I do not post too often, however I follow this board daily. We have been to WDW countless times, family of 3. We have had both free dining and a discounted room. Back in the days when the tip was included, it was a good deal for us as we were eating at places we may not have otherwise. We have gotten to the point that we mostly do counter service as we do not want to be tied to being somewhere at a certain time. If you are using the free dining plan and eating at places that you would not normally eat and order one of the more expensive items on the menu just because it is free, you are also increasing the amount of tip that you will need (or should based on service) to leave. I still believe that the discounted room is a better deal. We got a PIN code for a discount on a moderate for November for 35%. If free dining is offered for that timeframe, I will still keep the discounted room and not do the free dining.

 

[TestTrack]

I do not post too often, however I follow this board daily. We have been to WDW countless times, family of 3. We have had both free dining and a discounted room. Back in the days when the tip was included, it was a good deal for us as we were eating at places we may not have otherwise. We have gotten to the point that we mostly do counter service as we do not want to be tied to being somewhere at a certain time. If you are using the free dining plan and eating at places that you would not normally eat and order one of the more expensive items on the menu just because it is free, you are also increasing the amount of tip that you will need (or should based on service) to leave. I still believe that the discounted room is a better deal. We got a PIN code for a discount on a moderate for November for 35%. If free dining is offered for that timeframe, I will still keep the discounted room and not do the free dining.

You hit on the big issue with the dining plan for me...I don't want to be tied down. It gets to the point where park hoppers aren't worth it. It'd be one thing if you could walk into the restaurant of your choice on the spot and eat, but making reservations for breakfast lunch and dinner pretty much dictates your day.

When I looked into the quick service dining plan it seemed like a big waste. Even if used optimally it didn't seem like it would save me anything and then we were going to IOA for a day, so we'd still be paying for that day even though we didn't eat anything at disney.

1-2 sit down meals during a week, a few b-fasts and the rest counter service for me. Gimme that room discount!

Seems like the free dining is better the cheaper the hotel you stay at.

 

[riogirl]

I have been crunching numbers after all your suggestions and I do notice that my plan with Air, Hotel, Park Hopper Tix AND Free Dining is actually only 180 more than anything room discount. So I guess I did make a good deal for my family. I do appreciate all your input!

 

[MrsPortiaB]

Not true - the others are offering the same discount as Disney itself, just using a different special - Late Summer Room Only offer vs Free Dining.

Well in this case maybe, but I can say in fact that this is how most discount websites operate in my neck of the woods.

For example: "X" website makes booking for "Y" activity. "X" website makes commission for making that referral booking for "Y" activity. "X" website applies part of commission to the full cost of the "Y" activity to offer "discount" option "Z" which helps get them the booking.

If that makes any sense or helps. But I agree with the others. Compare the two and see which is the better deal in your eyes. Again in my situation, booking directly with the company, airline, activity or otherwise usually is the best bet.

Kudos to you for looking into it further! Knowledge is power, lol!

 

[wannabeBelle]

I have been crunching numbers after all your suggestions and I do notice that my plan with Air, Hotel, Park Hopper Tix AND Free Dining is actually only 180 more than anything room discount. So I guess I did make a good deal for my family. I do appreciate all your input!

Hi there, That is exactly what you should do!!! Crunch the numbers and see how they work out for you both ways. If you are using a travel agent, they should be doing this for you to get you the best possible deal. Good work on your calculations and I Am glad that you made the best decision!!! Marie