Help Intercot Vetrans. I got a 40% o

[aimeewvdisney]

OK ...I'm looking through my junkmail pile and come across a stranged flyer. It is a 40% off code!!! When I called to find out information the lady could hardly believe that we had never been to Disney and got a code. I'm pretty green at this, but have been researching alot. I know that in Sept. everybody is hoping forfree dining. We were planning on staying at Shades of Green so our room was only going to cost us $130 a night for a really nice resort/location but it doesn't have a dining plan available.
When all is said and done if we do the 40% off at another resort(Fort Wilderness) we can get 5 nights with dining for 4 and 5 day park hoppers & insurance for around $2600.
When I asked if in Sept. they offer the free dining if the 40% code would help me she said it depends on what it applies to and what resorts) Even if we would switch resorts in order to get the free dining will the 40% code help me.....or enough to downgrade.
Just want to get the most bang for the bucks. We don't need the fanciest accomodations if it is going to be alot more money...but this %40 will help us make our stay extra special I hope. Please help a Disney "virgin"lol Should I do the trip insurance for the extra $135 or is that a scam? Any help greatly appreciated!!!

[Jasper]

First of all it is always a good idea to price EVERYTHING out as separately as you possibly can and to make a list of what you get with each piece. This helps you get past all the hype and really know that you are getting what you and your family want.

As for the insurance it is not a scam because if you cancel you can get some or all of your money back. However, just like everything else you can get trip insurance from more than one source so you should price out what it is costing you and what you get for that price. Then you have to decide what the odds are that you might have to cancel your trip. For example, some plans only pay out if you cancel because of health issues while others pay for health as well as for bad weather.

For my family trip insurance is a must because my wife and I have a number of health issues that can easily pop up at a moments notice and cause us to cancel. However, up until a few years ago we never would have even considered getting trip insurance. So really the insurance is not a scam but if you have a very small likelihood of using it then it is probably an area where you can save.

Trip insurance is like any other insurance - you never get your money's worth until you use it. So, will you use it?

[PlanningMom]

I don't know if this helps you, but this is what I know.

Disney only allows you to do one discount at a time. So, you can do the 40% off, or you can do the free dining, but not both. You would have to see which one gives you the better deal.

The free dining goes like this. Disney wants their hotels booked to a certain percentage at all times. So, lets say they want Animal Kingdom Lodge to be 60% booked in September. Then, they would offer free dining to the people booking there until it was 60% booked. So, you may be able to do the free dining if you switch resorts, depending on how booked your resort is.

I would price out your two options, and the "what if" of the free dining and see which is better. The free dining SHOULD be coming out soon-let's hope we get the details!!

Hope this helps a little!

[Jeff G]

I'd suggest contacting Magical Journeys. They can handle the reservation with the code and can also watch for further discounts. A few years back we booked the free dining with Wendy at MJ. A month or so later the room only rates came out so. She was kind enough to contact me right away and gave me the prices for both which was very easy for comparison sake.

There are so many tangibles that come into play with your scenario and I'm sure they can help you decide which is the better deal.

One suggestion I would give is that you make a reservation right away using the 40% at a resort of your choice & that way you are guarnteed a discount since WDW only makes so many rooms available to each offer. Then monitor for other discounts over the coming months. Should a better discount come it's pretty easy to change the promo code. I would also suggest keeping the SOG ressie incase you decide to go that route( For the $130 your paying at SOG it may be better than any other discount available). As long as you cancel by 45 days before the trip you'll get a full refund. If you decide to go with MJ they will monitor this for you.

AS for the 40%, I highly doubt you will be able to combine that with the free dining and wil be most likely be one or the other.

[#1donaldfan]

Welcome to Intercot.....!!

The insurance is not a "scam" however we generally opt out as you get your money back with the exception of $200.00 within a certain amount of days prior to arrival...(can't remember the time 5 / 10 days out)....

We too rec'd a 40% discount this year and won't be able to use it...DARN...we're going in Dec and it's not covering our week...(we have plans for the weeks available)...

For us as a family of 5 (2 adults, 2 teens, 1 child), NO DINNING PLAN, and staying at "our moderate", 6 nights, 7 days hopping it was going to be approx $ 1800ish....not bad that's about $ 800ish off our usual cost.....

For us Mods are great "bang for buck"....it's only a place to lay your head, your hardly there, so why does it have to be a deluxe?? I say Moderates as the values tend to get REAL busy and they seem like a "park" when your trying to relax a bit......

I hope I've helped a little....by the way what part of WV????? We too are from the mountain state......way, way south !!:thumbsup:

[wdwnomad]

Generaly speaking the free dining is normally a better discount if you wanted to stay at a value or moderate resort. Once you get into the deluxe resorts then the 40% off the room becomes the better deal. However, determing when one discount becomes better than the other is really dependent on the number of adults and children in your party.

[animalkingdomguy]

I agree with Jeff G, you should contact Magical Journeys. They can answer all your questions, book your trip and handle this and other discounts that happen to be offered. It won't cost you a thing to use them and it could save you a lot.

[KAT1811]

I'll also recommend MJ for your trip . They will monitor :geek: everything for you and be able to break things down for you.

I'll also agree that WDW will not let you combine the 40% with the free dining :rolleyes:. One or the other. In regards to the free dining I'd ask yourself how much you'll use it? We typically do the DDP and this year DH does not want to because he hates feeling "tied down" to ADRs. Plus this year they took out the aps and the tips so you'll have to tip OOP :spend:.

If it were me I would pick the resort that best appeals to me in my price range :vacation: (with the 40% off) and then I would arrange my meals from there. You do not have to have a sit down meal every day in WDW but with the dining plan you feel as if you have to to get your money's worth (or at least we do). Just my :twocents:

We do not typically purchase the trip insurance as #1Donaldfan said the cost of the insurance is almost equal to what you would lose if you cancelled last minute anyway. I'd rather **** up the $200 last minute then "waste" $135 that I didn't have to. Unless you have extenuating circumstances I would, personally, skip it.

Good luck whatever you choose and have a great trip!!! :cloud9:

[mrmcgiv]

I got the 40% off pin as well.

The better deal would depend on

1.the make up of your family
2. Where you plan to stay
3. When you plan to go

Free dining will save you $37.99 per adult per day and $9.99 per child per day. I think that includes taxes.

40% PIN will save you 40% off the rack room rate if your PIN special is the same as mine. It was for 7 time periods during 2008. For a moderate standard room at $149 ..you would save 40% of $149 multiply that by the tax rate which I think is 11.5%. So that is about $67 a day. BUt if you are staying at a deluxe at $300 rack rate a night you would save $120 plus tax.

Also when do you want to go, The free dining is not offered yet, but I guess last yr it was Sept. For me that is the worst time to go b/c kids are just getting established in their new class.

We plan to go from 12/7-12/14 at a moderate and we save $469. Free dining would save us about $200 more with 2 kids/2 adults if offered but heh Sept time frame does not work for us. PLUS we want to see the holiday decorations. Our quote for CBR or CSR (the only 2 available for our timeframe with the PIN) for 7 nights/8days/with basic dining and NO hopper was $2234. Pretty good. We need to book by 3/31 for our pin so we will make our deposit this week.

I would suggest magical journey as well.

Anybody pls correct me if I am wrong, but this is how i figured it out.

Also, if you can add a few mroe day onto yor trip it makes it more economical. Each add'l cays park pass in a few $'s after 3 days and with either of these specials at a moderate each add'l night adds $200 or less including dining. Even better to do if you are paying for airfare. Spread your fixed costs over more days!! We may add an 8th night.

HTH

MRMCGIV:mickey:

[Deesdisney]

I am so jealous that alot of people are getting 40% off pins. I have never got one. Do you do something special for this? I keep waiting and waiting and nothing comes through the mail or over the internet. I would probably go 2 times a year if I got at least one.

[elmjimmlm]

We too are from the mountain state......way, way south !!:thumbsup:

We are natives also...As far as the trip insurance is concerned, we have not purchased any of the years that we have been there...We have on the other hand been lucky that we have not needed it...
We are a family of 5 and moderate is the only way we go...I think with your discount you should take advantage of a lesser expensive resort...You will find that you most likey wont be in your room too much...
I would check with your travel agent and find out if you could also receive the free dining discount along with your 40% code...If not the dining is a great thing to have...We use it and it really does work for us...It is a definate discount for our group...
Have a great time...:mickey: